Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 368 Perfume Shop

Ships carrying coal could not dock at the once bustling wharves when they entered Bianjing. So they chose a small wharf in the southern part of Bianjing.

"When did so many shops appear here?" a merchant asked the boatman. "When I came to Bianjing before the New Year, these weren't here yet."

The boatman said, "This piece of land was only recently bought by someone."

As the two talked, they sighed, saying that the merchant who bought the land had good foresight, but it was also possible that he had someone behind him who had heard the news long ago.

In short, they made a fortune in no time.

The ships transporting coal were not just those under Guo Xiong and Guo Chuan's command. Once the waterway was opened, merchants of all sizes came attracted by the smell, and with the addition of some official ships, the entire waterway was practically filled.

After delivering the coal, the boatmen disembarked and were drawn by the aroma of food. They then discovered a row of houses along the shore, the middle one being a restaurant.

After a busy day, I was starving. Although I had brought some cold food to eat, the sight of the rising smoke made me think of hot meals, and I couldn't swallow the dry biscuits anymore.

Someone immediately ran to the restaurant to see what was going on.

However, once inside, it vanished without a trace, until it emerged from inside, its round belly tucked inside.

"It has meat and vegetables, and it's not expensive."

"If I had another belly, I would eat even more."

"The food is much cheaper than in the city. I'll come back for dinner tomorrow morning."

As for why the food was so cheap, the merchants quickly figured it out: some of the coal that was transported over was broken and unusable, and the restaurants paid to buy it all.

Just like using local materials, there's nothing more economical and labor-saving than this.

The owner here had already decided who to sell the food to. He collected a lot of offal from the city to stew, making it fragrant and tender. When eating, he would pour more broth over it, making it especially delicious with rice, and it would quickly fill the boatmen's stomachs.

It's delicious and inexpensive.

Not far from the restaurants were post stations and inns.

Boatmen who had nowhere to stay in Bianjing could stay at the post station. Merchants traveling to and from the capital, who wanted better accommodations, naturally chose inns.

However, there are not many inns here; there is only one at present, and it is quite simple compared to those in the city.

A merchant went into the inn, looked around, shook his head, and came out saying, "This inn is clearly just a former private residence; it can't be compared to a real inn."

The merchant who came with him laughed and said, "I heard that this place was only recently renovated, so there's no time to do it any better."

The merchant nodded: "Then let's stay in the city."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his colleague stopped him: "When you went to look at the inn, I also went to check out the surrounding area. There are many advantages to staying here."

The merchant looked over and said, "I would like to hear more details."

One of his companions said, "Firstly, there are many boatmen and hired laborers living here. If we need manpower, we only need to go to the entrance of the post station to recruit people."

This is indeed a benefit.

"Secondly, there's a perfume shop here that I've never heard of before, and I'd like to try it out."

A perfume shop? The merchant asked curiously, "What does that do?"

The fellow merchant brushed his hands over himself and said, "It's a bath, but it's different from bathing at home. Here, many people can bathe together." Hearing this, the merchant became interested.

"Unfortunately, for the same reason, the perfume shop is still under repair. We can only go to a small pool. We will have to wait another half month for the large pool to open."

Merchants don't care about big or small ponds; they just find them very interesting. The purpose of traveling is to broaden one's horizons.

The two talked as they went to the perfume shop together.

A small pool was built in the very center of the house, next to a stove for burning firewood. Hot water was continuously poured into the pool through bamboo pipes.

The waiter at the door smiled and said, "Soup costs thirty coins, a back scratcher two coins, a hair comb five coins, a haircut two coins, and a pedicure five coins. May I ask which one you would like, sir?"

The merchant, already dazzled by the array of choices, waved his hand and said, "Do it all."

"Alright," the waiter led the two forward, "Take off your clothes, hats, and boots and put them in the cabinet. Here's the small hot spring you two would like. There's no one else here but you two, so just relax and enjoy your bath."

The merchants then noticed that there was a partition next to their hot spring pool, presumably indicating that there was another small pool on the other side.

One of his companions couldn't help but ask, "How much money does the large pool cost?"

The waiter said, "The big pool is crowded, and the soup costs five coins. Everything else is the same. There's also the largest pool, where the soup only costs two coins, but it's more crowded, so gentlemen won't choose it."

Since the innkeepers and laborers lived here, the pool was naturally for their use.

"If you two are hungry, we have food and drinks available. Just call us and we'll bring them to you."

The two merchants changed their clothes, covered their lower bodies with cloth, and then stepped into the hot spring. Their bodies were immediately enveloped in the hot water. Unlike bathing at home, the pool here was larger and more comfortable to soak in.

If the soup gets too cold, you can remove the wooden board and let hot water flow into it.

The two of them marveled more and more as they soaked in the perfume, feeling that this perfume shop would soon flourish in Bianjing and become a top-notch business.

“Let’s sleep here tonight,” the merchant said, “so we won’t have to go through the hassle of going into the city.”

This was also Bianjing, but not a bustling city, and in the merchants' minds it wasn't considered "in the city." However, after traveling for several days and soaking in the hot springs, they felt completely relaxed and comfortable, wishing they could just wash themselves clean and go to sleep, and had no desire to go through any more trouble.

After the two had soaked for a while, a waiter came in to serve them, scratching their backs, combing their hair, shaving their heads, and trimming their feet. One of the merchants fell into a deep sleep before he could even leave.

When the two left the perfume shop, they felt an indescribable sense of comfort, as if their skin and bones had been relaxed. After a long journey, having a place like this to cleanse themselves allowed the merchants to temporarily forget the simplicity of the inn.

The inn didn't look very nice at first glance, but when the merchant stayed there, he found it wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

The bedding was very clean, and there was a faint scent of incense in the room. There was a warm brazier on the floor, burning charcoal inside.

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the courtyard and the house were warmer than outside.

The merchant slept soundly through the night, and when he got up in the morning, a waiter came to bring him some soup to wash his face.

After washing his face, the merchant ate with his companions before walking out side by side. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they both stopped. The courtyard was indeed warm; it wasn't their imagination.

Because the water flowing in the channel below is all hot water.

"This is..." the merchant asked his assistant.

The waiter said, "The fragrant soup that you gentlemen used flows out through this ditch, passes through the greenhouse in the backyard, and the flowers and plants in the greenhouse can grow better thanks to the warmth. If you two want to buy flowers as gifts, you can go and take a look in the greenhouse."

Who wouldn't be curious after seeing all this? Since we've already gone to see it, we should naturally choose a couple of potted plants.