Chapter 37: The Unique Features of the Vast Ocean Country

  The next morning. The God of Wealth Inn.

  Someone outside laughed and said, "Why are the Wind Grandfather and Cloud Granny so sleepy? I, Lan Jie, have arrived, yet you're still lying in bed. This isn't like your usual style, old couple!" As they spoke, they walked in. Seeing this person with a blood-red phoenix flower tucked behind their ear, their face was as white as snow, heavily powdered, and their large mouth was painted red as if they had just eaten the flesh of a dead child.

  Yun Po sat on the edge of the kang, smiling and saying: "Lan Ji Niang will say that you are eager to see my husband, why don't you say it?"

  Lan Ji smiled and said: "No more joking, where is the goods you brought? Let me take a look. What does Hu Zhongren's ninth wife look like?"

  The wind old man laughed: "Of course, it's beautiful as a flower, but even if it's an acquaintance, we can't break the rules. Let's follow the old rules, one hand for money and the other hand for goods!"

  Lan Ji smiled and said: "At least let me see what he looks like, so I know what kind of goods I've bought."

  Yun Popo opened the sack, revealing Xiao Lian's face. "Not bad, though not stunningly beautiful, but still a pretty face! Who is in this sack? Let me take a look too!"

  "This won't do, this is the only son of Xue Bei Yue's wild child, Xue Qian Shan's fiancée. I'm going to take him to offer to the King of Hanhai and make a big profit." Yun PoPo laughed.

  "Then you shouldn't have let Lanyu see it, you know I love young and beautiful women the most. Hahaha!"

  "It's up to you, Blue Lady, whether you can afford the price!" said Wind Gong. "I know you like young and beautiful women, I'm willing to help you out, but I'll only rent her to you for three days, as for the price... let me give you a friendly deal - Hahaha!"

  "Even if it's 10,000 taels of silver, it's still worth it. Today I don't have many people at my disposal, so I'm afraid I'll have to trouble the two of you to escort me to Huahua Lane. Brother Feng, you wouldn't refuse to help, would you?" Lan Ji gave a charming smile to Feng Gonggong, whose soul was completely captivated by her. Unfortunately, Lan Ji's affections were not for men who predicted official fortunes.

  "Of course I'd be happy to help." The old man shouldn't have been able to walk at all.

  Yún Pópo glared at him angrily, "Look at you! Can't even walk properly after seeing an old flame?"

  "You should say that Wind Brother can't move his legs when he sees a woman." Lan Ji smiled and said, "Li Xiao Er, quickly pull over their cart, we need to take the goods to Huahua Lane."

  Xiao Er responded with a "yes" and went out for a moment, then came back to ask: "Lan Ji Niangniang, Feng Gonggong Yun Popo, are all ready? Are we leaving right away?"

  The wind was blowing as it had been when they arrived, with one person on each side holding them under the arms, and before long they were lifted onto the carriage. Lan Jie and Yun Po followed behind, one in front of the other, out of the Caishen Inn.

  Caishen Inn is the store across the street, with exactly the same decoration. Looking at the sun, it's right above our heads. This is a east-west street, with all sorts of shops on both sides, but it's eerily quiet. Continuing west from Caishen Inn for less than five miles, we arrived at the intersection of Ten Streets. The horse carriage turned south again. After walking just a few steps, we came to a large building with three big characters "Yanhualou" written above it. Blue Maiden helped Cloud Granny down from the carriage and clapped her hands, calling two people over: "Come here! Take this woman to the Ice Palace to calm down first, and take this beauty to my room, give her a bath, and serve her well, waiting just for me to enjoy tonight." Also, give Wind Public and Cloud Granny each 10,000 taels of silver bills that can be exchanged at any time.

  Yún Pó Po was overjoyed and smiled with gleaming eyes, "Thank you so much! Thank you!" Fēng Gōng Gōng also beamed with joy, "Thank you so much! Thank you!"

  Lan Ji said: "Since we have to wait for three days, why not just go in and play. There are plenty of good girls here!" Ren Juncai picked some flowers. I'm afraid Feng Gonggong is afraid of his sister and won't agree!

  Yun Popo said: "I don't care about him! I only want money, money is my husband, as long as you Lan Jie don't want his money, then I'll let her do whatever she wants!" She stretched out her hand in a gesture of invitation. Feng Gonggong looked at Yun Popo and said: "This is what you said, don't expect me to do it and then regret it later!"

  Yun Popo said: "You've come all the way here, and Blue Sister isn't charging money either. It would be a pity not to go in. You go ahead, I'll wait for the silver ticket here."

  Lan Ji smiled, her fragrant shoulders trembling wildly. "Elder Sister Yun is still so cautious, still so fond of money! Don't think that not wanting your money means you're getting the better end of the deal. Today, the one serving Brother Feng is our Mu Dan, the flower of our Smoke and Flower House! She's a seductress with countless charms, a woman who can make men lose their souls here. Be careful, or Brother Feng might abandon you for her!"

  Yun Po Po pulled on the hand of Feng Gong Gong, "I'm so scared", then smiled and said: "You quickly go try it out, see if that little rascal really likes you or just likes your money!" Feng Gong Gong helplessly shook his head at Lan Ji, looking like he had no choice. "I don't have a single penny, Yun sister is being very stingy."

  Three people went upstairs laughing. Mr. Feng was enthusiastic. Cloud Granny was nonchalant. Blue Maiden smiled at a nearby servant and said, "Invite Mr. Feng to the Peony Pavilion. Tell Peony that an old friend has come to visit and have her take good care of him."

  The male servant led the way, and sent Feng Gonggong into the Peony Pavilion." Yunniang looked inside through the beaded curtain with a curious expression, chuckled and said: "I wondered who it was. It turned out to be Hu Shao's eighth wife, why did you change your name to Peony?"

  "Die under the peony, even as a ghost, I'll be charming. Men don't like us women to be like flowers, do they? Cloud Granny, you shouldn't always be so plain and unadorned, being a yellow-faced old woman. All men are fond of novelty and tired of the familiar."

  "I just need to keep an eye on my purse, and even if she wants to turn the world upside down, she won't have the means to do so!" Off you go, go back to your place and take a good look."

  "Alright, alright. I was worried that sister wouldn't go." Lan Ji glanced meaningfully at the inside of Mudan Pavilion, where Feng Gonggong was staring at Peony with wide eyes.

  "Peony smiled slyly: 'How could you forget me? It was the Wind God who brought me here back then, I really don't know how to thank you properly.'"

  Outside, the two people who heard this voice only felt numb and weak in their bones, not knowing that the man would fall under the pomegranate skirt. Yún Pópó smiled and said: "Really a born seductress, if she doesn't become a prostitute, it's a waste of her talent!"

  Lan Ji smiled and said: "After I've trained them, they naturally won't make mistakes. The problem is, they dare to do it, but we don't dare to listen, right? Let's just leave?"

  "Alright, I'll make some space for you two. Just pretend I'm not here and do as you please." Cloud Granny pushed aside the beaded curtain with one hand and gave a sly smile to the two people inside. Wind Grandfather immediately felt uneasy: "Wife, why don't I just go back with you instead?"

  "You don't have to, just enjoy yourself," Cloud Granny smiled again, stunning and enchanting the world, Wind Grandpa had never seen such a charming gaze from Cloud Granny before. "If you can't perform well with your wife in front of you, then I'll go out and take a stroll." She flashed out of the Peony Pavilion and headed to the third floor with Blue Maiden.

  This is the Huāng Hǎi Guó Qīng Fēng Zhài Yān Huā Xiàng's Yān Huā Lóu. It is a large-scale brothel gathering place.

  The famous Smoke Flower Lane is named after the Smoke Flower Building, which is a circular building. From above, it looks like a blooming sunflower. The center of the flower is a large hall that can seat thousands of people. Five passageways made of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth lead from the center to the petals. The petal area consists of three floors of the Smoke Flower Building, including 99 palaces. These 99 palaces were built on top of the Smoke Flower Building, where courtesans lived on each floor. They had received professional training and possessed special skills, such as playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, painting, reciting poetry, and singing. Each courtesan had her own room, enjoyed good food and amenities, and was served by attendants. Just like modern-day office workers, they not only received a salary but also bonuses for good performance.

  The 130 houses were auxiliary to the two wings of the Huāhuā Lóu, where prostitutes lived. Prostitutes did not have specialized knowledge and skills to please men, they only had beauty but no talent, their treatment was a bit worse.

  No matter if it's a well-trained prostitute or one without any skills, the idea is: whoever has money is the big boss. No matter if you're an exiled noble or a murderer and thief, as long as you have money, anyone can enjoy the warmth of the red silk curtains for a moment and receive the most respectful treatment. Therefore, high-ranking officials and wealthy celebrities from all over the world come here to splurge, and the Smoke Flower House can be said to be the golden den of the Hanhai Kingdom.

  In the country of Hanhai, it is legal, they are the most important source of tax revenue for the country of Hanhai, not to mention that the idea of girls is that being able to sell is a skill, and not being able to sell is a shame.

  A 14-year-old girl is still a virgin, this is shameful. A girl who has not had a man before marriage, this is shameful. A girl who does not have a lover after marriage, this is shameful. A girl who has not given birth to several children with several men, that is shame upon shame.

  What is glorious, that's when at the age of 15 and during the coming-of-age ceremony, many men are willing to take out money to loudly bid for themselves, whoever gets the highest price, whoever has the most charm. Whoever can live in the brothel for free and become an official employee of the country.

  The treatment is great. After giving birth to a child, the country raises them, and after giving birth to many children, there are material rewards.

  Why is there such a strange custom? It starts from the first ruler of the Hanhai Kingdom. The current king of the Hanhai Kingdom is the 19th generation grandson of the founding emperor, and this branch is the descendant of the emperor's youngest son. From a logical point of view, they should not have inherited the throne, but who doesn't want to be an emperor? The old emperor discovered the young prince's ambition in time and couldn't bear to kill him, so he moved the young prince and his clan to this remote place with few people and made him the king of Hanhai. This place is surrounded by vast deserts, with only a hundred miles around the capital being an oasis. The Smoke Flower Tower is located ten miles away from the capital. There is only one main road leading to the capital, but there are heavily guarded gates at the pass. According to the imperial edict of that year, without the emperor's declaration, the ruler and descendants of Hanhai Kingdom were not allowed to leave Hanhai Kingdom. However, anyone who stayed in Hanhai Kingdom could save their lives, and the emperor was not allowed to kill them. This is also a protective measure taken by the emperor at that time, who had a guilty conscience and pitied his young son, fearing that the crown prince would kill him after ascending to the throne.

  The ruler of the country decided to avenge, and worked hard to develop production. However, the resources here were scarce, with only rolling yellow sand in some places. Someone then gave the king an idea, suggesting that they could use women to generate revenue, save money to buy military equipment. The state vigorously promoted it, changing customs, and over time, this habit was formed. Men with money can find women, and women with money can of course find men, but there is one thing - they must pay taxes. With money, everything is easy to say.

  "If you come to Huan Hai, you must go to the Smoke Flower Building! I guarantee that it will give you endless pleasure." On the fortress city wall of Huan Hai City, a huge banner was hung, which should be a feature of Huan Hai City.

  Yunpao now sees an even more provocative advertisement than this banner - "Hanhai women are the best in the world, Yanhua women are the best in Hanhai." It's hanging on the gate of Yanhua Building, eye-catching and shocking.