White magnolia, jasmine, and gardenia flowers sold for five mao each

In memory, every summer of childhood, in the streets and alleys of my hometown city, you could always see several elderly women with baskets over their arms selling white magnolia, gardenia, and jasmine flowers. In the clean baskets were neatly and carefully strung bracelets, half-open jasmine buds, just-bloomed white magnolias, and gardenias about to bloom. There were strands of two or three flowers to hang on the chest, and small bunches to wear on the wrist, one or two yuan per bunch, very popular with girls.

Five mao each

White magnolia has a light and elegant fragrance, somewhat sweet but not at all cloying. It has no top notes, middle notes, or base notes like luxury perfumes, and of course not that heavy rosy musk scent either. It has its own consistent and unique fragrance, deeply loved by the people of Jiangnan. "Who wants white magnolia..." is the most unforgettable street cry. Thinking of the elderly women's calls is like smelling the flowers themselves.

White magnolia + jasmine bunch

Wearing jasmine on the wrist, the fresh fragrance drifts in and out of your nostrils as your body moves. Especially when entering a closed room, the fresh scent of jasmine rushes even more strongly to your nose. Compared to perfume, it is even better. The pure and lovely scent seems to carry you back more than ten years, as if you were still a little girl deeply cherished.

Gardenia

And there is gardenia too. Most were bought by housewives passing by the market on their way home from work, picking up a bunch along the way. People back then did not understand the art of flower arranging. The sellers would simply tie them into a bundle, and the buyers would take them home just like that, without even untying them, casually finding a glass bottle, filling it with water, and putting them in. In no time the whole room would be filled with sweet fragrance, cooling the entire summer.

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