When they first entered Yangzhou, the parade of traffickers lingered on the streets, and Bai Song led people to follow closely until they arrived at the Flower Street in the city.
There is a square outside Flower Street, which is already full of people.
There are flags for each team in each direction. At first glance, it looks like another dance festival. Only after looking at the flags clearly do we realize that it turns out that the flags of various flower houses in Yangzhou City are planted here.
The people sitting in the street were not any dignitaries, but a group of pretty girls. It was a unique sight in the Tang Dynasty.
In every household, the madam sits at the head of the house, surrounded by three or two courtesans, who are all here to buy the girl who is passing through town today.
The gathering of these women naturally attracted a large number of common people to serve as officials. The square was three hundred meters wide, and there was rarely a place to stay.
Not to mention Jiumei, Tian Ruoyun, even Bai Song had never seen such a scene.
The three of them were stuck in a traffic jam along the street, so they had no choice but to store their horses outside, then ran into the crowd, and after several struggles, they grabbed a seat at a grass shed noodle restaurant in the middle of the square.
Through several layers of figures, you can barely see the group of girls in the center.
"It's amazing! This girl was walking through the streets. No one in Yangzhou complained, but everyone came out to watch the fun!"
Tian Ruoyun said angrily, wiped the hot sweat from his head, and then drank a bowl of plain water from the table.
Bai Song also came here to see the beautiful woman at first, but when he arrived at this small noodle shop, he felt strange.
On the square, every inch of land is precious, so how did this shabby noodle shop come to be here?
Looking at the crowds of people around, there are three tables and chairs in the small noodle shop, but there are only three of them.
There was obviously a place, but the people around him turned a blind eye and refused to come in.
Just as I was thinking about it, the store owner came up and served three bowls of some noodles.
"Hey, we don't want to meet." Tian Ruoyun asked hesitantly.
The shop owner smiled and said, "It's a small business. You can't occupy this position in vain. You should have a bowl of noodles."
Bai Song looked at it and nodded: "I'm tired from the journey. Let's have a bowl of noodles first."
The shopkeeper laughed: "You three are taking advantage of me, and we have a total of three taels of silver and one ounce of money."
"Pfft!" Tian Ruoyun had just swallowed the first mouthful, and when he heard the price, his face was filled with shock. "Where did you get three taels of silver?"
The shopkeeper smiled and replied: "A bowl of plain noodles costs one tael, and a bowl of water costs one tael."
"A bowl of plain noodles is one tael of silver, why don't you go and grab it!"
Although Tian Ruoyun has not been to the market for a long time, he also knows that a bowl of plain noodles only costs three to five cents.
One tael of silver for a bowl of plain noodles is simply outrageous. Who else would open a shop and even charge for plain water?
Seeing Tian Ruoyun's rude words, the store owner's face suddenly darkened: "This is the price we have."
"This is a black shop!"
Tian Ruoyun scolded, her eyes widened, even Bai Song had never seen such an expression on Xiao Nizi.
The shopkeeper stood up and was about to have a fit, but Bai Song pulled Tian Ruoyun down and left behind a piece of silver.
"That's all, it's such a small thing, why worry about it?"
Tian Ruoyun was unconvinced: "How can anyone do this kind of business in the world? If we don't care about it, wouldn't we encourage their disgust?"
Bai Song also said: "A bowl of water has different prices in different places. If it is in the desert, it can save people's lives, so it is difficult to exchange for a lot of money. You see, this is obviously a tourist attraction. It is a small shop. I want to rent it."
It’s not a lot, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a little more expensive.”
The shopkeepers were all confused and thought that this shop had also ripped off a lot of foreign customers. This was the first time today that someone who had been ripped off still had a good word to say to this shop.
After Tian Ruoyun heard this, he sat down angrily and quickly ate the noodles, not even letting go of a mouthful of noodle soup.
The store owner took the money and greeted a few people outside: "I'm afraid there are rare fat sheep inside. You should keep an eye on them carefully and explore their origins."
Several people looked at the three people in the store, and were especially attracted by the two women. They couldn't help but marveled: "I don't know where this young master came from. The maid next to him is much prettier than the woman in that scene."
"Hey, the Fourth Hall Master is not satisfied with all the beauties entering the city this time. I wonder how he feels when he looks at these two ladies? If the Fourth Hall Master likes them, he must give us a good reward."
"Quick, go tell me quickly before anyone leaves."
…
At noon, shouts were heard in the square, and it was rumored that a girl had been sold for a high price of one thousand taels.
"One thousand taels!"
The girl eating noodles stopped using her chopsticks. Even the pampered young lady was shocked by the price of one thousand taels.
"This is about to start. Will the price go up in the future?"
Tian Ruoyun frowned and became tangled.
Bai Song looked at it and smiled: "Why are you mumbling so endlessly?"
Tian Ruoyun suddenly became discouraged, lowered his head and whispered: "That's it..."
"What?"
"Even if you have the intention to save people, you don't have the power to save them... It's hard to be a good person."
"Girl in front of you, you buy whoever you like. Why do you look forward and hesitate?"
"It's too expensive...it's better not to buy it." Tian Ruoyun shook his head repeatedly.
"Spend my money, not your money. I'm not heartbroken, so why are you heartbroken?"
"Even if my husband is not short of money, my wife must be diligent and thrifty in running the house."
"Hahaha..." Bai Song laughed loudly. This woman always adds drama to herself, and her thoughts are really interesting.
Bai Song thought for a while and then changed his words: "If you want to buy it, buy it. Don't forget that I am a member of the imperial court. I help the imperial court with affairs and I will spend the imperial court's money. I will ask the emperor to reimburse you for the expense of buying a girl to save people." "
"Seriously?" Tian Ruoyun's eyes lit up.
"really!"
"Very good!"
When Tian Ruoyun heard that he didn't have to spend his own money, he immediately became energetic. He ignored Bai Song and squeezed towards the end.
"Your wife is really interesting." Jiumei looked at Tian Ruoyun's back and shook her head helplessly.
Bai Song also had the same expression, waving to Jiumei and gesturing to follow him first.
"If she wasn't like this, she wouldn't have followed me to Yangzhou."
In the innermost part of the square, women in cars were lined up like animals. One by one, they were crying, huddled and trembling. They were surrounded by laughter and discussions, without any empathy at all.
Tian Ruoyun, who was extremely excited just a second ago, saw this scene and his expression dimmed instantly.
Bai Song followed closely behind and frowned when he saw such a scene. Looking at Tian Ruoyun's expression, he felt a little relieved.
The good thing is that the girl who stays by my side makes people unable to feel any disgust.
It happened that a woman was dragged to the front. She was wearing a tattered gauze dress. At first glance, she could tell that she was a lady. She didn't know what she had gone through to end up like this. Her unkempt hair and face didn't look good. Someone wiped her face carelessly with a water handkerchief. Started with some simple introductions.
The girl was only eighteen years old. She came from Youzhou and was sold by a large family after it went bankrupt. The starting price was one thousand.
Tian Ruoyun looked at it and subconsciously bid: "I want one thousand taels!"
A strange-looking girl spoke, attracting the attention of the madams in the surrounding flower houses.
This is not surprising, and soon someone increased the price.