There were four types of brothels in this era: one was a large-scale performance venue, which included singers and dancers with excellent talents and stunning looks, as well as acrobatic actors sometimes called "Baixi". It was more like an opera house or an acrobatic theater. , every day people perform acrobatics, history telling, singing and dancing, Cuju, sumo wrestling and other entertainment programs called "Baixi". The scale of the second type is not as good as that of the former. Although it cannot host large-scale outdoor performances or competitions, it can hold talent shows indoors, and of course there are other projects.
Both of the above are controlled by aristocratic families and dignitaries behind the scenes.
The reputation of the third type is far less than that of the first two, and there are not so many types of entertainment in it. Some even specialize in the meat business. However, although the grade and quality are not high in all aspects, it is better in that the price is low and it can satisfy everyone. The needs of men with low incomes.
The last kind of brothel is like a beautiful garden. Although the scale is relatively small, the content and form are relatively pure. It is also a good place for literati and dignitaries to chant poems, compose poems and dance. The income of this kind of brothel comes from art, tea, wine, food, and rewards. It's just that the proprietors are either "old" famous prostitutes who have passed away, or they are ladies and concubines whose families have suffered a tragedy, or they are nobles and nobles from aristocratic families... But no matter what their origins are, the women here are very He is smart, very thoughtful, and proficient in all kinds of deceptive tricks.
Here, although there are stories similar to "The Biography of Li Wa" and "Du Shiniang", most of them are children from rich families who study behind closed doors and are not familiar with the world and are deceived. They didn’t know that the usual tricks of artists and bustards were that one would be a good person and the other a bad person, one would pretend to be pitiful and the other would pretend to be vicious, so they willingly became the licking dogs of a certain “poor” artist, and in the end, they were already married even before they even held hands. Scammed out of nothing.
The Xiuyun Pavilion mentioned by Yang Lun is the last one, and it is also the largest one among them.
Stepping into the door, at a glance, Yang Ji suspected that he was in the Xiao family's garden or villa.
This Xiuyun Pavilion is indeed quiet and elegant. The exquisite roof ridge stretches out in an orderly manner, with rockery flower ponds, green pines and cypresses, pavilions and pavilions. Those waterside pavilions and pavilions full of Jiangnan style are not only hidden among flowers and trees, beside the gurgling water, but are built according to local conditions and situations, making people feel like they have forgotten the worldly world.
Not far away, there is a waterside pavilion with railings. The railings are graceful in shape and smooth in curves. They are commonly known as "beauty leaning on". At this moment, there is a little beauty leaning on the railings with her graceful figure, her beautiful eyebrows and green eyebrows blending in with the garden. Not far away there was a swing swaying gently in the breeze.
This is a very beautiful picture, but the string and bamboo orchestral music of birds and one or two wild loud sounds coming from the tall buildings far ahead remind Yang Ji all the time that this is a brothel.
The waiter who followed him was also used to seeing big shots. Although he didn't know Yang Ji, Yang Ji's magnanimity, the carriage in the square outside the door, the imposing large group of followers, and the people following his orders The ten followers let him know that this was a great big shot. At this time, seeing that Yang Ji did not look like someone who was here to have a good time, he bowed and saluted and said, "Mr. Lang, are you looking for someone?"
Yang Ji looked at the young man. He didn't expect Xiuyun Pavilion to be so big, and asked, "Where is the gathering place for Confucian scholars?"
Only then did the boy understand the purpose of Yang Ji's visit, and he quickly replied: "Today, Prince Teng, who is the host, has booked the elegant room on the third floor of the north building, and the guest rooms on the fourth and fifth floors. The banquet will be held on the third floor, but the banquet will be held on the third floor." The time is at the end of the fourth quarter, and there is still more than half an hour before this time, so the guests have not come yet."
He glanced at Yang Ji and then said, "There are several small living rooms on the third floor. Do you want me to serve tea and wait?"
Yang Ji finally understood why Yang Lun asked him to bring more money. It turned out that Yang Lun was treating guests, but he had to pay the bill himself. He waved his hand and said, "No need, I'll go shopping first. When the time comes, go by yourself."
"Here!" the young man responded, and then said: "There are servants and maids on standby nearby. If you don't know the way, you can ask them and ask them to show you where the banquet will be held."
With that said, he bowed and left.
It was still early, and Yang Ji was not in a hurry. He was strolling leisurely along the river. Suddenly he saw a pavilion in front of him. From a distance, he could see four scholars sitting in the pavilion. Outside the pavilion, there were three cooks preparing a barbecue. stall.
Yang Ji suddenly became interested. This configuration is quite similar to the tourist attractions of later generations, but these cooks should be from Xiuyun Pavilion instead of being outsourced. Their existence not only satisfies the appetites of the park guests, but also makes money. They can also serve as guides for the guests, and maybe they also serve as solicitors.
When Yang Ji stepped forward to take a look, he found that the cart they were loading was equipped with wooden wheels and contained a lot of marinated raw meat, plates, bowls, wine bottles, and wine glasses. The iron rectangular barbecue grill is like a small mobile stove. The charcoal fire in the barbecue area is burning brightly. Several pieces of meat are burned on the iron grid, and four square tripod pots are installed at the two ends, and the aroma is rising. of white steam.
The grilled meat was clearly ordered by the customer, and the cooking thing seemed to be the soup that was always there.
These cooks were only about thirty years old, and they were very beautiful. They should be retirees who were "aging and losing color". They had nowhere to go, so they became cooks. Several people saw Yang Ji and came over to watch. , saluted and said: "Welcome to you, Sir."
"Are there any seats inside?" Yang Ji had obviously eaten not long ago, but when he smelled the aroma of barbecue in the garden, he became hungry again.
"Yes!" a cook replied softly.
Seeing Zhu Can and Zong Luohu swallowing hard, Yang Ji opened a cauldron and saw the white soup boiling inside, with a lot of cooked stew inside. He asked the cook Said: "First, let's get ten pounds of stewed meat, three pots of wine, and another ten pounds of roasted meat."
"Here!" the cook responded, and said to Yang Ji with a smile: "Mr. Lang, this mutton is Tongzhou sheep, and it is more expensive than others."
Tongzhou is Feng Yi County in Guanzhong. The land is rich in grain, water, fertilizer and grass. The muttons there are tender and delicious. Moreover, these muttons have eaten large patches of green onions since they were young, and their bodies naturally lost the smell of mutton. Therefore, the price is much more expensive than mutton produced in other places.
The main reason the cook said this was because she didn't want to cause any disputes; if the customers thought they were shoddy and charging high prices, it would be the little people like them who would be unlucky in the end.
"It doesn't matter." Yang Ji was forced to book the venue, so what did this small amount of money mean? He said to Zhu Can: "Lao Zhu, Lao Luo, you two wait here, pay the money first, and then bring it to them when they are ready."
After finishing the explanation, he walked into the pavilion. There were four stone tables inside. The four scholars sat around one table. The other three tables were empty, so Yang Ji casually went to sit at one of the tables.
When he arrived, the six conversing scholars naturally looked over. A young scholar with a childish face saw that he was very impressive and was alone. He thought for a while, then stood up and bowed to Yang Ji: " I am Zheng Lun of Xingyang. Is your brother also a scholar taking the national examination?"
Yang Ji was stunned when he heard this. He stood up and returned the courtesy to the gentle young man: "I am Zhangye Yang Wenhui. Is your virtuous brother a descendant of the Zheng family?"
"Maybe it was hundreds of years ago, but now, my little brother is just Zheng." Zheng Lun finished speaking with a smile, cupped his fists and invited: "It's fate that we meet again. Why don't you come over and sit down, brother?"
"It's so annoying!" Yang Ji was not polite, so he walked over, found an empty seat and sat down, and then offered his hands to the other three people.
The three returned the gift with a smile and introduced themselves one by one. One was named Zheng Qiao, one was named Zhao Yuan, and the other was named Zhang Liang.
Like Zheng Lun, they are both from Xingyang County. Judging from the information that they are all candidates for the second list, they should be from poor families.
Yang Ji couldn't help but look at the candidate who claimed to be Zhang Liang. If he remembered correctly, Zhang Liang, one of the twenty-four ministers of Lingyan Pavilion, was also from Xingyang. The Zhang Liang in front of him had a dark complexion and very simple clothes, which was far less gorgeous than the other three.
Compared with these four young men who were just starting out and didn't know the sinister nature of people's hearts, Yang Ji was already an old man in the officialdom. He only exchanged a few words with each other and found out their background.
These four people are indeed from poor families who own land, but they are not too wealthy. They study and work on the farm at the same time. Since they are all from the Han tribe in Xingyang County and are all talented people, they have become good friends with each other.
They came to Xiuyun Pavilion today not to recruit "skills", but because Xiuyun Pavilion had learned the talent selection methods of the imperial military and imperial examinations, and organized an oiran competition with ten other famous brothels in Beiqu, so they came here Watch the fun. However, they were short of money and could not afford an expensive private room, so they did not enter it; they only waited for the opening to be spectators.
Upon hearing this, Yang Ji vaguely realized the deep meaning of Yang Lun's reservation. However, as the organizer, Xiuyunge was not mature enough and did not dare to introduce official power. If it were replaced by the prosperous Song and Ming Dynasties, , Qing Dynasty, the organizers and the brothels participating in the competition will definitely invite local parents and celebrities to serve as referees, instead of letting "Yang Lun" pay for the competition himself.
After a brief introduction, Zheng Lun filled another glass of wine for Yang Ji and asked curiously: "Brother Yang, don't you know this?"
"I've been reviewing my homework with my friends these days, but I didn't know about this oiran competition." Yang Ji gave a reason and asked: "I don't know what the rules of judging are? Is there an examiner?"
"This is Luoyang Fengyuechang's own entertainment. How can there be any rules or examiners? Everything is based on money." Zheng Lun shook his head and said: "Xiuyun Pavilion and other brothels do The three-color plaques known as gold, silver and bronze are made. If the guests who are watching think that a certain oiran is good-looking, good at singing and dancing, they can buy a plaque from the waiter and give it to the oiran, a gold medal of 100 guan, a silver medal of 10 guan, and a bronze medal. Finally, the brand is In terms of value, whoever has the most brands and the highest total price is the courtesan."
Yang Ji didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Isn't this just a game of earning money to win rankings? It is no different from the Internet celebrity PK in the previous life.
After thinking for a while, he asked: "Does the money given to each brothel's top brand by the guests from buying the brand belong to Xiuyun Pavilion, or does each participating brothel keep it for itself?"
Zheng Lun said: "It is said that half belongs to Xiuyun Pavilion, which provides the venue, and half belongs to participating brothels; and it is unknown how many participating women they sent to participate."
Yang Ji understood: the performance platform will first share half of the income, and the participating studios will get half. As for whether the studio will give the share to its own participating artists, that is their own internal matter. If the participating brothels conduct a round of internal PK before this to determine the "group champion" who comes to participate, then they are also a platform and will make a lot of money in advance.
And the people who pay are naturally the "fans".
For Xiuyun Pavilion, which hosted the finals, no matter whether the brothels supported it or not, it was a reliable platform as a platform. In fact, they were even eager for the brothels to support it.
Zheng Lun didn't pay attention to this matter and just talked about it. Seeing that the material of Yang Ji's clothes was good, he asked again: "Brother Yang, are you a candidate for the first-class examination?"
"It's the B list!" Yang Ji smiled and said: "My family is also very poor in Zhangye. In recent years, I have responded to the call of the Liangzhou Prefectural Mufu and built some industries for people from the Western Regions, so my life is a little better. To put it bluntly, it just took advantage of the Silk Road and caught up with the era of good policies, and it didn’t have much ability."
Yang Ji didn't want to talk more about this matter, so he changed the topic and said: "It is said that there is a serious shortage of doctorate courses in schools at all levels in the world, and there is a serious shortage of leftists in every county. However, those children from famous families in the first list have a good life, cannot endure hardship, and look down on petty officials. I don’t want to go to remote areas to take office, so this year the number of admissions for the B list has been expanded to 3,000. Have the four worthy brothers heard of this news?"
Among the four candidates, Zheng Lun seemed to be the main one. He nodded when he heard the words: "The imperial court has announced the news, and my younger brother and others also know about it. We are confident that we will pass the exam."
He sighed and said worriedly: "What we are worried about is that we will not get a good rank in the exam and end up being assigned to different places."
Yang Jidao: "You can still take the exam if you become a county leftist and teach a Ph.D.!"
"That's the truth. We can get extra points for the next exam. However, since our parents are here, we can't travel far away!" Zheng Lun sighed: "Although it is said that we can take our parents to the place where they work to support us, we can't teach Ph.D. The salary is relatively low, so it is not a problem to support yourself, but it is quite difficult to support your parents, wife and children. It would be better if the court arranges to be a doctorate in this county, but if it is arranged to be in the Andong Protectorate and the Xihai Protectorate, I have no choice but to decline the position granted by the imperial court."
"I think so too!" Yang Ji nodded and said: "Although it is a good thing that officials cannot serve in the county, it is too difficult to ask the county left and lecture doctors who are not in the grade to do the same. The remote mountainous areas are the most difficult. For good special services, we either recruit local people or offer high salaries to attract other talents to enter the country."
Zheng Lun glanced at Yang Ji in surprise and said, "Brother Yang is very knowledgeable, but the court may not be willing to do special things!"
"It's not that I'm knowledgeable, but this is how Liangzhou has always done it." Yang Ji said with a smile: "If the imperial court handles special matters and implements the method of attracting talents with high salaries to solve its worries, Brother Zheng Xian is willing to go to remote mountainous areas to teach PhD."
"If that's the case, I'm naturally willing." Zheng Lun said, "But it's best to stay in this county. After all, if you're from outside the country and don't know the place well, if we are willing to go, my parents may not agree."
Yang Ji followed his words and said: "This is human nature! If I were asked to go to the Anton Protectorate to teach as a doctor, I wouldn't go either."
At this time, two cooks came over carrying stewed meat and wine bottles, and one of them said: "Mr. Sir, the wine and food you asked for are ready!"
Yang Ji looked at it and saw Zhu Can and Zong Luohu sitting at another table, pretending not to recognize him. Apparently he saw that he was sitting at the same table with these scholars, so he told the cook: "Leave it alone! In addition, Yang Ji saw him sitting at the same table with these scholars. Bring over another ten kilograms of roasted meat and four jugs of wine."
"Brother Yang..." Zheng Lun's face turned red. The four of them were from poor families. The food they ordered was not enough for an adult man, and the wine they drank was not good. And they order these foods because they have occupied the space for a long time, feel uneasy and embarrassed, and do not really want to eat the high-priced food here.
"I still have a lot of questions to ask. Let's chat while we eat," Yang Ji said, then turned to the cook and said, "Go!"
"Here!" the cook responded and left.
