National Tide 1980.

Chapter 478
Palace lanterns are the most famous among the lanterns in the capital.

Palace lanterns are unique products of palace decoration.

The production of palace lanterns in the Qing Dynasty was under the unified management of the Manufacturing Office of the Imperial Palace Household Office, and craftsmen were called into the imperial city when necessary.

Even today, the Palace of Mental Cultivation, Kunning Palace, Changchun Palace and Summer Palace in the Forbidden City are all hung with products from that time.

Just like the palace lanterns in Tingli Pavilion and Beihai Fangshan, most of them are old things.

What about the missing parts?What about the maintenance of these palace lanterns?
It doesn't matter, there are manufacturers of autocratic palace lanterns in Beijing.

Although the factory once disappeared in history, it was changed to produce electronic components in 1969 and changed its name to Jingcheng Component No. [-] Factory.

However, in 1972, the production of palace lanterns and other handicrafts resumed in response to the country's demand for exchange of export products.

The factory was renamed again as Jingcheng Art Red Lantern Factory.

It's just one thing to say one thing, and another thing to say two things.

Although this art red light factory has been able to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars every year since the 50s.

At the same time, it also shoulders the business of maintaining the existing palace lanterns in the imperial gardens of the capital, and even the business of making red gauze lanterns for Tiananmen Square.

But the most glorious time of this factory was only in 1957. It had 380 employees and 14 yuan of its own funds.

Now, because the demand for domestic business is too small, and the foreign trade port is too tight, it is not welcomed by the Bureau of Light Industry at all.

In addition, there are fewer and fewer old artists, and after retirement, it is impossible to recruit people.

The scale of the factory has been reduced to less than 60 people, which is almost the same as a workshop.

It is said that Wang Xiaoer's New Year is not as good as every year, and I am afraid that there is suspicion of beautification.

But in turn, the burden is quite a lot.

Hu Kuanfu, the secretary, and Xu Pingzhi, the factory manager, now have to play hide-and-seek with the old workers who ask them for reimbursement of medical expenses.

I have to worry about various expenses in the factory and deal with the abacus repeatedly.

Even they themselves can set an example of thrift, what a mess!

Let alone eating and drinking with public funds.

The only tea they can dip in the factory, the standard has been reduced to two yuan and one catty of flower triangles.

(Note: The flower triangle is the tea sifted out in the rolling sequence, and the quality is poor)

This is also thanks to the oversupply of tea this year and the price cut.

Otherwise, you can't afford scented tea, and you can only change to southern tea that no one likes to drink.

No way, no matter how you say it, you are still a leader, and you have status here.

After all, you can't drink the broken and unwatchable "Gaomo", it makes people laugh, isn't it?

Especially on Monday, June 6th.

Regardless of the secretary or the factory manager, they were told bad news as soon as they entered the factory.

They ran into the warehouse together and worried about the roof.

Ganqing rained last night, not only the roof leaked, but half of the gable wall collapsed.

Of course it has to be fixed, right?But where does the money come from?
The salary has just been paid, and the factory's finances are at its most stressful time, and it is difficult to get enough money to buy bricks and tiles.

If you don't fix it, other things in this room are easy to talk about, the key is what to do with the "Hundred Flowers Stamping Lantern" made last year?

That big two-meter-tall guy is the apprentice of the famous modern palace lantern maker "Qiu Deng Han". When the two skilled old workers were about to retire, it was the last work left to the factory.

The lamp head is a large flower basket carved from mahogany, and the whole flower basket is carved with blooming magnolias, chrysanthemums, plum blossoms, begonias and other flowers.The lamp is inlaid with a painted glass screen, and six small magnolia lamps are installed on the flower basket.

Part of the lamp post is embossed with traditional patterns, and the lower end is carved with four lions playing hydrangea, and the sharp claws of the lions form the base of the lamp.

It is so delicate and exquisite, just to catch up with some major events in the future, so as to save some face for the factory.

They can't live up to this intention.

If there is going to be another storm, what if the wind blows and the rain soaks it?
What's more, if it is not repaired, there is also the risk of the entire wall and half-drawn roof collapsing, which is related to production safety.

Needless to say, maybe it's a good day today, and it's really a good luck.

Just when the secretary and the factory manager frowned and sighed in the face-to-face competition, they actually changed their luck.

It's almost like someone will send you a pillow when you want to sleep, and Qian Qian will come to them by himself.

Section Chief Zhang of the business department took two guests to the door of the warehouse and shouted inside.

"Secretary Hu, Director Xu, someone is looking for..."

"Oh, here we come." Factory manager Xu Pingzhi responded and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, those two outsiders had already walked in by themselves, and Section Chief Zhang could only follow up.

"You are?"

Xu Pingzhi looked suspiciously at the two young men whom he had never seen before. Both of them wore shirts with half sleeves, trousers and leather shoes, bowls and watches in their hands, and leather briefcases.

At first glance, he is the kind of person who lives a nourishing life and is very decent.

Unexpectedly, they were all very polite, and one said, "You are the director of the factory, right? My name is Qiao Wanlin, and I am from the General Management Section of the District Service Bureau. We need a lot of palace lanterns to run a palace-style restaurant in our district. Ask our factory to help."

The other handed over the cigarette directly.

And obviously knowing that it is an important warehouse, there is only the action of taking out cigarettes and handing them to show respect.

He himself did not smoke, nor did he get angry.

"I am the manager of the Palace Restaurant under preparation, Ning Weimin. You can call me Xiao Ning. We have come here to cause you trouble. But after all, this is our own business in our district. We still need the full help of our factory what……"

It's fine to speak nicely, the key is the amazing ostentation.

Xu Pingzhi was startled when he found out that the cigarette he handed over was Da Zhonghua.

This thing, one can hold a pack of ordinary Class C cigarettes.

He immediately knew that the other party had a lot of background, so he hurried to pull Hu Kuanfu.

"Old Hu, these two are comrades from the district, you come to see me too..."

But Hu Kuanfu is still a little unhappy because of troubles.

Besides, Qiao Wanlin didn't reveal that he was the section chief.

So the big secretary was not in the mood at all, he just looked at the ruins and didn't even look back.

"Don't you just want palace lanterns. First ask them if there is a formality? If there is no formality, we can't control it. Let them go to Wangfujing and order from the Art and Crafts Service Department."

Unexpectedly, a sentence came from behind.

"You are Secretary Hu? Don't worry, we have special approval procedures in the district, and we can directly contact the manufacturer. The invoice at the commercial port is also easy to talk about. Let's discuss the price, and I will just say hello to the district commercial bureau when the time comes. We Give you the money, they just add a number, they will cooperate with us to complete the procedures at both ends..."

Whoa!This is awesome!
Special approval from the district?Can the Bureau of Commerce give orders?

And the money is here...

Wouldn't this solve the thorny problem at hand?
Hu Kuanfu quickly turned his head, his face was gentle, and his enthusiasm soared.

Of course, Xu Pingzhi was no slower than him in reacting.

The factory director also realized the key problem, and couldn't wait to inquire about the details first.

"Oh, that's great. Then how many palace lanterns do you want? What size and style?"

Qiao Wanlin hesitated and said, "The quantity is probably at least a hundred. The size and style... What we can confirm at present is that the color should not be red, but bright yellow. Others, I really don't have a clear idea."

After looking around, "Do we have many styles here? I have seen the kind of hexagonal palace lanterns, the kind hung in Beihai Fangshan and Tingliguan. Are there any better ones in our factory?"

Hearing this job, the quantity is not bad, at least eight thousand.

It is estimated that even if the gable is repaired, the rest is enough to cover the whole factory's salary for two months.

Xu Pingzhi was full of energy, and immediately threw out knowledge like a cross talk.

"Oh, then you are asking. We have too many types of lamps here. Light shapes include circle, ellipse, square, hexagon, rhombus, fan, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, Square shape, flower basket shape, fish shape, bottle shape, gourd shape, petal shape, silver ingot shape, collar shape, pavilion shape, etc.”

"See if there are any lights in this room. Basically, they are mainly square lights. Just to put this big guy, so the style in this library is relatively simple. They are all easy to stack against the wall. There are also some old people's lamps. Old things. In fact, there are more complicated styles than in this room, and they are all in other warehouses."

"Of course, what you said is correct. Orthodox palace lanterns are mostly octagonal, hexagonal or quadrangular. But judging from the content of the lantern paintings, they are quite different. There are blessing lanterns, longevity lanterns, double happiness lanterns, Daji lanterns, Changfang Sheng Lantern, Pisces Lantern, Songhe Lantern, Baizi Lantern, Wannian Changqing Lantern, Wanshou Wujiang Lantern, Orb Lantern, Tianxia Taiping Lantern, Universal Celebration Lantern, Jinyu Mantang Lantern, Eight Treasures Lantern, and "Auspicious Ruyi", "Dragon and Phoenix Present "Xiang" and other theme lamps such as auspiciousness, longevity and prolongation..."

Well, just this big set, come out loudly.

Qiao Wanlin and Ning Weimin were almost dumbfounded, and they were no less shocked than Secretary Hu who had just taken over the Great China from Ning Weimin.

For this reason, Hu Kuanfu took a satisfied look at his old partner who had made him look good, and then coughed.

"This is so inconvenient. Old Xu, I think we should take these two to see the products of our factory, and talk while watching. Well, should we go to the office to see the photos? Or should we go to the warehouse next door and go one by one first. Go around?"

It should be said that Hu Kuanfu quickly recovered the secretary's composure, and this idea was well thought out.

But no one expected that just when everyone was about to move, Ning Weimin urgently called a stop and raised an objection.

"Don't worry, I haven't seen the things in this room yet. The old things are so good, I like old things..."

As he spoke, he walked to the corner of the room and picked up a copper four-cornered palace lantern from the shelf, and there was another one on the same shelf.

But no matter which one is covered with a thick layer of dust, the colorful lacquer paintings of the lanterns are already old and out of shape, and the canopy and base of the palace lanterns are gone.

But what is rare is that the copper work on the main body of the palace lantern is exquisite, and it looks like an old thing from a long time ago.

Ning Weimin asked while blowing ashes, "Is this lamp not bad? Why do you leave it here to eat dirt?"

"Hey, don't look at you as a layman, you have really good eyesight. These pair of lamps are the two oldest ones here. There are actually four of them. They were made by Mi Wanzhong, a famous lamp maker in the capital during the Yongzheng period, for a palace. Yes. There are no copper jobs. It is difficult for people nowadays to catch up. It has always been our four-cornered palace lantern. It is a pity that it was not a "movement" later. Two of the four lanterns were smashed, and they were all gone. Selling scrap iron. These two were recovered by one of our old workers from the scrap yard with great difficulty. Unfortunately, the cover and bottom are gone. Fix it, it’s a waste of money, and it’s a pity not to fix it. Hey, anyway It's almost like trash, no, throw it here..."

Xu Pingzhi said with a little frustration, but he didn't expect Ning Weimin to ask him another question.

"Then this lamp, if it's useless for you to keep it, let's discuss it. After repairing it, sell it to me, okay?"

"Sell you? I'm really not bragging to scare you, just these two lamps are expensive!"

Xu Pingzhi was amused, and seemed to think that Ning Weimin was whimsical.

"Palace lanterns generally use carved bamboo, carved wood as the skeleton, or carved lacquer as the frame, and then inlaid with silk, glass or horn pieces. On the top are painted landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, insects and fish, Bo Guwen, drama stories, etc. Some put canopies on the top of the lampshade. Various styles of pendants and tassel pendants are hung under the lamp. What makes this lamp unique is that it is a beautifully carved copper lamp body. It also hangs auspicious miscellaneous treasures around the lampshade. They are not ordinary things. They cannot be fooled simply with tassels. The top of the canopy is inlaid with exquisitely carved emerald jade or white jade. So these two lamps are really repaired, but it took a lot of effort. The price is probably not high. Thousands of dollars. What do you want this for? Let's stop kidding..."

Who knows that Ning Weimin is still called up. "How many thousand? Tell me..."

Xu Pingzhi became a little angry when he saw the young man being so arrogant, so he simply called out a big number.

"Five thousand!"

Unexpectedly, Ning Weimin didn't beat him when he stuttered, and he didn't retreat in spite of the difficulties. Instead, he returned an army.

"No problem! But does what you say alone count? What about Secretary Hu? Do both of you agree to this price?"

Where is this asking for opinions?
Secretary Hu shook his head to save Xu Pingzhi's face, which is obviously a disguised form of coercion.

However, Secretary Hu's age is an issue after all. He has been the top leader for many years, but it is not so easy to give in.

Haha laughed, neither agreed nor disagreed, went around in circles, and retaliated against him in his own way.

"Young man, you are so proud. You want to ask my opinion? Then how about I recommend two better palace lanterns to you? If you can buy these two lanterns, then I really have to On behalf of our factory, thank you for helping us save a major property loss."

As he said that, he went to the shelf and rummaged through it. Finally, with the help of Section Chief Zhang of the business department, he dug out two old lamps from the innermost debris pile.

Not to mention, these two lamps are indeed more gorgeous, because they are enamel and filigree things.

The colors are gorgeous, the light and color are delicate and soft, and the shape of the utensils is generally complete.

The most special thing is the shape, which looks like a pavilion.

And it's not a chandelier, it has a base and can be placed on the countertop and lamp post.

But where the devastation is particularly serious is that the two lamps have no colored paintings.

Moreover, the enamel filigree lamp body is full of potholes.

The things that were obviously inlaid in the past were rudely reprimanded.

Then Xu Pingzhi laughed again when he saw the two lights, obviously admiring Secretary Hu's methods, and told Ning Weimin with confidence.

"See, we still have good things in our factory. This is a palace lamp with a copper body, filigree painting and enamel glass pavilion. It used to be the treasure of our town factory. During the Qianlong period, Xu Baizhai's craftsmanship was a bannerman and aristocrat, and he was also a lamp made by the House of Internal Affairs. Master. This is definitely a thing in the palace. You can’t make such an expensive thing if you change someone. It’s a pity that the lamp painting is all over. The original painting is "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", which is very wonderful. Look again On it, all kinds of gemstones that were originally inlaid, such as cat's eye, tourmaline, emerald, sapphire, ruby, citrine... have been dug up. It was destroyed in a special age. We need to repair it, then I have to go to a jewelry factory to buy gems of various colors. Do you still want this? You are not wronged. If you want to buy it, you will be sold for at least [-] yuan. There is only one pair in the world..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Qiao Wanlin next to him, and with a snap, he covered his face with the palm of his hand.

Both Hu Kuanfu and Xu Pingzhi thought that they had frightened him, and immediately felt complacent.

But where is it?Qiao Wanlin has recently felt the pulse of Ning Weimin.As soon as he heard "Treasure of the Town and Factory" and "Only this pair", he knew that Ning Weimin was probably going to "make a mistake".

Sure enough, following him, Ning Weimin also slapped his hands, but his mouth was full of joy and excitement.

"That's it! I want it!"

ah?Fifty thousand!This... this is it?so easy?

Hu Kuanfu hurriedly asked, "Young man, did you hear me right? We were talking about 5 yuan, not [-]..."

Who knows that Ning Weimin laughed loudly, "Understood, the four lamps add up to [-], right? You two are sincere, then I am happy, and we will not bargain. Should I pay in cash or check? Hey, but we I have something to say first, don't worry, please fix it for me!"

"Ah! You really want it!" Xu Pingzhi couldn't remain indifferent.

"Is there still a fake? Why, Director Xu is reluctant?"

"That's not true..." Xu Pingzhi murmured, "I just don't believe that someone really wants such an expensive thing. These are just a few lamps, and they are broken. Back then, we asked for less than half of the price, so we put away The Oriole Hall was scared away, and even the Forbidden City was not willing to accept it. You...won't you go back on your word?"

The final winner is destined to be Ning Weimin, he laughed.

"Don't worry, you will never go back on your word. By the way, I still want to ask, is the big guy in our room also a lamp? If yes, how much do you want to sell it for?"

Pingzhi and Hu Kuanfu were not allowed to say anything more, Qiao Wanlin really couldn't bear it, and he shook his head helplessly.

"Wei Min, Wei Min, I beg you. Don't be so old, can you! It's really not worth taking your company's money! Let's talk about business first, and implement the one hundred palace lanterns first, okay?"

(End of this chapter)