Chapter Twenty-Four: Bustling Metropolis

  "Knock knock knock knock..."

  The sound of drums came from afar in Nancheng Kai Fang, and Yang Fan, Ma Qiao, and Mian Pian Er continued to walk at a leisurely pace.

  The temple opens at dawn, and before it opens, the drum must be beaten 300 times. The drum has just been struck, and it's still early to leave the temple gate, no need to rush at all.

  Luoyang's commerce is more prosperous than Chang'an, with wealthy merchants and traders frequently trading in the three markets. The southern market has over 3,000 shops of various industries, with uniform roofs and eaves, looking like a single entity from afar, with elm and willow trees shading each other, and canals flowing into each other. Jewelers, bookstores, flour mills, slave markets, multi-story buildings, and pavilions are built next to each other, attracting merchants and travelers, with precious goods piled up like mountains.

  In the north, it connects with the Tonghui River, and ships from all over the world gather at the east of the bridge. There are often more than 10,000 boats and people filling up the river roads. Merchants trade, and carriages and horses block the streets. Foreign merchants gather in large numbers, selling spices, precious stones, and other goods, while buying silk, tea leaves, etc. Inns and restaurants are also numerous in this area, densely packed together, connecting the two cities on both sides of the Luo River into one piece.

  Western Market and Southern Market are similar, but with a greater emphasis on wholesale, mainly serving as clients for merchants from other places. The "market" of the Tang Dynasty only opened at noon, of course, the small stalls in various alleys were not subject to this restriction.

  "Ma Liu, you're a grown-up now, how can you be so careless about taking care of yourself? When sleeping at night, the quilt should be covered properly, and you can't kick it off. It's already cold outside, do you want your wife to get up in the middle of the night to cover you with the quilt?"

  "Yes yes yes..."

  "When eating, don't gobble like a starving ghost, savor slowly and chew carefully. Especially avoid eating cold foods all the time. Eat on schedule, and your stomach won't get upset."

  "Yes yes yes..."

  "Look at you, can't you walk properly? Don't swagger! You don't learn from the good ones, but instead learn to be a rascal!"

  "Yes yes yes..."

  Three people walked together, with Mabridge being lectured by Facet all the way. Mabridge looked helpless and said with a worried expression: "Xiao Ning, actually I..."

  Yang Fan coughed and drew out a long tone: "Liu Dama said that last night..."

  Ma Qiao immediately closed his mouth and turned to Yang Fan, asking: "What happened last night?"

  Yang Fan saw Ma Qiao's pleading eyes, chuckled and said: "Actually, it's not just last night, it's been like this for days. Every night, Ma Liu is thirsty, but he doesn't drink the boiled water on the stove, instead going to drink the cool water from the vat. I reckon it's stomach cold, that's how this illness came about."

  Mian Pian'er heard this, turned her head and glared at Ma Qiao, saying in a spoiled tone: "I told you that you don't know how to take care of yourself. You're still so young, yet you drink cold water every day! From now on, you must get rid of this bad habit."

  "Alright, alright, I'll change, I'll definitely change! Ah, the gate is open, hurry up, hurry up!"

  "When the city order was struck, the gong sounded locally, and the gate of the Fang market slowly opened. In front of the Fang, there were already thousands of people crowded together, with heads packed tightly, bustling about. Ma Qiao took a look and didn't need to bother Jiang Xuan Ning anymore, feeling relieved, he hastily called out and rushed forward."

  Each "city" in Luoyang has four gates, Yang Fan and his group came from the south gate. As soon as Fangmen opened, Ma Qiao immediately quickened his pace. Mianpian couldn't continue to scold him, so he also quickened his pace and followed up. Yang Fan walked behind, his eyes slightly turned, and suddenly let out a cry of "ah" and covered his stomach.

  Mian Pian'er stopped in her tracks and turned around, saying: "Xiao Fan, what's wrong?"

  Yang Fan said: "I suddenly have some stomach pain, I need to find a place to go to the bathroom, Ning sister, you and Ma Liu go in first, I'll catch up with you later."

  Mian Pian'er nodded and said: "Alright, Ma Liu and I will head forward along the Ten Character Street."

  "Alright, you go ahead first, see you in a bit!"

  Ma Qiao let out two "hums" and looked up at the sky saying: "Heaven is just, evil will be punished!"

  Just as he was about to continue, Jiang Xuan Ning's scolding voice came over: "What nonsense are you spouting again? Can't you just speak properly for once? You're such a...!"

  Two people walked and entered the city, Yang Fan covered his stomach and trailed behind, waiting for the two to enter Nancheng before speeding up. After entering the gate of Nancheng, he turned left and hurried forward along a row of shops facing east.

  Although the market had just opened, because it was only open for half a day, the merchants who had made early preparations shouted loudly to attract the Luoyang citizens who had just entered the market.

  Li's Painted Wares Shop, Wang's Flower and Fruit Store, Xiao's Paper Ink Brush Inkstone, Liu's Charcoal Firewood, Chen's Wine Cellar, Cattle and Sheep Meat Shop. Along the way, embroidered flags were displayed, covering the sky and sun. In between, there were many jewelry stores and incense shops run by foreigners.

  At that time, the term "Hu" specifically referred to people from Persia, Dahe, Tianzhu, Rome, and Sute, etc. in the Western Regions, while Turks, Tubo, and Huihe could not be called Hu, otherwise he would think you were discriminating against him.

  All sorts of people, officials and scholars, ladies and beauties, noblewomen and virtuous women, merchants and travelers, Chinese and foreigners, are mixed together, some riding horses, some taking carriages, some walking, each going their own way.

  Everywhere you look, there are many beautiful women. Even if you don't want to buy anything, just strolling around and looking at the beauties is also a feast for the eyes. However, the scene of "the whole city is full of big buns" is not something you can see here.

  Because cheongsam is only suitable for two types of women in two places, one is the noble lady and the imperial concubine, who can wear it in the mansion and the palace. The other is the geisha and the courtesan, who can wear it in the brothel, other women do not even have the chance to wear it, let alone show off on the street.

  Yang Fan entered the southern city, turned left at a corner and went straight to Ren's gold and silver shop. He had to exchange that golden hairpin for money before he could go shopping. In this era, gold and silver were not yet widely accepted currencies and couldn't be used directly in transactions. During this time, people usually paid with Kaiyuan Tongbao coins, or used silk fabrics as a general equivalent if the payment was substantial.

  Yang Fan held a golden hairpin that weighed less than one liang, which could be exchanged for at most two thousand coins. However, Yang Fan thought the workmanship of this hairpin was exquisite and its shape was delicate, ordinary gold and silver shops' craftsmen couldn't make it. The gold and silver shop accepted his hairpin without needing to melt it down, they could directly resell it as a piece of jewelry, so Yang Fan insisted on exchanging it for three thousand coins.

  The shopkeeper was not only devaluing the gold, but also mocking the craftsmanship. He spoke with spittle flying everywhere for half a day. Yang Fan didn't say much, just smiled and said: "Shopkeeper Ren, if you want to exchange it for 2,000 yuan, that's fine, but you have to melt this hairpin into a gold bar in front of me."

  Lao San picked up the hammer without saying a word, held it high over his head, and glared at the golden hairpin on the anvil with his eyebrows furrowed. He stared for a while, then gripped the hammer and glared at Yang Fan, saying viciously: "You're ruthless! Two thousand five hundred dollars, absolutely can't add any more!"

  Yang Fan said: "Two thousand eight hundred coins, and the hairpin is yours! Otherwise, I'll go to the opposite Fu family's gold and silver shop."

  Lao San's right hand slammed the hammer onto the anvil with a loud clang, while his left hand swiftly snatched up the hairpin. Gnashing his teeth, he growled: "Deal!"

  P: Tomorrow morning I'll rush to catch a plane to Beijing, and for the first ten days of November, I'll be busy outside, flying around everywhere. I estimate that all the 60,000-70,000 words I've stored up will be used up, not a single word left. From now on, I won't dare to spend money lavishly, and when I arrive in Beijing tomorrow and settle down, I'll immediately start writing. Please forgive me, friends! It's another midnight, sincerely asking for recommendations!