Chapter 478 Money Comes to the Door
The most famous lanterns in the capital are palace lanterns.
Palace lanterns are a unique product 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 to this day, the Yangxin Hall, Kunning Palace, Changchun Palace and Summer Palace in the Forbidden City all have artifacts from that time hanging on them.
Just like the palace lanterns in Tingli Pavilion and Beihai Fangshan, most of them are old things.
What to do with the shortcomings? What about the maintenance of these palace lanterns?
It doesn’t matter, there are manufacturers of exclusive palace lanterns in Beijing.
Although the factory disappeared for a time in history, it was converted to produce electronic components in 1969 and was renamed Jingcheng Component No. 7 Factory.
But in 1972, with the need for foreign currency exchange for the country's export products, the production of palace lanterns and other handicrafts was resumed.
The factory was once again renamed Jingcheng Art Red Light Factory.
It’s just that one means one, and two means two.
Although this art red light factory has been able to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in foreign exchange every year since the 1950s.
At the same time, it is also responsible for the business of maintaining the existing palace lanterns in the royal 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 in 1957, when it had 382 employees and 140,000 yuan of its own capital.
Nowadays, just because the demand for domestic business is too small and the foreign trade gap is too tight, it is completely unpopular with the Light Industry Bureau.
In addition, there are fewer and fewer veteran artists. After retirement, it is impossible to recruit people.
The size of the factory has been reduced to less than 60 people, almost like a workshop.
It is said that Wang Xiaoer is celebrating the New Year, and every year is not as good as the previous year. I am afraid that it is suspected of beautifying.
But in turn, the burden is quite heavy.
Secretary Hu Kuanfu and factory director Xu Pingzhi have to play hide-and-seek with the old workers who ask them to reimburse their medical expenses all day long.
I still have to worry about various expenses in the factory and deal with the abacus repeatedly.
Even they themselves have to set an example by being diligent and frugal, which would be a miserable life!
Don’t talk about eating and drinking with public funds.
The only tea they can get in the factory, the standard has been reduced to two yuan and a pound of flower triangle.
(Note: Flower triangles are tea leaves that are screened out during the rolling process and are of poor quality)
This is thanks to the oversupply of tea leaves this year and the price reduction.
Otherwise, you won’t be able to afford scented tea, and you will have to switch to the southern tea that no one likes to drink.
No way, he is still a leader after all, and he has status here.
You can't drink the "high end" that's so broken that you can't watch it. It's a joke, isn't it?
Especially on Monday, June 6th.
Both the secretary and the factory director were told bad news as soon as they entered the factory.
We ran to the warehouse together and worried about the roof.
It rained last night. Not only did the roof leak, but also half of the gable fell down.
Of course this needs to be repaired? But where does the money come from?
Wages have just been paid, and the factory's finances are at their most strained. They can't even find the money to buy bricks and tiles.
If we don’t repair it, it’s easy to talk about the other things in this house. The key is what to do with the "Hundred Flowers Stamping Lamp" made last year?
That big guy with a height of two meters is the apprentice of the famous modern palace lantern maker "Ball Lantern Han". The last work left to the factory by two skilled old workers when they were about to retire.
The lamp holder is a large flower basket carved from mahogany. The entire flower basket is carved with various flowers such as magnolia, chrysanthemum, plum blossom, and crabapple in full bloom. The lamp is inlaid with a painted glass screen, and six small magnolia lamps are mounted on the flower basket.
The lamppost is partially embossed with traditional patterns, and the lower end is engraved with four lions playing with hydrangeas, and the lion's claws form the base of the lamp.
I did it so exquisitely just so that I could catch up with some important events in the future and earn some face for the factory.
They can't live up to this intention.
If there is really another storm, what will happen if the wind blows and the rain bubbles break?
Besides, if it is not repaired, there is a risk that the entire wall and half of the roof will collapse, which is related to production safety.
Don’t say it, maybe it’s a good day, and it’s really a blessing.
Just when the secretary and the factory director were facing each other and frowning and sighing, something happened to them.
It’s similar to someone bringing you a pillow when you want to sleep, the money comes to them on its own.
Section Chief Zhang of the Business Department took the two guests to the door of the warehouse and shouted inside.
"Secretary Hu, Director Xu, someone is looking for..."
"Oh, here we come." Director Xu Pingzhi responded and was about to walk out.
Unexpectedly, the two outsiders had already walked in on their own, and Section Chief Zhang could only follow up.
"Who are you?"
Xu Pingzhi looked at the two young men he had never seen before in confusion. Both of them wore half-sleeved shirts, trousers and leather shoes, and watches in their hands. Get the leather briefcase.
At first glance, he seems to be the kind of person who lives a healthy and decent life.
Unexpectedly, they were all very polite. One said, "Are you Director Xu? My name is Qiao Wanlin. I am from the Comprehensive Management Section of the District Service Bureau. We want to open a palace-style restaurant in our district. Do you need it?" Shaogong lantern, why don’t you ask our factory for help?”
The other one just handed over the cigarette.
And he obviously knew that the warehouse was an important place, so he only took out and handed cigarettes to show respect.
He himself was not smoking, nor was he angry.
"I am the manager of the palace restaurant under preparation, Ning Weimin. Just call me Xiao Ning. We came here presumptuously and caused trouble for you. But after all, this is our district's own business. We still need the full help of our factory..."
It's just nice to say it, the key is that the scene is amazing.
Xu Pingzhi was shocked when he found out that the cigarette he was handed was from Greater China.
One stick of this stuff can hold up to a pack of ordinary Class C cigarettes.
He immediately knew that the other party had a lot of background, and hurriedly went to recruit Hu Kuanfu.
"Old Hu, these two comrades from the district, you also come to meet..."
But Hu Kuanfu was still a little unhappy because of troubles.
Besides, Qiao Wanlin didn't reveal that his position was section chief.
So the great secretary was not in the mood at all and just looked at the ruins without even looking back.
“We just want palace lanterns. First ask them if they have the procedures? If not, we can’t control it. Let them go to Wangfujing and find the Art and Design Service Department to order.”
< br>Unexpectedly, a sentence came from behind.
"Are you Secretary Hu? Don't worry, we have special approval procedures from the district and can contact the manufacturer directly. The invoice from the commercial outlet is also easy to get. Let's discuss the price and I will call the district commerce bureau then. Just say hello. We will give you the money, and they will just add a number. They will cooperate with us and complete the procedures at both ends..."
Oops! This is awesome!
Special approval in the district? Can the Commerce Bureau instigate action? And give the money here...
Wouldn’t this solve the thorny problem at hand!
Hu Kuanfu quickly turned his head, his face gentle and his enthusiasm rising.
Of course, Xu Pingzhi was no slower to react than him.
The factory director was also aware of the key issue and couldn't wait to inquire about the details first.
"Oh, this is great. How many palace lanterns do you want? What size and style?"
Qiao Wanlin hesitated and said, "In terms of quantity, I'm afraid at least Hundreds of them. As for the size and style... all we can determine now is that the color should not be red, but bright yellow. We don’t have any clear ideas about the others. "
Looking around, "Do we have many styles here? ? I have seen those hexagonal palace lanterns, the ones hung in Beihai Fangshan and Tingli Hall. Are there any better ones in our factory? ”
I heard that the amount of this job is not bad, and it should cost at least 18,000 yuan.
It is estimated that even if the gable is repaired, the remaining amount will be enough to cover the entire 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. The light shapes include round, oval, square, hexagonal, rhombus, fan-shaped, pentagonal, and hexagonal. Angular, octagonal, square, basket-shaped, fish-shaped, bottle-shaped, gourd-shaped, petal-shaped, silver ingot-shaped, ring-shaped, pavilion-shaped, etc. "
"Look, there are none in this room, they are basically all. The lamps in this room are mainly square, so the style in this library is relatively simple. They are also placed in a pile against the wall. They are actually more complicated than the ones in this room. Yes, but they are all in other libraries.”
"Of course, you are right. The shapes of orthodox palace lanterns are mostly octagonal, hexagonal or tetragonal. But judging from the content of the lantern paintings, they are quite different. There are blessing lanterns, longevity lanterns, double happiness lanterns, great luck lanterns, Changfang Sheng Lamp, Pisces Lamp, Songhe Lamp, Baizi Lamp, Ten Thousand Evergreen Lamp, Wanshou Boundless Lamp, Orb Lamp, World Peace Lamp, Universal Celebration Lamp, Gold and Jade Full Hall Lamp, Eight Treasures Auspicious Lamp, as well as "Auspicious Ruyi", "Dragon and Phoenix Presentation" "Xiang" and other themed lamps with auspiciousness, good fortune, longevity and so on..."
Well, this is the big set, it comes out clearly.
Qiao Wanlin and Ning Weimin were almost dumbfounded by this, no less shocked than Secretary Hu who had just taken over Greater China from Ning Weimin.
For this reason, Hu Kuanfu glanced with satisfaction at his old partner who had given him a good reputation, and then coughed.
"This is so inconvenient. Lao Xu, I think we should take these two to look at the products of our factory and talk while looking at them. Well, should we go to the office to look at the photos? Or should we go Let’s go from room to room in the warehouse next door first?”
It should be said that Hu Kuanfu quickly regained his composure as secretary, and this idea was quite right.
But no one expected that just when everyone was about to move, Ning Weimin urgently stopped and raised objections.
"Don't worry, I haven't seen the things in this room yet. The old things are so good, I just like old things..."
As he said that, he walked to the house. Corner, I picked up a copper four-cornered palace lantern from the shelf. There was another one of the same style on the shelf.
But no matter which one it was, there was a thick layer of dust, the painted lanterns were old and out of shape, and the canopy and base of the palace lanterns were 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 the ashes, "Is this lamp good? Why do you just leave it here to eat dirt?"
"Hey, even though you are an amateur, you have really good eyesight. This 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 reign of Emperor Yongzheng. It’s hard to catch up. It has always been our four-corner palace lantern. Unfortunately, it was not a ‘movement’ later. Two of the four lanterns were smashed and sold as scrap metal. These two were one of our old workers. It was finally recovered from the scrap station, but unfortunately the cover and bottom are gone. Repair it, it will be a waste of money, it would be a pity if you don't repair it, it is almost the same as garbage anyway, so just throw it here. ..."
Xu Pingzhi said slightly frustrated, but he didn't expect Ning Weimin to ask him again.
“Then if you keep this lamp and it’s useless, let’s discuss it. After repairing it, how about selling it to me?”
"Selling you? I'm really not bragging to scare you. Just these two lamps are expensive!"
Xu Pingzhi was happy 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 inlay with silk yarn, glass or horn pieces. On it are painted landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, insects, fish, and botanicals. Ancient literature, drama stories, etc. Some have a canopy above the lampshade, and various styles of pendants and pendants are hung under the lamp. What makes this lamp unique is that it has a beautifully carved copper body. There are auspicious treasures and tassels hanging around the lampshades, which are not ordinary things. The top of the canopy is also inlaid with exquisitely carved jade or white jade, so it takes a lot of effort to repair these two lamps. The price is probably several thousand yuan. Why do you want this? Let's not joke..."
Who knew Ning Weimin was so excited. "How many thousands? Tell me..."
Xu Pingzhi got a little angry when he saw how aggressive the young man was, so he simply called out a large number.
"Five thousand!"
Unexpectedly, Ning Weimin stuttered and refused to fight. Instead of retreating despite the difficulties, he defeated an entire army.
"No problem! But does it count for you alone? And where is Secretary Hu? Do you both agree with the price?"
Where is this consultation?
Secretary Hu shook his head just to make Xu Pingzhi lose face. This was clearly a disguised attempt to force him into the palace.
But Secretary Hu is still young after all. He has been the leader for many years, but he will not give in so easily.
He laughed, not saying he agreed or disagreeing, but he went around in circles and treated the other person the same way.
"Young man, you are so heroic. You want to ask my opinion? How about I recommend two better palace lanterns to you? You must be able to pay for these two lanterns." Then I really have to thank you on behalf of our factory for helping us save a lot of property damage."
As he said that, he walked to the shelves and rummaged through them, and finally, with the help of Section Chief Zhang of the Business Department, he removed them. Two old lamps were unearthed from the junk pile at the end.
Not to mention, these two lamps are indeed more gorgeous, because they are made of enamel filigree.
The color is bright, the light is delicate and soft, and the shape of the object is generally complete.
The most special thing is the shape, which is like a pavilion.
And it is not a chandelier, it has a base and can be placed on the countertop or lamppost.
But the most serious damage is that these two lanterns have no colored paintings.
And the enamel filigree lamp body is full of pits.
Things that were obviously embedded in the past were roughly picked away.
Xu Pingzhi smiled again when he saw these two lamps. He obviously admired Secretary Hu's methods and told Ning Weimin with confidence.
“Did you see it? We still have good things in our factory. This is a copper-embedded filigree painted enamel glass pavilion style palace lantern. It was the treasure of our factory in the past. The craftsmanship of Xu Baizhai during the Qianlong period, he was a bannerman aristocrat , is also a master of making lamps for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is definitely something that belongs to the imperial palace. It's a pity that the lamp painting is completely ruined. The original painting was "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Wonderful. Look at the various gemstones originally inlaid here, such as cat's eyes, tourmalines, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, citrines... they were all dug up by us in a special era. If you want to repair it, you have to go to a jewelry factory to buy various gems. Do you still want this? I’m not unfair to you. If you want to buy it, I will sell it to you for at least 50,000 yuan. There is only one pair like this in the world..."
As soon as he finished saying this, he saw Qiao Wanlin next to him and covered his face with his palms.
Both Hu Kuanfu and Xu Pingzhi thought they had scared him, and they immediately felt proud.
But where is it? Qiao Wanlin recently felt Ning Weimin's pulse. As soon as he heard about the "treasure of the factory" and "the only pair", he knew that Ning Weimin was probably going to "make a mistake".
As expected, following him, Ning Weimin also clapped his hands with joy and excitement in his mouth.
“That’s it! I want it!”
Huh? Fifty thousand! This...is this what it is? So easy?
Hu Kuanfu asked hurriedly, "Young man, are you listening correctly? We are talking about fifty thousand yuan, not five thousand..."
Unexpectedly, Ning Weimin laughed loudly and said, "Understood, four lamps, the total is fifty-five thousand, right? You two are sincere, so I'm happy, so we won't bargain. Should I pay in cash or by check? Hey, but we I’ve said it before, please take care of it and fix it for me!”
“Ah! You really want it!” Xu Pingzhi couldn’t remain indifferent.
"Is there still a fake? Why, Director Xu can't bear to part with it?"
"That's not..." Xu Pingzhi murmured, "I just don't believe it, there are really people It’s such an expensive thing. It’s just a few lamps, and they’re broken. When we offered less than half of the price, we scared Tingli Guan away, and even the Forbidden City didn’t want to take it.”< br>
The final winner is destined to be Ning Weimin, he laughed.
"Don't worry, I won't regret it. By the way, I also want to ask, is the big guy in our house also a lamp? If so, how much do you want to sell it for?"
Ping Zhihe is not allowed Qiao Wanlin couldn't stand what Hu Kuanfu said anymore, and he shook his head helplessly.
"Wei Min, Wei Min, I'm begging you. Can you please stop doing this? You are really using your company's money as money! Let's talk about business first, and put those hundred palace lanterns first Implement it, okay?”
(End of this chapter)