The house where the old editor lived during his lifetime was none other than the house that was converted into a doorway after the original west gate of Ma's Garden was blocked up.
This fully demonstrates the downgraded treatment experienced by old editors who "made mistakes" in special years, as well as the shortage of housing in the capital.
Because there is no rear window, even the north room, which has the best orientation, is not so bright.
When the padlock, which was already a little rusty, was taken off, the door was opened with a "squeak", and a musty and earthy smell rushed into the dark room.
Ning Weimin and Kang Shude had to cover their mouths and noses as they stepped into the house.
Needless to say, the first thing they did was to draw the curtains and open the windows to ventilate the room.
Under the sunlight, I saw a cloud of dust rising up.
When the light cord was pulled down and the light bulb illuminated, the entire contents of the house were finally revealed.
Because the area is limited, there is not much furniture in the room.
A single bed, a large wardrobe, a bookcase, a chest of five drawers, a writing desk, two chairs, a cupboard, that's all, not even a dining table.
The quality of these furniture is also not good, it is nothing more than red pine and manchurian ash.
There is a clock on the wall that is made of hardwood, but unfortunately there are bruises. The clock has obviously been smashed.
The glass cover outside is gone, and the pointer has not moved, but it has stopped at about 8:20.
This makes it look quite bleak and completely sad.
Judging from the traces of dust left on the five-drawer cabinet, a TV should have been placed here.
There was a greasy yellow newspaper wall under the window, and a wire hanging with old towels in the air.
It shows that this place was once occupied by a coal stove and washstand.
These things are gone now.
Even after opening the big wardrobe and looking inside, there were none of the more valuable coats, outerwear, or trousers.
There are only a few dozen books left on the bookcase, and several floors are vacant.
Obviously, this hut had been raided by the editor's son like a Japanese raider.
All the valuable money was taken away, and almost everything that could be sold was sold.
The rest were things he didn't bother to touch, no wonder he was so generous.
But it is precisely because of this that the old photos and old certificates above the desk, on the wall and under the glass plate of the desk appear particularly dazzling.
The editor's son seemed to have forgotten to take away the most important thing!
Ning Weimin walked over and looked at them one by one and found that they were indeed life records of the good times and memories of the old man's life.
It can almost cover the most important moments in the old man's life and the life trajectory of the family.
There are not only photos of the old editor and his wife when they were young, but also photos of the couple with their friends and relatives. There are also family photos of the family of three taken in the photo studio, as well as travel photos of their family outings, their children participating in artistic performances at school, and the couple.
A scene of celebrating my son’s birthday together.
Then there are his son’s graduation photos, graduation photos, wedding photos of his son and daughter-in-law, and his son’s family photos...
The most important thing is that there is a portrait of the lady of the family who took the first step on the wall hanging on the wall.
Even if you hate your father because of what you have suffered, do you think you will not want your own mother?
Ning Weimin could not understand or agree with the way the editor's son handled the old man's belongings.
This may be because he himself is an orphan.
I have never had true family affection, so I attach great importance to family affection.
Isn’t that what people are like?
We often don’t know how to cherish what we have, and always think it is natural.
This is just like how few people from the capital can be seen in the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.
Maybe it’s just because it’s so close, it’s so convenient to go there.
So not many people in the capital would be so interested...
Of all the things in the house it looked the saddest.
I'm afraid it's the one hanging on the wall, and a page of the month plate needs to be torn off every day.
The day above always stays on September 12, 1981!
"Hey, Weimin, what are you looking at?"
Kang Shude saw Ning Weimin standing in front of the writing desk without moving for a long time, so he couldn't help but come over and ask.
"Ah? You asked me..."
Ning Weimin, who had just woken up from a dream, pointed at the thing that stunned him.
"I...I see this, this...this is probably the day when the old editor suddenly passed away..."
A person who dies suddenly is like a house that has been ransacked. Everything in front of you shows that death is as desolate as a lamp going out.
This feeling was so bad that Ning Weimin's mood was inevitably negatively affected.
However, his gloomy look and stuttering speech caused Kang Shude to misunderstand.
"Hey! What's the point? Don't care about this. You have to think about it this way, which old house hasn't had a death? If you are taboo and afraid of this, then how can you live in a courtyard?"
"Especially in the past, when medical technology was backward, it was not too easy to die. It was too common for women to suffer from dystocia and hemorrhage, and many children who were born with 'four or six winds' died young. It is even more difficult for children to grow into adults.
It's easy. Maybe he gets sick at any time and can be taken care of by the Lord of Hell. What's more, it happens to be in the troubled times, human life is like grass, where is the grass without burying people? Who can leave a whole body is already good
.”
"I'm really not trying to scare you. Just in this Ma family's garden, I saw with my own eyes that there were about thirty people sent away. The Ma family is a big family, with wives, aunts, servants, and relatives in each house.
. Let’s be more objective. Because of the age of your uncle’s imperial uncle’s courtyard, there are indispensable coffins sent out from there. Even if there are not a hundred, I’m afraid there must be eighty. This is a normal thing...
…”
After saying this, Ning Weimin couldn't help but exclaimed - "Ah!"
"Old man, where are all this? I'm really scared when you say it. Just in my courtyard, you can almost tell me what it feels like in "Liao Zhai".
He couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.
"You don't know, this is not why I feel uncomfortable. The main reason is that I feel that this life is really too short for a person to be reduced to ashes."
"Just like this old editor, he obviously existed, but no one remembers it now. Even his son doesn't want the things he left behind. The result is too tragic."
"Especially for people like us, who can enter someone's home behind their back, rummage through someone else's personal belongings, and touch the privacy of someone else's life. Isn't it a bit inappropriate? I think it's a bit of a robbery..."
These words made Kang Shude look serious.
After a moment of silence, the old man said, "It's good that a kid like you can think like this and know how to respect the deceased. This is called empathy."
"But you must also understand that there are lives and deaths in this world every minute. Life and death are really ordinary. No one can escape this day, and everyone's belongings must be disposed of by others. Even me.
ah."
"At that time, I have no other relatives. Aren't you the one to pick and choose my things? How can you keep all my things? Do you want the tattered clothes and rotten socks? This
It's impossible. As for the things I love and care about, I can only rest assured if you take them away."
"As for this matter, the same is true. After all, the person who once lived here was an educated person, and it is inevitable that he left behind some precious things that ordinary people don't know. It is better for us to restrain it than to ignore it and treat it as if it were all.
Those who deal with junk are strong. We are doing a good deed. It can be said that we complement each other with the original owner. I think even if there is any rudeness, the person's spirit in heaven will not mind."
"Besides, to put it bluntly, in order to prevent committing evil and getting ill-gotten gains, the rules of the second-hand goods industry are nothing more than the 'three no-buys'. Don't buy bronze Buddha statues, especially those with 'dirty' in their stomachs. That's called 'dumb.'"
'. Don't buy clothes that have just been taken off by passers-by. Don't buy medicines made at home, and don't buy those with lying patients. In addition, everything can be bought and sold. It does not harm one's moral character, and it is not considered taking advantage of others' danger. So I want to say
, if you have any obstacles in your mind, don’t worry. On the contrary, this is when it really depends on your ability, whether you can arrange these things properly."
The old man's words were to the point, and they relieved Ning Weimin's awkwardness a lot.
When he thought about it, this was indeed the case. After all, housekeeping was a technical job that required vision and vision.
Even though there is no bad blood between the father and son, the old editor's son carefully packs away his father's belongings.
Then you may not be able to truly identify the true value of these things in your home.
Now that he and the old man are screening it again, they can at least eliminate the possibility of good things being wasted, which should be considered a good deed.
So, he nodded in agreement and braced himself to get started.
The clinker old man still has something to say.
"Hey, don't be busy yet. I mean, disciple, it's so boring to just start looking for things like this. Today we might as well make a bet and compare our eyesight."
"As for the things in this room, you pick first. Every time you pick one thing, I will pick another one. Let's take three pieces per person as the maximum. Let's see who picks the most valuable thing today. How about it?"
"If you can beat me, not only will everything I pick out today belong to you, but I will also keep my word. The small courtyard in Shan'er Hutong will be renamed after you, and it will belong to you from now on."
"But if you lose...hehe, I'm sorry. Even if you deserve to be unlucky, you have to work for me in vain. I can only wait for you to get the rest of the yard back to me, and I will fulfill my promise and reward you..."
Seeing Kang Shude looking at him with a half-smile, Ning Weimin clearly felt the old man's motivation.
So he didn't back down, he simply rolled up his arms, rolled up his sleeves, and stretched out his palms.
"Master, I listen to you and this is what we will do."
After speaking, the master and the apprentice happily high-fived each other and the bet was concluded.
An unprecedented on-site battle of skills began, a competition of eyesight between master and disciple.