Chapter 196 People's Livelihood
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The handwriting is beautiful.
The handwriting of this couplet is very beautiful.
At least it is pleasing to the eye.
Although it is a bit ironic to hang such a couplet in a suite that costs one thousand taels a night.
He Yushi still curiously asked the young butler who was leading the way: "Who wrote this?"
"This was written by the eldest son of our Sima Lord."
He Yushi paused as he walked inside.
He read the couplet again:
Frugal to cultivate integrity, pure as the autumn moon without any stain.
Strict in self-discipline, pure to the point that the plum blossom has its own fragrance.
It reminded me of a young man who wrote the poem "Knocking my thin bones forward, it still carries the sound of copper."
Later I heard that he followed his father in rebellion.
Later his father was recruited and became Sima Jiang.
The world is wonderful. He came to Jingzhou because of Sima Jiang.
I saw the couplet written by the young man again.
The content was very good.
The handwriting was also very good.
But I felt a little sigh for some reason.
I crossed the screen in the hallway.
I saw a flower garden with bamboo and wood, lush and green.
Next to it was a thick long table.
On the long table was a stone slab.
On the stone slab were blue and white tea cups, two large and six small.
The shapes were slightly different.
He Yushi was very surprised. This was the tea table for brewing tea, a popular way in the palace, Kung Fu tea.
He was lucky enough to drink this tea, a small cup, personally given by the emperor, and he took a sip. The taste was hard to tell, very light.
And here was a set of tea sets, which looked more complete.
On the wall behind the desk, there was actually a wall of bookshelves.
It was filled with precious books.
In this era, all books are very rare.
The book boy kept muttering that it was a waste, but when he saw the whole wall full of books, he suddenly fell silent.
Here, here, so many books are placed here.
He Yushi also stood in front of the bookcase and reached out to take a book.
He picked up a book, Tao Te Ching.
It was not a very special book, he had read it before.
But the bookcase on this wall was all-encompassing, and the category of the book was written in front of each shelf, including history, story books, medicine? Tea? Collectibles? Geography? Agriculture? Political conspiracy?
It was very interesting to break down each category and look at the books inside.
He Yushi was definitely a well-read person in this era. After all, he had been reading all his life and had access to many books.
However, in the bookcase in the room where he stayed in Jingzhou, there were many books he had never seen before.
He took out a book called "Yin's Tea Theory" which introduced in detail various types of tea, the brewing method of Gongfu tea, the time, water temperature, what kind of water, what kind of tea. The description was serious and rigorous, but he had never read it.
These books were all handwritten.
But they were all written very carefully and neatly.
The books had been read by someone.
Steward Lin Yi explained: "These books are often replaced. Lord Sima has established a bookstore in the city. Everyone can go in and read books by registering with their own identity and a pass. If you need to borrow books, you need to deposit money. If you have no money, you can copy books. You need to copy two books before you can take one. The bookstore provides paper and pen for free."
A wall of books, He Yushi stayed for a long time.
Just a glance, there are several books he has not read.
It feels like you can't finish reading them in one day.
This is a tea room. Next to the table, there is a whole floor against the wall, which is covered with straw mats, with a low table on it, and cushions on both sides, which seem to be able to lie down by pushing them open.
There are chessboards and chess pieces on the low table.
The view outside the window is also beautiful.
The rain curtain and the sunset are strangely combined.
Outside the window is actually a wheat field, not some precious flowers, but it is even more pleasing to the eye.
This tea room can satisfy the needs of entertaining guests, resting, drinking tea, reading, and working.
Next to the tea room is the bathroom.
Other bathrooms are small and dark, but this one is unexpectedly large. There
is even a dressing table inside.
There are tables and chairs, a large bathtub, and a pipe directly connected to the tub.
There is also a toilet.
There are also pipes on the toilet.
The toilet seat is actually covered with satin and has a backrest, like a large chair.
There are wooden racks on the wall, and on the wooden racks are hung pure-colored towels, which are clean and neat.
There is even a robe hanging
on it. Each towel and robe is marked with a small tag.
The towels for washing face, hair, feet, and body are actually separate.
The robe is worn after bathing.
There are several jars next to the bathtub, with various flowers written on them, as well as salt and a jar of milk.
The housekeeper Lin Yi explained: "These are for guests to use when taking a bath. You can pour them into the bathtub and they have the effect of beautifying the skin. Here is the water gate. If you want to take a bath, you can notify the little one and hot water will come out of the water gate. New ones will be replaced every day. Except for the fixed items here, you can take away other items you like."
The book boy noticed that there was a special table for washing hands, not a lonely basin, but a large tabletop with a porcelain basin inlaid in the middle. There was a hole in the bottom of the basin, a plug, and a pipe on the surface.
The housekeeper opened the water gate, and the pipe really flowed.
He Yushi reached out and took some cool water.
Considering the rain outside, it was not surprising that there was water in the pipe.
On the table were porcelain bottles with the words facial cleanser, toothpaste, and shampoo written on them.
These would cost one or two taels of silver per bottle outside, but they were placed here and could be used at any time, and it was said that they could be taken away.
The book boy thought this was quite generous.
He Yushi shook his head slightly. Although one or two taels of silver was a lot, it was not much compared to the accommodation fee of one thousand taels.
It took a long time to visit a clean room, and it ended with He Yushi peeing alone in it.
Seeing the urine disappear in an instant and be washed away, while the fragrance was still left in the clean room, He Yushi only felt a sense of emptiness in his heart.
Before coming here, he thought that a house that cost one thousand taels a night might have beautiful maids, fine wine, a meat pool, and a wine forest, and it would be extremely luxurious.
In fact, there weren't any. Not to mention the beautiful maids, the only housekeeper was just a handsome scholar.
In fact, along the way, there were officials entertaining guests, and the specifications must have cost more than a thousand taels. The
courtesan's cruise ship, the best wine, rare birds and beasts, He Yushi had seen the world before, and he had experienced these entertainments.
But not as profound as this time. This is a change. A
strange change.
Next to the toilet was white and soft toilet paper, and a wooden barrel for garbage.
There was even a small bookcase next to it, with books, and you could read while you were taking a shit.
It was a terrible feeling, and he just wanted to reach out and take a look at a book. Thinking
of this, the person who put the book here is really a genius, he must love books so much that he even needs to read during the moment of going to the toilet.
After leaving the bathroom, the housekeeper handed He Yushi a piece of half-dry cotton cloth, and He Yushi wiped his hands.
Then he went to the bedroom next door.
After all, it is a place to stay, so there must be a bed.
The view from the bedroom window is very beautiful.
The bed is not an embroidered bed with layers of mattresses stacked on top of each other, but a simple wooden bed.
The bedding on the bed feels very white and clean.
There is not a single hair.
There is a clothes hanging cabinet with nightgowns and shoes without heels hanging inside. The housekeeper Lin Yi bent down and signaled that the adults could change their shoes.
The servant boy quickly followed to serve.
The feet wrapped in shoes were not comfortable after walking for a long time. Putting them in the empty shoes without heels, it seemed that the soles of the feet were stretched out. They were resting before going to bed.
"Sir, we provide foot massage. If you need it, press the button at any time and I will arrange it for you."
He Yushi thought it was the maid service.
But the housekeeper Lin Yi gave him a sign saying that a foot massage cost ten taels of silver and a full body massage cost fifty taels of silver. He Yushi was so angry that he staggered. He spent so much money on accommodation, but he had to spend extra money on massage? Did he ask the courtesan to give him a massage? He
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