The drizzle was silent, and the singing in the wind was clearly audible. On the muddy road, the old houses covered with moss, and the woman with dull eyes, a refreshing ditty was heard in his ears. Zhang Ning stopped and listened carefully, "
What should I embroider first? If I want to embroider, I have to pick the reunion moon in the sky..."
Originally, he couldn't find anything to do for the time being, but now he couldn't help but be curious. He followed the singing to the front of an old wooden building. There was a man in short clothes standing at the entrance of the stairs, with his arms folded on his chest.
He looked at Zhang Ning motionlessly. Although Zhang Ning was wearing cotton clothes,
But it does seem a bit out of place in this place. The used dress is almost spotless, with only a few raindrops on the shoulders. It is ironed very flat, and the fold marks are clearly visible. In this environment, I am afraid that I have to "dress up and follow the groom"
"official-like" to describe it.
The man just looked at him, so he calmly tried to pass. Seeing that the man didn't stop him, he continued walking up the stairs.
At this time, he could already hear the noise above. In addition to the singing and chords, there were also murmurs and shouts. It was very lively. Zhang Ning remembered the teahouse where mahjong was played in the old street.
I just thought of the mahjong parlor. When I walked upstairs, Zhang Ning immediately understood that it was really a gambling house. There were copper coins and banknotes on the table. There were people rolling dice, and some were sitting around the table holding some wood chips.
What is playing, not gambling?
A few people came up, and most of them were staring at the table without paying attention. There was a middle-aged man opposite who looked up and his eyes were a little empty. Then he reached out and pinched his nose, "plopped" it twice, and wiped it under the stool.
After wiping his hands, he continued to look at the wood chips in his hands.
Zhang Ning followed the singing and looked at the people in the corner of the room. He walked towards a big table, reached into his pocket and grabbed a few treasure bills.
The singer is a little girl, and I knew it from her voice before. She looks pretty good, with a well-proportioned face, a slightly pointed chin, and a childish look. However, she is too thin. At first glance, she seems to be very thin and unattractive, and her clothes are torn.
It's big and looks empty. Beside it is an old man sitting cross-legged on the ground playing the piano.
, with a messy gray beard, the skin on his face is dry and wrinkled, and he is still thin. The old and the young look a bit similar, I don’t know whether they are father and daughter or grandson. The appearance of the piano is dusty, but it matches their clothes and environment.
It is integrated into one, with only five strings, and the body of the instrument appears short and small, probably missing two syllables of Shaogong and Shang.
Singers are only slightly better than beggars.
Zhang Ning walked to a large table surrounded by many people. When he saw that the pattern drawn in front of him had the words "big" and "big" on it, he knew it was a bet, so he conveniently placed a treasure note with the same denomination on "big". The treasure note had the same denomination.
They are two different things from regular copper coins, which are equivalent to ten copper coins at most. When it comes to circulation, people would rather have ten copper coins than your consistent treasure banknotes, but the coins in forced circulation cannot be used.
"Look!" the dealer above shouted and shook the dice. He switched from left hand to right hand very skillfully. Unexpectedly, it was the first time I saw a dull person playing dice with such dexterity. "Bang!" The dealer suddenly covered the table with a wooden tube.
, looking back to the left and right, he said: "Bet, bet." At this time, the people around him put money on the picture in front of them.
On the case, Zhang Ning had already let go. After a while, the dealer carefully opened the wooden tube in full view of everyone. People stared attentively. For a while, some people sighed and others laughed. The three sieves added up to fourteen points,
It should be big, right? Sure enough, when the person above took the money and compared them one by one, Zhang Ning was accompanied by a treasure banknote.
The backs of his hands were covered with dirt, and his nails were filled with black mud... In Zhang Ning's concept, there was no distinction between high and low people, but as the ancients said, "A new bather must play his crown." He was already dressed neatly and instinctively
I didn't want to get dirty, and then I remembered the action of wiping my nose that I saw when I came up. Even if there was money in front of me, I didn't want to take it. I gently lifted the winning number and put it on the "big" together with the few treasure bills I took out.
.
After losing everything, he left quietly. He was no longer interested in this place. He was originally curious about the little lady's singing, but when he saw it with his own eyes, he lost the mysterious fantasy and found that he was just one of countless sentient beings. Lose
If you just leave without any money, there will be nothing eye-catching. If you just leave without asking for money, it will look like a rich man, which is not in line with Zhang Ning's usual style of doing things.
Unexpectedly, for a layman, he was very lucky. He won several games in a row. Each time, he added up his bets and never lost once. There was a small pile of banknotes and copper coins in front of him. This was not the case.
Even if it is possible to take the money and leave, he would not be able to leave. It would make the gamblers very unhappy if a stranger wins and leaves.
"Brother, you're lucky!" the banker laughed dryly. Several people around him looked at Zhang Ning a few times.
Zhang Ning said calmly: "Everyone, help me keep an eye on it. I'll go to the toilet and come back to collect the money."
After saying that, I was about to go downstairs and run away, but someone next to me "kindly" reminded me: "There is a hut next to it, with that small door."
Zhang Ning laughed dryly, thanked him, and walked towards the door. As soon as he opened the door, a stench hit his face. Zhang Ning looked down and saw white maggots squirming all over the ground, making his scalp numb.
Finally, two bricks were placed in the middle, and he bit the bullet
He stepped on the bricks, closed the door and stood for a while. At this time, his mind went blank for a while. After a while, he suddenly felt a little. People are indeed very fragile. If he wants to live at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty,
How much courage does it take...
After a while, he walked out of the small room and returned to the big table. He saw that the money in his place had disappeared, not a cent was left, but the people around him were still standing and sitting in a dignified manner. He suddenly
With a look of astonishment on his face he said: "Where is my money?"
"You lost that one, didn't you put your money on the 'big' one yourself?" the dealer said calmly.
Zhang Ning frowned and touched his hand into the collar, took it out with his empty hands and said, "It's not that I don't have money. I didn't bring much today."
The people next to me smiled and said nothing. I guess many of them were thinking to themselves: If you meet a rich guy, he is a complete fool.
Zhang Ning sighed. The banker looked at the jade pendant hanging on his belt with a good look: "That thing of yours is worth a hundred cents. Anyway, if I win, I can give it to you in exchange for money?"
I really thought I was a fool. This piece of jade is indeed not a high-end product, but it is worth casually for one or two taels of silver. Zhang Ning pretended to be angry and said: "A hundred ten cents? I might as well give it to those singing gentlemen...
Why are you laughing? I will do what I say." After saying that, he stood up and walked to the corner. They saw a few copper coins and two treasure banknotes in the straw hats in front of the old and young people. They threw the jade pendant into the straw hats and everything was there.
He turned around and left without saying anything.
I had just walked a few steps when I suddenly heard a powerful voice behind me saying: "Don't stretch your hands too fast. We, the two of you, are singing. If you listen well to your ears, you will be rewarded more or less. If you don't sing well, you won't be rewarded for anything."
There is nothing wrong with driving us away, but there is no reason to take away the gifts from others. In front of so many gentlemen, don't you think so?"
Zhang Ning immediately stood still, turned around and looked over calmly, and saw a man in short clothes holding a jade pendant in his hand, bending down, but his wrist was grabbed by the old man.
The man in short clothes said angrily: "That little brother lost all the money he owed me. I want this piece of jade to be worth a hundred cents. He threw it into your rags out of anger. How did it become yours?"
What's the point?
"What? The old man didn't hear clearly because he was too old." The old man said. Suddenly, the man's face suddenly turned like pig liver, and he gritted his teeth and stared at the old man in shock.
The old man looked normal and asked again: "What did you say?"
The man's face became even more ugly, and he hurriedly said: "Jade is yours...I, I'll let it go."
There was a soft sound, and the jade fell into the straw hat. The little girl quickly stretched out her arms and swept the straw hat into her arms very quickly. "Let's go." The old man stood up.
Suddenly three or four people jumped out from the betting table. Zhang Ning was eager to watch them fight and see the skills of his grandfather and grandson. Unexpectedly, the banker just sat down and said calmly: "Fuck it!"
What's more, you haven't seen any money? You might as well smash up my building!"
Upon hearing this, the few people stared at the young and old, but took a few steps back. The two of them walked straight to the stairs without saying a word, and went downstairs. Zhang Ning hurriedly held the hem of his robe with one hand and held an umbrella in the other and chased after them.
Go down.
When I walked out of the door, I saw two figures, one tall and one short, walking quickly on the muddy street. The old man was carrying a piano on his back. The little girl stood up on tiptoes and put a straw hat on his head. The old man reached out and took it.
Come down and cover the girl's head.
Zhang Ning hurriedly opened his umbrella, leaned against the edge and followed quickly. After walking for a while, he found a narrow alley next to him. He observed the terrain and then turned and walked into the alley. As soon as he entered the alley, he started running and splashed.
There was a patch of mud on my lower garment. When I got out of the alley, I turned around and saw those two people.
They were coming over, with no intention of avoiding them, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He was still holding the umbrella, but it was deliberately held lower, so that only their calves could be seen... According to the principle of direct light, Zhang Ning saw
If you don't see their faces, they can't see them either.
The two of them said nothing, neither ran nor slowed down, and walked straight past Zhang Ning. Zhang Ning said in a hurry: "With the song "Embroidered Purse", where can I find a close friend..."
After he said it, he felt ashamed that he had used such vulgar lines.
The old man suddenly stood still, turned around and bowed: "Thank you for the reward, young master."
"I'd like to find someone to do something. I'll pay you ten taels. Are you interested, sir?" Zhang Ning said calmly.
"What's the matter?" the old man asked.
Zhang Ning thought for a while and said: "There is a person in Yangzhou City who I don't like, and I want to find someone to beat him up, but I don't want others to know that I was the one who ordered him."
The old man said: "What is your identity and how will you be beaten?"
Zhang Ning said: "The son of a salt merchant is always surrounded by his followers. Beat me hard until your nose and face are bruised and swollen, but don't injure your muscles and bones and make the matter too big."
"If the deal is done, I'll pay five taels first, and then another five taels when the deal is done." The old man was very straightforward and his temperament suited Zhang Ning's liking.
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