The winter nights always fall very early, very early, and the sky has completely darkened early. With the howling cold wind, the capital of the Ming Dynasty is once again shrouded in darkness.
However, what is different from the past is that as night falls, the lights begin to light up everywhere.
The bright lights are so conspicuous in the dark night that they attract countless people to look at these bright places.
The appearance of the electric light quickly became popular.
With its convenience, brightness, convenience, safety and many other features, it has quickly become popular. Large and small businesses, factories, workshops, shops, brothels, Chuguan, etc. have recently installed these electric lights. At the same time, the imperial palace in the capital and the Prince's Mansion have installed these lamps.
And many princes and ministers in the court also became the first users.
At night, the lights in these places are very eye-catching and dazzling.
They are all owners who are not short of money, and they are willing to use electricity. Although all kinds of expenses are very expensive, they still carry out various decorations extravagantly. At night, when the lights are turned on, there is a blaze of lights.
brightly lit.
The Qinglou Chuguan District in Beijing is particularly lively.
In the past, the best whale oil lamps were used, but even whale oil lamps were not as bright as electric lamps, and one had to be careful about catching fire.
Nowadays, almost all brothels use electric lights for the first time.
Keeping up with the trend of the times is one thing, but more importantly, electric lights are indeed more convenient and safer. The electricity comes on as soon as the switch is turned on, and goes out as soon as it is turned off.
The use of electric lights is less likely to cause fires, is safer, provides brighter lighting, and can also be used for decoration.
The whole building of the brothel is often decorated with various lights. At night, when the lights are turned on, it immediately dimly illuminates the drunkenness and wealth in the brothel, attracting the patrons to come in to eat, drink and have fun.
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The commercial district was also the first to use electric lights.
Because there are so many large and small jobs, workshops, businesses, etc. in the capital, everyone is at work during the day, so there is more time for shopping, shopping, etc. at night.
After years of practice, the commercial street's evening turnover has accounted for a considerable proportion, so even in winter, the commercial street is still bustling with activity.
This is especially true in South District Xincheng. The surrounding huge residential areas are home to millions of people and are very lively and noisy at night.
In winter, many people are reluctant to go out because of the cold. In summer, the commercial district is almost crowded with people, and business is extremely hot.
Therefore, merchants here attach great importance to lighting at night.
Merchants have always used the best whale oil lamps. Whale oil lamps provide stable lighting, are resistant to burning, have no odor, and are brighter.
In order to attract customers and provide better services, they often light up many whale oil lamps at once to make their stores brighter.
The emergence of electric lights now also makes these merchants overjoyed.
As night falls, the commercial district soon becomes extremely bright. Every business here turns on the lights. Lights and various electric lights decorate these shops brightly, making them very lively inside.
There are many customers.
With the electric lights, a large number of people came to watch the fun.
The electric light has only been around for a short time, and many people have not seen it yet. They have only heard people talking about the magic of electric light. Now that electric lights are installed in the commercial district, it is natural to go and see it and join in the fun.
Anyway, I just went to the commercial street to buy some things as usual to kill the boring time in the evening.
"Tsk, tsk, this is an electric lamp. It's really magical. It's so bright. It's much brighter than candles and oil lamps."
"Isn't that right? I heard that this light will come on as soon as the switch is turned on and go out as soon as it is turned off."
"But I heard that as long as you shout, this electric lamp will light up, and if you shout again, it will go out."
"real or fake?"
"Of course it's true. My second aunt's nephew's second uncle's son works in a large family, but he saw the magic of this electric lamp with his own eyes."
"That's nonsense. That's because every big family has maids and servants. Just shout and someone will turn on and off the light."
"I heard that installing this electric light costs a lot of money."
"Isn't that right? The installation fee alone costs 10 taels of silver. In addition, you have to buy light bulbs, wires, switches, meter boxes, etc. All in all, it costs at least dozens of taels of silver."
"Hey, you, that's too expensive. Who can afford it?"
"Isn't that true? It's dozens of taels of silver, and I have been working in vain this year. I heard that there is an electricity bill every month, and the electricity bill is not cheap."
"Do you still have to pay the electricity bill?"
"Of course, this light uses electricity, and of course you have to pay the electricity bill. Otherwise, do you think this light will light up on its own?"
"This is too expensive. I was also thinking about installing this electric light in my home. Now that I think about it, with so much money, this kerosene lamp will be enough to burn for who knows how many years."
"That's right, that's right, it's better to burn kerosene lamps. You don't need to spend so much money."
"We think it's expensive, but look here in Beijing. There are too many people installing electric lights, too many, and there are still many people waiting to install them."
"My nephew graduated from Imperial College, majoring in electrical engineering. He is now working in Daming Electrical Company. He said that they are very busy now. There are too many people installing electric lights in the whole capital."
"Every large household in the capital must install electric lights. If you still use oil lamps, you will be laughed at. In many communities, rich people are also starting to install electric lights. Being able to afford electric lights is a sign of status.
Symbol.”
"In addition, Daming Electrical Company also began to open branches in Tianjin, Songhu, Nanjing and other cities in our country, and began to promote electricity to major cities in our country."
"Business is very good now and we are very busy. We are always recruiting people. However, they only recruit students who have graduated from new schools with a middle school education or above. They say that this electrical industry is more professional. If people do not understand it, it is easy to get into trouble. Professionals are also needed.
Where’s the training?”
"There are still a lot of rich people in the capital. These rich people must install electric lights."
"My husband is also planning to install electric lights, but he has been waiting for more than a month and it has not yet come. He said that there are too many people who need to install electric lights now and the business is too busy."
In the commercial district, people are walking along the bright streets, looking at the bright shops on both sides of the road, and they are constantly discussing.
The gentlemen at the emperor's feet are just different.
They are well-informed, have seen a lot of big shots, and have seen the ups and downs of things. It is easy for them to accept novel things like electric lights.
There are many people installing electric lights. When night falls, every area in the capital begins to become brighter.
On the tower of the Imperial Palace in the capital, a bright light lights up at intervals, and palace guards are standing next to it. Electric lights are also installed on the main roads of the palace. As night falls, the street lights form a straight, bright line. .
Every palace here is brightly lit, especially the Qianqing Palace, which is even more resplendent with lights.
In the past, oil lamps were used. Although they were relatively bright, they were definitely not comparable to electric lamps. When electric lamps lit up, they pierced the darkness and illuminated various areas.
In addition, the electric lights in the imperial palace are specially made luxury lamps, which not only provide lighting but also have a decorative effect. Electric lights were also used for decoration in the Qianqing Palace.
The perfect presentation of this jade-like building also allows people in the old areas of the capital to see this bright building.
People living in the old city of Beijing are basically the dignitaries of the capital.
At night, in the area where dignitaries gather, lights are lit at the door of every household, illuminating the 'Li's Mansion', 'Wang's Mansion', 'Zhang's Mansion', etc. at their door. It also makes the front door of my house extremely bright.
Everywhere in the luxurious mansion is also brightly lit.
Bright electric lights illuminate the dark night, providing sufficient light and making the evenings of large households more lively.
The lights in every area kept lighting up, and the entire capital became brighter than before, like a city that never sleeps, and like a bright pearl blooming with endless light in the dark night.