Film and Television World Life Record

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At noon, Li Mu and Su Tan'er had lunch together and exchanged a few words. Su Tan'er asked, "Does my husband enjoy poetry gatherings?"

"A poetry gathering?" Li Mu asked.

Su Tan'er said, "It's early August now, and in a little over ten days, on the fifteenth of August, the Qinhuai River will host a lantern festival, as well as several poetry gatherings. The Pu family's Pu Garden Poetry Gathering is quite famous, and they sent us a name card today. If you'd like to go, my husband, Tan'er can accompany you."

Li Mu said, "A poetry gathering? Doesn't that mean we have to write poems?"

Su Tan'er smiled and said, "There's no need for that. There will be many performances and various lanterns that day. If you have any poems, you can bring them out and give them a try."

Xiao Chan nodded: "Yes, yes, son-in-law, there are so many performances!"

Juan'er chimed in, "The lights are beautiful, and there are gorgeous fireworks... Maybe Miss Qilan will perform too."

The three girls chattered for a while. At the age of fourteen or fifteen, and with the world lacking entertainment, they were clearly longing for such a lively scene.

Li Mu smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go take a look when I have some free time."

The next day, while watching chess by the Qinhuai River, we inadvertently started talking about poetry gatherings.

An old man watching the game said, "If we're talking about poetry gatherings in Jiangning, the Pan family's Zhishui Poetry Gathering is the best. Every year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, they always produce a few good poems. Every year, countless talented people flock there."

One person laughed and said, "That's for sure. The Pan family has produced three generations of scholars. If someone has talent and wants to make a name for themselves, they can use the poetry gathering to gain fame and have a way to do so."

We then talked about several poetry gatherings, including the Puyuan Poetry Gathering. The Pu family were originally wealthy merchants, and after becoming rich, they naturally wanted to go further and always wanted to get closer to poetry and literature. A family of scholars sounds better than a wealthy merchant family.

Therefore, they spent a lot of money to hold the Puyuan Poetry Festival every year.

This has led to the Pu family producing several talented individuals over the years, far surpassing the Su family, but in the eyes of the world, they are still not considered a scholarly family.

However, the Pu family's Pu Garden Poetry Gathering was the most extravagant, consisting of six large boats linked together to float on the Qinhuai River all night, drinking, reciting poetry, and watching fireworks, with various performances on board.

Aside from some specially invited scholars, many of those who went were from merchant families similar to the Pu family.

That's how Su Tan'er got her calling cards. On the one hand, it was to show off her refined tastes, and on the other hand, it was a good place to build relationships and do business.

However, although the Puyuan Poetry Gathering was lavish in scale, it could not compare with the literary style of the other top poetry gatherings.

After chatting about the poetry gathering for a while, Qin Siyuan suddenly said, "Young friend Ning should be attending the Puyuan Poetry Gathering this time."

Li Mu said, "I'll probably go and join in the fun."

Qin Siyuan laughed and said, "It's a pity. If you had devoted yourself to studying for a few years, you could have made a name for yourself through this."

Li Mu smiled and said, "It's not bad now."

Chapter 587 Everything is there in the dream

In the evening, after returning home and having dinner, Li Mu looked at the starry sky and moved a deck chair to the second-floor terrace. He also asked Xiao Chan to brew a pot of tea. While enjoying the warm breeze, he sipped his tea and admired the starry sky.

On the other side, Xiao Chan and her maids were playing Connect Four together, shouting and laughing happily.

Through the window, Li Mu also saw Su Tan'er's figure. Under the dim light, she seemed to be flipping through an account book, her brows furrowing occasionally.

Li Mu suddenly realized that Su Tan'er had it tough too.

The Su family's situation is actually quite complicated. This generation of the Su family has three branches: the eldest son Su Boyong; the second son Su Zhongkan; and the third son Su Yunfang; each of them manages a business.

Now that the old patriarch Su Yu is still alive, the situation seems to be one of brotherly affection and respect, but as you look further ahead, it becomes increasingly unbearable.

Who could blame them? Among the third generation, only Su Tan'er, the only daughter of the eldest son Su Boyong, acts calmly and steadily, yet her various methods are quite outstanding, showing the demeanor of a great general, and she is worthy of being cultivated.

But the other two families would never submit to a woman, and they would never be content. It was alright while Old Master Su was keeping things under control, but once he was gone, a major uproar was inevitable.

Old Master Su could only let Su Tan'er get involved in business in advance. He allocated some of the assets managed by Su Boyong to Su Tan'er, partly to give her some experience, and partly to let her take over her father Su Boyong's resources in advance so that she could form her own power. In the future, even if the other two branches of the family were dissatisfied, he could use his power to suppress and integrate their assets.

Such expectations and responsibilities spurred Su Tan'er to work even harder.

Li Mu didn't know what to say, as Su Tan'er had her own persistence and efforts, and she was doing very well.

To outsiders, he was still seen as an unambitious gigolo.

Before you know it, it's Mid-Autumn Festival.

The Su family naturally held a banquet for the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. Hundreds of people from the entire Su family, from the master to the stewards, servants, maids, and guards, gathered together to participate in the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

The banquet was held in several large courtyards with eight-immortal tables. Children ran around, and shouts, greetings, and chatter filled the air. In order not to delay the lantern festival in the evening, the banquet had already begun before the sun had set.

The atmosphere grew increasingly lively. Torches and lanterns were lit, and night gradually fell. People played drinking games, laughed, and all sorts of sounds filled the air.

However, because the banquet started early, it came to an end not long after nightfall.

After the banquet, the servants cleaned up, and Su Tan'er and the other younger generation accompanied Old Master Su to admire the moon for a while, chatted about family matters, and said some pleasing things.

Although Grandpa Su was over seventy years old, he was still quite healthy. When he saw Li Mu and Su Tan'er, he gave them a few words of advice, such as "You two should support each other in the future."

After that, the Su family's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet came to an end, and everyone went their separate ways, either to keep appointments or to enjoy the lanterns.

After returning to the small building and tidying up, the group set off.

The carriage was already prepared, and fortunately, it was spacious enough that Li Mu, Su Tan'er, and Xiao Chan could all sit together.

Once outside the Su family's house, the streets were already teeming with people, who, like them, had probably already eaten dinner. People poured out of every household and alleyway.

The road was already adorned with lanterns, like strings of dazzling pearls in the night. Vendors were calling out their wares incessantly, and there were also street performers, gong and drum troupes, and dragon and lion dance teams passing by.

Everyone was in high spirits, and it was a grand and prosperous feast.

Even brothels were booming, and even slightly famous courtesans had places to go. News of poetry gatherings and new works by certain gentlemen would frequently spread, and a famous courtesan would immediately recite the poem on the spot.

When Li Mu and his group left, various poetry gatherings had already begun, and many high-quality poems had been displayed and loudly recited in brothels and other places where groups gathered.

As the carriage traveled along, the lively scene outside the window occasionally caused several young maids to shout and yell.

When they arrived near Wuyi Lane, the crowd ahead was even larger. A group of people, playing drums and gongs and dancing with a large dragon, happened to pass by. They had to let the carriage pull over to avoid the crowd.

Amid the bustling crowd, someone held up a sheet of Xuan paper and ran into the brothel next door, shouting.

"At the Lichuan Poetry Gathering, Young Master Liu composed a new poem about bamboo..."

Soon, the sound of a woman reciting "Ode to Bamboo" could be heard from inside the brothel, along with faint cheers and applause.

After a short while, the crowds thinned out, and the carriage slowly made its way to the busiest Confucius Temple.

This area is definitely one of the most prosperous places in the entire Jiangning City. The streets along the Qinhuai River are more grand and beautiful than other places, and the shops are also more upscale.

At this time, the streets were lined with streetlights, making it very lively.

The six boats of the Puyuan Poetry Gathering would cruise on the river in this area, making it a good place to board.

The group got off the carriage, strolled around the area, looked at the lanterns for a while, and then found a steward from the Pu family who was specifically there to greet guests. They presented their name cards.

A small boat was quickly arranged, and it glided gracefully from the shore amidst the lights, heading towards the huge multi-hulled boats in the middle of the river.

Once aboard the large ship, the atmosphere became even more lively. There were colorful lanterns, various dance performances, talented men and beautiful women, and famous courtesans singing.

Poetry gatherings are not simply a group of people sitting there dryly appreciating poems; the Pu family put a lot of thought into preparing a variety of programs.

The group strolled around the boat. After greeting the people she knew, Su Tan'er chose a table to sit down. The table was already filled with various exquisite fruits and foods. Li Mu and Su Tan'er sat in front, while Xiao Chan and the other two maids sat behind them, laughing and joking happily.

At such gatherings, men and women are usually separated. However, the Pu family invited mostly merchants, who were usually couples who brought their families. They would also discuss business in between, so there weren't many formalities.

After sitting for a while, Su Tan'er handed her several handkerchiefs as a greeting, and she walked over with a smile to chat and laugh with her girlfriends.

After watching the performance for a while, someone finally couldn't resist starting to write poetry.

"I have come up with a poem about the moon, and I invite you all to appreciate it..."

Next, many people who wanted to make a name for themselves presented their masterpieces for others to appreciate.

The Puyuan Poetry Gathering is quite good in this respect. In the early years when it was first held, we had to buy poems to participate, but as its reputation has grown, we no longer need to buy poems.

With fame and the willingness to spend money, they can always invite a few talented people to come and compose some good poems to enhance their reputation. Although they can't compare to the most famous Zhishui Poetry Society or Lichuan Poetry Society, they are already quite good.

And so, listening to poetry and watching performances, time flew by. Li Mu stretched, feeling a bit bored staying on the boat all the time. He thought it best to go for a walk on the shore, where the atmosphere might be even better.

He turned and whispered something to Su Tan'er, who probably also wanted to go for a stroll on the street, and nodded in agreement.

The two men, accompanied by several young maids, got up and had only taken a few steps when Xue Jin and several other young masters entered, waving folding fans.

Upon seeing Li Mu, Xue Jin's eyes lit up, and he greeted him warmly: "Brother Ning, are you leaving?"

Li Mu laughed and said, "We've been on the ship for quite a while now, let's go for a stroll in the streets and see the lanterns."

Xue Jin said loudly, "Let's go now, Brother Ning. I've heard so much about your great talent. It's such a pity you're leaving so early."

As he spoke, he looked around and asked, "Brother Ning, do you have any masterpieces tonight...?"

Seeing that no one answered, he naturally knew there was no answer. A surge of joy filled him, and he gave a signal to someone nearby.

The man was very tactful and smiled as he said, "Young Master Xue has probably misjudged this time. This Young Master Ning..." He then shook his head.

Xue Jinyi retorted righteously, "Impossible! Don't talk nonsense! I know of Brother Ning's great talent. The Su family carefully selected Brother Ning; how could he possibly be that kind of grass..."

He wanted to call him an incompetent fool, but then, to save face for Li Mu, he only said half of what he meant.

Li Mu watched his performance quietly. The wisp of specially refined true energy had been there for some time and had already taken effect.

Xue Jin may appear perfectly fine on the outside, but he is already severely weakened. In another month or so, his condition will worsen, and the symptoms will become fully apparent. At that time…

Xue Jin looked at Li Mu's indifferent expression and became even angrier. He thought, "Just wait and see how I dig a huge pit for you and make you lose face." He had already inquired and learned that Ning Yi was a bookworm with no real talent.

His smile widened, and he looked at Li Mu with genuine sincerity, saying, "Brother Ning, they actually think so highly of you. I know you are very talented. Today, I must show them what a true talent is."

Before Li Mu could answer, he turned to the servant beside him and said, "Hurry up and prepare the brush, ink, paper and inkstone so that everyone can see Brother Ning's masterpiece."