Siheyuan: He Yuzhu’s Sunshine Farm

There are also some people with some wealth living in the courtyard. Although they are not prominent in public, you don't know what they used to do.

Just like Granny Liu, who has been working as a nanny for people. Granny Liu is about 60 years old. She used to work as a heroine in the homes of dignitaries. It is said that she was very beautiful when she was young. The clothes she made were very popular, especially the button patterns. The more you work, the better. She is also good at making wedding dresses. Many wealthy families ask her to make dresses for their wives. She has no problem with silk and satin. The wedding dresses she makes are grand and beautiful. I don’t know why she has always been single. She also has no children. There may be a story about her life experience.

But the specific situation is unknown. Her house is directly opposite the compound. What impressed me is that the threshold of the house is very high, at least 50 centimeters. The space of the room is high and spacious. She has a lot of money at home. There were a lot of porcelains, including blue and white porcelain, underglaze colored porcelain, and enamel colored porcelain. The dragons, paintings and phoenixes on the porcelain were very exquisite. She said that they were given to her by rich families who thanked her for making clothes for her. Later, when she encountered the gust of wind, Granny Liu I don’t know where the porcelain at home has gone.

Banggeng pushed his wheelchair with his hands and rushed straight into Granny Liu's room.

Grandma Liu is now almost eighty years old. She fell down accidentally last time, so she was hospitalized. Banggeng also took advantage of this opportunity to break into Grandma Liu's house.

After entering, Bangge began to search frantically, rummaging through boxes and cabinets, trying everything possible, and finally he found a good thing, which was a bronze tripod, about the same size as a radio.

There were a lot of words engraved on the tripod. Banggeng didn't recognize these words, but Banggeng knew it must be a good thing, so he followed Banggeng and left Granny Liu's house with the small tripod in his arms.

Of course, Banggan didn't go home either, and he left the courtyard. He was going to take Xiaoding to a mysterious place.

Panjiayuan?

Of course not to Panjiayuan and Liulichang. These two places are too formal. If you go to these two places, Xiaoding should not be able to get out. The place where Banggeng went is a ghost market.

This ghost market is very different from Panjiayuan and Liulichang.

The formation of ghost markets can be traced back to the Republic of China. At that time, the "ghost markets" in Sijiu City were also called "night markets", "dawn markets", "black markets", "morning markets" and "evening markets" and were collectively called "small markets" ".

The "morning market" usually opens at three or four o'clock in the middle of the night every day and closes at sunrise; the "evening market" usually opens at about three or four o'clock in the afternoon and closes at dusk.

The "morning market" and "evening market" mostly sell cheap daily necessities, so rare antique paintings and calligraphy rarely appear. The "ghost market" opens around dawn every day and mainly sells used goods, including old clothes, antiques, jewelry, clocks, hanging goods, miscellaneous items and old furniture. There are many goods of unknown origin, even stolen goods, which is why the "ghost market" is also called the "black market".

There are usually second-hand shops and some long-term stalls that set up stalls in the "ghost market". Since there are no stall fees or taxes, the business in the "ghost market" is extremely prosperous.

In addition to some stalls selling daily necessities, there are sometimes stalls selling engraved books, celebrity calligraphy and paintings, antiques, gold and silver jewelry, and wooden furniture.

Most of the people doing business here come from a special group, the so-called "drummers" in the capital.

"Drum playing" is an ancient industry in Sijiu City. There was a jingle in Sijiu City after the Republic of China: "After the flag fell, the drum playing made a fortune." This is also an influence on their lives. A true portrayal.

"Drummers" usually walk around the streets during the day, holding a leather drum the size of a silver dollar in their left hand and a thin rattan or bamboo stick longer than chopsticks and wrapped with cloth in their right hand.

When the leather drum is beaten, the sound is not loud, but it is crisp and sweet, so the people in Sijiushen City call it "the drummer".

As soon as people hear the sound of "tap-tap-tap-tap-tap", they know that the old goods collector is coming.

There are high and low levels of "drummers". Those who collect and sell old clothes, wooden utensils, and daily groceries are the lowest. They carry an extra burden on their shoulders and beat the small drums with their hands, but do not shout. They only collect some old clothes, old shoes, and old items. Those who use discarded items are called "those who play soft drums".

Most of the people with good eyesight have worked as apprentices in antique shops or pawn shops. They specialize in collecting and selling antique jades, gold and silver jewelry, celebrity calligraphy and paintings, leather goods and satin, etc.

They do not carry burdens, but carry a folded baggage on their shoulders. They beat drums and shout at the same time, so Beijing people also call them "those who play hard drums."

Most of their targets were wealthy families in the declining capital, especially banner families. Since the old ladies in these big houses lost their salaries and financial resources after the Republic of China, they were unwilling to lower their worth and were too shy to sell on the streets, so "hard-charging men" came to collect goods at their doorsteps.

They are good at trying to figure out the psychology of the sellers, and they regard themselves as inferiors, calling people "Ji Ye" and "Ji Grandma" when they see them. After "Da Qian'er" said hello, we could discuss business.

This often yields a rich harvest, and among the items collected there are also some rare epigraphs, paintings, calligraphy, and inscriptions.

These "drum beaters" sell the goods they collect in the "ghost market" every early morning. Most of their goods are bought by knowledgeable merchants and then sold to antique shops or private collectors at good prices. Of course, there are also some shrewd descendants of royal nobles and high-ranking officials who, because they have lost their former privileges and because of their reputation, are unable to sell their collections of calligraphy and paintings to Nanzhi shops, antique shops in Liulichang and other places, or give them to pawn shops. , but choose to sell them at this kind of street stall-style flea market.

In order not to be recognized, they often cover their faces with "big scarves and big masks, leaving only two eyes." At the same time, what they are most taboo about is being illuminated by others with lanterns, for fear of being exposed. Therefore, the "ghost market" also has the rule of "only take care of goods, not people".

In addition, there are also people who collect scrap paper. These people are not highly educated and most of them are illiterate. They regard the paper with writing on it as a treasure. However, the goods they collect are sometimes mixed with some famous people's ink, letters and inscriptions. .

They also sell the "paper" they receive on the "ghost market", often at low prices, making them a target for buyers to miss out. There are also some calligraphy and painting works of unknown origin that have been stolen or stolen and can only be sold in the "ghost market."

At the same time, the "ghost market" is also mixed with some high-quality imitations, either imitated by professional counterfeiters, or sold by servants after being spotted by buyers. Therefore, during the Republic of China, the items for sale in the "ghost markets" in Sijiu City were of various types and at low prices, and people often found treasures there.

According to the memories of old people in old Beijing, some people once found some rare calligraphy and painting treasures at extremely low prices in the ghost market, such as the original handwriting of Yue Fei, a famous anti-gold general, and the calligraphy of Wang Duo, a calligrapher of the Ming Dynasty. , and he became a rich man in a blink of an eye.”

Therefore, the "ghost market" became the first choice place for people in the capital to shop for treasures during the Republic of China.

There are also ghost market rules in the ghost market, because there is a mixture of good and bad in the ghost market, and the buyer has no idea of ​​the identity of the seller and the source of the goods in his hands.

Most of the items sold in the ghost market are old items. The sellers have ulterior motives and often pass them off as good ones. There are even items of unknown origin. It is because the origin of these items is unclear or incorrect, so they cannot see the light or be sold on the market, so they have to come to the ghost market for trading.

When you enter the ghost market, you will find that the biggest difference between this place and other markets is that it is quiet. In many cross talk and film and television works, we can see that in Lao BJ's market, the various hawking sounds all over the street are extremely obvious features.

Even now in many physical markets in our country, the culture of shouting can be seen everywhere. When sellers want to attract customers or sell goods, they have to introduce them loudly and talk at the top of their lungs, just to create a lively atmosphere.

But in the ghost market, you can find that it is so quiet that if it weren't for the light of a few flashlights, you might not be able to find that there is a market here.

Not only did the stall owners in the ghost market not shout loudly, they also did not speak a word during the entire process. The buyer doesn’t say much either. This is all because the first rule of the ghost market is “see the goods without asking the price.”

When buying goods in a ghost market, you cannot be like in a normal market. When you see the item you want to buy, you can directly come up and ask for the price. If you are satisfied with the price, you will buy it. If you are not satisfied with the price, you will leave.

There are many taboos in the ghost market. Buyers are not allowed to talk too much, and they are not allowed to ask the seller where the item came from before buying.

Since sellers come to the ghost market to conduct transactions, it means that most of the items here cannot be displayed openly. This is common sense, and it is also the face left for buyers and sellers in the ghost market.

So, if you don't plan to buy the item, don't ask for the price. Even if the buyer wants to buy the item, the buyer and seller rarely communicate verbally, except for slight whispers and normal nodding and shaking of the head.

At most, when you really need to communicate or bargain, you can pinch your fingers in your sleeves, or take off the hat on your head, cover their hands, and use your hands to compare prices.

In the classic TV series "Mansion Gate", when Bai Jingqi and Bai Qiye went out to study with the two shopkeepers at home, there was a scene where they bargained with each other by pinching their hands in their sleeves.

Of course, if this series of operations has been carried out and the buyer regrets not buying, this is a very disrespectful and price-deprecating behavior in the ghost market.

In the Daliu Shu Ghost Market, the goods are very complete and varied. You can find old objects from various periods here. From the tiled bronzes to the last century's BB machines, bell-bottom pants, radios, celebrity pictorials, comic books, etc.

In Daliushu Market, there is nothing you can’t think of but nothing you can’t find. Because it is said that during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, not to mention old objects, even arms and even children, you could buy them in the ghost market.

Banggan grew up in Sijiu City, and of course he knew this, so after he got the small tripod, he did not go home again. Instead, he waited until night and secretly went to the ghost market in Daliushu.

There, Banggeng was lucky enough to meet a foreigner. The foreigner took a fancy to the small tripod in Banggeng's hand at a glance, and then spent 10,000 yuan to buy the small tripod in Banggeng's hand.

But what Bangge never expected was that there was another person with the foreigner who also liked the small tripod, but unfortunately he didn't bring enough money with him, so he didn't buy it.

That person was a collector in the future. He knew that the bronze tripod was an important weapon of the country and could never let the bronze tripod flow out of his country, so the collector directly called the police.

The foreigner was arrested the next day, but unfortunately, it is difficult to find someone in the ghost market. After all, the two of them never meet each other. They just give money and leave, so no one knows how to take out the small tripod. The sales person is awesome.

However, such an unscrupulous person who can sell the valuables of his country, regardless of whether the other party is a member of his own country, has attracted the attention of the security officers of the Forty-Nine City, and they decided not to let such an unscrupulous person go. .

Subsequently, the security officer also set up a task force to find such unscrupulous people, because it is not sure whether this person still has a national treasure in his hands, and it is not sure whether this person will sell the national treasure again, so such a person It must be found.

If we don't find out, will someone happen to report it to me and others next time?

It is also for this reason that the higher-ups really attach great importance to this matter.

Besides, after Banggeng got 10,000 yuan, he immediately paid off his gambling debt, and then took the remaining money and entered the casino. But this time Banggeng did not act like before. , but you win a lot of money in the casino.

In the courtyard house on the other side, a notice was received from the street, that is, the surrounding areas of the courtyard house will be demolished. It is very likely that this courtyard house will also be demolished.

This news was like a drop of water falling into hot oil, making the originally peaceful courtyard begin to feel uneasy.

Some people are happy and some are sad. He Yuzhu feels a little depressed. However, he has no nostalgia for this courtyard. He will tear it down and leave. Anyway, his future is not destined to be in this courtyard.

But there are some who are die-hards. Yi Zhonghai was the first to object, and the reason for his objection was also very strange, that is, he was unwilling to leave the courtyard. You must know that Yi Zhonghai is not young now, and he is alone. Yi Zhonghai has a plan. What I didn't expect all my life was that I would end up alone.

So Yi Zhonghai is unwilling to leave the courtyard. If he leaves the courtyard, he won't even know where he is going. Without a familiar environment, how can they live alone?

In the courtyard, no matter what, there will be people taking care of him, Yi Zhonghai, but if he leaves here, Yi Zhonghai will be miserable every day.

There are many people who think the same as Yi Zhonghai, and they are all people who have no one to take care of them. Even the third uncle thinks so.

This matter made a big fuss. Those who wanted to leave and those who didn't wanted to leave became two camps. The general manager refused to give in to each other, and the streets held meetings again and again. However, just when those who wanted to leave were about to prepare, When they were gaining the upper hand, an old man who didn't want to leave suddenly passed away. This incident slowed down the demolition of the original quadrangle.

It was unanimously decided to wait until the Asian Games were over before continuing to discuss this issue. Once this issue was shelved, it was shelved for five years.

Soon 1995 came.

(End of this chapter)