"I didn't expect this Ji County to have such prosperity. It's rare to see it without leaving Sichuan."
"Sir, the Shangyuan Restaurant rumored outside the city is right in front. There are many people on the left and right, so it's better to find a seat early and sit down."
"I heard that there is an old gentleman in Shangyuan Restaurant who knows a lot about the Three Kingdoms. I didn't expect him to be so respected. He is putting me to shame..."
"Sir, these are just some secular rumors and folk tales, so don't worry too much about them."
"I was ordered to compile the history of the Tang Dynasty. Since I took over, I have compared many remaining classics in Taichang Temple and found that historical records since the Han Dynasty have been chaotic. I am old and cannot do research for too long. There are many rumors about the Three Kingdoms among the people.
, although there are many joking things, it will always be helpful for us to return to Beijing to repair the omissions."
"With your status, why do you still work so hard for such things?"
Halfway through the conversation, the old man waved his hands and shook his head.
The two of them have arrived in front of Shang Yuan Restaurant, which is the most popular restaurant.
The young man was stunned and curious: "Huh? Why are there so many people on the street but not many customers in this store?"
The old man also frowned, seeing that there were only a few casual guests in the Shangyuan Restaurant, and the hall was deserted.
On a storytelling table, the storyteller, who had nothing to do, was dozing off, looking listless.
When the old man saw a well-dressed middle-aged man walking out, he stopped him with a smile and asked, "Sir, do you know why this Shangyuan Restaurant is so deserted?"
The middle-aged man is the owner of this family.
At this time of heavy crowds, there were only a few guests at home, which made me feel very depressed.
I was even asked why he was so deserted, and I felt even more unhappy. I glanced at the old man and saw that he was dressed in a simple and poor appearance. I instantly felt a trace of disdain, snorted and ignored him.
The young man next to the old man stared, stopped in front of the middle-aged man, and whispered: "My master is asking you a question!"
"Master? Haha... How to repay the master like this? Where are you going back and forth? This Shangyuan Restaurant does not serve the poor."
When the young man heard this, his eyes blazed, his fists behind his back tightened, and there was a faint crackling sound of his joints.
But the old man chuckled and gave the young man a hard tug. He didn't care about the middle-aged man's words: "I came from afar and don't understand the rules. I only heard outside the city that there was an old man in Shangyuan Restaurant who was good at talking about the Three Kingdoms.
Come here to listen to the book."
"Listen to a book? Can you afford it? Let me tell you, to listen to a book at Shangyuan Restaurant, just a cup of tea costs 100 yuan. For people like you, you should go to the other side to listen. Their Three Kingdoms is cheap, and a cup of tea only costs 100 yuan.
Wenqian is suitable for people like you to listen to."
"Oh? The other side is also talking about the Three Kingdoms?" The old man looked back seriously. When he looked at the middle-aged man again, he had already squeezed into the crowd and disappeared.
"Sir, this kind of unruly people should not be punished by a scoundrel."
"How long have you been out with me? You still can't get rid of your bad habits! You and I are here to explore folk history, not to show you official authority or put on airs."
The young man was a bit dissatisfied, he lowered his head and cupped his hands: "The master has taught me a lesson."
The old man looked at the restaurant in front of him again. It was deserted and could not hear any sound of books. He shook his head helplessly: "Go and have a look across the street."
The two of them entered the crowd again, and within a few steps they heard a burst of cheers coming from the front. The sound was really scary.
The young man exclaimed: "There are so many people? Are the people in this street here just to listen to this family's Three Kingdoms?"
The old man vaguely heard the voice of a storyteller inside, and couldn't help frowning: "Why is it the voice of a child?"
"A child talks about the Three Kingdoms? Is this too childish?" the young man said.
At this moment, someone next to me shouted: "Hey, hey... Chapter 5, the last volume of the Three Heroes' Battle with Lu Bu, leave me a copy! Hey, kid in front, don't grab it, that's what I reserved.
of!"
"I want a complete set. I can buy it wherever the gentleman in it tells me."
"I want a complete set too!"
"Sir, what's going on at the door?"
The old man squinted his eyes, stroked his beard with great interest, and motioned for the young man to open the way ahead.
After a while, the old man walked to the door of the dilapidated restaurant and looked up at the sign: "Come from the east..."
He looked again at the little girl guarding a stall in front of him, and finally his eyes fell on the things on the stall.
"What a pretty girl."
The young man couldn't help but praise, but was glared at by the old man.
Only then did the young man feel that he had lost his composure and bowed his head in silence.
The old man looked at the stall and picked up a booklet with three eye-catching characters "First Chapter" written on it.
The first sentence of the opening chapter is: "Speaking of the general trend of the world, if we divide for a long time, we will unite and if we unite for a long time, we will divide."
The old man was stunned for a moment when he opened the book, and then he couldn't help but nodded: "The general trend of the world is that if it divides for a long time, it will unite and unite for a long time. It's interesting..."
"Little girl, what kind of book is this?"
Bai Rou, who was guarding the stall, was sweating profusely and couldn't care less.
"Old sir, if you want to see the fun, then give the book to the guests who need it."
The old man was stunned and didn't understand.
At this time, someone next to me took the initiative and said, "Old man, why don't you come over and watch the fun?"
The old man smiled and nodded.
"This book is called The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and the content is exactly what the storyteller at Donglai Restaurant told me. This storyteller is different from others. He writes twice a day, and each chapter is different. It is said that it starts from the Yellow Turban Rebellion and continues to the end of the Three Kingdoms.
, a total of one hundred and twenty chapters, never repeated. If you missed the story telling on that day, or if you feel that you are still not satisfied after listening to the book, you can buy this text version."
The old man was shocked: "From the beginning of the Yellow Turban Uprising to the end of the Three Kingdoms?"
"Really?! I don't know if the storyteller is bragging. How can anyone tell all the important events of a day? But the young storyteller talks twice a day and is very coherent. There are always readers who don't know something and ask all kinds of questions.
They all answered fluently. We have only talked about it for the eleventh time now, and there are no mistakes or omissions. There are many things that we have never heard before, and it is really addictive."
The old man flipped through a few more pages of the book in his hand. After a few glances, he felt that he was holding a treasure. He hurriedly asked the little girl: "How can I sell this book?"
"A volume of one hundred articles."
Without thinking, the old man took out a piece of silver and put it on the table.
Everyone was shocked, that one ingot of silver weighed a lot, a full twenty taels.
Looking at his rags, how does he look like a rich man?
The old man didn't have time to pay attention to the eyes of the people in front of him, so he said to Bai Judo: "You need one of the books here every time, so you don't have to look for money."
Without Bai Rou having to do anything, the young man behind the old man also chose a book at the stall and put it in his arms.
Before anyone could react, the master and servant disappeared into the crowd and entered the shop again.
…
Now a few days have passed, and the number of customers in Donglai Restaurant is increasing day by day.
It's just ten cents a day for tea money. Not to mention buying the shop across the street, it is quite difficult to complete the bet with the Oriental girl.
Of course, the money from selling books outside does not count as the restaurant's revenue.
It has been eleven days since the business opened. Bai Song looked over the ledger over and over every day, carefully calculating the daily income.
All the money hit the money box on the second floor.
After much calculation, I made a total of fifty taels of silver on the eleventh day.
A private room on the second floor was used by Bai Songgei as the boss's office. No one else was allowed to come in. Only Miss Dongfang and his two shareholders were sitting there.
Bai Song has become more and more proficient in abacus recently. He calculated dozens of pages of ledgers in ten minutes, then stood up and shook his head: "The place is small, otherwise I would have made a lot of money just from those tea money. There are so many people's tea money now."
I can’t even get it.”
Dongfang Bai looked at Bai Song seriously. After spending ten days together, she couldn't understand this young boy more and more.
There is no doubt that he is capable.
But sometimes he is a jerk, and the business downstairs is obviously profitable.
Just like the Shangyuan Restaurant next door, it only needs to change the price to 100 yuan per customer, which will increase the daily income several times, but it just refuses to listen to others' advice.
There are also book sellers outside.
Once the book was released, the frenzied rush was even more intense than the rush for new silk at a girl's house.
It only sells for a hundred coins, I don’t know what to think.
Although the money from selling books had nothing to do with her, Dongfang Bai always felt that this person was not suitable for business at all.
Bai Song also knew in his heart that following the Dongfang girl's suggestion, their income would be much higher.
At the beginning, Bai Song had the same plan.
Bai Song was not a saint, nor did he want to be a saint, but he knew many things well. Silver in the Tang Dynasty was too precious. A few dozen taels of silver may not sound like much, but as long as you look at the people who come to listen to books on weekdays,
, each looked like he was taking out ten cents from his pocket, but the leek's sickle couldn't be wielded.
When cutting leeks, it is best to cut the leeks that have emerged.
Anyway, this little money can't help Bai Song do anything big. Food and clothing, and now there is no shortage of them.
"Da da da..."
A series of rapid knocks on the door came.
"Madam, madam...the guy from the other side is here!"
The maidservant of the Oriental girl is called Lian'er. She has a beautiful voice and a hurried look like a chicken pecking at rice.
"The guy opposite?" Dongfang Bai turned around and looked at Bai Song, obviously not understanding.
Bai Song spread his hands and said, "Go out and have a look. Maybe he's from Shangyuan Restaurant."
This Shangyuan Restaurant has long been in trouble by Bai Song. The waiters across the street cursed and cursed every day, but Bai Song didn't pay attention to it at all.
I came to your door today. Are you looking for trouble?
Dongfang Bai was a little anxious and walked out of the door quickly.
As soon as Dongfang Bai came out, he saw the owner of Shangyuan Restaurant coming upstairs with two boys.
There are four tables crowded together upstairs, which is a little looser than downstairs.
It's much more comfortable to listen to books and drink tea upstairs, but it will cost you one hundred pence to go upstairs.
The regulars who used to listen to books at Shangyuan Restaurant have all changed their way to Donglai Restaurant these days.
Several guests also knew the middle-aged man and came forward to say hello.
Dongfang Bai felt disgusted when he saw the other person's smiling face, so he stepped forward and asked: "Boss Zhang, if you don't care about your own shop, why are you here at our house?"
"Girl Dongfang, you're opening a store and doing business, and it's not like I haven't paid you, so why aren't you allowed in?"