A year ago, inside the city.

Wei Bingyue walked on the street with an impatient look: "Why are you following me?" It's hard to come to Bibo City for a trip, and you can play by yourself. Wei Yangyang, who was close to him, did not relent: "Are you going to Qingyinlou tonight?" Can you take me to see it? I've never seen it before, and I've heard that the girls there are transported from Jiangnan, and they are all tender and can pinch out the water, is it true? Wei Bingyue didn't bother to answer her, but said: "It's all girls there, it's a place for men to have fun, what are you going to have fun?" Wei Yangyang dragged him: "I'm also going to have fun, why can't I watch a good-looking girl?" You're only allowed to see it? ”

Wei Bingyue ignored her anymore, turned over on his horse, and said, "Don't play too wild, you have to go back to the blue camp before dark tomorrow, don't make trouble outside, I'm leaving." "Hey", Wei Yangyang wanted to stop him. This man really is, the more you tell him to run, the faster he runs. Wei Yangyang thought for a while, and said in his heart: Why do I want him to take me? I have the money with me, so I can go myself. But when she arrived at the door of the Qingyin Building, she found a big problem: they only entertained male guests, not female guests. If a female guest wants to enter, she can only be taken by a man. What is the rationale for this? But she knew that Wei Bingyue would definitely come at night, so she waited at the door of the Qingyin Building.

When it got dark, the pink lanterns lit up all over the street, and there were soliciting girls standing at the entrance of every brothel. Some passers-by were dragged in, but there were also others who rudely refused the girl. Wei Yangyang looked at those girls, each of them was very young, and some of them looked like they were still underage, but they also had to make all kinds of frivolous actions to seduce the guests.

A girl grabbed the guest's hand and said, "Master, master, please do well, I can't sell the shop anymore, I will be beaten tonight, even if you don't order the shop, you can order plates, sit down and drink a pot of tea, I will serve you well." ”

The brothel behind this girl is not as good as Qingyinlou, and it is obviously a second-class brothel. But Wei Yangyang didn't know the jargon of brothels, so he didn't understand what kind of business "shop plates" was. The guest shook off the girl's hand and said, "Go away, go away, I'm not free tonight." Wei Yangyang looked at the man, short and full of oil, the girl was white and pure, she thought to herself: Oh, it is a pity that such a good-looking girl has to wait for that rough man.

She saw that at the door of another even worse brothel, a girl had stripped down the clothes on her chest, and her white and tender chest was about to come out, and the girl rubbed her chest against a regular customer, and said, "Master, why haven't you come for so long?" You forgot, I'm Gantang. Wei Yangyang saw that the girl's chest was very white, but her face was not young. So the guest who was entangled by her had a look of disgust on his face and said, "Oh? Is it Gantang? When the girl heard the guest call her name, and it seemed that the business would be successful, she said flatteringly, "Yes, I am Gantang, and I thought you didn't remember me." The guest said, "It's only been half a year, how did you fall here from Yuqin Courtyard?" Haven't you only been in Yuqin Courtyard for two years from Qingyinlou? ”

Na Gantang showed an embarrassed look on her face, but she knew that if she didn't seize the opportunity, she would have to be rewarded with a whip by the old bustard tonight, so she accompanied her smiling face: "Lilacs are cheap, master, a plate in Qingyinlou will cost five taels of silver, and a shop will cost fifty taels, and it can't be ranked." But here, for only fifty yuan a night, fifty yuan, the slave will serve you comfortably. The guest scolded, "Fifty taels of silver, the lord wants to cut off an ear, that is the silver that was exchanged for his life." Do you know that what you are doing is a skin and meat business, when you were working as an Oiran in Qingyinlou, that posture, tsk, not to mention fifty taels, it is one hundred taels, and it is worth cutting off your ears with your life. But if you look at the way you look today, don't say fifty words, post it to the master, the master still thinks you are ugly! After speaking, he took Gan Tang's hand away and left.

Wei Yangyang couldn't have imagined that the woman in front of him, who didn't look young, turned out to be the Oiran of Qingyinlou two and a half years ago! So she stepped forward and asked curiously, "How old are you?" Gan Tang thought she was in the way: "The girl's house went to the side, what are you doing here?" Wei Yangyang took out a broken silver bean from her purse, thinking that it must be more than fifty yuan, she said: "I'll give you silver, you tell me, okay?" When Gan Tang saw the silver, he immediately smiled: "What does the female bodhisattva want to ask?" You can go in and sit down and order a plate and ask slowly. ”

Wei Yangyang shook his head and said, "I can't go in, I, I'm going to wait here for someone, he will come to the building in a while." ”

Gan Tang hurriedly said: "The light Yin Building will only open after dark, the distinguished guests will only come late and not early, there will be no guests at this time, don't worry." Wei Yangyang nodded, and followed her into the lilac house. This courtyard is very simple, and the women who come and go are all very old.

There was a porter at the door, and he was about to shout, but when he saw the official behind Gan Tang, although he was a man, he was a woman, and he was stunned and held his throat. Gan Tang handed him the silver beans and said, "A plate." Why don't you shout? As long as a female official is willing to buy a plate, she is a guest. When the porter saw the silver, he hurriedly shouted: "Yes, yes, Miss Gantang, a plate!" ”

The two of them walked to Gan Tang's house, Gan Tang saw that she was well dressed, obviously not an ordinary woman, afraid that she would dislike here, so he wiped the stool with his sleeve and said earnestly: "Female official, please take a seat." Wei Yangyang rolled around in the sand every day, and she didn't care if the stool was dirty or not, so she sat down directly.

After a while, the porter brought a pot of tea and four plates, which were not very tasty, but some inferior melon seeds and fruits, which looked dirty. Wei Yangyang had a lot of doubts in his heart, but he didn't know how to ask. Na Gantang spoke first: "The female official just said that she wanted to wait for someone, but she wants to go to the Qingyin Building and arrest your man?" However, looking at your appearance, you are not married, are you? Although Wei Yangyang was wearing men's clothes, her face was full of childishness, and she was obviously a girl who had not left the cabinet. She could only nod and say, "I don't have a man yet, I'm waiting for my brother to let him take me in to see and understand." I heard that there were a lot of fun things in that light house, so I wanted to check them out. ”

Gan Tang looked at her and smiled, and said, "But those fun things are for men, and you won't find it fun if you go." Wei Yangyang was puzzled: "Really? I just heard that person say, you used to be the Oiran of the Light Whispering Building? She grew up in the barracks and didn't beat around the bush. So she looked directly at Gantang, obviously, Gantang's appearance was not the Oiran she imagined.

Gan Tang didn't care about her eyes, but said lightly: "Yes, I am the Oiran of Jiashou for five years and Qingyinlou." After she finished speaking, she touched her face and asked, "Don't you think the female official thinks it's like it?" Right? I looked in the mirror myself and couldn't believe it. Wei Yangyang still looked at her suspiciously, after all, the value dropped from fifty taels to fifty wen, which was a world of difference. Gan Tang continued: "I was born beautiful since I was a child, so I was bought by my bustard mother and carefully cultivated. At the age of nine, he learned to pick up customers, and at first, he just sold plates. Wei Yangyang interrupted her and asked, "What are you talking about selling plates?" ”

Gan Tang smiled: "Selling plates is to accompany guests to drink and chat, and selling shops is to accompany guests to spend the night." Wei Yangyang nodded, although she didn't know what the "overnight" was specifically about, but she thought that it should be a man and a woman lying on the same bed, so it was called a shop.

She stretched out her hand and motioned for Gan Tang to continue. Gan Tang said: "When I was ten years old, I was offered a price by my bustard mother to start selling shops. The girl in the brothel, the first shop, was very expensive, and the guests broke their heads, and in the end they were bought by a noble customer at a price of two hundred taels. Wei Yangyang exclaimed: "Ten years old? Gan Tang nodded: "Yes, ten years old." As I grew up, I became famous, and I often sold six or seven plates and two or three shops in one night. When I was fifteen years old, my face was old, and there were younger and more beautiful girls in the building, so I couldn't sell the shop, and the bustard's mother thought I was useless, so I sold it to Yuqin Yuan. ”

She was afraid that Wei Yangyang would not understand, and explained: "Qingyinlou is a first-class brothel, the girls are young and beautiful, and the value is very high, and most of the guests go to listen to the piano, watch dance, and play cards for recreation; Yuqin Courtyard is second-class, and the guests are there to have fun, so there are many shops sold and few plates; This clove is third-class, and the guests are actually just here to buy the shop, so they don't care whether the food is good or not. ”

Wei Yangyang thought about it, and the guests she saw at the door of the Qingyin Building just now were indeed well-dressed and talkative, and there were a few of them she still knew, all of whom were officers in the Wei family's army. However, the guests who entered and exited the lilac house were indeed much worse dressed, and she said: "But, why have you been sold here again in just half a year?" Gan Tang smiled: "In this business, young and beautiful people are valuable." The older you get, the more you lose your appearance, and the less valuable you become. If I continue like this, maybe, I will be sold into a fourth-class restaurant. ”

Wei Yangyang was even more puzzled: "Fourth-class restaurant? It's already very bad here, how bad is it for the fourth-class? Gan Tang said: "If you put four or five beds in a room, you can sell a shop." Wei Yangyang was shocked and asked, "A room?" Girls and guests, all in there? Gan Tang replied to her indifferently: "Well, the guests who can go to that kind of place are just looking for women, and they don't care about anything else." She smiled and said, "The female official is scared? The fourth class is not the worst, there are even worse. ”

Wei Yangyang couldn't think of how bad this could be. She asked, "What will happen if it is worse than the fourth class?" Don't even have a house? ”

Gan Tang said: "Yes, if you can't stay even in the fourth class, then it has no value at all, and the bustard mother will throw people directly into the street, then you can only be a wild prostitute." negotiated the price with the guests on the street, and directly, "She sees that Wei Yangyang is a very innocent girl, and she doesn't know if she wants to continue." Wei Yangyang asked, "How about it directly?" Gan Tang said: "Then it doesn't matter when and where, as long as the customer is willing, you can sell the shop at any time." Wei Yangyang's mouth was open at the moment, and he was only afraid that he would be able to eat the plate in front of him.

Gan Tang asked, "When the female bodhisattva came, did you see some unkempt and ragged women standing at the corner of this street, but holding handkerchiefs?" Wei Yangyang nodded. Gan Tang said: "That's it." Wei Yangyang couldn't think of any guests going to find the wild prostitute, and she asked, "Then, how much silver can such a girl earn at one time?" Gan Tang smiled and said, "Silver? Hahaha, the guests give a cake, a bun, anything, as long as it is eaten, as long as they are given food, they are willing to do anything. Wei Yangyang asked again: "Then, a shop in Qingyinlou costs fifty taels, and they only need a bun?" Gan Tang smiled: "Yes, Qinglou woman, this is what she did, in order to survive, she can do anything if she has something to eat." ”

Wei Yangyang again: "Then, how old are you this year?" Gan Tang touched his face: "Eighteen, after the New Year, it will be nineteen." ”

Wei Yangyang was shocked again, the woman in front of her, who looked almost thirty years old, was actually less than nineteen years old! Three years ago, he was a first-class brothel, but now he has been reduced to a third-class brothel. She exclaimed, "How is that possible? Gan Tang kept a smile on his face: "Is it strange? At most, I sold eighteen shops in one night, and I was devastated every night, so I naturally grew old faster. ”

Wei Yangyang only felt suffocated in her heart, she was on the battlefield, but she was afraid that she didn't feel this way. A nineteen-year-old girl, who had been a prostitute for nine years, was brutalized like this. She asked again: "I just saw that there was a porter staring at the door, and there were thugs, who should be watching you?" Gan Tang said: "Yes, on weekdays, when we sell plates, the bustard's mother will also secretly listen to the root of the wall at the door of the house, afraid that we will be moved by the guests, so we will collect the money for the plates, but go to the bunk with the guests." ”

Wei Yangyang didn't notice that someone was eavesdropping at the door, and she asked, "Why didn't the bustard mother come to listen today?" Gan Tang said: "Because the bustard's mother knows that you are a girl, I naturally will not secretly stick it on your shop." ”

Wei Yangyang also felt that she was a little stupid to ask this question, and she took out some broken silver from her purse: "Then no one eavesdropped, I'll give you more, you can secretly put it up yourself, okay, you can redeem yourself?" Gan Tang hurriedly collected the broken silver and said, "Thank you, Bodhisattva, but I will give it to the bustard's mother, otherwise, if I am discovered, I will be beaten again." ”

Wei Yangyang was very anxious: "Why do you want to give it to her." You hide, you hide," She looked around the room, there was no furniture except the table and bed, not even Gantang's clothes. She was very discouraged: "It's true that there is no way to hide the silver." ”

Gan Tang asked, "Female Bodhisattva, do you have anything to eat?" Wei Yangyang hurriedly went to dig out his snack bag: "Yes, I have a sticker cake with me, a hair cake, oh, and a few almonds, all for you." What she took out was not a multigrain cake, but a glutinous rice cake, and almonds were even rarer, and it was obvious that she was a family member of a high-ranking official. Gan Tang thanked her busily, picked up the hair cake first, ate it in a few bites, and picked up the cake again, but it was not dry, and gnawed it directly. Wei Yangyang said: "You eat slowly, I'll help you stare out the window, and the province will be seen by the bustard." Gan Tang didn't have time to answer her, only said "um", but his mouth didn't stop at all.

Before she finished eating, she remembered the voice of the porter at the door and shouted, "Miss Gantang, it's time to send off!" Wei Yangyang was annoyed by him, picked up a piece of broken silver and smashed it on his head, and shouted: "Grandma buy two more plates, get out!" Money can make the devil grind, and immediately outside the house sounded the sound of the porter picking up the silver, and he slipped away.

After Gan Tang finished eating, he wiped his mouth and thanked Wei Yangyang. Wei Yangyang asked, "Mother Bustard won't give you food?" Gan Tang said: "If you sell more shops, you can eat enough, and you can't eat enough if you only sell plates." If you can't sell it, you won't have anything to eat today, and you will be beaten. She rolled up her sleeves, and both arms were densely covered with whip marks.

Wei Yangyang was very dissatisfied: "However, this business is uncertain, who knows when the guests will come." Why hit you? Gan Tang said: "When I first came to the brothel, I refused to accept customers and was beaten; Later, those who sold less were beaten; If you talk too much to a regular customer, you will be beaten; If there are no guests, they will be beaten; If you provoke customers and cause trouble for the brothel, you will also be beaten; If the guest is not satisfied, he will also fight. I'm used to it. Being beaten is nothing, when I was in the Qingyin Building, there was a good sister who offended a guest, and I watched the guest blind her in one eye, and since then I can no longer sell plates, and I was directly sold by the bustard mother to a fourth-class brothel. Because she had a low price and a good business there, she heard that within a few months, she died, and her body was thrown outside the city, and she could not find it. So, I'm fine, I'm not alive. Her joy is simple, alive.

Wei Yangyang asked: "Then, there are no guests to redeem you?" She didn't know what happened to the women in the Qinglou, but she had only heard that a few officers' outer rooms were bought back from brothels. Gan Tang asked rhetorically: "Redemption?" Female bodhisattvas think it's good to redeem oneself? Wei Yangyang didn't know the details, but replied: "If there is a guest to redeem himself, even if he can't be a main room and a concubine's room, it's good to be an outer room, if he can give birth to a son, won't he have a foothold in a man's family?" ”

Gan Tang replied: "Outer room? The son of the concubine can't recognize his mother, let alone the child born in the outer room? Not to mention our prostitutes, most of them don't know how to have children, and even if they give birth to children, they will be taken away by the lady of the main room, which belongs to someone else. After old age and decay, he will still be sold by the main mother, and if he makes a mistake, he may be beaten to death by the main mother, what is the difference between it and a kitten and a puppy? ”

Wei Yangyang thought of her father's five concubines, and the sons born to her really had to recognize her aunt as their mother, her aunt had a gentle personality and was good to the concubines, but in case she met a strong housewife, it was common for her to be betrayed and punished. Wei Yangyang nodded, and she couldn't redeem Gan Tang, otherwise, it would be strange for her family to know that she came to visit the kiln and not break her legs, so she had to ask: "Then, Gan Tang, what's your surname?" Gan Tang smiled: "Qingyinlou's mother's surname is Xing, and I will follow her surname Xing; Yuqinlou's bustard's mother's surname is Li, and I will follow the surname Li; The bustard's mother's surname here is Ai, so my name is Ai Gantang now. ”

Wei Yangyang was taken aback again, their Wei family was the most honorable family in Haixi, and they had great achievements, so she had always been proud of her surname Wei. But I didn't expect that in this world, there are still people who can't even call the shots with their own surnames. She took out a porcelain bottle from her body and said, "I have a trauma medicine here, the effect is excellent, you will be better if you apply it, I will stay a little longer, and I will leave when you finish applying." Gan Tang thanked her, then lifted his shirt and began to apply medicine. Wei Yangyang saw that her body was covered with scars, and there was hardly a piece of good meat, which was obviously caused by the bustard's mother's torture.