Juxianlou Restaurant was indeed newly decorated today. Compared to when Jing Zhe left in the evening, all the tables and chairs that used to fill the hall had been moved to one side of the hall, making the whole hall appear more spacious.
Above the main hall hung hundreds of small lanterns, each with a slip of paper attached to its tassel. Many people were gathered under one lantern, discussing something.
No need to ask, they're definitely trying to solve riddles!
Since he had already paid to get in, there was no point in getting angry anymore. So Chen Jiannan went over to take a look and found that everyone was gathered under a lantern, talking about something.
These people are dressed like scholars, so they must have been educated. Although the riddles are difficult, the point of guessing them is just to create an atmosphere. But these scholars didn't even bother to solve the riddles, let alone guess them. It's really strange!
Regardless of whether you can do it or not, at least dismantle one!
How can you know if it's possible if you don't even bother to dismantle it?
Why waste time like this?
It seems this small place is indeed a small place, incomparable to our Jingzhou!
At this moment, Chen Jiannan, brimming with confidence and a sense of superiority, stepped forward and sneered inwardly: Then I'll show you how the talented scholar from Jingzhou solves riddles!
So he reached out and took out a slip of paper from under the lantern tassel. People around him looked over, which made Chen Jiannan even more smug. Just as he was about to open it, a hand blocked him.
Chen Jiannan looked up and saw that it was the bald waiter.
"What's wrong?"
The bald waiter held out his hand: "Pay up!"
"Give me money? What kind of money?"
Chen Jiannan was a little confused, then a little angry: "Are you all crazy for money? You took five taels of silver when we first came in, why are you asking for money again now?"
The bald waiter looked at him with disdain: "That was the entrance fee, this is the lighting fee!"
"Lighting fee?"
"What, didn't you hear the rules for guessing the riddles?"
"..."
Chen Jiannan was stunned. Whether in Yongzhou or Jingzhou, he had participated in many lantern riddle guessing activities, and in every one of them, he just opened the riddle and guessed it. When had he ever heard of a lantern-lighting fee?
"We've just walked in, how would we know the rules?"
"Okay, then I'll tell you again!"
At this moment, the bald waiter shouted loudly, and everyone stopped talking and looked over.
The bald waiter then said, "Since many people are new here and don't know the rules for guessing lantern riddles, I'll explain them again. Listen carefully, and don't say you don't know the rules later!"
As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Chen Jiannan.
"This lantern riddle guessing event is jointly organized by our Juxianlou and Zhoujia Cloth Shop, and there are many benefits. Of course, these lantern riddles are not to be guessed randomly; there is a fee for turning on the lanterns."
"The so-called 'lighting fee' means that as long as you take a lantern, you have to pay one tael of silver to open the riddle, and then tell me the riddle you guessed. If you guess it wrong, the riddle is put back and someone else has to guess it. Of course, there is a time limit, otherwise how can everyone guess for ten days or half a month?"
"However, even if you can't guess correctly, our Miss Zhou will give you a new cotton-padded coat made by the Zhou Family Cloth Shop! As everyone knows, a cotton-padded coat from the Zhou Family Cloth Shop costs five hundred coins, so even if you can't guess correctly, it's still a good deal!"
"If you guess correctly, our Juxianlou and Zhou Family Cloth Shop will jointly give the talented person who guessed correctly fifty taels of silver as a reward!"
"Whoosh!"
These words caused an uproar in the audience.
A bet of one tael of silver against fifty taels of silver is too high a payout!
And even if you guess wrong, it's just like buying a cotton-padded coat from Zhou's Cloth Shop for twice the price, so it's not a loss...
Okay, I'll take a small loss.
...
"Did you understand?"
At this moment, the bald waiter looked at Chen Jiannan, who was in a daze, and asked.
"I understand."
Chen Jiannan nodded. Only now did he finally understand why so many people had been pointing and whispering under the lanterns, but no one had tried to guess the riddles!
It's all about money!
"If you understand, then pay up!"
Seeing that Chen Jiannan only answered but did not respond, the bald waiter was a little dissatisfied and urged him on.
"Why should I pay? I'll just stop guessing!"
Chen Jiannan wasn't stupid; he knew that getting a bargain wasn't so easy. In this situation, there was definitely something fishy going on! He might not only fail to get the fifty taels of silver but also lose an extra tael for nothing!
Their group had already racked up several hundred taels in room fees, and the few of them who came in just now spent several dozen taels. Although he didn't pay for it himself, he was still bleeding money out of them!
Therefore, he would not spend even a single tael of silver more!
But the bald waiter objected: "You've already taken the slip of paper off the lantern tassel. Whether you guess or not, you still have to pay. That's the rule!"
"..."
Just as Chen Jiannan was about to retort, several burly men with fierce faces came to his side and surrounded him. Judging from this situation, if he dared not hand over the goods, he would be beaten up the next day!
At this moment, he glanced helplessly at Jing Zhe, and only when Jing Zhe nodded at him did he have an idea.
"It's just a tael of silver! I'll pay it!"
As he spoke, he took out a tael of silver and handed it over, then unfolded the slip of paper, staring at the riddle on it with a furrowed brow.
Just as he thought, this riddle was very difficult, and it was indeed not easy to get those fifty taels of silver!
"Have you figured it out yet?"
Urged on by the bald waiter, Chen Jiannan was covered in sweat.
"Five, four, three, two, one, okay, time's up. Since you can't guess it, put the riddle back and let others try. Oh, here's a voucher; you can go to Zhou's Cloth Shop to pick up a cotton coat after the poetry gathering!"
The bald waiter casually counted a few numbers before interrupting Chen Jiannan, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Alright, who wants to guess the riddles next?"
"..."
Judging from Chen Jiannan's attire and demeanor, everyone was not stupid and could guess that he must have some talent. But if he was like this, then most of the others would probably be the same.
It's just losing money!
So everyone kept quiet after that, and no one wanted to try it anymore.
Jing Zhe approached Chen Jiannan, who had stepped back, and asked, "What happened? What's the riddle?"
"After a long rain, the sun shines again. What Chinese character is this?"
Jing Zhe was taken aback after hearing this, and asked in confusion, "This shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"
Before Jing Zhe arrived in Yongzhou, Chen Jiannan was considered the most talented scholar in Yongzhou, and Jing Zhe believed in his talent.
As for the riddle, it's not particularly difficult, but it's not exactly easy either. However, Jing Zhe felt that for Chen Jiannan's level of expertise, the answer to this riddle was only average.
Chen Jiannan sighed and said, "Looking at the answer to this riddle now, it's indeed not difficult. I figured it out too. It's just that I was too nervous just now, and with him urging me, I couldn't concentrate at all, so I didn't figure it out. Sigh, another tael of silver wasted!"
Chen Jiannan said with frustration.
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