The winter of the sixth year of the Great Song Dynasty, Hangzhou.

The fluttering snow has not stopped from noon to evening, and in the evening, the smoke rises from every house, and the six-petaled snowflakes are tangled and falling in the air, forming a very beautiful freehand painting.

The children laughing and playing in the streets and alleys are called back to eat by the adults, the cold of winter makes the men more willing to nest by the stove and make a pot of tea with melon seeds to keep warm, the noise of the day has become quiet, and the streets at night can only hear the rustling of snowflakes on the ground, and the occasional creaking sound of pedestrians walking by.

At this time, the Bao Ji dumpling shop at the entrance of the official lane was very lively.

"Look at this snow, I don't know when the road will stop, Ruixue is a good year, it seems that there will be a good harvest next year." A diner looked outside and sighed.

"Second brother, have you heard of it, there is a big event in West Lake today, and it is lively." Another eater pretended to be mysterious but deliberately raised his voice.

"You're talking about tonight's competition between the girls of 'Four Seasons' and 'Remembering Jiangnan'." The guy who was eating at the same table with him wiped his sweat while eating, and shouted again, "Miss Bao, have four taels of yam chicken dumplings."

The two of them immediately came over to the side table, "Second brother, tell us about it."

"Go, didn't you see that I was eating, why don't you help me settle the bill?" The guy who was called the second brother squinted his eyes and looked at the people on the side.

"Second brother said it was funny, the younger brothers are eager to settle the bill for you, it's not that you don't give us a chance, isn't it a few brothers?" Several people were smiling and trying their best to please Lu.

"Forget it, let me ask you for this little money, it's cheap for you stinky boys, invite the second brother and me to eat in the restaurant another day."

The person known as the second brother was dressed as a yamen official, and at the moment he looked full of food and drink: "Let me tell you, as soon as I arrived at the Yamen this morning, I will arrange a task from above, saying that it is necessary to be strictly vigilant in the vicinity of Fengyu Gate near the West Lake at night, and then quietly asked, only to know that tonight it is the girls of the 'Four Seasons Fang' in the city and the newcomer to the painting boat "Yi Jiangnan" to compete for talents. ”

"Second brother, the painting boat known as 'Remembering Jiangnan' has only been here for a few days, and as soon as it arrives, it will challenge the 'Four Seasons Fang' of Washe Zhong'an Bridge, the largest in our city, and it must have something to rely on! The little brother heard that the girls in 'Yi Jiangnan' are all as beautiful as fairies", a short and fat man said excitedly.

"You're less fucking drooling, you haven't seen the girl in 'Yi Jiangnan', you know what a fart. The girls of our Hangzhou 'Four Seasons Fang' are both talented and beautiful, one race and one competition. Do you know that there is a powerful master behind the 'Four Seasons Fang'." The tall, thin man next to him retorted dismissively.

"I ...... I didn't see it, but someone saw that my sister-in-law and his brother-in-law's uncle and nephew once delivered food, and occasionally saw their painting girl show her face, and I was shocked at that time, and many people knew about it. Who doesn't envy my relatives in the boats near the West Lake now? A good errand like delivering food can't be grabbed now. Humpty Dumpty was anxious to get back into the situation, and he stuttered a little in a hurry.

Seeing that the people around him stopped their chopsticks and pricked up their ears to listen to what he was saying, he couldn't help but feel a little proud again, and continued to taunt: "About the girls of 'Yijiangnan', I heard that the master behind them is really amazing, their girls are all carefully selected, from different races, and cultivated since childhood, can the girls of 'Four Seasons Fang' compare?" 'Remembering Jiangnan' is the first stop in Hangzhou City this time to make a name for itself. ”

The tall and thin man was pressed down, and he was suddenly choked and speechless, and Humpty Dumpty looked at it with joy in his heart.

"Okay, okay, let's eat and eat well, enough is enough, second brother I'm going to go on a night patrol now, you guys talk slowly" The person who was called the second brother on the side was impatient to listen to this again, he pushed away the bowl, raised his voice and shouted: "Miss Bao, old rules, keep accounts!" With that, he straightened up, shook the folds of his clothes, pushed the door open, and stepped into the snow.

At this time, the sky has darkened, the snow is gradually lightening, and just after half of the unitary hour, the West Lake begins to be lively.

In the middle of the lake, there is a very big painting boat, which is five zhang high, and there are more than a dozen palace lamps of large and small hanging high on the mast, three of which are extraordinarily bright and extraordinarily large, respectively, reflect a word, and slip down to just three beautiful big characters "Remembering Jiangnan", which are quietly lit up in the snow, as if reading the prosperity and not being moved.

The exterior of the painting boat is very ordinary, calmly parked in the lake, but the ordinary appearance faintly reveals a little extraordinary, and there seems to be a lot of charm waiting to be radiated inside.

It seems that the ordinary ship is about 40 zhang long, but it is driven by wheels and oars, and if you look closely, the wheels are not ordinary wooden wheels, they are made of materials that have never been seen.

In the case that the shipbuilding industry in this dynasty was not developed, there were basically no ships driven by these two at the same time, not to mention that the materials of the wheels could not be seen at that time, which made people secretly surprised under curiosity, and they couldn't help but wonder about the owner of the painting boat.

In the distance, the lake and shore were already lit up with lights, but it turned out that boats of all sizes began to lean towards the boat, and at this time the noise began to sound in the silent lake.

And the people on the ship were also in place at this moment, and they were busy in an orderly manner, and the little people who welcomed the guests walked to the deck to prepare for the upcoming guests.

The first boat slowly approached, and several pontoons immediately set up. At this time, the crisp and loud voice of the little guy sounded: "May I ask where the distinguished guest is from, can you please post?" ”

"Yin Ji silk, Yin Ren." There is a faint sense of calmness and competence in the young voice.

The person who came is the second young east Yin Ren of Hangzhou City Yin Ji Silk Village, "Yin Ji Silk" as the largest silk village in Hangzhou City, and even the largest silk family in the south of the Yangtze River, they sell silk to the royal family, down to the ordinary people are all loved, and the dignitaries are proud to wear the clothes made of "Yin Ji Silk".

In the Great Song Dynasty, there is a treasure number 'Yin Ji silk', and it is one of the professional silk suppliers in the palace, that is, the so-called "official silk". Although the Yin family cannot be said to be rich and rival the country, it is also considered to be wealthy.

And Yin Ji's business in Hangzhou is basically in charge of this second young master of the Yin family, and it can be said that this Yin Ren is a powerful figure in the Yin family.

"Yin Er is here, please ~~" A small guy led the way to the door of the cabin, and then handed over to the maid inside to arrange a seat. The other guy commanded the Yin family to come and float in the designated place. All the arrangements were in order, and seeing this, Yin Ershao couldn't help but show appreciation.

In winter, Hangzhou has a unique cold in the south, and the painting boat is moored on the lake, and at night, the cold wind blows, which makes people cold to the bones, and the cold hits in bursts.

Fortunately, Yin Ren walked into the cabin at this time, and a burst of warmth came to his face, which made people feel like a spring breeze and the chill disappeared. He couldn't help but take a closer look at the layout of the cabin: the three-story cabin, one of which was a large hall, which could accommodate about fifty or sixty people, and next to the hall was a staircase from the first floor to the third floor, spiraling up in a semi-encircled shape.

The top in the center of the hall is the middle roof of the whole painting boat, similar to a large dome, making the hall appear spacious and not oppressive. The staircase up the stairs is a spiral staircase, and there are rooms on each floor, and there is a long corridor outside the room, and you can see the hall at a glance from the corridors on the second and third floors.

There are shiny lamps hanging on the top of the hall, which are actually rare glass lamps, and there are similar large and small lamps hanging all around to illuminate the cabin very brightly, and the whole cabin does not know what kind of incense is lit, the smell is extremely good, and there is no trace of incense when looking around. The interior of the hall is covered with a thick blanket, which is soft and comfortable to step on.

Look at the little guys outside, all of them are handsome and polite, and they are extremely clever; And the maid is also generous and decent, with good looks, and the next person is still like this, the girl in it doesn't know how to give birth to the Dao, thinking of this, Yin Ershao is more and more curious about the painting boat and its owner.

On the edge of the hall on the first floor, there are seven or eight rooms lined up, which are estimated to be distinguished guest lounges, and Yin Ershao has also been introduced into one of the lounges.

Look at this lounge again, it is simple and comfortable, there are a few and two chairs on the left hand side of the door, the chairs are covered with thick cushions, and some miscellaneous books are placed on them;

On the wall to the right of the door, however, hangs a strange painting, not like an ordinary ink painting, but painted in bright colors.

In addition, there is a couch placed on the side by the window, and there is a thick cushion on it, so that you can rest for a while, and there are a few on the side of the couch, and there is a small lamp on it, and there is a candle under the lamp, and there is a small tray on it, and there is water in it, and there is a layer of oil floating on the water, I don't know what it is, and the good smell is emanating from it.

Looking at a corner, you can see that the whole painting boat is actually some strange things that have never been seen before. Drinking the tea sent by the maid, Yin Ershao fell into deep thought.