Restaurant negotiation

She is a thirty-year-old woman who has not yet married. There are already a few ripples around her eyes in her smile. At the age of thirty, the radiance and passion have been polished by the years. Is it true that life alone is happier than life with two people?

I like the unique gentleness of a thirty-year-old woman; I know that the loneliness in the middle of the night is unbearable;

You said that you have been busy in life for too long, and it has been thirty years without you realizing it. Picky and rotating, you choose again and again.

…

The gentle singing echoed in the silent teahouse, without music, no gorgeous singing, no euphemistic words...

There is nothing needed in this era...

The storyteller wiped the gavel and his beard, looked at each other coldly, and chattered.

The waiter leaned against the door and yawned, wiping his hands with a rag out of boredom.

The guests drank tea one cup after another, and when they were in a hurry to pee, they simply left the teahouse and went home.

But the singing was still going on, but it didn't reach the hearts of any of the guests in the building. No one even noticed what the song was about or what it conveyed. They just thought it was a man who was moaning without any reason, singing a cliché that was not presentable.

I don't know if people have heard too many melodious and sad songs, or have thought too much about those nitpicking lyrics?

It makes such a simple voice hard to hear.

However, the girl sitting opposite was listening attentively with her cheek in her hand.

At her age, she naturally couldn't understand what was hidden in these simple words, but she felt that it touched a woman's heart vaguely, making people ponder and unable to be restless and quiet.

Looking at the performance of the guests in the restaurant, Xia Shang felt more sympathy for the ancient women in his heart. No one cared about their feelings, and no one wanted to get into their hearts.

Perhaps this is the indifference and desolation hidden under the prosperous times!

Thinking of this, Xia Shang lost some interest. After singing, he taught Jiangnan to sing one sentence at a time.

The voice is natural, and Jiangnan is much better than Xia Shang in learning.

After a while, Jiangnan learned all the songs and was thinking about going home to sing them for his mother.

Before he left, a broken voice shouted downstairs: "Where is Sister Sai?"

Hearing the voice, Jiangnan frowned: "Here she comes again!"

"What's coming again?" Xia Shang asked curiously.

"That fat boy! He said he wanted to find a teacher, and he came every day. It's so annoying."

"Looking for me?"

Xia Shang pointed at his nose and happened to see a little fat man coming upstairs with a pig's belly on his head.

Xia Shang didn't recognize who it was at first glance, but he recognized the pure gold pig brand hanging around his neck that could blind people!

"Zhu Jindou!"

"Xia Chunqiu!"

The two hadn't seen each other for a long time, and they were both shocked when they saw each other.

Thinking back to when they first met in Yichun Courtyard, he later used twenty taels of silver to ask this guy to help Xia Shang find out that a wealthy businessman in Yangzhou presented treasures to King Yong, and that's how the story came about.

Speaking of which, the two of them were quite close.

It turned out that Zhu Jindou opened a bookstore that specialized in printing "Dream of Red Mansions".

Compared with other printing workshops in Yangzhou, the Zhu family had sufficient funds, and the bookstore they opened was larger than the others. In the past few days, they made a lot of money riding on the popularity of "Dream of Red Mansions".

But as more and more people bought books, the demand for subsequent chapters became louder and louder.

Zhu Jindou felt that if he didn't see the subsequent chapters, his bookstore would not last for a few days, so he asked around for the source of the manuscript of "Dream of Red Mansions".

After asking around, he finally found out that it was Sai Jiangnan.

Zhu Jindou spent a lot of time on Jiangnan before he found out from her that the manuscript came from her husband.

So for ten days, he went to Yulin County every day just to meet Miss Sai's husband.

Coincidentally, Zhu Jindou didn't expect that Miss Sai's husband was his acquaintance. He was overjoyed and thought that the next thing would be much easier.

After a conversation, he figured out the whole story, and then Zhu Jindou invited the two to Hua Man Lou for a drink.

Although Zhu Jindou was the youngest, he was also a smart guy. He never said his intentions from beginning to end.

But how could he hide his thoughts from Xia Shang?

Xia Shang also calmed down and went to Hua Man Lou with Zhu Jindou while talking about some gossip.

Everyone in Yangzhou City knew that Zhu Jindou was a real stingy person who didn't spend a penny on weekdays.

However, if he encountered something profitable, he would be the first to rush forward. If he invited you to dinner, he must want to get benefits from you.

Now, Xia Shang and Jiangnan were invited to the best Hua Man Lou, where a table cost hundreds of taels, so there must be a huge benefit to be gained.

When they arrived at a private room, a table of fine wine and delicacies was placed in front of them. Zhu Jindou smiled and poured wine for Xia Shang.

Students cannot sit at the same table with teachers, so Jiangnan stood behind Xia Shang and waited, occasionally looking out the window, which was quite honest.

It can be seen that this fat man with a big belly and small eyes is an old man, and his movements and expressions at the table are calm enough, which can be regarded as a mature young man.

But the person sitting opposite him is a monster who has lived for thousands of years, and a professional who has been to the table for a long time.

A boy who is still wet behind the ears is still immature no matter what he does.

Zhu Jindou poured the wine, and Xia Shang did not refuse it. He drank it, but he did not say a word, waiting for the other party to ask leisurely.

Zhu Jindou couldn't help asking, "Brother Xia, you should like writing, right?"

Xia Shang nodded.

Zhu Jindou asked again, "When will the next chapters of Dream of Red Mansions be published?"

"You shouldn't ask me that. I didn't write the book, how would I know?"

Zhu Jindou didn't believe it, as he had heard it clearly from Jiangnan before.

Although Xia Shang said that it was written by someone named "Cao Xueqin", Zhu Jindou had investigated and found that there was no one named "Cao Xueqin"!

It's even more nonsense to say that the ancestor of "Cao Xueqin" was the Jiangning Weaving Factory. Just a little inquiry will show that the Jiangning Weaving Factory in all dynasties did not have the surname "Cao".

Xia Shang kept silent. Zhu Jindou had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and pretended not to know. He asked, "When will Mr. Cao finish writing?"

Xia Shang smiled and said, "When the time is right, I will write it naturally."

"What do you mean by right time?"

"Ah!" Xia Shang sighed, "Mr. Cao has been short of money recently and is worried about his livelihood all day long. How can he have time to write a book?"

This means he wants money!

Zhu Jindou had expected this and did not feel sad to take out fifty taels of gold.

"Brother Xia, give this gold to Mr. Cao, so that he can feel at ease and have no problem with his livelihood. As long as he is willing to give the subsequent chapters to me first."

Fifty taels of gold is not a small amount. It can be exchanged for at least seven or eight hundred taels of silver.

Zhu Jindou thought that no matter how big the appetite of this person in front of him was, he would not be happy to see the gold?

As long as you are a writer, you may not make so much money even if you write for a lifetime.

But in Xia Shang's eyes, your mere fifty taels of gold is not even enough to fill the gaps between your teeth, so what's the point of talking?

"Forget it! Mr. Cao is a simple person by nature, and it's more comfortable for him to make money on his own. Jiangnan, let's go."