Chapter 57 Ephedra Alley (please click on the recommended collection)
Following the convoy in a large circle in Qingdu, they finally arrived at Wuling Trading Company. The Wuling Trading Company was located in a huge courtyard. Many clerks came out to unload the goods. Jiang Yan followed Liu He all the way to the inner courtyard and happened to bump into one.
Jinyi is obese and middle-aged.
"Jiang Yan, this is Huang Chang, the second shopkeeper of our firm."
Liu He looked around a few times, but did not see Huang Wuling, the helmsman of Wuling Trading Company.
"Where's the big shopkeeper?"
"The people from Tongbao Pavilion invited my eldest brother to live in the house now. I heard that you were attacked?" Huang Chang said.
"The news about us transporting paper from Xihe was leaked. I don't know who invited the Lishan bandits. Fortunately, the painter Jiang Lunjiang came to help during the battle outside Jianmen, otherwise no one in our trading company's convoy would have been spared." Liu He
reported back.
Huang Chang took a look at Jiang Chan. A man is better suited to his clothes than he is to his gold. Seeing that Jiang Chan's clothes were simple and even a little shabby, most of the accomplished scribes in the Qing capital were rich and wealthy, so he was inevitably a little scornful.
"Just him?"
"Second shopkeeper, Jiang Xiaopai, although he is young, his talent for painting is extremely high, even as good as the Four Masters of Yunzhou."
"No less than the Four Elites of Yunzhou? Why don't you say he can rival Zhao Suixian and Chen Mo?" Huang Chang sneered.
Most of the talented people in the Qing capital were arrogant and arrogant. They originally wanted to bring together the merchants and Jiang Yan to get what they needed, but when they saw Huang Chang being so frivolous, Liu He suddenly felt bad.
She gave Huang Chang a look, pulled him to a corner and chatted in a low voice for a while.
"There is no need to mention this matter again. Since you have been kind to my firm, it is just a matter of repaying your kindness."
Huang Chang was a little dissatisfied with Liu He's making such a fuss. A painter in the spiritual realm grabbed a lot of them in Qingdu, took out a thousand taels of silver notes from his arms and handed them to Jiang Gan.
"This is your reward this time"
After Huang Chang gave the money to Jiang Gu, he left on his own, leaving only an embarrassed Liu He.
"Painter Jiang, this... I feel a little sorry for you!"
"It doesn't matter, let's settle things now."
Jiang Chang smiled and shook the banknote in his hand, then said goodbye and left. Liu He didn't know how to retain Huang Chang's attitude just now.
He will stay in Qingdu for a long time in the future. After leaving Wuling Trading Company, Jiang Lan began to look for a place to live.
After riding a donkey and wandering around the city for a long time, I got a general understanding of the layout of Qingdu, which is divided into four cities, east, west, north and south, with 108 squares and numerous streets and lanes.
Similarly, the consumption level in Qingdu is much higher than that in Lin'an City. A full meal in Lin'an City only costs 20 or 30 yuan, but in Qingdu it is more than ten times more expensive. A bottle of apricot flower wine costs half a tael.
silver.
Jiang Yan wanted to reward himself when he traveled all the way, but he didn't expect that he spent two taels of silver on a meal. After he was full and full, he asked around the city. Renting a house cost a hundred taels of silver a month, which made him panic.
I feel that it is not easy to live in the capital of Qing Dynasty.
“It seems we have to seize the time to make money.”
It was too hard to rent a house month after month, so Jiang Yan finally found a suitable place in a place called Mahuang Lane, and it also came with a small yard.
The landlord, Sun Yuanan, was an elderly man. He led the way with a hunched back and chattered all the way.
"Old man, why is this alley called Ephedra Alley?"
Jiang Yan thought the name was a bit strange, maybe because he was a painter and was very sensitive to the word color.
"There is a colored stone called ephedra stone on Lingyue Peak near Qingdu, which can be used to make yellow pigments. Most people living in Ephedra Lane rely on quarrying for a living. Old man, I am too old and can't climb mountains, so I
Let me rent this yard to you." Sun Yuanan said with some reluctance.
"So you are a mason?" Jiang Yan asked.
"So, that's right. It's just that I, the old man, am not very talented and have no enlightenment. I will just be an ordinary quarryer all my life. However, my youngest son is not ordinary. He will learn from the masters of Qingdu and he may become enlightened one day in the future." Sun Yuanan
I feel very proud when I mention it.
Jiang Yan followed the old man and looked around the house and was quite satisfied. There was a bedroom and a study room, and there was an old locust tree planted in the small yard.
"Old man, this house is quite nice, but can the price be affordable?" Jiang Qian asked with a smile.
"Four thousand taels a year is not much for you, and I think you should be a painter. How can there be a painter who is still short of money?"
"I am just a poor painter with little money. Besides, Mahuang Lane is a little far from Wenfu. It will not be convenient for me to go to school in the future."
"Young man, there is no room with a courtyard in the ten or so radius of Wen Mansion that is less than 10,000 taels. Unless you have the ability to enter Wen Mansion and become a student, old man, I will give you this courtyard to live in vain."
Sun Yuanan said as he glanced at Jiang Yan and shook his head.
"It's hard, just find a job."
There are still more than half a year before the civil service examination. Even if Jiang Yan can pass the examination, he still needs a place to stay. Although the location of Mahuang Lane is a bit remote, the speed of his donkey is not slow. It doesn't matter whether it is farther or closer.
Finally, he took out a few banknotes from the bookcase, and with some heartache, he took out one and handed it to Sun Yuanan...
"This is one thousand taels"
"Another thousand taels"
"This is five hundred taels..."
After giving it to Jiang Yan, he found that he only had a two thousand tael note left in his hand. The two looked at each other, and the old man easily took out a wrinkled banknote from his clenched hand.
"This one is worth two thousand, which is too much," Jiang Yan said.
"You are a painter, why bother arguing with me, an old man who is about to die?"
Jiang Yan saw the faint Yin energy floating on Sun Yuanan's body and nodded in agreement. Wu Laoliu will take you away sooner or later.
"That's true! Since you said so, let me give you a gift. In my hometown, the younger generation will give the elderly a paper crane to pray for a long life."
"What a good boy to smash."
Sun Yuanan happily put the paper crane into his arms.
As soon as I entered the yard, I heard the sound of chirping. Before leaving, the old man pointed to the bird's nest under the eaves.
"You can use the things in the yard as you like, but you must not touch this purple swallow. The purple swallow will never fall into a blessed land. I have done good deeds and accumulated virtues all my life before I came to the purple swallow to build a nest. If you scare me away, I will
Worried about you"
Sun Yuanan glared and spoke sternly, fearing that this outsider would not understand the rules of Qingdu and spoil the customs.
"Don't worry, I already knew when I came here. This Ziyan is a treasure."
"That's not true. When the purple swallows were building their nests, the old man and I held a banquet for three days, leaving the door open for everyone from Mahuang Lane to visit." Sun Yuan'an said proudly.
"Seeing as you are a nice person, I would like to remind you to stay away from the butcher next door, because the old guy next door is not a good guy.
When my nest of purple swallows returns to their nest, they won't pass over the top of his yard. Even if they secretly build a nest in the yard, they won't attract any purple swallows. Who told the old butcher to kill too many sins in his life? Our purple swallows
But it’s through the spirit.”
Sun Yuanan obviously had a strong opinion of this neighbor, and he complained even as he left.