Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

The first day of leasing out the food court.

The sky had just begun to brighten.

Gu Mingyue was already standing on the high platform at the entrance of the market.

Yan Xiaoliu stood behind her.

"Boss! Someone's here! Someone's here!"

Gu Mingyue looked in the direction he was pointing.

On the official road outside the market entrance, a few scattered figures had already appeared.

Some carried loads on shoulder poles, some pushed wheelbarrows, and some carried bamboo baskets on their backs.

They were all local vendors from Beijing.

When Chenshi (7-9 AM) arrives.

Yan Xiaoliu stood on the high platform at the entrance and shouted in his naturally loud voice.

"Business is open! Stall owners, please line up to register for your stalls and take your assigned seats! If you have any questions, ask the guy in the blue shirt!"

Since the stall fees were waived for the first three days, quite a few vendors came.

There are vendors selling wontons, sesame cakes, sugar paintings, and roasted chestnuts.

A tofu pudding stall with a shoulder pole, and a candied hawthorn stand with a pushcart.

It was the hour of Si (9-11 AM).

The first group of people who had heard the news began to appear outside the market one after another.

At first, it was just a few people here and there.

Residents from several nearby neighborhoods heard that a new free market had opened and came over out of curiosity.

Then more and more people joined in.

The 200,000 ducks parked outside the maze area were making too much noise.

As you walk in from the market entrance, before you even reach the end of the main street, you can hear the "clattering" sound coming from there.

It's very lively!

Curiosity drove people to go that way.

Upon reaching the east side, the maze area came into view.

Everyone was stunned.

On a five-acre site, a neat maze built of earthen walls stands.

Looking down from above, the lines are distinct, like an open chessboard.

In the oval enclosure at the very center of the maze, at least a hundred white ducks were running around.

They flapped their wings, stretched their necks, and their cries rose and fell.

Occasionally, a few would fly out of the enclosure, flapping their wings and crashing around in the maze-like passageways.

More and more people gathered, and the viewing platforms at the four corners of the maze were packed with people.

At the entrance to the maze, there stands a wooden plank about half a person's height.

The rules were written in large letters above:

[Participate in the duck-catching game with your food court receipt. Those who enter the maze have a 15-minute time limit. Catch as many ducks as you can, and you'll get one free.]

Next to the wooden board was a large hourglass.

Amber-colored fine sand lay quietly in the glass sphere above, waiting to be turned over.

More and more people gathered to watch.

"Is this for real? They'll hand it over if they catch it?"

"Of course! Didn't you see it written on it?"

"A duck must be worth at least thirty or forty coins, right?"

"Hey, this is different! This is a free-range duck from Pujitang, it sells for a hundred coins apiece on the market!"

"I'll hurry and buy some food! I'll spend a dozen or so coins on a bowl of wontons. If I catch it, I'll make my money back from just one duck!"

Before the words were even finished, quite a few people had already run towards the food court.

Before long, the first person to participate in the lucky draw to catch a duck appeared.

He was a burly man in his thirties.

He was burly and had a face full of excitement.

Yan Xiaoliu personally stood at the entrance of the maze and turned the hourglass over.

The duck cage in the center of the field was opened, and dozens of Pujitang's free-range ducks flapped their wings and scattered in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, they were inside the various passages of the maze.

"Timer begins!"

The burly man took off and rushed into the maze.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Everyone rushed to the high platforms at the four corners of the maze, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks to look down.

A child was riding on an adult's shoulders, clapping and shouting.

The maze was made of earthen walls, chest-high, with grass growing at the base and the roof exposed.

The person was standing inside, with only half of their head and arms showing.

Free-range ducks are small, but they can tuck their necks in and squeeze along the wall, making them ten times more agile than humans.

As soon as the burly man entered the main passage, he bumped into a duck that was running around.

The duck tilted its head and glanced at him, then turned and slowly walked away, wiggling its rump.

The burly man was overjoyed and bent down to pounce.

The duck suddenly shrank back and quacked between his legs.

The burly man missed his target and his knee hit the earthen wall.

A burst of laughter erupted from the high platform.

"Hahaha~~~~ Your skills are lacking."

The burly man blushed, got up, dusted himself off, and continued the chase.

Turning into the first fork in the road, I saw three ducks squatting in the corner, dozing off.

The burly man's eyes lit up, and he slowed his pace.

They crept closer and suddenly clasped their arms together.

The three exploded at the same time. One flew up and slapped him in the face, while the other two darted off in different directions and disappeared at the end of the fork in the road in the blink of an eye.

The people on the platform were laughing so hard they were doubled over, and some even had tears in their eyes.

"Those are the free-range ducks from Pujitang! They run really fast! Give it your all, buddy!"

The burly man gritted his teeth and continued chasing.

The maze is narrow, with many bends in the earthen walls.

By the third lap, he had lost all sense of direction and saw duck feathers flashing at the crossroads.

He lunged forward, but missed.

The duck seemed to be teasing him, stopping two steps away and tilting its head to look at him.

Just as he was about to reach it, he shrank back, twisted his neck, and slid into the side path.

The people on the platform laughed and shouted.

"Hahaha~~~ This duck must be a spirit!"

The burly man stopped, panting heavily, and dared not give chase any longer.

He learned his lesson and moved slowly, step by step, close to the wall.

After turning a corner, we finally cornered a fat duck in a dead end.

With nowhere to retreat, the duck turned its head and glared at him, letting out a fierce "quack".

The burly man squatted down and slowly reached out his hand.

Then, it snapped shut!

I'm hugging you!

The duck frantically flapped in his arms, its wings flapping loudly and its legs kicking wildly.

The burly man held on tightly, his face flushed red, his mouth stretched to his ears.

"Hey! I caught it! I caught it!"

The crowd on the platform cheered, and applause and shouts of approval filled the air.

The last grain of sand in the hourglass has just fallen out.

"Time's up!" Yan Xiaoliu shouted.

The burly man walked out of the exit carrying the struggling duck, his brow beaded with sweat.

But he laughs like a child.

Everyone who passed by patted him on the shoulder.

"Well done!"

"This duck is so fat! Enough for two meals when we get back!"

The sight of the burly man carrying the duck as he walked out was clearly seen by the people queuing behind him waiting to enter the lottery.

Suddenly, a large crowd appeared in front of the stalls on the main street of the market.

"Boss! A bowl of wontons, please! How much? Fifteen coins? Two bowls, please!"

"How much are the sesame seed cakes? Three coins each? I'll have ten!"

Some people in the crowd were eating sesame seed cakes while glancing back at the maze.

"I'll try it sometime, it looks so interesting."

Someone nearby chimed in, "Are you sure you can handle that? That guy was a blacksmith, he's got a really strong grip, he held it for almost half an incense stick's time."

"We can gather a group of people and go in together to catch them!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

an afternoon.

The market was getting denser with people.

From the initial few hundred people, by evening, over a thousand people had poured in.

None of the stalls on either side of the main street were deserted.

The pancake vendor's arms ached from kneading the dough, but he was so happy with his earnings that his money box was full, and he couldn't stop smiling.

There was a line of more than twenty people in front of the master sugar painter, and the sugar syrup pot was almost empty.

Even a woman who only brought a pot of mung bean soup to test the waters sold out before late afternoon.

Gu Mingyue stood on the high platform and watched for the entire afternoon.

The atmosphere in the duck-catching area was lively all day.

The laughter carried far.

When it was time to close up shop in the evening, Yan Xiaoliu ran over to hand over the accounts.

"Boss! Today's attendance is over 1,200! The total sales revenue from the stalls is 370 taels!"

"Three hundred and sixty people participated in the lucky draw, and two hundred and three ducks were given away!"

Gu Mingyue took the ledger, flipped through it, and nodded.

"Open a night market."

"There will be more tomorrow."