The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Everyone was poking around in the crowd, almost buying everything they hadn't eaten or played with. The Bianliang people's life was really good, and Su Jinjian didn't have any of those novelties. seen.

For example, food, Luzhou and Yingtianfu, where Su Jin lived, had enough variety. Compared with the food stall in front of Xiangguo Temple in Bianliang, it was nothing.

Soup-filled steamed buns, five-spice dried black rabbit meat, glutinous rice and white silk candied osmanthus cake, boiled sugar peanut cake, three delicacies lotus cake, sweet-scented osmanthus roll cake, sweet potato osmanthus and honey rose mud; People are salivating, not to mention smelling the fragrance, and the tempting shouts of the guys in the dim sum shop, it is really hard to resist the temptation.

Everyone only hated that their parents didn't give birth to a big belly, so they couldn't taste all these delicious foods in one go. After walking around for a while, everyone's stomachs were almost full; the big foodies regretted why they ate so much at home Now the food in my stomach is blocked up to my throat, I can’t bend down, I have to bend over, but I still have a big bag of delicious food in my hand, I want to eat but can’t eat, this kind of pain Words cannot describe it.

It was the first time for Su Jin to overeat. Before going out, he always didn’t eat much. Sometimes he was in a bad mood, and sometimes he really didn’t eat much, but this time it was different. Even the reserved Huanniang accidentally She hiccupped softly with a 'clack', making her face flushed with embarrassment.

Yan Biyun is used to these delicious foods, and he just tasted a little bit of each one and then stopped eating. This time, seeing how everyone looked like this, he smiled and said: "Brother Su, why don't you find a place to rest for a while? You see, everyone is walking all the way. Don’t move, there are still many interesting places.”

Su Jin laughed and said: "We are country people who came to the city, and we have never seen good ones, and we have never eaten good ones. This is exhausting. Brother Yan laughed."

Yan Biyun smiled and said, "It's a blessing to be able to eat. When you come out to play, you have to eat, drink, and have fun. Otherwise, what are you doing?"

Su Jin said: "Brother Yan is right, so where should we sit?"

Yan Biyun gestured with a small hand: "Come with me, there are tiles inside, how about we watch a play and listen to music while resting?"

Su Jin said: "It's good to be brave. It's the first time to go to Wazi to listen to music when I grow up so old, so I can see and see."

A group of people followed Yan Biyun meandering in, passed through the shops and stalls full of snacks, and after a few steps, a huge gatehouse lay on the left hand side. At the door, there are two handsome servants with red silk ribbons on their heads and wearing emerald green jackets, one from left and one from right, greeting the guests. The guests entered the tile gate in an endless stream, looking very lively.

Su Jin asked: "This place is called Zhongwazi. Needless to say, there are Wazi in the southeast, north and west of the capital?"

Yan Biyun said: "There are quite a lot of tile houses in Bianliang City, and I don't know how many there are, but the most famous ones are only a dozen; this is a prosperous place in the city, and these tiles are named according to the region. The one here is called Zhongwa. Houses in the southeast and northwest are naturally named according to this, but there are also houses such as Sangjia House, Zaoyuan House, Xinmen House, Jiaomen House, etc., which are all named according to the location and have nothing to do with the location. "

Su Jin clicked his tongue and said, "Are there dozens of cottages? There are so many people watching operas and listening to music? Can they make money?"

Yan Biyun smiled and said: "If you don't make money, people are busy working for nothing? This is a huge profit business. You can earn a lot of money just by skills and appearance. In the early stage, it takes a fortune to buy a house and recruit artists. Later, It’s a profit.”

Su Jin smacked his lips and said: "This is a profitable industry, but unfortunately, I, Su Ji, have meager financial resources and cannot afford it."

Yan Biyun rolled his eyes at him and said: "There are countless business opportunities in the world, and there are many ways to make money. When you see someone making money, you want to get involved. How can it be so easy? Stop thinking about it, let's go in, and I'll buy a ticket. "

Su Jin was dumbfounded and said, "I still need to buy a ticket at this gate?"

Yan Biyun wondered: "You are asking strangely, how can you get in without a washer ticket? But they let you go to feast your ears and eyes in vain?"

Su Jin smiled and said: "That's not what it means. Didn't I hear that there are different color hooks in the washroom, and there are juggling, singing, opera singing, storytelling, etc.? Don't we still have to buy tickets at the door? Isn't this a shopkeeper? Why? You charged an extra fare."

Yan Biyun smiled and said: "As long as you are narrow-minded, the owner of the house has no brains? I am going to buy a pass, one pass, and play as much as you want, unless the house is closed, otherwise you can play as long as you want; if you don't buy this pass You can also go in and play, but you can’t get in the hook bar. You need to buy tickets one by one depending on the time, and the pass is actually the most cost-effective. One ticket can play all the dozen check bars inside, and you can buy it inside. If you look at the tickets one by one, the cost will be twice that of the pass, which is a great deal.”

Su Jin nodded secretly, and said in his heart: "It turns out that in ancient times, there was a concept of one-ticket pass. This is to take advantage of people's psychology of taking advantage. For example, the pass ticket is [-] yuan, while the ticket price inside is [-] yuan per game, and there are [-] check bars. It costs [-] Wen to read it all, and save [-] Wen out of thin air, why not do it; although they only spend about four or five games in a day, the cost is only about [-] Wen, and it actually costs more to buy a pass ; but this situation was excluded from consideration by their greedy psychology.

Everyone bought a pass to enter the door, and there are separate spaces separated by curtains inside. There is also an open space in front for people to rest. Tables are set up in the open air. People who play can really stay at the tea table and do nothing, just watch. lively.

But the voices of people inside the curtains on both sides, the melodious sound of silk and bamboo, the sound of cheers and applause, the sound of laughter and gags are full of ears, who can sit still?In the end, I couldn't help but buy a ticket to get into the world behind the curtain and enjoy myself.

Since the main purpose was to have a rest, everyone chose the lotus shed where they could listen to the music. After showing the bills, the shed servant raised the curtain and bowed to invite them. Much admiration.

The place in front of the curtain is really not small, there are thirty tables of various sizes placed in it, a colorful platform in front of it, surrounded by carved railings, the colorful curtain is loosely drawn, it is just a stage.

Su Jin looked at the two sides, and thought that the sides were also surrounded by cloth curtains, but he didn't expect that the two sides were separated by wooden fences about ten feet high, and the outside was covered with homemade cloth, which had the effect of sound insulation.

"Goulan, Goulan, why is it called this name?" Su Jin said.

"What is Goulan, you will know by looking at the stage." Yan Biyun laughed.

Only then did Su Jin understand that the name Gou Lan came from this way. The stage and performance venue are separated by railings, hence the name.

The venue was full of sixty or seventy audience members, including well-dressed rich kids and short-dressed civilians with their sleeves and feet rolled up. Everyone didn't seem to care about gathering together on such an occasion, and they didn't dislike each other at all. a feeling of.

People who come here come to listen to the song for fun, as long as it is enjoyable to listen to, their identity is not the most important thing.

On the stage, a singing girl in a long lake green dress was sitting on the stage with heavy makeup, holding a pipa in her arms and singing. Su Jin and others found a vacant seat in the corner and sat down. A waiter came up to ask softly. Said: "Does the guest want to eat?"

Yan Biyun said: "I have eaten too much outside, so here are two pots of almond tea."

The guy nodded and smiled and said: "The guest officer is an expert, so I know that Washe almond tea is the best among me."

Yan Biyun smiled, waved his little hand, and asked him to make tea. Su Jin asked curiously, "Almond tea is also said?"

Yan Biyun covered his mouth with a fan and said softly: "It's just a matter of fame. In fact, the ingredients are all the same. They are all made from almonds, sesame seeds, honey, dried roses, grape seeds, cherries, etc., but they have some effects of strengthening the stomach and eliminating food. It's better to eat it now." Just right."

Su Jin was dumbfounded. He paid so much attention to how to make tea. It was in vain for him to think that he had a lot of knowledge. When he came to Bianliang City, he suddenly became a grandma Liu who didn't understand anything.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard the music on the stage in front of me resting, a crowd of people clapped their hands and applauded, and some even threw money as a reward. A middle-aged man dressed as a scholar at the side of the stage registered the amount of the reward while loudly Chang Nuo: "Young Master Zhang rewarded you with a big reward of fifty coins... Thank you, Bai Mudan!"

"Young Master Li rewarded you with a big reward of [-] Wen... Thank you, Bai Mudan!"

As he sang promises, the women on the stage wished frequently, bent over to pick up the copper coins on the stage, there was a smile in the pile of makeup on their faces, and they expressed their thanks in delicate voices.

Seeing all this, Su Jin felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.