Time travel, sell Tang poems at the beginning

"Brother Ye, if we dine in the lobby, a table of banquet will cost one thousand taels. What about the private room upstairs? How much is a table?"

Ye Liuyun shook his head. "I don't know about that. In fact, I only arrived a little earlier than you."

At this moment, a young man in his twenties sitting at the opposite table stood up and walked towards Lin Feng, "I know this, a friend of mine went there to eat on behalf of the family, and the banquet cost 10,000 taels."

"Ten thousand taels! That's too much!"

Lin Feng blurted out immediately, with an extremely exaggerated expression on his face.

Ye Liuyun nodded, "Ten thousand taels, it's about what I expected."

Lin Feng immediately stood up and bowed, "My name is Wang Lin, they are my friends Li Heng, Zhang Sheng, Yang Zhi, and Song Yuan, may I know your name?"

The young man in white quickly bowed in return, "He Yu greets all the brothers."

The young scholar also bowed in return, "Ye Liuyun greets Brother He."

Lin Feng quickly pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Brother He, please take a seat. It's fate that we met. You two are alone anyway, so how about we have dinner together?"

He Yu nodded, "Okay! Anyway, my food and drinks haven't been served yet."

"No problem, it will be more lively with more people." Ye Liuyun said.

Lin Feng looked at He Yu curiously, "Brother He, how long have you been waiting? Why haven't the dishes been served yet?"

"I've been waiting for half an hour. A few tables have just arrived upstairs. I guess I'll have to wait a little longer. There's nothing I can do about it. They paid so much money!"

Lin Feng nodded, "Brother He, do you know what rank of official is required to go to the private room on the second floor?"

"As far as I know, those above the fifth rank can go to the second floor, but those below the fifth rank can only dine in the lobby."

Lin Feng smiled slightly. This Gao Yanqing is quite capable. He even classifies people into different levels after paying the guarantee fee. What a talent!

At this moment, Yang Zhi asked curiously, "Brother He, do you know any fun places in River Valley City?"

He Yu smiled, "There are many fun places in River Valley City. Brother Yang, are you referring to a casino? A brothel? Or a whorehouse?"

"Brother He, we brothers are tired of visiting the places you mentioned. Is there any place that is more noble and elegant?" Zhang Sheng said.

He Yu thought about it and suddenly his eyes lit up, "Brother Zhang, now that you mention it, there really is a very noble and elegant place to go, but..."

Such a noble and elegant place, Lin Feng immediately became interested, "Brother He, is there something wrong with that place?"

He Yu waved his hand quickly, "No, that place is the boating lake in the east of the city, a paradise for scholars. If you don't have the reputation of a scholar, it's useless to go there. The reason why the three of us are not valued by the family is because we are not good at literature or martial arts, right?"

Lin Feng nodded, "Brother He is right. It seems that this boating lake is not suitable for us."

Ye Liuyun nodded and said, "Brother Wang, to be honest, if you are a scholar, you can only join the number if you go there. If you don't have the title of Jinshi or Juren, I'm afraid you can't even get on the boat."

Li Zhi's eyes lit up, "Brother Ye, can you tell us in detail about this boating lake?"

Ye Liuyun nodded, "Of course. On the first and fifteenth day of every month, all the major brothels in the city would hold poetry and prose gatherings at Fanzhou Lake. The courtesans from the major brothels would meet friends at Fanzhou Lake through poetry. Only if your poem is selected by a courtesan from one of the brothels, would you be eligible to go boating with your beauties. That's how the name Fanzhou Lake came about."

"Brother Ye, how many brothels are there in our Hegu City?" Song Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"That's a lot. There are at least hundreds of brothels, big and small, but only a hundred of them are qualified to participate in the Fanzhou Lake Poetry and Literature Conference."

"One hundred! Does that mean that every time there is a poetry and prose meeting, there are a hundred people who can bring their beauties for a boat ride?" Zhang Sheng said.

He Yu shook his head. "That's not the case. At each poetry and prose gathering, at most only about 30 people are lucky enough to go boating with their beauties."

"Brother He, aren't there a hundred brothels? Why are there only more than thirty people?" Li Heng asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Brother Li, the courtesans have very high standards. It is already amazing to have more than 30 poems selected in a poetry competition."

He Yu looked at Lin Feng, Li Heng and the other three with a puzzled look on his face. "Brother Wang, I noticed that you guys don't seem to be familiar with River Valley City at all?"

Lin Feng nodded, "Brother He, to be honest, we are all born to concubines. Before, we were all helping the family manage the farm in the countryside. We just came to the city yesterday afternoon, so..."

"So that's how it is. It seems that the five brothers' status in the family is lower than mine. It's not easy!" He Yu said.

"Brother Wang, my position in the family is slightly better than yours. I help the family run the shops in various states, and I can only go back to River Valley City a few times a year."

"Brother He, I've also heard of the poetry and prose gathering on Fanzhou Lake that you mentioned, but I felt that I was not well-educated, so I didn't dare to join in the fun."

"Brother Wang, I heard that the ticket to the Fanzhou Lake Poetry and Literature Festival costs one hundred taels of silver. If you write a poem at the poetry and literature festival, each poem will cost three hundred taels of silver. And even if you write a poem, you may not be chosen by the courtesans."

"This is a bottomless pit. People of our status simply can't afford it. I advise you not to waste this money." Ye Liuyun said.

Lin Feng smiled and said, "Brother Ye is right. We are just curious. If I could write poetry, I wouldn't be driven to the countryside by my family to manage the farm. Oh, by the way, Brother He, have you ever been to the Panzhou Lake Poetry and Literature Meeting?"

He Yu nodded, "I went there once, but I didn't write poetry. I just watched the performances of the courtesans in the Poetry Building."

Yang Zhi immediately became interested when he heard this, "Brother He, what are these courtesans performing?"

"It's just like the brothels, with music, singing and dancing, but it's worth the one hundred taels of silver to be able to enjoy the performances of hundreds of courtesans on the same stage."

"Brother Wang and Brother He, how about we go boating on the lake together after dinner to join in the fun?" Ye Liuyan said.

He Yu nodded, "Okay! Brother Wang, are you going?"

Lin Feng hated attending poetry and prose gatherings the most. He would rather spend his time drinking with his brothers! He immediately shook his head and said, "Brother He, we won't go. To be honest, I only brought 1,000 taels of silver when I left. I'm really short of money!"

What Lin Feng said was true. He thought that five grown men went out shopping together and would just find a restaurant to have a meal. One thousand taels of silver should be enough. However, he never expected that while having a meal he would encounter Gao Yanqing who was collecting bail money in the name of the restaurant and dared to ask for one thousand taels for a table of banquet.

He Yu shook his head with regret, "That's such a pity! I'm really sorry, Brother Wang, the money I brought is only enough to buy one ticket, so..."

Lin Feng quickly waved his hand, "It's okay, we can't go this time, then we can go next time."

"Brother Wang, if you have seventy taels, I can lend you thirty taels." Ye Liuyun said.

Lin Feng spread his hands and said, "Thank you, Brother Ye. I only have one thousand taels of silver on me, not even one tael more."