Huamanting always gets up early.
As this person gets older, he becomes less sleepy.
Maybe you should cherish this little remaining life.
He opened the door of the cabin, and the cold wind swept in with heavy goose-feather snow, making him shiver.
He squinted his eyes and looked at the vast white space outside the door, and suddenly grinned.
Auspicious snow heralds a good harvest!
I hope Ningguo will have good weather and a good harvest in the coming year.
He turned around and walked into the house, took a raincoat from the wall and put it on his body, and took a bamboo hat and put it on his head. Then he went out, closed the door, and walked into the cold wind and snow in the early morning. middle.
After walking leisurely like this for half an hour, he came to an alley called Qiuyue Fang.
This place is in the northwest corner of Kyoto. It is located in a remote area and belongs to the civilian area of Kyoto.
Therefore, the courtyard houses in this alley look very old, and there is only one food shop in the entire alley, selling cheap food such as steamed cakes and grass cakes.
Hua Manting bought a drawer of steamed cakes from that food shop, and after thinking about it, she bought four more straw cakes, then walked to a small courtyard at the west end of the alley.
The courtyard is very small.
There is only one bare willow tree in the yard.
There is an old well under the willow tree.
There is a small bamboo chair covered with snow beside the old well.
Apart from that there is nothing.
The fence in the small courtyard is very short and cannot prevent thieves, and there is no need to guard against thieves.
Because all the thieves around here know that the owner of this small courtyard is very poor, he will even try to kill thieves!
The small wooden gate on the fence is useless. There is no latch. Even if there is one, it can be crossed with one step.
Hua Manting pushed open the small wooden door and walked into the yard. In just five steps, he stood in front of the door of the thatched cottage.
He looked at the roof of the thatched cottage with some worry. If the snow fell heavier and accumulated thicker, he was afraid that the thatched cottage would collapse.
He knocked on the door.
Perhaps his peaceful dream was disturbed, and an impatient voice came from the door, "Who is it!"
"Open the door!"
After a moment, the door opened and a head poked out of the door.
The hair on this head is gray and white, and he is also an old man.
He just glanced at Hua Manting, then retracted his neck, "If you want to come in, hurry up, it's so cold outside... What are you doing here so early in the morning?!"
Hua Manting walked in and closed the door.
The light in the room seemed very dark, so the old man fumbled and lit an oil lamp.
Hua Manting suddenly frowned slightly: "Why didn't you light a charcoal fire?"
The old man sat down cross-legged and trembled: "I don't have money. The price of charcoal has increased this year. It's too expensive."
"How long has it been since I gave you one hundred taels of silver last time? A few months, right? And you spent it all?"
The old man chuckled: "I just went to Yihong Mansion twice, drank two pots of Huapingchun, and it's gone!"
"These days, prices have risen dramatically. Even the prices for girls in the building have increased!"
"I think back then, when we went to Yihong Mansion, even if we ordered a courtesan, if we didn't stay overnight, it would cost us only a hundred taels of silver a night. Now..."
He shook his head, shrugged his nose, and took the straw cake steamed cake from Hua Manting's hand unceremoniously. He took a piece of hot steamed cake and took a bite. He chewed it and said:
"You haven't been to Yihong Building for a long time, haven't you?"
"Let me tell you, even an ordinary girl just drinks and listens to music. Don't even think about it if you don't have thirty taels of silver!"
"And the painting screen spring is too expensive!"
"Ruilu, you know three hundred and fifty cents per catty. Do you know how much the Huapingchun, which has just started to be sold in Kyoto, sells for per catty?"
Hua Manting really doesn’t know.
He didn't even know until this moment that Li Chenan had sold Hua Pingchun to Kyoto.
"How many?"
The old man stretched out his hand and said, "Fifty taels of silver per catty! The price is more than ten times that of Ruilu, and the supply exceeds the demand! Can you believe it?"
Hua Manting stroked his long beard and laughed, "I believe it!"
"Because when I went to Guangling City, in his tavern under the banyan tree, the selling price of the painting Pingchun was three taels of silver per catty. It was shipped to Kyoto and sold for five taels, which is reasonable."
The old man stretched his neck and swallowed the steamed cake in his mouth, but suddenly said: "The price of this painting of Pingchun will go up!"
Hua Manting was startled: "Why?"
"I heard that not many will be sold in Kyoto in the future. I heard that he wants to sell this painting Pingchun to other countries."
Hua Manting grinned: "This kid just likes money."
The old man curled his lips, "So, this regent is unreliable!"
Hua Manting shook his head, "Nian Chengfeng, I'm afraid you've made a mistake!"
This old man’s name is Nian Chengfeng.
To have Hua Manting visit him personally, he is obviously not an ordinary person.
In the first year of Zhaohua, the late emperor who had just entered the mausoleum ascended the throne as emperor.
Li Chunfu was canonized as the Prince's Taifu, Changsun Jinghong was named the Prince's Taitu, and Nian Chengfeng was named the Prince's Taibao!
At that time, they were collectively called the Three Divisions of Ning State, and they were all ministers of Ning State!
In the second year of Zhaohua, Changsun Jinghong resigned from the position of Crown Prince and Grand Master and took charge of the Imperial City Division.
In the spring of the sixth year of Zhaohua, the crown prince and tutor Li Chunfu retired and went to Guangling City.
And this Nian Chengfeng resigned from his post and retired in the winter of the seventh year of Zhaohua, when Lu Zhanxiao's whole family was killed and Empress Lu committed suicide by hanging from a beam.
He was alone and had not gone anywhere.
Of course, the place where he originally lived was not this dilapidated place, but after he resigned, he lingered in that place of fireworks... Even at this age, it seems that he is still as powerful as ever, and of course it is more likely because of his lavish spending.
He was deeply loved by the girls in the building, so in just two years, he sold the big house in the bustling area of Kyoto and simply lived in Yihong Building!
It’s expensive to live there!
After more than a year, he was kicked out of the building by the madam.
Xu Shi, the girl in the building, thought of his two years of care and gave him ten taels of silver in private, so he bought a small courtyard with a thatched house in Qiuyue Alley, and he became quiet after that.
Because there is no money to bother with.
The first-class crown prince and Taibao, who was famous in the brothel, just disappeared from the sight of the girls in the brothel. The girls who once drank and had a good time with him have either become good friends, become madams, or disappeared from this place. Some corner of the city.
Perhaps I am also looking at the snow at this moment and thinking about that first-class boss who spent a lot of money back then!
Sixteen years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Many people in Kyoto even thought that the old man had passed away, but few knew that he was living here.
But Hua Manting always knew.
Because they have been friends for many years.
"This man is here to see you today, not because of his wine. But because he wants you to come forward and invite someone."
"Who do you want to invite?"
"Warm boiling rain!"
"..."
Nian Chengfeng was obviously taken aback. He pondered for a moment and asked, "Let Wen Boiyu help him?"
Hua Manting nodded, with a solemn look on his face: "He wants to leave! There's nothing he can do to stop him. But the country needs someone to watch over him, right? It's a pity that you are too old, Wen Boiyu is the most suitable candidate!"
Nian Chengfeng curled his lips: "I just ate a steamed cake from you, and you want me to invite Wen Zhuiyu out of the mountain?"
"Actually, I'm curious, why are you working so hard to help Li Chenan?"
Hua Manting smiled slightly: "He is Mr. Chunfu's grandson. You lived in Mr. Chunfu's house for free for three years!"
Nian Chengfeng choked, "But that kid doesn't want to be the emperor!"
"Didn't he also proclaim himself a regent? Although he has not proclaimed himself emperor, he is still exercising the rights of the emperor. However, he still has some things to deal with. Sooner or later, he will come back to be the emperor!"
Nian Chengfeng didn't know why Hua Manting was so sure and enthusiastic. He leaned over and said, "I suspect that boy is your illegitimate son!"
"You old and dishonest person, I'm here to tell you something serious!"
"I don't know if I can convince Wen Boiyu, but before that, you have to treat me to Juxian Pavilion for a meal. In addition... I have to see if that kid is as good as you say."
"Okay, I'll try to ask him to get together at Juxian Pavilion tonight."
"Okay, by the way, ask him to bring more jars to draw Pingchun!"
