Li An was naturally very clear about the restaurants represented by the lanterns in front of him. Furthermore, Li An had been to a few of them before, so he naturally knew a thing or two about the situation of these restaurants.
So many restaurants did not belong to the same businessman. At least, the restaurants that Ang Lee had been to belonged to different businessmen. So many different businessmen joined forces to make a huge restaurant lantern, which was rare in Chang 'an City. It required a lot of magnanimity and cooperation. Everyone needed to be willing to suffer losses. If they were not willing to suffer losses, such cooperation would not be possible. No cooperation could be absolutely fair, and there would always be people who suffered losses. People had the characteristics of bias. They would always feel that they were at a disadvantage even though they had gained a little advantage.
The distance of more than 100 meters was very short, but Ang Lee and Yan Ruyu walked for a full 15 minutes. There were too many people, so every step was almost standard. After counting around, Ang Lee remembered the names of more than 20 restaurants. That was to say, this huge lantern was made up of more than 20 restaurant lanterns. If Ang Lee remembered correctly, the order of these restaurants was the same as the real restaurants on the real street. It could be said that it was a miniature version of the real restaurant street.
"This lantern is good! It's bright enough to light up the whole street. "
"With so many lanterns, the electricity bill must be high. It's not a small amount to use for more than half a month!"
"The electricity bill is nothing. This row of high-end restaurants in the East City are almost full every day. Those who go there to eat are all rich people. They earn more than a little. Making such a big lantern is just a drop in the bucket, not to mention the electricity bill."
"When should we eat in such a noble restaurant? It's not that expensive to eat there every day, but it's not a problem to eat there once a year."
"There's no time like the present. If you're willing to treat us, let's go have a meal now."
"It's not that I don't want to. I only have a few dozen coins. It's not even enough for a small dish. In the future, when I'm rich, I'll definitely treat more than 20 restaurants. Let's eat there one by one. We'll eat all the restaurants in this row. "
"When you're rich, humph, in your next life! Stop dreaming. Let's look at the lanterns! "
A group of ordinary people gathered together and chatted. They were standing not far in front of Ang Lee, so Ang Lee could hear their conversation.
These were all poor commoners. Although they could grit their teeth and go to a high-end restaurant once a year without a problem, it would cost so much money. For the poor, it was obviously intolerable. It was better not to go if they could. However, for the rich, it was not a problem.
"Madam, which restaurant do you like? Let's go and have a taste?"
Ang Lee was not the poor people in front of him. He had money in his pocket. He could eat whenever he wanted. The most expensive restaurant in the capital was a piece of cake for Ang Lee.
"I just had desserts and now I want to eat again. How can I have an appetite? Let's continue to look at the lanterns! "
Yan Ru Yu was not hungry at all, and no delicacies could make her have any appetite.
"Okay, then let's continue to look at the lanterns. The lanterns in front also seem to be real people. But this time, they are not children, but adults. There are both men and women."
Too far away, Ang Lee could not see too clearly, but he could see that there were big living people on the top of the lanterns. They were constantly making all kinds of animals as if they were dancing.
Walking closer to take a look, it turned out to be a silk lantern. The merchants who made the lanterns were silk merchants. The silk of the lanterns were all silk models, and the men and women on the top were models wearing silk. Moreover, these models would squat down after performing for a while and then disappear directly. They would be replaced by models wearing other clothes. This way, by constantly changing models, it could increase the audience's interest and let the audience stay in front of the lanterns more and increase the popularity of the lanterns. After the popularity of the lanterns increased, the popularity of the silk shop would naturally increase. In the future, the silk shop would attract better business, and the silk merchants would be able to earn more money.
Of course, the number of models was actually not many. At most, there were three classes. They took turns to perform on the stage. One group performed on the stage, one group prepared below, and one group rested and put on makeup. In this way, as long as the three groups wore different styles of silk clothes each time, it would give the audience a refreshing feeling. It would make people mistakenly think that there were many models, so they were interested in watching and were reluctant to leave for a long time. After standing in front of the lanterns for a long time, naturally, they would be able to see the advertising address on the lanterns.
Ang Lee looked. These models were wearing the best silk, but they were not the best. These were all things that Ang Lee did not like. Only half of the middle-class people would like.
"My son's father, look at the pink dress on the stage! How beautiful it is! What do you think if I wear it? "
In front of Ang Lee, a slightly plump middle-aged woman looked at her husband with a smile and said with a slightly expectant expression.
However, the woman's husband did not seem to hear what his wife said. His eyes were fixed on the model performing on the stage.
"My son's father, have you seen enough? I say, what if I wear the dress of the woman on the stage?"
The plump woman was a little angry and her tone was not very friendly.
The man came to his senses and said impatiently, "My son's mother, you can't wear it with your body! You'll burst your clothes. "
"Then make it bigger."
The plump woman said expectantly.
In the Tang dynasty, being fat was considered beautiful. Therefore, when the man said that his wife was too fat, the plump woman was not angry at all. Instead, she felt that her husband was praising her, saying that she was plump and plump.
"My son's mother, this is the best silk. Just take a look. Are you really going to buy it?"
The man understood his wife's intention. It seemed that she was going to buy a silk dress. Their family was just an ordinary family. How could they afford such expensive clothes? What was the difference between buying such good clothes and cutting their own flesh?
"You have to wear new clothes for the Spring Festival. Just one piece per year. I can afford it."
The plump woman asked with a pleading look.
The man looked a little irritated. He frowned and warned his wife, "My son's mother, you don't know the cost of money until you are in charge of the family! We need to spend money on everything at home. How can we afford these things? Besides, how can we work in this kind of clothes? It's not practical. It's too impractical. "
"I've worked hard for more than a year, cooking and taking care of the children. Have I ever complained? I only make this one request a year. You still don't agree."
The plump woman was not happy.
My son's mother is a natural beauty. Even if she wears coarse linen clothes, she will still be as beautiful as a fairy. She really doesn't need to buy such expensive silk. Have you forgotten? Last time, when you wore a piece of half-new clothes, the wives next door all looked at you with jealousy in their eyes. If you wear such good silk, won't the wives next door want to jump into a well? Heaven is virtuous, so it's better to do more good. "
The man was really reluctant to spend money. He could only make up a lie to make his wife happy.
And this trick was really useful. Although the woman was a little unhappy, she accepted it. After all, she also knew the situation of her family. They were indeed not that rich, and high-quality silk was not something that a small family like theirs should buy. It was good enough that they could wear cotton-padded clothes. When working, in order to prevent the clothes from being worn out, they even wore linen clothes and patched it was a very common phenomenon.
However, this slightly plump woman in front of her was settled by her husband, but it does not mean that other men can also settle their wives. Not too far ahead, there was a woman who was angry. After quarreling with the man who was traveling with her, the woman turned around and left in anger. The man had no choice but to chase after her. In a crowded environment, it is not easy to chase after a person. If you are not careful, you may lose her.
Later, there were a lot of women who wanted to buy silk clothes, but the conflict caused by the men who were reluctant to spend money broke out. The scene was wonderful.
The reason why such conflicts happened one after another was that it was a woman's nature to love beauty. After the female model on the stage put on silk clothes, she was so beautiful and moving. The female audience watching below naturally had jealous thoughts in their hearts and wanted to get such clothes for themselves. Men were generally more pragmatic. If they did have money in their hands, naturally they would not be careless. As long as their wife made a request, they would immediately meet it. For poor people with low income, their wife's request was simply difficult for them. Naturally, they were not willing to spend this money.
If the man could be a little more slippery and praise his wife more, this matter might be over. However, not all men had a glib tongue. There were always some men who were very clumsy and did not know how to coax their women. As a result, their women were very dissatisfied and even caused a serious dispute.
Among the crowd watching the lanterns, most of them were poor people who could not afford to buy silk for their wives, but there were also many rich people. When the rich people saw that the poor men could not afford silk for their wives, they would be very proud and take the initiative to buy a few more sets for their wives. They even loudly pulled their wives and said that they would go to the store to order dozens of pieces of silk. When these words were heard by the poor couple next to them, the woman was very disappointed in her husband, and the man was full of anger. He hated the rich man in his heart. This was simply a public insult, and the poor man had no other way except to be angry.
This allowed Li An to understand the true meaning of life. That was, a poor couple had a hundred sorrows. Everything that could be solved with money was not a problem in the eyes of a rich couple, but in the eyes of a poor couple, everything was a problem.
There was a big difference between having money and not having money. Rich people encountered many problems that could be solved with money, but for poor people, this problem could never be solved. If it could not be solved, conflicts would break out, and the whole family would be in chaos.
For example, the poor couple in front of him broke out an irreconcilable conflict because of a piece of silk clothes, while the rich couple bought dozens of pieces at once. The difference was still very obvious.
The folk customs of this era of the Tang dynasty were not bad. If it were the later generations, this situation would be even more serious. Many poor couples would break out in great conflicts because of the problem of a place to live.
For example, in many large cities, the housing prices were so high that they almost reached the sky. It was impossible for ordinary poor couples to buy a house of their own in their lifetime. Renting a house was always so unreliable, which would make people very upset. If they were upset, a small problem would escalate into a big conflict.
Even if the poor couple barely bought a house, when their child was at the age of going to school, they would find that there was no decent school around their house. If they did not send their child to the best school, then the child would lose at the starting line. In the future, the child would likely end up like them, becoming a person at the bottom of society.
For the future of their child, the poor couple had to sell their house and buy a more expensive and smaller house in the school district, which greatly reduced their quality of life. They even had to pay a few million in loans, which made their quality of life plummet.
The contradictions in their life after that could be imagined. They lived in a very small place and owed a lot of foreign debts. How could they be in a good mood?
"A war caused by a piece of clothing, alas! It's still better to have money! "
Ang Lee made a sincere sigh.
"Husband, not all women are like them. As long as two people are sincerely together, even if they wear linen clothes every day, they will be very happy."
Yan Ruyu felt that Ang Lee was disappointed in these women, so she quickly said.
"Really? If there is such a day when your husband becomes a commoner, will you still be with me? You will go to the countryside with me and live a hard life. "
Ang Lee was not very confident in his heart. Of course, this kind of situation would not happen.
"My husband still doubts me. No matter whether I am born poor or lowly, Ruyu will follow my husband for the rest of my life."
Yan Ruyu smiled, and her eyes were full of sincerity.
"My wife must know that there will not be such a day for your husband, so …"
Ang Lee guessed with a smile.
Yan Ruyu was unhappy when she heard this, as if she had been greatly humiliated. She said angrily, "If my husband doesn't believe me, from now on, Ruyu will wear commoner clothes every day, eat plain tea, and do all the laundry and cooking by myself, okay?"
"Haha! Your husband is teasing you. How can your husband bear to let my wife be like this? "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
。 Peak.
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