National Tide 1980.

Chapter 628 surfaced
After so many years, the Majia Garden is like a piece of incomplete and dusty pearl, which has been submerged in the streets and alleys and is little known.

But even the main entrance to the serious garden was blocked with bricks.

The garden inside has been damaged to a considerable extent, and the scenery has become very bad.

Only about [-]% of the rocks remained, the pool was filled, the sculptures were lost, and nearly half of the plants were lost.

Most of the existing buildings have peeling paint, broken doors and windows, and even a lot of privately built and randomly built small houses have appeared in the garden.

At a glance, there are too many miscellaneous things.

But in general, since most of the houses are still there, the overall structure of the whole garden and the mountain veins are still basically intact.

Kang Shude can still touch the scene here, and clearly revive the past through memories.

So from the moment he entered this garden, he couldn't help telling Ning Weimin what happened back then.

But it has to be said that it is completely different from the pure purpose of showing off when Ning Weimin took him to see No. [-] Courtyard of Dongsi Sitiao this morning.

The old man just regarded Ning Weimin as his nearest and dearest person, and wanted to express the past that had been dull in his heart for so many years.

"Oh, it's a pity that the original car room is gone. Today, there are several rooms at the entrance, which are dedicated to parking cars. Back then, before the July [-]th Incident, there were only a hundred private cars in the whole capital. The Ma family bought seven cars. Think about how rich the richest man in Beijing is. There are four cars parked here all year round. They are all good cars. The cheapest one is a Ford, which cost two thousand and seven What about Bai Dayang..."

"Ah, by the way, there was a Japanese Nissan in this garage back then. We called it a 'potato car'. It belonged to Mr. Jiang Qimingjiang, a tenant of Ma's house. Like Mr. Song, Mr. Jiang's family also rented in Ma's house. The garden. The yard where they live is next to Mr. Song's..."

"Did you see the three rooms in this row here? They are all concierges. This concierge faces north. Hey, the people living there are pretty good. Whoever divides this house is suitable. Even the glass windows must have been installed later, which is too much." Ugly. In the past, there were window lattices with auspicious patterns and Korean paper pasted..."

As he spoke, Kang Shude couldn't help but walk over, and opened the door to have a look.

But how many springs, summers, autumns and winters have passed, and the inside has naturally changed, and the shadow before the founding of the People's Republic of China has long since disappeared.

The walls were plastered with white, and some places on the ceiling and walls were pasted with old newspapers.

It can even be seen that when the residents moved out, the traces of photos, calendars, or awards on the walls were left by the previous residents.

Kang Shude shook his head, closed the door and exited in a dull manner, and continued to walk east.

Ning Weimin continued to follow suit.

"...The gate is to the east of the concierge. Look, right there, the sealed gate of Ma's Garden, used to be open from six o'clock in the morning to ten o'clock in the evening. People come and go , in an endless stream. So there are many concierges in the Ma family, at least ten of them see Tianshou here, headed by the old family members of Xiao Wu, Li Qing, and Yang Deming, and they rotate the foremen..."

"Hey, in fact, Xiao Wuye was the best to me. His son Xiao Zhong is about the same age as me, and we are friends. Later, with the help of the Ma family, Xiao Zhong became a police inspector, older than the inspector. He was in charge of these alleys. It was a pity that he was short-lived. In 1943, the Japanese conducted bacterial experiments in the Kagura Department of the Temple of Heaven. He was unlucky, and passed on "Tigeria" (cholera), and was taken away by the Japanese. He never came back. Otherwise, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he would almost be the deputy director of the police station..."

"Li Qing's son is called Li Li. That kid is good at acting. He is another friend of mine. But his voice is not good enough, so he can only learn from Li Zi's old-fashioned plays. Later, he gave up and learned to drive a car. He became the son of the grandson of the Ma family. Special driver. I learned how to play the huqin from Mr. Song. When he was studying opera, he often took him into the garden to play with him. But this kid is very bad. When I first came, he liked to tease me. They always scold me by counting. 'I am the first, you are the second...'" and count until 'I am the seventh, you are the eighth...'.I didn't know the difference between odd numbers and even numbers at the time, and I fell for his tricks every time..."

"A few rooms to the east of the gate are accountants. At that time, there was a accountant in the Ma family named Xia Jinyuan. He used to work in the engraving shop. He was good at writing official script and engraving seals. Because he loved to play with crickets, and I was good at catching songbirds. , We have become friends. I often catch crickets for him, and he teaches me to practice big characters in his spare time. By the way, his ability to carve seals has also taught me seventy-eight out of ten..."

"Look over there, it's the east end of the garden, and further south is the big kitchen of Ma's garden. In the past, there were several tables and benches in the courtyard of the big kitchen, which was the dining place for the servants in the garden. .Mr. Song and I sometimes come back late from errands. If we don’t eat out and don’t bother to go home and start the firework, we will go to the big kitchen for convenience and pay a couple of dollars for a meal.”

"I still remember that the master of the big kitchen was surnamed Chang, and he used to work in Dongxing Building. Because he was lame and couldn't handle the stove every day, he turned to Ma's house to make it easier. There was a handyman, Xiao Zheng, who was older than me. Three years older, but came two years later than me. When he first came, he cut the cooked meat and the oily soup leaked out. Everyone said that he had no talent for cooking. Who knew that he was not convinced, and he secretly practiced hard, and he was stunned Jin’er was taken in by Master Zaotou Chang and took his apprentice. Decades later, the business was passed down from father to son. By the time I bought Ma’s Garden, it was already known as “Zheng’s Kitchen”. Went to the cafeteria of the big unit..."

"Hey, look, there was a Chinese toon tree with wisteria wrapped around it. Unfortunately, there is only this bare flower wall left now. Ugly, ugly. Fortunately, the stone path and rockery at the foot are still there. Don't underestimate these decorative things. Let me tell you, this kind of narrow road with stones on both sides and square bricks in the middle is exactly the same as the Summer Palace. Private gardens in the capital are only found here. The construction here The key point of the scene is the rocks, most of which are good lake stones and bluestones transported from the abandoned Old Summer Palace, especially the lake stones. There are several excellent products in this garden with inscriptions written by Emperor Qianlong, and I don’t know if they are still there today. ..."

Kang Shude pointed to what he saw along the way while walking, and narrated the past to Ning Weimin.

In this kind of immersive situation, the old man's life experience stood out in front of Ning Weimin's eyes as if surfacing from the water.

Listening and watching, Ning Weimin was not only deeply attracted, but also suddenly discovered.

The Ma family who built this big garden back then was not at all like the richest man in the capital he imagined.

For example, the door is closed all day long, and it is very boring to hide at home by myself.

Marry a concubine if you have nothing to do, and buy a big maid who is not expensive.

Organize private armed forces, be rich and benevolent, and treat subordinates harshly.

On the contrary, the people who live here seem to be able to live like a fish in water and enjoy themselves, regardless of their status.

This creates a considerable contrast between historical reality and his imagination.

He couldn't figure this out, so he couldn't help asking.

"Old man, why did the Ma family rent their house to others back then? Isn't their family the richest man in the capital? It's definitely not because of the lack of money? Don't you think it's a good garden for outsiders to live in?" Is it a loss?"

In the end, I didn't expect Kang Shude's answer to be so logical.

"Of course it's not because of lack of money. One is because of the atmosphere at that time. People in those days were very mobile. Even people who lost their status couldn't buy a house in just one place, especially those who were officials, and they could be transferred at any time. .So renting a house is the norm.”

"Secondly, the Ma family is a businessman. What is needed is connections, but what is lacking is real power. Especially the businessmen whose foundation is in the capital. Since they cannot develop elsewhere, the most important thing is to be friendly. So this is the shrewdness of the Ma family. place, he rented out the extra houses to powerful people, or people who could hook up with powerful people."

"This is exactly the answer to that sentence. Iron-clad camps and flowing soldiers. Making friends with dignitaries is the only way for the Ma family to ensure the prosperity of the family. Whoever is in power must have some friendship with others. Otherwise, they will rely on How to become the richest man in the capital? Renting a house is of course a very clever way. The relationship between the landlord and the tenant is also very delicate."

"If you think about it, it's not for the purpose of making profit, and you treat each other as distinguished guests on weekdays, and you can naturally accumulate some incense and fate. If you can get along with each other on a daily basis, and live and play together, it will be even more important to the Ma family. It is of great benefit."

"Don't forget, although Mr. Song is only the owner of an antique shop, he also went to university in Japan. Not only did he have Japanese classmates, but he also married a Japanese wife. He married not just an ordinary person, but a Japanese lady. , after a famous family."

"That Mr. Jiang is also an engineer who returned from overseas, engaged in Western architecture. Not only can he and the Ma family help each other in business, but it is also very helpful to the improvement of the Ma family's gardening level. Moreover, before the fall of Peiping, Mr. He is a professor at Yenching University and an advisor to the Construction Committee of the National Government, and he is someone who can call the mayor of the capital city of the National Government a brother."

"In the past, Dai Li even lived in the garden here. In 1945, Dai Li came to Beijing for business after the liberation of Peking. He lived in the southernmost part of the garden, where Ma Huitang used to live in the South Study Room. Until later, the Ma family helped Dai Li I bought a courtyard house in Shijin Garden not far from the South Study Room, and then renovated it. Dai Li moved out. Otherwise, how could the Ma family have not been harassed and liquidated because they married the daughter of the false mayor of Peking? "

"In fact, even the theater building of the Ma family is often rented out for the big figures in power to hold church meetings and celebrations. There are many good friends. Under the appearance of modesty and hospitality, the Ma family hides the unique characteristics of businessmen. shrewd and practical."

Hearing this, Ning Weimin's doubts had all been eliminated, and he couldn't help nodding frequently.

(End of this chapter)