The next day.
Cheng Chu Mo, that fellow, came by again.
"Brother Fang, shall I take you to see some excitement today?"
See excitement?
Fang Er was completely bewildered.
See what?
"Heh heh, the New Year is almost here, isn't it? Hua Man Lou and Mian Meng Ju in the city are competing for the Flower Queen. Shall we go join the fun?"
Cheng Chu Mo said with a mischievous grin.
"What! Brothels? Aren't you afraid your father will break your legs?"
Fang Er looked at him, astonished.
Why would my legs be broken?
Cheng Chu Mo was a bit confused.
"No! Have you even grown all your hair? And you're going there?"
Fang Er was a little speechless.
Cheng Chu Mo said seriously, "I'm fourteen already! I've even had my coming-of-age ceremony! I've been there with Bao Lin many times, and my father never beat me?"
Looking at his expression, Fang Er felt a bit worried for Cheng Yao Jin.
This is truly...
Youth does not know what is precious.
In old age, one can only gaze at emptiness and shed tears.
He wondered if he should give Cheng Chu Mo a heads-up.
Before he could even speak, Cheng Chu Mo grabbed his arm and pulled him outside.
"Alright, Brother Fang, it's just for fun, it's very lively. If you miss it, you'll have to wait a year. Let's go, let's go."
Fang Er couldn't break free from Cheng Chu Mo's grip.
This guy is a little pervert!
Cheng Chu Mo pulled Fang Er to the entrance and said to the pillar, "Go lead the horse for your young master. You have no eyes."
Zhu Zi felt very wronged.
Damn it!
My young master hasn't even said anything, how would I know if he wants to go?
He went to the stables and led out two horses, then helped Fang Er onto one.
He jumped onto the other horse himself.
Indicating that he also wanted to go.
"Alright! Let's go?"
Fang Er said helplessly to Cheng Chu Mo.
"Anyway, there's nothing important to do. Let's just fool around."
Cheng Chu Mo also got on his horse.
The three of them, on three horses, headed towards Chang'an.
When they arrived at the location, Fang Er understood why it was called the Flower Queen competition.
Damn, Hua Man Lou and Mian Meng Ju, these two brothels, were actually facing each other!
Zhu Zi explained it to him again.
It turned out that every year at the end of the year.
These two establishments would hold this event.
Yes, just an event.
The second floors of both establishments had entire wooden bay windows.
When the windows were opened, they became high platforms.
The top courtesans would perform their talents there.
They mostly performed by playing instruments, singing, and dancing.
The top courtesans of the two establishments would take turns, performing one after another.
Finally, the people below would vote.
This was also simple.
Flowers were sold on the street.
People could buy flowers to give to the performing women. Whoever received the most flowers would be the true Flower Queen.
Fang Er was a tech nerd in his past life!
He had never experienced anything like this and became interested.
The street in front of both brothels had been cleared by the doormen.
Many tables and chairs were set up.
Fire basins were placed in the middle of them.
The preparations were very thoughtful.
Cheng Chu Mo pulled Fang Er and found a table to sit down.
Whoa!
As soon as Fang Er sat down, he noticed something was wrong.
This is…
The other chairs around the table were also full of people.
Yu Chi Bao Lin.
Zhang Da Xiang!
Li De Jiang!
And Chang Sun Chong.
Holy crap!
Of the second-generation youngsters he had met before, only Li Cheng Qian and Chai Zhe Wei were missing.
"I say, did you guys arrange this?"
Fang Er said, looking at them.
Cheng Chu Mo, however, extended his hand to the others.
"Quick, quick, quick, money, money!"
Yu Chi Bao Lin looked displeased and took out a piece of silver from his embrace, throwing it onto the table.
The others also threw a piece of silver.
"No, what's going on? Are we paying admission to watch on the street?"
Fang Er asked, confused.
"Brother Fang, here, half for you, half for me!"
Cheng Chu Mo divided the silver on the table into two portions, pushing one portion towards Fang Er.
He then continued to say.
"Earlier I said I'd invite you to come together, Bao Lin said you wouldn't come if I invited you, so we made a bet. Hehe. This is all the money they lost."
Cheng Chu Mo was grinning from ear to ear.
Fang Er smacked him on the back of the head.
"I say, you bet using me? Alright, you! Bring it all over! The gambling money is confiscated!"
With that, he collected all the silver on the table to his side.
Just then, a small child carrying a flower basket came over.
The basket contained neatly trimmed winter plum blossoms.
"Here, little one, how much are your flowers?"
Fang Er beckoned him over.
"Esteemed young master, the winter plum blossoms today are three hundred wen per string."
The little one blinked his big eyes and said to Fang Er.
"Holy cow!"
"How expensive!"
Cheng Chu Mo looked resentful.
He had spent an hour inviting Fang Er, but didn't get a single coin.
"Brother Fang, these flowers are provided by the brothels. This child is only earning money for running errands."
Yu Chi Bao Lin, seeing Fang Er fall silent after asking the price, guessed some of it and spoke up to explain.
What?!
"They play so well!"
"I pay the money to help them choose the Flower Queen."
"And then they gain fame and fortune!"
"Good heavens."
"So everyone sitting here is a sucker?"
But the little one kept staring at him with his watery eyes.
Fang Er felt embarrassed to say he wouldn't buy.
Anyway, it was confiscated gambling money.
Why not spend it if it's free?
"Here, take all this silver, how many strings can you buy?"
The little one weighed the silver in his palm.
He then put it in his mouth and bit it to make sure.
Fang Er felt nauseous watching him!
This piece of silver had so many teeth marks on it, how many mouths had it been in?
"Young master, it's three taels and five qian of silver in total."
"Three hundred wen per string, that's eleven strings for you, and two qian silver change."
The little one finished speaking, picked the smallest piece of silver from the corner, weighed it, and placed it on the table next to Fang Er.
What the...?
"His hand is like a scale!"
"And this little one looks only four or five years old, and he's so good at accounting?"
"Alright, this two qian silver is for you."
Fang Er threw that piece of silver back into the child's basket.
"Thank you, young master. Young master is truly generous. Here are your winter plum blossoms."
The little one bowed formally to Fang Er and counted out twelve strings of winter plum blossoms onto the table from his basket.
"Alright, you can go sell flowers now."
Fang Er found the child very cute and patted his head.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
With the sound of four gongs.
Two old procuresses appeared on the second floor of the brothels on both sides.
"I am Mama Wang from Hua Man Lou."
"I am Mama Huang from Mian Meng Ju."
The two of them introduced themselves together, then took turns speaking.
"The Flower Queen competition, once a year!"
"Miss tonight, and you'll regret it!"
"My Xing'er is beautiful!"
"My Cai'er is charming!"
"Xing'er can play the flute!"
"Cai'er can drink with you!"
"Skilled in all the arts, from music to chess, calligraphy, and painting!"
"She can also play all the instruments, from wind to string!"
"Her body is light, her form is supple, and her voice is clear!"