Chapter 57 Ballad
Xicheng District of Baojiao County is a prosperous place for entertainment, with wine shops, tea gardens, Cuju parlors, chess clubs, opera troupes, and brothels.
If the inner city is relatively a place where wealthy people can afford to live, then people who live in the inner city have some financial resources.
So those who can come to Xicheng District to enjoy the entertainment and prosperity of the rich are the inner cities within the inner city, which are well-connected and can only be afforded by those who have real money and leisure.
There is no need to worry about life. What they think about every day is how to have fun. This comes from the heritage accumulated by their ancestors for generations.
The older generation has suffered all the hardships, but the younger generation will never be able to spend all their money even if they lie on the mountain of gold and silver and spend a lot of money.
The Perfume Pavilion is the most luxurious place in Zhongbaojiao County.
Whether it was Chen Ku's previous life or this life, this was his first time to visit such a high-end club. Needless to say, a seat inside probably required an average person's income from farming for several years.
Yaowangtang's long gown, which originally showed off one's identity in the outer city and in the countryside, could not be looked at differently by the guards at the Goulan Gate here.
Fortunately, Chen Ku had someone notify him.
Not long after, Jiang Shaoyou went out to pick him up in person:
"Junior Brother Chen, I was afraid you wouldn't come."
"Am I late?"
Chen Ku cupped his hands and asked:
"Did you delay anything?"
"Why are you late? You're early. Not many people can arrive on time at this party."
Jiang Shaoyuan persuaded and pulled Chen Ku in:
"Go in and sit down first. I'll introduce you later."
Entering this luxurious place, there was no greasy smell like Chen Ku had imagined. Instead, there was a refreshing fragrance, like sandalwood, a bit bookish, and the singing and dancing were not too noisy and somewhat elegant.
Come to the second floor, a large compartment.
"This is Brother Chen Kuchen from Yaowangtang. Brother Shaoyou has been talking to me today. You have dealt with him badly."
After the two of them entered, a man in his thirties who was wearing silk and satin, with an ordinary appearance, but with white and clean teeth and a wealthy temperament, came up with a wine glass and said:
"I, Chai Tiangui, come on, brother Chen Ku, have a glass of water and wine first."
"I don't dare. Today is purely because of Senior Brother Jiang's mercy." Since Chen Ku chose to come to this place, he did not pretend to be noble. He took the glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp: "Chen is lucky enough to have met Brother Chai."
"Open!" Chai Tiangui looked at Chen Ku without saying a word about drinking, his eyes brightened, and said: "Sure enough, he is the person recommended by Brother Shaoyou. He is passionate and passionate. I heard that Brother Chen owes him a weapon. If he doesn't dislike it, Chai is willing to I’ll give you one, but I don’t know what kind of weapon Brother Chen likes. How heavy is it?”
Chen Ku felt slightly moved in his heart. This was not from Chai Xiaoguan, but from Xiaoxuanfeng Chai Daguan. Jiang Shao's lobbying was true. No wonder he had a very good evaluation of him. He said shamelessly: "Then I will accept Brother Chai's title." If you’re in love, you don’t need anything else, just a stick, preferably one worth 1,800 pounds!”
"Eighteen hundred pounds? That's how heavy it is!"
Chai Tiangui was stunned for a moment, then smiled proudly:
"As expected, a hero emerges from a young age. Well, I will soon be able to produce this weapon and give it to my brothers. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen if your opponent is hit by a stick weighing 1,800 kilograms. I wonder what it will be like. Thinking about that scene, I, Chai, felt proud."
"Thank you, Brother Chai!" Chen Ku handed over his hand and expressed gratitude in his heart. Although he didn't feel that Bole met a thousand-mile horse, he did admire Chai Tiangui's character.
Because after Chai Tiangui drank two glasses of wine with him, a few more people came not long after. Chai Tiangui also had the same manner of treating people. He even gave one of them a hundred taels of silver as a gift...
No matter how Chen Ku looked at it, he felt that this person had given up his personality of liking to make friends, and had an even greater interest in spending money.
Jiang Shaoyou secretly smiled beside Chen Ku and said: "It's unbelievable, but in fact, you will gradually understand that in this world, life is nothing more than fame and fortune. Sometimes money is not the most important, especially in this world. For rich people, in most cases, respect from others is the hardest thing to get. But Brother Chai only needs to spread the most of his own things to win the hardest thing to get, and it comes from the bottom of his heart. Inner.”
Respect from others...
Chen Ku thought about this sentence for a while, and finally looked at Chai Tiangui, awe-struck and living clearly.
At this time.
Suddenly, there was a sound outside.
"The son of the Prime Minister of Qi County, Mr. Qi is here!"
The son of the county magistrate!
Chen Ku couldn't help but look over.
County magistrate, the second-in-command in a county.
After a while,
"Miss Shen, Master Shen's bookkeeper, is here!"
"The young master of Lan Kwai Fong's house is here on Wednesday!"
"Official Zhang Xiucai has arrived!"
One after another, young ladies from well-known families, as well as people with scholarly reputations, came to the second floor of the perfume pavilion.
Chen Ku looked at these people, who were either ladies from government offices or young men from famous merchants, and sighed in his heart:
"The elders behind these people are the group of people who can truly stand at the top of the high-level pyramid behind the scenes in Baojiao County. It really fulfills that sentence... Those who come here are all people with status."
In comparison, his previous status as a retail investor and a long-shirted clerk were really nothing compared to these people.
He actually sneaked in.
Chen Ku looked at these people as if they were friends with each other.
until,
"Master Sui's daughter Sui Qingfang has arrived!"
Chen Ku looked at everyone here, and they all stood up. He was forced to stand up and go to the door to greet them.
Chen Ku couldn't help but be curious.
A daughter of a master's master, actually has a more noble status than the son of the county magistrate?
There were also people who were introduced next to him, and they quietly asked the people around them the same question. Chen Ku had the hearing of a small dog, so he heard it clearly.
"Why is the daughter of a master's master so noble?"
"Brother, you are not from the county, right?"
"Well, I was introduced by Brother Zhang to meet Mr. Chai. I don't know much, please teach me."
"That makes sense. This is of course related to a ballad in our Baojiao County? If you ask who is in charge of Baojiao..."
"Well? What do you mean?"
Chen Ku looked over obscurely. The person who spoke was also a young man with clear eyes and white teeth, and he said:
"It's called: Shangguan City has no rivals... North Yang, South Li, Thirteenth Young Master... Master , fast knife, dragon, tiger, leopard... Once the spear comes out, there is no semicolon. "
"What does this ballad mean? It seems to refer to ten people?"
The young man said: "Yes, it is ten people, the ten most capable fighters in the county. Among them, the master is the master of our Baojiao County Yamen, Sui You, and the ballad is arranged according to strength, so it is not the daughter of Master Sui who came, but the daughter of the fifth best master in Baojiao County..."
"Hiss, if so, then Shangguan has no rivals in the city, which means..."
Chen Ku's heart moved when he heard this.
Shangguan?
If I remember correctly, the county magistrate of Baojiao County is Shangguan...
"That's right, Shangguan refers to the county magistrate. The county magistrate who was sent from outside was able to govern Baojiao County in an orderly manner in just five years. Do you really think it depends on the official seal? No! It depends on force!"
The first master of Baojiao County is actually the county magistrate.
Chen Ku's heart moved.
In this Daji Dynasty, which values military power over literature, it seems so reasonable.
After all, the reason why the emphasis is placed on literature over military power is that the literati can effectively serve the court and stabilize the rule. However, if the power of the warriors is too transcendent and they are truly invincible, then it is inevitable to emphasize military power over literature and use warriors to stabilize the rule.
"Then Bei Yang, Nan Li, and Shisan Shao are the second, third, and fourth, right?"
"Yes, these three are exactly the three major giant forces in the county, one each. Yaowang Hall is in the north, Yulonghui is in the south, and the remaining Shisan Shao is Xie Qingfeng, the thirteenth young master of the Xie family in Chai Tiepu."
Chen Ku listened and was moved:
"Yaowang Hall? Bei Yang? The one who practiced the violent ape Qianjun stick in Jinshiyuan is actually the second best master of Baojiao, only below Shangguan County Magistrate..."
