17 Names of Yangzhou (Three)

  "Hey, isn't that Master Zhou? Still thinking about the golden jade couple?" One of two acquaintances who were bookworms asked when they met by the lake.

  "Yes, this pair is too clever. If I couldn't figure it out, I wouldn't even know the taste of meat when eating. In vain I considered myself a talented scholar. I didn't expect that after thinking for two days, I still haven't got any clue."

  In a college, a young student walked up to the lecturer and asked: "Master, yesterday I accidentally got a great couplet, but unfortunately only had the top line. No matter how hard I thought, I couldn't think of the bottom line. Master, you are knowledgeable and resourceful, please enlighten me."

  "Oh, it's rare for you to be so diligent in your studies. What excellent phrases have you come up with? Do tell me." A refined and elegant old gentleman said with a pleased smile as he stroked his beard.

  "Yes, Master, this sentence is like that. This wood becomes firewood and the mountain comes out of the mountain." The young man was overjoyed and immediately recited the sentence.

  With a loud "slap", the old master's ruler hit his hand, shouting: "Who in all of Yangzhou doesn't know that this is an upper couplet from the Jin Yu family? You think you can get the lower couplet from me to win prizes? Your heart is not right, your methods are heretical. You're a waste as a scholar! Today, I'll have you copy the Analects three times. Don't finish and you won't be allowed to eat. Go!"

  "Yes, yes, yes, Master, I...I'll go copy it right away." Realizing his intention had been exposed, the young man hastily retreated to copy the Analects without mentioning it again.

  "Hmm, indeed a good phrase. I thought about it all night and couldn't figure it out. That riddle is quite clever. As soon as the disciple left, the old master immediately started thinking about the couplet hung by the wealthy family."

  On the street, a scholar excitedly told his friend: "Have you heard? The daughter of Li Daxian, a salt merchant from Yangzhou, has taken a liking to that piece of jewelry called 'Butterfly Loves Flowers' and offered 300 taels of silver, but the shopkeeper refused to sell it."

  "That's right, doing business requires integrity. If it's a treasure, then it's a treasure. I've also heard about this matter. Miss Li has spread the word that whoever gets their hands on that piece of jewelry, she's willing to pay 380 taels for them to give it up. 380 taels! If I get my hands on it, I won't have to worry for the rest of my life."

  "Right, don't think too much about it anymore, let's just put our minds together and get that pair out."

  "I heard that Chen's daughter had her eyes on that piece of jewelry and begged for half a day, but the owner of the golden jade family refused to sell it."

  。。。。。。。。。

  "What's the Chen family, even Li Shilang's nephew personally went to buy it, and with both soft and hard means, they still couldn't get their hands on it. The Chen family is just a copper-smelling family, what's the big deal?"

  "Heavens! Du San Niang, the flower of Yu Chun Lou, has publicly promised that whoever brings her the golden necklace from the Jin Yu family, which was used as a hairpiece, can become her secret lover and spend a romantic night with her..."

  。。。。。。。。。

  In the old days, there were few entertainment activities. People usually talked about who got what good sentences, which rich man married several wives, some young master drank flower wine and fought with others, or some East House Lang hooked up with West House girl, red apricot came out of the wall and other gossip after dinner. The golden jade family's couplets, lottery activities, elegant activities, exquisite jewelry, and generous prizes attracted a lot of attention on the same day. Within three days, the whole Yangzhou knew about this activity, and with the north-south going passenger ships and post horses, it spread to the entire Tang Dynasty like an epidemic.

  In Yangzhou, people with some status would start by saying "jin yu shi jia" (a phrase indicating a noble family), and end with the phrase "ci mu cheng chai shan shan chu" ("this wood becomes firewood, mountains produce books") and "dian deng deng ge gong shu" ("lighting lamps and ascending to the pavilion to study"), followed by complete silence.

  That was thinking about how to neatly and with artistic conception match it up, first picking out the main points, making a name that would resound throughout Yangzhou.

  Against the upper class, got the colorful head, face silver double harvest, unexpectedly became the number one goal of Yangzhou reading people, for a time, on the street there were many more low-headed walking, searching dry intestines frequently unexpected book students, what poetry will, tread spring activities in, fewer famous talented children.

  For a time, the scene was unprecedented.

  As the starting point of the whole event, in front of the Jin Yu Shi family's store every day, there were three layers inside and three layers outside. Many people came to take a closer look after hearing about it, men came to observe and try their luck, with a sense of pilgrimage. And many ladies, girls, misses, and young women also came specially after hearing the news.

  Let's take a look at the exquisite jewelry that everyone can't help but stare at, and then... This place is filled with so many young masters, talented scholars, and literary men every day, who knows, maybe we'll stumble upon a beautiful romance.

  More people, more business opportunities. Many people came to take a look and also strolled into the store. Even if they didn't find what they were looking for, buying one or two good pieces of jewelry was still worth the trip. As a result, the popularity of Jinyu Shi Jia reached an all-time high, benefiting the entire Jinshui Street. Just yesterday, Zhang Baozi, the owner of Jinyu Zhai, was beaming with joy as he held Liu Yuan's hand.

  These days, Jin Yuzhai's partner has been talking so much that his throat is smoking, and his business volume has doubled. How can he not be happy?

  As the pioneer, with three exquisite works as advertisements, the golden jade family's business is booming. Everyone's eyes are shining brightly: if they can make such good accessories, how can the craftsmanship of the masters in this store be bad?

  Liu Yuan and Xiao Niang were busy for half a day, without even having time to take a sip of tea.

  "Miss, I'm really sorry, but since we've already taken out the golden jade as a display piece, it's only reasonable that we don't take it back to sell at a high price. Actually, our jewelry here is quite good too, look, this one is fifty taels of silver per piece, and this one over here only needs thirty taels." Liu Yuan repeated his words for who-knows-how-many times to a lavishly dressed woman.

  "What a pity! I really liked that piece of jewelry for the first time, and the shopkeeper was so honest in doing business. Such good accessories were taken out as samples, and I didn't want to let go even when I offered such a high price. Never mind, these styles are not bad either, just buy one then."

  The woman in embroidered clothes was also easy to talk to and didn't make things difficult for Liu Yuan. She picked up a delicate hairpin with inlaid flowers, and left with a hint of regret.

  Liu Yuan didn't forget to say at the end: "Welcome again next time."

  "Here you go, little girl." Liu Yuan wiped away a bead of sweat and handed over the silver coins to the young servant girl.

  This little girl is actually a money lover, and whenever she sees the silver coins, her face lights up with joy. Liu Yuan simply lets her be in charge of the silver coins, and every time they receive some, he hands them over to her for safekeeping.

  "Ah, okay, brother." As expected, as soon as the young girl took over the three ingots of white flower silver, her eyes curved into a crescent moon shape from smiling. She took the silver and turned to open the silver box placed under the cabinet. As soon as she opened it, the room was filled with the glow of silver, all of which were ingots of white flower silver neatly stacked together. At the very least, there were several hundred taels. The young girl's heart felt sweet like drinking honey when she saw the silver.

  A person who was almost driven mad by silver, after realizing its importance, turned around to love it with a passion that is beyond ordinary people.

  It was great, the little girl closed the box with a smile, turned her head to look at Liu Yuan who was still serving customers, and her eyes were full of pride: A hairpin, silver plus decorations, the cost is less than ten taels of silver, but Liu Yuan sells it for at least thirty or fifty taels of silver, and it's very popular. Just selling one piece can match the income of an ordinary shop for a month or two.

  Liu Yuan, you're absolutely amazing!

  A brother who can wield a brush to write poetry, and hold a knife to carve characters, who can be in the hall or in the kitchen, is simply a perfect man. The young lady's age is still young, but her mature eyes are already shining with many "stars".

  Not good, another beauty has arrived, chatting with Liu, a smile on her face. The little woman felt a sense of crisis and immediately walked over to lean against Liu Yuan, showing off her presence.

  Hmph, Liu Yuan is his own, can't let others snatch him away.

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