There is a dirt road outside Youlan Gate in Nancheng, Guangzhou, leading directly to the river. It originally had no name - the people in the city call it "Youlan Gate". When the Australians came to check the household registration road signs, they named it "Youlankou Waijie Street" based on its geographical location and common name.
It's called a street, but it's just a wider dirt road. However, this place is not far from Baietan, and it is also located in a gathering place with merchants and restaurants everywhere outside the south city of Guangzhou. Many years ago, it was already a tourist destination for small businessmen and merchants in Nancheng City. Most of the shops in this area are engaged in food and entertainment business. At a glance, restaurants are connected to restaurants, and teahouses are next to teahouses. When they get up early in the morning, they are all packed and crowded. Business is booming in the large and small casinos scattered throughout the streets. People not only gamble on cards and dice here, but also on cockfights, cricket fights, and quail fights; in the theater, gongs and drums are noisy, and new plays are being performed one after another, including the "Yiyang accent" from the north, "Kunshan tune" can also be used to sing "local opera" with local tune. As for the people who rely on this market to make a living and find food, there are all kinds of people, from those who clean guest strips, do fortune-telling, carry sedans and boats, perform jugglers, sell flowers and fruits, do pedicures, monks and Taoists, There are teachers, aunts, prostitutes, and scoundrels. They wandered around the market all day and night, hoping to try their luck and get lucky with the customers who were gorgeously dressed and spending a lot of money.
At the end of Youlankou Wai Street, close to the river embankment, there is a gate tower with the word "Le Fang" engraved on it. After entering the gatehouse, there is a long alley with stone slabs. The alley is so narrow that if two sedan chairs meet, they can barely pass each other. On both sides of the alley, there are courtyards one after another. These courtyard doors with copper rings are usually always open. There are benches on the left and right, and there are a few idle people sitting with their chests and belly folded... This is the courtyard. .
Most of these courtyards are deep houses with several courtyards. The houses inside, regardless of size, are all decorated with carved railings, painted sills, and beaded curtains and windows. For those who are more particular, they also dig ponds and plant trees in the yard, and build rocks to plant flowers. Each courtyard has a double-decker painting boat outside the river embankment, which is connected to the back building of the courtyard by a suspension bridge. It is for people to enjoy the coolness in summer and enjoy the landscape lights. At night, the fishing fires on the river are shining, the courtyards and boats are brightly lit, the moon is hanging in the sky, the moonlight is reflected, the boats are shadowy, and all those who come are intoxicated and forget to return.
The courtyard here is the first-class place in Guangzhou. People who come here include famous officials and nobles who enjoy a comfortable life, and there are noble people who don't have to worry about food and clothing... There are also Qingqingqing who rely on their lives to help them. Although it costs a lot to seek fame here, the princes, princes, grandsons, wealthy businessmen and wealthy guests who have passed by have come here. , still flocking to it. Here they met friends, received guests, discussed business, and discussed poetry. Naturally, they also indulged in drinking, gambling, hooking up with prostitutes, and going to the theater. They came up with various ways to enjoy themselves and made the most ostentatious and luxurious corner of the first city in the South even more colorful. , colorful.
Since the Senate entered the city, it has been in depression for some time. However, as the situation stabilized, the gentry and wealthy merchants who had been dormant gradually resumed their original living habits. Not only has Yau Lan Kou Wai Main Street regained its former prosperity, it seems to be a bit better.
In the blink of an eye, it has arrived in June, the "Gregorian calendar" for Australians. It has passed the beginning of summer, and the weather is gradually getting hotter. The sunshine in early summer in southern China is hot and spicy. As soon as the sun rises, it feels extremely hot.
It's afternoon now, when the sun is at its highest and the heat is overwhelming. They are ordinary people in the city who don’t go to the streets if they have nothing to do. There are few people on the streets. Only the cicadas on the willow trees by the river shouted lazily.
The Chunchun Yuan on this street is also a drowsy scene. The "old men" are scattered in their own rooms and sleeping, and the maids and mothers who are serving them are all relying on each other as long as they have no work at hand. On the couch, leaning on the chair and dozing off. The "mentou" and "hailong" who were responsible for guarding the entrance of the company's gate sat on their stools and dozed off. Only people are busy in the backyard. In the kitchen yard, preparations for food and drinks are going on all the time. The smokehouse has been smoking since early in the morning, and it hasn't stopped yet.
In the main room of a small courtyard in the Spring Visiting Courtyard, the madam of the hospital was talking to someone.
Sitting on the couch in the middle is a woman in her late forties, wearing a white silk jacket and a blue satin skirt. The outer cover is agarwood-colored and covered with golden armor. The middle-aged woman's slightly fat face can still show her youthful beauty.
A thin layer of powder was applied on the face, which effectively covered the sagging and yellowing skin, and the "Zizhenzhai Lipstick" was used on the lips, which not only had a positive color, but also had a slight pearlescent color.
She held a book in her hand and slowly looked through it. A maid was kneeling under the couch, gently beating her legs.
The person who put on such a big show was none other than Sister Han Qiao, the bustard of Visiting Spring Hospital, the owner and operator of this hospital. She was originally from Lehu, and she was also a famous courtesan in Yangcheng in her early years. When she got older and lost her beauty, she opened this Spring Visiting Court - naturally, no matter how generous the benefactor was, it would not be possible with her financial resources. For someone to open a hospital of this scale, there would naturally be a huge threshold to support her.
Sitting in the guest seat diagonally opposite, slowly drinking the herbal tea brewed in our hospital, was an old man. He was quite decently dressed, but the green scarf on his head showed that he was of low status and that he was a man from a Lehu family.
This old man's surname is Fang, and his identity is the temple blessing of Guan Zhong Temple in Lefang Street. It is said that Guan Zhong established "Seven Hundred Nulu" to obtain "Yehe's capital" and "support the military and state". He became the earliest openly and large-scale advocate in history, so he was regarded as the ancestor and god by prostitutes in later generations. Therefore, there is a small Guan Zhong Temple on the street of Lefang Street. Guan Zhong Temple is not only the place where prostitutes and bustards burn incense and pray, but it is also the local trade guild. Responsible for the management of disputes between brothels, the placement and sale of prostitutes' stalls, and many other matters. On weekdays, Miao Zhu also communicates with the government to deal with various errands and requests. It can be said that he is the land master of Lefang. Naturally, Old Man Fang is not as majestic as his counterparts in the North and South Beijing, who have serious official titles such as "Shaowu" and "Fengluan", but he is still a very important figure in this band.
Old man Fang's daughter was originally a senior member of the court, but was later "combed" away. Now she has lost her status and is a concubine, and she can always get some property every year to show her respect to her parents. He also ate the entire band's "incense money" and lived a very comfortable life. After the Australians came, they appointed him as the band leader. Old man Fang only felt that everything was going well.
It's just that under the rule of this Australian, affairs are very complicated. He had been the leader of this team for only a few months, and he had to go to meetings almost every "week", and after each meeting, there was inevitably a lot of business to deal with. From street sanitation to public security management, from household registration to hotel guest registration... there are endless things to mention, and they must be implemented one by one. Old man Fang was so busy that he was on his back.
"If we all follow the above, we people are still not allowed to drink from the northwest wind." Sister Han Qiao finally put down the book and sighed.
The brochure contains the "Regulations on the Business and Management of Customs Industry in Guangzhou Special City" recently issued by the city police station. The regulations include a total of 18 sections, and there are detailed details below, which are very detailed.
Some items have been arranged and implemented in the past, such as the industrial and commercial tax registration required by the hospital; all personnel who live in the hospital for a long time must register their permanent residence; each hospital must establish a personnel roster and report it to the municipal bureau, etc. wait……
Other items, although trivial, can be easily accomplished with some time and money. Such as health and construction.
The clauses that really made Sister Han Qiao feel "unable to do it" were about personnel management, especially about Lao Ju.
The first article of the management regulations prohibits buying women into prostitution. Practitioners must follow the "voluntary" principle.
This may cost the life of the hospital. Because the only people who willingly became prostitutes were Lehu and Dan people. Danmin prostitutes mostly work on flower boats, and they never bind their feet, which naturally does not meet the needs of the brothels. In this case, there are only women from the Lehu family.
It is not uncommon for women from the Lehu family to be prostitutes from mother to daughter for generations, but the number of sources is limited after all, and most of the women from the Lehu family are not "selling their bodies". Most of their personal rights are in the hands of the "leader". There is a biological mother and an adoptive mother in the leading family, but the relationship between them is mother and daughter according to the household registration. Such a "self-owned" Lao Ji sells his body in Dazhai, which is equivalent to "affiliation", and the prostitution money obtained is also divided with the court. The benefits that the madam can extract from her are limited. Regardless of whether it is "combing together" or "becoming a good person", the biggest benefit is that the Lehu family will get it.
Therefore, in addition to the "own bodies" sent by the leader's family, the madam also has to try to accumulate a group of old women whose personal rights are controlled by themselves.
Such old people were either bought from people's teeth or adopted from charity halls. Many of them are young girls, commonly known as Pipa boys. Pipa Zai is carefully nurtured by his "Liaokou Sister-in-law" on weekdays. With good looks and good aptitudes, he taught them reading, singing, and even music, chess, calligraphy and painting. On weekdays, there are also maids and guests and sisters-in-law to serve. The daily life and diet are the same as those of rich girls, cultivating their body shape and temperament. Girls with low qualifications will not be wasted. According to their own abilities, they will be taught nuns, cooking and other skills, and stay in the courtyard to act as maids - those who only enjoy the beauty of the guests who do not like red flowers and only appreciate the green leaves - They can also be sold to rich families as concubines. You will never lose money.
Although it costs a lot to train him from an early age, because he is "selling his body", it is a hugely profitable business for the old madam - especially when Pipa Tsai is spotted being "combed", it is a windfall.
Regulations now ban the buying of women as prostitutes, which is tantamount to tapping the roots of the brothel's biggest financial source. Why is Sister Han Qiao not worried?
Old Man Fang smiled and said: "Sister Han, this is also an official job assigned by the higher ups. Whether it works or not is your own business. I just took care of it and let it go." (To be continued.)
