National Tide 1980

On the sandy land, a white horse ran, and ran to the father-in-law's house.

The elder brother-in-law let her in, and the younger brother-in-law pulled her in, and saw her through the bamboo curtain.

A silver plate with a big face and black hair, a moon-white satin cotton jacket with silver lumps.

This is the old Beijing folk song "Seeing Her Through the Bamboo Curtain".

Like "ceiling, fish tank, pomegranate tree", this folk song also involves an indispensable summer escape item in Beijing - bamboo curtain.

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

Hanging a bamboo curtain at the door of the house in summer is both ventilated and heat-dissipating and mosquito-proof, which is economical and practical.

But it must be said that this bamboo curtain is no longer a must-have summer item for every household.

For no other reason, because there are cheaper plastic hanging curtains on the market now.

The neighbors in No. 2 Shaner Hutong didn't even spend the money.

Each household made their own curtains with calendar paper, which was an anti-consumerism practice.

The style of hardship and self-reliance was carried to the extreme.

So now even the bamboo curtains seem luxurious, not to mention the bamboo curtains used in Ma's Garden, which are quite exquisite and a bit unusual.

You know, the bamboo curtains on the doors of houses are 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 in Ma's Garden. All buildings, except for the main house, use a lot of large-sized hall curtains, and the rest are made according to the size of the door.

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

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

Finally, even the three pieces of wood "heaven, earth, and man" to prevent deformation are unusual.

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

With such a yard, such curtains, and a ceiling made of reed mats above the yard, no one dared to say that it was where ordinary people lived.

Especially this ceiling looked simple, but it was not.

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

Put it down when the sun is shining, and pull it up when there is no sun. It is very convenient.

It is refreshing every day, can keep out the rain, and does not delay ventilation. It is definitely a good thing that ordinary people can hardly imagine.

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

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

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

The sunlight cast a blurry light spot on the ground through the reed mat and the whole courtyard exuded a rich grass and woods, which added a touch of romantic atmosphere.

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

This is the beauty of the northern courtyard unique to the capital, and the joy of a small space.

Compared with the southern courtyards that pay attention to changes and exquisiteness, it has another kind of grand and open taste.

To put it simply, how can it be rich?

Although the house is not red wall and green tile, but just ordinary plain oil and black paint, the difference in grade is naturally revealed.

In this way, it is worthy of the true appearance of the mansion of the richest man in the capital at that time.

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

This scene was more like returning to the scenes in those ancient paintings, like a chance encounter in an opera story.

"Ah, Weimin, Miss Matsumoto, you are finally back. Well... well, you have worked hard all the way, come in and rest. The old man is entertaining guests in the east, you go in first, go to the north. Wait for me to bring the tea over and let the old man know, I will come over to get you water to wash your face."

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

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

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

Tell Ning Weimin that the old man has invited him and asked him to meet the guests immediately.

Well, Ning Weimin didn't think about resting, so he had to let Liu Weijing accompany Matsumoto Keiko to sit for a while, and he tidied up his appearance and hurried to the east room.

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

As for the tea sets, miscellaneous food and fruits on the coffee table at the end of the sofa, no one touched them.

At a glance, it was clear that the old man was talking about serious matters with these people. This was an important gathering with special significance.

Especially seeing that the two strangers seemed to be quite restrained, when they saw him come in, the expressions on their faces seemed to be unable to find a suitable place for a while, and it was known that they were all honest people who were not good at dealing with people.

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

As expected, when he entered the house, he greeted them face to face and called them "Master".

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

One of the old men was named He. According to Kang Shude, he was a disciple of Chen Ji Liuhe Shed Shop on the west side of Liubukou Road.

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

This was because the owner of this shed shop was Chen Yushan, a bannerman of the Imperial Household Department of the Qing Palace. He had accepted five big deals for the royal family and made a fortune from this.

And the master of this master He was the shed craftsman who personally participated in the two "Longevity Celebrations" of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Even the "wedding shed" for Emperor Guangxu's wedding, the spirit shed and sacrificial shed for the "Feng'an Ceremony" of the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu, and the wedding shed for Emperor Xuantong's wedding.

Master He's master also participated in all of them.

As for the other old man, his surname is Zheng. He is the descendant of the Zheng family's tent shop in Maoer Hutong, Di'anmenwai Street.

Although this tent shop is a little small and has not taken on any royal projects, it has a unique ancestral craftsmanship and can build a "wooden palace".

To put it bluntly, it can use special wooden components to temporarily build a "grand hall" with a ridge, with five ridges and six beasts on it, just like a real palace.

In those days, not only the weddings and funerals of the royal mansions in the north city area almost all used their wooden palaces or mat tents.

Even the "lotus market" opened in the front sea of ​​Shichahai in midsummer, and most of the mat tents and teahouses along the river were undertaken by his family.

So, these two are real experts from famous families.

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

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

So the wedding tent planned by them would definitely be the highest level in Beijing if it was really built.

Otherwise, with the layout of the courtyard within the courtyard and the complex terrain of the Ma Family Garden, ordinary tent builders might not be able to handle it.

Maybe they don’t even know how to do it and what style of tent 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 still needs to be purchased and customized, and the time may also need to be considered.

It is expected that on top of the originally agreed fee of 150,000, another 30,000 yuan will be paid, a total of 180,000 yuan.

So Kang Shude was a little hesitant, and Ning Weimin happened to come back today at the right time.

Since he was arranging the wedding for him, Kang Shude simply called him over and asked him to take a look and give his opinion.

In this way, Ning Weimin, a little confused, walked to the drawing table to look at the drawings according to Kang Shude’s instructions.

To be honest, this matter is quite clear, but Ning Weimin still doesn't understand it.

It's not for anything else, but because the drawing is too scary.

He didn't know until he saw it, and he was really shocked.

The frame building he saw just now was enough to surprise him.

And after looking at the drawing, he realized that the building was actually a three-story pavilion.

And the whole shed will eventually be evenly built on the roofs around the courtyard, which is equivalent to connecting a layer of pavilion to the original building.

That's not all, the most amazing thing is that the connected part is not independent, but a ring building with a corridor in front and connected on all sides.

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

According to this design plan, it is basically a garden in the garden and a landscape in the landscape.

It is to use the shed and color on the original basis of the Ma Family Garden to create a temporary paradise on earth.

In terms of the large amount of work, it is almost necessary to lay out and decorate all the main buildings in the Ma Family Garden, including the theater.

Ning Weimin, who is not unfamiliar with history, said that his feeling at this time was that he suddenly thought of the extravagance of the Empress Dowager Cixi for her 60th birthday, the Beiyang Fleet, and the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

Wow, this design even has the scenery of Yaotai Tianchi!

This is really like the Empress Dowager Cixi's way of ruining the country and the people, throwing money here!

Is this my wedding?

Do I have the blessing to suppress it?

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

What will the guests he invited say?

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

In his opinion, the things in this picture should only exist in heaven and exist in history. Spending 180,000 is definitely not much, and it has to be said that 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, raise his head.

"Master, this...this, this, isn't this a bit too much noise? Do you really want to make such a big scene? I, your disciple, am very nervous and can't afford it!"

"Don't think so much, just say whether you are satisfied or not? Just point out the problems of these wedding tents, what is good? What is bad?"

This sentence immediately made Ning Weimin fall into greater confusion.

It pushed him into a fog and he couldn't recover for a long time.

If nothing else, he didn't believe that Master couldn't understand what he meant, and he himself didn't understand what Master meant.

What's going on? Could it be that when Master asked him to express his position, didn't he want to use him as a shield and make him look like a fool and refuse?

Is it possible that the old man really wants him to spend this money to be a standout?

This shouldn't be the case!

What was even more unexpected was that before he could seriously think about what was going on here, the two old masters spoke again.

Master He said, "It's not that we sincerely want to increase the money. The prices of things have increased recently. Who would have expected this? Please bear with me, we have nothing to do. Otherwise, we can reduce the wages further." , five yuan can be changed to three yuan a day. Thanks to you, this is a matter of showing off, and maybe they will not be able to do it again. Those are suffering, otherwise it would be really unfair.”

Master Zheng said, "Yes, if you think it's a loss to spend this money, you have to think so. I'm afraid these things will only come back to this world. You are the only one. Let's talk about this wooden hall. , if I am gone, no one will be able to master this Zheng family's craft. Who doesn't want to have an unforgettable wedding? I heard that you are the general manager of Tan Gong Restaurant, right? You have done all your business abroad. You are definitely different from poor people like us. You have to be unique in order to be worthy of your status..."

The compliments of the two masters were blunt, but their attitude was very respectful and sincere.

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

It can be clearly seen that they really want to do this work, even if they feel wronged, they are full of love and yearning for this craft.

Ning Weimin especially likes these old craftsmen, likes their persistence, likes their persistence, likes their talents, and even likes their simplicity.

Even if they are not in the same profession, he can often find similarities with the late Master Chang Yuling in these people, and he can't help but feel good about them.

All in all, facing these two old men who took the initiative to show kindness to him and were almost begging, he was really embarrassed to refuse in person and couldn't bear to let them down.

So, an apparently simple word "no" stuck in his throat.

He was stunned for a moment, then looked at Kang Shude. He really couldn't understand the situation, so he could only explain it with lively words.

"It's easy to say, easy to say. You two masters, then I will taste it carefully and think about it carefully. You two, please allow me to work hard."