After coming out of the Western Small Building, we walked to the West Cross Courtyard and the East Cross Courtyard, which are connected by North Road.
The West Cross Courtyard is relatively large and neat. It is the residence of the head of the Hong family and the former residence of Hong Yanwu's grandfather, Hong Xiaoru.
There is a smaller east courtyard connected to the Moon Gate next to it. It is the small courtyard of Hong Lucheng's compatriot, the eldest son of the Hong family, Hong Fucheng.
The situations in these two courtyards are completely different.
Because it is used as an office area by the street factory, the house in the west courtyard is well protected.
I still remember the birdcage hanging on the porch, the Pekingese running around in the yard, and the large pottery tank with goldfish, although they are all gone now.
But in front of the main room of the north house, a red pomegranate tree to the west and a white begonia tree to the side are still growing prosperously.
In particular, the window lattice in the north room and the carved stone base in front of the west room, which can be used as a table or a stool, were all well protected, which made Hong Lucheng a little bit overjoyed.
These two things are the essence of this courtyard.
The window lattice of the north house is not the conventional "step by step brocade", "lantern frame" or "turtle pattern". It is carved with many flying little bats, which are exquisite and gorgeous, lifelike, lively and cute.
It was in the early years of the Republic of China that when the courtyard was being renovated, skilled craftsmen were specially hired to imitate the windows of the "Li Jing Xuan" in Chu Xiuguan's apse.
The stone base is an old relic from the Yuanmingyuan ruins, and the carvings are equally exquisite.
Hong Xiaoru spent more than 100 taels of silver to buy it from farmers on the edge of Fuhai Lake in Yuanmingyuan. It is absolutely royal.
When he was young, Hong Lucheng's favorite thing was playing with their crickets on this carved base with Shou Jingfang and Hong Shoucheng.
However, in contrast, the East Cross Courtyard has fallen into disrepair.
This place was used as a debris warehouse by the street factory. Broken tables and chairs were almost piled up in one side room, and most of the rooms were empty for a long time and could not be used.
As time goes by, naturally the window lattice is broken and the door is crooked.
The courtyard is already covered with "creepers" and grass half as tall as a man. However, several peach trees and a big banana tree originally planted under the wall have withered.
This makes the whole yard look dark, gloomy and strange, as if it is the residence of monsters and monsters.
Not long after everyone stepped in, a colorful flower snake glided through the grass, with an ocher bottom and dark green seals, like a python robe on the stage.
Everyone was shocked at the same time. Wang Yunlin was even more frightened, for fear of hurting the children.
Fortunately, Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan quickly recognized it as the "Red Chain Snake." It is only poisonous in the mouth when eating. Although it has a ferocious appearance, it has a docile temperament.
Everyone felt at ease now, but it was inconvenient to stay in the courtyard any longer and they all exited the gate.
In fact, it is not just because of fear, but also because there is a mother in the capital who says that "fox, yellow, gray and white willow" (fox, weasel, mouse, hedgehog, and worm) are household gods and should not be offended easily. In such a situation
, you have to avoid it early and don't "crash".
At this time, in order to calm his wife and children, and to ease the negative mood in the Western-style building just now, Hong Lucheng told everyone some interesting anecdotes from the two courtyards back then.
Because Xikuoyuan is the residence of Hong Xiaoru, the Hong family used to come here every Spring Festival to have a reunion dinner. The New Year customs here are quite interesting.
First of all, on New Year's Eve, the Hong family used sesame straw exclusively.
Sesame belongs to the Lamiaceae family. It has a hollow square stem and makes a sound when stepped on.
Using the homonym of "trampling on the old", it is called "trampling on the new year". There is also another meaning of "trampling on the new year", which means "trampling on evil spirits". Stepping on evil spirits can ensure safety and no disaster.
Secondly, from the first to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, if guests come, sugar and a section of cypress branches should be added to the tea.
There are also things to pay attention to when eating. Eating dumplings is called "receiving ingots". Do not eat all the dumplings on the plate, but leave one or two, which is called "pressing the plate", which means the more you eat, the more you eat. Steamed buns are called "dafa", which means
Make a fortune.
It was not until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year that the children of the Hong family were allowed to go back to their respective residences to eat alone.
As for the fun things in the East Cross Courtyard, there are even more.
Because the children's uncle, Hong Fucheng, is a master of sensuality and fun, and makes everyone happy.
When I was young, I loved raising pigeons and fishing. In my middle age, I loved Peking Opera, going to shopping malls, and even more fun playing Kun Jiao Er and female actors. Since I was just in my early twenties, I have been very sophisticated in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling.
Hong Xiaoru actually didn't like this son, but after all, he was the eldest son of the Hong family and he had no mother. As long as he didn't make too much trouble, he tolerated him.
Fortunately, this son is not just a playboy, and the title of police commissioner is of some use to the Hong family. And from Hong Fucheng's personal point of view, he is more suitable for joining the officialdom.
Although he is incompetent in solving crimes, he is good at socializing. And because his family has money, he does not use it to entertain his colleagues. His boss is very generous and he is popular with everyone.
Especially because of his authentic Qingyi skills of the Mei School, he is highly appreciated by high-ranking officials and dignitaries, and he has friends with whom he can talk in various government agencies. This is the foundation for his rapid rise to the top.
It's just a pity that he is smart but impetuous, talented but not persistent. Therefore, singing depends entirely on the kindness of his voice. If he doesn't study patiently, he won't be able to do it.
Once when she sang "Visiting Mother in the Palace", she actually knocked the "child" down. From then on, people gave her the nickname "Radio Celebrity (Hong)", which means you can only listen to it, not watch it.
This also limits his chances of showing his face before going up to the peak, otherwise he might have become the police commissioner or deputy commissioner long ago.
But having said that, such a person must have many stories. For example, when he treated his small courtyard, he was very unconventional.
When Ganqing first moved into the new courtyard, Hong Fucheng had just received a large bribe and wanted to arrange it well.
After several inspections, he decided to dig three feet of ground into a pond, build a bridge over the pond, and build a pavilion on the bridge. He would create an elegant landscape in his yard that would impress people.
So the pavilion was demolished and renovated. It was renovated and demolished. It was renamed several times, first "Liuyun", then "Flying Waterfall", then "Huayuan", and finally "Tingyu".
Then there was a big fight for the water in the pond. Hong Fucheng first found someone to carry it, but as the burden continued to leak out, the well at home was almost dry, and the pond was still not full.
So he hired special people to carry the water, and like Jingwei filling up the sea, he carried water day and night.
Later, because he heard from someone that he saw a strange stone in Yingying Valley, Xiangshan Mountain, west of Beijing, he even spent a lot of money and went through great hardships to dig it out from the mountain, transport it home, and place it by the pool.
Clinker, the stone is boring without the rustic charm, and when placed by the pool, it looks completely stupid with a dead eyebrow.
He then asked a painter to add green patches on it to imitate moss.
The effect is indeed eye-catching. His biological father made a very pertinent comment, "I spent thousands of dollars and actually got back a thousand-year-old bastard shell!"
If there is a stone pavilion, there must be bamboo. So he asked someone to spend a lot of money to buy the precious and famous bamboo "gold inlaid with jade" and planted it next to the "bastard shell".
But if the bamboo doesn't take root, its leaves will turn yellow within a few days.
He had no choice but to move pine saplings and tie them with poles, hoping that they would grow into famous pine trees like "Wolong", "Fengyan" and "Lotus" in the future.
But he was impatient and couldn't stand the slow growth of the pine seedlings. In the end, he simply pulled them out and replaced them with the fast-growing "Rattleleaf poplar".
Now his daughter-in-law, the eldest grandma of the Hong family, was so anxious that she cried and begged in front of her parents. She said, "Don't plant mulberries in the front, don't plant willows in the back, and don't plant ghosts (poplar trees) in the middle."
For my sake, I had to plant something so unlucky at home. It would be my fault if I didn’t report it..."
In this case, Hong Xiaoru really had to intervene.
Finally, as soon as the old man spoke, the pond was filled, the pavilion was demolished, the poplar tree was uprooted, and the "thousand-year-old bastard shell" was also removed. A moon door was also opened in the west corner so that the eldest son could be inspected at any time.
restraint and supervision.
But Hong Fucheng spent nearly ten thousand yuan and got nothing. He only got a clean and flat courtyard and a scolding. When he got angry, he didn't bother to take care of it. He simply broke the pot and smashed it to the ground.
The ground was completely smoothed.
But unexpectedly, I planted willows unintentionally. This move actually has other benefits in winter.
At that time, you only need to leave a sidewalk of more than one meter along the wall, surround the remaining part with soil and pour water, and when the ice is two to three inches thick, you will have a large artificial ice rink.
When people skate on it, the effect is the same as that of the "Ancestral Temple" ice rink.
So the Hong family had enough of their ice skating addiction here, and even turned out electric lights to continue skating at night.
If things go on like this, after several winters, even the grandmother who never leaves the house has learned to skate.
Therefore, this Dongkua Courtyard once brought a lot of joy and excitement to the Hong family in winter. It is also called the "Ice Rink Courtyard" in the Hong family's mouth.
After Hong Yanzheng, Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan heard about it, they were shocked. Only then did they understand why the foundation of the East Crossing Courtyard was suddenly half a foot lower than the West Crossing Courtyard.
Thinking about it, this is the reason why some soil was removed during the large-scale construction work to dig pits and ponds, and then filled it in again, so we had to dig out other parts of the yard.
Moreover, Hong Yanwu felt even more regretful. Why was he not born when the Hong family was so lively?
Alas! I was born at the wrong time!
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