National Tide 1980.

Chapter 1306 Amazing Planning

On the sandy ground, a white horse galloped, and it ran to my father-in-law's house.

The elder brother-in-law moved forward and the younger brother-in-law pulled her in, and they could see her through the bamboo curtain.

He has a large, silver-colored face and black hair, and a moon-white satin cotton jacket with silver spots.

This is a folk song from the old Beijing city called "Seeing Her Through the Bamboo Curtain".

Like "ceiling, fish tank and pomegranate tree", this folk song also involves an indispensable item for summer heat relief in the capital city - bamboo curtain.

The bamboo curtain is hung on the door. A foot-long silk thread with an old coin attached to it is tied to the top wooden bar. Roll up the bamboo curtain and insert the old coin into the bamboo bar, and the bamboo curtain will not slide down.

In summer, hanging a bamboo curtain at the door of the house can not only provide ventilation and heat dissipation, but also prevent mosquitoes and flies. It is economical and practical.

But it must be said that at this time, bamboo curtains are no longer a must-have summer item for every household.

For no other reason than there are cheaper plastic curtains on the market now.

The neighbors living in No. 2 Shaner Hutong don’t even spend this money.

Every household makes their own hanging curtains out of calendar paper, which can be said to be a way of opposing consumerism.

It has taken the style of hard work, simplicity and self-reliance to the extreme.

So now even this bamboo curtain seems luxurious, not to mention the bamboo curtain used in the Ma family garden, which is quite exquisite in style and a bit unusual.

You should know that the bamboo curtain on the door is usually five feet eight inches long and two feet eight inches wide, or six feet long and three feet wide.

This is not the case with the Ma Family Garden. Except for the main house which uses a lot of larger curtains, the rest of the buildings are made according to the size of the doors.

As for the patterns on the bamboo curtains, they are made of "brocade all over the ground" and fish scale buttons, which is a higher level.

Even the bamboo curtains are not wrapped with ordinary green or blue cloth, but with silk.

Finally, even the three pieces of wood, “Heaven, Earth, and Man”, that are used to prevent deformation are unusual.

It was made of mahogany lacquer with carved lace and riveted with copper nails. It looked dazzling and low-key and luxurious.

With a yard like this, curtains like this, and a ceiling made of reed mats above the yard, no one would dare to say that this is where an ordinary person lives.

Especially the ceiling, which looks simple, but is actually not.

According to Luo Guangliang and Xiao Tao's description, Ning Weimin heard that the ceilings of the two courtyards of Kang Shude and Jiang Nianyun had been set up, and there were ropes on the top that could be used to unfold and unfold the reed mats from the bottom.

Just put it down when the sun is shining and pull it up when the sun is not. It is very convenient.

It keeps you fresh and clean every day, protects you from rain, and does not hinder ventilation. It is definitely a good thing that ordinary people can hardly imagine.

So as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, Ning Weimin couldn't wait to see it with his own eyes and feel it.

Sure enough, when we turned around the screen wall and walked into Kang Shude's courtyard.

He walked in the simple and elegant environment created by reeds and bamboo curtains, and in the shadows cast by the ceiling, the obvious coolness made him feel comfortable.

The sunlight shining through the reed mats cast vague spots on the ground, and the whole courtyard exuded a rich scent of grass and trees, adding a touch of romance to the atmosphere.

It seemed as if even the yard had become much more spacious, and the house had expanded and grown taller out of thin air, making him almost not recognize this small yard, as if he had lived in another place during the Spring Festival at the beginning of the year.

This is the beauty of the northern courtyards unique to the capital, and the joy of every inch of space.

Compared with the exquisite and delicate courtyards in the south, this one has a different kind of grand and open flavor.

  To put it bluntly, how can one be so rich?

Even though the house does not have red walls and green tiles, but is just painted with ordinary black oil, the difference in grade is naturally apparent.

This is what it truly looks like, the residence of the richest man in Beijing at the time.

Especially when Zhang Shihui's daughter-in-law, Liu Weijing, came out of the kitchen holding a plate of blue and white alum red tea sets with gold-painted cloud and bat patterns, just like A Qing Sao in "Sha Jia Bang", she unexpectedly bumped into them.

This situation and scene is more like returning to the scenes in those ancient paintings, and it is very much like a chance encounter in an opera story.

"Ah, Weimin, Miss Matsumoto, you are finally back. Um... well, you must have had a hard time on the way, come in and take a rest. The old man is entertaining guests in the east, you go in first, to the north. Wait for me to bring the tea over and let the old man know, I will come over to get you some water to wash your faces."

In this way, under Liu Weijing's quick greeting, Ning Weimin and his group were spared the greetings.

They all went to the northern main hall, put their luggage away, changed their clothes and washed their faces.

However, not long after, when Liu Weijing came over again, in addition to carrying two thermoses, she also brought the "imperial edict" and played the role of the imperial envoy who announced the edict.

Tell Ning Weimin that the old man wants to see him and ask him to go and meet the guest immediately.

Well, so Ning Weimin gave up thinking about taking a rest. He just asked Liu Weijing to sit with Matsumoto Keiko for a while. He tidied up his appearance and quickly moved to the east room.

As soon as he entered the room, Ning Weimin saw Kang Shude and two old men who were almost the same age as him sitting in front of the drawing table on the north side of the flower hall. The large rosewood table was covered with drawings.

As for the tea set, snacks and fruits on the coffee table at the other end of the sofa, no one touched them.

It was obvious at first glance that the old man was discussing serious matters with these people. This was an important gathering with special significance.

Especially when he saw the two strangers seemed to be quite restrained, and when they saw him come in, the expressions on their faces seemed to be unable to find a suitable home for a moment, he knew that they were honest people who were not good at dealing with others.

According to Ning Weimin's private speculation, if nothing unexpected happens, they should be the ones who contracted the project in Ma's Garden.

Sure enough, when he entered the room, he greeted him and called him "Master".

Next, Kang Shude introduced them to him one by one, and the identities of these two people were just as he expected.

One of the old men was named He. According to Kang Shude, he learned from Chenji Liuhe Tent Shop on the west side of Liubukou Road.

This shop was the most famous shop in the capital at that time. During its heyday, it also had a branch in Tianjin.

This was because the owner of this shop was Chen Yushan, a bannerman from the Imperial Household Department of the Qing Palace, who had undertaken five large deals for the royal family and thus became wealthy.

Master He’s master was the stage craftsman who personally participated in the Empress Dowager Cixi’s two “Longevity Celebrations”.

There were even the "wedding tent" for Emperor Guangxu's wedding, the mourning tent and sacrificial tent for the "Entombment Ceremony" of the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu, and the wedding tent for Emperor Xuantong's wedding.

All of Master He’s masters have also participated.

As for the other old man, his surname is Zheng, so he must be the descendant of the Zheng family shop in Maoer Hutong, Di'anmenwai Street.

Although this shop is small in scale and has not taken on any royal projects, it has unique ancestral craftsmanship and can build "wooden palaces".

To put it simply, they could use specially made wooden components to temporarily build a "grand hall" with five ridges and six beasts on it, just like a real hall. In those days, almost all weddings and funerals in the royal mansions in the northern city had to use the wooden halls or mat sheds of the Zheng family.

Even the "Lotus Market" held in Qianhai, Shichahai during midsummer, and most of the mat stalls and teahouses along the river were hosted by his family.

So, these two are real experts who learned from famous teachers.

Although this industry was already declining when they were doing this, they were people who had really seen the big picture and knew how to do big jobs.

There are not many people in the world who can reach their level.

Therefore, the wedding tent planned by them would definitely be of the highest standard in Beijing if it were actually built.

Otherwise, with the layout of the Ma Family Garden, which has courtyards within courtyards and the complex terrain, it might not be possible for an ordinary scaffolder to handle it.

Maybe they don't even know how to do it or what style of shed to build.

But the problem is that the drawings and plans are now all completed, but because the stall is too big, some things are not prepared enough.

It may also require additional purchases and customization, and the time may also need to be considered.

It is estimated that on top of the originally agreed fee of 150,000 yuan, an additional 30,000 yuan will have to be paid, for a total of 180,000 yuan.

So Kang Shude was also a little hesitant, and it just so happened that Ning Weimin came back at the right time today.

Since he was arranging a marriage for him, Kang Shude might as well call him over and let him take a look in person and give his opinion.

Just like that, Ning Weimin, a little confused, walked to the drawing table to look at the drawings according to Kang Shude's instructions.

To be honest, the matter was quite clear, but Ning Weimin still didn't quite understand it.

For no other reason than this drawing is just too scary.

He wouldn't have known until he saw it, and he was really shocked when he saw it.

The stilt building he had just seen was already surprising enough.

But after looking at the blueprint, I realized that the building was actually a three-story pavilion.

Moreover, the entire shed will eventually be evenly built on the roofs around the courtyard, which is equivalent to adding a floor to the original building.

That’s not all. The most amazing thing is that the connected part is not independent, but becomes a circular building with a corridor in front and connected on all four sides.

However, even so, this three-story building is only a small part of the entire layout, not even a quarter.

According to this design plan, it is basically creating a garden within a garden and creating scenery within the scenery.

The goal is to use all the colors and structures on the original basis of Ma's Garden to recreate a temporary paradise on earth.

In terms of the scale of the project, it is necessary to renovate almost all the main buildings in Ma's Garden, including the theater.

Ning Weimin, who is no stranger to history, said that his feeling at that moment was that it reminded him of the extravagance of the Empress Dowager Cixi's 60th birthday, the Beiyang Fleet, and the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

  Wow, boom! This design even includes the scenery of Yaotai Tianchi!

This is really like the Empress Dowager Cixi doing back then, bringing disaster to the country and the people and throwing away money!

Is this my marriage?

  Do I have the blessing to suppress it?

If you really do this, no matter how much money you spend, what will be the impact?

What would his guests think?

Ning Weimin suddenly felt dizzy and the more he looked, the more frightened he became.

In his opinion, the things in the picture should only exist in heaven and exist in history. Spending 180,000 yuan on them is definitely not too much, and he can even say it is a great bargain.

However, in reality, in the contemporary republic, no one can enjoy such luxurious treatment with peace of mind.

Even if you have money, it's not allowed! It's a taboo!

"How is it? Weimin, are you satisfied? If you have any ideas, please tell me."

Finally, Kang Shude's words made Ning Weimin, who was sweating profusely, raise his head.

"Master, this... this, isn't this too much of a commotion? Do you really want to make such a big scene? I, your disciple, am extremely terrified and can't handle it!"

"Don't think too much about it. Just tell me whether you are satisfied or not. Just point out the problems with these wedding tents. What's good about them? What's bad about them?"

This sentence immediately made Ning Weimin even more confused.

He was suddenly thrown into a fog and couldn't recover for a long time.

If for no other reason, he didn't believe that his master didn't understand what he was hinting at, and he himself didn't fully comprehend what his master meant.

What? Did the master ask him to express his opinion, in order to use him as a shield, to make him a good-faced person and refuse?

Could it be that the old man really wants him to spend the money and be the first to take action?

  This shouldn't be!

What was even more unexpected was that before he had time to think carefully about what was going on, the two masters spoke again.

Master He said, "We really didn't mean to raise the wages. It's just that the prices have increased recently. Who could have expected this? Thank you for your understanding. We are at our wits' end. Otherwise, we can reduce the wages further. Five yuan a day can be reduced to three yuan. My apprentices should have no objection. Thanks to you, this is something that will bring honor to them. Maybe it will never happen again in the future. By doing this, they can be justified for the hardships they suffered in the past. Otherwise, it would be really unfair."

Master Zheng said, "Yes, if you think you're losing money by spending this money, you have to think like this. These things will probably only appear once in the world. You are unique. Take this wooden hall for example. If I were gone, no one would know how to make this Zheng family craft. Who doesn't want to have an unforgettable wedding? I heard that you are the general manager of the Tan Palace Restaurant, right? A big boss like you who has gone abroad has done business abroad. You must be different from poor guys like us. You have to be unique in the world to be worthy of your status. Who are you..."

The compliments from the two masters were blunt, but their attitudes were respectful and sincere.

When they said these words, their eyes looked at Ning Weimin kindly and honestly, without arrogance, only uneasiness.

It is completely obvious that they really want to do this job, even if it means putting themselves in a difficult position. They are full of love and yearning for this craft.

Ning Weimin particularly likes these old craftsmen. He likes their persistence, their perseverance, their talents, and even more their simplicity.

Even though they were not in the same business, he could often find similarities between these people and the late Master Chang Yuling, and he couldn't help but feel a liking for them.

All in all, facing these two old men who took the initiative to show kindness to him and almost begged him, he was too embarrassed to refuse them in person and couldn't bear to disappoint them.

So, a simple word "no" got stuck in his throat.

He was stunned for a moment, then looked at Kang Shude. He really couldn't figure out the situation, so he could only make excuses.

"Okay, okay. Masters, I'll taste it carefully and think about it. Please give me some time."