15 Iced Lemonade (II)
◎What she said was exactly what he thought◎
The next day, after an early lunch and hurriedly washing the dishes, Jiang Qinglan and Tuantuan packed up their belongings and moved them to the courtyard gate, waiting for the driver to arrive.
There were three Cuju matches, held every afternoon at 5 p.m. Starting today, the matches would continue for three days, with the third day being a rest day.
The distance from Jiangmixiang to Xishan Cuju Field is quite long, and this time, Jiang Qinglan was selling drinks.
Materials such as ceramic cups, jars, and ice cubes are very heavy.
There were also some paper, paste and other things, all kinds of things, which were collected into several large baskets.
Since she couldn't walk there on foot, she had rented a carriage from a carriage shop yesterday and arranged with the driver to come to her house in the afternoon.
Just at noon, the coachman came to the door. He was a young man in his twenties named Chen Sier.
This person was very sweet-mouthed. Seeing that they had all taken out their things, he smiled and said:
"Oh, you two ladies have worked so hard. Just put it in the yard tomorrow and I'll move it."
Jiang Qinglan said, "In that case, I'll give you an extra ten cents tomorrow."
Chen Si'er was an experienced businessman, so he was just being polite. But he didn't expect that this girl would be so generous and actually add more money.
He was so happy that he said three "good" words in a row and quickly loaded the things into the car.
After riding in a carriage for half an hour, they arrived at the Xishan Cuju Field. Chen Si'er moved the things to the stall and left.
Jiang Qinglan and her sister began to set up their stall.
First, place the ceramic cups one by one, filled with lemonade, but without ice. When customers order, add the ice so that it melts slowly and the drink is more refreshing.
A bowl like this sells for five cents.
There are also some small porcelain cups, which are samples for customers to try. There is a small slice of lemon hanging on each cup.
The pure yellow, paired with the juice with ice chips, is so refreshing just at the sight.
Then she took out the advertising banners she had written earlier, applied some glue, and pasted them on the pillars on both sides of the stall and under the eaves at the top.
In this way, the lemon drink stall began to take shape.
Next to their stall was an old man and a middle-aged man selling watermelon seeds. His family's watermelon seeds were made with a secret recipe passed down from their ancestors and were extremely fragrant.
They have been selling for more than ten years and have a good reputation, so they can compete with the organizer's melon seeds in the Cuju field.
The old man loved to chat. He couldn't read, but when he saw the colorful things on her stall, he asked curiously, "Young lady, what are you writing on this?"
Jiang Qinglan brought two cups over and said to the father and son:
"Aunt, my dear, it's written on my stall: 'Delicious!' If you don't believe me, try it. It's free."
The cup she gave to the old man was ice-free, but the one she gave to the middle-aged man was ice-filled.
After the old man drank it, he covered his face and said, "Ouch, my teeth are sore." But he had to admit that it was really delicious with a hint of sweetness in the sourness.
The middle-aged man was not as enthusiastic as his father. He was taciturn and had no expression on his face after drinking. However, he immediately spent five cents to buy a cup.
It would be strange if he didn’t buy it!
Jiang Qinglan had seen right through this, and the man, having dragged all the things over, was panting with exhaustion and sweating profusely from the heat. This glass of sweet and sour lemonade with ice dispelled the heat.
That’s how the first business deal was done.
Jiang Qinglan explained to him, "My dear, this drink of mine has some special effects. If you feel tired after working, drink more and you will quickly regain your energy."
The middle-aged man nodded, said nothing, and went out of the Cuju field to pull the goods.
Jiang Qinglan knew that he couldn't get anything out of him.
It was still early and there were not many customers in the Cuju field. She spent two cents to buy some watermelon seeds and chatted with the old man.
Old people are lonely and talkative, so they talked a lot, and talked about everything that happened on the Cuju field.
They talked about things like the year it was built, who was the financial backer behind it, and who was the head of the Qiyun Society. They talked about all sorts of things in a chaotic manner.
Jiang Qinglan brought the topic back:
"Aunt has been selling melon seeds for so many years, but has he ever thought about supplying them to the organizer? This way, he wouldn't have to set up a stall outside in the sun."
"Them?" the old man sneered. "If you supply them, they'll keep the price low and eat you till there's nothing left. I sell it myself, and whatever I sell, it's all mine."
Jiang Qinglan knew that being a supplier was no longer feasible.
The old man said, "After all, how much can we earn from selling it? It's just enough to make a living."
He pointed to the carved beams and painted buildings to the west of the Cuju field and said, "If we were to sell food and drink to the people there like we do in Fengle Tower, that would be profitable."
Apart from the Royal Cuju Field, the Xishan Cuju Field was the most luxurious sports field in Lin'an. To the west, where the old man pointed, many tall buildings had been built.
The most famous one is Fengyun Tower, which is equipped with luxurious boxes for princes and nobles to watch the games.
The sunlight was a bit dazzling. Jiang Qinglan looked towards Fengyun Tower and couldn't help squinting his eyes...
——
Fengyun Tower, Green Pavilion on the third floor, Xie Linchuan pushed the door and walked in.
Inside the pavilion, the aroma of meat and wine filled the air, and the girls were laughing and chatting. Seeing him coming, the girls all put down their cups.
Zhu Ming, holding two prostitutes on his left and right, was a little tipsy. He said with a smile, "Come quickly, Liuguang[1]. I've saved all the good ones for you."
There was also a prostitute sitting beside Chen Yue: "Liuguang, since you went to the Lin'an Prefecture Office, we brothers haven't gathered for a long time."
Zhu Ming's father is Zhu Congda, the second-rank general of the Jinwu Guard. Zhu Ming now holds a sinecure in the Dali Temple.
Chen Yue is the son of Liu Qing, a third-rank Hanlin scholar. He passed the imperial examination this spring but has not yet been appointed to an official position.
In Lin'an City, there is never a shortage of drinking buddies among the children of high-ranking officials.
Like Xie Linchuan, these two people all loved Cuju. Over time, the three of them got together.
"I'm here." Xie Linchuan threw the horsewhip on the table, fell down in the armchair, picked up the wine cup, and took a sip.
After drinking, he smiled at Chen Yue and said:
"When you become an official, you'll know how annoying it is to be on duty."
"Forget it, forget it," Zhu Ming said, grinning with deep understanding. "Come and watch Cuju, don't mention those annoying things."
After saying that, he patted the beautiful prostitute on the left on the shoulder.
"go."
The prostitute understood and stood up to pour wine for Xie Linchuan: "I am here to serve you, my lord." Her face was rosy and her body was as soft as boneless, and she was about to fall into his arms.
Xie Linchuan frowned, and with his feet, he moved his body and the chair to the side.
"Don't you have bones?"
The prostitute fell flat on her face, her waist stabbing against the wooden handle of the armchair, causing her to grimace in pain. Hearing his displeasure, she quickly fell to her knees, trembling all over.
"Oh," Zhu Ming tried to smooth things over, "I know you, Xie Liuguang, like to be clean. Minmin is a clean prostitute. I paid a lot of money for her."
Chen Yue said, "You think everyone is just like you, just like that little thing. Liuguang's family education is very strict."
"Be good, don't be afraid," Zhu Ming waved to Minmin, "Prince Xie is just joking with you." Minmin wiped her tears, climbed up, and fell into Zhu Ming's arms again.
Xie Linchuan didn't care about these things. Women—whether it was Princess Baoqing or any of these beautiful women—in his heart, they were nothing but trouble.
Turn your head away and look at the field.
Just a quarter of an hour into the game, the signs of success were already apparent.
The Flames, as their name suggests, excel at aggressive attacking, especially their striker, Li Zheng, who is a renowned marksman. He is adept at stabbing, cushioning, volleying, and pushing shots.
A man in red, wearing a silver mask, dashed left and right on the field at an extremely fast speed. Unfortunately, he was surrounded by three men in blue and could not control the ball.
Chen Yue murmured, "Qiyun Society actually used three people to defend Li Zheng."
The Cuju field was not as large as it is today, and each side had six players, and there was no goalkeeper. Qiyun Club used three players to defend Li Zheng, leaving only three.
Zhu Ming swallowed the grapes Jiaojiao handed him and kissed her hand, unwilling to take his lustful eyes away from her breasts:
"What if we don't have three defenders? Let Li Zheng shoot. He can score eight goals a game."
But Qiyun Club also has an advantage, which is the balance of power. On the other hand, Li Zheng is too dominant in the Flame Team, while the other members are not as impressive.
Once Li Zheng is defended, the Flames' strength will be greatly reduced.
Jiaojiao covered her mouth and laughed, saying delicately:
"Which team will win? The gentlemen keep talking, but they won't say a word. As for Guan Pu, I don't know what to buy."
Chen Yue shook his head: "It's hard to say. Qiyun Society is really well-prepared." Looking at the turbulent situation on the field, he suddenly frowned and looked at Xie Linchuan, "This is actually..."
Xie Linchuan stared at the situation on the field for a long time without saying anything. Only then did he say, "No striker formation."
Hearing this, even Zhu Ming pushed Jiaojiao and Minmin away and stood up to look.
"The Qiyun Society actually secretly trained this lost formation. I'm afraid it was specifically designed to defend against Li Zheng."
In the setting of Cuju players, they are generally divided into forwards, midfielders and defenders according to the order from offense to defense.
There is no striker in the strikerless formation, which is equivalent to reducing the offense in order to use more strength for defense.
The advantage of Qiyunshe using this formation is that it can drag the game out. When the Flames' main player, Li Zheng, is exhausted, they can then switch to another formation and sprint forward.
Zhu Ming understood, and immediately slapped his thigh and threw two silver ingots on Jiaojiao's soft breasts:
"I bet Qiyun Society will win. Use this hundred taels to buy Guan Pu for me!"
"I obey your command!" Jiaojiao smiled from ear to ear, hurried to the door to call the little maid, added another ten taels of silver, and whispered, "Bet on Qiyun Society to win."
The game continued for a long time, with one team attacking fiercely and the other defending impeccably, but the score was still 0-0. The gong sounded, marking the end of the first half and the players from both teams taking a quarter-hour break.
At this time, Chen Yue smiled and said:
"Zhengze[2], don't speak so early. Qiyun Society's style of play did defend against Li Zheng, but it consumed more of their physical energy. Perhaps they would have exhausted themselves before they could have dragged Li Zheng off the court."
In this era, sports medicine is not well developed. Not only will people collapse from exhaustion during competitions, but there will even be sudden death from running.
Zhu Ming: "This..." He looked at Xie Linchuan again, "Liuguang, please say something."
Xie Linchuan was usually full of laughter, anger, and scolding, but at this moment, he was serious. Hearing this, he said, "Even if you beat Guan Pu, you can only get a few dollars. Why do you still care about this?"
Zhu Ming: "Not for money, just for fun."
Xie Linchuan: "Since it's fun, wouldn't it be more fun if I won based on my own judgment?" After saying that, he left the Green Pavilion and went downstairs.
Zhu Ming looked at Chen Yue with an innocent look on his face: "He...he took gunpowder?"
Chen Yue looked at Minmin, laughed heartily, and gloated: "Who told you to give him some prostitutes?"
Zhu Ming: “…”
It was almost June and the weather was already hot. The box was filled with a strong smell of cosmetics, making it feel stuffy.
Xie Linchuan went downstairs. Although it was hot outside, there was at least some breeze.
He walked around the field and observed the changes in the formations of both sides from various angles.
When I reached the northeast corner, I heard a woman's voice, as clear and melodious as pearls falling on a jade plate and the wind blowing eaves bells:
"Aside from the man with the silver mask, the remaining three members of Qiyun Society will have to face off against the five members of the Flame Team. How tiring! If the Flame Team replaced them with a stronger player at this moment, wouldn't they be sure to win?"
Xie Linchuan was shocked.
Because what she said was exactly what he thought.
【Author’s words】
[1] Xie Linchuan, also known as Liuguang.
[2] Zhu Ming’s courtesy name was Zhengze.
The ranking list will be updated from this Thursday to next Thursday. Except for next Tuesday, there will be updates at 6 am every other day, ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 words.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
