When everyone heard it was a script, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Ji stood up from the sofa and walked over to Zhang Shixun. "We had a lot of fun today. Tomorrow night... Oh! Yuan Chang, how about you treat us tomorrow night?"
"That's what I've always wanted." Cai Jing stood up with difficulty and said with a smile, "It's an honor for me to be able to invite you, Your Majesty."
Liang Shicheng observed the emperor's words and expressions and saw through his intentions at a glance. He said hurriedly, "I will invite you the day after tomorrow."
Wang Fu quickly followed, "It's my turn the day after tomorrow."
The remaining Li Bangyan and Tong Guan were certainly not fools, so they were also ranked.
Zhang Shixun winked at Gao Yanei, then pulled out a stack of silver cards from his pocket, holding them up and saying, "Everyone who comes today will receive a silver card, worth two hundred taels of silver. With this card, you can enjoy a 10% discount on drinks and entertainment at this paradise on earth. Most importantly, only those with silver cards are eligible to visit the second and third floors; no one else is eligible."
After saying that, he and Gao Yanei began to distribute silver cards.
Zhao Ji glanced at Zhang Shixun, put his hands behind his back, and walked towards the stairs.
Gao Yanei was very perceptive and stepped forward, "Sir, let me help you."
"Um!"
Once the emperor left, the remaining people freed themselves.
He Guan asked, "Shixun, is there a script for a battle between two armies?"
Zhang Shixun thought for a moment and nodded, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I wonder if the Grand Commandant enjoys reading it?"
"The Three Kingdoms you are talking about are Liu, Guan, and Zhang?"
"Yes."
"Wait a moment, Taiwei. I will ask the Immortal."
In full view of the crowd, Zhang Shixun closed his eyes and muttered softly.
Less than an incense stick's time later, he opened his eyes and said with a smile, "Alright, the immortals have agreed. Everyone, please sit down and wait patiently. I'll show you a scene from the Battle of Red Cliffs."
Everyone was delighted and sat down quietly.
…
After one episode of the video was finished, it was already the hour of Chou.
He Guan hadn't seen enough and shouted, "Shixun, this is so unbearable and I can't stop watching it. Can you please continue?"
"General, it's getting late. Even gods need to sleep. If we disturb them now, we might upset them..."
When He Guan heard this, he realized that this made sense, so he nodded and said, "That's true. Let's do it another day."
After seeing off all the guests, Zhang Shixun and Gao Qiu, father and son, went to the third floor.
Gao Qiu plopped down on the sofa and said, "I've been busy all night, and my whole body is about to fall apart."
Zhang Shixun sat down next to him and said, "Although it's a bit tiring, it's worth it."
"Brother, I really can't understand why we let them eat and play for free on the first day?" Gao Yanei said, "Our money didn't come from the wind. It really hurts to spend 50,000 taels of silver in one night."
"Can you be more ambitious?" Gao Qiu glared at him fiercely. "That's called playing the long game to catch a big fish. Learn from Shi Xun."
Zhang Shixun chuckled and said, "General, your words are very vivid. We are fishing for big fish. When fishing, we must use bait, and we must use fragrant bait, so that the big fish will take the bait."
Gao Qiu looked at Zhang Shixun and said meaningfully, "The big fish has been hooked, hasn't it?"
The two smiled knowingly.
Zhang Shixun said, "Before the emperor left, he had already booked five nights. He must have earned at least five thousand taels of silver per night..."
"Brother, wait a minute." Gao Yanei stopped him and asked in surprise, "Didn't you say that the price for renting the third floor tonight was two thousand taels of silver? How did it become five thousand?"
"Let me ask you, before the official plays, do you want to eat and drink?"
"Of course, we have to eat and drink. After we're full, we can go to the third floor to see the wonderland."
"Let me ask you again, one hour on the third floor counts as one round. Do you think the officials can have a good time if they play one round?"
Gao Yanei slapped his forehead and said, "With the emperor's temper, how can one game be enough to satisfy him? He needs at least two games, which would cost four thousand taels of silver."
"Would they like some tea while they play?"
"Ah! You have to pay for tea?"
"Nonsense! I run a restaurant, so of course I charge for tea. A cup of good tea, one or two taels of silver isn't too much, right?"
"One... one tael of silver for each cup?" Gao Yanei's mouth opened wide. "Isn't that a bit too much?"
Zhang Shixun said, "I still think the fee is too little... How about this, I charge two taels of silver for a cup of tea, what do you think?"
"this……"
"Shixun, are you kidding?" Gao Qiu asked.
"No kidding."
Gao Qiu shook his head and said, "It's just a cup of tea, how can you charge two taels of silver? That's too much."
"Not high at all." Zhang Shixun gave him a mysterious smile. "General, I bet you that in a few days, all the time slots on the second and third floors will be reserved. Maybe there will even be a queue."
After hearing this, the father and son looked at each other in surprise.
Both of them thought he was bragging.
"General, just wait for your turn to count the money. I guarantee you'll count until your hands cramp."
For several consecutive nights, the second and third floors were booked by the current emperor. If others wanted to go to the second and third floors, they could only wait.
Many people had to settle for the next best thing and book a room during the day.
Soon, the daytime rooms were booked for ten days later.
Just as Zhang Shixun expected, the restaurant business was very popular. Even on the first floor, it took half a day to find a seat.
At noon on the sixth day, Gao Yanei was beaten up.
The person who beat him was Prince Pu Zhao Zhongli.
The reason is very simple. Prince Pu went to the paradise on earth to eat, but couldn't find a table.
So he found Gao Yanei.
Gao Yanei is almost on the verge of collapse these days. Every day, nobles come to him to book a room, and if they fail to book a room, they get angry and glare at him.
They are all powerful people, each of them has a higher rank than his father, and most of them are civil servants.
Although Gao Yanei is very powerful, he cannot afford to offend these people.
There was no other way but to bow and scrape and put on a smile, acting like a grandson.
He could bear it for a day or two, but he couldn't stand it for a long time.
When Prince Pu came to find him, Gao Yanei had just sent away a group of censors. The job of those censors was to curse people. When they couldn't get a room from Gao Yanei, they started cursing directly.
Gao Yanei was scolded so much that he was filled with anger.
When Prince Pu asked him for a room, Gao Yanei said, "All the rooms have been booked by the emperor. Go find him."
Prince Pu got angry when he heard this, and slapped the man in the face. Several guards rushed over and beat him up.
When Zhang Shixun arrived after hearing the news, Gao Yanei had already been beaten black and blue, and was lying on the ground groaning.
Zhang Shixun was extremely surprised when he saw this.
I have known Gao Yanei for such a long time, and I have only seen him beat people, but never seen him being beaten, let alone beating so hard.
Needless to say, the person who beat him must be more powerful than him, or to be more precise, more powerful than his father.
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