Chapter 86 She's Good at Dancing
Chu Yichen has been wearing another green cloak these past two days. This green cloak is an old model from last year. Of course, it is not as good as the white mink cloak that Madam Chu specially asked the servants to sew for him.
Mrs. Chu saw her son wearing an old cloak every day. When he came home that night, she couldn't help but ask, "Chen'er, why don't you wear the new snow-white mink cloak? Don't you like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it, I just accidentally got it dirty, so I asked Yuanji to send it to the laundry room outside to have it cleaned."
Chu Yichen felt a little guilty, so he lied to his mother and got away with it.
After Mrs. Chu left, Yuanji said dissatisfiedly: "Master, that little vendor hasn't come to set up his stall these days. Could it be that he saw that your mink cloak is very expensive and wanted to take it for himself? We don't even know where they live."
"Yuanji, Brother Liang even gave us such a good recipe for free. Do you think he would be the kind of person who would take advantage of others?"
"Young master, what you said makes sense. If that's the case, then why hasn't he come to the city to set up a stall in the past few days?" Yuanji asked in confusion, touching the back of his head.
"He must be still resting at home because of his cold. Don't worry, he will return the cloak to us. Even if he doesn't, he gave such a good recipe to our restaurant and saved our business, so it doesn't matter if we give the cloak to him."
Chu Yichen thought that he had a pretty good eye for people. Brother Liang had clear eyes and he didn't look like the kind of person who coveted ill-gotten gains.
His mind couldn't help but reappear the image of him lying in his arms that day with his eyes closed and his face flushed. For a moment, he was distracted by his thoughts and didn't know what happened to his body.
Fortunately, the sun was particularly strong today. After drying the cloak in the sun for an afternoon, Qianhuan put it away, folded it neatly, and placed it in the closet.
The next day, the mother and daughter entered the city. Qianhuan immediately gave the cloak to Shopkeeper Zhou and asked him to return it to their young master on her behalf.
Today is their last day setting up a stall. Qianhuan tells Shopkeeper Zhou that they will take the tools home tonight and will not come to the city to set up a stall for the time being.
The business of Zuixianju has stabilized and is even more prosperous than before. Chu Yichen has been busy taking care of other family businesses in his time. In addition to the restaurant, they also run jewelry shops, clothing shops, tea and other businesses.
He happened to be in another shop today, so he didn't know that Qianhuan's family would never come to the city to set up a stall again.
When Master Cai came to collect the stall fee, he asked with concern: "Brother Liang, you haven't come to set up the stall for a few days. Have you recovered from your cold?"
"Thank you for your concern, Master Cai. I am fine now. Master Cai, today is our last day to set up a stall. We will not come to the city to set up a stall in the future."
When Mr. Cai heard that they would not come to set up the stall in the future, he suddenly felt disappointed. He would never see Mr. Liang again.
Qianhuan thought that she still had to treat Mr. Cai to a meal to repay him for saving her life, but she didn't have much money at the moment. If she treated him to a meal that was too bad, it would not show her sincerity. She thought she should wait until she earned more money before treating him to a good meal.
She continued, "Master Cai, if I want to find you in the future, where can I contact you?"
When Mr. Cai heard Miss Liang say that she would look for him again in the future, a huge smile suddenly broke out on his face.
He said to Qianhuan in a cheerful tone, "Just go to the City God Temple in the east of the city to find me. There are many homeless beggars there. They all know me. When you go there, they will take you to find me."
"Ok!"
Qianhuan went to the bun vendor to buy buns for lunch as usual at noon. At that time, there happened to be a few passers-by chatting about gossip nearby.
"Have you heard? In three days, the flower ranking competition among the major brothels in the county will enter the final stage. I wonder which brothel's top performer will win the title of this year's Oiran." Passerby A said.
"You just found out about this. I knew about it a few days ago. The talent for the final competition is dancing, and I heard that the winner will receive a pipa made of fine rosewood as a prize." Passerby B showed off the inside information he knew.
"I'm afraid the other brothels have no chance. Xunfang Pavilion and Yichun Courtyard can still compete. Miss Hongyu from Xunfang Pavilion and Miss Sisi from Yichun Courtyard currently have the most votes. They are now tied. It all depends on the last dance competition to see who gets the most votes to win the championship."
"Yes, but I think Miss Sisi from Yichunyuan has a greater chance of winning the title of the most beautiful girl. Miss Sisi is an excellent dancer. In two consecutive most beautiful girl competitions, Miss Sisi has been better than Miss Hongyu from Xunfangge. I'm afraid Miss Hongyu will lose again this time." Passerby B continued to tell the gossip he knew.
"It looks like Xunfang Pavilion won't be able to get the rosewood pipa this time," Passerby C sighed.
"Look at your promising behavior. Do the two big brothels care about a pipa? They value reputation. If the top prostitute in one of them wins the title of Oiran, she will earn back a lot of rosewood pipa."
Passerby B looked down on Passerby C. Although rosewood can be considered a mid-range wood, it is far less precious than red sandalwood and mahogany. For a pipa of that grade, the brothel doesn't care at all. They only want the fame of being the best.
Qianhuan listened attentively to what everyone was discussing.
Isn't she the best at dancing? In modern times, she is best at classical and folk dances. She knows more than a dozen folk dances, and she has also learned modern and jazz dances. She immediately had an idea in her mind.
"Young man, may I ask how old is Miss Hongyu? How tall is she? Is she fat or thin?"
Seeing that Passerby B was well-dressed and knew the most inside information, she guessed that he must have visited Xunfang Pavilion, so she pulled Passerby B aside to inquire about the news.
"What's the matter? You, a young boy, are interested in Miss Hongyu?" Passerby B looked at her with a wicked smile.
"To be honest, I am short of money and don't know how prosperous the city is. This is my first time in the county town. I became curious when I heard you talking about those brothels. Seeing that you are well-dressed, I believe you must have been to high-end places like Xunfang Pavilion. Please tell me about them so that I can broaden my horizons." Qianhuan pretended to be inexperienced and complimented Passerby B.
"Yes, yes. I heard that it costs one or two taels of silver just to drink flower tea to enter Xunfang Pavilion. The entrance fee alone is enough to stop most people from going there, not to mention eating, drinking, watching dance and listening to music. I have never been there and I don't know what Miss Hongyu looks like. Why don't you tell us about it?" Passerby Ding also echoed Qianhuan. As a man, who doesn't want to be interested in beautiful women?
Other passers-by also agreed, everyone has curiosity.
Passerby B was flattered by the crowd, and he proudly described Miss Hongyu to everyone: "This Miss Hongyu is 15 years old, about 24 feet inches tall (in this book, foot is about centimeters, and feet inches is about meters), with an extremely slender figure, and a waist as soft as a snake. Just by looking at her figure, you can tell that she must be as beautiful as a fairy. Unfortunately, she usually wears a veil when performing. If you want to see her true face, you have to spend a lot of money to see her true face."
"I wonder where exactly this Xunfang Pavilion is?" The men around were immersed in the description of Passerby B and couldn't come back to their senses. Only Qianhuan continued to ask about the topic she was concerned about.
"Xunfang Pavilion is on the west street. There is a Liuji Noodle House over there. Walk a few hundred meters from Liuji Restaurant and you will reach the front door of Piaoxianglou." Passerby B looked at Qianhuan with disdain. She was indeed a country bumpkin who came to the city and didn't even know where Xunfang Pavilion was.
"Is there a curfew in our county?" Qianhuan was worried that the city gates would be closed at night, so she couldn't help but ask again.
Passerby B looked at Qianhuan as if she were an alien. This person must have come from some remote mountain area.
He curled his lips and said sarcastically, "Oh, you are acting like you live in the capital. Everyone knows that only the capital of our Dayuan Dynasty has a curfew system. In a small county like ours, except for strict inspections at the city gates during wartime, no one cares about you on weekdays."
Other passers-by also looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Qianhuan ignored their looks. After she finished asking the questions and got the important information she wanted, she took the eight buns she bought and ate them while heading to the Liuji Noodle House they mentioned.
She ate four of the eight buns, and wrapped the remaining four in oil paper and put them in her arms, intending to take them back to the stall for her mother to eat.
When she saw Liu Ji Noodle House, she walked a few hundred meters forward and saw Xunfang Pavilion.
Brothels are open at night, and the girls are probably sleeping in the morning, so the door of Xunfang Pavilion is closed at this time.
She just came here to check out the place first. After secretly memorizing the route, she wandered to a cosmetics shop and bought the cheapest eyebrow pencil. She had always used charcoal to draw thick eyebrows, which she felt was really inconvenient and time-consuming.
Cosmetics are expensive in any era. Even the cheapest eyebrow pencil costs 100 coins.
After doing all this, she hurried back to her stall.