"Old man, it is feasible to place these two planters of flat peaches here. With this thing placed here, it really looks like something is wrong. Moreover, it is not easy to move these two plants of flat peach plants.

If you have average strength, not even three or four people can get it out. It's even more impossible to get out of the wall by breaking through the door. I guess if a thief can get in, he won't touch this thing.

But the problem is that the porcelain I bought from Hongguang Pavilion is not safe to store here, right? Wouldn't someone be able to take it away at will? You said you have a place to put it, but you won't let me leave it unattended

In an empty house, right? If that's the case, I might as well put it in my uncle's courtyard in Dongshitiao. At least there is Uncle Zhai watching over it every day."

Ning Weimin, who has seen the world, is different from Luo Guangliang and Xiao Tao.

He had already had a certain understanding of Ma's Garden, but he was more concerned about other issues.

For example, the safety of placing things.

Unexpectedly, Kang Shude not only refuted him immediately, but also gave him a surprising answer.

"Why are you in a hurry? I didn't say just leave the house empty. We still have a cellar. If you lock it in the cellar, it will be absolutely safe."

"There is a cellar? Where is it?" Ning Weimin was greatly surprised and asked in disbelief.

Luo Guangliang and Xiao Tao also woke up, and their eyes suddenly moved over.

"It's far away in the horizon but right in front of you, right under this rockery." Kang Shude said.

"Oh, I understand, you are talking about the vegetable cellar for storing vegetables."

Hearing what the old man said, Ning Weimin's eyes suddenly lit up, and he thought he had determined the cause and effect.

You know, Ma's Garden is such a big yard, and so many people lived here back then.

Needless to say, cooking in winter is definitely a big deal, and of course you need a big vegetable cellar.

Apart from other things, shouldn’t you be able to store thousands of catties of carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic?

The Chinese cabbage has followed Dehai, and there are even some that weigh tens of thousands of kilograms.

Unexpectedly, he was still trying to be smart.

The old man narrowed his eyes and shook his head slowly, "You, you are just thinking it over again. You don't even think about how far away this rockery is from the kitchen. It's ridiculous to build a vegetable cellar underneath and go back and forth for two miles. This is nonsense.

Is it reasonable? Vegetable cellar? You can imagine it! It’s not that the Ma family doesn’t have a vegetable cellar, but the vegetable cellar is right over the kitchen..."

These words immediately stunned Ning Weimin.

Yes, what the old man said makes sense, but I didn’t think carefully enough.

Fortunately, Kang Shude didn't give in and didn't talk nonsense. He simply waved and took them to see it with their own eyes.

"Okay, I'm too lazy to say it. Lock the door and come with me now. Why don't I show you the place and open your eyes. After you see it, you will know better about the past mansions.

What day is it?"

So under the leadership of the old man, several young people locked the door and went down the rockery along the verandah.

Finally, they took a detour from the west to the south slope and walked into what looked like a rockery cave.

But I didn't expect that after entering the cave, I found that it was quite spacious.

Not only does the terrain rise in a gentle slope, it looks at least thirty centimeters higher than the outside, but there is also a large locked wooden board on the raised flat ground inside.

I saw Kang Shude take out the key to open it again, and then lifted the wooden board, revealing a one-meter-two-meter-wide stone steps, which led darkly down - it turned out to be a secret underground entrance.

To be honest, at this time, Ning Weimin, Xiao Tao, and Luo Guangliang were all a little scared when they thought of going down.

After all, people yearn for bright sunshine, and darkness and coldness will always bring negative feelings to people.

Although he knew that there would be no danger and the old man would never take them to the goblin cave, he could not help but resist in his heart.

But then again, they were all five-foot-tall men. Seeing Kang Shude lower his head, he picked up the flashlight that had been placed at the door of the steps, then turned on the switch to illuminate it, and entered first.

The few young people looked at each other in disbelief and didn't want to be timid, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow in.

I didn't expect that as I walked down, I realized that the stairs were quite long.

They were like gourd boys who wanted to settle a score with a goblin. They walked in the dark for at least ten meters before reaching a level ground again.

It is strange to say that this place is obviously a door in front, but there are two wellheads on both sides of the door, and they are also covered with raised stone well covers with money eyes.

Although this way, I am not afraid that something like Sadako will crawl out of the well and scare people.

But if the old man hadn't warned him, if anyone stepped on it, he might sprain his foot or trip and fall.

As for the door in front of him, it was unlocked. Kang Shude waited for them to come down, walked over and pushed it open.

Several people heard the sound of the door, and saw an arched cave dwelling building clearly visible in the halo of the old man's flashlight.

The blue bricks extend from the ground to the top, and the visual space is at least two to three hundred square meters, which is only much larger than the five-bay house on the rockery.

Most of the place is empty, except for dozens of one-meter-high jars scattered in one corner, and nothing else.

"This is an air-raid shelter!" Xiao Tao couldn't help shouting when he saw the cave inside when the door was opened.

"No, it looks like it, but there are lights in the air-raid shelters, but there are no lights here. And the roof is too high, three or four meters high. Why are the air-raid shelters so high?" Luo Guangliang followed Kang Shude and walked in, using his own

The lighter was used in conjunction with the old man's flashlight to illuminate the situation. He looked around for a long time and then shook his head in denial.

"Then... is this a place for storing pickles? Or is it a wine cellar for storing wine?" Xiao Tao said, pointing in the direction of the jars.

"It's impossible. Do you need to store pickles underground? Besides, how much space do those jars take up? Even the palace can't use such a big place to store pickles and wine? You don't even think about filling such a cellar.

, how long will it take to eat?"

"Oh, I see, it's the landlord's money bank where he keeps gold and silver, right?"

Xiao Tao made the same mistake as Ning Weimin just now, he was a bit too smart.

But perhaps it was due to the atmosphere, or perhaps it was because it was difficult to imagine the life of a rich man, but these words frightened Luo Guangliang.

He was speechless, waiting for Kang Shude to verify Xiao Tao's words.

But as expected, the old man once again denied this statement.

"You really dare to think that such a big place is used to store gold and silver treasures. Then how rich the owner is. No one has so much gold and silver. Of course, maybe the royal treasury can have it when the emperor is the emperor.

It's impressive. But you don't look like this gate. If it's a treasure house, it must be guarded at all levels, right? If you don't walk all the way down like this, you'll be bald. Where do you see the guards?

Place?"

These words completely blocked Xiaotao and Luo Guangliang's thoughts.

But Xiao Tao asked reluctantly.

"Then what kind of place is this? We really can't think of anything. Old man, please stop being so secretive and just tell us..."

Among the young people, Ning Weimin is the one who understands the most.

Seeing this architectural structure, which was like the Beamless Hall of the Temple of Heaven, with thick rammed earth between the walls, vaults and roof tiles, and no beams or columns, it looked like a city gate, and he was moved in his heart.

He knew that the construction cost of such a building was very high, not to mention that it was under a rockery.

No matter how rich the Ma family was, it would be a waste of money to have such a place just to store ordinary things.

Besides, why do we have to dig so deep?

The temperature inside is so low that it's not good for people to stay there for a long time.

And what are the two wellheads outside, what are they used for?

It is obviously impossible to bring water up, so it can only be...

After thinking about it, he suddenly felt blessed and enlightened.

Before Kang Shude could respond to Xiao Tao, he took over the conversation.

"I think this is an ice cellar! Isn't that right, old man?"

"Oh, you really guessed it!" Kang Shude asked in a surprised tone, "Tell me, how did you guess it?"

Ning Weimin listed his reasons one by one.

"First of all, it's the air. I've been in charge of Tan Gong Restaurant, and our restaurant has a cold storage. I've also been to the Polar Bear Factory and seen their artificial ice workshop and warehouse. I'm not unfamiliar with the feeling of entering a cold storage, so as soon as I come in, the air

The cool feeling and special smell remind me of the cold storage in my workplace.”

"Secondly, there are the two wells outside this door. It is such a deep underground, such a cold place, and cannot be inhabited, so there is no need for water. The only thing that has anything to do with water is drainage. Our cold storage and

Polar Bear's workshop has drainage ditches, which are also placed outside the door. I know that the most important thing in building an icehouse is to consider drainage, so I suspect that the two holes outside the door are not well openings but drainage outlets."

"Lastly, let's talk about the space. In such a big place, it is quite exaggerated to store anything. Only ice storage is suitable. In the first two years, ice harvesters could still be seen on the moat. Every piece was so big. In the past, it was not possible.

There is no air conditioner or electric fan. Based on the area of ​​​​the yard, if the Ma family used ice to cool things during the summer, I am afraid it would be almost the same as this storehouse of ice."

"Lastly, let's talk about this location. From here, we lay a board to pull the ice up. There is a huge open field outside. According to you, it is the boundary where water can be poured in winter to break the ice. Wouldn't it be just right to pull out the ice and smash it?

It’s very convenient to distribute them to the whole garden after smashing them. It’s not suitable for storing vegetables, but it’s suitable for storing ice.”

Hearing this, Kang Shude couldn't help but praise him. This apprentice was considered to have a quick mind.

Ning Weimin sorted through the clues one by one, and finally put them all together, making the analysis well-founded.

"Well, that's very good. If you take it seriously, you're a bit smart."

Kang Shude looked up happily, and then fully affirmed Ning Weimin's answer.

"Yes, this is the Ma family's ice cellar. It is built about four meters underground. The cellar has a solid foundation. The bottom of the cellar is made of cypress piles, with a granite floor and granite walls. It is inlaid with yellow glazed tiles. This is called a 'copper-backed iron bottom'.
To be continued...