On this day in September, Xia Mingming was the first one to wake up. When Yu Shu was woken up by her knocking on the door, the sky had just brightened. She slowly got dressed and went to the other side of the screen to pull the quilt over Yu Xiaoxiu, who was still sleeping. Once she went outside, Xia Mingming followed behind her, washing her face and combing her hair. Even when she went to the bathroom, she waited outside. Seeing that Yu Shu was calm, Xia Mingming was anxious but did not dare to rush her. It was not until she saw her turn into the kitchen to start the fire to cook that she could not help but say, "You can eat breakfast outside. What are you still doing?"
"You don't need to pay to eat outside?" Yu Shu directed her to add water to the pot. She carried the small pot in the basin and poured out half of the jar of rice wine she bought the day before. She counted four eggs and prepared to cook a sweet wine poached egg for breakfast. A few days ago, Yu Xiaoxiu mentioned that he wanted to eat this. Originally, she wanted to cook it yesterday, but because of Xia Mingming's matter, it was delayed. If she did not cook the rice wine soon, it would go bad.
"Ashu, are you confident? What if, what if you lose the money?" Xia Mingming moved closer to Yu Shu and asked worriedly. Her big eyes were hilariously ashen. Because she was worried that she would miss this opportunity, she could not sleep well for the past two days.
Yu Shu scooped out the half-cooked poached egg and placed it in a bowl. She then poured the rice wine into the pot and covered it with a lid. She then turned to Xia Mingming and said, "If you lose money, immediately write me a letter home and ask your family to pick you up. Pay off all the money you owe me, and then you can go wherever you want." "You're still in the mood to joke with me at a time like this?" Xia Mingming muttered.
"Who's joking with you?" Yu Shu wiped her hands on her apron and went back to the house to get an abacus. She made a series of calculations in front of Xia Mingming and turned the abacus in her hand to show her, "Look, from the time we jumped off the boat until now, including travel expenses and daily food and lodging, you owe me a total of eighty-nine taels and sixty-seven copper coins. I've recorded it all for you. Including the interest, you have to pay me a hundred and twenty-seven taels and forty-two copper coins. I'll waive the small change and count it as one hundred and twenty-seven taels. If you dare to not pay up, believe it or not, I'll knock you out and sell you to the human traffickers." Yu Shu grinned and reached out to pinch Xia Mingming's face, "With your appearance, you can sell it for at least a hundred and eighty taels." Xia Mingming angrily slapped away Yu Shu's hand. Because she often made fun of him, he didn't get angry. "Don't worry, I won't forget. Don't mention a hundred taels, when I really pass the Dayan exam, I'll give you a thousand taels." Yu Shu stuffed the abacus into her hand, "You have to give it even if you don't pass."
"Here, here, here!" Xia Mingming was very angry with Yu Shu, so she hugged the abacus and walked out.
As soon as she left, Yu Shu saw a neatly dressed Jing Chen walk out of the kitchen. It just so happened that the rice wine in the pot was ready, so she called him over to serve breakfast. She said, "If I don't come back at noon, you can eat outside. The cold noodle shop at the end of the street is very tasty. It's hot today, so it's very comfortable to eat. Remember not to let the shop owner add chili for you."
Jing Chen nodded. Yu Shu filled two bowls. Originally, she wanted to take them out first, but when she touched the edge of the bowl, she retracted her hand and rubbed her earlobe. Seeing this, Jing Chen reached over her and carried the hot bowls out. Yu Shu saw that he wasn't afraid of the heat, so she simply left the two bowls for him to carry. She washed the spoon and went back to the room to wake Yu Xiaoxiu up.
Before going out, Yu Shu once again checked her belongings. Last night, she burned two sticks of willow charcoal, a knife, an abacus, and twenty taels of silver. Except for the abacus, she put everything else on her body. Then, she looked in the mirror and changed into her best robe. She used the bottom of the pot to make her eyebrows look rough and blackened her sideburns, making her look more like a young man.
Not letting Yu Xiaoxiu and Jing Chen follow, Yu Shu brought Xia Mingming out. No matter what, they were working for her, how could she let them wait at home idly? At the very least, she had to let her know that doing something wasn't easy.
The two of them went out late. When they arrived at Autumn Osmanthus Lane, the sun was already high. Yu Shu turned two streets and found Spring Fragrance Brothel. There weren't many customers in the brothel during the day. Two fair and clean-looking women sat in front of the brothel, eating melon seeds. In their hands were fragrant handkerchiefs, and when they saw people passing by, they would smile. Although their clothes didn't reveal their shoulders or elbows, their pink and green clothes clearly showed that they weren't from good families.
Xia Mingming originally didn't know where this Spring Fragrance Brothel was, but now that he saw it, he knew where it was. He was stunned for a moment, then pulled Yu Shu back to the side of the road. With a red face, he lowered his voice and said in panic, "Why is it such a filthy place?"
"What else did you think it was? An inn?" Yu Shu pushed her hand away and adjusted her collar. She brushed her hair and said, "Wait for me outside. If you're hungry, look for food nearby. I'll be out before dark at the latest." With that, she strode across the street.
Xia Mingming didn't even have the chance to stop her. She watched helplessly as she was ushered in by a prostitute. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared. Her heart suddenly felt empty. She couldn't tell if it was because of discomfort or something else. Her nose felt stuffy, and she really wanted to rush in, pull her out, and tell her that she didn't want to take the exam.
However, once she thought of the consequences, she shrank back. Clenching her fingers, she retreated a few steps with guilt. She shrank into a small alley by the side of the road and stared at the door of the brothel across the street. She gritted her teeth and said, "Ashu, I owe you. I'll repay you ten times over in the future."
As soon as Yu Shu entered the brothel, she showed Old Duck the slip she bought from Mingyuan Casino. Old Duck still had a smile on his face. He examined the red stamp on the slip and handed it back to her. He casually beckoned for a twelve or thirteen year old fledgling to lead Yu Shu through the hall to the back.
The front hall of the brothel was decorated with a fragrant scent and red gauze curtains everywhere. After passing through two bead curtain doors and entering the back courtyard, there was another world.
In the yard of about 200 square meters, it became "." There was a circle of tea tables in the shape of a zigzag. There were about thirty of them, and the center was empty. Half of the people were sitting at the tables. Some were drinking tea, and some were chatting with their neighbors. There was no gambling. At first glance, it seemed that they had intruded into someone's tea party.
The fledgling led Yu Shu to the back courtyard. A man wearing a blue and gray cloth hat came to ask Yu Shu about the entrance slip. Then he asked the fledgling to lead her to a seat.
Yu Shu chose a place with more people to sit down. She wanted to listen to the conversation between two people, in case she didn't know the rules here and made a fool of herself. The tea table in front of her was not big, just enough for one person to sit alone. In addition to cups, there were writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstone, and several envelopes. She didn't know what they were for.
After the fledgling poured tea for her, she stood behind Yu Shu for a while. Seeing that Yu Shu didn't give her money, she left resentfully.
Yu Shu and her neighbors chatted, but they didn't see her and ignored her. After saying a few words, Yu Shu realized that it was boring, so she didn't stick to their cold faces. She took the abacus from her waist and put it on the table to practice. After a while, a few more people came in. When Yu Shu saw that they didn't have any intention to gamble, she asked the man who collected the tickets. When the man heard what she said, he smiled, "This should be your first time coming back. This morning's gambling will only start after the sun rises and the number of people is full. Those who come late will have to wait until the afternoon's gambling is over. If you want to gamble in the afternoon, you can stay for lunch. If you don't want to gamble, you can leave first. Similarly, if you want to stay for the evening, you can stay for dinner. Of course, you have to pay for the wine and food yourself." This Evergreen Gang really knew how to do business. Five taels of silver for a ticket. If they wanted to earn enough money, how could they just gamble in one gambling session? If they wanted to stay for dinner, they would have to spend money. The food in this building would definitely not be cheap. One or two taels of silver would definitely not be cheap.
Seeing that this person was easy to talk to, Yu Shu couldn't help but ask a few more questions, "You're right, I'm from the south, and this is the first time I've played this game in An Ling. I noticed that the rules here are very different from where I came from, and they even have to split up to gamble. Tell me the rules."
The man said, "There is no need to be anxious. When everyone is here, someone will tell you. Please take a seat first." When Yu Shu heard this, she didn't ask any more questions. She thanked him and returned to her seat. She drank two mouthfuls of tea to moisten her throat and counted the number of people present. There were twenty-four people present and she was still missing six people. She just had to wait patiently for someone to arrive.
A burly man walked in from the east and stood in the middle of a circle of tea tables. He clapped his hands and the backyard quickly quietened down. The burly man's voice was loud and clear, "Thank you all for your support. Gambling in my Evergreen Gang's territory, please be at ease. Our superiors have used our connections to ensure that no one will come to check on us and ruin everyone's gambling spirit." As soon as he finished speaking, a few voices of agreement could be heard. Gambling in the south of the city is prohibited and this is a clear prohibition. If you want to play, you have to go to the north of the city. However, the waters in the north of the city are deep and it is not a place where normal traders can afford to play. Hence, there are many people who would secretly start gambling and profit from it. However, if you want to maintain this place, you have to have some skills.
The burly man looked at the crowd and continued, "It is nearing Dayan and there are many new faces in An Ling. Today, there are a few people here who are just passing by. Let me explain the rules here." When Yu Shu heard that a serious person had arrived, she stretched her ears to listen.
"Gambling is different from place to place. Two months ago, our Evergreen Gang's territory changed to the most popular form of gambling in the north of the city. It is called 'Betting'. Please take a look at the left side, there are two envelopes, one red and one white. Please choose your own question, one bet for each question. The minimum bet is five taels of silver per question. Place the question into the red envelope and write down the solution to the question into the white envelope. There will be a minimum of three questions. That is to say, before the game starts, you must have a total of six red and white envelopes."
This burly man was tall and burly, but his speech was very methodical, "Later on, I will give out thirty different numbers. Once the game starts, you can spend five taels of silver to pick your opponent's number and choose a question to bet on. Alternatively, you can pick your own number. Every hour is a round. If you are unable to solve the question, or if you get it wrong, you will lose the bet. You will have to pay the full amount of the bet to the person who created the question. Otherwise, the person who created the question will lose the bet to the person who solved the question. Let me say this first, if anyone wants to renege on the bet and can't afford to lose, please leave early. Don't come back later and regret it. There is no such thing. " The burly man finished his last sentence with a cold expression. He then gestured towards the two tea tables on the southeast side, "Today, we have invited Mister Song from Hong Ren Yi Shop and Mister Liu from De Xing Yi Shop as guests. If anyone is unwilling to accept their loss, we will have to trouble the two of you to make a decision."
At the tea table, a middle-aged man and an old man cupped their hands in greeting. Many of the people present recognized these two famous people from Autumn Osmanthus Lane and stood up to greet them.
"Let's cut the nonsense. Today, we will still gamble on three rounds. The game will start in half an hour. Everyone, please think of your questions. Men, hand out the numbers!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
