National Tide 1980.

Chapter 1305 Shelf Building

In the past, there was a saying in Beijing that could be called a slogan: "The ceiling, the fish tank, the pomegranate tree, the husband, the fat dog, the fat girl."

This sentence actually talks about the yearning and imagination of the elderly Beijing residents for a happy life.

It is just like how modern people desire to own a three-bedroom, one-living-room school district house in a first-tier city, with their parents by their side, husband and wife living in harmony, children sleeping on their laps, and no worries about food, clothing, housing, and daily necessities.

Most people understand what it means, and the situation described is easy to understand.

But at the same time, we can also realize that there are not many people who can fully summarize the first half of this sentence as the Beijing residents’ joy of summer.

The main reason is that modern people have gradually forgotten what a ceiling is.

At the same time, an old profession - shed maker - has gradually disappeared.

At present, the closest this period of history to the people of Beijing is the TV series "Four Generations Under One Roof", which brought the lion-dancing Master Liu to everyone's attention, allowing the older generation of Beijingers to remember that there was such a profession in the past.

If you ask young people, after the age of 40, they have hardly ever seen it, let alone heard of it.

The so-called "ceiling" is actually a pergola for cooling off in the summer. People in Beijing call it "ceiling".

It was built with reed mats, fir poles and bamboo poles tied together with ropes.

In the past, once summer arrived, the capital city entered the "awning season", and every awning shop was busy with the business of setting up awnings.

The climate of the capital is relatively accurate.

Generally speaking, according to the weather, it starts from May in the lunar calendar and lasts until the Ghost Festival when the autumn wind starts to blow. Sooner or later, it is time to add a small jacket, and the ceiling can no longer be kept and needs to be dismantled.

But building ceilings did not start in the Republic of China. This industry can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty at least.

In the early years, whether in the Ming or Qing dynasties, the princes and nobles in the capital would build tall canopies in their courtyards to block the hot sun and cool down in the midsummer.

Later, this method was gradually introduced to the general public. In addition to respectable merchants, ordinary people also built canopies in their courtyards.

Even for civil and military agencies, large and small, and various government offices, the annual ceiling fees are included in the official public budget.

This shows how prosperous this industry was at that time. For people who didn't have fans or air conditioners in the past, it was a necessity.

Without exaggerating, during the Republic of China period, not only courtyard houses could have canopies for shade, but high-rise buildings could also have them.

The embassies and consulates and banks in Dongjiaominxiang, Beijing, are all multi-story Western-style buildings. Especially with the scorching sun shining from the east and west, they do pose a great threat to people. Every year, these foreigners also build them.

Even the palace relied on this method to escape the summer heat until Puyi left the Forbidden City.

  Why are there no tall trees in the Forbidden City except in the Imperial Garden?

If you listen to the tour guide, you will be a fool for the rest of your life.

Those ignorant and nonsensical people told you that they were afraid of assassins sneaking in or that it was necessary for fire prevention. It was pure nonsense that they treated tourists as fools.

The real reason is that they had to put up sheds in the summer. This custom existed in the imperial courts of the Ming and Qing dynasties and is recorded in archives.

The emperor is not stupid. It doesn't make sense that the people know how to enjoy themselves but the court doesn't know about it.

Therefore, when it comes to the elegance of erecting a shed, no place in the world can match the capital.

The industry of building ceilings is called "shed shop" and the people who do this job are called shed craftsmen.

It requires climbing up and down, working in the air, and tying long wooden stakes and thick bamboo poles into a rack with hemp ropes.

Judging from the nature of the work, people who do this job should generally be considered part of the construction industry.

But they are not exactly the same, because buildings are for long-term use, while sheds are temporary.

In the past, when you hired someone to build a shed, the shed builder would calculate the fee for one season based on the size of the owner's yard.

Everything was covered in sheds, and the owner only paid rent, and when the time came, everything would be taken away.

So the price is not expensive, and basically any middle-class or upper-class family can afford it.

But there’s no hope now. There’s no place to rent these things now, and I have to buy them all myself.

Moreover, it is difficult to find people and the wages cannot be low, so the expenses must be real.

Even though the prices and labor costs in the mainland of the Republic are very cheap, it is still very expensive to build a shed for a small courtyard. Including the materials and labor, it costs three thousand yuan.

That’s not all, because this money is only for setting up the ceiling. It has to be dismantled after it’s set up, and after it’s dismantled, the materials have to be stored.

No wonder the old man is unhappy. To put it bluntly, this is a waste of money and trouble.

Not to mention, if they wanted to follow Jiang Nianyun's idea, they would have to set up a wedding tent, build a theater, and hold a grand ceremony.

Then I have no idea how much money it will cost, there is no way to calculate it.

In fact, when Ning Weimin and Matsumoto Keiko returned to Ma's Garden by car, they got out of the car and walked into the yard.

Ning Weimin understood why Luo Guangliang advised him to consider moving to another place on the way and did not drive the car in.

It’s not for any other reason, it’s just because the stalls in the yard are too big and too messy, there is simply no space left.

I don’t know when the entrance to the yard changed its appearance, and countless things covered with rain cloths were left in the open space as soon as I entered the yard.

And from the exposed parts, you can see that they are all bamboo poles, fir poles, ropes and other things.

That’s not all. There was no space to park in the original garage, because when Ning Weimin walked over, he found that tables, chairs and benches were piled up inside and stacked together. There were dozens of various eight-immortal tables alone, and there were countless chairs and benches.

Moreover, he saw clearly that these were not the rosewood furniture he had bought in the past, nor were they the ones that the old man had refunded. They must be new purchases.

That’s not all. By coincidence, as I walked further, I found two tricycles parked there. The cardboard boxes on the tricycles were tied with ropes and piled high.

Two shirtless drivers were unloading goods and carrying things into the house one by one. They were sweating all over and their foreheads were covered with oil.

You can tell just by looking at these boxes, each one is heavy.

Coincidentally, the person who opened the door for them with the key chain and watched them work was none other than Zhang Shihui.

When he saw Ning Weimin and his group pushing eight trolley suitcases towards him, he was very happy and hurried forward to greet them.

"Wei Min, you're finally back. I've been waiting impatiently for your wedding. If you hadn't come back, how could this drama go on without the main character? Oh, look at the situation, it's quite good. I'm afraid you two have emptied all the shops in Paris, right?"

"Hey, Ms. Matsumoto, you've had a hard time. You're becoming more and more like an international superstar. Forgive me for claiming to be a relative, but we should be considered family now, right? Can I call you my sister-in-law?"

"Ah? What are these things you're asking about? Is there any need to ask? We have to prepare all the supplies, right? We can't just have tables and chairs, we also have to have cups, plates and bowls. What? Too much? Not much, these are just half of the goods. They have to make another delivery."

"Hey, I have to tell you about this. There are 300 sets in total, and they are all good stuff. They are antique porcelain from the Beijing Arts and Crafts Factory, and they were made specifically for you by Master Liu Yongqing. I heard that they were modeled after the wedding porcelain of some emperor, and they are better than the ones we are using in the Altar Palace now. Anyway, they are absolutely high-end and must be worthy of your status. The factory manager, Lao Chai, is also very considerate. For your sake, he gave us a 30% discount on the half-sale and half-giving-away. It's only about 50,000 or 60,000 yuan."

"Hard work? Oh, that's what you should do. I say, don't be polite. Shouldn't I help you with your marriage? Don't be shy. To be honest, even my wife is here today. She's busy inside. After we finish our work today, we'll welcome you together..."

If this kid is really different now, he really deserves to be the top leader of Tan Palace.

In the past, the guy who could be so excited that he couldn't sleep all night after earning 2,000 yuan from reselling two TVs, but today, he doesn't take it seriously when talking about 50,000 or 60,000 yuan, and his tone is so relaxed.

However, when the two drivers who were transporting the goods heard what he said, it was bound to attract attention and make people gasp in amazement.

Especially when he started talking, he shook his head in excitement, which made Ning Weimin frown. He was too cocky.

Somehow, it reminds me of the scene in old movies where a ruthless landlord inspects his territory and is flattered by his lackeys.

The fact that this couple was on the list naturally made Ning Weimin feel extremely uncomfortable and awkward.

So he quickly coughed to interrupt the flattery of "Mu Renzhi", and then instructed him to make sure to get some tea for the two coachmen and two boxes of cigarettes for each of them.

Without waiting for the two drivers who were carrying heavy objects to say thank you through their cracked lips, he ran away and continued to move inside.

To be honest, Ning Weimin really couldn't be happy at this time. Instead, he couldn't help feeling a little worried.

The scene before him was too grand. It was completely different from the buffet he remembered when his aunt's eldest son got married and invited several chefs to serve in the courtyard.

He originally thought that it would be easy for him to find a cook, and the wedding would just require him to borrow the old man's garden to set up a few tables and invite all his acquaintances and friends. Then everyone could come and have a casual and unrestrained wedding.

It is very comfortable to have this place in the summer without being disturbed by others. There is no need to make any extra preparations.

Little did I know that it wasn't the case.

  Looking at this scene and this extravagance, even weddings held by royal palaces in the past would have been like this, right?

How much would it cost just for these building materials, tables, chairs, benches and tableware?

He knows best how much money the old man has.

When he left, the only arrangement he made for the old man's life was to have someone give the salary given to him by Pierre Cardin to the old man.

More than 5,000 yuan a month, 3,000 foreign exchange coupons, and double salary at the end of the year, that was only about 80,000 to 90,000 yuan a year.

  However, these expenses now should have exceeded the old man's financial ability. I'm afraid he has spent all his savings. What is this old man thinking?

Besides, this Zhang Shihui has no idea how to control his mouth. Why does he show off in front of outsiders?

If those two drivers spread what we said just now, it would be really outrageous. They are just looking for trouble.

As they were thinking this, they came to a fork in the road.

Ning Weimin lowered his head in deep thought and was about to run towards the courtyard.

As a result, there were countless shouts from afar, "Come on! Come on! Go!", which made them tilt their heads and gave him a big fright.

Because from a distance I could see a lot of people busy working on the other side of the rockery, and it seemed that a multi-story archway more than ten meters high had been erected.

According to Ning Weimin's observation, it seemed to be much more complicated than the temple fair held in the Temple of Heaven Park.

After being stunned for a moment, Ning Weimin involuntarily led the others to follow the sound.

Soon, when he saw it clearly, he couldn't help but shout out "Wow!"

Not only did his Japanese wife cover her mouth with her hands and scream out in shock, "Squawy!"

Even Luo Guangliang and Xiao Tao, who already knew the situation here, were excited.

"Fuck!" they both blurted out at the same time.

For no other reason than that what they just saw was not an archway at all.

To be precise, it is a flower wall outside the building frame that serves as a facade.

There are dozens of people gathered here, and they are actually building a building!

And it covers a very large area, so large that Ning Weimin couldn't believe it.

You know, this is arguably the largest open space in the middle of the garden, where you can splash water and set up an ice rink in winter.

There is a billiard room on the rockery in the north, a three-volume hall in the southwest, and a Xiyin Hall in the southeast.

The space in between was at least several hundred square meters, and it was all utilized by these people. They built a huge frame building on the flat ground.

That’s not all. Look at the pole rack that has been set up in the billiard room.

I know what they are planning, it seems that they want to connect the original buildings in three directions with this wooden frame building.

Can you imagine how big this project is?

How much will that cost?

In other words, China was too poor during those years, and people and things were worthless.

Otherwise, with this kind of commotion, it would have been comparable to the royal families of those small European countries, and it would probably no longer be something that the so-called old money could show off.

What is even more amazing than this building is the people working on it.

Ning Weimin saw that they used large fir poles to install the pillars and bamboo poles to build the frame.

But the tools used for construction are just ropes and needles.

The ropes are used for binding, and the "needles" are used for sewing reed mats.

There is absolutely no need for an axe, a knife, a saw, or a big iron hoe.

And it is different from the South where one has to dig a hole and bury the fir poles first.

The shed builders in the capital city never dig holes or bury poles when building sheds.

They erected the support directly on the flat ground, and it was very sturdy and of excellent quality.

No matter how strong the wind and rain are, the shed poles and supports will not move at all.

This was the craftsmanship and sophistication that made the shed shops in Beijing the best in the world at that time.

Needless to say, these skills are passed down from generation to generation through formal apprenticeship, inheritance from master to apprentice, and specialization in this field.

Even people who don't understand can tell at a glance that it is impossible for a monk who has just changed his career to do such a job.

What a great shed builder! Even though some of them are quite old, they are at least 50 years old if not 60, and many of them are veterans.

But he was as light as a swallow and as nimble as a monkey.

Whether they are building a building on the scaffolding or setting up a shed on the eaves, it is so light and flexible.

I would never step on the tiles on someone else's roof and tear them into pieces.

  Especially when erecting the scaffold, even though there was only a fir pole across the distance of several meters, those people were like walking on a tightrope.

Walking from one end to the other is as easy as walking on flat ground.

With just this skill, will it work? I don't have any special skills.

According to Ning Weimin's idea, he is qualified to join the acrobatic troupe.

So he finally couldn't hold it in anymore, and for the first time ever he called out "Mom", and he was calling the old man.

"Oh my god! Awesome!"