Life in the world of film and television

It was a few days later that Li Mu heard about Gu Yanzhen again.

Still in the teahouse, he was sipping tea while listening to several scholars nearby talking about Gu Yanzhen's affairs with great interest. It was hard to tell whether his expression was regretful or gloating.

One person said: "It's a pity Gu Yanzhen. He was a Jinshi in high school the year before last, but he has filled the gap this year. I didn't expect it to happen suddenly."

Another person whispered: "I heard that he was extremely happy and sad. He was a Jinshi in high school and had an official status. I don't know how prestigious he was a few days ago. He went around drinking and partying with people without restraint. It is said that he vomited blood after drinking."

Another person said: "You can't drink like this. Even if you vomit blood, your whole body will not be paralyzed and your five internal organs will fail!"

"In my opinion, he must have some hidden disease. This time he returned home in fine clothes, and when he was happy, he fell ill."

Someone else answered: "That's such a pity. I also heard people say that from the time I vomited blood and fell into coma for seven or eight days, even though I woke up, I couldn't move or even open my mouth to speak. I lost a lot of weight." He was eating, drinking and having diarrhea in bed, and the doctor who called in could not find the reason. He only said that the five internal organs were exhausted and prescribed some medicine, but it was of no use. "

"It is said that someone has already arrived at his home, and they plan to take him home and raise him to see if he can survive."

"It's true that the sky is unpredictable, and people are prone to misfortunes and blessings!"

Several scholars spoke with emotion.

Li Mu listened silently, feeling calm in his heart. After finishing the pot of tea, he put down the tea money and walked out of the teahouse.

All the way along the Qinhuai River, we came to Nie Yunzhu's residence.

"Master, you are here." Nie Yunzhu was a little happy.

Li Mu said: "Well, if you have nothing to do today, you can go out with me later."

Nie Yunzhu said in surprise: "The place has been chosen."

Li Mu nodded: "The place Yaxing is looking for this time is good. Let's go and have a look first. If it's suitable, we'll make a decision."

Nie Yunzhu smiled and said: "Okay, I'm also curious, where did the young master choose after half a month?"

Li Mu smiled faintly and said, "This time, I will exceed your expectations."

……

The place Li Mu wanted to buy was indeed beyond Nie Yunzhu's expectation. It was in a valley commonly known as Hulu Valley, more than 30 miles outside Jiangning City.

The two rode horses to the place and walked around under the leadership of Yaren. This valley is worthy of being called Calabash Valley. It looks like a gourd, with a small exit and a large inside. It occupies a large area. Part of the flat area in the valley has been reclaimed. field.

It is said that dozens or hundreds of years ago, due to the terrain that was easy to defend but difficult to attack, a group of bandits once settled here. Later, the bandits' stronghold was breached and the place was bought by a large family. After some reclamation, although the land was a bit The valley is barren, and there are 800 acres of farmland in the valley.

In fact, the interior of Calabash Valley is very large, and the 800 acres of farmland only accounts for a part of it. Many places are covered with gravel and uneven hillsides, making it impossible to farm and can only be left abandoned.

Li Mu made a rough estimate and found that including tidal flats, gravel, and slopes, there were at least three thousand acres of open space in the valley.

Although it cannot be farmed, it is still good to develop it into a workshop and use it as a production base for future products.

After walking around the valley for a few times, I was quite satisfied. After asking the Ya people, I learned that there is a river two miles away and a small dock that leads directly to the Yangtze River.

Then, future transportation is not a problem either.

In the next few days, after much bargaining, 800 acres of farmland was priced at 6,000 taels, and the entire valley was priced at 2,000 taels.

Li Mu spent eight thousand taels of silver to buy all the land in Hulu Valley. In order not to attract attention, Hulu Valley is registered under the name of Zhuji, and most of Zhuji's production in the future will be placed here.

Nie Yunzhu was shocked when he saw Li Mu making such a big move, but also knew that he was serious this time. Although he was worried about how Zhuji would develop next if he won such a large valley.

However, seeing that Li Mu was full of confidence, he wholeheartedly assisted him in handling various matters.

The exit of Calabash Valley is extremely narrow, only more than ten feet. If the exit is blocked, outsiders will no longer be able to enter or pry. It is a rare secret place, and it is suitable for workshops that need to be kept secret to be built here.

Li Mu spent a few more days and made a design and planning sketch for the entire valley, planning the accommodation area, production area, warehouse area, and training area.

If what he expected was true, about two months later, in mid-to-late June, there would be a major flood in the Yangtze River Basin. Countless victims flocked to the big city of Jiangning. Jiangning could only close its city gates tightly and stay outside the city. Porridge sheds were set up, and wealthy families were called on to go outside the city to provide disaster relief.

Even so, it was only a drop in the bucket, and many people died of starvation and disease. When the floods passed, another group of landless refugees would appear.

Li Mu planned to take advantage of the floods to close the city gates of Jiangning, and countless refugees gathered nearby, including those who could read and write and various craftsmen. You can select a group of people and work in the workshop, or you can select some with martial arts qualifications and train them as guards.

Of course, all this requires money.

Li Mu is indeed not short of money. Just the writing fee has made him rich. He spent 8,000 taels to buy Hulu Valley, and still has more than 18,000 taels left on hand.

I took out 15,000 taels of it and put it in Zhuji. Next, I will hire people to build a number of houses, workshops, and warehouses in the valley. A wall will also be built at the entrance of the valley to increase safety.

The remaining money was used to purchase another batch of grain and put it in the valley to prepare for future floods and recruit victims.

Time passed by so little by little, and a lot of money was spent on the construction in Hulu Valley, and the progress was pretty good.

It's mid-April in the blink of an eye, spring has passed and summer solstice has passed, the weather has gradually warmed up, and the whole world has gained a layer of vitality.

For people of this era, this kind of weather is probably the best. There is no cold in winter, no heat in summer, warm sunshine, green earth, everything is bright and refreshing.

Su Tan'er has also been busy recently. The Su family's main business is cloth business. Now the first batch of spring silkworms has come out. This batch of silk is also the most important batch of the year. It cannot be overemphasized.

After the silk was collected, the Su family's small workshops scattered around the country also started working intensively to prepare for the new products to be put on the shelves in the new year.

Su Tan'er was naturally busy, leading several little girls to inspect various workshops during the day, and staying up late at night to check accounts and deal with various problems.

Li Mu, who spends his days leisurely and doing nothing, is really ashamed.

There was nothing he could do to dissuade Su Tan'er from choosing the path she chose.

I can only prepare more of her favorite fruit snacks every day, or talk to her and listen to her talk about the various problems she encounters at work.

In addition, Qin Siyuan's chess stall was set up again by the Qinhuai River a few days ago. Li Mu has another place to go. Sometimes when he passes by, he will go there to sit and play two games. Sometimes I count on my fingers and before I know it, it has been a year since he came to this world.

Over the past year, I have been living quite comfortably. I have a very beautiful wife, a well-behaved maid, a confidante, and a lot of fame. I have slowly integrated into this era.

However, all this prosperity is ultimately just the prosperity of a place buried in a powder keg.

I often hear people talk about it on the streets in Gangwei, that somewhere in the surrounding area there is someone who is claiming to be the king, and there is someone rebelling somewhere, but they treat it as a normal thing. Obviously, I have become numb to hearing this kind of thing.

In the blink of an eye, at the end of April, Jiangning City was once again enveloped in a festive atmosphere.

In addition to the Dragon Boat Festival on May 5th, there will be a dragon boat race to be held on the Qinhuai River. Starting in early May, there will also be a six-day grand event to select the oiran.

If Jiangning's annual poetry meeting is a stage for talents to showcase, this oiran competition is a grand event for beauties.

Just like the Mid-Autumn Festival and Shangyuan Festival, the government has strong support behind it, and the Oiran Competition also has strong support from the government.

The competition system is simple to say the least. In the first three days of six days, around 60 or 70 brothels, large and small, in Qinhuai and Jiangning, almost opened their doors to welcome guests. Let the girls from your courtyard perform on the prepared terrace. If the guests like it, they can buy flowers and send them over. These flowers are proof of popularity.

It is actually no different from live streaming rewards in the real world.

During this period, the major brothels showed off their magical powers and worked hard to promote the girls in the brothels. As for the results, it all depends on the methods of each brothel.

The next three days are the highlight. During the day, there is no doubt that the first three days will be the same. In the evening, a large gathering will be held near Bailuzhou. The prefect of Jiangning and many celebrities will also be present to participate in this elegant event.

The Oiran Competition began in this festive atmosphere. Many brothels in Jiangning City were very grand. On the Qinhuai River, colorful silk boats were displayed, making it very lively.

Li Mu and Xiao Chan followed the flow of people and wandered around the brothels. The little girl was dressed very beautifully today, wearing a white summer dress with floral florals. She was slim, cute and lovable. She followed Li Mu around the brothels. Quite eye-catching.

When she came, I wanted her to change into men's clothes, but the little girl didn't want to. She lowered her head and hesitated for a long time, and then cautiously said: "It doesn't have to be changed. Xiaochan dressed up for a long time in the morning! It takes a long time to change clothes." "

"Then we won't change it." Li Mu could only wave his hand.

When Xiao Chan heard this, she immediately turned from anger to joy. She grabbed the corner of Li Mu's clothes and smiled sweetly: "Uncle, you are so kind..."

Li Mu rubbed her bun: "You just know."

Xiaochan's face turned slightly red, she immediately covered her head and pouted, "Uncle, my hair is well combed!"

In exchange for this, Li Mu burst out laughing.

The two of them walked around for a while. Xiao Chan looked at it with great interest, but Li Mu felt that it was not interesting anymore. Although there were many beautiful girls in it, not many really stood out.

It will be about three days later, when the selected girls perform on Bailuzhou, that it will be really interesting.

After leading Xiaochan out of the brothel and walking along the Qinhuai River for a while, Qin Siyuan was still setting up a chess stall, but Kang Xian was not there.

Li Mu led Xiao Chan over. On the bank of the Qinhuai River in early summer, the evening breeze was blowing gently and willows were hanging on the bank. Li Mu sat down to play chess with Qin Siyuan. The little girl sat next to him, watching quietly under the breeze, her hair blowing gently in the wind. Caressing, youthful and innocent, faintly feeling a little grown up.

On the other side, in the backyard of Jinfeng Tower, as the leader of the Four Major Tours, the signature of Jinfeng Tower, and the favorite to win the oiran competition, Yuan Jiner finished her morning performance, took off her makeup, and was enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.

Although the performances came in turns, it didn't take her half a day to get on stage. Who was the favorite to win the first prize? Talented guests came here one after another, and some even spent a lot of money just to see her.

After stepping down from the stage, I can only deal with these people and deal with all kinds of troubles, which is also a very exhausting task.

Fortunately, Sister Yunzhu finally took time to see her.

After taking off her makeup and not bothering to comb her hair, Yuan Jin'er just leaned on the bed lazily, talking while holding a plate of fruit preserves for the banquet in front of her chest and stuffing it into her mouth.

The next moment, the fruit plate was taken back by Nie Yunzhu.

"I want you to eat less of these and more soup and rice so that you won't be afraid of getting bloated during the performance. What do you want to do?"

Yuan Jin'er puffed out her cheeks and said vaguely while chewing: "Sister Yunzhu, it's okay, I'm in good condition! Mom has made me eat so little these past few days, and I'm starving. Besides, I want such a high ranking. Why! Whoever likes to be an oiran."

Nie Yunzhu finally put the fruit plate next to him: "Then you should eat less. If you eat too much sweets, you will gain weight."

Yuan Jin'er pinched another candied fruit and put it into his mouth, chewing it like a hamster, while eating, he said: "I know, Sister Yunzhu."

As he said that, he suddenly smiled and said, "No, today I should call you Brother Yunzhu."

Nie Yunzhu glared at her. In order not to stand out, she was dressed as a man today, holding a folding fan, wearing a black robe, her long hair tied up, and a bachelor's scarf on her head. At a glance, she really looked like a feather fan. A talented man wearing scarves.

Especially the temperament. After more than half a year of training in the shopping mall, the scale of Zhuji has become larger and larger. Inadvertently, Nie Yunzhu developed a temperament.

The two chatted for a while. Nie Yunzhu looked at some poem manuscripts on the table and couldn't help but smile: "This Cao Guan is really interested in you. I just sent a few poems to you as soon as the oiran competition started."

Yuan Jin'er stretched out and said lazily: "Shang Xin is indeed Shang Xin, but I don't know if it's for me."

"Actually, Sister Yunzhu, you should understand that Jin'er doesn't want to be an oiran! The oiran's reputation is great, and it sounds good. Those so-called talents are all proud of being favored by the oiran. In fact, if you really become an oiran, you will be favored by the oiran. The outcome may not be good if it attracts attention.”

As she spoke, she sighed: "Sister, I also know that Feng Xiaojing, last year's Oiran, was so famous that she was chosen by Cheng Yong, the commander of the Wu Lie Army. After saying something, he was chopped with a knife.”

"This is still the case in our government where civil servants suppress military power. The military attache's status is not high and he is afraid of being impeached. If he really encounters a big shot, he won't even have room to resist."

"Whoever wants to be an oiran can be one. If I become an oiran, I'm afraid I'll have to find someone I like immediately to marry."

"I'm afraid that by then, my net worth will be higher, and the ransom money I saved will not be enough. However, after all, I am an courtesan, and there will always be someone who is willing to marry me. If I marry her, I can be looked at as a flower, and I can also brag to others, which is always of some use."

Nie Yunzhu sighed: "Alas!"

"Jin'er, don't be so frustrated. If you really want to go out, if you don't have enough money, my sister can help you."

Yuan Jin'er immediately said with a smile: "Thank you, sister. Jin'er also wants to be the shopkeeper with sister Yunzhu!" (End of Chapter)