Chapter Forty-Seven: Infiltrating the Wanbao Tower
The auspicious time has arrived, and with the firecrackers in front of Wanbao Tower, this grand event has begun.
Ning Yufei hid on the roof of a house next to Wanbao Tower, quietly watching this lively scene.
I didn't expect that the firecrackers of this era are so strong, and they are not lost to future generations at all. He lamented that future generations have indeed failed to pick up the creativity of their predecessors.
After the firecrackers, with the order of the general manager of the Zhongshu Mansion, several small servants of the Zhongshu Mansion stood at the door to check the gift list, and the guests began to hand over the gifts one after another.
Giving gifts is a big deal, every year on the birthday of Xiangguo Cai Jing, Liang Shijie will send a birthday compendium, worth 100,000 snowflake silver! And half of this 100,000 snowflake silver is in today's gift.
After that, it was a process of constant repetition, and one by one, as long as there were some people in the Daimyo Mansion, there were almost no people who dared not come.
What? You said that Liang Shijie's birthday is your? Hehe, very good, it seems that you are doing very well in the Daimyo Mansion, and you don't take this left-behind adult in your eyes anymore, you know, even if it is the prefect, Lord Yin of the Mansion will not dare to make a stumbling block for Liang Zhongshu, just rely on you? It seems that you don't want to mix in Beijing City!
So, thinking about it this way, everyone has to obediently offer congratulatory gifts. Of course, those poor people have a problem even eating, where do they have the heart to climb the dragon and the phoenix?
Therefore, the people who came here were all rich and noble, and even hundreds of people in a row poured into Wanbaolou like a tide.
Ning Yufei took advantage of the large number of people and squeezed in by stealth, anyway, the squeezed people couldn't see him, and he wasn't afraid.
Entering the inside, Ning Yufei looked at the decoration and arrangement inside, and at that glance, it reached a ceiling several zhang high, and couldn't help but open his mouth wide. In this era when there is no machinery and pure manpower, it is possible to build such a beautiful room with only wood! What about the "alum building" in the capital? What about the nine-fold "Zhuang Building"? What about the imperial palace?
Ning Yufei was in a stirring mood and was moved by the wisdom and creativity of the working people. Regardless of history, it is the masses who have truly made history. It is true that only the victors have the right to write history, but those who can win the victory must also be good at making use of the wisdom of the people and attaching importance to the strength of the masses in order to win the final victory. Throughout history, the founding kings who have been able to build long-lasting and powerful empires have been invariably so.
Shaking his head, Ning Yufei temporarily kept this emotion in his heart. His identity has always been that of a historian, and he wants to fulfill his dream and unearth the real history.
The person in charge of Zhuang Lou is Lou Wenchang, the branch owner of the Daimyo General Administration, and the cousin of Lu Xing, the owner of Dongchang Building, as the subordinate person in charge of the super power, he belongs to the most powerful group of people in the city, and to participate in such a banquet, of course, he has to make a finale. Of course, these people who are coming now are also the upper echelons of the daimyo, but they can only be on the second level. Those who can go up to the third level are the most noble characters in the real Yifu, and they will only appear at the end to show their status.
The center of the first floor is a very large hall, which is now full of tables of eight immortals, all kinds of delicacies and dishes are also prepared, there are ladders leading to the second floor in the four directions of the southeast, northwest and northwest of the hall, carved with winding coiling dragons and delicate flowers, the pillars and beams on all sides are hung with red silk, and the big red lanterns with the traditional Chinese word "longevity" are hung eight, symbolizing 'fortune'.
The guys of Wanbaolou and the little guys of Zhongshufu are busy distinguishing the level of guests, bringing enough gift money to the second floor to entertain warmly, and the gift money is generally on their own to find a place on the first floor, if the gift money is not even enough 'standard line', then I'm sorry, you better please go back! The standard line, of course, is the cost of the guest drawn by Liang Zhongshu, of course, his pricing is far higher than the cost price of this meal.
Even under this rule, the forty-nine tables on the first floor were filled.
The second floor is much narrower than the first floor, but there are also twenty-one Eight Immortal Tables. When Ning Yu flew up to the second floor, the first floor had just sat down, and there were only a few dozen people on the second floor, although he really wanted to stay here and see the scene of the feast for a while, but looking at the ceiling three zhang away from his head, he still gave up. The top of the third floor is the best place to see!
There is only one ladder on the third floor, and the most private room on the second floor is also richly decorated. Of course, it's also very secretive. If it weren't for all the doors opening today, Ning Yufei would really not have been able to find such a secret step in such a wide place. That's right, it's a step, a step made of very strong wooden planks, and walking on it is like stepping on flat ground, which is very stable. This is also the most praised place of Wanbao Building, that is, it is sturdy!
The steps lead straight to the back hall on the third floor, and after going up, Ning Yufei seems to have entered another world.
Flowers are splendid, the red carpet is spread on the floor, sprinkled with red and bright petals, and bursts of fragrant fragrance are coming, fragrant but not greasy, sweet but not hurtful.
Beyond the back hall is the lobby, which is also the real home of this feast.
There is a plaque in front of the hall, which reads "Hai Nei Ju", quoting the meaning of the great poet Wang Bo's "confidant in the sea, if the end of the world is next to each other", which is said to have been left by Yang Yanlang, the fourth general of Yang Gate.
The lobby has been furnished and the overall color palette is red. In the lobby, many people are busy coming and going, the layout of the lobby has already been completed, and all kinds of fine wines have been moved in one after another. These people who are busy coming and going are all short-term workers hired by Wanbaolou, and they come to help with things on this day.
Ning Yufei stood aside, carefully looking at these arrangements.
In the front of the lobby, as the saying goes, there is a table next to two cushions. This is a high-level etiquette, you must take off your shoes and kneel and sit, and the first place is the seat of Liang Shijie and his wife Miss Cai.
On each side, there are four tables, also two mats. All the dishes, chopsticks, plates and dishes on the table are ready, just waiting for the seats to be full.
Of course, only a few people can get here, and the rest are not qualified at all.
The seats on both sides are more than ten zhang wide, and in the center of the seats, a stage about half a foot high and nearly ten zhang in diameter is built. The stage was covered with a layer of flower petals, and the red carpet was extraordinarily bright, like blood.
Ning Yufei looked at the roof again, covering it like a dome. And several thick beams are also wrapped in red silk and hung with red lights. Nearly five zhang high, I don't know who hung it.
The most conspicuous thing is the glass lamp hanging in the center, which is crystal clear and pure.
On the four sides of the third floor, the direction of the back hall corresponds to the main entrance of Wanbao Building, which is said to be the back hall, but in fact it is just a balcony, not far from the secret steps. Of course, the door was kept closed for a long time.
On the other side of this, the scenery is beautiful, with water, flowers, grass and trees, just like a natural garden, but it is very elegant.
As for the left and right, there are no good views.
But Ning Yufei became interested in the floor here, you must know that the three-story building in later generations is ten meters high, and the three floors here, nearly twenty meters, each floor is about five meters, that counts, it seems to be a little less.
He moved slightly to a corner and tapped the floor with his hand, but it was a dull 'thump' sound, not at all like a knock on a plank.
Ning Yufei withdrew his hands and sat on the ground, lost in thought