Disclaimer:
1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests.
2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author.
3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.
The next day, Shi Cheng came by very early in his tall, horse-drawn carriage. The one driving the cart was Shi Cheng’s family store manager, Manager Qiu – a sturdy man of about 30. Liu Lin had brought Xiaobei with him, but Liu Shu was still worried, and had insisted he bring Tian Yu along as well.
There was another carriage, drawn by two horses – this was prepared for them to bring home the stock.
Then everyone boarded the carriages and set off.
This was actually the first time that they had all gone so far away. It wasn’t just Liu Xu’er, even Liu Changgeng and He shi were worried for them. They accompanied them all the way to the town gates and kept reminding them the entire way to be careful on the road.
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Ohld yqvla Fbk Ubldt bye vayhlzzle iwkvl y ekpvydnl yoyu, bl pvkzz jlrv zssjkdt cynj. Tl nswze qykdvzu xyjl swv Nkw Dw’la pkvvkdt sd vbl nyaakytl. Tl pxkzle yde oyhle kd bla ekalnvksd.&dcpr;
Nkw Nkd oyp pkvvkdt clpkel bkx. Tl vss zssjle cynj. Lsv lhld Nkw Dw’la’p nyav oyp hkpkczl ydu zsdtla, vs pyu dsvbkdt sq vbl rlapsd pkvvkdt kd kv. Tl pbssj bkp blye yde zssjle yv Fbk Ubldt, “Rp kv alyzzu yzz vbyv osdelaqwz?”
“Ebyv?” Fbk Ubldt pyke, rwggzle. Tl eked’v wdelapvyde.&dcpr;
“Qlvvkdt ldtytle…. Tyhkdt y qkydnl – kp kv alyzzu yzz vbyv osdelaqwz? Ms vbl lmvldv vbyv usw oswze qszzso Dw’la yzz eyu zsdt, obyvlhla Dw’la pyup tslp, pxkzkdt qsszkpbzu yv bla…. Rp kv alyzzu vbyv osdelaqwz?”
Fbk Ubldt wdelapvsse. Tl zywtble blyavkzu yde pyke, “Oafkwgk, usw alyzzu byhl ds kely! Rv alyzzu kp vbyv osdelaqwz! Tyhkdt y okql, hlapwp byhkdt dsdl….” Tl tzydnle yv Nkw Nkd yde raswezu pyke, “Mbl qllzkdt kp nsxrzlvlzu ekqqlaldv. Jwv, kv’p rskdvzlpp vs pyu vbkp vs usw dso…. Ebld usw’hl y okql, ol nyd vyzj!”
Nkw Nkd pvasjle bkp fyo, yde osdelale kq kv oyp vkxl qsa bkx vs tlv y okql? Fbk Ubldt’p fsu oyp kdqlnvkswp, ps bl vss pvyavle vs zywtb, yde osdelale obyv kv oswze cl zkjl vs byhl y okql?
Rdyehlavldvzu, y czwaau kxytl aspl kd bkp xkde. Rv byed’v naupvyzzkple, cwv Nkw Nkd pllxle vs jdso obs vbl rlapsd oyp. Tl iwknjzu pbssj bkp blye vs tlv ake sq vbl kxytl, vbld bl pxkzle yde pvyavle vs nbyv okvb Fbk Ubldt.&dcpr;
Fkdnl lhlausdl vayhlzzkdt olal xyzlp, yde kv oyp y alzyvkhlzu wdlhldvqwz vakr, vblu xyel tsse rastalpp. Jlqsal vbl pwd aspl, vblu tsv sd vbl asye, yde sdzu alpvle obld kv oyp hlau eyaj. Gqvla vayhlzzkdt zkjl vbyv qsa 16-17 eyup, vblu qkdyzzu yaakhle yv Fsdtfkydt ralqlnvwal.
Shi Cheng’s family originally had a jewelry store, and they had previously sold items like cloth hand-warmers, handkerchiefs and pouches. All of these things had previously been bought from Songjiang prefecture. As such, Manager Qiu was still rather familiar with Songjiang prefecture. When they got there, they found an inn that merchants often frequented, to stay.
That night, Liu Lin and Shi Cheng went out to have a look.
Shi Cheng had lived in the modern era city, full of its bright lights and splendor, so he wasn’t that shaken by what he saw now in Songjiang prefecture. But Liu Lin was not the same. It was the first time he had come. Under the flickering lights, he saw signs of a bustling, flourishing city everywhere.
From the start to the end of the street, every few steps, there would be large red, paper lanterns hanging from both sides of the streets. Added to the fact that each store had their own storm lamps hanging at their doorways, the entire street was brightly lit. Liu Lin felt that his own home at night might not be as well lit!
They walked the entire street – everyone here was selling food, and business was good. Quite a few dessert stores actually had queues! Liu Lin had never seen people needing to queue for food before.
Because they wanted to see if they could find the street selling textiles – and if they could find it and if they were open, to check it out – the two of them weren’t in a hurry to return. After walking down a couple of streets, they saw that there was an even more brightly lit street ahead. This entire street seemed to be made up of buildings that were three or four storeys high, and on each floor, there were rows of lanterns. With three or four storeys on the street – it lit the night sky bright as day.
Even Shi Cheng was stunned when he saw. After all, he had never before seen a place like this. Seeing how brightly lit, and how lively the place was, he started to move forward interestedly, with Liu Lin.
The instant they got to the centre of the street, the two of them realised – these were the pleasure quarters! Everyone on the street was dressed richly and there were unusually high numbers of women here. Although they weren’t waving handkerchiefs and coquettishly calling out to them or trying to pull them in, these women were clearly not afraid of people. When they saw the two of them, they would smile. Some would come forward, while others would stand there seductively, looking at them suggestively and smiling.
Liu Lin immediately started to break out into a cold sweat! He couldn’t be blamed for that response – he had never thought he would accidentally stumble upon this place! Understandably a bit flustered, he pulled Shi Cheng and they hurriedly left the place.
When the two of them had left the street, Shi Cheng finally said, “It’s really as they say. After walking two steps, your entire body starts to smell of their perfumes and powders….. Thank goodness Xu’er isn’t here!”
Liu Lin shook his head, “You’re so calm! When I realised, it really…. Gave me a good scare!”
Shi Cheng started to smile, “Why so scared? Even if we were to walk around, nothing would happen.” Although his words were brave, he still didn’t dare to actually explore the area. He returned with Liu Lin to the inn.
The next day, they went to explore the streets of the city. They checked out the textile stores – every single one of them, no matter how big or little, was closely examined. They went in to each store to ask about the situation. After two days, they had familiarized themselves with the market situation. Added to the fact that Liu Lin had already spent some time understanding the textile industry, he basically had a good grasp of everything – from what cloths were in fashion, which sold the best, to the rough prices of things.
Manager Qiu then brought Liu Lin and Shi Cheng to a few of the larger textile workshops in the area to select one to buy stock from. Their textile store would be brand new and required large quantities of stock. As such, within a few days, all of the workshops were aware that they were potential big clients. The biggest two workshops were more reserved – they weren’t so desperate to take the initiative to meet with them – but the smaller ones sent their managers to follow them around, and wine and dine them in hopes of gaining their business.
After going through rigorous rounds of selection, they chose a middling sized firm with a good selection of stock. After discussing their price, they paid a deposit for their goods. On the day they were to leave, they would head there early in the morning to collect the goods and make payment. That way, the textiles wouldn’t have to sit in their carriage for as long.
When they had come to an agreement, Manager Fang – the manager of their partnering workshop – invited them for drinks the day before they were to leave. He wanted to cement a good, long-term, working relationship with them.
In business, such invitations were difficult to avoid. After all, it was very important to foster good relationships between people, and the best way to do that was during meals and other forms of entertainment. Liu Lin and Shi Cheng naturally had to agree to the invite.
That evening, Manager Fang personally came to escort them. At the appointed time, he accompanied the guests to his selected place. After rounding a few streets, they came to a place that both Liu Lin and Shi Cheng found somewhat familiar.
The two of them exchanged helpless glances. In these few days of doing business, they had been to this street a few times. People in Songjiang were clearly very used to having their meetings in the pleasure quarter. Manager Qiu was softly reminding them from behind, “Young Masters, just like the previous times, eat and drink as you would normally. When you want to leave, just excuse yourself by saying that you don’t want to delay your business and therefore can’t stay. That would be enough.”
Right at this moment, Manager Fang, who was ahead of them, turned to look around. He smiled and said to them, “Young Masters, tonight, the one paying is our workshop’s owner. You two aren’t his only guests – there is also an official from the dyeing and weaver’s government office, as well as another two textile merchants. We can go and listen to this official’s sharing and see how we can benefit our own businesses.”
Liu Lin and Shi Cheng both nodded their heads. The two of them immediately understood – the owner of this workshop wanted them and the other two merchants to know that they had a good working relationship with the official in charge of these matters. That last sentence was a reminder for them to speak less and listen more.
When they had arrived in front of a particular brothel, there was a 40ish-year-old woman already waiting to usher them in. She smiled and bowed to Manager Fang. Manager Fang began to introduce them. The woman came forward to offer her greetings. She was dressed enchantingly, her expression was warm and welcoming.
These past two days, Shi Cheng and Liu Lin had had similar experiences, so they smiled and nodded back.
The woman brought them past the main room, along a corridor, till they reached the back courtyard. It was much quieter here, and wasn’t nearly as bright. They followed the walkway till they got to a separate courtyard. The woman then stood still and smiled at Manager Fang, “It’s right here. All of the dishes have already been prepared. Because Official Meng has told uninvolved people not to enter, I won’t go in with you.” Then she leaned over and whispered a few sentences into Manager Fang’s ear.
Manager Fang suddenly gave a rather strange looking smile. He nodded and said, “Understood! You can head back.”
When she left, Manager Fang invited Shi Cheng, Liu Shu and Manger Qiu into the courtyard. The main room door was open, and the interior was brightly lit. Two youthful, enchanting looking girls were standing at the door. The dining table had already been set up in the room. Even from outside, it was clear that the table was already filled with dishes.
Inside the room, there were three seated men. One was about 20, the other two around 30. Because they were still waiting for them, they hadn’t moved over to the table, but were seated on chairs under the windows. A few young women were at their sides, some seated, others standing. The men were teasing the girls; their laughter sounding somewhat lecherous.
Liu Lin and Shi Cheng both immediately frowned. The two of them were unused to such situations. Both of them immediately thought that they would stay for the shortest amount of time they could to be polite before leaving! As the two of them thought that, they walked over.
Seeing that they had arrived, one of the 30-year-olds came over to greet them. He stood under the eaves and raised his hands in greeting. Manager Fang smiled and introduced him, “This is our workshop owner.”
Shi Cheng, Liu Lin and Manager Qiu quickly returned his greeting. Then Manager Fang started to introduce each of them. Because they saw that the owner had come forward, the other two in the house had also come to join him. Manager Fang again started to introduce everyone. These two were also businessmen. They had also confirmed some business deals with Manager Fang.
When everyone had been introduced, they briefly exchanged some courtesies. Because there were a lot of people, Liu Lin had been pushed back and ended up standing close to the left side room, very close to the window. He had just stabilised his footing when he heard some moaning sounds drifting from the window.
Liu Lin was shocked. He thought he had misheard and shook his head to clear it. Just as he was about to leave, an even louder wave of moans came drifting out, reaching a peak. Both male and female voices blended together in their incoherent moans…..
Liu Lin was still unmarried. Immediately, his face turned red and he hurried forward a few steps. He squeezed beside Manager Qiu, putting as much distance as possible between him and that window….
This shady world 😑
HAHAHAHAHA