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A hundred miles of smoke and clouds are not as good as a day in the capital. The capital is so prosperous that people living in the capital have an innate pride. Even the beggars basking in the sun under the city wall seem to be superior to others.
There are endless streets, rows of grand shops, a constant stream of people coming and going, and blond-haired and blue-eyed foreign merchants doing business with strange accents. The prosperity of the capital city cannot be described in words.
Bold and magnanimous, prosperous like smoke.
Zhu Pingan led the Shamatte black horse into Beijing, looking left and right, overwhelmed, like a bumpkin. Just looking around, it was already past four in the afternoon, and it was almost time for dinner. He hadn't eaten lunch yet, and he was hungry. Zhu Pingan led the horse and started looking for a place to stay and eat, but found himself in front of Chongren Gate in the inner city.
Chongren Gate, now Dongzhi Gate, was called Chongren Gate in the Ming Dynasty. It was the place where firewood and charcoal were transported, and was called Chaidao. The whole street is about three miles long, and the ground is paved with stone slabs. Zhu Ping'an roughly counted that there are nearly two hundred shops. After passing the ice cellar, tea, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, and other necessities for people's daily life, whether for food or daily use, can be found on this street.
But since we're already at Chongren Gate, we might as well go to the inner city to see for ourselves.
The Ming Dynasty was not like the Qing Dynasty, where only the Eight Banners descendants lived in the inner city. However, the Ming Dynasty allowed ordinary people to live in the inner city. The imperial city of the Ming Dynasty was inhabited by high-ranking officials and royal relatives, while the inner city was inhabited by middle and lower-level officials and ordinary people.
The inner city of the capital is even more prosperous.
Zhu Ping'an, who was looking for a place to stay and eat in the inner city, was suddenly attracted by an inn with an unusually prosperous decoration not far away. Outside this inn hung a particularly eye-catching cloth sign, with four elegant cursive characters on the top. The following was a specific regular script description: Make friends with literature. Our inn makes friends with literature, and has specially produced six couplets. For those who produce two couplets, one day's food and lodging are free (no limit on the number of people); for those who produce three couplets, three days' food and lodging are free (no limit on the number of people); for those who produce five couplets, ten days' food and lodging are free (only five people); for those who produce six couplets, one month's food and lodging are free (only three people).
Looking at this eye-catching move, Zhu Ping'an slightly raised the corners of his lips. This was a typical plot in novels, and he finally encountered it himself.
However, this inn is also very good at attracting guests. Such a big advertisement will definitely attract many scholars. The inn became famous without much cost. We really can't underestimate the ancients.
The capital is so big, and there are countless inns. This inn can stand out with such a promotion. The owner of this inn is really a good businessman. This marketing method is almost comparable to the modern voucher marketing strategy.
As expected, Zhu Ping'an led the Shamatte dark horse towards the inn, and just by standing at the door, he heard the voices of people in the inn like waves.
There were too many people in the inn, some were well-mannered students in blue shirts, some were noble young men, some came for free food and lodging, some came for fame, and some came just for show. The old and the young were looking at the couplets hanging in the lobby of the inn, some were whispering, some were talking loudly.
At this time, a well-dressed young man was trying to write a couplet. Halfway through, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, then retreated.
"Vensheng, be content. I have only come up with two couplets, and you have already come up with three. I wonder how long the shop owner spent searching for these couplets from those corners."
Another young man off the court, who was also well-dressed, was quite proud of his friendship. He smiled and patted the shoulder of the young man who had just left the court, looking at everyone with a look that was half comforting and half showing off.
Yes, he has something to show off. This boy named Wensheng is one of the few who can come up with three pairs of couplets. In addition to this boy, there are only three who can come up with three pairs of couplets. Most of the others can only sigh at the sight of the couplets. Only a few can come up with one pair. It is rare for a boy named Wensheng to come up with three pairs of couplets. It is a pity that these people have come up with a couplet with great difficulty, but it has already been said before.
These couplets have been hung up for two days, and the best record is that I can come up with three of them.
After the young man left the scene, the people in the inn's lobby were either stroking their beards in thought, or curiously asking the two young men's names to make friends and exchange experiences. Even the shopkeeper and the waiters were all concentrating on watching the people who were untying the relationship in the lobby.
For a moment, no one noticed Zhu Ping'an, who was exhausted at the door of the inn.
"Ahem, which one, is there any room available?"
Seeing the crowds of people concentrating on the event, it was so busy that even the innkeeper and the waiter could not be found. So Zhu Pingan had to cough and asked loudly to the inn lobby.
The people who were concentrating on the couplets suddenly heard a loud question and subconsciously turned their heads to look at the door.
Then I saw a man and a horse at the door.
The person at the door of the inn was a simple and honest young man, a little dark, wearing clothes that had become white from being starched and had two holes in them. He was leading a horse that looked like it was used to work in the fields.
The people who were concentrating on the couplet took a quick look and came to a conclusion: this was a poor boy who came from the countryside to live with his relatives.
Therefore, people just glanced at Zhu Ping'an, and then returned to their focus by looking at the couplet party, not taking Zhu Ping'an seriously at all.
"Oh, sir, I'm so sorry, our store is full. Please find another place." A shop assistant squeezed out of the crowd reluctantly, looked at Zhu Pingan from a distance, waved his hand and said.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping'an led the Shamatte dark horse out.
The shop assistant was quite satisfied with Zhu Ping'an's timely response. He smiled apologetically at everyone, apologized for disturbing their thoughts just now, and promised not to disturb their thoughts again.
"Ahem, which one..."
Just as everyone had regained their concentration, they heard the same voice again at the door. Turning around, they saw the man and horse who had just left come in again.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? Didn't you just say that the hotel was full?" The innkeeper looked at the young man at the door with some impatience.
"I just took another look. It says that all meals and lodging are free of charge and there is no limit on the number of people. There are so many people here, so there should be rooms available."
Zhu Ping'an stood one step away from the door, holding the Shamatte black horse, pointed at the cloth hanging above his head, and asked with a smile.
"It's for the person who wrote the couplet, not for you. You should go to other inns to have a look."
The innkeeper waved his hand impatiently, signaling Zhu Ping'an to leave quickly, so as not to disturb the thoughts of the gentlemen in the store. If the inn's business was ruined because of this poor country boy, he would not be able to bear the consequences. (To be continued...)