When Zhu Ainao heard this, she smiled brightly and followed him without talking nonsense.
When Zhang Mingwei saw this, he couldn't help but feel funny: Were you just waiting for his words?
………………
The corner of Yangzhou Fuxi Street is a relatively quiet place in the city. In other words, this place is not prosperous and the rent will be much lower.
There is a shop front with eye-catching red lanterns hanging on it. There is a piece of red cloth hanging on the horizontal plaque at the door, which is held by a string. It should be possible to pull the red cloth down and reveal the name of the store.
Early in the morning, at the entrance of the store, two waiters happily carried a sign and erected it at the entrance of the store. It says "New store opens, everyone in Yangzhou opens with music"!
Probably because it was still relatively early, there was no one on the street yet, so the two guys started chatting.
"It's such a rare opportunity to hear so many songs sung by our master. In normal times, we wouldn't have had this blessing!"
"That's not true, especially the Dadong family. They are all in Yingtian Mansion. When I came to Yangzhou this time, I happened to encounter this incident. When her sister said it, she turned out to be the Dadong family. When I usually listen to her singing, that is Only high-ranking officials in Yingtian Mansion have this qualification!"
"Yes, it is said that in our Ming Dynasty, the one with the best singing voice is the Da Dong family! When he sings, it is like the sound of nature!"
"..."
They were chatting when they suddenly saw several small sedans coming this way. Upon seeing this, the two people immediately stopped chatting, and both smiled and greeted each other, saying, "I've met my boss!"
A pleasant voice came from the front sedan: "Is everything ready?"
"Today is a big event. If you dare to delay, you must be ready!" One of the waiters heard this and quickly replied.
Upon hearing this, a maid accompanying him opened the curtain, and the person inside stepped out. The same goes for the two sedan chairs at the back.
The shopkeeper in the store heard the commotion and hurriedly came out. As soon as he saw it, he hurriedly greeted: "Second owner, third owner, fourth owner, you are here so early, congratulations!"
When the second boss heard this, he smiled sweetly, and immediately gestured to the maid and gave her a red envelope.
The same goes for the next two owners. In this way, everyone is happy and the atmosphere becomes a lot more festive invisibly.
"Shopkeeper, my sisters and I are going to prepare first." The second boss smiled and said to the shopkeeper, "If any guests arrive, we will serve them with tea first."
Naturally, the shopkeeper promised repeatedly to reassure these owners.
But he didn't know that after the three bosses went backstage, those smiles would no longer exist.
The three of them faced each other, all looking a little heavy.
"Did you get into any trouble when you went out today?"
"Why not? Of course the mothers are very unhappy!"
"Yeah, and he said in a weird way that if I don't keep the money to redeem my life in the future, I use it to do this. If it goes to waste, don't blame her. Haha, why should I blame her for something I decided on my own?"
"..."
After talking for a while, the second leader suddenly asked: "Do you think the National Congress will come? If the National Congress really comes, then our Ming Pao Newspaper will at least not suffer losses and will have fewer things to do!"
"There's no news, I guess he won't come!"
"Yes, how can a high-ranking prince value a small branch? Obviously, we are wishful thinking!"
Hearing that there was no news from either of them, the second master forced a smile and said: "Forget it, haven't we been mentally prepared for it? Anyway, we also like those songs. Since we have taken this step, we will do our best. Bar!"
"If this opening scene doesn't happen, there will be many things that come back to make things difficult for us. I don't know what will happen in the end?"
"..."
While they were putting on makeup under the care of the maid, they were talking to each other, and the atmosphere was a little heavy.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside again. They turned around and couldn't help but stand up and greet each other: "Sister is here!"
The man who came was the boss of the Yangzhou branch of "Ming Pao". In fact, he looked to be only 28 years old, not that old.
But unlike the three people who had come first, when she came in, her steps were brisk and the joy on her face could not be concealed.
Upon seeing her expression, the second boss asked: "Sister, why are you so happy?"
When the big boss heard this, he smiled and took their hands and said, "Are you happy that Xingguo is coming?"
"What?"
"The Duke is coming?"
"Is this true?"
After being surprised, the three women who arrived first hugged each other and jumped up, their excitement and joy beyond words.
After being excited for a while with no outsiders present, the second host came to his senses first and asked curiously: "Sister, why didn't we receive news that the National Congress is coming?"
The other two people listened and nodded.
"It was after dark yesterday that Ambassador Zhang sent someone to inform us." After hearing this, the Dadong family explained, "It was getting late, so there was no time to inform the sisters."
When several people heard this, they were very happy. After having fun for a while, they quickly got ready.
As time passed, there was finally movement at the door, and the invited guests arrived one after another.
Needless to say, those who were invited by the top names were all men of letters, and they were at least somewhat famous.
After entering the store, there is a makeshift platform in the backyard. In front of the table, there are tables, chairs, coffee tables, and some fruits and snacks.
The waiter enthusiastically welcomed these guests into the backyard. Whoever invited them would have their maid come over to greet them and let them sit down and eat some snacks or something.
Among them, some people wanted to go backstage and have a look. It's a rare opportunity to have several top names together, not to mention celebrities from Yingtian Mansion.
However, the maids are not vegetarians and deal with it in a few words. These men of letters were more or less respectable, but they were not forceful.
Time passed slowly, and suddenly, there was a noise from the door of the store, which was so loud that even a few people preparing in the background heard it.
So the shopkeeper was called over to ask about the situation.
"Several owners, some street people without invitation letters came to the door and insisted on breaking in to listen to the music. They were not allowed to enter, so they started making trouble at the door. If it weren't for the agent Li who was invited by the villain from the Yamen to watch , I’m afraid they’re going to break in.”
As soon as the second boss heard this, he immediately ordered: "Go and tell them that the Duke will come today. Who will try to cause trouble?"
His words were very tough.
The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment after hearing this. After he came to his senses, he opened his mouth to say something. However, after thinking about it for a while, he still agreed and turned around and left.
"What do you mean?" The second boss saw it and asked a little doubtfully, "The shopkeeper doesn't believe it?"
After hearing this, the big boss smiled and said, "It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not. He will do it anyway. When the Duke comes, he will naturally believe it!"
So, they got ready again.
There was indeed a lot less noise at the entrance of the store, but it was still a bit noisy.
After a while, suddenly, the shopkeeper hurried to the backstage and reported: "Dear bosses, there is a man at the door, and there is no invitation letter. He claims to be Mr. Yushan and wants the boss to come out and greet him."
Upon hearing this, several hosts were stunned for a moment, and then they were all overjoyed. They quickly put away their makeup and hurried out of the door.
The literati in the courtyard became excited after hearing this and followed him one after another.
"It's Mr. Yushan who's here. Let's go, let's go together!"
"Ah, meeting Mr. Yushan in person is really worth the trip."
"..."
An old man stood at the door of the store, standing with his hands behind his hands. He looked very elegant. Beside him, there was a beautiful girl accompanying him, and the two of them were talking.
As soon as the several bosses came out, they were all happy. The big boss at the head immediately blessed Fu and said: "My Li Xiangjun, I have met Mr. Yushan and Sister Liu!"
This big boss is Li Xiangjun, one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai. She is famous for her smooth and beautiful singing voice, but most people cannot hear her singing.
If in the original history, she would have crossed paths with Hou Fangyu in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen.
However, because of Zhang Mingwei's butterfly wings, Hou Fangyu became a rebel family member. He fled from Jiangnan very early and was killed by Shu natives in the 16th year of Chongzhen. Therefore, there is naturally no possibility of Li Xiangjun and Hou Fangyu having any intersection.
And this Mr. Yushan was famous in later generations as Shui Tailiang, also known as Qian Qianyi with itchy scalp. Of course, he is also famous in this plane. It can be said that he is the leader of Jiangnan scholars and is extremely famous.
If it weren't for the flapping of Zhang Mingwei's butterfly wings, Zheng Zhilong would have listened to his reputation and asked Zheng Fusong to become his disciple, and he changed his name to Zheng Sen. Of course, this is no longer the case!
The person who accompanied him, whom Li Xiangjun called Sister Liu, was naturally Liu Rushi, who was six years older than Li Xiangjun. Her reputation is naturally great, as she is the senior of Li Xiangjun and the others.
When the literati behind him saw him, they all came forward to pay tribute and compliment Qian Qianyi.
Qian Qianyi is used to this. He just smiled lightly and said: "I heard that you are having a party here, so I asked me to come over and have a look. This is the opening of a new store. I wonder who can invite a few people to sing on stage together?"
When Li Xiangjun heard this, he quickly explained: "It was started by several members of the slave family who pooled money together. It is also a bookish thing. It is the Yangzhou branch of Ming Pao."
Upon hearing this, Qian Qianyi's old face suddenly darkened.
With his connections, he certainly knew that "Ming Pao" was actually the property of Duke Xingguo.
For Duke Xingguo, he was actually looking forward to it at first.
After all, if he is recommended by Duke Xingguo, he can soar into the sky.
Originally, he thought that with his reputation, Duke Xing Guo must have heard of him. If he recommended him to the emperor, he would be high up in the temple again.
As a result, he waited to the left, but nothing happened; and to the right, there was still nothing. After waiting for a long time, he knew that Duke Xing Guo must think that he was not worthy of being recommended, otherwise, he would have been recommended long ago.
Even the local prefect of Changsha, who was equivalent to his younger generation, was recommended to the temple and even entered the cabinet, but he was still a commoner!
Of course Qian Qianyi was not happy about this.
Later, he learned that the prince's move south was suggested by Duke Xingguo. In addition, Duke Xingguo's behavior towards the local gentry made him even more disgusted.
Just like that, it would be strange for Duke Xingguo to have a good impression on Qian Qianyi!
Now, he knows that this is the Yangzhou branch of "Ming Pao", and he also knows the general situation of "Ming Pao". It is here to grab the right to speak. It's strange that he is still in the mood to congratulate!
