xymnovel Chapter 41: Let the Kaifeng Patrol and Inspection Office collect the body.
Chapter 41: Let the Kaifeng Patrol and Inspection Office collect the body.
"Tongfu Inn is having a grand opening sale! Don't miss out! Top up 500 and get 500 free, top up 1000 and get 2000 free. We also have a free sample dish and complimentary wine for those who bring us food. Welcome all new and returning customers!"
The inn originally had some prostitutes who worked there. Although they had a special status, given the chaos of the Five Dynasties period, there wasn't much room for discrimination.
In fact, the vast majority of these prostitutes were widows and wives of military personnel, which, by modern standards, would be considered wives and daughters of martyrs. The fact that such women ended up in prostitution was a mistake of the times.
Of course, these were all wives and daughters of martyrs from the Later Zhou, or even the Later Han and Later Jin dynasties. The Song Dynasty had no obligation to support them, nor did it have the financial resources. It was still the early Song Dynasty, and the management of prostitutes was still based on the rules of the Five Dynasties, which meant there were hardly any rules.
If we're really talking about rectifying social order, the first social ill Zhao Kuangyin should have addressed was cannibalism, not prostitution.
In this despicable world where there's a human flesh market just over thirty miles outside Kaifeng, the issue of prostitutes isn't really a problem. If Wang Lu were to sweep away the prostitutes and prevent them from selling themselves, he would actually be doing people a great disservice.
However, the inn's focus shifted from lodging out-of-town guests to local catering, so the prostitutes' way of selling themselves had to change as well. Wang Lu sent them to the streets to hand out flyers and attract customers. They would get a commission for bringing in customers, and extra for accompanying them to drinks.
The inn itself did not employ prostitutes; the prostitutes had a cooperative relationship with the inn, primarily working as inn-stay prostitutes. They would rent a room in the inn year-round and solicit customers independently.
In theory, they are also guests, but to avoid legal risks, they have to give a portion of the money they earn from taking guests to the inn, and the inn will provide them with certain protection and convenience.
There are hardly any outside customers in Kaifeng now, and there are so many empty rooms that no one comes to stay. So Wang Lu simply rented out 90% of them to these prostitutes. The larger rooms can accommodate more people. Their main business is to attract customers and accompany them for drinks, with going upstairs to sleep as a secondary activity.
Whoosh! All the rooms were rented out within half a day after the discount. There were over a hundred prostitutes in the shop. Damn it, even prostitutes are short of buyers these days. The rich don't dare to go out and patronize prostitutes. As for those soldiers, they just use them and don't pay them, so it doesn't count as prostitution.
Manager Tong did suggest training his own shop to keep prostitutes, but Wang Lu refused. After all, this cooperative model would ensure that the girls were free to come and go as they pleased, and that it was purely a cooperative relationship. He would feel uncomfortable if he were to keep them himself.
Thanks to various modern marketing methods, the once quiet inn quickly became bustling with customers, followed by rave reviews.
The novel stir-fries and noodles with added sodium bicarbonate were a game-changer in the catering industry of this era, and business was booming. Manager Tong and the staff were all overjoyed and busy running around.
The inn's original tavern and banquet hall suddenly seemed a bit small. Since the original innkeeper and cargo handlers didn't have much business, they had them carry baskets of soft, fragrant steamed buns made with added sodium bicarbonate to the dough and sell them along the street to earn a little money.
Regardless of how much money they made throughout the day, the inn's reputation spread far and wide. Half of Kaifeng knew about Tongfu Inn, with its innovative stir-fries, soft steamed buns, and enthusiastic female companions.
After a change of dynasty, life was indeed difficult for most people, but that didn't stop a small group from living a peaceful life, riding on the backs of the working class.
Zhao Kuangyin retained almost the entire bureaucratic and noble system of the Later Zhou Dynasty. Even if a group of old nobles fell, a new group of nobles would take the opportunity to rise.
So when ordinary people are struggling to make ends meet, engaging in this kind of high-end consumption is not affected at all, and business is even better. It has attracted countless envious glances and, naturally, has also attracted covetous eyes.
Of course, the three little ones were just waiting to covet the business. They were almost indifferent to the inn's booming business. Zhao Guangmei was too lazy to even look at the account book. No matter how popular the business was, she never paid any attention to it.
At lunchtime, the inn was peaceful and quiet, which disappointed them. When dinnertime came, the three of them simply opened the window of the only top-class room on the third floor and peered down at the situation below, hoping that someone would cause trouble soon.
We waited and waited.
Finally, his hard work paid off, and he got what he was waiting for.
Snapped!
A plate suddenly shattered, as if signaling a curse, and someone downstairs finally overturned the table.
"You son of a bitch, you're trying to play dumb with me? I'm here to do my job, do you want money?"
"Since the Chenqiao Mutiny, I haven't paid for a single meal or woman. Listen up, I am Luo Mang, a former personal guard of the current emperor, the deputy commander of the First Army of the Second Wing of the Iron Cavalry of the Palace Guard, and concurrently the deputy inspector of the Left Wing of the Capital Patrol Office. If you displease me, this shop will be closed tomorrow."
As he spoke, he pinned the hostess next to him to the ground and began tearing her clothes.
This was just a tactic to cause trouble. After all, their hostesses didn't have any rules about selling smiles but not their bodies. There's no reason to do this in the dining room, when there are clearly rooms upstairs.
Besides, he didn't even give me the money.
The customers dining in the tavern saw the blatant smashing of the fire, but no one was afraid or took the opportunity to skip out on their bills. They simply kept a little distance and waited to see how the restaurant would handle the situation.
The deputy commander wasn't a high-ranking official, but he had served as Zhao Kuangyin's personal guard, which made things more complicated. He was also the deputy inspector of the left wing of the capital's patrol office, so his presence to cause trouble seemed to be quite professional. He was probably sent to test the waters of the shopkeeper.
These guests also wanted to know what the background of this newly opened inn was, and what it relied on to do business so openly at this critical juncture of dynastic change.
"Those are from the Kaifeng Patrol Office; they must be Wang Yansheng's soldiers," Wang Lu said from upstairs.
"Do Mei-ge'er and Long-ge'er recognize this person? Did he really serve as the emperor's personal guard?"
"Many people have served as my elder brother's bodyguards; do you think I know them all?"
"Me too, I don't know them either," Li Jilong said, shaking his head.
Downstairs, Manager Tong hurriedly ran up to the third floor to ask the three owners how to deal with the situation, only to be astonished to see the three little ones talking while actually taking out a heavy black lacquered crossbow.
This is something that anyone in the capital who has it privately possesses, and at best, their property will be confiscated, and at worst, their entire family will be punished!
When were you brought to the inn?!
It's just a simple fire, is it really necessary to use this thing?!
"Whoosh!" *Snap!*
Without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Guangmei strung the crossbow bolt as she spoke, just as Manager Tong came running upstairs, having already finished.
Without uttering a single warning, he aimed and fired, pinning the deputy commander to the ground with a single thud.
He killed without saying a word, and after the killing, he remained calm and showed no sign of discomfort.
"Lu-ge'er, wanna have a go?"
"No, I've never used this thing before. It wouldn't be fun to shoot a customer to death."
As they spoke, Li Jilong didn't use a crossbow but instead took a bow, stood upstairs, drew the bow, and fired arrows in rapid succession. The sound of arrows clapping and shooting was incessant, and in no time, all the henchmen accompanying the man were killed.
Is he eleven years old?
Wang Lu turned his head and looked at the dumbfounded Manager Tong: "Throw the body on the street and let the Kaifeng Patrol Office collect it."