Chu Kuangge pointed to a door in front of them and said, "We're here. This is the place. The largest pet shop in Luoyang belongs to Li Jun's family."
Yang Fan hurriedly stopped the carriage and said to Chu Kuangge, "Brother Chu, tell your brothers to wait outside. We'll accompany Miss to the pet shop to take a look."
Chu Kuangge agreed and ordered a few brothers to guard the carriage under a tree at the entrance of the alley. Tin Aino put on a carved beard hat and leisurely got out of the carriage, followed by a maid in green. Yang Fan and Chu Kuangge, one on the left and the other on the right, led the way into the pet shop.
This was the Trading Square, located in the northeast corner of Luoyang City. Because it was north of the Luo River and close to the imperial city, it was a place where high officials and nobles liked to live. Therefore, although the Trading Square was located at the edge of the city, the land was more expensive than most of the shops south of the Luo River. Even so, Li Jun's shop occupied a large area, even larger than the mansions of many officials.
However, from afar, the mansions of nobles and nobles could be seen with domed eaves and flying corners. Inside, there were pavilions everywhere. Although Li Jun's pet shop occupied a large area, the courtyard was empty and the houses were sparse. This was because most of the houses here were animal houses for all kinds of pets.
The door of Li Jun's house was open, and there were no family members guarding it. When the three of them entered, they saw not only many merchants and merchants, but also many noble men and women in brocade clothes. They were being served by male and female servants, entering and exiting the house. It was very lively.
Li Jun's house only sold one kind of thing: animals.
In modern terms, he opened a pet shop.
In this "pet shop", animal houses and rooms were built everywhere. The big ones were like palaces, and the small ones were only the size of a palm. A gust of wind blew, and the smell of many birds and animals mixed together. It was really not a good smell. Tin Aino and the maid behind her couldn't help but cover their noses.
"Young lady, is this your first time here?"
An old man in plain clothes with his sleeves rolled up quickly came up to greet him. With a face full of smiles, he cupped his hands and bowed to Tin Aino. This man looked to be in his fifties, with grizzled hair and a thin figure. His eyebrows and the corners of his eyes were full of shallow wrinkles, but his spirit was very bright. Chu Kuangge stood at the side and introduced, "Master, this person is the shopkeeper of this shop, Li Jun."
Hearing this, Tin Aino nodded slightly. He turned his hat slightly and looked at Yang Fan, indicating for him to speak.
Yang Fan took a step forward and said to Li Jun, "My young lady wants to buy a pet to her liking, please introduce it to me."
With business knocking on his door, Li Jun's face was full of smiles as he repeatedly said, "Of course, of course. This is the young lady's first time here. I will lead the way for the young lady."
Li Jun led Tin Aino all the way down. There were things that flew in the sky, walked on the ground, swam in the water, poisonous and non-poisonous, everything was there. Crickets, spiders, parrots, hawks and hawks, all kinds of goldfish, monkeys, fighting cocks, fierce Tibetan mastiffs, well-behaved forest dogs, Persian cats, cranes, deer, turtles, and even donkeys and sheep were all kept as pets.
"Young lady, please take a look. What do you think of this gorilla slave?"
"This gorilla is so ugly!"
"Hehe, then young lady, please take a look here. What do you think of this long-eared male? Its hair is like a black satin, glossy and shiny. "
"The donkey's braying is so unpleasant!"
"Haha, then this snow-clothed lady is clever and clever. Young lady, you will definitely like it."
"No, I like to ride, shoot, and relax in the countryside. This parrot is not suitable for me."
Tin Aino walked all the way, only shaking his head. Li Jun's face was a little embarrassed. He couldn't help but ask, "I wonder what kind of pets the young lady likes?"
Tin Aino tilted his head and thought for a moment before replying, "It would be best if it could accompany me to relieve my boredom and accompany me to hunt when I go out of the city to hunt."
Li Jun heaved a sigh of relief and said, "That's easy. Young lady, please follow me."
Li Jun led them quickly to a dog house and introduced, "Young lady, how about choosing a hound? The hounds here are all precious breeds of dogs from the East and West Countries. They have all been carefully trained. They understand human nature and human language. They are the best companions for hunting and playing … "
Tin Aino lightly said, "I don't like dogs. I've never liked them."
Yang Fan remembered what she had told him that night. The domestic dogs had become wild dogs, roaming the village with wolves, eating humans … He couldn't help but look at her deeply.
Li Jun's voice choked as he thought to himself, "This guest is not easy to deal with. However, since she has entered my house, if I don't let her return satisfied, wouldn't that ruin my reputation?"
Li Jun thought for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, please follow me to the backyard. The price of the pets there is a higher level."
Yang Fan said, "Sir, just choose a pet that my lady likes. As for the price, it's not a problem."
Li Jun led them into the backyard and walked to a cage. He pointed inside and said, "Young lady, please take a look. What do you think of these lynx? This lynx has sharp teeth and claws and is the best at hunting. Not only does it understand human nature, but it also looks good. It is a pet that the nobles in the capital like very much. It's just that … this lynx only eats meat and doesn't eat vegetables. The daily expenses … are a bit too high. "
Tin Aino gently shook her head. Although there was a thin veil hanging on her face, anyone could see that she didn't even look at the lynx in the cage. Ever since she entered the backyard, her eyes had been staring at the strongest iron cages at the end of the yard.
Li Jun saw her staring at the end of the yard and coughed, "There are two cheetahs in the cage over there. This leopard is fierce by nature. If it is already an adult, it is difficult to get rid of its bestial nature and train it. Therefore, the cheetahs here are all caught from a young age and brought here for training. Therefore, it is not easy to sell them. My wife, please think about it. After so many years of feeding it, not counting the manpower and the training master's salary, just it needs to eat more than ten kilograms of meat a day … "
Tin Aino waved her hand and didn't listen to his long-winded words. She walked straight over and with a gentle sweep of her eyes, she saw the beautiful female leopard. Li Jun said, "Little lady, this leopard is worth …"
Tin Aino raised a slender finger and stopped Li Jun from speaking. Then, she slowly pointed at the slender and beautiful female leopard and said, "That's it!"
The female leopard seemed to understand her words. At this moment, it raised its head and opened its bloody mouth, revealing a mouthful of sharp snow-white teeth. It let out a roar that shook the entire cage. Then, it stretched out its slender, blood-red tongue and elegantly licked the tip of its nose …
…
In the Tang Dynasty, the Hu people opened businesses in the Tang dynasty. Most of them were jewelry stores and hotels. There was no need to talk about jewelry. Whether it was the style or the quality of the jewelry in the Western Region, they were all better than the jewelry in the Tang dynasty. There were many Hu restaurants because there were Hu concubines in the Hu restaurants.
Men were the largest consumer group in the hotel. A young and beautiful Hu concubine serving wine would naturally attract the customers.
"Picking a lotus and throwing it on the water, the lover's mind is on the floating flower." Wine and beauty complemented each other.
There were too few women from the Han family working as waitresses in public, so they were not competitive. Because of this, the Hu restaurants grew larger and higher in quality. They became the favorite places for high officials, nobles, and wealthy merchants to stay.
As a result, the large restaurants in Chang 'an and Luoyang were mostly opened by the Hu.
Dunhou Square was adjacent to Bei City and was an extremely lively place in Luoyang. The "Golden Hairpin Drunk" in Dunhou Square was one of the best Hu restaurants in Luoyang.
When Tin Aino brought Yang Fan and the green-clothed servant girl in, there were a few Hu concubines dancing on the stage. The restaurant was extremely large, but it only had one floor. In the middle was a circular performance stage that was two feet tall. The stage was several feet in diameter, and the tables in all directions were facing each other with the stage as the center.
If there were customers who did not want to be seen by others, the waiter would bring over a screen and place it on the three sides of the table. There would be a folding screen facing the front of the stage. If the customers did not like the performance on the stage and wanted a more private environment, they could use the folding screen to block the front of the table. This would create a private room where no one could be seen on all four sides.
But the people who came here to drink would rarely block all four sides. They came here to drink for the wine and beauty, so how could they block the beauty from the table? When they were happy, they would even jump onto the stage and dance with the Hu concubines. Sometimes, they would even drive the Hu concubines away and have a solo dance.
The customers who could appear here were either rich or noble. It would be hard to imagine the behavior of these people in other dynasties. Can you imagine an old man in his seventies who is the richest man in the world, or a scholarly leader in his sixties, or an envoy in his fifties, dancing and dancing to entertain himself in front of his friends, attendants, subordinates, or even complete strangers in a drunken manner?
But in this era, it was very normal. Not only was it normal for those revered and lofty figures, it was also normal for those married women who had children or girls who were still in their boudoirs. This had nothing to do with status or identity, but was a kind of custom.
From the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Hu and the Han had been closely integrated. After several hundred years, the culture, ideology, customs, and habits of the Hu had been absorbed by the Han culture of the Central Plains, becoming a part of it. When the high officials and nobles were in the mood to drink, they would sing and dance in public, becoming a very elegant and tasteful activity.
When the news of Li Jing's annihilation of the Turks reached the capital, the Emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Shimin, was wild with joy. He pushed away the dancers and singers and began to dance in the main hall. Li Yuan, who was then the emperor emeritus, even snatched the pipa from the singer's hands to accompany his son. The officials also joined in the commotion, leaving their seats and running to the main hall, singing and dancing.
Imagine a group of old men wearing the robes of civil and military officials, either bearded or white-haired, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws in the solemn main hall. It was like a group of demons dancing in a frenzy. More than ten years later, Crown Prince Li Zhixi had his eldest son. As his grandfather, Li Shimin ran to his son's Eastern Palace and led the dance.
The Emperor was like this, the officials were like this, and among the common people, this kind of phenomenon was even more common.
In the hotel, everyone was enjoying themselves. No one noticed the three people who had just walked in.
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