Three hundred and twenty-fourth Festival Heyuan Street
Lin Ming laughed, since Wang Xinglong had to go, he couldn't let it down. The two of them walked together, heading towards the Wenlan River. Lin Ming guessed that the place where Wang Xinglong was going was the "Heyuan Street"
.
Halfway through the walk, it suddenly started raining heavily. The two of them ordered a pot of tea from a roadside teahouse, sat down to hide from the rain, and had dinner. The teahouse also sold various snacks. Wang Xinglong ordered a bowl of Lingao rice noodles.
, ordered to add some beef, but when Lin Ming refused to eat, he asked:
"Brother Lin, aren't you hungry?"
"Since I went to the palace, I got to eat. It must be much more sophisticated than here."
The brothels of the Ming Dynasty were not just brothels, but more of a social occasion, leading the "fashion" in terms of food and clothing.
"Brother Lin, how can you afford the food in the courtyard?" Wang Xinglong shook his head, "A cup of tea is more expensive than a cup of wine outside."
Lin Ming realized that he had almost exposed his secret - he never spent money to go to the palace in Guangdong. Not to mention Foshan, it was too late to curry favor with him. Even in other places, there were wealthy businessmen who took care of the accounts.
"My dear brother, you are right. I was confused for a moment."
"Looking at Brother Lin, he was probably doing pretty well on the mainland back then." Wang Xinglong chuckled.
"It's funny, it's funny." Lin Ming forced a smile, "It's hard to look back on the past."
"Brother Lin, why should you be embarrassed? On this high ground, how many people are so desperate that they come here to make a living..." Wang Xinglong was talking, and the hot rice noodles had been brought, and the slightly yellow rice noodles were
Floating in the oily soup, there are beef slices, sauerkraut, peanuts, shrimps and other ingredients scattered on top. It looks full and very appetizing.
"Brother Lin, I want a bowl too. This stuff is a local specialty." Wang Xinglong said, picking up the vinegar pot from the table and pouring a lot of it. Then he opened a porcelain pot and dug out a few spoonfuls of oil.
, put the red sauce in the bowl and stir it.
A fragrant, sour and pungent smell immediately filled the air. Lin Ming's mind suddenly moved, and he remembered the boiled meat slices he had eaten during his trip to Macau - it also had such a pungent aroma.
"This is chili sauce - a new thing brought by the Australians, it goes well with rice and is appetizing."
Lin Ming also ordered a portion of rice noodles. After the two of them finished eating the rice noodles, the rain stopped. Rainwater was flowing across the street. As soon as the rain stopped, the water on the street had completely drained out. Although the road was wet, there was no accumulation of water at all.
. Lin Ming was secretly dumbfounded - even if the people were as wealthy as Foshan, and the floors were mostly paved with bluestones, the rainwater after the rain would not be drained cleanly, and the low-lying alleys and small streets would be filled with water and become muddy.
When they reached the street, the lanterns were already on. The two of them walked slowly. Wang Xinglong, because he was a landlord, pointed out the shops and scenery on the road from time to time and gave explanations. Some facilities that Lin Ming did not understand were also explained -
―Many things were indeed beyond Lin Ming's expectations: Kun Thief's thorough consideration for the town and his strong financial resources made him secretly surprised. He found that the more invisible and indifferent small places the Kun Thief became, the more
Is willing to spend money.
Looking at Wang Xinglong's proud expression, Lin Ming suddenly realized that he was very much like a country boy who was taken sightseeing by his relatives in the city when he first came to the city.
Because of the rain, there were not many pedestrians on the street. However, Lin Ming noticed that the atmosphere on the street was obviously not right. There were policemen standing guard at the main street intersections. In addition to the policemen, there were also soldiers with live ammunition. They checked pedestrians from time to time. It seemed that there were
A major incident occurred.
"Is there any big case?" Lin Ming asked in a low voice.
"Why, you don't read the newspaper?" Wang Xinglong asked a little surprised, and then he smiled again, "By the way, Brother Lin just came to the local area."
"Read the newspaper? The newspaper in the residence?"
"This is not the Ming Dynasty, so where is the Di newspaper?" Wang Xinglong said nonchalantly, "It's the Lingao Times, which reports local news. We also ordered a copy in our shop - probably shopkeeper Qian got it
Let’s go—it’s been reported above: the gang of thieves from last night still managed to escape the trap, and they are being hunted down throughout the city.”
"I see." Lin Ming thought to himself that he should read this newspaper - it would be much easier to grasp the information this way, and he wouldn't have to ask around. He was very concerned about the snitch and couldn't wait to go back and read the newspaper.
Asked: "Di Bao... did the newspaper say where the snitches came from?"
"I didn't say it, but there is a lot of detailed information: there are a total of thirty people, all of whom are martial arts men, and some of them are old thieves with good reputations." Wang Xinglong suddenly became interested when he had the opportunity to show off.
Bo Bo, "They were divided into several groups and sneaked into Lingao. But I didn't expect that they would fall into the eyes of the police as soon as they arrived in Lingao."
Wang Xinglong wanted to show off and boasted a lot of nonsense. Lin Ming couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the cause and effect. He didn't seem to have a government background. He was most afraid of having his colleagues come to Gao: He was almost the same as the middle and lower-level personnel of the Jinyiwei system in Guangdong.
I've seen them all before, and it would be a disaster if there were acquaintances there.
The two of them chatted and walked until they reached Kawara Street.
There were still pink lanterns hanging high on the street, and the pink lights shone on the bluestone road, which was indescribably charming. Wang Xinglong was familiar with the roads and led him to walk inside. Lin Ming saw that the street was not wide, so he could only let
Just two "Australian cars" running side by side. One side of the street is the beach of the Wenlan River, which is full of sand and gravel. The embankment is full of peach, willow and apricot trees. It is a warm winter in the mountains. At this time, the green buds have sprouted and the branches are full of flower buds.
On the other side are two-story buildings, densely packed together, very similar to the streets of Dongmen City. However, there is no waiter to greet you at the door of the store, so it seems quite quiet.
There is a curtain hanging in front of the door, and the signboard is the same - it was probably made in the same place. In addition to the same pink lantern, there is also a yellow wooden sign as usual, with the big words on the sign: Custom Industry Business License. Below it is a
Category, Category B, Category C, etc., and below are the big food numbers. There are no turtle slaves and prostitutes soliciting customers in front of the door. Instead, there is a half-person-high sign with various words that he does not understand: What is the poisonous dragon diamond?
In the fifth heaven of ice and fire, the goddess scatters flowers...I don't know what to explain. There is a sign next to it, which lists the small portraits of prostitutes. It looks densely packed and spectacular.
"Ah, Quan Dao, what do you think of this girl? Is the service special?"
"No, it's not even close. I'll take you to see what it means to be so amazing. That woman's butt is... let's go, it's right in front." A man wearing a thief's costume pulled another person towards him.
Walk forward quickly.
"Meat buns? Women? Service?" Lin Ming heard those few words. He couldn't help but secretly wonder, this business is too strange, could it be an Australian habit? As for the word "custom", he didn't know how to interpret it.
There were many pedestrians on the street, in small groups, talking and laughing. Some went straight to the topic, while others hesitated and looked at one house after another. Occasionally, there were a few drunkards, staggering around, and some simply lying on the ground.
He vomited on the stone bench on the roadside. In addition to customers looking for pleasure, there were also many rickshaws parked on the street waiting for customers, and snack vendors naturally set up stalls nearby.
It can be seen that although there are many people doing business here, the order is very good and the ground is very clean. Lin Ming took a second look and realized that there were police officers on duty here. In a tall two-story guard box, several police officers were guarding the place.
On duty. Next to it was a torture device, with a few unlucky guys chained up.
Lin Ming was looking attentively when Wang Xinglong patted him on the back: "How about it, you have never seen such beautiful streets and willow lanes."
"It's an eye-opener, it's an eye-opener." Lin Ming nodded repeatedly. He saw that there was a facility on the roadside that looked like a street sign, which read "call station". There were several women with heavy make-up sitting underneath. It was obvious that they were of average appearance and age.
They were not young anymore. They said they were prostitutes, but they didn't solicit customers. They just sat silently. Everyone also had a yellow card hanging on their chest. They asked in a low voice, "This is also..."
"Yes, this is a self-employed business," Wang Xinglong said with new terms coming out of his mouth from time to time, "The business is a corporate entity."
"What?"
"For example, a shop is a shop with a brand name, and these people are hawkers."
"So that's it." Lin Ming felt incredulous, "Is it just like this? Is it possible to run a half-open business without a leader, and without a madam?"
"Local business is not allowed to happen behind closed doors. You have to go through the open road to get a license. Otherwise, it is 'illegal prostitution.' If you are caught, you will have to sift through the sand. As for what you said, there is no need at all - local business is very peaceful.
The leather and meat business is no exception." Wang Xinglong smiled, "However, the taxes are not light."
Lin Ming secretly thought: The thief is really shameless. The government actually took away the bitch’s money from selling her flesh. He felt a little disdainful. But this is a big income! He has a deep understanding of the market and is also familiar with the inside stories of various businesses.
, knowing that although the skin and flesh trade has a low status and is looked down upon by others, it can still make a lot of money. With the perverted shrewdness of the thief, he will naturally not let go of this piece of fat.
"Here is a place of frugality and leisure. Those who have money can naturally go to the villa; those who have no money can take the goods on the roadside to the hotel and do it for a while to vent their anger." Wang Xinglong continued, "Australians still pay the bills every month.
I want to check the body of the fireworks woman and treat her illness. It’s really a good deed..."
Lin Ming secretly cursed: "This is nothing more than a good deed. It's just a way to make money!" At this time, he had some idea of the behavior of the thief. The Ming government treated the city and those who did business in an extensive manner. As long as nothing happened, it would be fine.
He doesn't care about anything. There are some things that can obviously bring great benefits, but no one will do it. But the thief is very careful about everything, and he has to be in order, no matter how big or small. He has to take care of everything.
No wonder they started from a small area in Dongmen City, but within five years they were able to sweep across Fujian and Yue, and become a powerful force in the sea. In addition to possessing countless strange skills, they also have such pervasive means of operating the territory - where else in the world can they compare with
Comparable?
While he was deep in thought, Wang Xinglong stopped and said, "Let's choose this one today." To be continued...