Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Snake at the Head of the Earth

  Four mountains surround with lush greenery, three rivers flow with clear and calm waves.

  The spring breeze knows not of rise and fall, year after year the grass fills the ancient city.

  Smoke and rain fill the sky, where is the old imperial city?

  If you ask about the rise and fall of things past and present, just look at Luoyang City.

  To know the rise and fall of Luoyang, it is no different from looking at Dingding Street.

  At this time, Dingdeng Avenue was very prosperous.

  A vast expanse of flat, dark blue slate stretches out before one's eyes like a sheet of water.

  In the distance, black eaves, red pillars and yellow city walls form a simple yet solemn picture with an air of grandeur. That is the majestic Dingding Gate standing tall.

  Lofty base, three gateways, east and west corridors, east and west two que and left and right horse roads, connected by curved chi-type corridors, entering the majestic and solemn, magnificent Dingding Gate, a 150-meter-wide, four-kilometer-long street - Dingding Avenue.

  The straight Dingding Avenue is like a sharp sword, with the tip pointing outward, directly at Longmen Yique. The four-kilometer-long Dingding Street is like a straight sword blade, extending all the way to the palace, and the hilt of the sword is Tiananmen Gate, the main gate of the imperial palace. The handle of the sword is the Mingtang, Tiangong, and other magnificent halls standing on the central axis of the palace.

  Inside the "Ming Tang" is a magnificent wooden Buddha statue, inlaid with gold and jade, extremely beautiful. The big Buddha's finger, even the small pinky, can hold more than ten strong men. This giant statue was made based on the appearance of the Empress Dowager at that time, with a compassionate smile on its face, looking down from above at the numerous people walking into Dingding Street from Dingding Gate.

  The magnificent Dingding City Gate and this spacious and flat Dingding Avenue were built in the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was the first emperor to pass through this city gate. Although the great Sui is gone, this magnificent building, which concentrated countless manpower and material resources to build, still exerts its effect today.

  Peddlers and traders, scholars and gentlemen, merchants from all over the world, flowed endlessly, with horses, carriages, donkeys, and camel teams from the Western Regions, together forming a prosperous and thriving scene. The hard bluestone pavement, due to years of wear and tear, had shallow ruts etched into its surface.

  Can you imagine getting married for a few months, then leaving home and going to a distant place to do business, and not returning home for decades? By the time his son grew up and met him in a foreign land, they didn't even know each other's names before they met, and yet they didn't recognize each other.

  In this era, there is such a story.

  Can you imagine a person following a small merchant to do business, not taking a penny, dedicating himself to supporting and maintaining loyalty, for decades as one day, until the small merchant becomes a wealthy merchant who can rival a country? Only then, according to the agreement, he would allocate a portion of his property to him, thus transforming from a penniless man to a rich and powerful merchant, continuing on the life path of his former master.

  In this era, there is such a story.

  Can you imagine, this agreement that doesn't even have an official contract, yet the wealthy merchant who has achieved great success will not abandon his previous promise, delay paying his wages, and he also won't be tempted by benefits halfway through and betray his master. This agreement that lasted for decades actually relied on just one word "trust"?

  In this era, there is such a story.

  Can you imagine a poor vendor, holding an ancestral rare gemstone worth one hundred million dollars, shouting on the street but nobody is interested. Suddenly, a connoisseur appears and gets furious, saying that such a low price tarnishes this treasure, and forces him to raise the price to ten million dollars before he agrees to buy it?

  In this era, there is such a story.

  This is an era full of miracles!

  The legend of a general, the legend of a politician, the legend of a knight-errant, the legend of a poet, the legend of a woman...

  All of these are legendary stories about merchants in the Tang Dynasty.

  Now Tian'ai Nu transformed into a rich and wealthy western tycoon.

  Yang Fan transformed and became her most loyal servant by her side.

  A wealthy Western girl Tian Ai Nu and her loyal servant Yang Fan are standing on the busiest Dingding Street in Luoyang.

  This bustling street, pedestrians thronging, every person walking on this street, either coming or going, is searching for the opportunity of life, striving for wealth and fame, and fulfilling their lifelong aspirations.

  No matter if they are high-ranking officials, princes, or peddlers and laborers, they all walk on this main road, then enter the grand mansions or humble cottages in the left and right alleys, walking under the same sky, stepping into their own different lives.

  Here, a red-haired blue-eyed, rough-featured, earthy-dressed Persian leading a camel may be a rich merchant who has spent a fortune; a refined-looking scholar fanning himself with a feather fan may be an expert thief; and a white-haired old man hobbling along on crutches may also be a retired adventurer.

  It is forbidden to do business on the main street, but mobile vendors are everywhere, taking advantage of the endless flow of people, on the four-kilometer-long road, and in the alleys that lead to all directions, hiding and seeking with the public.

  Tian Ai Nu wore a carved jade hat on her head, with a veil covering her face. She was slender and elegant, although others couldn't see her appearance, but just from her posture and demeanor, it was clear that she was a noble lady from a wealthy family, refined and elegant, high above the rest.

  Yang Fan no longer has any doubts about her ability to pretend to be a dragon like a dragon and pretend to be a tiger like a tiger.

  Tian Ai Nu frowned and said, "What we need to do now is to prepare a full set of dowry, including a luxurious mansion, a light carriage, female servants, male attendants, and everything that a noble lady should have. To prepare these things, we need to find a matchmaker. Why did you bring me here?"

  Yang Fan smiled slightly and said, "If we talk about cleverness, I'm not as good as you. However, I've lived in Luoyang City for so long, so I'm considered a local snake. When it comes to the intricacies of this matter, you're not as good as me. Looking for a tooth buyer? A tooth buyer needs to verify the identity of the buyer. Tell me, is your identity visible to people or is my identity as a peddler more visible?"

  Although the tooth people are just helping to introduce employees, contact buyers and sellers of slaves, houses and all kinds of utensils, they bear a great responsibility. For example, scholars, farmers, workers and merchants are good people, and good people cannot buy or sell family slaves, even if they want to. If the tooth people mistakenly take good people as lowly people and sell them to others, once the matter is exposed, the government will investigate and hold them responsible.

  The broker is also responsible for checking the identity of the employed person. Some people sell themselves just to get into a mansion, and once they enter, they steal property and run away. If such a situation occurs, the broker's responsibility must be investigated. In addition, whether the buyer is qualified to own slaves, how many slaves can be owned, all have regulations, so the broker must know the bottom of both parties.

  The two of them, of course, cannot reveal their true identities to the servants. Tian Ai Nu doesn't need to be mentioned, her identity is not something that can be shown to others. Yang Fan now has a proper and legitimate identity, but his identity as a servant in the Wen Fang courtyard suddenly became a high-ranking servant in a wealthy household, how could the servants not have doubts?

  Tian Ai Nu was taken aback, saying: "This is indeed a problem, however... are we going to ask one by one on this street whether they are willing to be employed by us?"

  Yang Fan gazed at the crowded street and said with a smile: "This is the skill of a local snake, follow me."

  The hat hung down under the eaves, Tian Ai Nu lightly pouted her small mouth and followed Yang Fan with a gentle lotus step.

  On both sides of the wide Dingding Street, there are rows of tall pagoda trees and elm trees. Unlike some municipal officials in later generations who dug up trees today, planted them tomorrow, and dug them up again the day after tomorrow, hiding their private desires and behaving in such a tumultuous manner, the pagoda trees here were planted during the Sui Dynasty's Daye era and have never been moved since then. As a result, they are tall and lush, with twisted branches and trunks, giving off an ancient, heavy flavor at first glance.

  Except for the crowd taking a morning stroll, it seems that few people approach here. Behind the elm trees is a three-meter-wide and deep drainage ditch. Behind the ditch is a one-zhang-high (about 3.3 meters) wall of a courtyard house, and inside are square courtyards.

  Tian Ai Nu followed Yang Fan to the bottom of the tree, and suddenly found that on the tall wall of the temple, there were many words scribbled and painted in a disorderly manner. The people who wrote here would not be "someone came to visit", but some small posters with unique characteristics.

  "Xuan Kong examines the house, Liu Er determines good or bad fortune, feels the bones and calculates fate, Iron Mouth makes a direct judgment. Chong Zheng Fang, 10th character south of Da Jie, third bend, Liu Xian Zi!"

  "In the spring and autumn hunting, feasting with distinguished guests, how can there be no beautiful woman to accompany? At Wen Rou Fang, 10 steps north of the second house, Xiang Ning young lady is skilled in singing and warming the bed. With a slender and delicate figure, she is a beauty. Even if the gentleman is as fierce as a wolf, they won't get out of bed until dawn."

  "A bitter winter is approaching, the cold is unbearable, high-quality charcoal is cheap and frightening. At Rixin Fang's 7th turn, 2nd alley, Xue Li, the price is fair, the quality of charcoal is excellent..."

  The four-kilometer-long wall has become a giant billboard, with all sorts of things written on it as you walk along, the content is all-encompassing, and almost everything you want to find can be found here.

  The heavens watch with admiration.

  Yang Fan walked along, holding a piece of paper in his left hand and a charcoal stick in his right, carefully copying down the things he wanted. Suddenly, a small notice caught his eye. Yang Fan read it and was immediately stunned: "My virtuous wife has gone missing without reason, aged 28, named Xiao Min, with a dark face, big mouth, protruding teeth, and squinting eyes. If anyone finds her, I will reward them with 200 coins, I swear to keep my word. Written by: Xiao Qianyue, under the big elm tree at the west end of Dajie Street, ten characters east of Xiawenfang..."

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