"Hey, Mr. Han is here, please come upstairs."
When they arrived at Lichunfang, the brothel owner Aunt Fang stuck to Handu's arm like a dog-skin plaster.
Xu Lian looked curiously at the only brothel in the town. It was an old two-story wooden building, far from the magnificent appearance in TV dramas.
Just think about it and you will understand. In a small place like Luzhu Town, every household of the common people is short of food and lives a tight life. After all, only a few people can afford to come here to consume.
Only people like Han Du who have some free time during the day would occasionally come and sit, listen to some music and kill some time.
"Brother Xu next to me is the new manager of the mine."
Perhaps not wanting Xu Lian to be left out, Han Du introduced him.
Aunt Fang screamed exaggeratedly, "Oh, look at my old eyes, I have no eyesight," and she quickly pulled a woman dressed up and stuffed her into Xu Lian's arms.
The fragrance filled Xu Lian's nose, and he was almost choked by the thick rouge and powder. He stretched out his hand slightly to block it, keeping a little distance, and asked in confusion, "Don't the girls here need to rest during the day?"
"There is not much business at night, so I have rested enough. How can I not work during the day? My delicate body is almost moldy and mushrooms are growing on it, but there is no man to pick them."
Aunt Fang looked resentful, and patted Xu Lian lightly as if flirting, "Manager Xu is young and promising, he has money and food, and he is in good health. You must come often to take care of our business in the future."
Xu Lian could only nod in agreement, "Definitely next time."
Go up to the second floor.
Private room.
"As usual, call everyone who can sing."
Han Du casually took out a silver ingot and put it on the table.
Aunt Fang held the silver happily. Knowing that Han Du was here just to listen to music, she didn't say much. She looked at Xu Lian eagerly and said with a charming smile, "Manager Xu, this is your first time here. Listening to music is too monotonous. Do you want to feel the enthusiasm of our girls? There are so many kinds of music. I guarantee that your soul will float to the sky."
Han Du slapped Aunt Fang on the buttocks with a smile and scolded, "Isn't the money I paid enough? You still want to take my brother Xu's money? Don't use your broken flowers and willows to fool my brother Xu."
Aunt Fang covered her butt with her teeth bared, "Master Han, look at what you said. Every time you came, I made all the arrangements for you. You brought your brothers to show your support, so how could I fool your brothers with second-hand goods? Of course it's new goods. Yesterday, several families who ran out of food pawned their daughters with me, and it seems that I can't afford to redeem them."
Han Du asked Xu Lian, "Do you want to take a look?"
"Need not."
Xu Lian waved his hand. There would be no harm without trade. He still preferred a relationship like the one between Sister Xiya and Chan'er where both parties were willing.
As if seeing through his thoughts, Han Du said, "The family ran out of food and left their daughters here to entertain guests. Even if you don't want them, they will be abused by others. If you like them and take them home, they will have a good life."
This was said with great skill... It made Xu Lian feel conflicted, as if if he didn't help, he would be doing nothing to help. He had to watch someone's daughter fall into the fire and wondered whether he should give a helping hand or not. That was probably what it meant.
Seeing Xu Lian hesitate, Han Du smiled and waved to Aunt Fang, "Call her over and let me take a look. If she doesn't look good, I, Brother Xu, don't want her."
Xu Lian looked at Han Du's attitude and wondered if he was determined to make him feel at home.
"I guarantee it will look good. If it doesn't, I won't lend grain to these families."
Aunt Fang patted her chest to assure herself, then went downstairs with a twist of her waist.
Not long.
She came back, bringing with her five or six girls playing the pipa and erhu, and three slightly immature girls.
"What did I just teach you three? Lift your heads!"
She shouted.
"Do you think you are daughters of a wealthy family? Your family ran out of food and you are here with me. Why are you still shy? There is nothing to be ashamed of. It is shameful to have no food to eat!"
"This Manager Xu is the manager of the mine, and he manages hundreds of people. Only those of you who perform well and win his favor can have a good life. Do I need to teach you this principle?"
The three girls mustered up the courage to look up, and when they saw Xu Lian's appearance, they were all stunned. They obviously didn't expect the guest to be so young.
Aunt Fang smiled at Xu Lianmei again, "Manager Xu, I didn't lie to you, these three girls are really pretty, especially the one in the middle. Look at her face, cherry lips, and willow-shaped eyebrows. In a few years, she might even be sent to the county town to be selected as the most beautiful woman."
The girl in the middle seemed to know that this was the moment that would decide her fate. Whether she could escape from the sea of suffering and live a good life depended on this moment.
She gritted her teeth lightly, as if she had made up her mind. She took a few steps forward, knelt in front of Xu Lian, and looked at Xu Lian with eager eyes, "Manager Xu, take me. I will definitely serve you well."
Han Du sneered, "You are quite smart."
The other two girls looked anxious and wanted to step forward to beg, but after all, they were too young and inexperienced to have the courage to do so.
Xu Lian felt a headache. With his current position as deputy manager of the mine, he could afford to keep one more child. However, he just brought Chan'er back home yesterday. If he brought another one back today, it would be too fast.
There are too many women in the family, so favorability becomes a problem.
First wait for Chan'er's favorability to reach 90/100, and then bring a girl home. This will make things easier.
After some consideration, he made a decision and took out three taels of silver. "Aunt Fang, let me discuss this with you. I'll give you three taels of silver every month and keep her here. Is that okay with you?"
When these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned. Is there such a thing
Han Du couldn't help laughing, "Brother Xu's idea is really strange."
When she heard about three taels of silver per month, Aunt Fang's eyes lit up. She didn't care what the customer asked for, she just agreed, "Okay, okay, I'll keep her for you and take good care of her."
The girl kneeling on the ground was stunned. What did it mean to buy her but not take her home
This made her confused, but it was a good thing to avoid having to receive guests, so she hurriedly said, "Thank you, Manager Xu, for your compassion."
Aunt Fang asked Xu Lian expectantly, "Although the other two are not as outstanding as the one in the middle, they are still pretty good looking. Do you want one?"
“No.”
Xu Lian shook his head.
We already have Sister Xiya and Chan'er at home, and now there’s one more. We can’t afford to raise any more.
He is different from other men. He pays attention to "quality over quantity". For example, when Zhang Yuan was a stone transporter, he had three women at home; a supervisor like Liang Yan had five at home; when he became the deputy manager of a mine, it was no problem for him to have eight or ten women, but he did not want to have too many women at home for the time being, which would lead to a decline in living standards and affect his favorability.
Although the other two are also very pitiful, he is not a Bodhisattva. There are too many pitiful people in this world, and he can't do anything about it. It's good enough that he can live a good life.
"All right."
Aunt Fang was a little disappointed, so she had to take the other two girls with tears in their eyes away and keep the one chosen by Xu Lian.
The girl who was kneeling on the ground quickly stood up and poured wine for Xu Lian.
Xu Lian glanced at her pretty face and asked, "What's your name?"
The girl's voice was soft and sticky. "My parents sold me to this place and exchanged me for a bag of grain. The kindness of raising me is gone. I don't need to use my original name. I only need to keep the last name Liu. Manager Xu took me in. I am your woman. Please give me a name."
She is so young, but she is good at talking... Xu Lian couldn't help but look at her twice more. This little girl is really outstanding. Aunt Fang said that she has the potential to become an oiran, and it was not nonsense. "Then you should be called Chuntao."
The girl was delighted, "Chun Tao, thank you Manager Xu for the name. I like this name very much."