Chapter 50: Fighting the Tea Circle
Hearing the sound of an arrow entering the pot, the arc of Xu Qi'an's mouth widened uncontrollably, pulling off the black cloth and pointing at the gold ingots and silver ingots on the stall:
"Haha, old Taoist, these are all mine."
The old Taoist glanced at him and calmly collected the gold and silver ingots into the package, then pointed to the topmost Bodhi string and the small jade mirror and said with a smile:
"Gongzi, choose one of the two."
..... Xu Qi'an's consultative tone, "Old Taoist, I don't want these, I just want the silver."
The old Tao ruthlessly refused, "Rules, are rules."
After a pause, he added, "These two are rare treasures, are they comparable to yellow and white mundane goods, Your Excellency should not be blinded by gold and silver."
No, I just want these mundane goods... Xu Qi'an asked, "Treasures? What is the function."
"The old Taoist doesn't know, he only knows that they are waiting for a person of destiny." The old Taoist had a patronizing look.
Xu Qi'an suspected that the old Taoist was lying to him, but had no proof, and was a little hesitant considering his inexplicable fortune.
Treasure or not, who could say, silver was more affordable.
At this moment, an armorer came over and said, "This gentleman, my master asks you for a favor."
Xu Qi'an twisted his head to look at the luxurious carriage not far away, "What does your master want?"
"The string of Bodhi beads." The armorer's gaze shifted from the stall to look at Xu Qi'an, "My master is willing to offer sixty taels of gold."
It turns out that my Ou Huang should be here .... A warm-hearted smile appeared on Xu Qi'an's face, "Blessedly, deal."
He had the armorer shell out a penny of silver in exchange for three arrows.
The armorer said, "Master said that you can throw a few more times, and we will pay for all the silver. There's no harm if you fail ...."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw the blindfolded Xu Qi'an throwing arrows with his trusty hand.
Dang dang dang... Three arrows were thrown into the pot with pinpoint accuracy.
The marveling of passersby came once again.
The armorer's eyes were filled with respect as he looked at Xu Qi'an.
If once was lucky, twice meant that the other party was no ordinary person, this plain looking young man, dressed as a scholar, was definitely an expert.
The sixty taels of gold had arrived... Xu Qi'an was in an incomparably happy mood as he pulled off the black cloth, just in time to see the curtains of the luxurious carriage fall down in the distance.
.... There was no telling what big shot was sitting in the car... He didn't dare to look more, turned around, and clasped his fists towards the armorer, "It's a pleasure."
The armorer respectfully clasped his fists in return, then returned to the carriage, and in a few moments, came over with a bulging bag of money.
Xu Qi'an took the money bag and took the jade mirror from the old Taoist, watching the carriage leave.
He retracted his gaze, casually put the palm-sized jade mirror into his pocket, and then joyfully weighed the bulging money bag.
It was roughly three or four pounds, too heavy to tie around his waist.
"No, I have to go exchange it for silver tickets, it's too silly to carry around such heavy gold ...."
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look back, only to find that the old Taoist priest had disappeared, and the stall was cleaned up.
Xu Qi'an stood on the side of the road in silence for half a day.
....
He ran to the money shop again and exchanged the gold into four silver bills with a face value of one hundred taels; one with a face value of fifty taels; and three with a face value of ten taels.
Gold was not in the monetary system, so it needed to be exchanged for the equivalent in silver, and then the money changer issued the silver tickets.
The exchange ratio of gold to silver is 1:8, sixty taels of gold is four hundred and eighty taels of silver.
Four hundred and eighty taels of silver, then, is more than enough to slap the aunt's pretty face...... Why is it that every time you make money, you can't help but think about slapping your aunt with a silver check? The original owner's resentment towards her is too strong. ..... In addition, this silver can only buy a small courtyard in the inner city ..... If you want to buy a three-room mansion, you can't get it without 10,000 taels of silver. .... Xu Qi'an was somewhat distressed.
Regardless of whether it was a different world or a previous life, house prices were a desperate thing.
"Four hundred and eighty taels, ransoming a lower-grade greenhouse flower girl should be enough, it's just that it's not cost-effective.
"You see, for four hundred and eighty taels I can take turns to honor a number of flower queens for several months. And to ransom a flower girl, not to mention exhausting my family's wealth, I also have to be responsible for her food and clothing. If she accidentally conceives a child, it's another big expense.
And my current salary is only enough to support a proper wife, I simply can't afford to live the boring life of the rich left and right. Besides, I'm not going to ransom a woman from a green house... public transportation for private use, heaven forbid."
.....
At dusk, Xu Qi'an arrived at the capital's prestigious Education Department, which was in a hutong.
When the lights came on, all kinds of carriages were parked outside the hutong, and the sound of silk and bamboo pipes and strings came from the courtyard, and the clear and moving singing voices were heard.
He knew that the beautiful nightlife had begun.
Walking on the four-way road of the hutong, Xu Qi'an's mind floated back to the essence of the culture he had learned from Sheriff Wang.
A normal greenhouse was a two- or three-story building, and an attached alibi or two would be considered fairly standard.
The Church House didn't have this kind of high-rise building, because there was no need for it, and all the courtyards in this part of the hutong were Church Houses.
State-owned enterprises, is so rich and generous.
There is a threshold for the teaching department, the common people can not spend money here, it is not a rule, but the bottom spending of the teaching department is five taels of silver.
This is not about sleeping with girls, but the opening table fee.
Five taels of silver was equivalent to several months of income for the common people, and it had to be a solid family.
Therefore, there are three main types of guests at the Oratory:
One, the gentry and magnates.
These types of guests were the most willing to spend money, because they, who usually had a low social status, had a fanatical obsession with sleeping with the female members of the criminal officials.
Second, officials.
For them, the Ministry of Rites is a place for tea parties after work, and as long as they have social engagements, they like to go to the Ministry of Rites.
It is worth mentioning that the officials of the Ministry of Rites can whore for nothing. Because of the Ministry of Rites of the Department of the Ministry of Management.
Third, the readers.
This kind of people than the gentry to be gentleman, like poetry, and not as difficult to serve the officials, so the most popular in the Department of the girls like.
There are three kinds of girls in the Education Department:
First, the female relatives of the criminal officials.
This kind of woman is the most miserable, forced to fall into the dust, be bullied and humiliated.
Two. War captive women.
Far from it, take the battle of Shanhaiguan twenty years ago, the western countries and the Dafeng is the victorious country, from the north and south of the border captured countless women, into the states and provinces in the Department of the Church.
III. The prostitutes recruited by the Church Office.
These types of women were volunteering to become honorable seafood merchants to add to the abalone business of Da Bong, and their spirit was valuable.
"Truly living and learning, Sheriff Wang is my teacher as well ...." Xu Qi'an let out a sigh of relief, finally finding the goal of this visit to the Department of Education.
He stopped outside a courtyard, the plaque on the door read: Shadow Plum Pavilion
The door to the courtyard was open, two red-colored lanterns hanging, and within the courtyard was a single plum tree, its branches dotted with blossoms containing bags of fury.
A sixteen or seventeen year old concierge boy, guarding the entrance to the courtyard, was looking at Xu Qi'an with a scrutinizing gaze.
He also had another familiar title.
"My name is Changle County scholar Yang Ling, I have heard of Miss Floating Fragrance's great name and have come to pay a visit." Xu Qi'an mimicked a scholar's bow and spoke politely to the concierge.
The Shadow Plum Pavilion was the residence of Flower Leader Fuxiang.
The opening table fee here cost ten taels of silver, twice as expensive as an ordinary courtyard.
There were a total of twelve flower queens in the Department of Education, and they were divided into four classes based on character, rhyme, talent, and color.
Miss Floating Fragrance belonged to the first class, and was known as the best in poetry and qin.
"Ten taels of silver." The concierge boy who was used to seeing big lords had a cold attitude, and after collecting Xu Qi'an's silver, he let him enter the courtyard.
Xu Qi'an's heart was delighted, the sound of laughter and silk and bamboo coming from the courtyard, playing tea rounds had already begun, but since the concierge guy let him in, it meant that the courtyard was not a chartered venue, but rather a casual visitor.
There are two modes of playing out, one is a private venue and the other is for casual customers.
If it was the former, Xu Qi'an was doomed to futility today.
