Chapter 4 Chapter Four

In the long years to come, Qiaotou Town will be famous for its double kilns. One of the double kilns is a coal kiln, and the other is a flower kiln. The flower kiln was not a flower kiln at first, but a flower boat.Later, when all the flower boats landed and there was no board left, the people from Qiaotou Town and the brothers from Xiayao still like to call visiting the kiln a "flower press boat".The earliest flower boat was brought by the pretty widow Shibajie in Mohe City, about a year before Xiao Taiping and Cao Ershun went to the coal mine in Qiaotou Town.Eighteen sisters’ flower boats drifted leisurely along the Damo River into Qiaotou Town, and moored under the three-hole bridge in the center of the town, bringing the earliest and most primitive entertainment industry to Qiaotou Town, and at the same time bringing Generations of cosmetics have flourished.

At that time, Qiaotou Town was not a town at all.The town that Shibajie saw from the bow of the flower boat was just a village of mixed surnames with a strong local flavor, with a population of less than 3,000, and only about 400 households were recorded in the official register.The scope of the town is not large.After mooring the flower boat at the Three-Arch Bridge and ashore, Eighteenth Sister tried to walk around the town, but it was useless for a bag of cigarettes.At that time, there was only one small loess street running east-west in the town, which was dusty on sunny days and muddy on rainy days.There are several grocery stalls, small restaurants, a blacksmith's shop, and a Chinese medicine store called "Jurentang" on both sides of the small street.The traditional Chinese medicine store also sells tea and tea, and it has become the only teahouse in the town. It often attracts three or five rustic and self-righteous leading figures in the town to gather here, and it is a little lively.

Because the town is too small and there is no Zhaiweizi to protect it, most of the wealthy owners do not live in the town.The Bai family, which occupies more than half of the land in Qiaotou Town, lives in Mohe City all year round, and only comes to the town when the rent is collected.If the flood hadn't washed out the outcropping coal on the surface two years ago, and Mr. Bai Er opened a small kiln, the Bai family would not have built the tile house under the three-hole bridge as the shopkeeper's house.After the construction of the Bai family, the other two kiln owners, Mr. Wang Xishan and Mr. Li Tongqing and Mr. Li Wu, also built the shopkeeper's house, which made Qiaotou town more grand.

It was because of this style that Eighteenth Sister came here from Mohe City at the invitation of Third Master Zhang.When I came here, I didn’t seriously think about setting up camp in Qiaotou Town, and I didn’t expect that the human flesh business would be so popular that it was called the “Second Kiln” together with the coal mine that fed thousands of people. That year, the eighteenth sister was twenty-seven, but because the townspeople didn't know her background, she claimed to be eighteen, so she got the nickname "Eighteen Sister".But her real name in Mohe City was known to almost no one except her old friend Zhang Sanye.The eighteenth sister used makeup and panting to cover up many years, and successfully deceived many kiln workers in the early days.On the same boat as Shibajie was a girl named Yugu'er, who was seventeen years old at the time and called Shibajie her elder sister.

The eighteenth sister remembered that the night when the flower boat was moored, it was the day when the three coal mines paid their salaries. Before it got dark, the third master Zhang rushed over with a smirk on his face, and pointed to Yuguer and asked the eighteenth sister : "How many customers can this girl take in one night?" Eighteenth sister still regarded Qiaotou Town as the city of Mohe at that time, thinking that the clients here also want to drink, listen to singing, and linger, so she said: "We are just the two sisters, and each of us receives a group of customers. indivual?!"

Zhang Sanye doesn't allow Eighteenth Sister to pick up the guests, but only Yu Gu'er.With jade bones on his back, Zhang Sanye confessed to the eighteenth sister: "... Sister, remember, this is not your city of Mohe. The people who make kilns are very rough, and no one will be gentle with you. , When they come, they will ask for a day, and when the day is over, they will leave with their trousers in their hands! The money you will be given will not be too much, but the price is the price of one or two buckets of sorghum, so you can let the girl under your hand pick it up, and think about picking up a few more."

The eighteenth sister agreed casually, thinking to herself, let Yu Gu'er try to pick up and watch, if the business is good, she will get some more girls to deal with it, if not, she will leave early.Before the night fell that night, Miss Shiba never thought of putting herself on the bandwagon to do the cheap flesh and blood business of one or two buckets of sorghum once.She had never sold one or two buckets of sorghum at a low price in Mohe City. Seeing off Third Master Zhang, Miss Shiba didn't look very happy, but rather disheartened.Even if she doesn't sell it herself, and let Yu Gu'er sell herself for a couple of buckets of sorghum, the eighteenth sister will feel that it is a bit of a loss.

Unexpectedly, the first night it opened, it burst into flames. As soon as it got dark, the brothers holding the kiln work tickets, under the guidance of Zhang Sanye, filed from the courtyard of the shopkeepers of the three coal mines, and there was no intention of stopping until the middle of the night.Poor Yu Gu'er has never had a chance to put on her dress since she took off her dress, and the little flower boat kept swaying in the moonlight. In the middle of the night, Yu Gu'er finally couldn't take it anymore, and she lay naked on the side of the boat and shouted to the eighteenth sister: "...Sister, you...don't accept other people's work tickets, I...I can't do it, I have to... Make people die every day..."

At this time, the eighteenth sister who was guarding the riverside had received the work tickets for thirty-six buckets of sorghum, that is to say, Yu Guer had already received eighteen customers.But the eighteenth sister was still not satisfied, holding a large number of "five liters" lithography work tickets in her hand, the eighteenth sister discovered the beauty of this cheap skin and meat business: small profits but quick turnover, which is far worse than that in Mohe city. It's a big profit.One jade bone earned her thirty-six buckets of sorghum in less than one night. What if there were ten jade bones?Isn't that three hundred and sixty buckets?How much is a year?That account doesn't scare people to death!

This made Eighteenth Sister very excited. However, the eighteenth sister didn't have ten girls that night, only one jade bone.The eighteenth sister persuaded Yu Gu'er to be patient.As soon as I took off my dress, I sold it on the prow of the boat that was temporarily covered with a flowered cloth. The price was set at a higher price than the jade bone, a labor ticket for three buckets of sorghum... It was an unforgettable night.The eighteenth sister remembers the two movements most clearly. One is to stand up and collect the work ticket, and the other is to fall down and be crushed.In the end, her whole body became numb, and the eighteenth sister finished work in the morning mist.

Struggling to get up in the mist, the eighteenth sister immediately moved to Yu Gu'er's side and took away all the work tickets earned by Yu Gu'er.When I received the work ticket, I found that Yugu'er's lower body was wet, her face was also wet, and she was lying there crying.The eighteenth sister said to Yugu'er with a dark face: "... why are you crying? Don't be so coquettish! The ancients said it well, you can be a master if you endure hardships. Didn't my sister be like you today? How many people have a day? There is no day without a piece of meat!" Yu Gu'er didn't speak, but still cried. The Eighteenth Sister wiped away the tears from Yu Gu'er's face, relieved her breath, and said, "Yu Gu'er, as long as you work hard with my sister, my sister promises to give you a flower boat in the future and let you earn a lot of money... ..." Only then did Yu Gu'er stop crying, and opened her tearful eyes: "Really...really?" The eighteenth sister nodded: "Really, you are now a founding father of the country if you work hard together with your sister. My sister will never let you continue doing this. Since the business is so good, my sister should get more boats. Get more girls." At that time, Yuguer's heart was wild, regardless of Shibajie's daydreams, she just insisted on her promise to herself: "Sister, when the time comes... will you...will you really give me a boat? You...are you willing?" At that time, the eighteenth sister had clearly seen the bright future of the prostitution industry in Qiaotou Town. She put her arms around Yuguer and said fascinatedly: "Why is my sister reluctant to give you a boat? When you have a flower boat, my sister Maybe there will be ten or twenty flower boats, and by then, there will be sister’s flower boats everywhere under the three-hole bridge, everywhere!" Yu Gu'er felt sore in her heart, she didn't make a sound. The eighteenth sister said again: "...For that day, we sisters have to work hard to earn money today. Don't be afraid, my sister has never heard of a woman who was forced to die by a man..." With the initial hatred for Eighteenth Sister, Yu Gu'er firmly remembered these words of Eighteenth Sister.Later, when Yu Gu'er finally defeated Eighteenth Sister and became the owner of all the flower boats in Qiaotou Town, she often thought that that night actually decided the future of her and the prostitution industry in Qiaotou Town, so many men did not die every day. , it makes no sense for her to be underdeveloped... The business on the flower boat is really good. The eighteenth sister made a lot of money, so she kept expanding, buying boats and girls.In the autumn of the following year, the eight flower boats belonging to the eighteen sisters had been moored at the head of the Sankong bridge.One of the big flower boats that picks up rich and wealthy customers is a two-story building boat, which was bought from Yangzhou by the eighteenth sister.The earliest little flower boat, the eighteenth sister did not give it to Yuguer as she promised, but rented it to Yuguer, so that Yuguer could be independent.In fact, the eighteenth sister didn't even want to rent, but wanted Yu Gu'er to stay in her hands to earn money for her. She proposed to rent to Yu Gu'er, and her original intention was to test Yu Gu'er's courage.Unexpectedly, as soon as the words were spoken, Yu Gu'er agreed, and would rather pay half of her daily income to her for making flower boats than work under her hands.At that time, Eighteenth Sister should have glimpsed something in Yu Gu'er's firm and resentful eyes, so as to see her future crisis.But the eighteenth sister was intoxicated by the initial success and didn't see it, which planted the root of her tragic death later... Many years later, Yuguer still thinks that in the seventh year of Tongzhi, she dared to stand alone under the eyes of the eighteenth sister, and it was definitely not based on momentary righteous indignation and impulse.Although she gritted her teeth with hatred for breaking her promise to Eighteenth Sister, it was not the main reason for her independent career.The main motivation for her independent business is money, which is the red, green and green lithographic work notes and bank notes of "five liters", "one hundred wen" and "one tael of silver".She can no longer tolerate these pieces of paper representing wealth only by herself, and put them all in Miss Eighteen's pocket.She secretly calculated an account in her heart: from the first night she opened in Qiaotou Town to her independent business under the promise of Eighteenth Sister, she has at least earned Eighteenth Sister four flower boats, and Eighteenth Sister will keep her promise. Promised to give her an old flower boat, she still suffered a big loss.In order not to suffer greater losses in the future, she had to get out of Eighteenth Sister's hands and do it for herself early. Eighteen sisters are bad, but some words are not bad, for example: Only when you endure hardships, can you become a master—for eighteen sisters, she can afford so much hardship, but for herself, she will suffer even more. I can eat it.On the day when she really became a master, the first thing she did was to make Miss Eighteen look good!Didn't the old bastard say that?No woman is tortured to death by a man, she will let this old bitch be tortured to death by a man... Yugu'er also thought later, she dared to do it alone with a boat, because everything was good at that time. Compared with the later era, the seventh year of Tongzhi can really be regarded as the golden age of prostitution in Qiaotou Town.I have never heard of flower donations and flower taxes, and Wang Dadupi's gang has not yet started collecting monthly money.The business in the coal kilns is also booming. Whether it is Mr. Bai Er's Baijia Kiln, Uncle Wang's Wang's Kiln, or Li Wuye's Lijiayao, they are all digging shallow coal and making money every day.On the fifth and tenth day of every month, the eight flower boats under the Sankong Bridge can sway from sunset to sunrise, making the river rippling. Naturally, it was Miss Shiba who made the big money. This old bastard had both a small flower boat for rough customers and a large boat for refined customers.The Third Master Zhang, Uncle Wang, Fifth Master Li, and the master from Mohe City are all regular guests on the boat of Shibajielou.Sometimes these regular customers also come over during the day, accompanied by zither, singing and music, and eating flowers and wine together with the pretty girls under Shibajie's subordinates. Whenever she sees the big ship of the eighteenth sister, she is awakened by the sound of singing and music on the big ship in her daytime sleep, Yu Guer is annoyed, hates, and thinks more than once that she wants to scuttle the big ship to the bottom. In the bend of the river.Sitting in her shabby little cabin, Yuguer kept staring at Shibajie's boat, thinking that Shibajie was already rich and prosperous, and she would not pick up so many rough customers overnight, but she was still coming back day after day. After a day of hard work and tired heart, tears will often fall on my face unconsciously... When Yu Gu'er hated Lou Chuan, there was another scoundrel who would become a character in the future also hated Lou Chuan. This scoundrel is Wang Dadupi, who went to Zazipo to make trouble. Wang Dadupi was not yet a character at that time, and his greatest ability was to try to bully the kiln workers from other places and the sisters on the small flower boat.For Shibajie's building boat and the master on the building boat, Wang Dadupi both hated and feared—fear was more than hatred. At that time, Wang Dadupi didn't even have the courage to make trouble on Shibajie's building boat. Mile. The picture that Yu Gu'er remembers most clearly is that Wang Dadu always loves to lazily lie on the bamboo lounge chair in front of his house in the west of Qiaoxi no matter it is day or night.The belly is exposed, very round and very bright, as if shining with oil that will never be wiped off.The thigh was crossed on the second leg, shaking non-stop.The shoes on the feet are stepped on the upper side, rather than being worn on the feet, it is better to say that they are hung on the feet.If a passerby accidentally knocks off his shoes, trouble will come.It's a girl on a flower boat, so he pinches her buttocks and pinches her breasts openly.If it was Zhang Zipo or other foreign kiln workers, he called the scoundrels around him to rush up, beat them up, and then searched their pockets. It was the seventh year of Tongzhi that Yuguer and Wang Dadupi formed their first bond.The cause was not Wang Dapi's scoundrel, but Wang Dapi's loyalty.Wang Dadu jumped onto the jade bone boat under the pretext of delivering tea during a sleepless day.On that day, Wang Dadu grabbed the big teapot on the beam, poured a bowl of tea for Yuguer, squeezed to Yuguer's side with a smile and asked, "Yuguer, is your name Yuguer?" Yu Gu'er asked lazily, "How do you know my name?" Wang Dabel grinned: "I don't know what happened on the eight flower boats? Not only do I know that your name is Yugu'er, but I also know that you are not the same as the eighteenth sister! How dare you dump me?" That old X does it by himself, brother, I really admire you!" Yuguer asked again: "Then what do you want to do?" Wang Dadu said: I don't want to do anything, I just want to tell you, brother, I respect you, whenever you want to use it, say hello, brother will come to help you. Yu Gu'er didn't believe there was such a good thing, she saw that Wang Dadu had bullied many girls, so she thought that Wang Dadu was here to get cheap.Thinking that Wang Dadu's belly is not bad, he gave tea before taking advantage of it, and said so many flattering words, he said: "...Okay, okay, brother Wang, who doesn't know your virtue? I dare you to help me What? If you think about me, just say about me, don't talk nonsense." When Wang Dadu got on the boat, he really didn't think about what to do with Yu Gu'er, but after Yu Gu'er said so, and took the initiative to loosen his skirt, Wang Dadu involuntarily climbed onto Yu Gu'er, making Yu Gu'er Erbai's body was covered with his own stinky sweat.After finishing the work, Wang Dadu felt a little ashamed, and ran to the street to get two pancakes and a half-pouched pork head, and brought them to Yu Gu'er's small flower boat, asking Yu Gu'er to eat them. This made Yu Gu'er a little bit surprised--Wang Dadu has always been eaten by others in the daytime, and he has never given a pig's head to any girl. What's the matter today? Only then did Wang Dadu express his guilt: "Yu Gu'er, I...I didn't...I didn't want to fuck you today, but...you let me do it. I can see that you are high-spirited. I regretted it after I finished it, I... I'm afraid that you will never look down on me from now on..." Yu Gu'er was a little moved, and said: "It's nothing, it's nothing, as long as your brother Wang thinks highly of me, I will think highly of your brother Wang." Wang Dadupi said: "In the future, my brothers and I will solicit customers for you and help you..." These words moved Yu Gu'er's heart: If there is a scoundrel like Wang Dadu to help solicit customers, then the business will be easy, and he will have something to rely on.If she makes the business bigger, soliciting customers will be even more important.She is not the eighteenth sister, and she does not have so many shopkeepers in coal mines to help her. If she wants to gain a foothold in Qiaotou Town, she must rely on someone with a big belly or a big belly. Recalling later, Yu Gu'er was secretly amazed by her luck: her fate was really strange, she made friends with Wang Dadu after a few days of establishing a single family, and it was when Wang Dadu had not yet become a character. Yugu'er said to Wang Dadupi: "... If Brother Wang and brothers really praise me like this, I will definitely not lose you. I haven't sent it yet, so I can only let you, Brother Wang, come to the boat at any time Playing. If it is posted in the future, as long as I earn it, you and the brothers will earn it. Remember what I said..." Wang Dadubi naturally remembered these words, and after he became a character, he put away the girls' monthly rules justifiably.When talking with people, it is inevitable to mention Yu Gu'er, who was also a girl in the past, with some respect, saying that it is the moon gauge silver that Yu Gu'er promised in the early years, and saying that Yu Gu'er died in the seventh year of Tongzhi. Knowing that I will have more than a hundred girls in the future and become the master of Nuanxiang Pavilion... In the autumn of the seventh year of Tongzhi—that is, the second month of receiving guests alone, Yuguer finally had his first girl.This girl was cheated by Wang Dadupi with a piece of cake, and then sold to Yu Gu'er for ten labor tickets.The girl is not handsome, and she is stupid. She doesn't even know her surname, where she is from, or how old she is.Yugu'er guessed at her appearance, guessed that she was eighteen years old, and named her "Yuduo'er". When Yu Duoer first arrived, her body was extremely smelly, and not a single strand of cloth on her body was clean.Yu Gu'er took Yu Duo'er to the river to wash, like washing a dirty pig just bought.After washing Yu Duo'er, she found that her body was very white, and it seemed that she could sell it. In order to see if it can be sold, Yu Guer called Wang Daduer and asked Wang Daduer to take a look at Yu Duoer first.When Wang Dadu saw that the dirty pig had turned into a fair and clean girl, his evil energy came up, and he stripped Yu Duo'er in front of Yu Gu'er and pushed him down once.Yu Duo'er didn't cry or make trouble, just smirked.Wang Dadu was done, but Yu Duo'er was still lying on the ground with a silly smile and couldn't get up.While wearing his trouser belt, Wang Dadu kicked Yu Duo'er's face with his dirty feet, and praised Yu Gu'er, "Good stuff, good stuff, look, she hasn't had enough days yet!" Yu Gu'er was a little worried, she rolled her eyes at Wang Da's belly and said, "She is stupid, I'm afraid she won't sell it!" Wang Dadu patted his chest, and said: "Yu Gu'er, you just sell it, which rough guy dares to be too wordy, I have my brother to talk to him! Really, as long as the day is comfortable, it's up to them if they are stupid or not. trouble!" Then he said: "If you want me to say, it's better to be stupid, if you get a shrewd one, you will have more troubles!" Yu Gu'er didn't let Yu Duo'er pick up customers at first, she was afraid that Yu Duo'er would suffer from those rough customers in her insensitivity, and she was even more afraid that if she was killed by a rough customer, she would pay ten work tickets for nothing.I always think in my heart that no matter how stupid Yu Duo'er is, she is still my first girl, and my things must be cherished, and they must be used for a long time. On the day when the kiln was paid, Wang Dadu and his brothers kept pulling people onto the boat, and Yu Gu'er couldn't do it alone, so they didn't care about Yu Duo'er.Yu Gu'er stripped off Yu Duo'er, divided the cabin of the flower boat into two, and got up on both sides at the same time.I never thought that although Yu Duo'er is stupid, she is still in good health. She picked up nineteen rough people in one night and did not overwhelm her. oil cake. This made Yu Gu'er lose face.The girls and customers on the flower boat knew that Yu Gu'er got a crazy girl to sell, and they all scolded Yu Gu'er for being too dark-hearted.The eighteenth sister also said to Yu Gu'er: "... secretly, you always scold me for being too dark-hearted. Isn't your Yu Gu'er's heart darker than mine today? Why don't you think about it, this crazy girl If you are really going to die, aren't you afraid of a lawsuit?" Yu Gu'er smiled sweetly, and replied to Eighteenth Sister with what Eighteenth Sister herself said: "Sister, have you ever heard of a girl who was killed by a man?!" The eighteenth sister was so angry that she couldn't speak, she turned her head and boarded her own boat. After that, she just took the money from the flower boat and ignored Yu Gu'er. Although Yu Gu'er spoke hard-spoken, she was still a little bit afraid in her heart - she was not afraid that Yu Duo'er would die in a day by rough people, but she was afraid that Yu Duo'er would run ashore naked if she didn't pay attention, causing her troubles again.Yu Gu'er tied Yu Duo'er's hands with ropes and tied them to the boat like a dog.Due to the bad reputation, the selling price was reduced by half, from four "Dang Wusheng" at a time to two "Dang Wusheng" at a time. If the price is lowered, you can't let the rough customers toss about.Yu Gu'er invented the incense stick timing method for the first time in the history of flower kilns in Qiaotou Town.Burning one incense stick counts as one time, and burning two incense sticks counts as two times.Incense sticks are not the kind of long incense sold in the market, but short incense sticks cut into several sections, three inches long, and burning one stick takes only a bag of cigarettes.Yugu'er asked Wang Dabel to try to live the day with incense sticks on his belly, even if the day was very neat, it would be hectic enough. This method was originally invented for Yu Duo'er, who had lowered the price. Later, Yu Gu'er felt that she didn't need to "become five liters" for four cards and let rough customers toss for a long time, so she also lit the incense.At first, in order to deceive people, there is a difference, the incense sticks grow an inch.Later, this difference disappeared, and they were all three-inch short incense, and they were honestly added every day. The eighteenth sister saw that Yugu'er's method was economical and economical, so she asked her to do the same for the little flower boats that pick up rough customers.The method of sticking incense sticks became popular in Qiaotou Town in October of the seventh year of Tongzhi, and the rough customers got a new name, "Yizhuxiang"... At this time, the eighteenth sister saw that Yu Gu'er was extraordinary, and had deep regrets for letting Yu Gu'er set up a separate family, and wanted Yu Gu'er to return to her banner.The eighteenth sister couldn't talk about it herself, so she entrusted Mr. Zhang to talk about it. Yugu'er replied to the third master with only one sentence: "If you want me to go back, I will give me 20% of all the bills collected by the flower boat." The eighteenth sister became angry when she heard it, and said to Mr. Zhang again and again: "This little bitch is crazy, so crazy that I forgot my last name!" Yu Gu'er didn't feel that there was anything crazy about her. Guarding her only property, Yu Duo'er, Yu Gu'er was very determined, and she saw her bright and prosperous future in a hazy state.On days when there are no customers, Yu Gu'er will still stare at Shibajie's boat, but the resentment in her eyes decreases day by day, while the contempt increases day by day. At this time, Yu Gu'er no longer regards Yu Duo'er as a crazy girl, just like a sister, hugging Yu Duo'er, and letting Yu Duo'er go to see the eighteenth sister's building boat, whispering Tell Yu Duo'er: "...we also want to have such a large ship in the future, which is bigger than this and looks better. For this day, we have to endure hardships, and we must endure hardships to be the best..." Yu Duo'er's answer is always a smirk with drooling nose. Because of the existence of Eighteen Sisters, Yuguer, and eight flower boats, Qiaotou Town is no longer a rustic country market, but has become a well-known romantic place.Even the apprentices in Mohe City didn't care about the hard work of the journey. They came all the way on donkeys or sedan chairs, just for the one-night ecstasy under the Three-hole Bridge. In this way, Qiaotou Town prospered because of coal, and prospered because of prostitution. In the eighth year of Tongzhi, many taverns, shops, and card rooms for gambling popped up on the small streets on both sides of the Sankong Bridge.So there is such a scene: in the daytime, there is silence under the three-hole bridge, eight flower boats are moored quietly on the water, and there is no sound, but the "Jurentang" at the east end of the bridge and the pubs along the street are full of people.The adults and gentlemen quoted scriptures and classics, talking about the sky and the earth, and punching orders in the tavern, creating the daytime noise in Qiaotou Town.At night, when the noise of the town gradually died down, there were red lights hanging up and down the Sankong Bridge, and lewd voices were everywhere.Eighteen Sisters and Yuguer girls on the flower boat, either leaning on the bridge to show off their smiles, or posing on the bow of the boat, creating a town that never sleeps bustling...