Qing Yao

Chapter 1 I'll Pay the Bill

Yangzhou has been an important city in Huaiyang since ancient times and is also a wealthy place. In the Ming Dynasty, merchants from the northwest gathered in Yangzhou Xiaguan to sell salt and became rich, dominating the area.

Later, Huizhou merchants flocked to Yangzhou to engage in the salt industry, resulting in countless people becoming wealthy from salt. However, during the Hongguang reign of the Ming Dynasty, the Ten Days' Rebellion reduced the wealthiest places in the country to ruins, and over 800,000 wealthy people were killed.

Everyone in the world needs salt, and with salt comes wealth. Therefore, Yangzhou City, which is closest to the Lianghuai Salt Field, has regained its vitality after a hundred years of development. At the same time, Emperor Qianlong of our dynasty liked to travel to the south of the Yangtze River. In order to please Emperor Qianlong, the Lianghuai salt merchants in Yangzhou raised funds to build palaces, corridors, temples, long bridges, and countless pavilions, making Yangzhou City, which was destroyed by war a hundred years ago, once again the best in the world.

Emperor Qianlong was so delighted by the beautiful scenery that he wrote more than 200 poems for Yangzhou, which shows how much he loved the beautiful scenery of Yangzhou.

This year was the 55th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, and six years had passed since the last time Emperor Qianlong came to Yangzhou. During these six years, there were no major events in the Qing Dynasty. Apart from sending troops across the sea to Taiwan to quell the rebellion of Lin Shuangwen, a bandit of the Tiandihui, there was a war with the Kingdom of Annan last year.

Although the Qing army was completely wiped out by the Annan bandits in this battle, Annan was a small country after all, and was still afraid of the Qing Dynasty in its heart. Out of fear, it sent envoys to apologize and surrender. Our Emperor Qianlong was magnanimous and agreed to the request when he saw the sincerity of the Annan people, and the two sides stopped fighting.

There was no war inside or outside the country, the world was at peace, and the city of Yangzhou was thriving.

It was evening dinner time, and almost all the restaurants and bars in the city were packed. Even the bathhouses were overcrowded, and the pedicure and back scrubbing masters inside were too busy to handle the crowds.

There's nothing you can do about it. This is the preference of Yangzhou people: skin wrapped in water in the morning and water wrapped in skin in the afternoon.

When skin wraps water, drink tea; when water wraps skin, take a bath.

Add three more knives and you’ll have to say, being a Yangzhou person is really comfortable.

But the prerequisite is that you have to have copper coins in your pocket.

What if you don’t have copper coins?
People are being taught how to behave in Sihai Tower.

An old man in his fifties squatted on a stool with his hands on his head, allowing five or six waiters on the floor to punch and kick him. Although he knew the outcome and was prepared for the beating, the five or six young guys still beat the old man until he screamed. The guests dining around him sighed when they heard it, and then they ate and drank as usual, turning their heads from time to time to watch the excitement, as if they were used to it.

The shopkeeper, who was tapping beads on an abacus at the counter, didn't even raise his head.

There are still good people in the world. A young man who was gnawing on a pig's trotter couldn't stand it any longer. He slammed the table and shouted at the guys beating him: "Stop it! Someone's going to die if you continue beating them!"

Hearing this, the clerk on duty quickly said with a smile, "Sir, please don't meddle in other people's business. This is the rule. Every business has its own rules. He understands the rules, so we have to follow them. If we break the rules, how can we continue to do business in this building?"

"What rules?"

The young man seemed to not quite understand.

"The rule is that you can eat the free food, but if you eat it, you will be beaten, otherwise you can't leave."

Seeing that the customer was young and his accent didn't sound like a local, the waiter didn't bother to explain any more. He turned sideways and was about to kick the old man who was eating for free.

This kind of shameless old scoundrel is the most infuriating. You come here to eat something when you have no money. Do you really think you are an old man?

Before he could even lift his foot, he heard the young man's heroic voice: "Stop fighting, this guy's crime is on me!"

Ok?
The waiter in charge was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand to signal everyone to stop, and then said to the young man with a smile on his face: "Okay, sir, you are kind-hearted, and you will be rewarded in the future."

The young man shook his head impatiently: "Why are you talking so much? Bring me two more meat dishes and another pot of wine."

"Okay, okay, please wait a moment, I will go and tell the kitchen staff."

After saying that, the waiter glared at the beaten old man and said, "There's a kind person who's helping you pay the bill, why don't you get out of here!"

"Oh, oh," the old man ran out with his head in his hands as if he had been pardoned. He didn't even say a word of thanks to the guy who paid the bill for him. He looked like a scumbag.

Seeing this, the young man didn't care. He just shook his head and continued to enjoy his first big meal since his rebirth.

The young man's name is Zhao An, named by his illiterate father. His hometown is Xinghua, next to Yangzhou. Because his family was poor, he only went to private school for two years when he was a child. Later, he heard the story of Wu Song fighting the tiger told by a storyteller, and he wanted to be a hero like Wu Song. So he learned martial arts from an old soldier in the village who had fought in the Hui tribe in his early years. He learned some martial arts from him for several years. He also grew up with a strong body.

It's just poverty.

The family was penniless and extremely poor.

Originally he wanted to make a living by working as a bodyguard, but he didn't expect that a sudden illness changed him completely. The new Zhao An thought that there was no future in being a bodyguard, and remembered that his dead father had said that he had a cousin who worked in a government office in Yangzhou, so he shamelessly came to find his cousin whom he had never met, to see if he could make a living in the government office.

It's definitely better to work for the government than to work for others.

Old Emperor Qianlong was not dead yet, so he couldn't rush to Hubei to participate in the White Lotus Rebellion. Besides, the White Lotus Rebellion was based on seniority and was a motley crowd, so it really didn't interest Zhao An.

In life, pragmatism and safety come first.

The most important thing is the stomach first.

After entering Yangzhou City, Zhao An was so hungry that he went to a restaurant to fill his stomach. Unexpectedly, he ran into an old man who was eating for free. Seeing that he was old, he softened his heart and paid the bill.

The food and wine were served quickly. With the departure of the old man who ate for free, the scene just now seemed as if it had never happened. The building was still bustling with activity, and the sounds of people urging people to drink and playing drinking games could be heard from the private room upstairs from time to time.

Only when his stomach was completely full did Zhao An put down his bowl and chopsticks with satisfaction, burping as he called out, "Hey, check!"

"okay!"

Upon hearing this, a waiter with a white towel draped over his shoulder hurried over and expertly handed Zhao An a warm, damp handkerchief. He quickly tallied up the bill and said, "Sir, the total is eighty-seven coins. Thirty coins went to the freeloader just now. Would you like to see his bill?"

"No need,"

Zhao An interrupted the waiter and nodded, "I said it will be charged to me."

"it is good!"

The guy smiled and nodded, thinking that this kid is really stupid and has a lot of money.

Zhao An didn't say anything more. He stood up and said, "Then let's pay the bill."

After saying that, he picked up the still steaming handkerchief and wiped his face vigorously. Then he squatted on the stool, holding his head with both hands, imitating the old man, and did not move.

After two or three breaths, he thought it was unsafe, adjusted his posture, and clamped his legs tightly to ensure that his vitals would not be hit by any external force.

"."

The waiter was stunned for a while, then he said "Pooh" and shouted at the counter: "Boss, this kid is also a freeloader!"

"Follow the rules, fight!"

The shopkeeper's voice was crisp and clear, without any hesitation.

(End of this chapter)