Royal Master Painter

Chapter 57 Mahuang Alley
Following the convoy around Qingdu, they made a big circle and finally arrived at Wuling Commercial Firm. The Wuling Commercial Firm was located in a huge courtyard, and a lot of guys came out to unload goods. Jiang Li, who followed Liu He all the way to the inner courtyard, happened to bump into a Jin Yi is obese and middle-aged.

"Jiang Greed, this is Huang Chang, the second shopkeeper of our firm."

Liu He glanced left and right, but he didn't see Huang Wuling, the helm of Wuling Trading Company.

"Where's the shopkeeper?"

"The people from Tongbao Pavilion invited the eldest brother to the house and now he is no longer in the house. I heard that you were attacked?" Huang Chang said.

"The news that we transported paper from Xihe leaked out. I don't know who invited the bandits from Lishan. Fortunately, Jiang Lujiang painter helped us in the battle outside Jianmen. Otherwise, none of our convoys would be spared." Liu He Reported back.

Huang Chang took a look at Jiang Li. People rely on clothes and Buddhas rely on gold clothes. Seeing that Jiang Li's clothes were simple or even a little shabby, and that all the accomplished literati in Qingdu were not rich in money, he was unavoidably contemptuous.

"Just him?"

"Second shopkeeper, although Jiang Xiaoshi is young, his talent for Danqing is extremely high, even as good as the four masters of Yunzhou."

"Not inferior to the four masters of Yunzhou? Why don't you say that he is comparable to Zhao Suixian and Chen Mo?" Huang Chang sneered.

There are probably some talented people in Qingdu who are not arrogant. They originally wanted to match up the business and Jiang Li to get what they needed, but Liu He felt bad when he saw Huang Chang being so frivolous.

He gave Huang Chang a look, pulled him to a corner and talked in a low voice for a while.

"There is no need to mention this matter again. Since you have done favors to our firm, you should repay the favor."

Huang Chang was a little dissatisfied with Liu He making such a big fuss. A painter who had realized the spiritual realm grabbed a lot in Qingdu, and took out a 1000 tael silver note from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Lian.

"This is your reward this time"

After Huang Chang gave the money to Jiang Li, he left on his own, leaving Liu He with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Painter Jiang, this...I'm sorry for you!"

"It's okay, let's settle the matter."

Jiang Gu smiled and shook the bank note in his hand, then bid farewell to leave. Liu He didn't know how to keep Huang Chang's attitude.

He will stay in Qingdu for a long time in the future, and after leaving Wuling Commercial Firm, Jiang Li began to look for a place to live.

After wandering around the city on a donkey for a long time, I got a general understanding of the layout of Qingdu. It is divided into four cities, one hundred and eight squares, and countless streets and alleys.

Similarly, the consumption level in Qingdu is much higher than that in Lin'an City. A full meal in Lin'an City costs only twenty or thirty dollars, but in Qingdu it is more than ten times more expensive, and a cup of apricot blossom wine costs half a tael. silver.

Jiang Li ran all the way and wanted to reward himself, but he didn't expect to spend two taels of silver for a meal, full of wine and food. After inquiring a lot in the city, renting a house would cost a hundred taels of silver a month, which made him very upset. I feel that it is not easy to live in Qingdu Migui.

"Looks like it's time to make money"

Renting a house from January to January was too strenuous, and Jiang Li finally found a suitable place in a place called Mahuang Lane, with a small yard.

The homeowner, Sun Yuanan, is an elderly man, hunched over and leading the way, and chattering along the way.

"Old man, why is this alley called Mahuang Alley?"

Jiang Li felt that the name was a bit strange, perhaps because he was a painter so he was very sensitive to the words of color.

"There is a kind of colored stone called ephedra stone on Lingyue Peak near Qingdu, which can be used to make yellow pigments. Most people living in Mahuang Lane rely on quarrying for a living. Old man, I am also old and can't climb the mountain. I will rent this yard to you." Sun Yuanan was still a little bit reluctant while talking.

"So you are a mason?" Jiang Greed asked.

"That's right. It's just that the old man's talent is blunt and I haven't enlightened. I have been an ordinary quarryer all my life, but my youngest son is not ordinary. He studied with the master craftsman of Qingdu, and he may be enlightened someday in the future." Sun Yuanan Very proud to mention it.

Jiang Greed followed the old man to look around the house and was quite satisfied. There was a bedroom and a study room, and there was an old pagoda tree planted in the small yard.

"The old man's house is pretty good, but can the price be stopped?" Jiang Tan asked with a smile.

"It's not too much to charge you 4000 taels a year, and I think you should be a painter. How can there be a painter who is short of money?"

"I'm just a poor painter and don't have much money, not to mention that Mahuang Lane is a little far from Wenfu, so it will be inconvenient to enroll in the future."

"Young man, there is no room with a courtyard in the ten miles of the Wenfu that is less than 1 taels, unless you have the ability to enter the Wenfu and become a dormitory student, old man, I will give you this courtyard to live in vain."

Sun Yuan'an said, glanced at Jiang Li and shook his head.

"It's hard, let's find a job"

There is still more than half a year before the Wenfu exam. Even if Jiang Li can pass the exam, he needs a place to stay. Although Mahuang Lane is a bit out of the way, his donkey's speed is not slow, it doesn't matter if it is farther or closer.

Finally, he took out a few banknotes from the book tube, rubbed out one with some heartache, and handed it to Sun Yuanan...
"This is 1000 taels"

"Another 1000 taels"

"This is 500 taels..."

After giving it away, Jiang Li found that he only had a 2000 tael bill left in his hand. The two looked at each other, and the old man took out a crumpled silver bill from his tightly clenched hands very easily.

"This one is two thousand, it's too much," Jiang Greed said.

"You are a painter, why bother with me, a dying old man, about the 01:30 point?"

Seeing the faint yin energy floating on Sun Yuanan's body, Jiang Li nodded in agreement, Wu Lao Liu will take you away sooner or later.

"That's true! Since you have said so, I am giving you a gift. In my hometown, the younger generation will give the elderly a paper crane to pray for a long life."

"It's really a good guy to smash it"

Sun Yuanan happily put the paper crane into his arms.

As soon as he entered the yard, he heard the sound of chirping. Before leaving, the old man pointed to the bird's nest under the eaves.

"You can use everything in the yard as you like, but you must never touch this purple swallow. The purple swallow will never fall to a place of no happiness. I have done good deeds all my life and I have waited for the purple swallow to build a nest. If you scare me away I'm in a hurry with you"

Sun Yuan'an stared and spoke harshly, for fear that this foreigner would break the custom if he didn't understand the rules of Qingdu.

"Don't worry, I already knew when I came here, this Ziyan is a treasure"

"That's not true. When Ziyan was building its nest, the old man, I held a three-day banquet and opened the door for people from the whole Mahuang Lane to visit." Sun Yuanan said proudly.

"Seeing that you're not bad, I'm reminding you, stay away from the butcher next door, don't think that the old guy who lives next door is not a good guy.

My nest of purple swallows won’t pass over the roof of his yard when they return to their nests. They can’t attract purple swallows even if they build a nest secretly in the yard. Who let the old butcher kill too many sins in his life, our purple swallows But through the spirit. "

Sun Yuanan obviously had a big opinion on this neighbor, and he still complained while leaving.

(End of this chapter)