Today is the tenth day of the first lunar month of the 19th year of Yongle. At the entrances of shops on both sides of the streets in Yizhou City, I don’t know whether it’s because the red lanterns for the Chinese New Year have not been taken off, or because they are new lanterns to celebrate the Lantern Festival. Each one is brand new and bright, and they look extraordinarily bright.
Festive.
When we first arrived, no one knew how long we would have to wait. After traveling continuously for more than three hundred miles, the people were fine, but the horses needed to eat fodder and drink water.
"Xiao Chen, how about we find a secluded inn to stay in first and let them take care of the horses first?" Duan Tianming looked around and asked.
"Well, this street is definitely not suitable. Let's go to a side street to see if there is an inn that can take care of horses." Looking at the clean bluestone street, Xiao Chen turned into a sandstone paved street.
alley.
It's an alley, but it's just a little narrower than the main street. There's no problem for two carriages walking side by side.
Looking up, one by one, the inns and restaurants' signboards stood tall, seeming to be waving to Xiao Chen and his group.
"It seems that the main street just now was built specifically for Yi Shuiyan, and this alley now is where ordinary people come." Looking at the inn sign in the distance, Xiao Chen said with a smile.
.
"Well, inkstones must be something that can only be used by literati. These people work in the fields all day long, and they are covered in dust. They really can't go to those elegant halls." Duan Tianming said, holding the horse.
The first inn at the entrance of the alley is a three-story attic with a large area. There is a big sign hanging in the middle of the third-floor attic: Tianyi Inn.
Perhaps it was still the first month and merchants from all over the country had not yet arrived. Seeing Xiao Chen's team of more than ten people leading horses, the innkeeper and the waiter came out to welcome them.
After scanning everyone, the shopkeeper fixed his gaze on Xiao Chen at the front.
"This young master must be coming to Yizhou City for the first time, right?" The master bowed slightly and stepped forward to talk with a smile on his face.
"Oh?" Xiao Chen was stunned, "The shopkeeper's good eyesight can actually tell that this is my first time in Yizhou."
The shopkeeper is in his early forties, slightly fat, and dressed in a decent gray robe. He can't be said to be capable, but he does feel clean and neat.
"Hahaha, you don't know something. All guests who have been to our Yizhou will wait for a while outside the city gate. They will first send someone in to contact the inn, and the waiter of the inn will take care of the horses, carriages and other livestock-related things.
We will bring you in by means of transportation. And for someone like you who brought the horse in by yourself, it seems like it is your first time to come to Yizhou City." The shopkeeper said with a smile.
"Why is this? If you go out to greet the horse, you can avoid the cleaning fee for the horse's entry into the city?" Faced with the shopkeeper's words, Xiao Chen became a little interested.
The shopkeeper seemed to be aware of Xiao Chen's change. He did not continue, but looked around and then said with a smile: "Although it is already noon, the cold wind on the street is still biting. Master, if you want
For accommodation, why not go into the hotel and sit down, and I'll pour the young master some hot tea and serve it to you slowly?"
"You are a good shopkeeper who knows how to do business. Does the inn have stables? If so, I might as well stay here." Xiao Chen asked with a smile as he held out his hand to avoid hitting the smiling man.
"Yes, yes." Hearing Xiao Chen's answer, the smile on the shopkeeper's face became even brighter, "We are opening an inn in Yizhou. It can't be done without guest rooms, let alone stables. Please come in, sir."
As he spoke, he hurriedly opened the door and made a respectful gesture of invitation to everyone.
He handed the reins in his hands to several waiters, and everyone walked into Tianyi Inn together.
In the lobby of this inn, in addition to a counter, there are more than a dozen tables for guests to eat. The unique thing is that at the entrance, there is a space the size of two reed mats, and a somewhat old table is placed on it.
Old Guqin.
Each table could seat up to eight people, so everyone sat down at the two tables against the wall.
Seeing everyone sitting down, the shopkeeper walked up with a teapot in each hand and a smile on his face.
He turned over the tea bowls on the table one by one, filled them with tea, and then came to Xiao Chen's side again.
"What's the shopkeeper's name?" Xiao Chen habitually dipped the silver ring on his finger into the tea and looked at the other person with a smile.
"My surname is Xu, from Yizhou." The shopkeeper lowered his hands and tapped his forehead twice.
"Now you can tell me about the horse health fee in Yizhou City, right?" Xiao Chen sat upright with his arm on the table, his index finger slightly bent, tapping the table nonchalantly.
Shopkeeper Xu looked back at the door to make sure no one was passing by, then turned back and lowered his voice.
"Young master, you don't know. We who open inns in Yizhou have to pay sanitation and cleaning fees to the state government every month depending on the size. The reason is that the horses of the guests in the hotel destroy the overall hygiene of Yizhou City. Therefore, as long as it is
Regular customers will come to say hello before entering the city and ask the waiter to greet them."
"Since the sanitation fee has been paid at the inn, the sergeant guarding the gate stopped embarrassing the guests and allowed them to enter the city smoothly."
"Then how are the sanitation fees collected at your Tianyi Inn?"
"My scale is a little larger, and the sanitation fee is paid monthly, thirty taels of silver per month." When it comes to money, shopkeeper Xu's face, which was full of smiles just now, suddenly dropped.
"Thirty taels per month, that's 360 taels a year. This is a lot of health expenses." After taking a look at the color of the ring on his hand, Xiao Chen stopped tapping on the table and picked up the tea bowl to sip.
Take a sip.
Seeing Xiao Chen's actions, Duan Tianming next to him gave everyone a look and picked up the tea bowl.
Shopkeeper Xu drooped his head: "No, I have worked hard all year long and paid various fees. When it comes to my hands, there is not much left."
"All the expenses? In addition to the sanitation and cleaning fees, are there any other expenses for opening an inn?" Xiao Chen put the tea bowl on the table and looked at Shopkeeper Xu.
"In an inn with the size of mine, there is still twenty taels of silver in noise fees every month."
"Noise fee? What kind of idea is this?" The more Xiao Chen listened, the more ridiculous he felt.
"When you open an inn, there will be guests, and when there are guests, they will talk and make noise." Shopkeeper Xu had an indescribable look on his face.
Leaning his back on the chair, Xiao Chen let out a long breath.
I either live in Jinyiwei or Dongchang, and I have never stayed in an inn outside. Only today did I know that there are so many expenses to pay for opening a store.
"Where should these fees be handed over? The state government?" Xiao Chen asked calmly.
Shopkeeper Xu turned to look at the door again, then turned back and said: "It's not the state government office, it's the leader of the garrison who came in."
"The leader of the garrison? He has the right to charge whatever he wants within the city?"
Shopkeeper Xu lowered his voice: "He is Lord Zhizhou's brother-in-law."
