At this time, Lin'an was the richest in the world.
When the sun rises, small boats file in from various water gates in Lin'an City, bringing the freshest vegetables, fruits, fish, shrimps and crabs from the suburbs to restaurants and teahouses along the Imperial Street.
The little peasant lady sitting on the bow of the boat was still humming a little tune softly, carefree.
Lin'an City's teahouses, restaurants, and arts and crafts workshops also woke up from the darkness of the night and fell back into music and singing everywhere.
The population is so large and the markets are so prosperous, but the streets and alleys of Lin'an are extremely clean and there is no trace of filth.
The urban management of the Chinese nation has a very long history.
"In Yin's way, those who throw away ashes in the Tao will have their hands cut off.
"The way Qin and Lian sit together is to abandon the ashes to Taoism."
During the Tang Dynasty, it was "put out filthy things in the streets and alleys with a sixty stick."
Only strict laws prohibiting residents from dumping garbage will not work. "Road toilets" and specialized city cleaning agencies also appeared very early.
The Song Dynasty did particularly well in this regard. It established sanitation agencies such as the "Street Division". The "sanitation workers" in Lin'an City all wore uniform blue robes and cleaned the streets and alleys.
Smoked willows paint the bridge, the wind curtains are green, the city is lined with pearls, and the doors are full of flowers...
The descriptions in these words are a true portrayal of Lin'an City.
But no matter how beautiful the description in the text is, it is not as vivid as being in it.
As soon as he entered the city, Yang Yuan walked into such a vivid picture.
What he heard in his ears were the soft words of Wu Nong and the sounds of Heluo. What he saw with his own eyes were the crowds of pedestrians and the human fireworks along the way.
From the moment he stepped into Lin'an City, ink painting was no longer freehand, but realistic.
Walking along Yujie, when he arrived at Taipingfang, Yang Yuan turned right and passed through Taipingfang, which was Houshi Street.
In terms of location, this place is equivalent to being within the second ring road of later cities, in the center of the city.
The donkey Yang Yuan rode was rented from Lu's Mule and Horse Shop on Houshi Street.
The main intercity means of transportation in the Song Dynasty was donkeys, and those with the conditions to raise horses had always been in Yanzhao, Shaanxi and the Western Regions.
But when the Song Dynasty was founded, it was inherently deficient, and by the time of the Southern Song Dynasty, there were even less conditions for raising horses.
Therefore, if you are not a high-ranking official, rich or a member of the military, you will not be able to ride a horse. Just like today's Lamborghini, not everyone can afford it.
The ox-cart is too slow and the sedan chair is too expensive, so the little donkey is the most hardworking. However, the rent for a donkey is one hundred cash per day, and the daily income of a commoner in the Song Dynasty is basically between one hundred and three hundred cash.
Therefore, it is actually understandable that Yang Yuan got angry and made trouble because he sent the summons all the way to Banjing Hall but no one signed for it.
Yang Yuan returned the donkey at Lu's Mule and Horse Shop. After coming out, he passed a stone archway and found an alley paved with bluestones.
The alley is actually not narrow, but there is a river in the alley.
The river is gurgling, and there is often a stone step directly into the river in front of the houses on both sides, making it easier for the residents to draw water and wash clothes.
There are also small bridges on the water that connect both sides of the river. There are wooden bridges and stone bridges.
There are many signboards on both sides of the bridge and flags are fluttering. This is a snack street, which not only has local delicacies, but also special snacks such as blood tripe soup, chicken feathers, stuffed lungs, pig pancreas and Hu cakes from Bianliang.
Because the other end of the alley leads to the Secretariat Province, many petty officials and officials from the Secretariat Province often come here to look for food.
As soon as Yang Yuan walked in under the stone archway of Qingshi Lane, there was a rapid "tuk tuk tuk" sound of chopping boards coming from a braised meat shop next to him. Yang Yuan's anger grew stronger and stronger when he heard the sound of the knife. Immediately he stopped with great experience and gave the pedestrian next to him a hand.
With a "swish" sound, something flew out of the braised meat shop. Yang Yuan has an "iron bridge". In the bluestone alley, the young man's feet are like cast iron, his body is as straight as a board, and he tilts up like a bridge, as if it is frozen. There is only one thing, sticking to the tip of his nose and shooting towards the other side.
There were many wine jars stacked up in the shop of the merchant on the other side, and there was also the word "wine" on the flag banner at the door.
There was a man in his fifties in the wine shop. He had no flesh on his face but was covered with mustache.
He raised his hand and accurately caught the thrown thing, but it was a braised chicken butt.
The thin man with a mustache grinned, grabbed a wine jar with one hand, and poured half a bowl of wine into a large bowl.
The wine jar with the wine in it probably weighed less than thirty kilograms. He held it with one hand and poured the wine, but it was as stable as cast iron.
After pouring the wine, he dumped the wine jar, put the chicken butt into his mouth and chewed it, then picked up the bowl and took a sip, laughing loudly and said: "It's so damn delicious! Mr. Ji, you chicken butt There’s nothing to say if it’s so salty, just throw it out again.”
In the braised pork shop on the other side, there was a fat man holding a sharp kitchen knife in his hand, his eyes glaring like a bulging toad.
The pointed kitchen knife in the hand of the fat man is similar to the Western kitchen knives of later generations. The early Chinese kitchen knives were actually this type of pointed kitchen knife.
However, since the Song Dynasty, Chinese cuisine has become more and more abundant, with extensive application of slicing, shredding and dividing techniques. Pointed kitchen knives have become outdated, and more effective right-angled square knives have appeared.
However, this fat man said that his ancestors sold braised pork, and this kitchen knife was passed down from his ancestors. It was of great significance and he was reluctant to replace it.
Hearing the teasing words of the mustached man selling wine, the fat man started to curse loudly: "Bah! Are you a thief lying on the street talking bad about me again?"
The bearded man sneered and said: "You are so stupid that you think that others are not good people. I sell wine to customers, so of course I have to be more attentive to them. What do you feel guilty about?"
The fat man was very angry. He was so angry that he chopped the chopping board with a kitchen knife and roared loudly: "You talk to the guests, then talk. Why do you keep looking at me with evil eyes while talking? You clearly have bad intentions!"
The man with the moustache curled his lips and said, "You are not a pretty young lady. Who would care to look at you? Do you think you are the young lady of the Song family?"
"Oh, you are a bastard who deserves to have your mouth and tongue cut out. I will chop you up alive today!" The fat man became furious, grabbed the kitchen knife and rushed out.
Yang Yuan hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, and said kindly: "Uncle Ji, calm down, you calm down. And Uncle Gou, you two should stop quarreling all day long. Only by being friendly can you make money. You guys are like this all day long." If you yell and scold, can you still do business?"
Yang Yuan pushed Old Man Ji all the way back to the shop, grabbed a piece of braised chicken from his chopping board, and threw it into his mouth.
The bearded man opposite smiled and said: "Erlang, you are busy with your business and don't pay attention to him. That old guy will feel uncomfortable if he doesn't make trouble for a day."
The fat man selling braised chicken and braised pork was named Ji, and the bearded man selling wine was named Gou.
Yang Yuan heard from the young lady of the Song family that the two of them and Father Song had joined the army together when they were young, and now they are both doing business in this alley. Old Ji sells meat, Lao Gou sells wine, and Old Song opens a snack shop. This is a mutually beneficial business. But for some reason, Ji and Gou were always yelling and scolding each other.
Yang Yuan finally coaxed Old Man Ji to sit down angrily after some hard talking, and then he gave him another piece of chicken and walked to the Song's snack shop next to him.
Under the stone archway, a person followed quietly. He had seen the scene just now. Seeing Yang Yuan walking away, he came out of the hiding place.
This person's name is Yu Jiguang, a secret agent from the National Information Service, who has been following him all the way from Banjing Pavilion!
