A teahouse was naturally a place for drinking tea.
All the teahouses in the world were basically the same. If one wanted to stand out from the others, he had to have his own unique style.
The teahouse in front of him was undoubtedly the leader of the same industry. After the development of diversified projects, people could not only drink tea, but they could also watch beautiful dancers and taste high-quality wine. When the literati were in a good mood, they could also write in the hall, show off their calligraphy, or show off their painting skills. From time to time, they would hold poetry meetings and invite famous people from all over the world to enjoy it.
Of course, it was not easy to invite real famous people.
Therefore, the teahouse settled for the next best thing. Although the "famous people" they invited were not famous, they were indeed talented.
Xu Ke calmly talked with the servant girl for a while and figured out the daily activities of the teahouse. He suddenly became interested.
"Whether the teahouse is boasting or putting on a show, the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone they provide are all of high quality." Jiang Pengji and Xu Ke picked a quiet room and sat opposite each other. The tea stove was already emitting a fragrance. The room was clean and tidy. There were paintings of high quality hanging on the wall, and most of the people who signed them were of high status. "This alone is enough to attract many talented scholars."
Although Jiang Pengji used bamboo paper to practice calligraphy, it seemed that it was a common thing, but in fact?
In Xu Ke's words, his Langjun did not practice calligraphy on bamboo paper, but on pieces of golden paper, pure gold!
Due to the limited production, the rarer something was, the more expensive it was. The price of bamboo paper in the outside world was not something that ordinary poor families could afford.
Even if it was a noble family, only those with high status and excellent academic performance were qualified to use it.
Xu Ke had been in the Liu's house for many years, so he had naturally been influenced by what he saw and heard.
The ink provided by the teahouse was the best Meng ink from Cangzhou. The brush used was also an extremely expensive brush. As for the paper, Hejian bamboo paper was famous in the nine prefectures, and its price was as high as its reputation. As for the inkstone, it was still the best of the best.
Brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were gathered together. How could ordinary people provide them?
Let alone a teahouse!
"I wonder who's behind this teahouse …" If it was in the past, Xu Ke would definitely be attracted by this kind of extravagance. Bamboo paper was the dream of many scholars, but now … his monthly allowance was an entire knife of bamboo paper, so he didn't care about this. "This teahouse doesn't look like a place for drinking tea. Let's not talk about other things, just the value of that brush, ink, paper, and inkstone … "
At this point, Xu Ke shook his head.
How was this drinking tea at a small price? It was clearly drinking gold and silver.
"That's why I said that the rich man behind them either has a hole in his brain, or he's rich and overbearing, or he's ambitious." Jiang Pengji smiled as she concocted a cup of tea for herself. After drinking it for so many years, she was used to adding various spices to her tea. "Xiaoyu, what do you think it is?"
Xu Ke said, "Langjun, you've underestimated me with this question. No matter how the times change, the nature of the merchants in the world will never change. All the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit, and all the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit. Since they were willing to put in so much effort and invest so much money, they naturally had something in mind, and it was something big. It's just that I don't know which royal relative this owner is … "
If he wasn't a royal relative or an important minister, who had the qualifications to open a teahouse in the best area of Shangjing?
Even if he was qualified to open a teahouse, the number of people who had the financial resources to keep the teahouse running could be counted on one's fingers.
After a while, the two of them thought of the same goal.
They looked at each other and smiled.
Jiang Pengji said, "I took a look at the hall downstairs just now. Some of the paintings and calligraphy works hanging on the ceiling have a prominent background, while others are unknown or have the advantage of having a surname based on their ancestors' reputation …"
The few types of people that Jiang Pengji mentioned were nothing more than two types: the aristocratic families and the commoners.
The proportion of the former was not large, while the proportion of the latter was quite high.
The aristocratic families relied on their fathers and ancestors, and they could easily rise to the top. Even if they were lonely, they would still be respected and admired by the people. Most of them came to the teahouse to have fun and relax. Even if they left their brush and ink, it was only on a whim.
The commoners were different. There were too few opportunities for them to stand out, and the teahouse provided a rather good platform.
Even if they could not make a name for themselves, leaving behind their best brush and ink to compete with others would make them feel happy.
Jiang Pengji took a look around and vaguely discovered the plan behind the teahouse.
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be Prince Changshou," Xu Ke said calmly.
"I guess it's him too. When the assessment was near, he invited all the scholars to participate in the poetry gathering. He also generously lent the hot spring house under his name to entertain the scholars for free. His intention to rope them in was obvious." Jiang Pengji snorted. "His fief, Zhangzhou, is rich in resources and the people are rich. The aristocratic families that support him are also rich. Spending some money to build a small teahouse is just a drop in the bucket for him. "
The teahouse gave the vast number of scholars a fair platform to display their talents. Regardless of whether they were from an aristocratic family or a commoner, they could enjoy the brush, ink, paper, and inkstones here.
No matter what kind of schemes they had in mind, at the very least, he had indeed provided them with tangible benefits. Even if he couldn't get a student with astonishing talent and potential, he had still earned a good impression from the young scholars. If his luck was off the charts and he managed to get one of them, then he would have made a huge profit.
In the current era where communication technology was extremely backward, a strategist who could determine the outcome of a battle was comparable to thousands of troops and horses!
No one was a fool. Prince Changshou was naturally willing to do such a profitable business.
Of course, that was what Jiang Pengji and Xu Ke could see. As for whether other ordinary people could see it, it was unknown.
When the servant girl brought the tea ingredients over, Jiang Pengji asked nonchalantly. The teahouse was indeed a property under Prince Changshou's name.
Seeing that, she could only secretly shake her head.
Prince Changshou's ambition was so obvious. The one in Shangyang Palace was still living a befuddled life, wishing that he could die in a pile of women …
The difference between brothers was so obvious. They must not have been born from the same womb.
Jiang Pengji took a sip of tea. The taste was memorable.
"It's really good tea. I hope the tea is not expensive. Otherwise, I can only pawn you here and find a chance to escape …"
While drinking, she suddenly sighed with emotion. Xu Ke almost choked on the tea in his mouth.
She was about to tease Xu Ke, but the tip of her ear twitched. She hurriedly put down the teacup and signaled Xu Ke to stop coughing with her eyes.
He could only cover his mouth with difficulty. He choked until the corners of his eyes turned red and there were pitiful physiological tears.
"What, what's wrong …"
After a long while, he recovered and asked Jiang Pengji what happened.
Jiang Pengji said calmly, "There's movement next door."
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