Ang Lee's forthright behavior made the two girls very happy. They accepted the gifts with smiles on their faces. They didn't doubt Ang Lee's sincerity and repeatedly invited Ang Lee to come when he was free. They would always wait for him. These words made Ang Lee a little embarrassed.
Since ancient times, wine and lust were the most harmful things. However, many people didn't understand why wine and lust hurt people. There were still so many people who indulged in wine and lust. This was naturally because wine and lust were too intoxicating. The feeling of being drunk was very wonderful, and the beauty was even more so, making it difficult for people to extricate themselves from it.
The ancients said that food and lust were human nature. This was enough to show that beauty was a human need. It was a desire that no one could escape from. And people with weaker willpower would naturally find it more difficult to resist the temptation of beauty. Thus, it was easy for them to indulge in lust and harm their bodies.
Even for someone as experienced as Li An, who was a gentleman who could resist beauty, when encountering beauty, it was inevitable that his heart would waver. It was inevitable that he would give some small gifts in a moment of passion. If he were to encounter an extremely beautiful woman with a high level of charm, it was inevitable that he would lose his virginity.
"It's getting late. I really have to go. You two girls should also go back early! I've already remembered Zhang San's family. If I have the chance, I will definitely go. I won't deceive you two girls. "
Ang Lee didn't want to continue entangling. He touched the two girls' little hands and said.
Ang Lee was very good at this kind of acting. He had learned it when he was very young. It was simply self-taught.
"You must come, Noble Lady! We sisters will always wait for you. "
"You must come, Noble Lady!"
The two girls tried their best to use their charm. Then, they pursed their lips and looked unhappy. They looked affectionately at Ang Lee who was about to leave. There was a faint flirtatious air between their eyebrows, which made people's hearts sway.
Ang Lee smiled indifferently and turned to leave. However, there were still many onlookers who were secretly looking at the two young ladies.
In fact, it was not difficult for any passerby to get close to them. After all, these two girls were prostitutes. As long as they were willing to spend money, they could do it. However, most of the passers-by were not rich, and it was not easy to earn money. They were reluctant to spend money at all. At most, they would fantasize about it in their minds.
In one breath, he took out four boxes of rouge and gave them to the prostitutes he didn't know. Although Ang Lee was a little helpless, the guards who followed him saw it. If they went out and talked nonsense, it wouldn't be good. Therefore, Ang Lee wanted to shut their mouths.
"Come, each of you have one. Go back and give it to your sweethearts."
Ang Lee took out five boxes of rouge and gave them to the guards who followed him. He told them not to talk nonsense. It would not be good if this matter was spread out.
The five guards were naturally very happy. These rouge were of high quality. One hundred and fifty coins per box was not cheap. After all, the quantity of rouge was relatively small. A box would not be used for too long.
Delicious snacks and rouge and face powder accounted for most of the hawkers on Ping Kang Lane. In addition, there were some other hawkers. For example, there were hawkers who sold clothes, especially women's underwear. There were also many hawkers who sold incense and sachets. These were the same as rouge and face powder. They were specially prepared for the brothels. The customers of these hawkers were precisely the women in the brothels.
In Li An's impression, peddlers who sold women's undergarments were all women. However, the reality was the complete opposite. These peddlers who sold women's undergarments were mostly men, or couples who set up their stalls together. There were very few women who set up their stalls alone.
The hawker in front of Ang Lee was a middle-aged man. He was quite thin and stood there alone, waiting for business. The women who passed by took a look and left without buying.
"Sir, do you want to buy underwear? The underwear I have here are all of high quality. It's best to buy it for your sweetheart. "
The hawker saw Ang Lee coming over and greeted him warmly.
Ang Lee stopped and looked at the hawker. He asked, "You have so many underwear here. How many can you sell in a day? How's your business?"
"Business is so-so. I can sell at least ten pieces a day. It's barely enough to make a living."
The hawker replied with a smile.
"Judging from your accent, you're not a native of the capital!"
Ang Lee said.
The hawker quickly replied, "Sir, you're right. I'm from Henan. I admire the prosperity of the capital, so I came to the capital. Who would have thought that it's not easy to live in the capital? It's hard to make a living, let alone enjoy the prosperity."
Ang Lee nodded and said, "That's a good sentence! It's not easy to live in the capital. It's not easy. You must be renting a house! How about the rent? Can you still afford it? "
The hawker's face was full of pain. He said, "It's hard! It's too hard. The rent is rising almost every month. I have to pay 60% of my monthly income. The rest I have to eat and drink to survive. There's not much left. It's really too hard. "
This was obviously the truth. Many people who came from other places were like this.
"Since it's not easy to live in the capital, have you thought about leaving the capital and going back to your hometown? There's a ready-made ancestral home in your hometown. There's also land to farm. It's better than being exploited by the landlord here! "
Ang Lee asked.
Hearing this, the hawker looked helpless. He shook his head and sighed, "It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't. When I left my hometown, I didn't leave a way out for myself. My ancestral home and land were all sold. If I go back now, I'll have nothing. I can only be a tenant farmer for others. It's better to make a living in the capital.
There's nothing I can do. "The hawker looked young, but there were deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. This should be caused by long-term sadness. It was poverty that made them so sad, and they had no way to change all this. For these hawkers, living was already their best. They didn't dare to expect any quality of life. They didn't even dare to think about it.
Even if his life was so unbearable, the hawker was unwilling to leave the capital, because he had no way out. Even if he didn't sell his land and ancestral home when he left his hometown, he might not have a good life when he went back to farming. It should be known that with the great increase of agricultural output in the Tang dynasty, the price of food products kept falling. It was absolutely no problem to fill his stomach by farming, but the extra food couldn't be sold for money, and he didn't even know where to sell it. In this way, returning to his hometown would be a living hell. In the capital, he would be exploited by the landlord, leaving little income for his labor. But after returning to his hometown, the extra food couldn't be sold for money. The money he could save was also insignificant. It was even less than what he had left in the capital. So naturally, he couldn't go back to his hometown.
Of course, the amount of money he could save was only one reason. Another reason was that he missed the prosperity of the capital. Even if he didn't have much money and couldn't go to high-end restaurants and brothels, at least he could take a closer look and satisfy his eyes. But if he returned to the countryside, he would see nothing but trees and crops every day. After seeing so many trees and flowers, he would definitely get tired of them. As for the beautiful village girls in the countryside, when they were older, they would enter the city to look for opportunities. Why would they stay in the backward countryside? Therefore, there might be a glimmer of opportunity in the capital, but if he continued to stay in the countryside, he was likely to become an old bachelor who couldn't find a wife.
"It's not easy to live in the capital. It's hard for a man to raise a family!"
Ang Lee sighed.
The peddler sighed and said, "I'm single. When I left my hometown, my parents were already gone. I planned to come to the capital to do some business and find a wife or something. But after so many years, I'm still single. You can't blame the wives for despising me. It's because I'm too incompetent and too poor. I don't even have a place to live. If I marry her, she will only suffer for the rest of her life."
It could be seen that this peddler was quite rational. He understood everything and was very clear about his incompetence and poverty. He knew that if a woman married him, she would only suffer for the rest of her life. There was almost no hope of changing her life. Perhaps he had already given up and didn't intend to start a family.
"Don't be discouraged. Life will get better. When the rent and housing prices drop, you can save a few more years of income and buy a house of your own. At that time, you won't have to worry about not being able to find a wife. There will definitely be a wife. "
Ang Lee comforted him.
"Rent and housing prices drop? How is that possible? It's impossible. It's absolutely impossible. Sir, don't you know that the rent and housing prices have risen to the sky and are rising higher and higher? How can it possibly drop?"
The peddler said helplessly. He seemed to have lost all hope. He felt that the housing prices in the capital were unlikely to drop and would never drop. Moreover, the prices would only get higher and higher.
Ang Lee naturally understood the reason for this situation. Because for so many years, the prices of houses and rents had been rising and had never dropped. Therefore, naturally, no one believed that the prices of houses and rents would drop.
"Why is it impossible? As long as there's hope, anything is possible. Now, the imperial court has ordered that the workshops must prepare dormitories for most of the craftsmen. This will certainly relieve the housing pressure. In addition, there are still many houses under construction. In the future, it's not impossible for the prices of houses to drop. In fact, it's very likely. The prices of houses will eventually drop and the rent will be reduced."
Ang Lee said.
This policy had already been published in various newspapers. However, as it had just been published, these busy hawkers probably didn't know about it yet. Li An told him this because he wanted this guy to have some confidence in the future. He didn't want to live without any hope. That way, living was meaningless. Living with hope in your heart was the only way to live a quality life.
However, the peddler obviously didn't agree with Ang Lee's words. He frowned and looked somewhat disdainful. It seemed that he was quite dissatisfied with the imperial court and didn't believe that the imperial court would sincerely think of the common people like him.
"It's useless. It's just a gust of wind. So what if the workshops prepare houses for the craftsmen? It won't solve the problem at all. Didn't the imperial court say that they would prepare cheap rental houses? But look at it now? These cheap houses are all rented by the powerful and influential people. Then, they rent them to common people like us at ten times the price. To be honest, the house I'm renting now is a cheap house provided by the imperial court. However, I have to pay ten times the rent every month. Where can I go to reason with them? "
The peddler said with a face full of resentment. It was as if the entire world owed him.
Ang Lee heard this and also muttered to himself. This peddler was right. This kind of behavior of occupying resources and then renting them out at a higher price had to be curbed. Otherwise, how could the common people live comfortably? However, this would probably violate the interests of many influential people. The resistance would be very great. If things didn't go well, it would lead to political turmoil.
After all, people were selfish. This was especially true for the influential people who had interests. They were selfish beyond reason. They would rather the collapse of the empire than harm their own interests. They would be in the same boat as the empire.
For example, those people in the Great Ming Dynasty were still unwilling to take out their assets when facing the destruction of the empire. All of them cried that they were poor. In the end, when the enemy captured the capital, all of these people's assets were searched and their heads were chopped off. Who knew if these people regretted it.
Ang Lee still had to think seriously about punishing the influential people for renting cheap houses and then renting them out to the poor at a high price. Only then could he formulate a detailed and reliable strategy. He couldn't act rashly. If he didn't do it well, something big might happen.
"The imperial court will think of ways to change the things you said. However, these things can't be done in a short time. However, they will definitely be resolved in the end. There is no doubt about this."
Ang Lee said.
The peddler's expression clearly showed that he didn't believe Ang Lee. However, he also didn't want to refute Ang Lee. After all, he was just a peddler. Ang Lee was at least a rich man. A peddler arguing with a rich man was just asking for trouble.
"These scarves are not bad. I'll buy them all."
Ang Lee didn't even ask about the price and directly placed the order. It could be seen that he was extremely rich. This also surprised the peddler. He felt that he had met the God of Wealth.
The peddler happily packed the scarves and quoted the actual price. He didn't take advantage of Ang Lee and didn't ask for a sky-high price.
This peddler mainly sold women's undergarments. His main customers were the prostitutes of the brothel. However, he also had some goods like scarves and headwear. It was just that the quantity wasn't much.
After chatting with the peddler for a long time, Ang Lee also gained something. It was reasonable to buy some things from the peddler. He couldn't let the peddler waste his breath! This wasn't Ang Lee's style.
There were several streets in Ping Kang Fang. However, the most prosperous Grand Cross Street was the street that Ang Lee was walking on. This street was the widest and busiest. However, it wasn't a straight line to the end. Instead, it was a cross formed by two streets that intersected vertically from the middle. This was very similar to the Red Cross of the future. However, the two red lines of this Red Cross weren't of equal length. The north-south streets were shorter while the east-west streets were longer. The entire Ping Kang Fang was wide from east to west and narrow from north to south. Naturally, the streets were the same.
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.
