A hundred years ago, there was no feasting, no bustling traffic, no shouting of hawkers, no hustle and bustle of big businessmen... Here, some are surrounded by greenery, trees are overgrown, some are willows and flowers, and butterflies and birds are singing... Here, there are no mountains, but there is water, a small river, gurgling, clear and cheerful... Here, there is both vitality and tranquility. Mr. Feng Shui said that "surrounded by sand and water, where aura gathers", it is a wonderful place to build a house. There is a man coming here. He is the father of Song Jiashu who raised and educated three daughters who are enough to influence a nation, a country and even the world for this world.

Song Jiashu, also known as Charlie Jones Song, with the style name Yaoru, was originally from Wenchang, Hainan, and lived abroad for many years.After returning to China, he worked as a Christian pastor in the Shanghai Ligong Church. His salary was not much, but he could maintain his life. However, the discrimination and exclusion from his boss Lin Lezhi made him feel a lot of regret and injustice. At that time, Song Jiashu's task was to sell the English version of the "Bible" and the Chinese version of the "New Testament". "New Testament" was translated into ancient Chinese by Beizhi Wen and Ke Bicun.The decor is exquisite and expensive.In China at that time, only the middle class read this kind of book, not because only they believed in religion, but because only they could afford it.

Poor Christians also read books, and many Chinese also read their own Bibles. In the 1890s, the cheapest edition of the New Testament published by the Chinese Presbyterian Printing House was one third of the price of foreign editions.As a businessman, the profit is meager, but small profits but quick turnover can still make a profit. Song Jiashu is a very smart and active young man. He saw this business opportunity, resigned from the priesthood, and decided to change course and turn to the business world. He founded the Huamei Press and entered into a contract with the American Bible Society to publish the Chinese version of the Bible.After gradually gathering capital, he partnered with others to open a flour mill and became one of the earliest compradors in Shanghai.

From then on, Song Jiashu began to make a fortune and gradually became a famous millionaire on the beach. Because he suffered from wandering overseas and living in no fixed place, he determined to expand his family and save future generations from suffering, so he decided to build the Song family home in Shanghai. According to Mr. Feng Shui, he took a fancy to this treasure land. After all, Song Jiashu is a person who has traveled the world, after all, he is a man who has experienced the beauty of Europe.The high-quality upbringing and the blood of the Chinese made him dislike the narrow and dirty streets of the old city, and he even hated the mentality of those rich people who chose locations as close as possible to foreign consulates for asylum.He likes the beautiful environment, the open view, the fresh air, and the independence away from foreigners.

This is only one aspect. More importantly, it is for the healthy growth of the children in the future, and for the future generations of the Song family to have a small world of freedom. Therefore, Song Jiashu designed the Song Palace by himself—a building with a unique style combining Chinese and Western styles. In this courtyard surrounded by stone walls, there are two houses: - the front row is a two-story building.On the ground floor of the building, there is the owner's study, a dining room, a Chinese-style living room with a mahogany square table and standing stools, and a Western-style living room with a piano, comfortable armchairs and sofas.Going up the polished wooden staircase to the second floor, the spacious verandah looks magnificent, leading to a wide verandah for alfresco dining and gatherings for the whole family.Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms and a modern fitted bathroom.There is an exquisite Suzhou bathtub in the bathroom. The surface of the basin is inlaid with precious teak dragon carvings, and the inside is glazed ceramics as white as jade.In addition, there is also a playroom for children.

This was quite luxurious at the time. ——A row of bungalows in the back.It is the kitchen, storage room and servant room. ——There is a vegetable field behind the house.Whenever Song Jiashu has free time, he often works in this vegetable field. The children played while watching their father's farming. In this home, Song Jiashu deliberately bought back his favorite palms and other plants from the United States, and deliberately decorated and beautified the living environment.He deeply understands that the beauty of the human mind needs to be nurtured by the environment. On March 5, 1897 (February 12, the 23rd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty), in this palace of the Song Dynasty, a clear cry broke the silence of the Song residence, announcing that a life had come to the world.

She is Song Meiling, the third daughter of the Song family. It is said that the births of the three sisters of the Song family are all legendary.Their mother, Ni Guizhen, observed the sky: ——When the eldest daughter, Ai Ling, was born, the moon was round, saying that her marriage was happy; ——When the second daughter, Qing Ling, was born, the moon was curved, saying that her marriage would not be perfect. Consummation;——When the third daughter, Meiling, was born, the moon was dim, saying that her marriage would not be bright and smooth. Of course, this is fraught with superstition.But many Chinese believe this.

In fact, this is just a postscript written by the Wen Dao people based on their later life patterns. "The moon waxes and wanes, and people have joys and sorrows. This matter is difficult to complete in ancient times." Whether it's genius, beautiful or intelligent, this little princess has been favored by her master since she was born.He gently hugged her who had just come into this world, and couldn't help but kiss her little face again and again. This little princess has a lot of personality. She waved her small arms, kicked her calves, grinned and sucked with her small mouth, she didn't cry, but sprayed the male owner all over the face with saliva.

"Good guy, he rebelled against his father when he was born! Hahahaha!" He smiled cheerfully, and gently handed the child to his wife: "Take care of it well, this child will be promising in the future." His wife Ni Guizhen smiled back. She agreed with her husband's blessing, and made a sign of the cross gently and rhythmically on her chest! In this rich and warm home created by her parents, little Meiling grew up day by day. Not only is she favored by her parents, she is also favored by her brothers and sisters who came to this family earlier!Therefore, her nature is lively, and she has developed a willful temper.

Meiling is a toddler. Some biographies describe it like this: in winter, her mother put on a thick padded jacket, which made Meiling, who was already chubby, look rounder, like a big ball rolling all over the ground.So, one of her joking uncles gave her the nickname "Little Lantern". Because the clothes are too thick and stupid, and I am too fat, I will fall every two or three steps.However, due to the protection of the thick padded jacket, she has never been injured. There are two small braids on the top of her head, tied up with a red headband, and a small ring is rolled up, like a pair of small eyes on the head of a crab. People call them "crab eyes". The most popular hairstyles.Her mother always dressed her in a short calico smock that buttoned up at the back, and cat-toed shoes on her feet.There are two cat ears protruding from both sides of the cat shoes, and cat whiskers and cat eyes are embroidered on them, making them look extravagant when walking.

At first, the mother dressed Meiling as a little girl.But as Meiling kept growing taller, she behaved more and more like a boy.Just like millions of ordinary families in China, "the new eldest, the old second, mending and then the third".The difference is that what Meiling took over was not the old clothes of the two sisters, but the men's clothes of her brother Song Ziwen. Ziwen grows too fast, and his clothes are too small to be old.As a result, juvenile Meiling is almost entirely dressed as a young boy. Women look pretty in men's clothing.The couple prefers this little princess with personality. The season when the peaches are ripe. Outside the courtyard wall, there is a row of peach trees, big and fresh peaches, hanging all over the branches and protruding into the courtyard wall, like a little girl's smiling face, luring little Meiling to drool. The three childhood sisters played here all day long. Who wouldn't love this branch full of fresh peaches! Meiling took off her shoes, bare feet, climbed up her own landscape tree, climbed over the fence, climbed up the peach tree, reached out to pick the peaches, threw them one by one to the young ladies, and then leaned on the peach tree by herself enjoy. The sweet and fragrant peach juice flows down the corner of the mouth... A good peach is better than the flat peaches of the Queen Mother! While enjoying it to the fullest, there was a sudden shout, and the owner of the peach tree came. Meiling is in a hurry. The trunk is so high, so high that it cannot come down for a while... With half a piece of peach in my mouth, I can't swallow... She cried out in fright! The crying alarmed Song Jiashu.Come over and have a look, you are angry and funny. While apologizing to others repeatedly, he stretched out his arms to hug Meiling down from the peach tree. Xiao Meiling stopped crying, and did not dare to cry. She waited for her father's reprimand. The father stared at her, saw her naive face, but smiled.