A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 869: We are both fallen people at the end of the world

The wharf on the Xunyang River.

Brother Seng walked into the simple tavern, with thatched roof, walls made of bamboo and earthenware, and crude wooden tables.

There was a flagpole standing in front of the tavern, with a faded pennant on it, and the word "wine" on the flag.

Compared with the three-story, five-room luxury mansion with flying sills, there are no prostitutes to accompany the drinks, no singing, dancing, and all kinds of high-end famous wines.

But business is still booming here.

It was a dock business, and there was no decoration on purpose. There was no floor, and there were no private rooms. There were only chunky, even a little greasy, long-legged tables, paired with high-legged long benches for people to sit with their legs hanging down.

"Spring Thirty Mother, serve the wine."

Brother Seng likes to drink in this tavern, not only because the wine here is not mixed with water, but also because the landlady is good-looking.

Chun Sanniang was a charming woman and a widow. She had several children. The eldest was her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, and the younger was her own pair of children. Her father-in-law and husband were both dead, and her mother-in-law was still ill. bed.

This woman usually always smiles and seems to be very good at doing business, but she is actually quite pitiful.

After Brother Seng accidentally heard about this woman's situation, he often came here to drink. Later, some gangsters from the dock came to make trouble, and Brother Seng even fought hard for her.

Spring Thirty Niang, dressed in a red dress, came out with a smile. She tied her sleeves with a rope loop on her shoulders. This was originally just for the convenience of work, but Chun Sanniang had this rope tied to her body, but it didn't work. Unique, the loose long skirt is crossed with ropes to form two protruding peaks, which is particularly attractive.

Brother Seng swallowed his saliva, "Here's half a catty of wine and persimmons to cook, and another portion of pig lungs stewed with peanuts," he paused and said, "Forget it, I won't order those today. I'll have a jar of Lingnan Lingxi Chun instead, and another one." A big plate of white-cut lamb head meat, and a plate of fried peanuts.”

Chun Sananniang looked at this tall, dark man and said, "Brother Seng, did you make a fortune? Did you win the polo game, or did you go into a gambling house to try for good luck?"

Although Brother Seng comes here often, he basically cooks three ounces of persimmons, and then a plate of fennel beans or peanuts. Today, he even ordered plain-cut lamb head meat and drank Lingxichun, which is rare.

"Well, it was a struggle,"

The thirty-year-old girl stood at the table and sighed, "Brother Monk, nine times out of ten you lose when you bet. Men should never gamble. I'd rather go to whoring twice. It's thousands of times better than gambling."

The man sitting in the seat smiled and said, "Hey, Chun Sanniang is really concerned about Brother Seng. Let me tell you, men should not gamble or go whoring. With those two dollars, you can either eat and drink well or just marry a wife." ,

Brother Seng, you might as well marry Chun Sanniang, and then you will have everything, a mother-in-law, children, and even your younger brothers, sisters, and mother as gifts."

Someone else joked, "I'm even marrying him to a tavern!"

The people who come here to drink are basically the workers on the dock, mainly the laborers in unloading and loading, and there are also some shop assistants and shopkeepers.

This tavern is simple, but the consumption is also low.

Although Fan Tower is nice, it costs thousands of dollars, so not everyone dares to go there.

A glass of cheap water and wine here only costs a penny. Add some peanuts and you can spend half a day for three to five pennies. You can also chat and talk nonsense. The most important thing is that you can look at the beautiful landlady and occasionally have fun. Two sentences, which is a rare happiness.

Chun Sanniang was in her twenties. She was not particularly beautiful, but she was still young. After her husband died, she showed up with her children.

Many people looked distressed, and some admired her in their hearts, but when they thought of her dirty tricks, no one had the courage to do it. After all, the people who came here to drink were all low-class people, and they had to live hard, so how could they have any spare energy? Keep so many oil bottles.

Everyone also knows that Brother Seng is also one of the rough guys who admires the landlady.

Also mind making fun of him.

Chun Sanniang has long been used to it. She licked her hair and tucked it behind her ears. "My home-brewed winter wine is also good. It's much cheaper than Lingxi Chunke. How about you drink this and cut the lamb's head in plain view?" It’s gone, but we still have the braised pork head. Can I cut it into a plate for you?”

"it is good."

Brother Seng looked at Chun Sanniang, a little distracted.

The landlady twisted her butt and returned to the kitchen.

A group of men in the tavern were staring and laughing, and some were whistling.

There is a regular customer, everyone calls him Mr. Ouyang, but this old man is actually very poor. He has read a book, but has never been famous. Now he is almost fifty, but he still makes a living copying accounts for the store on the dock. , common ink stains on sleeves and fronts,

He likes to drink but has a small capacity for drinking. He gets drunk even after drinking too much.

"Brother Seng, I heard that you don't believe in Buddhism either, so why are you called by this name?"

"It's easy to make a living with a bad name, like pigs, dogs, cows and horses."

Someone else shouted, "How come a monk has such a lowly reputation? He is a high-ranking monk who accepts offerings. He lives a very happy life."

Even if today the Buddha is eliminated and Buddhism is purged, in the minds of the people, the people in Samana Buddhism are still a hundred times better than these people.

Even if they can no longer lend money to open quality shops, run mills, oil shops, and car dealerships, and can no longer accept land gifts, no matter how bad they are, they can't compare to them.

Brother Seng explained, "I, Aye, got this name when I was three months old because the monk is a monk. I heard that if you become a monk, the devils, judges and monsters will not dare to do anything."

Brother Seng’s surname is Liu and his given name is Lingbao. According to what his father told him, his ancestor is the founding emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty who conquered thousands of miles like a tiger.

But Brother Seng didn't believe it since he was a child. After all, how could someone after the emperor live in such a miserable state as his family, with no trace of the glory of his ancestors, and not even a family?

However, when he grew up, Brother Seng was just like Emperor Wu of Liu Song when he was young, he liked gambling.

Anyway, if you are a single person and have enough to eat and the whole family is not hungry, you can’t make a living just by picking up jobs, so why not take a chance once in a while?

Unfortunately, his luck has always been mediocre. He has never made a fortune from gambling, but he often has some gambling debts.

A plate of braised red braised pork was cut very thinly. The boss lady also gave a plate of dried braised fragrant spices. The home-brewed Laodong wine was very clear after being sifted.

"I didn't light any incense."

"This is for you," Chun Sansanniang helped him fill up the wine. "Come have a drink with me." Brother Seng said,

"We're not free," said the landlady.

"Maybe I won't come here anymore, let's have a drink." Brother Seng requested.

Chun Sanniang was suddenly stunned after hearing this.

Then I looked at him carefully. He was a tall and strong man with thick eyebrows and big eyes. I was very familiar with him. He worked at the dock. He was very loyal and fierce in fights. He was a bachelor.

The only bad thing is that he likes gambling. Although he is a little different from those bad gamblers, he only gambles once or twice a month, and he is not a bad gambler. If he loses, he will leave, and he will not borrow the loan sharks from the casino to make money. .

But Chun Sanniang hates men who gamble.

"What's wrong? Didn't you say you won money in gambling?"

"I lost. I got paid yesterday, so I went to have a try and lost all my money." Brother Seng said matter-of-factly.

"Then what are you doing?"

Brother Seng poured a glass of wine for the landlady and said, "Sit down and have a drink. I have to leave."

Chun Sanniang sat down and suddenly heard that he was leaving. She felt inexplicably empty and reluctant to leave.

In fact, this man is quite good. She, a young widow, opens a tavern here. In fact, she will inevitably encounter some troubles of this kind. Many people will challenge her and even think about getting both people and money.

When they were in trouble that time, Brother Seng came to help, and then he even let out a message at the dock, saying that this tavern was run by his best friend, and he would kill anyone who dared to cause trouble.

From then on, there really wasn't that much trouble in the tavern. Occasionally, if there were one or two people who didn't open their eyes, Brother Seng would come and deal with them.

Chun Sanniang was very grateful to him,

But Brother Seng never expressed anything in person. If he really had the courage, Chun Sananniang felt that she would not refuse.

He still came often, but he never meant to go further.

Chun Sansanniang also gradually became cold-hearted, feeling that he was afraid of her dragging her down. With her mother-in-law lying on the hospital bed, her young brother-in-law and sister-in-law, plus her own two children, no ordinary person would dare to take care of her.

I couldn't help but feel inferior and didn't dare to take the initiative, so I stayed like this.

Unexpectedly, he was leaving suddenly.

"Where are you going? Are you trying to escape from a gambling debt? How much do you owe? I'll sell the tavern to help you pay it off." Chun Sansanniang picked up the wine glass, a stoneware wine glass, a half-pound cup, and amber winter wine. , a little sweet and slightly bitter in the mouth.

After finishing half a catty of winter wine in one gulp, the proprietress Xiafei looked directly at Brother Seng with her cheeks crossed.

Brother Seng lowered his head, picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

"I don't owe any gambling debts. I was unlucky and lost everything yesterday, but I don't owe any debts. You know I never borrow money to gamble and I don't owe any gambling debts."

"When do you get lucky? Don't you always lose everything when you gamble? I have already advised you not to gamble. Nine times out of ten you will lose."

Brother Seng smiled self-deprecatingly, "I have been just messing around in Xunyang Wharf in Jiangzhou for these years. I can't even get a wife, I can't even build a house. Year after year, I have nothing. I go there every month." I went to the casino once or twice, but I actually didn’t bring much money with me.”

"It's just a daydream, and now I've woken up from it. I'm leaving Jiangzhou. I'll never get ahead here. I'm still young now, but one day I'll be old. Then I'm afraid I won't even be able to eat. It’s not here,”

Chun Sansanniang plucked up her courage and said, "Let's open this tavern together, and you'll share half of the money we make."

Brother Seng looked at the proprietress and then at the tavern. In fact, this tavern didn't make much money at all. It was extremely difficult to support Chun Sanniang's family. It wasn't because of his help.

"I am most worried about leaving, and the one I am most reluctant to leave is you."

He finally plucked up the courage and said, "Sir, Fan Lou is recruiting people to go to Zhangzhou. The Duke of Jin wants to send people to Yizhou to develop. The conditions offered are very good, including a settlement allowance."

"When we build a fort and a village in Yizhou, we will not only get rich wages, but also enclose and grant farmland, which will be a permanent industry for generations to come. I want to have a go, Thirty-year-old Niang, are you willing to come with me?"

"Don't worry, as long as you are willing to come with me, I will take care of your mother-in-law, uncle, aunt, and your children. We can take them with us to Zhangzhou and settle in Yizhou in the future. You can also keep them in Jiangzhou first." Zhouzhou, I have settlement money, which I can leave for them to eat and live on. I will pick them up when we are stable there..."

Brother Seng said a lot in one breath,

He originally wanted to leave quietly, but in the end he was reluctant to leave.

Chun Sanniang was surprised,

"Going to Zhangzhou, Yizhou?"

"Well, the Duke of Jin, the former Prime Minister Wu Xianggong who is now the governor of Jiangzhou, has received the imperial court's order to develop and recruit manpower and form a fleet to explore..."

Chun Sanniang interrupted him, "Are you really willing to take me and take our whole family away? You know, I have an old and a young, and I have five old and young people to bear."

Brother Seng raised his head and looked directly at Thirty Niang, "As long as you don't dislike me for having nothing, and as long as you are willing to follow me, I will marry you. Your children will also be my biological sons and daughters, and I will be your mother-in-law." Mother-in-law, your brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, I regard them as my own brothers and sisters,"

"Okay, I'll go with you, to Zhangzhou, to Yizhou, wherever you go we will go."

Brother Seng was stunned.

I was almost dumbfounded, I didn't expect her to be so decisive.

(End of this chapter)