Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 10: The Golden Hairpin Inheritance
“Hao Guan!” “Hao Guan!” “Hao Guan!” “Hao Guan!”
After that burst of cheers, Shenxian Island gradually quieted down, and the sounds of stringed instruments and orchestras began to float out. Guests continued to arrive, and among those behind them, gradually, more and more heavyweights appeared.
Master Liu Sanye from the Hongmen, Duan Xiantong from the Beijiang Waterway, the fifteenth uncle of the Wu family, Master Chen from Foshan, Jiang Xingshu from Nanhai County... arrived one after another.
Chuan Longci and Wu Qi both rushed to the dock and took turns welcoming people in.
Wu Qi's current popularity is far different from that before the night of the reversal. Those eunuchs call him "Seventh Brother" when they see him, and some of the humble ones even call him "Seventh Master".
When they came to welcome Foshan Chen, Wu Qi happened to pass by nearby, and Changzi also called him Brother Qi. Wu Qi turned around and saw him, snorted and glared at him, and welcomed Foshan Chen in.
Wu Chengjian was waiting at the door. When they met, he held his hand and said with a smile, "You shouldn't have come so late tonight! I'll make you drink three more glasses of wine later."
Chen from Foshan said with a smile, "I am lucky to be here. My father has been keeping a close eye on me recently, so I managed to sneak out by climbing over the wall. I traveled dozens of miles from Foshan to come and support you. It is good enough that I am not late."
Wu Chengjian said with a smile: "You are also the protagonist tonight. How dare you not come? I will go to Foshan and tear down the wall of your house!"
He made way to allow Foshan Chen to see the incense table set up on the central stage.
Foshan Chen's eyes lit up: "What is this?"
Wu Chengjian grabbed his hand and said with a smile: "Cut off the chicken's head and burn yellow paper. What? Don't you want to recognize me as your brother?"
Foshan Chen grabbed Wu Chengjian's hand and shouted, "Even if I forget my father, I can't forget my brother!"
Wu Chengjian pouted and said, "That's so untrue!"
Everyone laughed and made way for them.
Wu and Chen immediately went on stage, and Wu Chengjian and Foshan Chen became brothers from then on. The Qing government was quite wary of sworn brotherhood among the people. Although he was powerful now and no one would offend him at this time, Wu Chengjian still kept it in mind and staged the sworn brotherhood on the stage. The whole process was made to look like a play: the opera of the Three Heroes of Peach Garden was played, and then there was fake beheading of a chicken's head and fake burning of yellow paper. The fifteenth uncle acted as the elder, Uncle Liu Sanye acted as the notarization, Jiang Xingshu sang the process, and the audience in the audience cheered one scene after another.
After the good show, Wu Chengjian cleared his throat, and the whole Shenxian Island became quiet. He then said, "Today, there are two good shows for everyone to watch. One is that I, Wu, and the younger brother of the Chen family in Foshan will become sworn brothers. From now on, I will be his sworn brother, and he will be my sworn brother."
"契弟" is not a nice word in Cantonese. It has insulting meaning. Wu Chengjian said it openly on the stage with a smile, and everyone knew he was joking and laughed together. Chen from Foshan also laughed so hard that he was shaking.
Wu Chengjian waited until everyone had finished laughing before continuing, "Secondly, everyone knows that two months ago, Sanniang was sealed off, and the other courtesan also found another job. All of a sudden, two of the four chambers in our Immortal Continent are empty. It's really not a good look. Do we have to wait until next year to find someone to fill the chamber? So I think it's time to choose the new four courtesans again!"
When everyone heard it, they cheered loudly.
Wu Chengjian said, "To select the oiran, we have to light lanterns. Now that the first show is over, let's take our seats and see whose lantern goes up and whose house the oiran lands."
The chief turtle slave of Shenxianzhou started to sing “Selecting the Oiran!”
The visitors today were different from usual ones. There were not many truly wealthy businessmen. Instead, many brothers from the Hongmen and Beijiang waterway came. There were also some runners from Nanhai County, some military leaders from Guangzhou City, and even some coolie leaders from Baietan, as well as quite a few thugs from Foshan who had helped in capturing the warehouse. They were all a group of young men full of vigor and vitality, bellicosity, loyalty, and a love of pornography. They had just watched a good show of sworn brotherhood and were not satisfied. Now when they heard that there was going to be a selection of the most beautiful woman, they all started howling like crazy.
The banquet was arranged like flowing water, with hundreds of beautiful girls wandering to each table, accompanying many strong men and young men. Some coolies had never seen such a scene in their lives. A charming girl came close to them, speaking in a sweet and gentle voice. For a moment, their bones and muscles became soft. They felt that tonight was really a fairyland. It would be worth dying for this night if they had this one in their life!
There was also a group of young men who supported Lao Zhou to sit in the chief seat on the chairman's chair. Although Lao Zhou was mentally prepared, he didn't dare to sit there and tried his best to give it up. Finally, Jiang Xingshu intervened and said, "Lao Zhou, if you don't sit in the chief seat tonight, you will not only be disrespecting Official Hao, but also Mr. Liu Sanye, Mr. Chen, and even me!" As the saying goes, the county magistrate is not as good as the current manager. Although Mr. Liu Sanye and others have great momentum, they are not as good as Jiang Xingshu, who is a clerk in the same yamen. Lao Zhou didn't dare to refute what he said, no matter how soft or hard he said.
Jiang Xingshu then pushed him forward forcefully.
Two charming girls came up to him and poured wine for Lao Zhou, making him feel like he was in a dream.
The turtle slave leader said again: "Get up and light the lamps for the girls!"
Except for a small number of rookies who were already drunk and intoxicated, most of them were thinking in their hearts when they heard about the lighting of the lanterns: "Who will be the four newly selected courtesans?"
Many distinguished guests have already gone up to the second floor and sat in the elegant seats, each accompanied by a silver hairpin lady. Seeing that Wu Chengjian was only on the second floor, accompanying Liu Sanye, Jiang Xingshu and others, everyone was surprised: Could it be that Haoguan was not going to hold the oiran today?
I saw that the third floor, which was originally deliberately dark, suddenly lit up. At the same time, the second and third floors, which were originally brightly lit, were deliberately dimmed. When the lights dimmed, the atmosphere became more ambiguous and seductive, and the third floor also looked more eye-catching.
It's quiet here at Huachahao.
But the quietness tonight is different from the quietness before the reversal night. At that time, no one boarded the Huacha, and there were few people on board. But now, there are countless people who want to board the Huacha but cannot get in.
Guangzhou Flower Shop looks to Shenxianzhou, and Shenxianzhou looks to Huachahao. Now, who doesn't know that Hao Guan has all the power in Baietan? But he is in such a high position. Apart from the reward banquet tonight, how could he directly intervene in the flower shop in the future? So all eyes are on Huachahao - who knows who lives there, is the real master of Shenxianzhou in the future.
There was only a table of fruits and two glasses of light wine on the deck, and Mother Wang was accompanying Tanka Sanniang.
The weather was getting colder, especially on the water and at night, when the wind was strong and the nights were cool, which was different from the land and indoors. So Tan Sanniang put on a light cloak made of sparrow feathers, leaned against the side of the boat, and watched everything changing on Shenxianzhou.
She had seen through the affairs of Baihua Bank a year or two ago, and after experiencing this ups and downs, her heart was no longer here. If she had followed her inner wishes, she might have already hidden in the Tianhou Hall of Yizhuang to eat vegetarian food and chant sutras. It was just that she knew that Wu Chengjian still needed the source of information from Shenxianzhou, so she came to deal with the affairs here and receive the tributes from the mothers, turtle slaves and some silver hairpins of Shenxianzhou.
This is a weird but reasonable logical chain: Tan Sanniang wants to get the information she needs from them, not by hiring them, but by exploiting them - only by accepting their filial piety will these people feel that Tan Sanniang is still willing to protect them, and then they will report to Tan Sanniang as soon as there is any disturbance.
Several maids came forward with a girl. This was Yu Lian'er, the only Hua Niang who had boarded the boat at the "Sealing Curtain Banquet". She would be sixteen after the New Year, and according to the rules, she would lose her virginity soon. When Tan Sanniang was at her lowest point, she sneaked out of Shenxianzhou and boarded the Huacha. Naturally, she had no good fate after returning. However, just when her mother was about to arrange a patron for her, the Wu family turned the tables.
At this moment, everyone's eyes towards Yu Lian'er changed. Even her mother Huatou Liu quickly pushed the patron away and went to Huachahao in person to ask Tan Sanniang what arrangements should be made.
The Yu Lian'er in front of him was no longer the shabby girl she was back then. She was adorned with fine pearls and jade, wrapped in silk, and served by docile maids, which instantly made her look more noble. Although she was only 70% pretty, she was still a beauty behind the clothes. What was even more rare was that she had not yet entered the virginity. She had painted her eyebrows and put on rouge, but because she was still a virgin, she did not look vulgar.
Yu Lian'er stepped forward and saluted Tan Sanniang, who asked, "Have you thought it through?"
A few days ago, Tan Sanniang showed her two paths: the first was to redeem her and then give her a small sum of money to let her settle down and start a career. Although she would not be rich, she could find a well-off family to live in after having enough food and clothing and take care of her mother. Her second half of life would be stable. If she took this path, she would not be of any use to Wu Chengjian. It would be purely a reward for his timely help. The second path was to continue staying in Shenxianzhou. Haoguan would push her to the position of the most beautiful courtesan. This path would be more glorious. In the future, she would be able to replace Tan Sanniang and become a shadow of Wu Chengjian left in Shenxianzhou.
"I've made up my mind..." Yu Lian'er bowed and said, "Please help me, sister."
Tan Sanniang originally hoped that she would choose the first path, but since Yu Lian'er was willing to take the dangerous path, she could only oblige her.
"Come here."
Yu Lian'er moved closer , and Dan Sanniang had already reached out and put the golden hairpin that she had specially put on her hair today - the same hairpin that she had won the title of the most beautiful woman this year - on Yu Lian'er's head.
The four maids who were serving Yu Lian'er were all staring with their eyes wide open.
Didn’t he sneak out that day and attend Tan Sanniang’s curtain-closing banquet?
Isn’t it just that he got beaten up when he turned around?
Then, Yu Lian'er, whose status and position were no better than theirs, was able to climb the stairs to the highest level of Shenxianzhou tonight .
The opportunities in life were so magical that they dazzled them. Wu Chengjian's turnaround that night not only changed the fate of the Wu family, but also benefited all those who stood on the right side.
