The 38th Withered Society

  For the past two years, Ximen Qing has been practicing at home all day, or going to Ju Xian Ju or Nuan Feng Ge, and can be said to be a three-point-one-line life. Although he has never left Qinghe County, Ximen Qing's reputation as "Ximen Enren" has spread even further.

  In today's turbulent society, the rule of law is deteriorating, and many heroes have been framed and become prisoners. They had to flee for their lives. When these heroes fled, they were penniless, and when they passed through Qinghe County, hungry and worried, they were timely received by Juxian House, which not only did not charge them any money but also provided them with food and drink, and even gave them money as a gift when they left. In the past four years, Juxian House has helped more than 100 heroes who have fallen on hard times, let alone other people who have been assisted, too numerous to count. Those heroes were all men of honor and integrity, and they remembered Ximen Qing's help deeply in their hearts, admiring him greatly. Therefore, the reputation of Ximen Qing's kindness was also spread by them.

  Compared to Ximen Qing's reputation, the situation of Juxianju was not good. In these four years, Juxianju not only didn't make a profit but also suffered heavy losses. Every year, Ximen Chusheng had to allocate thousands of taels to Juxianju; otherwise, it would have closed down long ago. In recent years, the national fortune of the Song Dynasty has been declining, and the economy has not been doing well. Many businesses were not doing well. In the past, ordinary people had spare money to drink and visit brothels, but now they could only earn a living to support their families. In these two years, the Ximen family's industries have gradually shrunk, and many wine houses and inns have closed down. Only pharmacies and pawnshops were still open. Fortunately, even if only pharmacies and pawnshops were operating, it was enough to guarantee that the Ximen family's financial resources would not be lacking; otherwise, it would have been Juxianju again, or supporting others, and the Ximen household would have gone bankrupt long ago.

  Ximen Qing brought Wu Yin to Juxianju and after greeting the people eating downstairs, he went upstairs to find Qian Baiyun.

  "Uncle Qian, how's business?" Ximen Qing asked with a smile.

  Qian Baiyun put away the account book, raised an eyebrow, shook his head and sighed: "Business is far from what it used to be. Qinghe County is just a small county town, can't compare with Dongping Prefecture's big place, the common people are almost starving, where do they have extra money to consume? Now those who patronize our Ju Xianju, except for those fallen people, are the local landlords! Hmph, these greedy landlords, I want to drive them out!"

  The people's lives are bitter, one of the reasons is that the imperial court has lost its normality, and the other is the oppression by the landlords. Qinghe County was originally a small county, far from the capital city, so the landlords and officials colluded to oppress the people, and there was no way to stop them. After Sun Hou wore a green hat and lay in bed with anger, he spent money to buy an official position for his son to become the magistrate of Qinghe County. Sun Hou's son was even more greedy and oppressed the people even more severely. The tax collection alone increased by nearly twice! Privately changing the tax rate is a capital offense, but Sun Hou's son did not fear it, and the imperial court also did not ask about it, which made him act recklessly. However, there is no way to stop him, even if you go to report to the officials or even appeal to the emperor, there is still no way. How many good officials are there in the imperial court now? You can count them on one hand!

  When Ximen Qing heard Qian Baiyun's words, he also sighed helplessly.

  This society has become like this, and no one can change it. Even if Song Huizong woke up from his drunkenness to make a change, he would have been powerless to do so.

  Ximen Qing said, "Don't worry, Uncle Qian. Those greedy and corrupt officials and landlords will be punished! By the way, Uncle Qian, I'll be leaving Qinghe County in three days. Now, let's take a look and tell you about it. Since business is not good now, let's raise the price of dishes by 50%! Anyway, the common people don't come to our Juxian House, they are all these landlords, they have money, so we can extort them! As for those poor people, when they come to our Juxian House, they still need to pay enough for their meals. Don't provide them with good food, plain rice and vegetables are enough to fill their stomachs. If they complain, just ask them to leave! I, Ximen Qing, am kind enough to help them, but they still want to pick and choose, how unreasonable!"

  A truly down-and-out hero will be grateful for others' kindness. If someone is kind enough to help you, but you complain about this and that, how can you be considered a good guy or a hero? West Gate's Qing would never help such a person!

  Qian Baiyun nodded and said, "Young master, rest assured that I have taken note of the things you entrusted to me. However, I must say that setting up Rongxuan House is not a long-term plan! Young master, in these four years, you have helped many people, but the benefits you've gained are extremely few. As an old man, I don't understand grand principles, but even I know this is a losing business. Now that business is not going well, Rongxuan House cannot compare to small wine shops. I hope young master can consider whether to... close down Rongxuan House?"

  The common people are poor, so they won't patronize high-end restaurants like Ju Xian Ju. They mostly go to small rural wine houses to drink and eat meat. If Ju Xian Ju continues like this, it's foolish in anyone's eyes. In the past few years, if Xi Men Xiao Xue hadn't invested money, Ju Xian Ju would have closed down long ago. Qian Bai Yun feels sorry for such waste of assets, so she speaks up to remind them.

  Ximen Qing puckered his mouth and didn't speak, thinking for a moment before saying: "Closing the door is necessary, but it's not time yet. When I come back next time, I'll close the Huigong Residence, what do you think, Uncle Qian?"

  Qian Baiyun smiled and said: "Good, one year later Qing'er will be fifteen, soon to be married, at that time closing the Ju Xian residence is not late, hehe, in a twinkling of an eye Qing'er has grown up like this, to be married, I am waiting for the arrival of that day!"

  Ximen Qing said: "Uncle Qian, after the Gathering of Virtuous Scholars is over, you can move to my home and enjoy a good retirement. You cannot decline this!"

  Qian Baiyun nodded emotionally and said: "Alright, I'm looking forward to that moment, hehe..."

  Ximen Qing then chatted with Qian Baoyun for a while before leaving Juxianju.

  As he walked along the road, Ximen Qing felt a deep sense of helplessness in his heart. Four years ago when the聚贤居 had just opened for business, its trade was extremely good; although they had to provide free meals and financial assistance to some people, the expenditure was offset by the consumption of the common people, who all had money to spare and were delighted to spend it at the聚贤居. But now? The only patrons of the聚贤居 were a few local landlords; ordinary folk could only afford to go to small wine shops for a drink and a bite to eat. The changes in Qinghe County over four years were thus starkly evident, and one could well imagine the state of decline that the entire Song Dynasty would soon reach.

  With a sigh of helplessness, Ximen Qing unknowingly arrived at the Warming Breeze Pavilion.

  Compared to Ju Xian Ju, the business of Nuan Feng Ge has declined a lot, but it is still more prosperous than Ju Xian Ju. Although brothels are high-end places, some people would rather not eat than play, and there are many such people! Moreover, the female warriors of Nuan Feng Ge are too tempting, so Nuan Feng Ge has not reached the point of closing down. As for other brothels, they are somewhat sad, having closed one after another a year ago. Four years ago, Qinghe County had four or five brothels, but now only Nuan Feng Ge is left! The poverty of the common people can be seen from this.

  Seeing Ximen Qing stop, Wu Ying asked in a low voice: "Young master, do you want to go in and see if Qinglian has returned?"