Chapter 7: Spring Sleep Hall

  Spring Sleep Hall

  When he finished reciting the poem, Sun Maowen ordered the shopkeeper to bring out paper and pen, and he personally copied down the poems of the four men today.

  The four of them drank a few more jugs, and Yao Fan asked Sun Mao Wen about the procedures for building warehouses. Sun Mao Wen patted his chest and made a guarantee to Yao Fan, indicating that with him around, such trivial matters were no problem at all.

  After getting drunk and finishing the dishes, Wei Guofu suggested going to have some fun, Sun Maowen and Liu Ziming also expressed that this matter is elegant and can be done together.

  Yao Weng thought of the prostitute he saw on the roadside during the day, her red face and flirtatious behavior, and couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. However, he also knew that at times like these, one could not shirk such matters, for it was also an essential skill for getting along with high-ranking officials of the Qing dynasty. Whether you were truly refined or just pretending to be, this was not the time to put on airs and show off your uniqueness, for that would only lead to estrangement from others, and he couldn't afford to do something so foolish at this moment.

  Then the four of them walked out of Shi's restaurant in a line, with Yao Feng settling the bill at the back. As soon as they came out, they saw Sun Maowen and Liu Ziming get into their sedan chairs. Wei Guofu, riding on horseback, pointed to the back and said to Yao Feng, "Brother Yao, ride that horse."

  Although Yao Fan had never ridden a horse before, seeing how small this horse was, he wasn't afraid at all. He mounted the short and skinny horse, which looked like a donkey, grasped the reins tightly, plucked up his courage and urged it forward. The little horse fell behind by one head and trotted alongside Wei Guofu's horse. This little horse had an extremely good temperament, moving slowly and steadily, seemingly well-trained.

  Wei Guofu, feeling that he had found a new source of wealth, drank quite a bit today. He rode his horse to face Yao Fengxing and said with great enthusiasm: "Brother Yao has talent and wealth, I, Wei, am really happy for you. From now on, if we encounter any unscrupulous people in this Jiaozhou City, just bring them to the Guardian Camp's yamen, and I, Big Brother Wei, will take care of it."

  Yao Fengyin nodded in agreement, knowing that the officials' promises were unreliable. If he really needed to find him to do something in the future, he would still have to spend money to grease his palms. However, having this connection was better than not having any human relationship at all.

  A group of people soon arrived at a quiet street in the northern part of the city, where they saw two small red lanterns hanging on the door with the words "Spring Sleep" written on them. Yao Fan secretly sighed and thought that ancient people were elegant, if this place had hung up signs like "Happy Head Washing House", "Happiness Foot Bath City", or "Double Refreshing Song Hall", he would have spat out half of the wine he had just drunk.

  "Spring sleep does not know dawn, indeed fitting the scene."

  Sun Maowen got off the sedan chair and proudly puffed out his chest as he walked in, smiling complacently to himself: "When it comes to handling elegant matters, it's only fitting that the more elegant the place, the better. I wouldn't dare say this about other places, but the women of Chunmian Hall are truly refined and cultivated - not something that can be compared to the common street vendors."

  Customs Inspector Liu Ziming saw Yao Fang's dazed expression and flaunted his knowledge, saying: "Brother Yao has been living abroad for a long time, so you probably don't know. In our great Qing dynasty, the big-footed ones standing by the roadside are called yellow fish, and those who rent houses, hang signs, and sell themselves as prostitutes are called wild chickens. Those are places where rough people go. However... haha, some Tongzhi actually like that kind of tune... hahaha..."

  Liu Ziming smiled and showed off his profound knowledge, Sun Maowen followed up with a laugh and said: "How would Lord Liu know that heroes emerge from the grass? That wild chicken Taoist priest is also quite something."

  Liu Ziming heard this and burst into another fit of loud laughter.

  Yao Fan didn't understand what was going on, but he just smiled and followed along with the crowd, closely following them.

  Wei Guofu seemed to be a frequent visitor, leading the three of them through the three courtyards all the way to the very back. Along the way, the old procuress and the turtle-like men swarmed around Wei Guofu's group like flies buzzing around their backsides.

  "Governor Wei, how can you be so heartless! My daughter Xiangyun has been longing to see you every day, but it's only been a few days since you last came, and my poor daughter's little face has already become thin."

  That old procuress's facial muscles were twitching, her buttocks twisting with energy, her fingers tightly grasping the handkerchief, fawning on Wei Guofu to the extreme.

  Wei Guofu smiled slyly, a look of satisfaction on his face, and holding his belly, he turned to the crowd and said: "Everyone can go find their own good things."

  Wei Guofu then instructed the madam: "This brother Yao is a returned overseas Chinese, you must find a high-class girl to serve him well, don't lose face for my great Qing dynasty. If anyone offends this brother of mine, I will skin your hide and feed it to dogs."

  After that, Wei Guofu nodded to Yao Fan and the old madam immediately smiled and responded: "Wei Daxia's brother is my uncle, I will serve him well even if it costs me my own life."

  Yao Fan heard this and felt extremely disgusted, in an instant he got goosebumps all over his body.

  Yao Feng was restrained by Wei Guofu, who smiled and winked at him. Yao Feng understood that he was being told to let go and do his thing, so he followed a turtle into the east wing of the house. Sun Maowen and Liu Ziming also puffed out their chests and followed the little turtle towards the north-facing main hall.

  The old procuress in the courtyard, familiarly embracing Yao Fang's arm, said intimately: "I said why I haven't seen the young master's braid, it turns out that the young master is a national guest from overseas, forgive me! Forgive me! Since Wei Da-ren has spoken, then I must choose a particularly good daughter to serve the young master. But this old slave doesn't know what kind of girl the young master likes? Is there any preference for fat or thin, tall or short? Does he like elegant conversation or not?"

  Yao Fangan's face turned red with embarrassment, and he hastily replied: "Then just find someone who can chat."

  The old procuress smiled and said: "It's settled then, Third Sister will attend to Young Master."

  The old procuress said to the little turtle beside her: "Take Young Master Yao to San Jie's room."

  Yao Feng entered the house and saw that it was tidy, so he sat down in front of the round table. The three sisters gave him a deep bow, and after seeing him sit down, they elegantly stood up and lightly sat on the round stool beside Yao Feng, raising their eyes to ask: "Young master, which dishes would you like?"

  Yao Fan knew that these high-end earnings were basically all from the fruit platter and tea, while the money from selling meat generally went to the brothel. He said: "You take care of it, brew a pot of your best tea here, and we'll just chat casually."

  Yao Feng gazed at the three sisters, watching as she wore a light green lake silk dress, her figure slender and elegant, with a pointed chin and a pale, delicate face, bright and expressive eyes, lightly made up with subtle makeup, truly deserving of being called beautiful, and her demeanor was also dignified.

  She listened to Yao Fang's instructions and ordered the small tortoise waiting beside her: "Go and ask Mother to send four fruit plates, they must be delivered today, choose the freshest ones, and bring that newly arrived Mingqian Longjing tea, I'll brew some with the young master."

  That little turtle was dawdling and wouldn't leave, so Yao Wenyi tossed him a piece of broken silver weighing about one or two liang. The little turtle smiled and thanked him before scurrying off in a hurry, only to return soon after with a red lacquer wooden tray in hand, on which were placed four small fruit dishes containing melon seeds, dried plum, sugar-pickled winter melon strips, and several pastries filled with unknown fillings. After setting down the tray, the little turtle ran off again, this time carrying a black ceramic tea pot the size of a fist in his left hand and a white porcelain teapot filled with boiling water in his right hand.

  The third sister took over and began to use the white porcelain tea cup on the table to make tea for Yao Fang. Yao Fang watched her movements, which were elegant and seemed to have been practiced in the art of tea-making, making people feel comfortable just by looking at them.

  The little turtle quietly closed the door and left Yao Fang and San Jie alone.

  Yao Feng relaxed, looked around the room and saw that the walls were adorned with beautiful paintings of women. The other decorations such as vases seemed to be ordinary imitations, so he shifted his attention back to San Jie.

  "Sir, try this Longjing tea from Mingqian. I heard from guests that the tea at our Chunmiantang in Jiaozhou is quite good and tastes better than those at teahouses."

  Yao Fan smelled it and found it had a sweet fragrance. He felt that this tea was actually quite good, so he nodded his head in approval.

  "Third sister saw that the young master didn't have a queue, so isn't he a believer in Christianity? I think you look quite handsome even without a queue." Third sister was very pleased and flattered Yao Fang.

  Yao Feng ignored San Jie's words and changed the subject: "San Jie, how long have you been living in this place?"

  The third sister calmly replied: "Our family has been in Jiaozhou for five years already."

  Yao Feng asked: "Just now I heard Sun Zhou say something about a wild chicken platform. What's the allusion? Do you know?"

  The third sister burst out laughing, awkwardly cracked open a melon seed with her fingernail, and fed the kernel to Yao Fang's mouth. Yao Fang ate it with a stiff scalp.

  Third Sister saw that Yao Fan Gao was very handsome, with a straight nose bridge and bright eyes and white teeth. She couldn't help but feel affectionate towards him in her heart. Now he blushed and ate the melon seeds she had given him, which made Third Sister's heart even more joyful.

  "Magistrate Sun is not a man who frames people, I heard that in this place, near the border of Guan County, there is a county magistrate named Zhao Shuoyear, whose predecessor was surnamed Liu. He was originally a merchant from Nanjing, and because he fell in love with a courtesan named Guihua, he rented a house and married her. That prostitute became his wife and naturally stopped selling herself, but she urged Magistrate Liu to buy an official position. Magistrate Liu said that although he knew half a basket of characters, when it came to writing articles, he was completely incoherent, how could he become an official?"

  Yao Fan nodded and said, "Isn't this the reason?"

  Third sister smiled and said: "But this prostitute named Guihua insisted that Lord Liu donate an official position, and Lord Liu had no choice but to follow her to Beijing. Unexpectedly, Guihua really did have connections - she spent 3,000 taels of silver to get Lord Liu a fourth-rank Daoist position. However, young master, you also know that in our great Qing dynasty, there are as many donated officials as there are hairs on an ox's back. As the saying goes, 'a lifelong supplementary Daoist official' - it would take 10,000 years to get a turn."

  Yao Feng asked: "Then how did this Lord Liu become the prefect?"

  Third Sister said, "Those ordinary country gentlemen who donate to become officials are merely seeking to bring glory to their ancestors and make a good impression when they move around in the countryside. Who would have thought that this prostitute had connections and actually obtained a letter from a certain Prince Wang of Beijing to give to the Governor of Shandong? It turns out that this prostitute's own mother is currently the wet nurse favored by that prince."

  Yao Feng smiled and said: "That prince is still in diapers, how can he write a letter?"

  The third sister covered her mouth and smiled: "Since it's the king, even if he has a big beard, he can still drink milk."

  Yao Weng felt that things were starting to get absurd and asked: "Then did Director Liu become an official afterwards?"