The Prodigal Son's Happy Life - Chapter 83

[Chapter 83 Hook Bar]

It’s time to take a break again.

Fang Xiu did not bask in the sun in the yard as usual, but took Bai Xiaochun to Goulan in the south of the city.

Chunfeng Tower and Zhuxuanzhai have gradually grown and become the leaders of restaurants and bookstores in the south of the city.

Even in the entire capital, he is already considered famous.

Especially Zhuxuanzhai, the book “The Romance of the West Chamber” published there has been exported to other state capitals.

Many people entrusted friends from Beijing and China to buy books on their behalf.

During this period, Fang Xiu made a lot of money. The 20,000 taels of silver he originally borrowed from Baolefang had already been repaid, and his daily profit was unknown.

Therefore, while you are resting, prepare to explore some new business areas.

After all, no one can have too much money.

After thinking for a long time, Fang Xiu finally focused on the hook bar.

In this era when entertainment is extremely scarce, Goulan is one of the only places to have fun.

In a way, Goulan is the only place where ordinary people can have fun.

The rest, such as brothels and painted boats, are all gold-selling caves. Unless you are a wealthy and powerful person, it is impossible to enter them on weekdays.

Even high-ranking officials only get to go there twice now and then.

After all, the expenses inside are too staggering.

Walking into the hook fence in the south of the city, you can see that there is a large space inside, and most of them are temporary sheds, which are very simple.

Those who sing, dance, and play music are all available.

There are many simple benches and tables under the stage, and the seats are full. Most of them are men wearing commoners. A few middle-aged women can also be seen sitting below with their children to watch the show.

From time to time, there were some cheers, and the whole Goulan was very lively.

Where Fang Xiu was sitting, there was a storyteller on the stage with gray hair and a hoarse voice, but he couldn’t resist the love and adulation of the audience.

The storyteller was telling “Nie Xiaoqian”. Everyone in the audience, including the boy serving tea and water, were all engrossed in the world of the book.

“The last chapter said that Ning Caichen, a scholar who was rushing to take the exam, entered an abandoned ancient temple at night and wanted to stay overnight. However, in the middle of the night, a very beautiful woman knocked on the door of the house.”

The old man’s voice was high and low, From time to time, he also made some gestures.

Suddenly, everyone’s attention was attracted by his story.

Fang Xiu, who was sitting on the chair, had a bad expression on his face.

In this era, there is no sense of copyright.

Any book, as long as the storyteller wants to, can be taken everywhere to tell stories.

The laws of Chu State did not prohibit them from doing this, but

Fang Xiu frowned slightly and asked, “Who is the master behind this hook fence?”

Bai Xiaochun was also immersed in the story of “Nie Xiaoqian” at the moment. When he heard the young master’s question, he first said Startled, he immediately replied hurriedly: “There is no owner behind this hook fence. It was built by some storytellers and actors. The money earned is divided equally among everyone, including the boys who serve tea and water.”

At this point, he paused After a pause, he continued: “However, young master, although they are equally divided, the daily profits of these people are still high and low. It

only costs ten cents to enter the hook, which is not much even for these actors. They can only make do with it.” For food and clothing, if you want to support your family, you still have to rely on silver rewards.”

As soon as Bai Xiaochun finished speaking, the storyteller on the stage said something wonderful, and the audience burst into warm cheers.

Immediately, many people took out coins from their arms and threw them on the stage.

Copper plates are more or less, and most of them are no more than ten coins.

A small amount can make a lot of people gather together. There are so many people who listen to this storyteller telling “Nie Xiaoqian” and get together to reward silver, so there are a lot of people.

Fang Xiu looked at those copper plates and felt heartache.

These are all my money!

After sitting there and listening for a while, I realized that what the storyteller was saying was boring after knowing the plot of the story.

Seeing that Bai Xiaochun was listening with rapt attention, Fang Xiu did not disturb him, got up, and started walking around in the hook fence.

It was spring, the weather was perfect, and many more people came to Goulan to listen to the opera than usual.

The audiences of several popular storytellers were overcrowded.

Some of them are difficult to squeeze in even if you want to take a look at them.

The more I saw and heard, the more depressed I became.

Because what these storytellers talk about is nothing more than those few books, “The Romance of the West Chamber”, “Nie Xiaoqian”, and “The Legend of the Condor Heroes”.

These storytellers can make a lot of money by buying a book for a hundred pennies.

If it’s just making money, that’s it.

There are so many people in this check column, and there are probably many who are literate.

Why spend a hundred pennies to go to the south of the city and queue up to buy genuine books when you can go to Goulan and listen to books for a whole day for only ten pennies.

Although this Goulan has nothing to do with Zhuxuanzhai, it has caused Zhuxuanzhai to suffer losses in vain.

Fang Xiu saw it in his eyes and felt pain in his heart.

At this time, a burst of extremely enthusiastic cheers suddenly broke out in the distance.

The eyes of everyone, including Fang Xiu, were instantly attracted.

It turned out that a singer came onto the stage.

The singer was extremely beautiful, wearing a long skirt, dancing gracefully, with flowing sleeves, which was quite beautiful.

Such a beautiful woman is rare to see even in Yirenju. How could she appear in such a simple hook fence.

Fang Xiu was startled for a moment, then found a remote corner, sat down, and waved to the boy next to him.

The boy saw that he was dressed very luxuriously, and he was definitely not an ordinary person. He didn’t dare to show any slightness. He hurried over and said with a smile on his face: “Your Majesty, what do you need?”

“A pot of tea.”

Fang Xiu said calmly.

“Okay, sir, please wait a moment, the tea will be here soon.”

The boy responded, and not long after, he brought the tea.

Fang Xiu watched the dance on the stage with great interest. This kind of dance full of classical elegance looked very eye-catching.

In his opinion, it is thousands of times better than the so-called modern dances of later generations.

It’s just that the behavior of the following audience members is a bit vulgar and ruins the scenery.

However, in this era, the status of actors and actresses is extremely low. Although many people like to watch their performances, deep down, they look down on these actors.

Fang rested and drank a cup of tea for about half an hour, during which two songs and dances and an opera were performed on the stage.

The singing and dancing are acceptable, but as for the opera, it is not an adaptation of Zhuxuanzhai’s script, so it is really a bit boring.

After a while, he lost all interest.

I became even more determined and decided to open a theater like this myself, where the singers could sing pop songs and perform Nie Xiaoqian’s Legend of the White Snake, which would be a bit of a spectacle.

However, some aristocratic families in the capital seemed to like this, and bought a few actors and actresses to perform exclusively for themselves.

This kind of treatment is not available to ordinary people.

After sitting for another half an hour, the singer on the stage seemed a little tired. She bowed to the judges in the audience and walked off the stage.

Although these onlookers were vulgar people, they also had their own moral principles. They did not take advantage of the chaos, but took the initiative to give way.

After a while, the singer walked out of the hook fence and disappeared from sight.

(End of chapter)