Yalang shouted until his mouth went dry, and half an hour passed before he realized that no one dared to challenge him. Yalang was standing aside in frustration, rubbing his nose, when suddenly someone squeezed out from the crowd. He looked about ten years old, fair and thin, wearing a Yuanqing round-neck straight skirt made of fine Ge cloth. Because he was a child, his head was bare, so he wore a melon-skin hat. The whole outfit looked like a child pretending to be an adult.
I saw that he was holding a two-inch-high phoebe bamboo tube in his hand, with some cattails stuffed into the mouth of the tube. He walked leisurely to the mahogany table and asked Yalang: "You said it was two hundred taels?"
"Yes, two hundred taels!" Although Yalang replied resolutely, his green bean eyes were looking back and forth at the child. It should be noted that those who dare to come here to call for formation are all children from wealthy families in the capital. But the child in front of him, not only looked poor, but also couldn't tell how high his family was. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "This little brother, are you here to challenge our uncle Wang?"
"Yes." The child raised his nostrils and shook the bamboo tube, then said, "Go and tell Uncle Wang that two hundred taels is too little."
As soon as these words came out, the whole place suddenly fell silent, and all eyes were directed at this loud-mouthed kid. Everyone was wondering: Where did this little kid come from, and he dared to come here to lie? There are many people in Beizhen Fusi who have friendship with Feiteng Tower.
Yalang also stood there without moving, staring at the boy and saying: "Young master, I remind you that there is no joke in the casino, and the gambling money is equal. You can get as much as Uncle Wang pays."
"Stop being so fussy, go talk to Uncle Wang." The challenger also had a tough tone.
Yalang said "Hmm", and just when he turned around, he saw the door of the east wing opened with a creak, and a person walked out of it. He was tall and thin, and in the warm weather, he was walking over with a jade-shaped fan in his hand. This person is the famous "King of Promoting Weaving" Wang Dengbang. He walked out after hearing the conversation between Yalang and the visitor.
As soon as Wang Dengbang went out, he immediately caused a commotion in the hall, and all the gamblers applauded to greet him. He waved to the gamblers proudly as a gift, then with a "pop", he closed the folding fan with one hand and raised his hand to the guests. , seemingly humble but yet arrogant, asked: "My surname is Wang. The king is listed on the list. What is your surname, young master?"
"My surname is Li, Muzi Li." The child bowed his hands and returned the gesture.
"How to call it?"
"Just call me Mr. Li."
Wang Dengbang nodded, opened the folding fan again, and asked, "Do you think the lottery is too small?"
"That's right."
"How much do you want to add?"
"Add one hundred taels."
"Three hundred taels?" Wang Dengbang's eyes flashed, and he raised his eyebrows with excitement that could not be concealed. He closed the folding fan again with a "pop" and shouted, "Bring up the banknotes."
"Okay."
He only heard one of his servants agree, and immediately handed a three hundred tael silver note into Yalang's hand. Mr. Li, not willing to show weakness, took out a banknote from his sleeve and gave it to Yalang.
Yalang packed up Wang Dengbang's banknotes, but opened Mr. Li's banknotes, turned them over and looked at them for a long time. Mr. Li looked at him sideways and asked dissatisfiedly: "What, it's fake?"
Yalang apologized and said with a smile: "No, no, you have to be careful when dealing with the first time... However, this is the Yangzhou ticket. Most of the tickets used in our capital are Changlu tickets. This..."
I would like to add a comment here: Banknotes originated in the Song Dynasty and were used in the Yuan Dynasty. However, they were replaced by the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes in the Ming Dynasty. However, because Zhu Yuanzhang did not understand the laws of economics, the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes were issued indiscriminately. In just a few decades, it has been It was difficult to circulate, and its circulation had stopped by the Zhengde Dynasty. At present, the "Yangzhou Tickets" and "Changlu Tickets" are actually just private tickets of salt merchants, and their circulation scope is actually very limited. In fact, in most cases, they are not like currency certificates, but more like the exchanges between wealthy salt merchants. between credit certificates.
Yangzhou salt merchants and Changlu salt merchants each had their own interest alliances, which were usually referred to as chambers of commerce. The internal credit certificates issued by their chambers of commerce were called silver notes or salt notes in the outside world, which was similar to the later Qing Dynasty's There is a difference between the ticket number and the banknote.
"Changlu tickets and Yangzhou tickets can be redeemed against each other, and they are both redeemable on sight. Are you not accepting them here or something?" Although Mr. Li is young and his clothes are not luxurious, his words and deeds are impressive. It was quite satisfying, so he turned around and asked Wang Dengbang, "Uncle Wang, what's your method of playing here?"
"According to the rules, the outcome will be decided in three rounds."
"Is it a three-headed worm or a single worm?"
"You can have three heads, you can have one, it's up to us to decide."
"Then please ask Uncle Wang to make a decision."
"How can this make sense? Your Excellency, you are here to fight, and it should be up to you. Otherwise, these men watching the battle, shouldn't they laugh at the foreign guests?" At this time, Wang Dengbang had already changed his standard Fengyang accent and Yangzhou in his hands. The vote confirmed that he was not a native of the capital.
Wang Dengbang is determined to win, so he appears magnanimous. Mr. Li didn't mind at all. He smiled, looked at the crowded lobby, and said, "Since Mr. Wang is so magnanimous, it's better for me to be respectful than obey my orders... How about one game determines the outcome?"
Wang Deng's ranking was exactly what he wanted, because his golden-winged eagle was invincible and had won six games in a row since the weather got warm a few days ago, earning him thousands of taels of silver. Now that I have rested for two days, it is just right for a hearty fight. So he said "Okay" and asked someone to carry the exquisite straw cage for him. The two sat down at both ends of the mahogany table.
Just like there is a croupier in a casino, the promotion is presided over by Yalang. With the help of Yalang, Wang Dengbang and Li Gongzi exchange bamboo straw cages and observe each other's generals.
Promoting weaving is a kind of insect play. Since it can be called a play, there is certainly a lot of knowledge involved in it. Speaking of weaving types, by color, there are red and purple heads, jute heads, green and yellow heads, white heads, light jute heads, red hemp heads, lapis lazuli heads, purple hemp heads, chestnut hemp heads, and cypress leaves. There are dozens of types, including Ma Tou, Black Ma Tou, Semi-Red Ma Tou, and Black Ma Tou. Generally speaking, green is the top, yellow is the second, red is the third, black is the third, and white is the bottom.
Mr. Li took Wang Dengbang's straw cage from Ya Lang and looked in through the gap in the grass. On the fine sand at the bottom of the cage squatted a war insect. Its body was as green as a crab shell, its head was round and its teeth were big, its legs were long and its neck was wide. It had red pincers. Red claws, golden wings with dry hair. I saw it trapped inside, restless, tossing and turning, wishing it could break through the cage wall. I couldn't help but sigh in my heart: "It really looks like a king. It's not unreasonable to call it the Golden-winged Eagle. Doesn't this look reminiscent of the Golden-winged Dapeng Eagle?"
Besides, Wang Dengbang took Mr. Li's bamboo tube and looked at it. The body inside was as black as ink. It was lying with its legs bent and its head buried like an old fox. The only thing that could be said to be of good quality was that it looked like it had been soaked in oil. It's a big square head.
Wang Dengbang thought to himself: "This insect is only a middle-grade insect, and it is still lazy. If it gets into battle, it will be torn to pieces by the golden-winged eagle in just a few strikes." With confidence in his heart, he He felt relieved and even decided to sell his favor and tease this little guy who appeared out of nowhere in front of him.
When he returned the bamboo tube, his eyes were filled with mockery and he asked, "What is your insect's name?"
Mr. Li blinked and said, "Mother of Xuanyi Buddha."
Wang Dengbang murmured in his heart: How could anyone give such a name to a warrior general? It's too big and inappropriate. Could the Buddha Mother be someone easy to kill? This little guy is simply evil.
