There are many top restaurants gathered outside the Donghua Gate, such as Fan Lou, Zhuang Lou, Zhongshan Zhengdian and other most luxurious restaurants in the capital. There are female prostitutes in restaurants, not far from these restaurants, there is a worm, fish and bird market called "Wren City" on Mahang Street, and the chicken lane next to "Wren Market" is the place where brothels are gathered.

Restaurants do not have prostitutes, they just provide places and use prostitutes to attract customers. Every day, there are beloved women who go to the restaurant to earn money for customers to buy laughter, but more of them are these brothel women, who go to the restaurant to accompany the wine and sing songs to make money during the day, which arouses the interest of the guests, and they will take it back to the brothel at night, and do some skin and meat business on the spring night.

Most of the brothels are small courtyards where they live alone, and they look like a family, just like ordinary people. Young women accompany guests, parents and even husbands do chores, and everyone is used to it after a long time. These people don't take in customers, they have to be introduced to get started, and introducing guests is the way for idlers on the street to make money.

Xu Ping and Wang Ke took people out of Niuma Market, not far from Chicken Alley, and the leaders were all experienced players, looking at the Chicken Alley across the wall, snickering, with an ambiguous look on their faces.

has been in the capital for a few years, where does Xu Ping not know the name of this chicken alley? He was wearing a public uniform, of course, the farther away from this kind of place, the better, urging everyone to leave quickly.

In the lively place of the market, there are such brothels, and near the state bridge is the pig killing alley, where many students of the Guozijian go to debauchery. But officials still take into account their own identity and rarely go to these low-level fireworks venues.

Far away from Chicken Alley, everyone's footsteps calmed down.

Li Tian whispered to Xu Ping and Wang Ke: "Two officials, the Shangren store on Panlou Street has recently opened a new foot shop this year, although the place is not big, but it is neat and tidy, and the taste of vegetables is also different and exquisite, why don't you go there?" ”

Xu Ping nodded: "You are the landlord, according to your wishes." ”

There is something particular about this, and all the officials are wearing official uniforms, so it is not good to go directly into the big restaurant. The small foot shop is not very inconspicuous, even if it is seen, it is just to say that you are tired of doing business and eat a little casually. It is selected around the big restaurant, and it is convenient for people from the cattle and horses to serve, buy good wine and good food from any store, and have both public and private conveniences.

After walking a short distance, at the mouth of an alley about 100 steps away from Mahang Street, a shed was set up in front of a small shop, and a wine sign was picked outside. Although there were only five or six tables and stools in the shed, they were exceptionally tidy.

At this time, the sun had not yet set, and there were only two or three guests sitting on the head, and a woman in her twenties wrapped a flower handkerchief was outside to greet her. The woman did not apply fat powder, but cleaned it up neatly, and her skin was white and had a certain color.

Li Tian approached Xu Ping and whispered: "This woman is Tan Erniang, I heard that she was born in a family of eunuchs, and when she was a teenager, she went to the capital with her father to elect officials, but her father couldn't afford to be ill, so she went. Leaving her alone, she owed money to Didian, and had no choice but to sing in the restaurant, and then somehow ended up in Chicken Lane. ”

Xu Ping stopped when he heard this: "How do you find this kind of person?" We are all public people, not to let people gossip! ”

Li Tian hurriedly laughed and said, "Don't worry, this woman has long been good." I saved some money and opened this small foot shop with someone. Although the drinks in the store are average, the side dishes in it are not found anywhere else, and the taste is exquisite. ”

Xu Ping looked at Li Tian and said, "You can be careful, we are all here for business, we must find a good family." Otherwise, I will be looked at and gossip everywhere, and I will ask you! ”

"Officials rest assured, Tan Erniang is a good family here now."

Li Tian said as he walked forward quickly to occupy the seat.

Xu Ping and Wang Ke stepped forward and looked inside the store, only to see that there were also a few seats inside, but there were no lights, and it looked as dark as the outside, so they sat down outside.

Li Tian said to Tan Erniang, who came over to greet her: "This is the official of Kaifeng Mansion and the Third Division, go to the cattle and horses on business, and bring up all the small dishes in your store, and then go to the store next to them to get them a few bottles of good lamb wine!" ”

Tan Erniang saluted Xu Ping and Wang Ke and asked, "Official, is the weather now, can't you serve cold dishes?" ”

"Come on, come up with something, let's eat and go home early."

Tan Erniang agreed and went into the store.

Li Tian sat down with Xu Ping and Wang Ke, and other officials greeted other people who had their own cattle and horses.

Looking at Tan Erniang's back, Li Tian swallowed his saliva involuntarily and whispered: "It turns out that in Ji'er Lane, Tan Erniang is known as a slave, although she is not as good as the head of the hall, she is also a famous fan. Especially from a family of eunuchs, I don't know how many benefactors, but unfortunately somehow I got the idea of being good and didn't do that business. ”

At this time, in addition to the appointment of the officials, they all had to come to the capital to elect officials, and they also had to resign. This is also the emperor of the Song Dynasty learned the lesson of the Tang Dynasty, for fear of being controlled by the powerful ministers of the court, isolating China and foreign countries, and trying to increase the opportunity to contact lower-level officials.

The exceptions are Lingnan and Chuanxia, where the selection of personnel is generally replaced by local transit envoys, and middle- and lower-level officials also serve as long as possible, reducing the number of people traveling back and forth to the capital.

Petty officials from all over the world have gathered in the capital, and the number of people is getting more and more serious, the time of guarding the shortage is getting longer and longer, and all kinds of strange things have come out. Especially the low-level selection and low-level military ministers, the lack of movement has lasted for many years, and their income is meager, and they accidentally become exhausted in the capital. At this time, there are endless things about pawning wives and selling women, and it is not uncommon for them to be in the dust, and the people in the capital are not surprised.

When Lin Wensi bought Su'er, she was also an official eunuch, and her father died of a vacancy, so she had to sell it. This Tan Erniang is the same, but her fate is more tragic than Su'er, and she is reduced to a leather and meat business.

It is said that it is an official eunuch, and people are suing themselves to be eunuchs, and it is no different from ordinary people if there is no one.

Because people can't buy and sell, except for being forced by their parents or husbands to do this business, ordinary private prostitutes are not as troublesome as Xu Ping often heard in his previous life. As long as you have capital and can support yourself, it is enough to change careers. Just like this Tan Erniang, she saved some money and opened this small shop, so she is also a good person. If she finds an honest person to marry in the future, she will be safe and secure for a lifetime, anyway, she can't marry an official eunuch, who cares what she did before.

Watching Tan Erniang leave, all the cattle and horse merchants turned around, and then remembered to shout for wine and food.

A woman inside walked out, carrying a few side dishes, put them down at Xu Ping's table, and looked up to face to face with Xu Ping.

"How are you?"

"Why not me?" Duan Yunjie put down the food in her hand and smiled self-deprecatingly, "As soon as I arrived in the capital, my mother was seriously ill, and my father couldn't stand it for a few days, so he left me alone." I have no relatives in the capital, and I have to live. Speaking of which, it was all thanks to the pestering you gave me at that time that I opened this small shop and chatted to make a living. Otherwise, I really don't know how to survive in this huge capital. ”

(Note: Wuchen is the opposite of Wenchen, excluding military ranks, and officers have their own set of systems, which are not included in the civil and military ranks.) (To be continued.) )