National Tide 1980

If the unexpected harvest during the banquet made Ning Weimin feel elated and overjoyed.

Then after the banquet, he received an extra bonus that he didn't expect, which touched his soul and made him feel sad.

It was a precious gift that he had never cared about. It was given to him by Master Chang Yuling, a descendant of Putao Chang.

This old lady, who is over seventy years old, is really calm.

From today, she came in a car and saw Ning Weimin, who personally greeted the guests, and exchanged polite greetings.

Then when the awards ceremony began, Ning Weimin invited all the old craftsmen to the stage, introduced them to the guests one by one, and asked them to accept everyone's applause.

When the banquet began, Ning Weimin came over to toast the old craftsmen and gave each of them a handsome bonus.

She had always remained calm.

Finally, when the banquet was completely over, most of the guests had left, and the old craftsmen were also put into the car one by one by Ning Weimin.

As the last person to leave her table, she had to get into the last stall of the car as long as she took one step out of the courtyard in front of the Sacrifice Pavilion.

The old man suddenly stopped and pulled Ning Weimin to a remote place.

Then he took out an object wrapped in brown paper from his bag and handed it to Ning Weimin.

A conversation began that only the two of them knew about.

At that time, I didn't know whether it was cold or excitement, but the old man's hands were shaking a little.

Ning Weimin didn't think much about it, knowing that Chang Yuling must have something to say, so he took the things over first.

When he opened it, he found a small box inside, which should be made of camphor wood and embedded with mother-of-pearl.

It’s just that over the years and poor storage, a lot of the mother-of-pearl has fallen off.

Moreover, the wooden box was also cracked and was already half-ruined.

"Master Chang, what are you..."

"You open it..."

Ning Weimin took action again.

The objects inside turned out to be some yellowing pages and notes written in small regular script.

There is also a round jade ring, glass type, imperial green...

"This is a gift from the Queen Mother."

Ning Weimin didn't allow Ning Weimin to take a closer look. He was immediately surprised by what the old lady pointed at her finger.

"Is this an item passed down from your ancestors? Or is it a gift from the emperor?"

Ning Weimin then cast his eyes eagerly on the jade ring.

Although experts who like antiques all know that there is a taboo in this industry. Never believe the stories and only recognize the things.

But Chang Yuling's personality and the green color of the finger made Ning Weimin believe that this was true almost immediately.

"Hey, this thing has been in our family for over a hundred years. It was passed down from my ancestors. Didn't our family's grapes become famous because they were given to the Queen Mother of the West for her birthday? The old Queen Mother also gave them to her back then. A plaque saying 'Heaven's Righteousness Is Always' was given to our family, and my great-grandmother was given the orally-written saying 'Wealth and honor are always here', and she was even given a ring like this."

"Oh..." Ning Weimin was confused by what he heard, and when he looked at the finger ring carefully, he couldn't help but admit that psychological reasons were important.

Anyway, after learning about this legend, he felt more and more that this thumb ring was noble and green.

But that's not all there is to the legend about this thumb ring.

"Because we won a prize from the Empress Dowager, our grapes got the title of Royal Grant, and they became famous all of a sudden. Many people came to buy them, and our family became rich. Not long after, we moved into a big house. We also have our own special Buddhist hall. At that time, all the things given by the emperor had to be enshrined. In addition to enshrining Buddha statues, our family's Buddhist hall also enshrined this ring. Once when our family went to worship Buddha, my great-grandmother was old because of her old age. , unable to move, I accidentally touched it, and it fell into the incense burner."

"You should know that this is a serious crime of disrespect. So the whole family immediately panicked. My grandfather Han Qiharib hurriedly stepped forward and picked it up from the ashes of the incense burner. Unexpectedly, he saw that there was a layer of incense ashes stuck to the finger. , actually looked like a grape covered with frost. My great-grandmother was very happy at that time, saying that this was the blessing of the Buddha and Bodhisattva for her rice bowl. The grapes in our family are very good, and it will be even more real if we add a layer of frost."

"Now do you understand? In fact, the inspiration for our Chang family's frosting came from here. Of course, the recipe for this hanging frost is not as simple as rolling incense ash. The ash is too rough and cannot be hung, but It's a bit like that. Our Chang family has been continuously improving the formula and coloring for at least three generations since then, and we have the recipe for coloring and frosting that does not fade and is extremely realistic today."

"No, the original manuscripts of our coloring and frosting recipes are here. There is also a copy that I re-copied and summarized. The proportions, raw materials, and processing methods are all clear. As long as you follow this recipe, you will be fine. Can make grape-like frosting.”

"We are destined, Manager Ning. I am really lucky to know you in this life. I am grateful to you for helping our street production company reopen, and to you for making our Chang family's grapes available again. In the human world. I have to thank you very much. I have thought about it, and if these things continue to be left here with me, I am afraid they will be buried. From now on, they are all yours."

The origin of Chang Yuling's unique method of frosting grapes, as described by Chang Yuling himself, originally surprised Ning Weimin.

As he listened, he thought to himself, no wonder they say things are impermanent. Many things in this world are indeed incredible.

But what surprised him even more was the last few words in which Chang Yuling addressed him from "you" to "you".

He never thought that Chang Yuling would give such a precious thing to him.

"What? You want to give these things to me? But this... this is your family heirloom? Especially these secret formulas! Shouldn't you pass it on to the Chang family? I remember you have relatives... …”

Chang Yuling immediately sighed, "I have relatives, but it would be a waste to entrust these things to them. To tell you the truth, no one in the next generation of our Chang family has learned this, and on the contrary, they especially look down upon it." Craftsmanship passed down from our ancestors.”

"My nephew works in administration and is willing to let his children go to school and eat public food. As for my two nieces and nephews, let alone studying, they have disliked my painted hands since they were young, and they are afraid of becoming like me. It looks like that. Probably because I mentioned it once and wanted them to learn this from me, they were so scared that they didn’t dare to come to my door in the past two years."

"Tell me, if I don't give these things to you, what else can I do? I'm already old. Should I burn these things with me when I'm gone? That would be a shame to our ancestors. . Only when they are in your hands can they be considered to have a good home."

Indeed, this kind of thing is not uncommon in this era.

What can people say?

There are so many treasures of real gold and silver that the descendants of many wealthy families don't recognize with their eyes wide open, let alone things like secret recipes passed down from ancestors.

Ning Weimin was very considerate of the old man's mood.

"Okay. Master Chang, I thank you for thinking so highly of me. But I can't ask for such a precious thing from you in vain..."

"This is obvious. What kind of expensive thing is it? It's just a ring. It costs at most 1,800 yuan. I went to Liulichang and asked. They were willing to pay this price. As for the secret recipe, it seems to have some weight now. , it can feed dozens of families. But a few years ago, no one cared about it at all. You know, our Chang family also wanted to donate it to the country, in order to exchange for the descendants of the Chang family. Work, get an iron rice bowl with public food. But people don’t like it. They think we are folk showboats. So whether this thing is expensive or cheap, how to say the score..."

"Hey, Master Chang. That's really not what you said. The more valuable the product, the less fixed the price. When you asked about the price, it was probably in the first few years, right? The market was poor at that time. But I can't keep it secret. I know I'm pretending to be confused, but today's market has changed a lot. As for your ring finger, such a good water head, such a good color, and a gift from the emperor, you really found the right buyer. Five thousand eight thousand is it, twenty thousand It’s the same one that costs 30,000 yuan, but tens of thousands yuan is not easy to come by in China, so that’s the price it’s sold overseas for…”

Ning Weimin thought that his words would definitely shock Chang Yuling.

The old man will most likely be persuaded to change his mind.

As for myself, I offered a price that was higher than the price in the store - 10,000 yuan.

Then just like that, he bought the wrench and the secret recipe with both money and goods.

Even if he is worthy of his conscience, he will be able to settle down from now on.

But he never expected that Chang Yuling didn't waver at all about the amount of money and just shook his head.

"Manager Ning, I'm giving it away, not selling it. Let alone two or thirty thousand, just two or three hundred thousand. I can't exchange it for money."

"Let me tell you this, when I was young, I lived a prosperous life. Ever since our Chang family's grapes won the gold medal at the Panama Exposition in the United States. When they came back, the door was packed with traffic. At that time, not only Domestic customers have bought it, and there are many foreign banks and mansions.”

"I didn't recognize money from various countries at that time, and it looked fresh and interesting. My uncle was responsible for collecting money. To amuse me, whenever a foreigner came to the shop every day and ordered our Changjia grapes, he would put it in my jewelry box. Here, put a foreign currency for me, and the money will belong to me. My uncle said it will be my dowry when I grow up. In just a year or two, my jewelry box is full, and the money I saved is taken to the bank. Five gold bars were actually exchanged.”

"Of course, it didn't work out later. The men in the Chang family were carrying cages and smoking cigarettes, and they owed huge sums of money. We in the Chang family could only rely on women to step up and shoulder the family business, so we had five aunts and nephews. I paid off the debts of the Chang family and vowed never to marry. Later, the debts were finally paid off, but due to the years of war, no one bought the grapes. The five of us, aunt and nephew, could only split up to sell roasted sweet potatoes and sugar. I earn a living by selling peas, selling candied haws and fried pancakes, collecting cinders, and unpacking and washing people's bedding."

"But no matter how hard it is, how poor we are, no one in our family is willing to sell this ring. Let me tell you the truth, in fact, when the Chang family owes foreign debts, if our family is willing to give away this ring, at least we can In exchange for 30,000 to 40,000 yuan, you can keep your house, and it won't be so difficult later. Why not sell it? Because this ring is the soul of our Chang family. I can't remember which painting I saw it in Such a saying. It seems to be 'The butterfly is the spirit of the flower', that's probably what it means."

Chang Yuling's words immediately made Ning Weimin blush.

He heard it, and they were telling him - We have seen what money is like, and we cannot sell our ancestors for anything.

Of course he had to explain quickly.

"Master Chang, I don't mean anything else. Since I can't speak, we shouldn't talk about business, let's just talk about material compensation..."

However, Chang Yuling shook his head even harder.

"You, this is wrong again. What did I just tell you? I can only rest assured if I give this thing to you. Don't mention money. You haven't treated me badly. In the past few years, don't mention salary. and benefits. Just like today, how much bonus did you give me? I don’t have to worry about coffins for a long time. I can even help a lot of relatives. This is enough. No matter how much it is, it will be more useful to me. what's the function?"

"Don't look at my old lady. She has no education and only knows how to make some grapes. But I have been making grapes all my life. Until now, I suddenly understood. No matter how good the Chang family's products are, no matter how many people are available. Here, if the person holding this thing is not good, nothing will happen."

"You see, the reason why our Chang family is prosperous is because of my great-grandmother's ingenuity and my grandfather's good management skills. If only my great-grandmother hadn't been able to draw inferences from one instance and get inspiration from bad things. If it hadn't been for my grandfather sending grapes overseas to participate in the expo .Our Chang family’s grapes will not be so famous.”

"After my three aunts and our two sisters took over the Chang family's secret recipe, no matter how well we kept it secret, no matter how hard the five of us worked together, we could not restore the Chang family's grapes to their former glory. Glory.”

"In the past, I thought it was due to the fickleness of fate and bad luck, which was attributed to natural and man-made disasters during the war years. But then after liberation, in the new society, the Chang family's grapes still did not see improvement. Although they received strong support from the government. But Often due to poor management and other reasons, production companies still suffer serious losses, leading to the dissolution of production cooperatives several times."

"If you hadn't taken care of all this, how would our Chang family's grapes have had the opportunity to appear in the world and be so prosperous? I know it in my heart. The current prosperity of the material factory is all supported by you. If it weren't for If you help me, no one will have such a good life."

"And your character also reassures me. I know that you are not greedy for money. If it was for money, you would not let me, Master Jiang and Master Zou make this expensive and unsold thing. Both Master Jiang and Master Zou said that now the apprentice workers in our factory are as good as the fourth-level workers in their factory. It is all because of your support that these young people in the factory have the mind to practice and pay attention to technology. .”

"To be honest, I'm not afraid of anything. I'm afraid that one day you will have nothing to do with this factory. If you are no longer willing to intervene in this factory, then the future of our Chang family's grapes will be difficult to say. So, I After thinking about it, I might as well entrust the Chang family's grapes to you. From now on, I don't care if you open your own factory or cooperate with others, it's up to you. You have to rely on it to make a fortune, and I'm happy for you. If I give it to you, I’ll feel relieved.”

"Don't be embarrassed. This is what I'm begging you for, not you for me. If you really feel that you have to do something for me to feel satisfied, then I don't want anything else, so just beg. Just give me a word. I hope you can promise me that the grapes made with our Chang family's recipe will always be called Grape Chang...then...then I will recite the Buddha's name."

At this point, the old man burst into tears.

Faced with such tears and such demands, Ning Weimin could not remain unmoved, let alone let the old man down.

He didn't hesitate anymore, put away his things solemnly, and bowed to the old man to thank him.

So Chang Yuling got in the car with peace of mind and left.

However, I watched the car slowly drive away with its exhaust fumes, disappearing into the ancient stone paved road in the bright yellow afternoon sunshine.

Ning Weimin felt a heavy weight in his heart, as well as unspeakable melancholy and lamentation.

Suddenly, and for some unknown reason, he remembered an inscription written by Deng Tuo, the president of People's Daily, for the Chang family.

Two generations of the Chang family have stayed in the cold, and their unique skills have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years.

The purple color of grapes damages the beauty, and old dreams are like smoke.

The cooperation is unique and man-made is better than nature.

From now on, I can visit anyone who wants to be a beauty.