Chapter 51
51 Tea gathering (1)
Hearing The Sound of Arrows entering the pot, Xu Qi ‘an’s smile widened uncontrollably. He pulled off the black cloth and pointed at the gold and silver ingots on the stall, ”
“Haha, old Daoist, these are all mine.”
The old Daoist looked at him and calmly kept the gold and silver ingots into the package. Then, he pointed to the Bodhi bracelet and the small Jade Mirror at the top and said with a smile, ”
“Young master, choose one of the two.”
….. “Old Taoist, I don’t want these. I only want silver,” Xu Qi ‘an said in a negotiating tone.
“Rules are rules,” the old Daoist refused ruthlessly.
He paused and added, ” these two items are rare treasures. They can’t be compared to common items. Young master, don’t be blinded by gold and silver.
No, I just want these mortal things … “Treasure?” Xu Qi ‘an asked. What’s the use?”
“I don’t know. I only know that they are waiting for the fated one.” The old Daoist looked like a Bachelor.
Xu Qi ‘an suspected that the old Daoist was lying to him, but he had no evidence. Considering his inexplicable luck, he was a little hesitant.
Who could say for sure whether it was a treasure or not? silver was more practical.
At this moment, an armored soldier walked over and said, “”Young master, my master would like to ask for your help,”
Xu Qi ‘an turned around and looked at the luxurious carriage not far away. what does your master want? ”
“That string of Bodhi beads,” The armored soldier’s gaze moved away from the stall and looked at Xu Qi ‘an. “My master is willing to pay sixty taels of gold.”
‘So this is where my lucky charm should be …’ Xu Qi ‘an showed a kind smile. “Thank you for your kindness, deal.”
He asked the soldier to fork out a coin of silver in exchange for three arrows.
“Master said that you can throw in a few more times, and we’ll pay for all the silver,” the soldier said. It doesn’t matter if I fail …”
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Xu Qi ‘an, who had his eyes covered, throw an arrow.
Thump thump thump … The three arrows were accurately shot into the pot.
The passerby’s exclamations came again.
The soldier looked at Xu Qi ‘an with respect.
If once was luck, twice meant that the other party was not an ordinary person. This ordinary-looking young man was dressed like a scholar, but he was definitely an expert.
Sixty taels of gold in hand … Xu Qi ‘an was extremely happy. He pulled off the black cloth and happened to see the curtain of the luxurious carriage in the distance fall down.
…. He wondered who was in the car … He didn’t dare to look any longer. He turned around and cupped his fists at the armored soldier.”I didn’t fail you.”
The armored soldier respectfully cupped his fist and returned the greeting. Then, he returned to the carriage and came back with a bulging bag of money.
Xu Qi ‘an took the purse and the Jade Mirror from the old Daoist, then watched the carriage leave.
He retracted his gaze and casually put the palm-sized Jade Mirror into his pocket. Then, he happily weighed the bulging money bag.
It was about three to four catties, too heavy to be tied to the waist.
no, I have to go and Exchange it for silver notes. It’s too stupid to carry such heavy gold around …
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but look back, but he found that the old Taoist was gone, and the stall was cleaned up.
Xu Qi ‘an stood by the roadside and was silent for a long time.
….
Four hundred and eighty silver taels was more than enough to slap his aunt’s pretty face … Why did she have to slap her aunt with silver notes every time she earned money? the original owner’s resentment towards her aunt was too strong … In addition, this amount of silver could probably only buy a small courtyard in the inner city … If you want to buy a three-door mansion, you can’t get it without ten thousand taels of silver …
He then went to the bank and exchanged the gold for four notes worth a hundred taels.One note was worth fifty taels, and three were worth ten taels.
Gold was not part of the currency system, so it had to be exchanged for silver of the same value, and then the bank would issue silver notes.
The exchange rate between gold and silver was 1:8, so sixty taels of gold was four hundred and eighty taels of silver.
Four hundred and eighty silver taels was more than enough to slap his aunt’s pretty face … Why did she have to slap her aunt with silver notes every time she earned money? the original owner’s resentment towards her aunt was too strong … In addition, this amount of silver could probably only buy a small courtyard in the inner city … If you want to buy a three-door mansion, you can’t get it without ten thousand taels of silver … Xu Qi ‘an was a little vexed.
Whether it was in the other world or in his previous life, the price of a house was a matter that made people despair.
“Four hundred and eighty taels should be enough to redeem a low-grade courtesan from a brothel, but this is not worth it.
“You see, with 480 taels, I can take turns visiting many courtesans for several months. And to redeem a courtesan, not only would he use up his family’s wealth, he would also have to be responsible for her food and clothing. If she got pregnant accidentally, it would be another huge expense.
And my current salary is only enough to support one wife. I can’t afford to live a boring life of a rich man with women on both sides. Besides, I’m not going to redeem the woman from the brothel. I’m using the public car for personal use, and I’ll be struck by lightning.”
…..
At dusk, Xu Qi ‘an came to the famous teaching workshop in the capital. It was located in an alley.
The lights were on, and all kinds of carriages were parked outside the alley. The sound of bamboo strings and strings came from the courtyard, along with a clear and moving singing voice.
He knew that the beautiful nightlife had begun.
Walking on the roads in the alley, Xu Qi ‘an recalled the cultural essence he had learned from Constable Wang.
A normal brothel was a two or three story building with one or two courtyards.
The Academy of public knowledge didn’t have such a high-rise building, because there was no need for it. All the courtyards in this part of the alley were part of the Academy of public knowledge.
State-owned enterprises were rich and overbearing.
There was a threshold to the education workshop. It wasn’t a rule that commoners couldn’t spend here, but the minimum spending for the education workshop was five taels of silver.
This wasn’t about sleeping with a girl, but the fee for a table.
Five taels of silver was equivalent to several months ‘income of an ordinary person, and that was if the person was from a well-off family.
Thus, there were three main types of customers for the Academy’s workshop:
First, wealthy merchants.
This kind of customers were the most willing to spend money because they usually had low social status, and they had a fanatical attachment to sleeping with women of officials.
Two, officials.
To them, the Academy Square was a place for tea and gatherings after work. As long as there was a social event, they liked to go there.
What was worth mentioning was that the officials of the Ministry of Rites could wear it for free. This was because the education workshop was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites.
Third, a scholar.
This kind of person was more refined than the rich and powerful. They liked to recite poems and were not as difficult to serve as officials, so they were the most liked by the Miss of the Imperial Academy.
There were three types of girls in the Academy:
One, offending the female family of an official.
This kind of woman was the most miserable. They were forced to become a prostitute and be bullied.
2. She was a woman who had been captured during the war.
For example, in the Battle of Shanhai Pass 20 years ago, the Western countries and Da Feng were the victors. They captured countless women from the north and south and put them in the Imperial Training Center of the various states and prefectures.
Three. The prostitutes recruited by the Imperial Academy.
. ‘ve really learned. lot in my life. Constable Wang is my teacher … Xu Qi ‘an sighed with emotion. He had finally found the purpose of his visit to the Imperial Academy.
He stopped outside a courtyard, and the horizontal board on the gate read:Yingmei Pavilion
The door to the courtyard was wide open, and two bright red lanterns hung from it. Inside the courtyard were plum trees, their branches adorned with flower buds in full bloom.
A sixteen or seventeen-year-old young man was guarding the gate of the courtyard. He was looking at Xu Qi ‘an with a judgmental gaze.
He also had another name that everyone was familiar with.
I am Yang Ling, a scholar from Changle County. I have long heard of miss Fu Xiang’s name and have come to pay you a visit. Xu Qi ‘an imitated a scholar’s bow and spoke to the gatekeeper politely.
The shadow plum Pavilion was the residence of the courtesan Fu Xiang.
A table here cost ten taels of silver, twice as much as a normal courtyard.
There were a total of twelve courtesans in the education workshop, divided into four ranks according to character, charm, talent, and color.
Lady floating fragrance was a first-class talent and was known for her talent in poetry and zither.
“Ten taels of silver.” The young man at the gate, who was used to seeing the old master, had a cold attitude. After receiving Xu Qi ‘an’s Silver, he let him into the courtyard.
Xu Qi ‘an was overjoyed. Laughter and the sound of bamboo could be heard from the courtyard. The tea gathering had already started, but since the young man at the gate allowed him to enter, it meant that the courtyard was not reserved but was for individual guests.
There were two types of people who came out to play. One was to book the entire place, and the other was to be a casual guest.
If it was the former, Xu Qi ‘an’s efforts today would be in vain.