Zhang Tiezui deliberately pursed his lips with disdain and said: "The girl's appearance is not something you boasted of, you have to see it for yourself." ”

"That's that, please sit on the boat for a while, and I'll bring you the girl." ”

Zhang Tiezui followed the turtle boy on the pedal to the painting boat, and sat down on a delicate soft couch in the hollowed-out cabin on all sides. Gently shaking the folding fan in his hand, he carried the thirty taels of silver given by Yang Xianmao for a month in his arms, as well as the money he earned before, and made up fifty taels. Zhang Tiezui thought that it was enough, so he didn't panic when he had money in his hand.

After a while, the turtle came up with seven or eight women with flowers and branches, and these women stood in front of him in a row, either holding a pipa or a hole flute in their arms. Some replied shyly, while others looked affectionate, of course. There are also a few nostrils that are very high in the sky, and they are only selling their art and not their bodies, and they don't want to fight the old lady's idea.

Zhang Tiezui shook the folding fan, and his gaze swept over their faces and bodies one by one.

If before this, he went to Huajie Willow Lane to find a girl, then the first thing he looked at was the figure, and then he would look at the face. Now it's different, the first one is to look at the face plate, the face plate must be handsome, and it must be able to hook the soul, so that the golden beetle son-in-law will not let go.

His gaze looked at the girls in front of him one by one, and when he finished reading them, he almost swallowed up his saliva. - These women are really one by one, of course, most of them are greased and powdered, but the already delicate and delicate faces are even more beautiful with the embellishment of fat powder, and some even have a sense of otherworldliness.

However, two or three of them were not greased and powdered, but they made Zhang Tiezui feel as delicate as a mountain spring. He couldn't help muttering in his heart, does this Yang Xianmao like gorgeous and colorful, or does he like the natural beauty like the fragrant grass in the mountains?

When the old bustard saw that Zhang Tiezui touched his beard and didn't speak, he thought he couldn't look down on it, so he immediately said: "Uncle, there are two waves behind, a total of three waves, do you decide after reading it?"

It turned out that there were three waves, and this iron mouth secretly called it a fluke, but fortunately he didn't make a decision so early. So he said to the old bustard, "Call those two groups as well, stand on the left and right sides, and I'll pick them one by one." ”

Because he came early, there were almost no guests to come to the painting boat, so he could choose calmly. The old bustard hurriedly called the other girls and lined them up for him to choose.

Zhang Tiezui looked at the girls on both sides one by one, and there were also two or three pure singers in each row who did not use powder.

He has repeatedly weighed it in his heart, and feels that there must be no shortage of women around the children of big families like Yang Xianmao, who is definitely a veteran among the flowers, this kind of person is afraid that he is already tired of those rouge vulgar powder, but this kind of quiet and elegant can make them feel more excited.

So after weighing it, Zhang Tiezui still decided to find a fresh and elegant one, after all, there is still a long time to contact behind, not a short time, and it is always good to endure it.

After all, through a layer of grease powder, who knows what the true color will be after washing it off, if you use rouge gouache to cover up the defects, and it will be very scary after washing it off, then it will be worth the loss.

Thinking of this, the iron mouth said to the old bustard: "Leave these few without makeup, and the other girls can retreat." ”

The women who were not selected were a little disappointed, but the women on the big painting boat were all somewhat educated, and there was no displeasure on their faces, so they only gave a blessing and then retreated.

There are still five or six who don't apply powder, two of them should be in their twenties, and their posture is relatively mediocre, after all, in the singer's business, the main thing is to look at the level of singing, dancing and singing, and the posture is secondary.

There are also some red-card singers who are actually mediocre in appearance, but these people can be sought after by those literati and artists. However, the painting boat that Zhang Tiezui came from is relatively high-grade in Qinhuai Tower, and it can really be described as a double masterpiece of color and art. Therefore, even the slightly mediocre singer is also a middle-class talent.

This made Zhang Tiezui feel uncertain, and he would pick the best if he wanted to, so he asked the two who were obviously over twenty years old to step down, and then he asked the remaining four singers and said, "The one of the four of you who is free will stay." ”

The singer's line is different from the Qinglou women who are in the skin and meat business, and many singers are actually not sold to the Qinglou to sing, but have a skill, in order to earn money to supplement the family, they voluntarily go to the painting boat to sell art to earn money.

Of course, there are also courtesans raised by the painters themselves, these are bought at a very young age, taught piano, chess, calligraphy and painting from an early age, and specially cultivated for the silver in the pockets of literati and inkmen, these women actually have no freedom.

After hearing Zhang Tiezui's words, two more women held the pipa and retreated, leaving only the two young girls still standing.

Zhang Tiezui said, "Which of you two has a good amount of wine? ”

Zhang Tiezui knew that Yang Xianmao liked to drink because he had been drinking with Yang Xianmao these days, so he thought that it would be better if this woman could also drink two glasses.

The remaining two women glanced at each other, and one of them, a singer dressed in red, said generously, "I basically can't pour a pot of wine." ”

Another singer blushed, shook her head and said, "I'm not good at drinking, and I'll get dizzy after one drink at most." ”

Hearing this, Zhang Tiezui pointed at the girl in red and said, "Okay, then you stay." ”

Seeing that Zhang Tiezui picked out the singer he liked, the old bustard withdrew with a smile. At this time, Zhang Tiezui suddenly remembered one thing, he usually went to Flower Street and Willow Lane to spend money, but this kind of singing and dancing boat was the first time he came, so it was best to ask about the market. However, when he asked the girl how much it was, he said to the girl in red, "You go and call a boat, and we will go to the river and swim slowly with the waves, and listen to you play the pipa and admire the moon." ”

The girl in red hurriedly agreed and turned around to arrange it, the painting boat was very large, and if there were a hundred or ten people on it, it would be very noisy. Therefore, the boat always has some small boats, and some drinkers who like to be quiet can take the singer to take this kind of boat to play slowly.

After seeing the woman leave, Zhang Tiezui beckoned the old bustard over, and said in a low voice: "How much silver will it cost me to order this girl to sing a song, including wine? ”

Zhang Tiezui is used to the bargaining in Fireworks Willow Lane, where he is afraid of others ripping off the bamboo, so he always pretends to be poor. The money must not be spent, and he must keep some of it to take back to his hometown for his wife and daughter.

But he didn't know that the singer on the painting boat was different from the flower street and willow lane, and the people who came here were all for elegance, and a few of them pretended to be poor. I can't wait to dress up as a rich man who spends a lot of money, so as to win a smile from the beautiful women, lest these women who are both beautiful and artistic look down on themselves.

Therefore, after hearing his words, the old bustard immediately understood that this master should not come to the painting boat very much, and she did not plan to knock on other people's bamboo poles, so as not to spread the word to those literati and ink writers, so she looked down on the painting boat and did not come again, and the loss would be great. So the old bustard said truthfully: "Tonight it will be twelve taels of silver, and then the girl will come back, and it will not be overnight." ”

Zhang Tiezui gasped, and played a few tunes, which cost twelve taels of silver in one night. I worked hard to tell people hexagrams, but I am afraid that it will take more than half a month to earn these twelve taels of silver.

Seeing his expression, the old bustard knew that this price frightened the uncle, and quickly explained: "This girl's name is Caifeng, but we have one of the best red cards on the painting boat, and there are many literati and ink writers who point to her." Uncle today, you came early, so you can point to her, I'm afraid that it will only be a moment for others to come, I'm afraid you won't be able to see you, hehehe. So, her worth is higher than other girls. If the uncle forgets to bring more silver today, it doesn't matter, there are five taels or even two taels of girls on the boat, which are the ones with the thickest gouache you saw earlier. To be honest, it's a little old, and it can't be compared with Caifeng girl in terms of playing and singing, after all, you get what you pay for, you say no. In fact, uncle, you are a rich and powerful person at first glance, and you are the most suitable for Caifeng girl and uncle. ”

Zhang Tiezui waved his hand and said, "I know, you can step aside." ”

The old bustard laughed and hurriedly bowed and retreated, and after a while, the Caifeng girl came in and told Zhang Tiezui that the boat was ready, so Zhang Tiezui followed her into the boat. A small table has been set up on the ship, with drinks and fruit snacks on it.

A middle-aged boat lady is in charge of rocking the oars at the stern, while Caifeng is sitting on a futon at the bow of the boat with a lute. Zhang Tiezui sat at the back of the coffee table, gently shaking the folding fan, thinking, these literati and elegant guests will really enjoy it, but this kind of livelihood is too expensive, and he can't afford to spend it, so it's better to get down to business as soon as possible.

So he ordered the boat to be propped up, and soon the boat swayed to the center of the river. Miss Caifeng asked softly, "May I ask what song the guest officer wants to hear?"

Zhang Tiezui has never heard any elegant tunes except for some vulgar songs, and he naturally knows that this kind of occasion is not suitable for singing that kind of tune, so he pretended to be chic and said: "You can sing whatever you want, just pick up what you like." ”

Caifeng nodded after hearing this, and played the pipa and sang a song with a slow twist. It was really a tactful singing, and it was endless for three days, and the iron mouth that listened to it was full of admiration. I thought to myself, this voice and this tune are much better than the songs I listened to those women sing in Willow Lane, Flower Street, but unfortunately I didn't understand half of the content of this singing, and it was not as interesting as those easy-to-understand songs.

After listening to this song, Zhang Tiezui's folding fan was closed and said: "Caifeng girl, I really don't hide it." I'm a fortune teller, and I'm here to find a girl to negotiate a big deal with her to make money. If this deal can be negotiated, you can earn a thousand taels of silver at a time. I wonder if Miss Caifeng is interested in this thousand taels of silver?"

When Caifeng heard this, her face showed surprise, she looked at Zhang Tiezui and said, "Uncle's words, Caifeng doesn't quite understand, can you explain in detail." ”