Rise From the Humble

A hundred miles of smoke and clouds is not as good as a day in the capital. The capital is really too prosperous. People living in the capital have an innate pride. Even the beggar sunbathing under the city wall seems to be a head above others. Give him a tael. Wen Qian, I don’t even look at you.

The streets are bustling and tidy, as far as the eye can see. People are coming and going like a sea, and there are also blond and blue-eyed businessmen doing business in weird accents. The prosperity of the capital cannot be described by pen and ink.

It's grand and grand, as prosperous as smoke.

Zhu Ping'an led the black horse to leave the beggar angrily and walked into the city of Beijing. Looking left and right, he was overwhelmed with things to do, just like a country bumpkin. Just looking around like this, it was already past four o'clock in the afternoon before I knew it, and it was almost time for dinner. He hadn't eaten lunch yet, and he felt hungry frequently. Zhu Pingan took the horse and started looking for a place to stay and eat. , only to find that he had arrived in front of Chongren Gate in the inner city.

Chongren Gate, also known as Dongzhi Gate today, was the gate where carriages delivering firewood to the capital used, so it was also called Firewood Road. This street is very long, and you can’t see the edge at a glance. There are shops on both sides of the street, selling oil, salt, vegetables, soy sauce, etc. Daily necessities can be bought here. , and they are of high quality and low price, so the flow of people in this street is also very large.

But since we have arrived at Chongren Gate, why not go to the inner city to see it.

The Ming Dynasty was not like the Qing Dynasty. Only Eight Banners children lived in the inner city of the Qing Dynasty. However, the inner city of the Ming Dynasty allowed common people to live in it. The imperial city of the Ming Dynasty was for high-ranking officials and relatives of the emperor, while the inner city was for middle- and lower-level officials and common people. .

The inner city of the capital is even more prosperous.

Zhu Pingan, who was looking for a place to stay and eat in the inner city, was suddenly attracted by an inn with unusually prosperous decoration not far away. There is a particularly eye-catching cloth sign hanging on the outside of the inn, on top of which are four elegant running script. What follows is a specific explanation in regular script: Make friends through writing. Our shop uses literature to make friends, and we specially sell six pairs of couplets. Those who make two combinations. One day of free board and lodging (no limit on the number of people); For those traveling on a three-partner trip, three days of free board and lodging (no limit on the number of people); For those traveling on a five-part trip, full ten days of board and lodging are free (limited to five people); For those who have six joints, free board and lodging for one month (limited to three people).

Seeing this eye-catching move, Zhu Ping'an raised the corners of his lips slightly. This is a typical plot, and he finally encountered it once.

However, this inn is also very good at attracting guests. Such a big move will definitely attract many scholars. It didn't cost much for the inn to become famous for a while. We really can’t underestimate the ancients.

The capital is so big, and there are so many inns, this inn can stand out with such a trick. The owner of this inn is really a good businessman. This marketing method is almost comparable to the modern voucher marketing strategy.

Sure enough, Zhu Pingan approached the inn with the Shamat dark horse, and just standing at the door, he heard the voices of people in the inn like a wave.

There are too many people in the inn, and there are gentle students in green shirts. There are also grand princes from noble families, some come for free board and lodging, some come to become famous, and some come to make soy sauce. The old and the young are looking at the hanging couplets in the lobby of the inn. Or whisper, or talk loudly.

At this time, a well-dressed young man was trying to couplet couplets. Halfway through, he couldn't help but shook his head with a wry smile and retreated.

"Wen Sheng, be satisfied. I have only brought out two pairs, and you have already found three pairs. I don't know how long it took the shopkeeper to find these couplets in those nooks and crannies."

Another young man off the court who was equally well-dressed was quite proud of being a friend. He smiled and patted the young man on the shoulder, half comforting and half showing off as he looked at everyone.

That's right, there is indeed capital to show off. This young man named Wen Sheng is one of the few young men who can match couplets to the third pair today. Apart from this young man, there were only three other people who made three pairs of couplets. Most of the other people looked at each other with excitement, and only a few of them could show off their skills. Those who could show off their skills three times like this young man named Wen Sheng were very rare. It took a lot of effort to come up with a couplet, but unfortunately someone has already mentioned it before.

These couplets have been hanging out for two days, and the best record is to be able to produce three couplets.

People in the inn lobby, after the young man left, were either stroking their beards and thinking, or curiously asking the two young men their names and exchanging experiences. Even the shopkeeper and the shop assistants were all looking at the lobby attentively. The person who disconnects.

For a while, no one saw the dusty Zhu Pingan at the door of the inn.

"Ahem, which one? Do you still have a room?"

Looking at the people who were concentrating, concentrating, and gathering together, it was so lively that even the innkeeper and the waiter could not be found. Therefore, Zhu Ping'an had to cough and asked loudly towards the inn lobby.

The people who were concentrating on the couplet suddenly heard a loud inquiry 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, his clothes were starched and turned white, and there were two holes in them. He was holding a horse that looked like it was working 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 seek refuge with his relatives.

Therefore, people just glanced at Zhu Pingan, and then came back to their senses while watching the couplet gathering, without taking Zhu Pingan seriously at all.

"Haha, sir, I'm so sorry. Our store is full. Please find another place." A store clerk reluctantly squeezed out from the crowd, looked at Zhu Ping'an from a distance and waved his hand.

Hearing this, Zhu Ping'an retreated with the black horse that killed Matt.

The store clerk was quite satisfied with Zhu Pingan's understanding of current affairs. He smiled apologetically to everyone, apologized to everyone for Zhu Pingan disturbing everyone's Wensi just now, and promised not to disturb everyone's Wensi again.

"Ahem, which one?"

Just when everyone was back to a state of concentration, they heard the same lustful voice at the door again. They turned around and saw the person who had just left came in again.

"Hey, what's the matter with you? Didn't you just say that the hotel was full?" The inn clerk looked at the young man at the door impatiently.

"I took another look just now. It said free board and lodging, no limit on the number of people. There are so many people here, so they should have rooms."

Zhu Ping'an stood one step away from the door holding the black horse of Shamat, pointed at the cloth move hanging above his head, and asked with a smile.

"It's reserved for the person who made the couplet, not for you. You'd better go to other inns to check it out."

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 this poor country boy ruined the inn's business, he couldn't afford to suffer.