Surrounded by green mountains, the three rivers ripple with white waves.
The spring wind does not know the meaning of prosperity and death, the color of grass fills the old city year after year.
Smoke worries and rain howls Huasheng, the palace is the old Imperial City.
If you ask about ancient and modern matters, please only look at Luoyang.
To know the rise and fall of Luoyang, you must look at Ding Ding Street.
At this time, Ding Ding Street was extremely bustling.
The flat dark green stone slabs formed a wide flat surface, allowing one's field of vision to pour out like water.
In the distance, black eaves, giant red pillars, and yellow city walls, formed a simple and refined, solemn, and magnificent picture. That was the lofty and proud Ding Ding Gate.
Tall piers, three doorways, east and west flying corridors, east and west gates, and left and right horse paths were all connected together by a curved flying corridor. Entering this solemn and imposing Ding Ding Gate, one would be greeted by a street that was 150 meters wide and four kilometers long – Ding Ding Street.
The perfectly straight Ding Ding Street was like a sharp sword, the tip of the sword pointing outwards, pointing straight at the Dragon Gate. The four kilometer long Ding Ding Street was like a straight sword edge, extending all the way to the Imperial City. The sword edge was the Heavenly Gate of the Imperial Palace, the sword hilt was the 'Bright Hall', 'Heaven', and other huge palaces standing on the central axis of the Imperial City.
In the 'Bright Hall', there was an incomparably huge wooden Buddha statue, gilded with gold and adorned with jade, magnificent beyond compare. The Buddha pinched his fingers, and even that slightly tilted little finger was enough to hold more than ten strong men standing on it. This huge statue was modeled after the appearance of the current dynasty's Empress Wu, with a benevolent smile on its face, overlooking the multitude of people walking into Ding Ding Street from Ding Ding Gate.
The incomparably imposing Ding Ding Gate and this wide and flat Ding Ding Street were built in the Sui Daye period. Sui Yang Emperor Yang Guang was the first emperor to pass through this gate. Now, the Sui Dynasty was no more, but this magnificent building, built with the concentration of countless manpower and material resources, still displayed its function.
Peddlers and pawns, scholars, merchants, endless streams of people, carriages, horses, mules, donkeys, camels from the Western Region, together formed this bustling and prosperous scene. If you lowered your head and looked at the hard bluestone ground, you would find many shallow footprints on it because of the long period of friction and pressure.
Can you imagine that after just a few months of marriage, he would leave his hometown to do business in a foreign land? Once he left, he would not return home for decades. When his son grew up and met him in a foreign land, they actually did not know each other before they told each other their names?
In this era, there was such a story.
Can you imagine a person following a small merchant to do business, not taking a single cent, supporting and protecting him wholeheartedly for decades, until the small merchant became a big merchant that could rival a country, and then according to the agreement, a part of the family property was given to him. From then on, he went from a penniless person to a rich merchant, continuing the life path of his former master?
In this era, there was such a story.
Can you imagine, this kind of agreement without any official contract, that successful and famous rich merchant would never break the contract and owe him wages, and he would never be tempted by benefits halfway and betray the master he followed? This agreement that lasted for decades, was actually all based on the word "trust"?
In this era, there was such a story.
Can you imagine a penniless seller carrying a precious ancestral gem, priced at one million, peddling it on the street, but no one showed interest in it, and then suddenly a knowledgeable person saw it and flew into a rage, saying that the seller was tarnishing such a precious treasure with such a low price, forcing the seller to raise the price to ten million before he was willing to buy it?
In this era, there was such a story.
This was an era full of miracles!
The legend of generals, the legend of politicians, the legend of rangers, the legend of poets, the legend of women …
All of the above belonged to the legends of the merchants of the Tang dynasty.
Now, Tin Aino had become a wealthy magnate of the Western Regions.
Yang Fan, on the other hand, had transformed into her most loyal servant.
The wealthy Western Regions girl, Tin Aino, and her loyal servant, Yang Fan, were standing on the busiest Ding Ding Street in Luoyang at this moment.
This street was filled with pedestrians. Everyone who walked on this street, whether entering or exiting, was looking for the opportunity of life, to win wealth and fame, and to express their life's aspirations.
Whether it was high officials, nobles, young masters, peddlers, or beggars, they were all walking on this street, and then separately entered the mansions or shacks on the left and right side, walking under the same sky and entering into their own different lives.
Here, a Persian with red hair, blue eyes, a rugged appearance, and a camel in rustic clothes could be a rich businessman who spent a lot of money; a scholar who looked well-dressed and waved a feather fan could be a skillful thief; a white-haired, trembling old man who walked with a walking stick could be an old wanderer who lived in seclusion.
It was not allowed to do business on the street, but mobile peddlers could be found everywhere, taking advantage of the endless flow of people, playing hide-and-seek with the public on the four kilometer long street and all the streets and alleys that extended in all directions.
Tian Ai Nu wore a hat with a carved beard on her head and a veil covering her face. Although no one could see her face, based on the way she stood and the way she behaved, it was obvious that she was born in a wealthy family. She was the daughter of a noble since she was young. She was graceful and noble.
Yang Fan now did not doubt her ability to pretend to be a dragon or a tiger.
Tin Aino frowned and said: "What we need to do now is to buy a full set of clothing, a mansion, a light carriage, a maid, a manservant, and everything a noble daughter should have. To buy these things, we need to find a middleman. Why did you bring me here?"
Yang Fan smiled and said: "In terms of wisdom, I am not as good as you, but after all, I have lived in Luoyang for so long, and can be considered as half a local snake. In terms of knowledge, you are not as good as me. Find a middleman? A middleman needs to check the identity of the buyer. Let me ask you, can you meet people with your identity? Or can I meet people with my identity as a shopkeeper? "
Although the middleman was a broker that helped to introduce workers, contact people to buy and sell servants, houses, and all kinds of tools, but the responsibility they had was not small. For example, scholars, farmers, merchants, and businessmen were all good people, so good people could not be bought as servants, even if they were willing. If the middleman mistakenly sold a good person as a lowly person, once the matter came to light and the government investigated, he would have to bear the responsibility.
The middleman was also responsible for checking the identity of the hired person. Some people sold themselves just to sneak into the mansion, and when the middleman entered, they would steal the property and escape. Once this happened, the middleman would also be held responsible. In addition, whether or not the buyer had the qualifications to order around a servant, and how many servants he could order around, these were all rules. Therefore, the middleman had to know the background of both the buyer and the seller.
With the two's current identity, it was naturally impossible for them to pass the middleman's test. Needless to say, Tin Aino's identity was shameful, and although Yang Fan currently had a proper identity, his identity was that of a shopkeeper in the Xiu wen workshop. Suddenly becoming a servant of a noble family, the middleman was a person with a lot of experience, so how could he not be suspicious?
Hearing this, Tin Aino was startled, and said: "This is a problem, but … don't tell me that we are going to ask each and every person on the street if they are willing to be hired by us?"
Looking at the bustling crowd on the street, Yang Fan happily said: "This is the ability of a local snake, follow me."
Under the curtain of his beard, Tin Aino lightly pursed his lips, and with light steps, he followed Yang Fan.
On both sides of the wide Ding Ding Street, there was a row of tall locust trees and elm trees. Different from the behavior of some municipal officials of later generations, who would dig trees today, plant trees tomorrow, and dig trees again the day after, hiding their selfish desires and tormenting behavior, the locust trees here had been planted since the time of Sui Daye and had not been touched. Therefore, they were tall, numerous, and had twisted branches. At a glance, one could tell that they had a kind of ancient, heavy charm.
Aside from the crowd of people taking a morning stroll, it seemed that very few people would go near this place. Behind the elm trees was a drainage ditch three meters wide and deep, and behind the drainage ditch was a square wall that was one zhang high. Inside the ditch were square squares.
Tin Aino followed Yang Fan to the tree, and was surprised to find that the tall square wall was actually scribbled with many scribbles. The people who wrote in this place were naturally not "so-and-so was here", but some unique small posters.
"Xuan Kong sees the house, Liu Ren determines the good and bad luck, Touch the bones to tell the fortune, Iron Mouth is straight, Chongzhengfang South Cross Street Third Curve, Liu Xiazi!"
"Going on the Spring and Autumn Hunt, inviting guests, how can you not have the company of a beauty? Qingwen Fang North Cross Street Second Girl Xiangning, can sing, can warm the bed, has a graceful and beautiful figure, even if her husband is like a wolf, won't get up until dawn. "
"Severe winter is coming, the cold is unbearable, the high quality charcoal is frighteningly cheap, Li Ren Fang Seven Curves Second Street Xue Li, the price is fair, the charcoal quality is good …"
The four kilometer long square wall had become two huge advertising signs, along the way, there were all kinds of things written on it, the content was almost all-encompassing, almost all services that one could think of could be found here.
Tin Aino looked at it in amazement.
As Yang Fan walked along, he held a piece of paper in his left hand and a piece of charcoal in his right, copying down the things he wanted one by one. Suddenly, a small poster came into sight. Yang Fan looked at it and was immediately embarrassed, "My virtuous wife went missing for no reason, she is 16 years old, her name is Little Min, she has a dark face, big mouth, protruding teeth, and fierce eyes. If anyone finds her, I will reward you 200 taels, I will not go back on my word, the person who wrote it: Xiu Wen Fang Cross East Street West Third Curve Big Elm Tree, Xiao Qianyue … "
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