△ Tian Guisheng helped in her daughter’s shop and washed the feet of two old people.
Four pedicure knife, three old rattan chairs, two low benches and a thermos cup. Every morning at eight o’clock, you can see Tian Guisheng with a big smile near Daping bus station on time, put these tools on the table and start a pedicure. Until eight o’clock in the evening, the old pedicurist, who is over 60 years old, will rest and go home.
People who love pedicures all call Tian Guisheng a "dancer on the tip of a knife". With these four simple and ordinary pedicure knife, he has worked hard for more than 40 years and cultivated his own unique life. Even the daughter who graduated from college gave up being a white-collar worker and inherited her father’s mantle. Now, Tian Guisheng’s wife, daughter and son-in-law, and the whole family have set up a business in pedicure knife, which they love and serve the people.
Take off your socks and shoes for rare guests personally, and become friends with old customers who have been wearing shoes for more than ten years.
△ Tian Guisheng and his wife pedicure guests in the open-air pedicure booth.
Tian Guisheng’s pedicure stand is placed at the corner of a building near Daping bus station. If you don’t pay special attention, it is difficult to find that the big umbrella that shelters the rain hides the pedicure stand and the thin Tian Guisheng.
Although it has been raining continuously recently, the lowest temperature is only 8℃, but before 9: 00 in the morning, the guests who come to the "Master Tianluo Pedicure Booth" are in an endless stream, and the price of 12 yuan for a pedicure is close to the people and affordable. "Master Tian, I’m here again. The calluses on my feet hurt!" Gong Jinfeng, a 78-year-old mother-in-law, got off the Daping bus station slowly and went straight to Tian Guisheng’s pedicure stall. She specially came from Yangjiaping for pedicure, but there was a traffic jam on the road. When Grandma Gong came over, there were already three guests waiting in line at the small pedicure stall. "Hey, mother-in-law, sit down first!" Tian Guisheng is very familiar with every guest. While holding a file, he carefully trims his toenails and greets other guests with a smile. Tian Guisheng said that some old customers have been repairing their feet here for more than ten or twenty years and have become good friends.
After waiting for more than half an hour, it was finally Gong Jinfeng’s turn: Tian Guisheng sent off the previous guest, picked up the alcohol watering can to disinfect four pedicure knife, then lifted Gong’s feet on her lap and helped her take off her cotton shoes and socks … This series of actions, Tian Guisheng did it naturally, and Gong’s mother-in-law praised this service: "There is a pedicure downstairs in my community, but I love coming to Master Tian."
Tian Guisheng listened to Gong Jinfeng’s praise, and the work in his hand never fell. The shovel, file and tweezers cooperated with each other, and soon the calluses on Gong Popo’s feet were cleaned up. After the repair, he patiently put on the shoes and socks for Mrs. Gong, and personally helped her to leave the pedicure stall.
In just 50 minutes, eight guests have come to the pedicure stall, and he didn’t take a sip of water.
44 years ago, I taught more than 400 apprentices under Tong Nanwa, a technician from Yangzhou.
△ Pedicure has been working for more than 40 years, and Tian Guisheng has taught more than 400 apprentices.
Tian Guisheng is 63 years old this year. When he was in his teens, he became a "barefoot doctor". "But at that time, the countryside was too bitter and he often didn’t have enough to eat." In order to make a living, Tian Guisheng went to Yangzhou from his rural hometown in Tongnan in 1973 to study pedicure technology. Other pedicure apprentices basically "graduated" in 3 or 4 months, but Tian Guisheng studied with his master for nearly a year. After returning from his studies, he first pedicured in a bathroom in Qixinggang, and later started to stand on his own feet, setting up a stall in the dam at Jiaochangkou, and repairing his feet for 20 cents.
Pedicure stalls are getting more and more prosperous, so some people want to worship him as a teacher. After more than 40 years of pedicure, Tian Guisheng has also taught more than 400 apprentices, many of whom have seen Tian Guisheng’s good pedicure skills on the Internet and come from other places to learn from him. At Tian Guisheng’s 60th birthday party in 2013, some of his students made a special trip to celebrate his master’s birthday. Speaking of these apprentices, Tian Guisheng is a few treasures: Zhang Yingyong, a former college student from Xiangyang, Hubei Province, made a special trip to Chongqing to worship him as a teacher; Zhu Fangxian, from Pengxi rural area in Sichuan, took her children to live in Chongqing, but it was difficult to find a job, so she contacted Tian Guisheng from the Internet to learn pedicure. An old customer was originally a staff member of a public institution. Because he really felt that Tian pedicure was too comfortable and his business was booming, he quit his job and studied pedicure with Tian Guisheng …
"Over the past 40 years, I have repaired at least 350,000 feet," Tian Guisheng said with infinite emotion. "In 1995, a Hong Kong Qigong master came to me for a pedicure, which was really the oldest pair of feet I have ever seen! It can be repaired in 15 minutes normally, but I just repaired it for more than an hour. When he left, he praised me for’ Master Tian’s pedicure is really good’ and stuffed me with 1,000 Hong Kong dollars, which I still have. " Tian Guisheng said, "Pedicure can earn money first, but also serve the people and help them alleviate their pain. I hope that apprentices can also improve their lives through crafts to benefit more people."
Daughter and son-in-law inherit his mantle and are called "white-collar pedicurists"
△ Daughter and son-in-law are pedicure guests.
Among Tian Guisheng’s more than 400 apprentices, three are particularly worth mentioning: his wife Luo Xiu, his daughter Tian Jili and his son-in-law Li Qi.
Tian Guisheng and his wife, Luo Xiuben, worked in the countryside of Tongnan. Later, their children were faced with the promotion from elementary school to junior high school. The economic pressure made his wife choose to follow in the footsteps of her husband Tian Guisheng and set up a pedicure stall in the city, named "Tianluo Pedicure Stall". Now, husband and wife are equally skilled.
My daughter Tian Jili is 34 years old. When she was 12 years old, she came to the main city from her hometown with her parents. Ten years ago, she returned to Chongqing after finishing junior college in Chengdu Hydropower School and found a job as an operator in Unicom. "Working all day, very uncomfortable! For so many years, I have been seeing my father’s hard work and his work is quite free. I want to learn pedicure with him! "
At first, Tian Guisheng and his wife resolutely opposed it, thinking that pedicure was too hard and disrespectful. Luo Xiu still thinks that her daughter’s decision is a bit risky: "It’s not only that others look down on us, but also that we look down on ourselves." However, day after day, Tian Jili’s persistence was seen by the husband and wife: it was easy to get hurt by tools such as files when he first started, and Tian Jili cut his finger and bled without saying anything; Some too thick toenails can’t be cut off, and Tian Jili is so nervous that he still dares not slack off. When she met a guest with beriberi, she was very uncomfortable at first, but she still gritted her teeth and walked over to serve the guests …
At first, Tian Jili was afraid to meet her former colleagues and classmates. Whenever anyone asked, she said that she was still working in her former company. Slowly, Tian Jili’s income is increasing, and the guests’ sincere thanks make her feel very fulfilled in doing these things. "The news says that Peking University students are selling pork, why can’t I get a pedicure?" After ten years in the business, my psychology has also changed. I don’t care whether my career is high or low. When I look at the problems on my guests’ feet, I will feel that I am helping others. "
In 2005, Tian Jili married Li Kun, a native of Shanxi, and persuaded Li Kun to get a pedicure with him. At first, Li Kun was still worried, thinking that he was a senior white-collar worker. How could he lower himself to pedicure others? Unable to withstand his wife’s lobbying, he also discovered the potential market prospect of the pedicure industry. Li Kun finally decided to set up a shop in Daping with his wife, and the husband and wife officially started the pedicure business. "Now, we are often teased by mature guests and said that we are’ white-collar pedicurists’!"
He is a national pedicure star and plans to accept more apprentices in the future.
△ Tian Guisheng, who loves calligraphy, practices calligraphy behind the pedicure booth in his spare time.
Tian Guisheng was invited by the organizing committee to be the technical director of the 2017 National Pedicure Professional Skills Competition (Southwest Division).
Nowadays, there are still many people who come from other places to learn from Tian Guisheng’s information on the Internet. So far, the total number of Tian Guisheng’s disciples and grandchildren has exceeded 1000.
"Most pedicure masters in Chongqing may recognize Tian Guisheng." Wang Sanxin, an old customer for more than ten years, has great trust in Tian Guisheng’s pedicure technology. "Even if you haven’t heard the name Tian Guisheng, they will definitely know when you say’ Tian pedicure’."
In the future, Tian Guisheng intends to recruit more apprentices. "This industry needs to inject fresh blood, and young people will join, so that traditional crafts can continue to be generations! As long as they have the need to learn and pass the test, I will try my best to teach them. "
Upstream News-chongqing morning post Trainee Reporter Yang Xinyu Photography Lei Jianyuan Tieli
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