The Qinhuai River wind and dust industry is one of the pillar industries of Jiankang. The fact that Qinhuai, ten miles away, was dyed into a rouge river is not just a talk.
Every autumn, when the heat wave has passed and the air is crisp, the Qinhuai River holds the Oiran Convention.
To put it bluntly, it is just a gimmick, to create some kind of four great courtesan, or some of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai, to fool those princes and princes, and throw money into it.
But hype is hype, and the annual Oiran Convention is quite lively. There are countless brothels and brothels and flower boats and boats operating along the Qinhuai River. Each house has from a few to dozens or hundreds of girls. These operators can only dream of it.
Let the girls under your control become an oiran. Sometimes an oiran can save a business that is about to go bankrupt.
At the very least, it can make them a lot of money.
As for the specific organization of this oiran convention, it is jointly organized by the largest brothels along the Qinhuai River. In order to increase the value of the girls, it is very lively every year, especially in Jiankang, where most of them are princes and grandsons.
Rich people joined in the festival, and it gradually became an annual event along the Qinhuai River.
Not only people from Jiankang will come to participate in this oiran convention, but also people from other places and even people from Qi in the north will come. However, the place for the oiran convention is limited after all, and there are not many places that can enter. Every year, a few
The brothels jointly issued invitations, and only those who received the invitations were eligible to attend.
Of course Shen Yi didn't have an invitation.
But Zhao Jizhou has it.
He is the second son of Zhao Shilang, so he naturally has a high status in the capital. And although Zhao Shilang is not greedy, Mrs. Zhao's family is very rich. Zhao Er gets along very well with his grandfather's family, and he doesn't do much on weekdays.
Due to lack of money and his family status, he has become an indispensable guest at the annual oiran convention.
Zhao Er was very enthusiastic and led Shen Yi all the way to the entrance of the Chunyi Building, the largest brothel on the Qinhuai River. He pulled Shen Yi towards the second floor.
At this time, there were several young men guarding the door of Chunyi Building. After seeing Zhao Jizhou, they did not dare to stop them. They just looked at Shen Yi behind Zhao Jizhou with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face: "Second Young Master, you are a regular visitor.
, of course you know the rules, only one person can enter per invitation, if you break the rules, the boss will beat the villain to death..."
Zhao Jizhou rolled his eyes and said angrily: "This is my brother, bring him here to learn more. You let us in first, and then tell Boss Cui. If Boss Cui doesn't agree, then
Just kick us brothers out together again."
After hearing what Zhao Er said, the boy naturally did not dare to stop him anymore, and lowered his head to welcome the two of them in.
After entering the Chunyi Tower, Zhao Er looked back at Shen Yi, with a hint of pride in his tone: "That's right, brother, your face is good, right?"
Shen Yi was thoughtful, lowered his head and smiled: "It seems that the owner of Chunyi Tower has a big background. Even senior brother, you have to follow the rules."
Zhao Er curled his lips and said: "It's not really a powerful background. It's just a business run by a few noble families. My father and the others don't even touch this kind of place, and the husband-in-laws of Zhongshu don't even look at it.
It’s just because you’re in someone else’s place, there’s no need to play tricks on them.”
Chunyi Building has three floors in total. In this building, which is basically a wooden structure, it is not easy to build it to three floors. Zhao Jizhou took Shen Yi all the way to the second floor, and then came to a
In the elegant room.
The architectural layout of Chunyi Building is very clever. The rooms on the second and third floors form a circle, facing a stage-like place on the first floor of Chunyi Building. As long as you open the window, you can see the stage on the first floor.
Obviously, this is specially designed for selecting courtesans.
After entering the private room, Zhao Jizhou opened the window, pointed to the stage on the first floor, and said with a smile: "That's where the girls usually sing, and occasionally people come up to tell stories, but these days,
There will be girls they just trained who will compete for the oiran title."
He patted Shen Yi on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Qilang will open his eyes and take a closer look later.
If there is anyone you like, tell Brother Wei that as long as no one comes to grab it, whichever one you like, Brother Wei will send it to your room today."
Shen Yi sat down in this elegant room, and then smiled at Zhao Er: "Brother, although I have never been to a place like this, I have heard about it. I heard that the people here are good at performing arts.
Selling one's body, those who have been criticized as oirans, want to marry into a wealthy family as a concubine. On weekdays, not to mention a romantic relationship, just a meeting and a meal will cost hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver."
"Hey."
Zhao Er made a disdainful voice: "It sounds nice, and it's just to coax ordinary people. If nothing else, this Chunyi Tower is just a few generals working behind the scenes. If it's really a minister in the imperial court,
Jiu Qing got interested and came here in person. Not to mention the oiran, he just asked the shopkeeper here to accompany him in person, which is just a matter of words."
"Of course."
Zhao Er squinted his eyes and smiled: "When you reach my father's level, these romantic affairs will probably not be taken seriously by them. Therefore, there are indeed many girls on the Qinhuai River who are prostitutes but not prostitutes.
For example, of the four courtesans selected last year, three have not yet left the cabinet and are still waiting for price in the Qinhuai River."
Regardless of whether it was in his past life or this life, this was the first time for Shen Yi to come to this kind of place. He was a little curious at the moment. He looked around in this private room and suddenly saw a wooden box on the table. There were neatly arranged items in the wooden box.
There are paper flowers folded from red paper.
Shen Yi looked at these red flowers and asked: "Brother, what are these?"
"Twelve taels of silver a flower."
Zhao Jizhou smiled at Shen Yi: "Oiran, the girl who spends the most money, is paid with real money."
Hearing this price, Shen Yi couldn't help but be a little stunned.
He and his younger brother Shen Heng have been living together in Jiangdu these years.
Ten taels of silver is almost enough for the brothers to live for a whole year!
But here, it is just a red flower to cheer up the oiran.
Look at the wooden box in front of Zhao Jizhou. There are hundreds of flowers. In other words, this wooden box contains thousands of taels of silver!
I have to say that people are really very different from each other.
Shen has been struggling in Jiankang for more than half a year, and his total net worth so far is no more than 3,000 taels of silver. And Zhao Er will probably spend several thousand taels of silver just to support the girls in the brothel!
Seeing Shen Yi lost in thought, Zhao Er squinted his eyes and smiled: "I have saved these for more than half a year, just for today, so that Miss Gu can be the oiran for another year."
Zhao Er already seemed a bit crazy at this moment.
"Maybe next year Miss Gu will be moved by me and willing to become my concubine..."
Shen Yi was about to ask Miss Gu who she was, when suddenly she looked up and saw an acquaintance through the window.
To be precise, he is a fellow from Jiangdu.
Fan Dongcheng!
At this time, Fan Dongcheng was in the private room opposite Shen Yi, with his head slightly lowered, talking to a young gentleman. The two were talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was obviously quite harmonious.
In comparison, Fan Dongcheng's status is obviously much lower, and he seems quite deferential.
Seeing Shen Yi raising his head and looking towards the opposite side, Zhao Jizhou followed his gaze and looked towards the opposite side. After just one glance, Zhao Er's face became a little unhappy.
"Zhao Zhuo!"
At this time, Shen Yi also recognized Zhao Zhuo in Zhao Jizhou's mouth.
When he and Zhang Jian were having dinner together, they once encountered Zhang Jian quarreling with a young man named Zhao. Later, Zhang Jian mentioned this name to Shen Yi.
"The Exotic Land Development of Vegetable-Growing Skeletons"
The son of the general of the Huaihe Navy, Zhao Zhuo!