On the 11th day of the seventh lunar month in the fifty-fifth year of Qianlong's reign, Beijing.
Although it was already past the beginning of autumn, the sun rose early in the morning and soon became venomous. The ground seemed to be on fire. The floating soil on the street was like fried noodles that had just come out of the pot. When you stamped your feet, a jet of The white smoke is scorching hot, making people feel anxious. There is an old saying among northerners that "the fall after autumn will kill the old cow", which refers to this time.
Even though it was too hot to stand on the street, at the corner of the alleyway to the north of Qingfeng Lane on the west side of Qianmenwai Street, a teahouse called "Donghongtai" was already full of guests. If you walk to the door, you can faintly hear the babbling of silk bamboo and singing, which will make pedestrians stop for a moment even if the weather is hot.
In those days, Manchus in Beijing were not allowed to enter the theaters, but no one was in charge of the teahouses, so the theaters on Qianmen Street either turned into city teahouses, or the theater troupes went to the teahouses to sing.
It is said that prosperous business elsewhere is about "the right time, right place, and right people", and "Donghongtai" has a "good location"! Nothing else, it's close to Dashilan, and it's just a short walk from the "Daxiachu" (common name for the troupe's general residence) of various Huizhou troupes. In this way, those bannermen, Han people, costumers, barbers, cart boys, horsemen, etc. who love to listen to operas will all come; in a word, those who want to make friends with the artists and find a way to make a living have become A frequent customer of "Donghongtai".
Since Qianlong's 80th birthday last year, the four major Hui troupes headed by Sixi, Sanqing, Hechun and Chuntai have come to Beijing one after another. After celebrating his birthday, they performed in public in the capital, making all the princes and grandsons who are accustomed to Kun Opera go crazy. Bewildered.
Each of the Four Hui troupes is good at winning performances. Si Xi's plays are good at expressing the romance of the ancients, and they are good at singing and dancing; ", "Water Margin"; as for Chuntai, it is the birth of Zhu Lang, the first child of strange flowers. Some people like to listen to operas, and those who like the style of cut sleeves are even more supportive.
The teahouse is either big or small. Facing the street is a row of three-bay pavilions, passing through the pastry shop and stove, and inside is a small courtyard with five bays on the front and three bays on the sides; in addition, every There are two tables and several spring benches on both sides of the door.
But the most eye-catching thing is that on a small platform set up in the middle of the courtyard, two handsome children are singing babbling. The tea guests, regardless of high or low, are all attentive.
"...Oh, so you only live for me in this world? Mr. Hou, you are a well-known and respected son, and you seem to be outstanding and ambitious. You said you want to eradicate traitors for the country. You said you want to Walking on water and fire to save the people, even if it means sacrificing your life to maintain integrity, you say you should be as grieving as an enemy, and be uncompromising in the face of difficulties, so you can show your love and hate. Unexpectedly, if your country is destroyed and your family is destroyed, you will not only be disheartened, but on the contrary, you will bow your head and endure the humiliation to beg. Take fame. You can't rise up and raise an army to save the country from danger. Do you mean that you are unwilling to hide your name? You have forgotten that the bones of Shi Gebu are not cold, and you have forgotten that thousands of ordinary people have lost their remaining lives..."
"good!!!"
"Stop! No singing!"
As soon as these words came out, the performance on the stage stopped immediately. The tea guests looked over and saw that it was actually two officers from Shuntian Mansion and several soldiers with swords and guns. This made the two children pretending to be Li Xiangjun and Hou Chaozong startled and trembling.
At this time, the teahouse manager hurriedly came around from behind the counter and asked with a smile: "Master Liu, what's going on?"
"What kind of show are you singing?"
When the shopkeeper heard this, he quickly waved to the owner of the troupe. The man, who was in his fifties, trotted over and bowed and said, "To tell you what to say, the children are singing "The Peach Blossom Fan" for fun."
"Singing for fun?" The leader of the government officials raised his hand and slapped him, causing the troupe owner to stagger. "Didn't you see the notice from Shuntian Mansion? From now on, all theater troupes are not allowed to sing "The Peach Blossom Fan"! Come with me to the Yamen!"
After that, the official shook the chain in his hand and put it around the troupe owner's neck with a bang. The teahouse owner doesn't know how to lock the door, not to mention that he has a backer, the key is that he can still get two strings of hard-earned money from the shopkeeper every month.
"Huh?" The theater owner was immediately stunned. He had just walked around the Qianmen archway early in the morning and didn't see any new notices.
Just as he was about to tell the difference, he heard someone behind him say coldly: "You bastard bastard! What are you doing?"
When everyone heard the sound and looked around, they saw a man in his thirties walking out of a private room in a tube room. He was wearing a moon-white silk robe, a Batulu vest on the outside, and a purse and jade pendant on his waist. The most important thing is that the belt around the waist is red.
The yamen chief patrols this generation every day, and many prominent people have to be remembered to avoid offending. As soon as he saw the man, he hurriedly stepped forward to give him a kiss, and said to please him: "Isn't this Mr. Shou? I'm here to say hello to you."
"I'm talking about Liu Si, are you itchy? You're here to show off your power. If you have the ability, you can join the army and work with the North Sea pirates!"
"Master Shou, I really don't have a problem with you and all of you. We, Mr. Wu, issued a notice early in the morning, telling all the troupes not to sing "The Peach Blossom Fan" again in the future, and the children also followed the order."
"Fart! I saw him at Houhai the day before yesterday, why didn't I hear about him?"
When Liu Si heard this, he hurriedly stood up and approached the banner man, and whispered softly into his ear: "Master Shou, this is an edict from the emperor. It is urgent for 600 miles. We just arrived last night."
When the banner man heard that the emperor was involved, he immediately lost his temper. He was just a red belt, and if he pissed off Qianlong, he could be swatted to death like a bed bug in a minute.
Master Jueluo with the red belt stopped talking, and the other tea guests didn't even say a word, allowing Liu Si and others to lead the troupe owner away. After the official figure disappeared, the tea guests began to whisper among themselves.
"What's this? You won't be allowed to sing "The Peach Blossom Fan" even if it's a good one?"
"Speaking of which, the troupe owner is unlucky. Guess what, I actually saw it when I came from the archway just now. There were a lot of people surrounding it."
"Hey, you, why didn't you tell the shopkeeper when you saw it? Aren't you trying to trick others?"
"Don't be anxious. I was in a hurry to listen to the show. Didn't I take a closer look? If I had known earlier... Oh! It's all caused by the pirates from the North Sea! I'm just living a good life, so what's wrong with the court? Who is Lord Qianlong, the True Dragon Emperor!"
"But I heard that the leader of Beihai Town is also a descendant of the former Emperor of Heaven, and he said..."
As soon as this person spoke, the other people at the table suddenly changed their expressions. They hurriedly covered each other's mouth and whispered: "You don't want your life, you even dare to say this!"
Several people were silent for a while, and another person, perhaps feeling too depressed, said softly: "I heard that the emperor mobilized an army of 200,000 troops this time, and A Zhongtang was also awarded the title of Grand Bachelor of Economics."
The person whose mouth was covered just now said: "I just don't understand. The pirates in the North Sea have been suppressed every year, so why do they keep getting bigger and bigger? Now even Cullen can't protect him."
"Hush, don't talk about state affairs, drink tea and drink tea."
"Why are you drinking tea after listening to nothing? Go home! Go to Guanghe Tower to listen to "The Drunken Concubine" in the evening."
"Okay, see you there or see you!"
Near noon, two sedan mule carts coming from the direction of Chongwenmen turned onto Qianmen Street along the stone road outside the moat. After running south for about a mile, they turned a small corner and ended up at Qianmen Street. Stopped at the door of an inn called "Xiangyu Old Store".
This shop faces south, leaving an open space in front of the door. A watermelon lantern hangs in front of the wooden gatehouse, with four upright Chinese characters written on it, "Hundred Years of Prosperity."
After the mule cart stopped, and the driver put down the footstool, two men got out of the first carriage.
The first person to get off was a young man in his early twenties, wearing a bamboo cloth gown, holding a bamboo fan in his hand, and a cloth bag slung over his shoulder. When he got off the bus, the bag made the sound of abacus beads. The person who got off the car behind him was a guy who looked like a wealthy businessman. He looked like he was almost forty years old. He was not tall but quite strong. He was wearing a moon-white poplin robe and a pair of brand-new thousand-year-old shoes on his feet. The layer-soled cloth shoes actually had a green ring on the thumb.
As for what came out of the mule cart behind, there were two strong men, both dressed in shorts, with a cloth belt tied around their waists, and their trousers were also tied up, revealing their snow-white socks, making them look very smart and smart.
Because the weather was too hot, none of these people wore hats, especially the wealthy businessman, who kept wiping the sweat on his forehead with the handkerchief. He looked up at the front of the store and grinned: "My dear, it's even sunnier today than in the south! If I had known, I would have stayed in Tongzhou for two days before coming back!"
The young man said with a Yangzhou accent: "I heard that summer is like this in the north, and it is still cold after autumn. It will probably get cooler when the sun sets. Master, please slow down."
The group of people entered the inn door and suddenly felt that their eyes were darkened. It was not as hot as outside, and there was still a hint of coolness. Taking a closer look, I saw that the entire front yard was covered with reed mats, and the surrounding areas were supported by fir poles and bamboo poles. Water was poured on the blue brick floor, making it clean.
"Huh? This is a good move!" The wealthy businessman stopped and looked around, exclaiming.
"From the accent of the master, I must be from the south. Is this your first time back to the capital? In Beijing, we have to put up arbors to provide shade in the summer, but they were all removed by August 15th. Don't tell me. Here we are, and sheds have been set up in front of every shop on the street. When the sun sets in the afternoon, I’m sure you won’t get any sunlight at all.”
The wealthy businessman nodded after hearing this, thinking that he had indeed seen many shops with sheds set up in front of them on the road.
While the man was chattering, he took the four of them into the inner courtyard to have sex. He has seen many guests coming and going from north to south, and he knows where to lead them just by looking at their clothes. When they arrived at the small courtyard where the upper house was located, the group found that a ceiling had been built here as well. After that, I opened the door, fetched face wash, boiled water for feet, made tea, and was busy for a while.
After the waiter came out with the used water, a man in shorts clothes walked to the door of the courtyard without saying a word. The young man who had changed into a green cloth gown said softly to the wealthy businessman who was soaking his feet: "Brother Xu, when are you going to see Ruan Boyuan?"
"There's no rush. Let's talk to our people first. We're not familiar with the Qianmen area. We'll go to his house to deliver the post in two days."
The wealthy businessman who spoke was Xu Dayong, the "Taiwan Balm" of the Northern Navy Intelligence Bureau, and the young man was Shen Guisheng who had been with Zhao Xin before. Guisheng is a safe boy with a smart mind. He used to run around on the streets of Yangzhou a lot, so last year Zhao Xin let him go from the combat unit to the Intelligence Bureau. After training, he joined Xu Dayong's group.
After Xu Dayong returned to Beihai Town from northern Jiangsu, he first cooperated with the security police in "immigration screening" for more than half a year, and then worked as a prisoner for a period of time to instigate rebellion. Originally, he planned to get engaged to Cha Mei in the Mid-Autumn Festival, but he was sent out again by Zhao Xin, and he didn't know when he could go back.
Their external identity was that they were merchants from Shanghai; in fact, they took a Caobang sand ship from Jeju Island to sell tea to the Northern Navy, then landed in Shanghai County, and then took a Caobang grain ship to go north to Luhe River. Yi, I struggled with it for more than a month. As for the certificates and tokens used by Lu Yin and others when they were away from home, Lao Huang bribed the money and grain master of the Shanghai County Government to issue them.
Since four years ago, Lao Huang has been on the "thief ship" of Beihai Town. Almost half of the Huang family's "Huang Shengtai" grocery stores spread across more than a dozen prefectures and counties in the south of the Yangtze River have become stations of the Northern Navy Intelligence Bureau; their current main mission is to collect public information on prices, people's livelihood, and government affairs.
This time Xu Da came to Beijing for three purposes: the first was to meet with Ruan Yuan, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, who specified that Beihai Town should send someone who could represent Zhao Xin before the discussion could proceed; the second was to meet with a The eunuch in the famous palace; the third is to have a secret meeting with Liu Quan, the steward of the He Mansion.
Now that the Northern Navy is sending troops to Khalkha Mongolia, everyone in the court is as anxious as ants on a hot pot. Faced with the "unforgettable situation" in Beihai Town, some thoughtful people have begun to quietly find a way out for themselves. There are many people who want to gain connections with Beihai Town, but the problem is that not everyone deserves Beihai Town's attention.
In the afternoon, the sun set in the west and dusk was approaching. After waking up, Xu Dayong thought about going out to eat. The four of them changed their clothes, strolled out of the inn, and came to Qianmen Street. At this time, just as the store clerk said, there were more and more pedestrians on the street. From the Jade Bridge to the north of the Qianmen Arrow Tower to Zhushikou in the south, there was a steady flow of people.
At this time, in addition to the waiters from various shops greeting customers at the door, the sellers carrying burdens are also selling various fruits and food, and the sounds of singing and selling are repeated.
"A big man is making a fool of himself by making a piece of watermelon. The piece is so big and tall that he mistook it for a bee to build a nest. It's like a small boat passing by Tongzhou."
"Cold Ling, snowflake cheese, the main road outside the city"
"There is Zhang Xiaoquan in the south and Wang Mazi in the north. My kitchen knife cuts iron as well as clay. It can cut and take pictures. I guarantee you will use it for a hundred years!"
"Here is the sour plum soup. It has a different taste that quenches thirst and is cooling. It also adds roses and sugar. If you don't believe me, just give it a try."
“Fragrant mutton buns and braised tofu, a bowl of it”
"The leaves are delicate, ah ah ah yo, you listen to me shouting to make this jujube cake! The shouting is good, not fancy, listen to me talking about the roots and seedlings from the beginning. It is not an easy journey. The ancient caves in the mountains are deep with trenches, and the tigers are taking a nap. When the wolf is sleeping, he has to shake himself when he gets into a tree..."
“Hot noodles and dumplings, hot noodles and dumplings”
"Water rice, beans and mung bean rice in original soup"
Among the four people in the group, apart from Xu Dayong, who had been to many places, Guisheng and the other two had never seen this before. They were all dazzled. After hearing the shouting sound like a ditty, they actually wanted to buy everyone. I want to taste them all.
Except for kitchen knives, of course.
