"Italy, why did you suddenly remember to go to Italy?" asked Zhang Bei, looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"I just want to go, can you go with me? "I was coquettish to him.

"Shizuko, I'm sorry, Blue and Lilia are coming to Beijing next month, we have a cooperation to talk about with him, I can't go away, sorry. Zhang Bei looked at me apologetically and said.

I was disappointed when I heard it, I thought that I could have a two-person trip with Zhang Bei, but this time it was in vain.

Forget it, his work is important, after all, our mother still has to rely on him to feed.

"Forget it, then you're busy. ”

"Obedient, when this project is completed, I will accompany you wherever you want to go, okay?"

"No, I don't want to go anywhere, I'd better stay at home. ”

Saying that, I left Zhang Bei's arms in disappointment and walked over to play with Xiaobei.

Fortunately, no cancer cells were found in Ping Ping and An An's bodies, and they were both healthy, which made me very happy.

My mother-in-law and father-in-law don't like the fast-paced life in Beijing, so they went back to Luoyang when Pingping and An An were 3 years old, and they would come from Luoyang to take Pingping and An An back to Luoyang during the winter and summer vacations.

I'm still teaching at school, I'm still working from home, and everything is going on the bright side.

In July, Blue and Lilia came to Beijing, and Zhang Bei and I went to the airport to pick them up.

At the airport, Blue excitedly hugged Zhang Bei, "Hey, how is my brother doing?"

"I'm fine, what about you?"

"I'm also very nice, I heard that you have a pair of dragon and phoenix twins? I came from England this time to bring gifts for both of them. ”

"Yes, it's called Pingping and An'an. Zhang Bei said with a happy face.

"Ping Ping and An'an...... Peace and security, good name! I hope you all are safe. Blue laughed.

"Hey, Shizuko hasn't seen you for a long time. Lilia greeted me politely.

"Hey, Lilia long time no see. I bowed my head slightly and replied politely.

"Shizuko, I really admire your courage, really, you are great. Lilia looked at me with admiration.

I knew what she was referring to, and I admired myself too, and I glanced at Zhang Bei with a proud face.

Zhang Bei tilted his head to look at me and said jokingly, "Please Mrs. Zhang, don't be complacent, and continue to maintain this courage." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the four of us looked up to the sky and laughed.

Blue and Lilia need to stay in Beijing for a week, and during that week, Blue and Zhang Bei talked about work, and I took Lilia around Beijing.

In the Forbidden City, Lilia was amazed by the buildings and objects left behind by our ancestors.

She said that she had always wanted to come to the Forbidden City to have a look, but she just didn't have the opportunity.

"The Forbidden City is a place I've been fascinated for a long time, and I can finally see the amazing ancient Chinese architecture. After entering the noon gate, Lilia looked at the huge Forbidden City and sighed.

"Lilia, do you know that you have been fascinated and shocked for a long time? It seems that your Chinese level has improved a lot in recent years. I looked at her and smiled and complimented.

"What's wrong with the words?" Lilia asked as she saw me smile.

"Yes, it's pretty standard!" I gave her a thumbs up and a thumbs up.

We spent 3 hours in the Forbidden City, and Lilia was a place that we didn't want to let go.

When she came to the Imperial Garden, she looked at the rockery here, and she let out a lot of sighs.

"Ancient Chinese people, why are they so powerful, Shizuko, let me ask you, along the way, we all saw a few large vats, what did they do?"

"These water tanks are called Menhai, and their purpose is to extinguish fires, and the temple belongs to the earth, and if it is on fire, fire gives birth to earth in the five elements, and earth gives birth to gold, and gold gives birth to water, and water gives birth to wood, and wood gives birth to fire, and fire gives birth to earth. In this way, there is an endless amount of water, so it is called Menkai.

Around the palace in the Forbidden City, there are countless eye-catching "auspicious jars", also known as "Taiping jars". There are two kinds of "auspicious cylinders" such as copper cylinders and iron cylinders, which can be divided into three categories: "gold-plated sea" copper cylinders, bronze cylinders and iron cylinders according to the material.

According to historical records, in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, there were 308 large and small "auspicious cylinders" in the palace, but now only 108 remain. The number and size of the "auspicious jars" displayed throughout the palace depend on the environment.

For example, the Taihe Palace, the Baohe Hall and the Qianqing Gate are all furnished with "gilded sea" copper cylinders, and the courtyards of the East and West Sixth Palaces of the Inner Court and the long street are furnished with relatively small bronze cylinders or iron cylinders.

They are not only decorations for beautifying the Forbidden City, but also indispensable firefighting equipment. The ancients called the "auspicious jar" "the sea of the door", which means "the sea in front of the door".

These "auspicious jars" are stocked with clean water all year round, and once there is a fire in the palace, the eunuchs can take water from the nearby jars to put out the fire.

Did you know that each tank can hold more than 3,000 liters of water, like a small reservoir?" I said proudly.

"Oh, yes, I thought it was for the good looks, and I've seen a lot of holes along the way, do those holes do anything?"

"Hole?" I looked dazed, not understanding what Lilia was talking about.

"Even under some walls, there is the hollow hole of the dragon's head in the Taihe Palace. Lilia didn't know how to explain it to me.

As soon as I heard the Taihe Palace, I knew what she was talking about, and I smiled at Lilia and said, "That's the drainage system of the Forbidden City, our Forbidden City is more than 600 years old, but we have never had a flood, thanks to the drainage system made by ancient architects when they built the Forbidden City." ”

"Wow, that's amazing, so how did he do it?"

"In order to keep the ground waterlogged, we need to ensure that the amount of water discharged is greater than the amount of precipitation at the same time.

In order to achieve this goal, the Forbidden City has carefully designed a complete and strict drainage system, which can be called the world's leading black technology.

Standing in front of the square in front of the Taihe Hall and looking up, the majestic and magnificent three halls are located on the high white marble base, the base of more than 7 meters high has three layers, and there are many finely carved dragon heads around each layer.

After a heavy rain, the spectacular picture of "a thousand dragons spraying water" begins here.

The eaves flow like a waterfall, and the 1,142 faucet drainage holes gush like a waterfall, and the rainwater turns into a beautiful arc, which is then instantly drained and discharged into the Neijinshui River.

The drainage of the Forbidden City, a combination of various drainage methods, both underground waterways, and ground ditches, these large or small, or bright into dark, vertical and horizontal drainage facilities, can make more than 90 courtyards in the palace, 720,000 square meters of rainwater drain smoothly.

The drainage works of the Forbidden City are divided into open channels and culverts, the open channels are visible to the naked eye, such as drainage ditches, and the culverts are like cobwebs, densely covered underground.

When the nullah encounters obstacles such as steps or walls, a circle of holes is opened under it, which is called "ditch eye"; water flows from the ground into the entrance of the culvert, and most of them are carved into the shape of copper coins in the Ming and Qing dynasties with square stone slabs, which are called "money eyes".

It is precisely because the designers designed a sophisticated drainage system, coupled with regular maintenance and timely dredging, that the Forbidden City has been waterlogged for 600 years, no matter how heavy the rainfall, there is no disadvantage of water accumulation, and it has become a miracle in the history of ancient architecture. ”

"The ancient Chinese were really smart. ”

"Well, we have a history of 5,000 years. "At this moment, I am even more proud to be a Chinese!