Chapter 225 Settlement
Is Yangzhou big?

Not big.

It cannot compare with the numerous shops in Jinling.

The houses are neat and tidy, people passing by are well-dressed, and the blue brick and stone roads stretch out in a long line. It is a place where people can enjoy drinking tea, drinking wine, and singing operas.

Hawkers set up their stalls on both sides, and merchants walk slowly, appreciating the beauty of this green city.

Yangzhou Prefecture was more unique than Li Daoxuan had imagined, with a long river and pavilions and houses on both sides.

Ships flow down the river, carrying all kinds of goods to various places.

In the distance, on the red and green alternating pavilions, there was a faint female voice singing, which was quite charming when it came to my ears with the wind.

Although it was dilapidated in places, Li Daoxuan could still see the former prosperity of Yangzhou Prefecture.

He heard from Mr. Li that Yangzhou was prosperous only a few decades ago, and at that time, Yangzhou was the only salt merchant in the world.

The streets and alleys, and the endless mountains, rivers and courtyards were all built at great expense by the Yangzhou salt merchants.

There is a saying: "The green mountains are hidden in the distance, and the water is far away. The grass in the south of the Yangtze River has not withered in the end of autumn. On the night of the bright moon on the Twenty-Four Bridges, where is the beautiful woman called to play the flute?"

At that time, shops, satin shops, teahouses, restaurants, and countless craft lacquerware, jade, gold-carved and inlaid items could be seen everywhere.

However, the situation in the Qing Dynasty changed later, Yangzhou was neglected in its governance, and with the influx of foreigners, overseas trade flourished, while the canal shipping in Yangzhou declined, so it gradually declined and could no longer regain its glory.

Until now, we can only see the prosperous scene of that time.

I found a stall and sat down, preparing to eat something before looking for an inn to stay.

As soon as he found a stall and sat down, the stall owner greeted him warmly. He ordered a bowl of plain noodles and chatted with Li Daoxuan while he cooked.

"Looking at the guest's attire, is this your first visit to Yangzhou?" the stall owner asked with a smile.

"Shopkeeper, you have a good eye. I indeed just arrived in Yangzhou." Li Daoxuan replied.

"Sir, you have come at the perfect time. It is the spring outing season in Yangzhou. If you have time, why not stay in Yangzhou for a few more days?"

"Outing season? Is there any difference?" Li Daoxuan asked curiously.

"Sir, do you know what Yangzhou is famous for?" said the stall owner.

Li Daoxuan thought carefully and was about to talk about the Yangzhou skinny horse, but then he thought he couldn't say that. It might offend people. Who knows what people's attitude towards "skinny horse" is at this moment? So Li Daoxuan shook his head honestly and pretended to be confused.

"If we talk about what our Yangzhou is famous for, it is naturally the brothels and operas. Especially for the opera, there was once a saying that there were seven major inner troupes in Yangzhou. There were Xu Shangzhi's Old Xu Troupe, Hong Chongshi's Da Hong Troupe, Jiang Chun's Deyin Troupe. In short, the storytelling, tanci, qingqu and so on are all outstanding. Even the emperor of that time came to our Yangzhou in person to listen to the opera!" The stall owner said with a smile, and he was full of emotion about the former glory of Yangzhou. Although he was a stall owner, he also had a sense of sharing the honor and disgrace.

"Speaking of brothels, do you know a few famous brothels in the city? People from south and north of the Yangtze River know about them. The most famous one is the Cuihong Building, followed by Huancui Courtyard, Bishui Pavilion, etc. If you are interested, you can go and see them. And this spring outing season is related to brothels. In mid-March, as long as the sun is bright, the women in the brothels will go out of the city in groups for a spring outing. At that time, not to mention ordinary people, even Taoists and monks will come to watch. The scene is really a sea of ​​people for ten miles, and it is extremely lively."

The stall owner talked incessantly about the interesting things in Yangzhou. After Li Daoxuan took the noodles, he listened to the stall owner's proud narration while eating with relish. After finishing a bowl of noodles, he felt that he had become closer to the stall owner.

After he was full, Li Daoxuan placed ten copper coins on the side of the bowl and asked, "Stayer, which inn is better around here?"

The stall owner glanced at the copper coins on the table, and immediately smiled. He put down his work and wiped it on his apron. He raised his hand and pointed to a building not far away in the city and said with a smile: "That Ronglai Inn is not bad. The owner is an honest man."

"Okay, thank you stall owner." Li Daoxuan stood up and thanked him, then walked towards Ronglai Inn.

When we arrived at Ronglai Inn, we saw that the inn had three floors. No wonder it could be seen from across a row of shops.

There was a plaque hanging at the main entrance of the inn, and a signboard with the words "Ronglai Inn" written on it hanging next to the door. There was also a pawnshop next to it. It didn't look big, but it was much better than ordinary inns.

There is probably no need to feed cattle and horses here, or there are not many people riding horses and leading cattle here, so there are no special stables.

Li Daoxuan took a look around and walked into the lobby. He saw a few people scattered in the lobby. The shopkeeper was calculating on the abacus at the counter. He was stunned at first when he saw Li Daoxuan come in, and then immediately greeted him warmly.

"Sir, do you want to stay at the hotel?"

"Yes. Is there a room available?" Li Daoxuan asked.

"Of course there are, of course there are." The manager said with a smile, turned around and looked at the sign hanging behind him. He stretched out his fingers to count, and then said to Li Daoxuan. "There are two superior rooms and one inferior room." "What's the price of this superior room?"

"Two hundred coins a day."

"Stay for ten days." Li Daoxuan took out one or two taels of silver and handed it over, and the shopkeeper responded happily.

Although two hundred coins sounds like a lot, it is actually not that much.

Li Daoxuan once bought some fruits and vegetables. Even five cucumbers cost thirty cents, and about fifteen pounds of cabbage cost as much as four hundred and fifty cents. Therefore, the prices varied from place to place, especially after the Opium War, when prices were mostly chaotic.

If it were thirty or forty years earlier, one could earn two taels of silver for staying for ten days. Now that the price of silver has skyrocketed, one tael of silver can be exchanged for as much as two thousand two or three hundred coins, so the accommodation fee of two hundred coins a day is acceptable.

After all, it is in Yangzhou city, a prosperous place.

After paying the money, the shopkeeper took down a sign and handed it to Li Daoxuan, then called the waiter to take him upstairs to an elegant room.

The waiter handed over the key and told Li Daoxuan to remember to lock the door when he went out. Although they were in the inn, theft was inevitable.

Pushing the door open, Li Daoxuan looked inside the room.

The environment is nice and clean.

The bedding on the beds had just been changed, and you could see the care put into it by the store owner.

After putting the things on the bed, Li Daoxuan sat down at the table, took out the things Niu Daming had given him, and was about to open them to take a look when he heard the second brother knocking on the door again.

The second brother put down a pot of hot tea and walked out again.

Hearing the footsteps fade away, Li Daoxuan calmed down and opened the box.

But when he opened it, Li Daoxuan was stunned.

Such a light box made him feel puzzled, because it was obvious that there were no gold, silver or jewelry in it as he thought. However, due to etiquette, he did not open the box in front of the boatman. He was tired all the way, so he suppressed his curiosity and wanted to wait until he landed to see what was inside.

But who would have known that there was actually a house deed in the box.

"This Niu Daming is really rich. He actually gave me a house deed." Li Daoxuan looked at the words on the house deed. He was surprised at first, and then he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

He didn't expect that Niu Daming was so generous. What he gave him was not gold, silver or jewelry, but a house.

This house is not worth money. Look, it says it is a house in Yangzhou.

"What a great gift! This is a great gift." Li Daoxuan sighed, feeling that he owed someone a favor. But it was probably too late to go back now. This kind of ferry that docked early usually waited for early passengers before returning to Zhenjiang Prefecture.

"I have stopped shaking my hands. If anything happens to Niu Daming in the future, I will help him as long as it is not against morality." Li Daoxuan looked at the contents on the title deed. The name of this house is Xiushui Villa. Judging from the name of the place, it does not seem to be remote and looks pretty good. He pondered to himself, as if to comfort himself.

After putting away the title deed, he decided to find time to go and take a look.

He took out the pen, ink, paper and inkstone from the book basket and spread them out on the table.

Opening the window to the outside and listening to the noisy sounds of people, Li Daoxuan called his waiter to fetch some water. After washing his hands and face, he began to draw talismans.

He had used several talismans along the way, so naturally he needed to replenish a few more.

The last battle with the Japanese wizard was still vivid in his mind. If he had not had enough talismans at that time, he might have died on the spot.

He did not carry many talismans with him this time, but they were all real talismans for exorcising evil spirits, so he did not plan to practice talismans at this time, so as to avoid getting the Yin-Yang fish and entering the illusion again. Instead, he picked up the pen and planned to draw a few more talismans that he might need in the future.

After all, he had just arrived in Yangzhou and still needed to make some preparations.

Senior Brother Chen told him that he must not use too much energy in his meridians within half a year, otherwise it would damage his foundation. Naturally, Li Daoxuan did not dare to act recklessly and could only take it slow.

After drawing a few commonly used talismans, he put down his pen. He heard the sound of someone falling into bed behind him. He turned around and saw Gong Youwei, who had just woken up, lying beside the bed.

(End of this chapter)