In the end, Li Yi still asked the waiter to serve him a pot of tea.
He sighed in his heart that the manager of this brothel had no business sense at all. He was so bad at doing business. For entertainment places like this where people gathered, they refused to bring their own drinks. They just provided fruit drinks and popcorn. The price was a few times higher than outside, and they could earn a lot of money.
If there was no popcorn, they could change it to a fruit platter, secret desserts, or even two skewers of candied haws. In the future, KTV did not rely on singing and drinks to earn money. If the service was more complete, they could keep the customers, and they would not be reluctant to spend money.
He thought about it for a while and listened to the storyteller on the stage while waiting for the waiter to serve the tea.
The storyteller was an old man. Li Yi had just entered in the middle of the story, so he did not know what the story was about. The few people sitting in the audience were listening enthusiastically. When they heard something exciting, they would throw a few copper coins on the stage. The old man smiled and told the story even more enthusiastically.
At the crucial moment, the old man suddenly stopped and stood up. He said, "Ladies and gentlemen, today's story ends here. If you want to know what happens next, please listen to the next chapter …"
Just when the story was about to end, the old man's words made the audience unhappy.
"You old man, why are you keeping us in suspense? Continue!"
"I'm just listening to the story. What is this?"
"Next chapter? Nonsense. I'll give you some more copper coins. Let's continue!"
The audience muttered a few words and took out the copper coins from their pockets and threw them on the stage.
"Since all of you have spoken so highly of me, this old man will continue speaking." Seeing the copper coins on the ground, the wrinkles on the old man's face bloomed like a chrysanthemum. He had already stood up, but he immediately sat back down and cleared his throat. "Let's talk about that …"
This old man's trick was quite common. Those storytellers or actors would stop a performance at the end of a show or at a critical moment. They would charge the audience and then continue their performance. This was very common in the brothels of Wa City. After all, the tips made up most of their income. In fact, the customers also knew the rules. Although they scolded them a little, they would still give them the tips they deserved.
Li Yi was very disappointed that the old man did not leave. To be honest, the old man's story was dull and did not interest him at all. Originally, he thought that it would be good if the old man finished his story and changed to a good program to pass the time. He did not expect the old man's tricks to be so deep …
Forget it, I'll just put up with it. Seeing this old man getting high here is much better than sitting in the yamen on duty. At the very least, I won't have to encounter the princess who has repeatedly tricked me.
He looked in the direction where the waiter had left. That fellow's movements were really slow. It had been so long, and the tea still wasn't served …
At this moment, on the side of the stand, a young girl poked her head out and looked at the young man sitting at a table not far away. Her pretty face showed a puzzled expression. She murmured, "Strange, isn't that the young man who sent sister Ruoqing back that night?"
She stretched her head out and was about to take a closer look when an ugly face suddenly appeared in front of her.
The girl was so scared that her face turned pale. After taking a few steps back, she fixed her eyes on the face and said angrily, "Lin Dabao, are you trying to scare me to death?"
The waiter clutched his stomach and said with a complicated expression, "Xiao Zhu, help me take this pot of tea to that young man over there. I think I have a stomachache."
The waiter pointed at the teapot on the side and ran away after saying that.
The girl patted her chest. She was really scared just now. She mumbled something before picking up the teapot and walking over.
Li Yi was still thinking about whether he should complain about the waiter's efficiency later. He saw a girl about 15 or 16 years old come over and put a pot of tea on the table next to him with a slight smile. She said, "Young Master, your tea is here."
The waiter didn't come. The one who brought the tea was a girl with delicate features. Li Yi was slightly startled. Then he poured a cup of tea. After waiting for such a long time, he was indeed a little thirsty.
The girl brought the tea, but she didn't leave immediately.
She blinked her big eyes and looked at the handsome young man in front of her. She felt that he was very similar to the one who sent sister Ruoqing back that night. However, it was too late at that time, and she didn't see his appearance clearly. Naturally, she wasn't too sure now.
That night, she kept asking Elder Sister Ruoqing who that person was, but Elder Sister Ruoqing was unwilling to tell her. She had also never mentioned what had happened in the manor to her. Later on, she only found out about it from a familiar elder sister.
She didn't know the details. She only knew that when those bad people bullied sister Ruoqing, there was a young man who stood up for her. She should have seen him that night.
After pouring the tea, Li Yi saw that the girl didn't leave. Instead, she stood there and looked at him with a strange expression. He asked doubtfully, "Little girl, what else do you want?"
"I'm not a little girl …" The girl said in her heart. She showed a sweet smile and asked, "Does this young man know sister Ruoqing?"
"Sister Ruoqing?" Li Yi was stunned. "You mean Miss Ruoqing?"
She looked up at the girl in front of her and finally saw some familiar figures. Although she only took a glance, she still had some impression of the girl who opened the door. She said, "You opened the door that night …"
"Hee hee, it really is you." The girl's pretty face bloomed with a smile. Knowing that the young man in front of her was sister Ruoqing's friend, she became more relaxed and sat opposite to Li Yi.
"My name is Xiao Zhu. What is young man's name?" The girl heard about what happened in the Prince's Mansion that day from others. She had a good impression of the young man who helped sister Ruoqing, so she took the initiative to talk to Li Yi.
"Piglet?"
Li Yi didn't have time to tell the girl his name. He was surprised by the name "Piglet".
How could such a lively girl have such a name? He didn't know what her parents were thinking.
Although it was popular in this era to have a cheap name, but for a girl to have such a name … how much criticism must she have suffered since she grew up?
The girl saw Li Yi's expression and knew what he was thinking.
After all, since she was young, many people laughed at her because of this matter. Her real name was naturally not Xiao Zhu, but Chen Yuzhu. Only people who were familiar with her would call her that.
Originally, she felt that this young man was handsome and familiar with sister Ruoqing, so she was naturally closer to him. However, thinking that he actually misunderstood her name, the girl couldn't help but pout.
"Stupid young man, my name is Chen Yuzhu, the pearl of 'Zhu Yu', not the kind with a long nose and big ears …" She pouted and muttered a few words. Of course, the first three words were said in her heart.
After listening to the girl's explanation, Li Yi realized that he misunderstood her name. In order to cover up his embarrassment, he took a sip of tea and asked, "When will this storytelling end? What's the next performance?"
The girl wrinkled her nose and asked, "Is Grandpa Sun's storytelling not good?"
"It's just so-so." The old man didn't have it easy, so Li Yi didn't belittle him too much and said casually.
"Grandpa Sun is the best storyteller in the brothel. His stories are also the most popular in the market. Many people like his storytelling. It's not ordinary!" The girl was a little unhappy with what Li Yi said.
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