The Shaoxing Guild Hall, located outside Xuanwu Gate, was first built to provide food and accommodation for the students from all over the country who came to Beijing to take the exam. The Chinese people attach great importance to local values, and officials from all over the country hope that the children from their hometown can pass the exam and become officials in the court. Therefore,
Officials from all over the country in Beijing must choose locations, purchase land, and build guild halls.
In the Qing Dynasty, a system of dividing banners and civilians was implemented. People living in Beijing and guild halls from various places were all moved to the outer city. As a result, a unique guild hall culture was formed in the area south of Xuanwumen. The guild halls in various places not only retained the local food, customs and
The residential culture has also become a gathering place for "Northern drifters" from all over the world.
Therefore, this generation gathered together guild halls built in various places. The Shaoxing guild hall is just an inconspicuous one among them. It is located in Nanwai Half Hutong. Liulichang is outside Zhengyangmen. To the west, there is Xuanwumen, which is very close. Therefore
, He Qi and Qian Xuan arrived very quickly.
To the north of Nan Wai Ban Hutong is Bei Wai Jie Hutong, at the end of which is an old vegetable market. Many people were executed here during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is almost noon, and there are no people around now. There are two cars and one
He Qi passed by the vegetable market with a startling glance, but He Qi was still choked by the rotten and fishy stench that had been filling the air for hundreds of years and covered her mouth and nose.
The main entrance of the Shaoxing Guild Hall is very inconspicuous. It is hidden in an earth-yellow wall. The wall is full of devastation, so the bright red door stands out. On the door hangs a wooden plaque inscribed by Wei Longchang, which reads "Shaoxing Guild Hall"
"Four words", there is a thin shadow standing under the door, wearing a gray cloth gown, holding a cigarette in his hand, looking at the entrance of the alley from time to time, it's Brother Xun or someone else.
The two got out of the car, Qian Xuan paid the fare first, and Brother Xun came up to greet him. After the three of them saluted, Qian Xuan was about to take He Qi in. Brother Xun was not in a hurry, and took another puff, slowly.
He said: "We'll go in later. They are evenly matched. I'm afraid we won't be able to tell the winner for a while. Let's go to Guangheju first and order the dishes. They both eat very well, so the food for lunch should also be more particular."
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He Qi still didn't understand what this "making money" was all about, so he heard Qian Xuan joke: "Both of them are big businessmen, they travel all over the world, what kind of food have they never seen? According to me
Look, it's better to serve some home-cooked side dishes and save Brother Qi some money.
He Qi was anxious. He had very little money and wished he could use it as two cents. Besides, there was no sign of making money, so he hurriedly interjected: "I haven't found a job yet, and renting a house costs money. It's just a treat."
Let me take it slow, take it easy."
But he saw Qian Xuan twisting his orchid finger, looking like a magic stick, and said in a nonchalant voice: "I'm going to count my fingers, brother Qi will make money today, so this meal can't be missed."
He Qi scratched his head, becoming more and more confused as he listened.
On the way to Guangheju, Brother Xun briefly talked about what was going to happen later. He Qi finally understood what "making money" is all about?
To be precise, I am helping Brother Xun, and "making money" is secondary.
When Brother Xun was studying in Japan, he met two fellow villagers, one was Xi Ziqiao, whose family ran a raw silk business, and the other Gu Weixian, whose family ran a weaving business. The three of them had always exchanged letters and had a close friendship.
I came to Pingjin to discuss business, and then I made a special trip to Peking for a visit. Brother Xun treated me as my host.
Speaking of these two people, they are serious second-generation rich people with a well-off family. Not to mention their ordinary social activities, they are a waste of money and materials. Besides, Brother Xun is still living in a free club, so how can he still have money?
Are you going to entertain these two?
However, Brother Xun thought of a good idea. These two are quite good chess players. When they were in Japan, they did not go to class every day and were addicted to Go. After returning to China, they even established a chess club together. They wrote to me a few days ago.
It is said that the two spent a lot of money to invite the Japanese professional fourth-level chess player Takabe Michei to come to Shaoxing to play against the famous Fengjing player Gu Shuiru in order to rectify the name of the national chess. Unfortunately, Gu Rushui lost in three games.
.
The two of them complained about this matter in letters for a long time.
Just yesterday, Qian Xuan came to Brother Xun to talk about the article written by Yang Chengzhan. During the chat, Brother Xun talked about the visit of his friends and the hospitality. He wanted Qian Xuan to come forward and say something about the subordinate who wanted to spend money to invite him.
A very good chess student, Zhao Ruyi, a disciple of national player Wang Yunfeng, came to play.
Qian Xuan laughed when he heard this, and then mentioned that He Qi lived in his student's house, and his student Ruyi said that she was not as good as He Qi in chess. It would be better to invite He Qi to come directly, and He Qi's lack of money could be alleviated.
dilemma.
Brother Xun agreed immediately.
Guangheju is one of the "Eight Great Residences" in Peiping. It is separated from the Shaoxing Guild Hall by a wall. When Brother Xun first came to Peiping, he would come to Guangheju several times a month to make teeth and offer sacrifices. The clerks in the store were all very familiar with it. Brother Xun quickly
After ordering a table of dishes, the three of them turned around and returned to the clubhouse.
The Shaoxing Guild Hall occupies a large area with many courtyards and 84 large and small houses. The front hall is called Yangji Hall, which enshrines the tablets of sages that Shaoxing people are proud of. The back hall is called Xixian Pavilion, which honors Wenchang Kuixing.
In addition, there are also halls and pavilions in the museum such as Jiayin Hall, Xiuyu Hall, Tenghua Hall, Bushu Bookstore, Xian Pavilion, Huaixuzhai, Yizhichao, etc. Most of these names are related to Shaoxing anecdotes or the scenery in the courtyard.
However, the names of these courtyards sound elegant, but the actual situation is another matter. They are all old-fashioned houses with cobwebs on the eaves, plaid paper on the top and bottom of the windows, no glass, and some floors are paved with blue bricks.
, some are not paved, which is fine if it is sunny, but if it rains, you have to enjoy the rain indoors.
It is said that on the first night that Brother Xun lived in the Tenghua Pavilion, he was attacked by thirty or forty little predators, so that he had to move to the table to sleep. Moreover, the environment around Tenghua Pavilion was very noisy, which often made Brother Xun
Unable to work and rest with peace of mind, he complained in his diary more than once: "At night, there was a fuss from Fujianese people in the neighboring room."
"Another Fujian guest came to the neighboring room. At midnight, Judah howled like a wild dog and came out to scold him. He was rarely killed."
As for Bu Shu Bookstore, no one dares to live in it. There is a big locust tree in the yard. Although the leaves are green, it always makes people feel eerie and desolate. The house is dark and depressing, because of the trees in the yard.
I once hung an aunt to death.
After entering from Dahongmen, go through the hall and go to the left. The first south-facing courtyard is called Wenghua Pavilion. It got its name from the wisteria trellis in the courtyard. There are several houses in the courtyard. Brother Xun lives in the south.
of a room.
The yard of the wisteria pavilion is not big, and you can scan it at a glance. The gray-yellow house, the gray-yellow walls, and the layer of withered yellow are the wisteria in September. The dead leaves have fallen all over the ground, and they are placed under the wisteria trellis.
There is a chessboard, and there are two fat and one thin people sitting across from each other. The thin one is Xi Ziqiao, and the fat one is Gu Weixian. They are both wearing Western-style clothes with slicked-back hair. A middle-aged man is kneeling on the side, watching the chess game.
It was Brother Xun's good friend, fellow villager and colleague named Xu Shouchang, also named Ji Fu, who also lived in the guild hall.
Under the wisteria trellis, everyone bowed to each other and saluted. Brother Xun looked at He Qi and introduced, "This is He Qi. He just returned from the West today."
Then he looked at Xi Ziqiao, Gu Weixian, and said with a smile: "Brother Qi is my helper today. Master, my dear, if you are defeated later, don't be upset."
"Chess is about cultivating one's character. Don't talk about winning or losing." Although Xi Zique is a businessman, his conversation is like a scholar. He smiled at He Qi and said, "I wonder where Brother Qi studied?"
Unlike later generations who learned to play piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, where there were countless training institutions on the streets, in this era, ancient rituals were still followed, and teachers needed to teach them in person. For example, Zhao Ruyi’s teacher was Wang Yunfeng, and Wang Yunfeng was from the north.
The disciple of the famous player Liu Yunfeng, he was also one of the two sons given to Zhou Xiaosong in his later years. Zhou Xiaosong was a famous great player in the late Qing Dynasty.
It is said that a famous teacher produces a good disciple. If you know the name of the teacher, you will probably know a little bit about the chess skills of his disciples. This is also a common way for unfamiliar chess players to greet each other when they meet each other.
But He Qi blurted out: "I have no teacher to teach me."
Qian Xuan and Brother Xun believed this, because they knew He Qi’s background. He was born in Nanyang since childhood, and later went to Western countries, and Go is popular in East Asia. In other words, even if He Qi wants to follow
Famous teachers don't have the opportunity to learn chess.
But Xi Ziqiao and Gu Weixian didn't believe it. They just thought they were underestimated. They couldn't help but feel a little angry, but they couldn't get angry, so they made up their minds and saw the real seal on the chessboard.
Brother Xun didn't think much about it. When he saw that it was noon, he said, "Let's go have a meal first, and we'll talk about it later."
After Xi Zique and Gu Weixian looked at each other, they both nodded. Xi Zique said: "Yucai, you can eat at any time, but you can't play chess at any time. You know that the two of us are good at chess in our lives. This time when we meet an expert,
When you encounter delicacies and delicacies, you must not waste a moment."
Then he raised his hands to He Qi and said: "Brother Qi, please do your best to fight quickly and don't starve them."
He Qi didn't realize the meaning of Xi Zique's words. He just wanted to help Brother Xun with this favor and entertain these two visitors. Naturally, he responded to every request and simply said: "Okay!"
Fast chess?
He Qi has long been used to it. Anyone who often plays chess on the Wild Fox knows that you can set a time. If you haven't made a move after the time, it will be counted as a loss.
As a result, this game of chess turned out to be very fast, unexpectedly fast. In half an hour, Xi Ziqiao raised his head, glanced at He Qi with complicated eyes, placed a black stone in the corner, and took the initiative to abandon the stone and admit defeat.
At this time, He Qi was still muttering in her heart!
It seems that Xi Ziqiao is not as good as Yi as Brother Xun said. At least Yi can persist until the middle game of each game, but in this game, the middle game is only half as good, and there is still a lot of space in the middle of the board.
An empty piece.
Although Qian Xuan and Brother Xun are not masters, they still know how to play chess. After looking at each other, their eyes were communicating but their brows were furrowed, both of them were a little in disbelief.