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Shi Jin is a bit bored at the moment, looking at the lake outside the window. The weather is nice today, and there are tourists boating on the lake, with the sound of silk and bamboo music coming from the boats. After a few polite exchanges, a few people started talking about poetry and literature. Shi Jin listened for a few sentences and thought, "Hmm, I don't understand." His attention then turned to the food and wine that had been served.
The dishes delivered by the restaurant are all well-prepared, but they are all steamed, boiled, or roasted, with very few stir-fried dishes. After tasting, he found the flavor to be good, but he felt that something was missing. After tasting again, he finally realized that it lacked MSG, and wasn't quite flavorful enough.
Shi Jin smiled bitterly in his heart. After being poisoned by monosodium glutamate, he had lost the sense of the original flavor of the ingredients.
As for the wine, it had a hint of murkiness in its green color, lacking clarity. He took a sip; it was slightly sweet with a bit of bitterness, and there was hardly any alcohol taste. The alcohol content should not exceed ten degrees, no wonder Wu Song could drink more than a dozen bowls.
"Green ants and new wine, red clay and a small stove." Shi Jin thought to himself, it should be this kind of wine. Distilled liquor appeared quite early, but it was popularized on a large scale during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Wang De saw him engrossed in savoring the food and wine, looking pensive, and curious, asked, "Sir, are these dishes and wine palatable?"
Shi Jin glanced at Wang De and nodded slightly, saying, "The ingredients are quite good, but the wine is too weak."
Indeed, these are all free-range chickens and ducks, with firm flesh, unlike the farmed ones in later generations, which are loose and tasteless, relying entirely on MSG.
Wang De laughed, "I didn't expect the young master to be a gourmet."
Shi Jin casually said, "Life is short, only beauty and good food should not be missed."
Several people were stunned at the same time, and this statement had a somewhat cynical and heroic attitude towards the world. Su Jian felt even more strange.
Wang De laughed and said, "I didn't expect the boss to be such an interesting person. We have good food here, but we can't be without beautiful women."
He mused, "It's still early, not a good time to go to the Cuiyu Pavilion for entertainment."
Su Jian heard this and glanced at Shi Jin with a hint of guilt, but saw Shi Jin smiling without any change in expression.
Wang De called out, "Shopkeeper!"
store assistant Upon hearing the sound, I entered and nodded, saying, "Customer, what can I do for you?"
Wang De asked, "Do you have any singers here?"
store assistant hurriedly replied, "We do have some, but they have all been hired by other private rooms."
Wang De He frowned and said displeasedly, "What a coincidence, they all declined the invitation?"
store assistant Hesitating for a moment, he said, "There is still one, but he is younger and..."
Wang De Seeing him hesitate, Wang De impatiently said, "Why are you so hesitant in speaking!"
store assistant "That little girl sings extremely well, but she has a facial condition and looks a bit ugly. I'm afraid it might offend the customers."
Wang De frowned upon hearing this. He had just mentioned finding a beauty, and now it's a bit awkward to have an ugly girl.
Shi Jin had just spoken casually earlier, but now seeing the situation, he said, "It's okay, we're just here to listen to the music."
He was a bit curious about the singing at this time. Wang De saw that he didn't mind, so he asked the waiter to bring the people in.
Before long, a young girl and a Musician entered the private room. The young girl's face was covered with a veil, and she kept her head down.
The musician on the side asked with a bow, "Would the guest like to hear a specific song?"
Wang De replied casually, "Just sing something that you are good at."
The musician nodded and whispered a few words to the young girl, who also nodded in response.
Musician Playing the zither, the prelude sounded, and the young girl raised her head and sang, "Since spring, the green is sad, the red is sorrowful, the heart is a matter of sorrow..." As her voice rose, several people couldn't help but turn to look. The young girl was only thirteen or fourteen years old, with a slightly frail figure and large, lively eyes. But when everyone saw her exposed skin, they all sighed in regret.
The little girl's forehead was covered with red pimples, presumably the same under the veil.
Several people took a glance and then turned away.
The little girl continued to sing: "The sun rises on the flower tips, the oriole pierces through the willows, still pressing the fragrant quilt to sleep. Warm and tender, the clouds are thick. All day long, tired of dressing and wrapping. No one. Hating the thinness and clarity, there is no news..."
The voice is melodious, like pearls falling on a jade plate, in stark contrast to her ugly appearance.
Wang De nodded slightly and said, "You've really brought out the essence of Liu San's lyrics."
Su Jian shook his head and said, "The singing is quite good, but this face really makes it hard to get into the performance!"
Beside him, Li Kang and Young Master Zhao nodded in agreement. Young Master Zhao said, "The shopkeeper wasn't lying; this face is indeed a bit of an eyesore."
Shi Jin listened to their words, frowning slightly. He certainly liked beautiful girls, but to speak so openly about someone's ugliness was too hurtful.
Suddenly, it occurred to her that this songstress originally had a low status, let alone these few people who came from extraordinary backgrounds, and they didn't take this little girl seriously. A hint of embarrassment flashed in the little girl's eyes, and she lowered her head again, unable to continue singing the second half of the lyrics. Wang De waved to the two of them and said, "You can go down."
The little girl lowered her head even more, and the musician quickly apologized with a bow before they both intended to leave.
"Wait a moment."
The two stopped at the sound, and the Musician turned around in surprise, but the girl still kept her head down. Shi Jin stood up, walked to the two, took out a small piece of broken silver from his waist, handed it to the Musician, and said, "You've worked hard. The song is very nice, and I like it very much." The Musician hurriedly thanked and accepted it. The girl raised her head slightly, saw Shi Jin looking at her with shining eyes, was surprised, lowered her eyelids, but still thanked him softly, saying, "Thank you for your reward, young master."
Shi Jin looked her up and down, then suddenly asked, "Your facial illness isn't congenital, is it?"
The young girl was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to answer.
The Musician interjected, "The gentleman is right. She developed it shortly after arriving in Bianliang, and it can't be cured no matter what."
Shi Jin hesitated to speak, but in the end, only nodded and turned back to his seat.
As the two of them left, Su Jian teased Shi Jin: "You do know how to appreciate beauty."
Shi Jin sat down and said lightly, "She does sing quite well, it's a shame to listen for free."
At this moment, the waiter came in to serve the dishes and, upon hearing Shi Jin's words, hurriedly smiled and said, "This young lady was originally bought by the Yuet Bin Lou from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, intending to train her well. But unexpectedly, she contracted this kind of terrible disease. Now they are at a big loss. Even if they want to sell her cheaply, no one will take her."
Wang De shook his head and said, "Even if this facial disease gets better in the future, it will still leave her with a pockmarked face. She's probably only fit to be a low-class prostitute."
The shop assistant quickly said, "Sir, you're right. That Wang Lai Li on the street wants to spend a penny to tidy her up."
Shi Jin frowned and asked, "Wang Lai Li?"
The shop assistant quickly said, "He's a poor old bachelor on the street, almost fifty, with a head full of scabies. Even the lowest prostitutes don't want to do business with him. I don't know how he got the idea."
The crowd didn't expect such a twist. Su Jian shook his head and said with a smile, "What's so hard to understand about this? When a poor family loses its wealth, beauty becomes irrelevant." Everyone laughed, taking it as a joke.
Shi Jin felt a wave of nausea. The young girl looked to be only twelve or thirteen years old, while the old man could easily be her grandfather. The waiter smiled and said, "This young lady is quite stubborn. She insisted on redeeming herself and begged her mother for a month's time. She has been singing in this restaurant to earn money, but her appearance has deterred customers from requesting her to sing. With the deadline approaching, she is afraid she may not be able to escape a terrible fate."
Su Jian looked at Shi Jin with a pensive expression and smiled, "Younger brother, you wouldn't happen to be interested in this girl, would you?"
The innkeeper quickly interjected, "The other day, Mama Zhang said that as long as you pay five coins, she'll let the girl go. If the guests buy her, it would also be considered a good deed."
Upon hearing this, the crowd remained silent. Although these people were wealthy, they were not willing to buy an ugly girl and bring trouble upon themselves.
Shi Jin did have some thoughts, but he didn't have any other ideas. He just felt that it was unbearable to see such a young girl being taken advantage of by an old man. However, before he could speak, he heard a clear voice from the next room scolding, "Is there such a thing? Come here, shopkeeper, I'll buy that girl."
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