National Tide 1980

After passing the huge crowd surrounding the golden bull sculpture, continue walking toward the back wall of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Hall of Emperor Qian.

As I was walking, when I was about to reach it, I didn’t expect another amazing gesture.

Above the tourists' heads, a tall traditional archway with gorgeous colors appeared.

The base is red and yellow, supplemented by green, with three doors and four red pillars.

There are five "mountain peaks" on the top of the archway, and a colored ball hangs from each "mountain peak".

The flower arrangement in the middle of the archway also has the words "Good Luck in the Year of the Ox" embossed with paper flowers.

That's called exquisite craftsmanship. Looking from a distance, it looks very similar to the real archway.

Many people walked closer and discovered that it was a temporary thing made of bamboo poles and colorful cloth.

How much does it cost to build such an archway?

None of the three people in the Temple of Earth knew, and it was hard for them to even guess.

But they can be sure of one thing. Regardless of the traditional style and exquisiteness, even if they searched all over Ditan Park, they could not find any artificial landscaping that could compare with this archway.

However, this is not the end yet. Twenty or thirty meters further, we actually reach the backyard wall of Huangqian Hall.

Right opposite the intersection, a colorful pavilion was built against the wall in the same way as the archway.

The work on this pavilion is even more detailed than the archway in front.

It is made of the same colorful silk, but the pavilion uses the palace roof of one hall and one roll.

There are "five spines and six beasts" on the top and a Xumizuo on the bottom.

There are corridors on all sides, with partitions and steps in front. You can get whatever you want. It's hard to believe that this is a temporary thing.

The most amazing thing is that such an exquisite pavilion is not just for decoration.

There is actually a stove made of gasoline barrels inside the pavilion, which can be used to boil water and keep warm.

In this way, the practical functions are even more astonishing.

First, the Temple of Heaven Park can be used by the staff who patrol the park to come in to take shelter from the wind, store things, rest, and even watch at night.

Second, a long table covered with red cloth was set up outside the pavilion, offering free large bowls of catechu to tourists.

Yes! That's right! It's free!

In the past, free tea was actually just a rule implemented by Zhai Gong Book Market on a trial basis.

The initial purpose was simply to attract customers and increase popularity.

Nothing else, our people have lived a miserable life for too long.

Not to mention that you are not rich now, but you will be really rich in the future. Who can refuse free things?

Until last year, the summer book market was officially launched, and it was a little different from the past, because free tea also has the actual effect of preventing heat stroke.

Unexpectedly, the response from the public was particularly good, and it earned a lot of good reputation for the Temple of Heaven Park.

In this way, Ning Weimin simply followed the sculpture art exhibition and the New Year garden party.

It is conceivable that in this cold winter, it is very comfortable for ordinary people to have such a bowl of hot tea for free.

Naturally, it is more popular with the masses.

This resulted in far more people gathering in this area than at the Taurus in front.

There are many but not chaos. The Temple of Heaven Garden has very rich management experience in this area.

Someone has been assigned to coordinate the queuing, prevent congestion, clean up the garbage, and tell where the tea bowls belong.

As a result, under the archway and in front of the colorful pavilion, tourists in the park lined up in an orderly manner, and ordinary people drank large bowls of tea happily.

It actually became a scene, completely attracting foreigners.

Many foreigners stop here to take pictures, take pictures of the archway, the colorful pavilion, the crowd, and take photos with others.

There are even foreigners who are not afraid of wasting time and queue up to take advantage of the glory of our harmonious society and the benefits of our temple fair.

It doesn’t matter whether you are used to drinking or not. Anyway, those foreigners holding the thick porcelain bowls are very beautiful, and they also imitate us to drink tea by blowing hot air on their mouths.

More often than not, they raise their thumbs up and let their companions take photos of themselves.

The only ones who are out of tune with the general environment are the three "spies" who came from Ditan.

The deputy director ran to the tea stall and took a look.

When he came back, he frowned and reported in a low voice. "The color of the tea is quite strong, and the fragrance can be smelled from a long distance away. I'm so willing to give it up..."

The secretary asked with a sullen face, "Can you estimate how much it would cost to set up such a tea stall per day..."

The driver came over to show off his cleverness.

"It doesn't matter how much it costs. Think about it, the tickets to the Temple of Heaven are so expensive. This is called buying people's hearts, and the wool comes from the sheep. The poor people don't know the truth, so they only know how to take advantage of small things. They still regard them as good people... "

However, he acted foolishly and did not hide it. As a result, people in the queue heard what he said, and an old man with half-white eyebrows quit.

"Hey, how can you speak like this? Why are you so ugly?"

"I...what did I say?" The driver was stunned and was about to argue.

The secretary didn't want to argue with others, so he helped him out in time and comforted the old man with a smile.

"Old Master, he is ignorant and has no hair on his lips. Why do you have to be as knowledgeable as him when he is older than the Chinese New Year?"

"This ignorant person needs to be educated. Is this your son or your nephew? You really need to talk to him when you go back. Those who are celebrating the New Year, don't act like a braggart and sincerely cause trouble for everyone." The old man's tone softened a bit, but he was still a little indignant. .

The driver was young and energetic. When he heard this, he not only lost face, but also felt wronged in his heart.

If this was put on the street, he might be scolded as an "old gangster".

Then kick the accelerator and let your old thing eat dirt.

But who will let the leader be in front of him?

Then he could only try his best to be kind and try to vindicate himself by reasoning.

"Our uncle, this ticket costs us 50 cents. In the past, it was only 20 cents. How much does it cost to sell this bowl of tea? If you want to drink back the extra 30 cents they earned, you have to drink a lot. This is Those who buy are not those who sell, what did I say wrong? I..."

As soon as he said this, everyone around him became happy, and some people even thought that the young man spoke honestly.

But no, a big bowl of tea now costs two cents on the street and three cents in a scenic spot.

I'm going to drink ten bowls of tea, so don't go shopping. I'll just stay in the toilet all afternoon.

However, as soon as the old man said the next words, these words became untenable.

"You say you are ignorant, but you still don't admit it. Then let's discuss this truth. You said that the ticket price of 50 cents is expensive, but there is a reason why it is expensive. In the past, when the ticket price was 20 cents, what was the Temple of Heaven like? Except for There is nothing left to see with those ancient ruins and green trees. Half of the entire Temple of Heaven is in ruins, and it is all closed land. Even the roads are bumpy. There is no place to rest, the toilets are smelly, and garbage is everywhere. Throw it away casually. It’s a park, but it’s worse than a wild field. Two cents? Even two cents are expensive.”

"Look now, people have been building gardens in the past few years. The Zhai Palace has opened, the Northern Kitchen has also opened, and now they are building the Southern Kitchen. There is a seat tens of meters away, and trash cans can be seen everywhere. The park management is better, and the cleaners sweep the floor very clean. When spring and summer come, the flowers in the yard are blooming, which is unprecedented in the past. Especially the toilet is very well built. The flushing facilities are all made of tiles, which is clean. It’s tasteless, and it’s also very open. There are even special seats for the elderly and disabled people inside. Even if you come in a wheelchair, it’s easy to go to the toilet.”

"Let me tell you, where else in the capital are there such parks? The Forbidden City, Beihai, and the Summer Palace may all be more famous than the Temple of Heaven, but they don't have such facilities. If you think about it carefully, which one of these three parks is not as expensive as the Temple of Heaven? Expensive? But which company spends money on improving public facilities? Is it even more expensive at 50 cents? Compare with these companies. To be honest, I also want the tickets to be cheaper, but let’s not lose heart. The Temple of Heaven is The money is used to do real things, and the money is spent on the construction of the park. Isn't it for us people to benefit? This is the only thing in the capital, and we should support it, right?"

"You can see the big from the small, and you can also see the small from the big. I'm not saying that the parks in our capital are full of money, and only the Temple of Heaven can do the righteous act of drinking tea for free. A bowl of tea may seem like a small amount of money, but it is far more expensive than It’s not higher than the price of the ticket. But why don’t other parks do this? You said that the Temple of Heaven is very attractive to people? Then what are other parks? To put it bluntly, they can make a small amount of money but not make it, so why don’t they think about you? And for your consideration. What is this called? This is called benevolence and righteousness. You can't get a bad name when someone does a good thing with good intentions, and those who have made all kinds of money from you are the good ones? There is no such reason. The big guy said, is not it?"

These words made the truth clear, and they were immediately recognized by everyone present.

In particular, a few of them probably live in Nancheng and come here often.

They all say that the Temple of Heaven has undergone unprecedented changes in recent years, and they feel vaguely proud of it.

Some people also say that the Tan Gong Restaurant set up by the Temple of Heaven outside the park is also very real. The snack bar downstairs is cheap for the people, and it is two different things from holding banquets upstairs to earn money from foreigners.

In turn, the three people in the Temple of Earth were all mute.

Not to mention the driver's face turned red, it was a bit embarrassing for being a villain.

The two leaders couldn't help but ponder the truth behind these words and savor the wonderful taste in their hearts.

However, this matter is not over yet.

Because it was inevitable that some meddlers would make noises, I deliberately asked the old man half-jokingly.

"Uncle, if you say such good things for the Temple of Heaven, you are not related to the people in this park, are you? Do your sons and daughters work at the Temple of Heaven? Or are you a retired employee here?"

As a result, the old man was recruited and made up for it.

"Hey, you really dare to think about it. If only it was like what you said, the current treatment in Temple of Heaven Park is definitely not bad. Unfortunately, I am not so lucky, I am just an ordinary worker. My son and daughter are also workers. I praise you The Temple of Heaven is purely a matter of fact. Because the leaders of the Temple of Heaven Park are so powerful that they can make the park so good."

"Don't pout, let's not talk about it from afar. Let's just talk about these authentic lottery jobs in front of us. I have to say that people know their stuff. What is lottery work? Like the lottery building behind us, and the lottery at the front of this team. Pavilions are all colored work. This is the unique color-tie craftsmanship of our capital city. Whenever you build various archways, pavilions, altars, theater stages, and sutra platforms, and then decorate them with colors, it is called hard color. If you only use colored silk , colorful cloth is formed into hydrangeas, and hung on the lintel or the front of the pavilion, it is called soft color."

"You young people probably don't know this. In the past, whenever there was a major event in the capital, whether it was for officials, merchants, or private events, they had to be decorated like this. The more colorful work there is, the better. The more solemn it becomes. This is where the word "delighting with lanterns and colors" comes from. In the final analysis, the official origin of this craft actually comes from Buddhism. Therefore, temple fairs and various Buddhist events are indispensable for the craftsmanship of colorful craftsmen."

"Do you understand? This is the most distinctive traditional feature of the temple fair. Unfortunately, gradually, no one was willing to pay for it. Over the years, as the temple fair was closed, we have never seen it again. I didn't expect that I would see the Temple of Heaven again when I visited it today. Just for this wonderful job, it's worth coming here today. Just open your eyes. You won't even have to look at it after leaving here. .”

"Besides, don't think I'm verbose. I have to say how good they are at offering free tea. Why? It's not that I like to take advantage. It's because traditional temple fairs in Beijing must have tea sheds. Temple fairs in the past On the surface, the tea shed is a place to rest and drink tea, but in fact it is more like a temporary temple, because you have to worship the Buddha statue before drinking tea in the tea shed. In the past, when I went to Miaofeng Mountain to offer incense, a tea shed was set up every three miles from Deshengmen. , in fact, it’s about constantly strengthening your inner beliefs along the way.”

"Although we don't pay attention to worshiping Buddha now, it's good that we can all get together to drink tea from the Temple of Heaven and enjoy the blessings of this place of worship. Look at this colorful pavilion It's a magnificent building, and it's in compliance with royal regulations. If you drink the tea provided here, you'll be sure to have everything going smoothly this year. This is a lucky tea, isn't it?"

"So even though everyone calls the Temple of Heaven garden party a foreign temple fair, I would say that the Temple of Heaven is not bad at all in terms of restoring tradition. It has even been improved very well, and they are thoughtful for us ordinary people. After all, it is better than those who do it. After doing some juggling and making some snacks, I told you that this is a place for a temple fair, and I put a lot of effort into it. You guys say, can I not praise such a temple of heaven?"

Just saying this is more effective than the previous one.

Many older people felt the same way and marveled at it, remembering the past.

As for the young ones, although they don’t have such a long-lost mood, they still think they have gained experience and relieved the boredom of waiting in line.

In particular, the old man's words "lucky tea" are the most endearing and make everyone listen.

Many people who had no intention of drinking tea became interested because of this, and actually didn't rush in and walked in. Instead, they turned around and ran to the back of the queue.

Even the man who was teasing me just now gave up his hand and said, "Uncle, you said it very well. I understand. Just make this 'lucky tea', and I will drink a big bowl of it later."

It must be said that the effect of becoming famous and attracting fans was something Ning Weimin himself could never have imagined.

Only the three people from the Temple of Earth looked a little embarrassed.

For no other reason, this old man just praised the Temple of Heaven, but in the end, he actually slapped them in the face and scolded them.

Just look at the fuss this has caused, they worked so hard to get hold of all the good artists on Tianqiao.

It's actually not as good as a few colorful jobs and a tea stall, which are popular and have a good reputation.

Where is the logic in this!

How can their fragile little hearts bear it?

However, the paradox is that the awkwardness is awkward. They can neither show it on the surface, nor can they not admit that they do have shortcomings.

I really suffered from my lack of knowledge. I thought about organizing the temple fair too easily, which resulted in it being just a formality.

Like the deputy director immediately ordered the driver.

"Did you bring your camera? Take it out quickly and take pictures of all this."

The secretary also whispered to the deputy principal.

"I'll think of a way to find out who made this archway and pavilion later. If it's not expensive, we can use this one next year."

"Yes, there is also free tea. I think it is quite good. Should we discuss it when we go back and see if we can learn from it?"