After talking about the fresh goods of summer, it is time to talk about the summer stay.

People who lived in the courtyard in the past may have remembered the heat of the summer in the old days. Especially after a few volts, the day and night are so hot that I can't breathe. It was really a fire in the sky, a steamer on the ground, nowhere to hide, nowhere to hide.

At that time, there was a saying in the capital, called "there is no gentleman in the summer heat". It means that the gentleman who pays the most attention to neat clothes can be bareback in midsummer without being ridiculed.

As for the rough people who are not among the "gentlemen", not only do men become "grandfathers" shirtless, but boys at the age of five or six can be naked, and bright treasures run all over the streets, which is called "little teapots".

Even the elderly woman, because she realized that she was already a person from the past, didn't care about anything anymore, and she didn't let her become a "grandmother".

But there is one thing, this is limited to old ladies over sixty years old, and they can only stay indoors, and they must also avoid men of the same age, elders and extremely noble relatives and friends.

Like some of the older women who dare to challenge the extremes of the world, they are still exposed in public. It is called "falling and generous" if it sounds good, but it is too bad to say that it is too bad. That body of alcohol falls into the eyes of neighbors, it is definitely a huge mental burden, and it can lead people to nightmares.

To say that in this year, the vast majority of the people in the capital really have no good way to get rid of the summer heat. In addition to playing shirtless, it is to shake the fan, or to splash the ground with cold water.

Men can still flush under the water pipe. Before going to bed and after dinner, the mother will take the basin and receive cold water, let the child hold his hands in the basin on the ground, and give the child "a flush of the backbone".

And then there's it, that is, taking a dip in the evening and sleeping on the streets.

In the end, there was no way out, because the house was as hot as a steamer, and it was impossible to get into the house at midnight. There is still a cool breeze on the streets, and you can sleep with a mat.

So I looked around, lying horizontally and vertically, with my eyes closed and my mouth open, but fortunately there was the symphonic snoring, otherwise it would be really terrifying.

It can be seen from this that in the eyes of the broad masses of the people, the high temperature in this summer is completely unimaginable, and it is an ordeal that cannot be avoided.

Think about it, no matter how cold it is in winter, you can still add clothes, even if you are at home with the stove and the quilt. But the heat can't be done, can't you peel off a layer of skin?

Therefore, some people often sigh to themselves, "Uncomfortable is uncomfortable, but this is also the fairest day!"

The implication is that those who are officials and rich are just as helpless in this weather. You can only endure and survive by enduring, and suffer the same sin as the poor.

But to be honest, this is the pure Ah Q spirit, and it may also take advantage of the poor people's unimaginable days of real prosperity to come to this self-righteous and absolute conclusion.

In fact, in the face of the same summer heat, it is really different. At the very least, there are many houses, and everyone has different space.

Can a hut be crammed into three or five people and live in a single courtyard? Can chatting under a big locust tree on the street be the same as enjoying the cool air under a flower and fruit tree in one's own small yard?

Not to mention the mansions of the Hong family, which are like the old days, with a verandah and a mansion that can build a pergola and have their own garden. That's incomparable, worlds apart.

How big of a difference is this in life?

In fact, let's just take Hong Yanwu and "Sugar Xin'er" as an example, just take a look at the two of them in the "Qifenglou Hutong" in their own small courtyard, and we will understand what's going on.

If you talk about it according to the old order of the capital. After the rain, people with their own homes have to prepare for summer.

First, start by arranging the flowers and trees in the garden.

People who live alone in the courtyard should move the potted flowers and trees for the winter from the indoor to the garden, and plant various flowers and plants such as "grass jasmine", "cockscomb", "impatiens", "mint", and "morning glory" on both sides of the small courtyard, and also move the lotus pot to the corner of the courtyard after winter.

Hong Yanwu and "Sugar Heart" also did this.

Because the "sugar heart" likes white, they transplanted a large area of "hosta flowers" in the shade of the wall, and planted a little "mint grass", "grass jasmine" and "impatiens" in the sunny place. He also set up a shelf in the courtyard and planted loofahs.

At this time, it is roughly past the valley rain and most of the months, and in terms of time, it is not tight. Not to mention, by July, these flowers and plants are growing really well, thriving, and full of vitality.

It's just that there is no lotus vat, "Sister Dog" is from Huhai, and there is no preference for people in Beijing to raise goldfish. It's a woman again, and this big guy can't afford to toss.

Second, after the thirteenth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the house must be cleaned up.

In the old days, there was a sentence in the mother's order in the capital, "The great drought is only May 13". This is because that day was the day when Guan Yunchang crossed the river and met Wu's "single knife meeting", and it often rained "knife grinding rain".

Although the "Single Knife Meeting" has nothing to do with the north, after the Dragon Boat Festival, there are indeed often unexpected heavy rains in the capital.

Rong Jianchen, a single-string actor in the old days, often sang a "fork song" called "The Wind and Rain Returns to the Boat", in which there are a few sentences, "The wind and thunder in the northwest sky, and the dark clouds roll black and long in an instant...... The rain is pouring out."

This describes the rain scene of Futian in the capital, which is characterized by only a piece of cloud to cause rain, which not only comes quickly, but also comes violently. Vivid indeed.

Therefore, after the beginning of summer, when the weather is good, many families have to repair the house, wipe the roof, brush the green gray water, lay linoleum, and fill the gaps in the walls and eaves.

These tasks are not difficult, but they are very trivial. The small courtyard of "Qifenglou Hutong" is also a private house, and the public does not care if there is a problem. Hong Yanwu had no choice but to ask Mr. Shan to send two small workers to do these things.

Although it has caused a lot of trouble, this matter has to be talked about twice.

Don't forget, Hong Yanwu and "Sugar Heart" were able to grow by leaps and bounds thanks to a heavy rain in the summer in the capital. They can be regarded as "returning to the heart from the storm".

So who can get tired of such weather, they can't blame it.

Third, Xiaoman has to build a ceiling before and after.

There is also a saying in Jiujing that can be called a slogan, called "The pomegranate tree in the canopy fish tank, Mr. Fat Dog Fat Girl." This first half of the sentence is about the summer scene in Beijing.

The so-called "ceiling" is a pergola that is temporarily built in front of the house where the courtyard lives in the summer with bamboo poles as a frame and a reed mat as the roof. It was erected from May to dismantled after the "Midyear Festival".

Those who engage in this kind of industry are called "shed craftsmen", and the history can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty.

The shackers in the capital have a special need to build pergolas, they need to dig pits in the south to build sheds, they are flat to set up fir pennies, and the support is safe, not afraid of hurricanes. There is also a drawstring on the top mat, which can be rolled at will.

In addition, because this was a method introduced to the people by the official family, even the court and the royal palace had to build a pergola to escape the heat.

is like the scene in the TV series where the summer is scorching, and the inner courtyard of the palace is still exposed to the sun, really in the past, the emperor just didn't get hot and had prickly heat, and the officials of the internal affairs office were also dead.

Speaking of which, it has to be mentioned that in the early years, the courtyards in Beijing and Tianjin must be covered with square bricks, and no big trees should be planted (except for the courtyard of the hall and the intersection of the residence), either for anything else, or to facilitate the construction of the canopy in the summer.

So this is one of the reasons why most of the courtyards in the Forbidden City do not have big trees. However, there are many reasons listed on the Internet but they do not say this, probably because there are too few people who know how they lived in the past.

However, Hong Yanwu and "Sugar Heart" did not copy and learn from this point, not because no one would do it. The "scaffolding worker" that Mr. Shan found was the original "scaffolding worker".

The main reason is that there is no place. The courtyard of "Sugar Heart" is small, and it is also on one side of the east wing, so it is too inconvenient to build a ceiling.

In addition, the times are different, and the ceiling material is prone to fire, which is a big safety hazard in Hong Yanwu's view.

What people didn't expect was that Mr. Shan's craftsman was not a well-informed master, and he actually gave a brilliant idea.

He said that in the past, even if ordinary families did not have the ability to build a canopy on the land boundary, they would build a small shed or tent under the window eaves of their east and west wings, called "rain hanging", which could not only shade the sun, but also shelter from the rain.

And with his experience, there is actually a better way near Taiyuan, Shanxi. That is, directly add a hook under the eaves of the east and west houses, and then hang the roll mat. It can be stretched arbitrarily and plays a role in temperature control.

Not to mention, Hong Yanwu tried this method, and it was absolutely amazing. It is economical, convenient and cool, and the ventilation is good. Since there is a certain distance between the eaves and the windows, even if the curtains are all down, the house will not be completely dark.

He hurriedly used it in the Guanyin Courtyard to relieve the worries of his eldest brother, sister-in-law and younger sister.

Not to mention that Hong Lucheng and Wang Yunlin were amazed at it, they all said it was ingenious. The three neighbors followed suit.

Hey, a trick that benefits everyone.

Fourth, the house is cleaned up, and you have to buy a variety of summer daily necessities.

Things are different, but the quality of life is also different.

Yes, ordinary people have nowhere to buy air conditioners these days. But at least the gas stove, electric fan, refrigerator, washing machine, Hong Yanwu has bought everything for his home and "sugar heart".

It's really a matter of underestimating these things that people take for granted today.

If anyone has ever experienced moving a stove around, the back is stuffy, the front is dry, and you have to endure the pain of smoking, you know the beauty of a gas stove.

If anyone has ever experienced washing clothes with a washboard, they can sweat even if they sit in the shade, and their hands are red and itchy, so they will also read the washing machine.

If it is dog days, there is no wind at night, and the fan can shake people's hands. Compare it to the smell of an electric fan and a refrigerator, which is simply a long live prostration, and the inventors of these electrical appliances bow their heads.

What's more, the small courtyard of "Sugar Heart" has the biggest advantage, that is, it has its own toilet, and there is no need to go to the official thatched house outside to endure the stench and dirt.

Hong Yanwu also made people simply transform it, pasted tiles, and pressed the shower head. And connect a hose with rubber from the water pipe under the shower head.

In this way, as long as you insert this restaurant into the kettle, you can take a hot bath with the natural suction of the water. Even in winter, four warm pots can definitely make a person wash happily.

What is folk wisdom?

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(End of chapter)