The opera troupes in Beijing are all from out of town. If out-of-town troupes want to make a living at the emperor's feet, they have to go to the pier, hand in posters, and ask for the support of local dignitaries, otherwise they can't even think of opening the gong.
Leader Song worships Guixiang, the boss of Juchun Tower. The name sounds like a banner man but he is actually a Han. However, everyone in the industry knows that Guixiang is just a boss in name only. The real boss lives in Mancheng. Most people
It's hard to even meet him once.
Nowadays, any business that can make money in the capital basically has a background of bannermen. Otherwise, you will not be able to deal with the two yamen of Shuntian Mansion and Wucheng Army and Horses Division.
Many Han people doing business in Beijing have to ask people to find connections all over the city to send out shares in order to be safe. If they do not want anything else, they just want to have peace of mind. No businessman wants to be picked on every day. The emperor is at the feet of the emperor.
If the store is forced to close, the loss will be huge.
Although the Qianmen area is a mixed bag of dragons and snakes, it is the largest gold-selling cave in Beijing. Any of the eight alleys is the most prosperous entertainment street in this era.
In any dynasty or generation, the entertainment industry is a good business to make a lot of money.
In recent years, as a large number of foreign theater troupes have moved into Qianmen, the "traffic" has increased even more, so that officials from other places who go to Beijing on business must change into casual clothes and go to Qianmen for an on-site inspection after sunset.
Leader Song worships Guixiang’s Pier, but Sanxi’s relationship with Juchunlou is actually mutually beneficial.
Sanxi Troupe brings customers to Juchun House, and Juchun House further explores these customers. In this way, the troupe makes money, and Juchun House also makes money. Both parties get what they need, and the cooperation becomes harmonious after more than a month.
Other bigger brothels in alleys usually cooperate with several theater troupes. Different plays are performed every day, which are always fresh. The number of wealthy customers who go there is much more than those who come to Juchun House.
Guixiang is not in the building this time.
Although Team Leader Song was a little panicked, he thought that his team had never offended anyone since they came to Beijing. When he came over and saw that the bannerman young master did not look like he was looking for trouble, he made up his mind and stepped forward very politely.
Ask what's going on.
"Are you the class leader?"
Jia Liu moved the bird cage on the table to the side, put two more walnuts into his pocket, then pushed the hard work he had spent several nights towards the class leader, crossed his legs and said, "Master
I made up a play myself, and I would like to ask the class leader to take a look at it and see if it can be arranged."
"Rehearsal?"
Leader Song was a little surprised. The banner man in front of him looked like a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old. He looked like an ignorant and ignorant playboy. How could such a person make up a show?
I was suspicious in my heart, but I didn't dare to show it on my face. I said "Hey, that's good", so I took the playbook on the table and looked at the name of the play: The Trial of Galileo in Three Halls. I was also confused and didn't know what it was.
Which dynasty was Galileo a loyal minister and righteous man?
Opening the playbook and looking at it carefully, he saw that there was nothing unusual on his face at first, but gradually his brows became furrowed. The reason was that he had never heard of the content of the play, and had never heard of the characters in it. He really didn't know the banner man.
Where did the young master hear the story? He made it up randomly and turned it into a play.
"Young Master, your Three-Tang Judgment Opera is a good show. The lyrics are not bad, and it looks lively. But... our Sanxi Troupe is a small troupe. This is really going to inherit the Young Master's play."
, If the performance fails, I'm afraid it will ruin the young master's mood and ruin the young master's reputation..."
Team leader Song didn't want to take on this messy drama, but the other party was a bannerman after all, so he couldn't just go back, so he tactfully expressed that his team's level was limited and he wanted to ask Jia Liu to hire someone else.
"Don't talk nonsense with me here. Tell me, how much money do you need to put on this show?"
In his previous life, Jia Liu was responsible for receiving visiting people in his unit, and he was very accurate in judging people and things. He knew what the leader was thinking from the first sentence he said, so he didn't bother to talk nonsense with the leader and directly asked how much he would pay for the job.
For Jia Liu now, time is money.
To him, money is just a pile of dung.
Although, his Jia family is also short of manure and soil now.
But things that can be solved with manure, peeing twice more and squatting twice more can always be solved.
In a word, make an offer.
When it comes to this matter, Master Song said that even if Leader Song really despises this messy three-court trial, he still has to set a price based on his duty as a businessman. It is one thing to ask for a price, but if he doesn't even raise a price,
That is someone who deliberately looks down on others and wants to offend them.
"Young Master really thinks highly of my team. It's not impossible to let us queue up, but it will cost at least three hundred taels of silver."
The price offered by Leader Song was based on the fact that he did not want to take on the play, because he believed that if Sanxi Troupe acted according to the content of the play, their reputation would probably be ruined.
"What? Three hundred taels! You might as well snatch it away!"
As the master, Jia Liu hadn't expressed anything yet, but as the servant, Yang Zhi was already extremely angry.
He, the master, and the young master have walked in and out of the front door so many times. They have listened to countless plays, both big and small. They don’t know what these low-life people are doing. Under normal circumstances, whenever a new play comes out, the theater troupe will take the initiative to grab it.
Even if you queue, you still have to pay!
The young master is in a special situation. After all, he is not famous. It is unrealistic for the troupe to rush to give him money, but it is not like three hundred taels!
He sat in the lobby for a long time listening to the opera and eating several bowls of melon seeds, but the waiter only paid him five bucks.
"Master, let's go to another house. This leader is really evil. Don't talk nonsense to him!" Yang Zhi, furious, picked up the master's birdcage and left.
Jia Liu was also angry. The troupe leader was a bit unkind. Before he came, he had inquired about the market situation of the theater troupe in Beijing. He estimated that asking them to arrange the opera would cost more than 100 taels. However, the troupe leader only asked for 300 taels. Compared with the market
The price has doubled, which is really unacceptable.
You must know that the annual salary of his father Jia Daquan, the hereditary Yunqiwei, is only 85 taels. The combined salary and rations that his Jia family receives from the flag every year is only more than 20 taels. If he agrees to give 300 taels, it means that he
The Jia family had to go without food or water for three years.
If Jia Liu really wants to agree, his father Jia Daquan will strangle him alive if he turns around.
Even more than one hundred taels is actually not enough, because Jia Liu has no money at all.
He planned to borrow twenty taels from each of his two married sisters, and then steal his father's Yunqiwei card and borrow it from a bank as a mortgage to borrow a hundred taels. In this way, he would get the start-up capital to enter the political arena of the Qing Dynasty.
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Mortgage Yun Qiwei's brand to borrow money from banks was not the first creation of Jia Liu, but the idea of his father Jia Daquan when he was young. Nowadays, it has become a common phenomenon among bannermen families.
For example, the Jia family, Yunqiwei's brand, was given a salary of 85 taels a year by the court, and they borrowed 100 taels from the bank. The bank couldn't help but borrow, because they knew that the owner of the brand could not give away the unbeatable 85 taels every year just for 100 taels.
Throw two into the river.
Therefore, for banks, it is a sure-profit business.
This kind of thing is common among the Manchu Eight Banners. The children of many families spend their days drinking and drinking, so how can they never have a bad day?
They are both bannermen, and the Manchu Eight Banners are nobler than the Han Eight Banners, but the Manchu Eight Banners are divided into three upper banners and five lower banners. There are millions of people in the Eight Banners, but not every family has someone serving as an official in the court.
There are many broken houses.
From project designation to funding implementation, everything is under the control of Jia Liu
When the play is rehearsed, it creates a sensation, it goes to the palace, the old lady is happy, and Emperor Qianlong summons her, are you still afraid that you won’t be able to repay the banker’s one hundred taels?
The idea is good, and the two sisters treat Jia Liu very well, and they are not afraid that they will not borrow it.
The problem is that the class leader wants three hundred taels now, where can Jia Liu get it?
All the money in the plan was received, but he was still short of half.
Troupe Master Song saw that the banner man was silent and was afraid that the other party would cause trouble for him if he thought too much, so he explained that there were more than 60 people in his troupe including assistants and miscellaneous people.
The entire team must be mobilized.
However, the normal daily repertoire performances cannot be stopped, so they can only find time to arrange them. In this way, the troupe must have complaints. Even though he is the leader, he cannot force others to rehearse the plays, so in the end, they still have to use money to solve the problem. Moreover, these three problems
The review of the drama was another exciting point. At the end of the script, a lot of new outfits were added, all of which cost money. In the end, the money was rich.
Another reason that Leader Song is embarrassed to talk about is that since the third trial or something has been scheduled, it must be staged. The question is, can any customers pay to watch this mess?
There will definitely be losses by then, and of course they cannot let Sanxi Ban bear this part of the losses.
"If the young master really wants to ask the Sanxi Troupe to stage this play, and the villain can tell the truth, it will cost at least two hundred and sixty taels."
Leader Song himself gave him forty taels, but it was not because he wanted to complete the deal, but because he wanted to give the banner man in front of him a step up in disguise.
"Master, let's go, it's too expensive."
Not to mention two hundred and sixty taels, even twenty-six taels, Yang Zhi is not willing to give it. Who knows what kind of madness the young master is having today, and what big show he is planning to arrange...
The young master put down his legs, tapped the table lightly, walked forward, and asked the class leader: "No need to discuss?"
Leader Song shook his head, thinking that the bannerman's son's family must not be very prominent, so he probably couldn't afford the money, so it was better to leave quickly without delaying his business.
Unexpectedly, the banner man in front of me stood up and said: "Two hundred and sixty taels is two hundred and sixty taels. Just wait. I will bring the money over tomorrow. You can give it to me then."
It’s a good time rehearsing, I won’t treat you badly.”
After saying that, Jia Liu picked up his hard work and turned around and left the Juchun Tower.
Seeing this, Yang Zhi quickly followed him, but he kept chattering along the way.
"Master, let's not wait in line. It's only two hundred and sixty taels. Where can we get this money?"
"Master, there is nothing valuable in the house that has been sold. What can be sold has been sold secretly by you..."
"Master, Master, wait for me, wait for me!"
"..."
Jia Liu didn't listen to a word Yang Zhi said. He was only thinking about money.
Two hundred and sixty taels was actually expensive, but it was worth the money. When he thought of the high returns after the old lady was happy, Jia Liu had to sell everything to make sure this investment was realized.
How to implement the law?
With Yun Qiwei's status as a bannerman, there is no problem in borrowing two hundred taels from the bank, but the interest will be higher. If the bank doesn't borrow, Jia Liu has a back-up plan, which is to use the few dollars left after the family was wiped out by his father.
Some of the ten acres of land deed were stolen and mortgaged.
No matter what, I have to find a way to raise the money.
The price is, at worst, getting beaten up by Jia Daquan again.
To put it bluntly, after Jia Daquan's death, everything in the Jia family belongs to Jia Liu. Now it's just an overdraft in advance, so what's the big deal.
Along the way, it’s true that returning home is like an arrow (stealing one’s heart is like an arrow).
The Jia family was from the banner of the Han army, so they lived in Mancheng, which was the inner city of the Ming Dynasty.
After the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the inner city of Beijing was transformed into a full city. Except for bannermen and officials, the Han people in the outer city were not allowed to enter. If found, they would be beheaded, or they would be exiled to Ninggu Pagoda or the bitter cold places in the northwest.
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The Jia family belongs to the Zhenglan Banner of the Han Army, so like the Zhenglan Banner of Manchuria and the Zhenglan Banner of Mongolia, they live in the area within Chongwenmen.
Because the old man of the Jia family, Jia Taibao, was an important minister in the DPRK, the Jia family's courtyard actually had a good geographical environment, being located next to Xiliu Hutong in Zhenglan Banner, Manchuria.
After entering the alley and arriving at the door of the house, Yang Zhi was still trying to persuade the young master not to do stupid things, which made Jia Liu's head grow bigger. He glared at Yang Zhi angrily and said, "If you don't tell the old guy, he drinks every day."
How could a drunk person know?"
"But,"
"It's nothing!"
Jia Liu clasped his hands behind his back, looked at the only servant of the Jia family, and said seriously: "Shuan Zhu, you have to take a longer view. Now I am the young master, what about the future?"
Shuanzhu is Yang Zhi’s nickname.
"In the future? Of course the young master will be the master."
Yang Zhi's answer satisfied Jia Liu very much. Just when he was about to point out the nature and importance of the master, there were sudden rapid footsteps in the yard, and then the closed door was opened, revealing a chubby old man with a anxious face.
He appeared in Jia Liu's sight in panic.
The old man is none other than his father, Jia Daquan.
Before Jia Liu could ask what his father was doing in such a hurry, his father stepped forward, grabbed his good son, and pulled him out of the alley without any explanation.
This confused Jia Liu, and while breaking away from Jia Daquan, he said angrily: "Old guy, why are you pulling me?"
"Go to Dutong Yamen with dad!"
Jia Daquan, who had been fighting with his beloved son for several years and had been angry and fainted several times, this time actually called him a "little bastard" without saying anything, and then slapped him down twice. Instead, he was as furious as the sky falling down.
He seemed to drag his son and ran out of the alley.
"Why are you going to Dutong Yamen? I'm not going. I have other things to do. If you want to go, you can go alone..."
Jia Liu didn't want to miss the great opportunity to go to Jia Daquan's room to rummage through the cabinets, so he tried his best to get rid of this crooked "top beam".
The bad habits I contracted from my predecessor are not only related to the current environment in which bannermen children only care about pleasure, but they are also inseparable from this old man who was not upright.
"You kid has something wrong with you! Stop being so stubborn. Something big is going to happen. Follow dad and leave quickly. If you're too late, it'll be over!"
Although Jia Daquan was fat, his body had been corroded by alcohol and sex, and he was already out of breath after running such a short distance.
"What happened?"
Jia Liu realized that something might really have happened, otherwise Jia Daquan, who could not help the oil pot if it fell over, would not be so anxious and panicked.
"The Tongtong Yamen has put our family on the list of flag-offers. If you don't go to the Yamen with dad to make trouble, tomorrow we will be Han Chinese in the countryside!"
Jia Daquan was so anxious that he picked up the iron plate of hereditary Yunqi Lieutenant in his hand and slapped it on his forehead, "I, the Jia family, are heroes. The old man has made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty. Your father, your father and I have also made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty."
Blood, how could they do this to our Jia family!"
His voice was so sad that he almost cried.
"Bah!"
The birdcage in Jia Liu's hand suddenly fell to the ground amid the lingering sound of his father's encyclopedia.
What the hell?
It was agreed that the disciples of the Eight Banners would retire with the country!