Chapter Ten Leaving Hu Ji Wine House

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  "Ziying, have you run enough? Let's go to Xicheng! Xicheng is already open!" Ningqing said to Chen Yi, who was still very excited and running back and forth on the street. After running for a while, he hesitated and made the suggestion.

  "Alright, let's go to Xicheng!" Chen Yi stopped and waited for Qingning to catch up, noticing that the sun was now directly overhead.

  "Come with me," Qingning said, turning his horse around and leading Chen Yi towards the Western Market in the southwest of the Imperial City.

  Before long, the two of them arrived outside Xicheng and stabled their horses, then walked into Xicheng one behind the other.

  Chen Yi later studied the data of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty and knew that there were two major markets in Chang'an, Dongshi and Xishi. He also knew a lot about the situation of Dongshi and Xishi. Dongshi and Xishi were located in the southeast and northwest directions outside the imperial city, respectively. Due to their different locations, the goods sold inside them were also somewhat different. The surrounding alleys of Dongshi had many residences of royal nobles and high-ranking officials, mainly operating high-end luxury goods to meet the needs of royal nobles and high-ranking officials, "collecting treasures from all sides".

  The goods sold in the Western Market were mostly daily necessities such as clothing, candles, pastries and medicine, earning it the nickname "Golden Market". The market attracted people from all walks of life, from commoners to officials and nobles, as well as many foreign merchants from Persia, Sogdia and other western regions, known as "Hu merchants", and traders from Korea, Paekche, Silla, Japan and India. These foreign merchants brought exotic goods such as spices, ginseng, medicine and carpets, and bought back jewels, silk fabrics and porcelain in Chang'an. Many of them lived in the Western Market or nearby neighborhoods.

  In the western city, there are many shops run by foreigners, such as jewelry stores, warehouses, and wine houses. Especially the Hujie wine house run by foreigners, where young women from Western Regions often perform songs and dances. The exotic beauty of Hujie and dance attracted many young men to go there.

  Chen Yi also knew that there was a legend, the origin of "buying things" was from the name of Dong Xi Market. People bought goods, sometimes going to East City and sometimes going to West City, in conversation they were referred to as "buying east and buying west", which later became "buying things".

  Outside the western city, several major streets were also crowded with horses and vehicles coming and going in all directions. Fortunately, the streets were very wide, so there was no traffic congestion. Inside the western city, the crowd was even denser, with people of all colors and shapes rubbing shoulders and following each other, making a lively scene that seemed to be bursting at the seams. Merchants with different accents shouted loudly to passersby, peddling their wares or goods in their shops. Travelers came from all over the world, with people of different skin tones and clothing styles. The sounds of Mandarin dialects were mixed together, along with the sounds of haggling and inquiries from pedestrians, creating a cacophony that filled the entire western city. Even from a distance, the loud calls between people were indistinguishable. There were also many snack shops, with delicious smells wafting into Chen Yi's nostrils, making him drool and swallow his saliva from time to time, as he could even distinguish the flavors of tofu and wontons.

  Chen's sundry store, Wu's jewelry shop, Wang's wine house, Zhao's beef and mutton shop... As they walked along the way, the embroidered flags at each store entrance were fluttering in the wind. Such prosperity and bustle still made Chen Yi a little surprised. From the bustling situation of the market, one can roughly see the economic situation of an era. Now it is the second year of Linde, and the Tang Dynasty has been established for nearly fifty years. With Li Shimin's Zhenguan governance and the subsequent Yonghui governance, decades of good governance have come, and the world must be prosperous. The prosperity of the capital Chang'an is even more so.

  It's already past noon, and the Huji wine shops scattered throughout the city are also opening one after another. The Huji women at the door of the wine shop are twisting their slender and agile waists in various postures to loudly invite passersby and merchants. Many customers come to rest their feet or fill their stomachs, and some people enter these wine shops just to watch the singing and dancing performances of the Huji women.

  Her waist is more flexible than ordinary people, and her half-exposed white belly, high chest, are a great temptation to many people. Being able to take a close look, even touch it, should be very enjoyable. Many people come to the wine shop for this reason, which makes most of the Hu Ji wine shops crowded with customers and doing a booming business!

  Chen Yi's eyes darted back and forth, but after staring at Hu Ji for a while, he didn't feel much surprise. He followed the strange-looking Qing Ning, who seemed somewhat displeased with him looking at Hu Ji, into the west city gate, blending in with the crowd as they entered the market.

  There are still many gold and silver shops that can exchange copper coins, which are easy to find in the conspicuous places of the city. The storefront is also very large, and you can see it as soon as you enter the city. As soon as the two people entered the city, they rushed straight to the gold and silver shop!

  The shopkeeper and the waiter in the gold and silver store are all good at judging people's faces. They have been doing business for many years and can generally tell what kind of person has come from their clothes and demeanor. When Ning Qing and Chen Yi first entered the store, the people inside looked at them wearing ordinary fabrics and didn't pay much attention to them. In the end, it was the shopkeeper sitting behind the counter who saw that Chen Yi's demeanor was different from ordinary people. Although he was dressed in ordinary clothes, his identity might not be bad, so he hurried over to greet him personally!

  Chen Yi immediately explained his intention and presented a gold leaf to the shopkeeper, asking him to exchange it for some copper coins.

  Chen Yi didn't even know the current exchange rates between gold, silver, and copper coins, not to mention Qing Ning, a native of this era. Fortunately, the fat shopkeeper at the inn gave them some information, so they had a rough idea of the current exchange rate. Of course, exchanging gold for copper coins also depends on the purity of the gold. The few pieces of gold leaf that Chen Yi had left were all of very good quality, which surprised the shopkeeper. Seeing that Chen Yi was extraordinary and physically strong, the shopkeeper didn't dare to cheat him, and basically exchanged them at the normal rate.

  A single piece of gold leaf weighing less than two taels can be exchanged for ten strings of copper coins. One string of copper coins is one thousand wen, so ten strings are ten thousand wen. Ten thousand Kaiyuan Tongbao coins fill a large bag, and since ten copper coins weigh one tael, ten thousand coins weigh a full ten jin. The weight of the coin purse isn't light either!

  Under the smiling faces of the shopkeeper and the little second, Chen Yi carried a large bag of copper coins out of the gold and silver store. The heavy money bag in his hand felt very inconvenient. If there were paper bills or credit cards like those in later generations, it would be much better! Or if he had several attendants following him to help carry things, that would be great! Thinking of this, Chen Yi immediately thought of the illusions that appeared from time to time when he slept, guessing where his original attendants had gone. He somewhat hoped to encounter them in Chang'an, or even today in Xishi.

  However, today's main task in Xicheng is still to buy a few sets of suitable clothes. After leaving the gold and silver store, Chen Yi followed Ning Qing into a clothing store. A large bag of copper coins, which attracted some attention, but also subdued those greedy merchants, who all smiled and entertained them. In the third clothing store, Chen Yi picked out several outfits and immediately asked the shopkeeper to bring them down for him to try on.

  Chen Yi put on a narrow-sleeved Hu dress with good texture, which seemed to be tailored for him, and it fit perfectly. He wore it and admired himself in front of the copper mirror for a while, feeling quite satisfied.

  On one side, Ning Qing saw Chen Yi, who had changed into new clothes, and stood there in surprise for half a day, his eyes wide with wonder. Chen Yi, dressed in luxurious attire, had truly become a handsome man with an elegant demeanor, causing the string in Ning Qing's heart to vibrate violently.

  "How's that? Doesn't this young master look handsome in these clothes?" Chen Yi struck a few poses, intentionally flexing his robust chest muscles.

  "Ziying, you really look... " Qingning's eyes were a bit unnatural, and she hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to continue. After a brief pause, she added, "Ziying, let's just buy this set then, we can try the others later!"

  Chen Yi changed into several other sets of clothes and shirts, and under Qing Ning's praise, he bought all the clothes that he liked. Four sets of clothes, plus some popular accessories like hats, totaled three taels and six hundred copper coins. The expenses were not small, but his money bag was also lighter, which was a good thing. Chen Yi walked out of the store wearing the last set of Hu clothing he had tried on.

  Maybe it's really true that people rely on their clothes, after changing into new clothes Chen Yi felt like he had a whole new spirit, the Qing Ning beside him couldn't help but glance at him from time to time, and even passersby would give way to him. Chen Yi now feels like he's only missing one or two attendants, otherwise he'd really look like a young master of a wealthy family, he's thinking about whether he should go buy some followers, so that when he goes out in these clothes he won't run into any unnecessary trouble.

  Chen Yi glanced at Ning Qing walking beside him, and hummed, feeling that this little Taoist nun had a bit of the flavor of his own maid today... He also suddenly understood why no one was too surprised by his behavior today, even when buying expensive clothes, maybe because Ning Qing, this lovely little girl, was standing next to him, people thought she was really his maid, and came out shopping with him.

  In ancient times and later modern times, people with status would not go out without attendants; otherwise, they would be suspected of something.

  After exchanging copper coins and buying clothes for almost an hour, both of them were a bit tired. Although they had eaten their fill at breakfast, after running around for half a day, they were also hungry!

  "Qing er, are you hungry? Let's go to the wine house for a drink!" Chen Yi patted his bulging wallet and said magnanimously: "Today this young master will treat you to a big meal, how about it?"

  Looking at Chen Yi's pretended appearance, Ning Qing burst out laughing: "Okay, I'm really a bit hungry, but we'll just eat something simple, don't waste it, and go back early so that Master won't send someone to look for us!"

  "That's great!" Chen Yi glanced around and saw a nicely decorated wine tower not far from where they were standing, with several flower-adorned prostitutes soliciting customers at the entrance. He naturally wanted to go and observe the scene inside the wine tower, so he pointed to that wine tower and said to Ning Qing: "Qing'er, let's go to that wine tower to eat, hehe, when we get there, you can order whatever you want..."

  He certainly wouldn't say that he wanted to go and have a big meal, but also to see what kind of dance Hu Ji used to entertain the guests!

  Ning Qing glanced at the nicely decorated wine house, then looked at the several good-looking Huren at the entrance. She didn't seem very interested and hesitated for a moment before agreeing: "Okay, let's go!" As she smiled brightly at Chen Yi, she was really hungry, and Chen Yi's two words about eating made her even hungrier, her stomach protesting with growls. She was too lazy to suggest changing to another wine house again!

  "Let's go!" Chen Yi smiled and led the way into the wine house called "Zui Xian Lou", with Qing Ning, under the smiling face of a woman who was difficult to distinguish as a Hu woman, they went upstairs.

  At this time, the music upstairs was ringing, and a Hu Ji wearing a small hat was performing a rapid spinning dance.