The weather on the seventh day of the first lunar month is particularly good.
Although it is only early spring, the sky is pleasantly clear and the sun is very warm.
The crowd pulled the two peach trees away at the right time, it was three o'clock in the afternoon.
Everything under the sun shines brightly, as if translucent.
The little northwest wind is so refreshing. Instead of being cold, it makes people feel warm and comfortable.
Especially when they came to Ma's Garden and saw the scenery that was comparable to Hou Men's and like a garden palace, they felt that spring was infinitely better.
You know, the last time Ning Weimin went to Weijia Hutong, it was early September last year.
At that time, the Majia Garden was still not visible.
Although at that time, the yard was no longer overgrown with weeds, devastated, desolate and decadent.
People from the power supply bureau and water company have also dug trenches, buried pipelines, cleared water supply and drainage, and reinstalled electricity and water meters.
But after the people from the ancient construction team moved in at the same time, they had to be busy for a month just cleaning the yard and transporting construction waste out of the house before they could buy building materials into the yard.
The first thing to do after purchasing the materials is to remove the dangers of dilapidated buildings. First, strengthen and renovate the structures of dilapidated buildings.
Even because the buildings in Majia Garden are unusual, many of them have unique functions and architectural forms.
The Gujian team was reluctant to act hastily, for fear of making a mistake.
Often you have to ask experts for advice while you are doing it, and then you can continue after asking for understanding. Of course, the progress will not be accelerated.
So until Ning Weimin went abroad, most of the buildings in Majia Garden had just been laid.
The columns and beams that should be replaced have been replaced, and the green bricks that should be replaced have also been replaced. The roof has been re-paved with "tin quilts". of garbage and silt.
To put it bluntly, I have barely reshaped the skeleton of these buildings, and that’s it.
The ancient construction team has done all the hard and tiring basic work, but none of the truly outstanding work has been done.
But this time, when Ning Weimin returns to the capital, it will be different.
In fact, the appearance of almost all the buildings in Majia Garden was completed a year ago.
Even the northernmost entrances, concierges, car rooms, accounting rooms, Buddhist halls, and warehouses.
The five-bay Xieshan Mountain Flower Hall on the top of the rockery, the Temple of Wealth on the west slope of the rockery, the three-volume hall and Xiyin Pavilion south of the rockery verandah.
In addition, the small courtyard to the north where Kang Shude and Mr. Song once lived.
These places have all been decorated.
Now, what's missing is the open hall, south study room, auxiliary rooms on the south side of the yard, and the residence of the Ma family's family members. The interior decoration has not been completed yet.
Then there is the courtyard landscaping.
Because many of the original flowers, trees and lake stones were destroyed and transported away, the landscape was greatly damaged.
Although the ancient construction team has tried their best to restore it, they only repaired a rough part of the hardware, and the style of the scenery is far less than before.
I'm afraid it will take someone to clean it up and add some things to restore the past style.
If we look at the overall project volume, it is actually about 70% completed.
If you want to live in it, get some furniture now and you can almost move it here.
Of course, what we are talking about here is only most of the Lama family garden that Ning Weimin got back with his own skills.
This does not include the other third that Director Huo helped get back from the Ancient and Modern Culture Association.
Those houses came back later, and in addition to a courtyard house that the Jiang family rented, they also included a theater and a flower cave.
So it's more complicated to repair.
Whether it needs to be repaired, how to repair it, and how much it will cost, the plan has not yet been finalized.
There is no rush yet, that is another matter.
No matter how you put it, it lived up to Ning Weimin’s hidden expectations.
When he arrived at the place, he took a look and found that although to hide it from others, the outer walls of Ma's garden had not been renovated.
The chain-locked doors in the north are not decorated in the palace style with red and green paint. They are completely in accordance with the style of wealthy private households, using simple black paint doors.
But when the iron chain lock was opened, two tricycles entered Ma's garden from the entrance of the motor house one after another.
The scene you see again can make people immediately surprised and feel sincerely gratified.
Most of the restored buildings in the courtyard have front porches.
The roof is covered with gray tube tiles, and there are gorgeous carvings on the partition pedestal flowers, sparrows, crests, door piers, column bases, etc. with fine patterns.
The ridges are decorated with patterns such as peonies and lotus flowers, and the three-dimensional effect is also very strong.
The wall carvings and brick carvings on the houses and walls that have experienced the erosion of time have all been repaired.
The window lattice of "Bu Bu Jin" and the door carvings of "Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum" are also newly made.
To be honest, the verandahs of these buildings look even more exquisite than the restoration projects of the Northern and Southern Kitchens in the Temple of Heaven.
The most unique thing about this garden is its clever division of courtyard space.
There are almost no partition walls in the garden. Each courtyard is separated by rockeries and verandahs, and they are either wide, deep, or small, with different shapes. The overall layout is quite sparse, seemingly scattered, and the space has no sense of orderliness.
From the moment you enter the garden gate, the route continues to go back and forth between rockeries and corridors, with twists and turns, creating the effect of one scene per step.
To be honest, Ning Weimin really didn’t expect this house to be so beautifully renovated.
The old style has been restored almost perfectly, and it looks like a new house.
Although the main color tone of plain black paint is not as elegant and luxurious as red oil and green paint, it looks particularly simple and elegant.
In his eyes, this old house was like a twilight beauty.
Now it has been restored by skilled craftsmen, as if this old beauty had taken the elixir of youth.
Rejuvenated, becoming graceful and beautiful.
I’m not bragging, this house and this courtyard are really comparable to the most famous Prince Gong’s Mansion in Beijing.
It is no exaggeration to say that if a TV series like "Mansion Gate" were to be filmed here, the original version would be embarrassed in terms of location. Of course, this latter sentence is pure nonsense.
Ma's Garden, the richest man in the capital at that time, needless to say, he must be top-notch.
Even if Tongrentang Lejia’s old house and garden are both there, it can’t compare with Ma’s Garden. There is a difference in quality between them.
After all, Lejia, who runs a drug store, is not one of the top richest people in the capital. He has to be ranked below the "Eight Great Houses".
Okay then, let’s imagine again. When we came this time, even Ning Weimin was surprised by the new look of Ma’s Garden.
Not to mention Luo Guangliang and Xiao Tao.
These two boys grew up in a poor place, in a large courtyard.
Have you ever imagined the life of a truly rich man? Have you ever seen such a large palace-like garden?
The gatekeepers of a mansion are gatekeepers of a mansion after all, and their eyes have been opened today.
The size and shape of the house, which was no less than that of a royal family, exuded a grand and noble spirit, and suddenly they were dragged into the strange situation of "no one in the building".
In addition, the layers of courtyards are so lonely that they get deeper and deeper as you go inside, as if there is no end. It is a realistic portrayal of "the depth is as deep as the sea once you enter the Houmen".
There is no doubt that whether it is the bluestone steps, the copper-clad threshold, the skyline outlined by the fish-scale tile roof, or the "scorpion tails" raised diagonally upward at both ends of the main ridge of the house, they all represent It left a deep impression on the two boys riding a tricycle in the big garden.
This inevitably gave them an unreal feeling that they thought they were in a movie set while watching the scenery.
The word "dream-like" may be a bit exaggerated, but excitement and surprise are inevitable.
Actually, Luo Guangliang is better off. After all, he is older and has a stable temperament.
It's okay to be dumbfounded, and I won't do anything out of the ordinary.
But Xiao Tao is a master who is used to being wild. When he is uncontrollably excited, his behavior is often out of control and he needs a certain amount of emotional venting.
So, facing the empty courtyard, facing the green tiles and white walls, and the upturned eaves, he unscrupulously opened his voice and sang.
“Beautiful flowers are blooming all over the boiler room. The steamed buns in the boiler room are so fragrant. I want to eat steamed buns, but I am afraid that they will be hot, so I have to sit next to the boiler room and wait for the steamed buns to cool down.”< br>
Although the content of this song is quite simple, there is no applause.
Instead, Luo Guangliang scolded him for being abrupt.
"Hey, what are you howling for? It's scary! Don't mess around in front of the old man!"
But who hasn't been young yet?
Kang Shude didn't care, but said understandingly, "Forget it, there are no outsiders anyway. If you don't bother anyone, just sing if you want."
Ning Weimin He also said, "Third brother, please don't hold him tight. Who wants to live in a large courtyard? To be honest, I suddenly encountered such a spacious place and there was no one else. I also wanted to shout a few words. . It’s a pity that our voice is not bright enough, and we will not show our ugly face before Xiao Tao.”
In this way, Xiao Tao, who was originally taught a lesson by Luo Guangliang, received disguised encouragement.
So he immediately changed the allegro and deliberately used the Jinmen accent in a playful way.
“When I came to Tianjin Wei, I didn’t learn anything. I learned how to drive a car and killed more than 200 people. The police came to arrest me. I was so scared that I crawled and hid in the women’s toilet!”
To be honest, the voice that sounded like a howling ghost or a wolf was incompatible with the ancient and huge courtyard.
But the all-powerful momentum and the reckless heroism caused an immediate resonance in this magnificent old house.
"Women's room... toilet... place... place..."
The echo was crisp, loud and distant. In addition to the excitement, the sparrows flew away in fright.
It also made several people in the group laugh.
"You brat, just howl! If there is a master who is looking for a hut outside the wall, I have to let you lure him away..."
Even Luo Guangliang is irritating. It was funny again, and she made a rare joke to him.
In this way, under the guidance of Kang Shude, the two tricycles finally stopped under the verandah on the western slope of the rockery.
The two pots of the Queen Mother's peach trees were later moved into the flower hall on the top of the rockery by Luo Guangliang and Xiao Tao "Hey Hey Hey".
It is thanks to these two boys that they are still strong and healthy.
Otherwise, most people would not be able to carry it up this stretch of road.
This room located on the top of the rockery is a continuous hall with five bays. The room is so big that it seems that it can't be seen at a glance.
And the lighting is excellent, because there are wooden partitions on both sides of the room, which can be completely opened.
The intervals between each room are also connected by partition fans, which can be pushed and pulled, which effectively divides and utilizes the space.
There is also a floor-to-ceiling partition with eight carved panels above and below in the entire five rooms. The wood is of high quality and the carving is first-rate.
This is an extremely elegant thing, which creates a gorgeous style for this hall.
Add two pots of the Queen Mother’s flat peach trees and place them on both sides of the door...
drink! This is called style!
Even Ning Weimin felt that it was a bit like the Oriole Pavilion in the Summer Palace.
"Uncle Kang, what was such a big house used for? Who lived here in the past?"
After putting things away, Luo Guangliang looked at such a big house, the more he found it, I couldn't help but ask Kang Shude.
“This is not a place for people to live, it is a place for entertainment.”
Kang Shude said very patiently, "This was originally a billiards hall. The original owner's family liked to play billiards and put several billiard tables here. You see, the three rooms with wooden floors are all for billiards. "
Kang Shude said, "There are also rooms on both sides. The floors are paved with diamond-shaped tiles. One side is used for eating and drinking, and the other side is used for drinking. Come to rest and receive guests. There are bookcases and writing desks in the corner of the reception area for reading, painting and writing. "Oh my god!" Xiao Tao, who had a taste of the life of the rich, couldn't help but marvel, "Isn't the life of the rich so comfortable? How can they still live like this! In comparison, the billiard table on the side of the road looks too rustic."
< br>Luo Guangliang also felt that it was beyond imagination and nodded in agreement. "Yes, when I watched movies in the past, I thought that landlords and rich people just eat stewed chicken every day and have more houses at home. Now when I look at this place, I realize that my thinking is too simple. Isn't this the same as living in a park? ? If you eat, drink and have fun like this every day, why do you have to go out? You can get everything you want here, it’s not like a fairy life.”
But even so, they can’t see the whole picture.
Because Kang Shude then said, "This is nothing. There can also be dancing and cocktail parties here. You see, those living glass partitions can move. The moving position depends on the number of guests. . And these rooms have ground dragons in winter, so they are not cold at all."
He then added, "What you see now is only the house on the mountain, and there is a larger empty space at the bottom. In the past, we could build an ice rink by pouring water and freezing ice, and then we could put out wires and put on lights, put on a gramophone, and skate under the moonlight and stars. That would be beautiful.”
The scene described in these few words completely shocked the two poor boys.
Both Luo Guangliang and Xiao Tao, their eyes were full of fascination and they were speechless.