Joy of Life: The Mei Family's Son Grows Up

Chapter 41 Miss Sangwen
Mei Cheng'an had very good hearing and had already heard clearly the two people's whispers.

I thought it was funny and interesting in my heart, but I didn't show it on my face, and I didn't rush them, allowing them to whisper openly.

After the two of them had reached an agreement, they returned to their seats, their faces returning to their calm state, as if they had just chatted for a few minutes.

Xin Qiwu saw Mei Chengan drinking happily and raised his wine cup as well.

"Cheng'an, don't drink alone. Come on, Wang Sicheng, you raise your glass too. Let's drink together. Welcome Cheng'an to our Honglu Temple."

"Master Xin is right. Welcome Master Xiaomei."

"You're welcome!"

Mei Cheng'an held the wine glass with both hands, toasted Xin Qiwu and Wang Sicheng from a distance, and then drank it all in one gulp.

Just as the wine glasses were refilled, the door opened and the madam came in with about seven or eight young girls of outstanding appearance and stood in the hall.

It was obvious that Xin Qiwu and Wang Sicheng came here often, so they behaved relatively calmly, except that their eyes were wide open.

Mei Cheng'an felt it was very new. This was the first time in his life, oh no, the first time in his two lives combined, that he visited a brothel. His eyes kept looking at the faces of these girls until they stopped on the face of a girl in a pink plain dress. He saw an acquaintance.

The madam came in with a smile on her face.
"Gentlemen, please choose a few to serve you with wine."

Xin Qiwu swallowed secretly.

"Cheng'an, you choose first."

Mei Cheng'an was not polite anymore and pointed at the acquaintance.

"Just her."

Everyone in the room, including the madam, was stunned, because this girl was the most plainly dressed of all the girls. Her facial features were pretty, but her makeup was light and her expression was stiff. It was obvious that she was a novice.

Everyone waited for a while, and when they saw Mei Chengan ordered one, they kept silent.

Xin Qiwu suggested: "Cheng'an, do you only want her? Why not pick another one?"

Mei Chengan shook his head.

The madam paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Sang Wen, hurry up and serve this gentleman well."

Sang Wen had a slightly stiff smile on his face. He bowed and walked towards Mei Chengan, then knelt down beside him.

Then Xin Qiwu and Wang Sicheng ordered two each.

After the remaining girls were selected, they went out, and another group of girls came in with musical instruments, including flutes, Xiao and Pipa, and took seats in the hall.

It wasn't over yet. A woman in a red dress with long sleeves and a veil on her face walked into the hall, probably dancing.

As the staff arrived.

The madam spoke.

"Girls, come and show yourself to these gentlemen first."

The dancer in the middle was the first to strike a very graceful dance pose. As the girl playing the flute placed the flute to her lips, a melodious flute sound came out. Then the flute, pipa, harp and drum joined in one after another. The music became richer but not messy.

When Tan Pipa started singing, the dancer in the middle finally began to move. She danced gracefully to the music and singing, her long sleeves fluttering in the wind, showing her gracefulness.

Mei Cheng'an leaned back in his chair, supporting his arm with his right knee, and watched intently. Ancient music has a kind of magic. Although the melody is not complicated, it can always calm a person down and immerse themselves in it.

ps: Liu Shishi danced so beautifully in Once Upon a Time.

The music and dance performed is not very long, nor is it complete. It stops abruptly at a climax, which makes you feel itchy.

After the music and dance stopped, the madam did not speak immediately, as if she wanted to give the three people some time to savor the experience.

"How are you, gentlemen?"

Although Xin Qiwu himself is not good at music, his appreciation level is still good. Just looking at the piece just performed, he couldn't find any fault with either the musical instruments or the dance.

He glanced at Wang Sicheng, and then at Mei Chengan.

"Cheng'an, do you still like it?"

"The music is nice and the dance is beautiful. I like it very much." Mei Cheng'an said truthfully.

Xin Qiwu said: "Then let's all stay."

The madam could hardly suppress the smile. After a few days, she finally waited for a customer with a bigger budget. He would usually order two wine waiters and a table of wine to chat for most of the day, and spend at most a dozen taels of silver.

Occasionally, two generous people would come and order one or two singers, but this was the first time I dared to order a band and dancers at once.

You know, the whole band and dancers are not cheap. Thirty taels for all the playing instruments, singing and dancing is not too much. And that's just the beginning of the business, so the girls are not well-known. Once they become famous, the price won't be this high anymore.

Wang Sicheng's mouth could hardly contain its twitching, and he couldn't help wailing in his heart, wondering how much the hell this was going to cost.

After the madam left, the performing girls adjusted themselves a little and resumed the performance.

The three of them also officially began to promote the drinking process. Xin Qiwu had just said the opening remarks, and now it was time for the toast.

Mei Cheng'an actually had a lot of questions he wanted to ask the girl Sang Wen next to him, but Xin Qiwu and Wang Sicheng kept asking him to drink, especially Wang Sicheng, who even toasted Mei Cheng'an several times.

The toasts came one after another, and even Mei Chengan was a little overwhelmed.

When someone toasts you, you have to toast back. There was another round of arguing, and the three of them were going around in a circle, toasting each other. Soon, everyone was a little tipsy. With Xin Qiwu's order, the toasting session ended.

The free communication session also began. This session was no longer a communication between three people, but a communication between the three people and the girls who were serving drinks beside them.

Mei Cheng'an finally found an opportunity to communicate with Sang Wen alone. In the original novel, although Sang Wen played the pipa very well, her appearance was not outstanding. However, it was Wang Churan who played Sang Wen in the drama.

Let’s not worry about his acting skills for now, just look at his appearance, he is so beautiful that there is nothing to say. Sang Wen in front of us has such a face.

She has curved thin eyebrows, bright eyes and white teeth, fair skin, tall stature and long legs, and is cool and beautiful. With a pink plain dress and simple willow-leaf earrings, she looks fresh and refined, and looks very beautiful.

At the very least, she is ten thousand times better than those guys like Qiu Yidiaoyang Meng Xiaoyun from Zuixianju, Yujiang Weixun Du Erniang, Fanyinrao and Wen Ruohan.

Mei Cheng'an looked at Sang Wen for a long time and felt embarrassed to be seen by the girl.

"Your name is Sang Wen?"

Mei Cheng'an suddenly spoke and scared Sang Wen.

"Yes."

"Real name or stage name?"

"My real name."

"It's not common to use your real name in a brothel."

Sang Wen was very clear-headed. "It's not shameful to sell art but not my body."

"Your art is a little too shabby. The wine you poured and spilled on the table is enough to make up a glass. If I didn't knock on the table to remind you, you would never take the initiative to pour me a glass."

Sangwen blushed.

"I have never done this before, please forgive me, sir."

Mei Cheng'an picked up the wine glass and drank it all, then put it on the table in front of Sang Wen and tapped the table with his fingers.

Sang Wen hurriedly poured the wine.

"What did you do before?"

"Play the pipa."

"Then why are you a waitress?"

"The pipa is broken and is being repaired."

Mei Chengan suddenly remembered that Wang Qinian seemed to have sold it to Sang Wen

"Is your boss so stingy? Don't you have a spare pipa?"

"Yes, but I don't want to use it. I just want to use my own lute."

Mei Cheng'an glanced at the stubborn girl.

"You must have made the madam angry. No wonder you are asked to be a wine waitress."

Sang Wen lowered his head.

"Yes."

Drinking, knocking on the table, Sang Wen refills the cup.

"Are you good at playing the pipa?"

Sang Wen raised his head.

“It’s very good.”

"Are you so confident?"

Sang Wen nodded seriously.

“I play it really well!”

Sure enough, when a person is confident, his eyes will shine, and Sang Wen's eyes are very bright at this moment.

"It seems you like music very much."

"Yes, yes. I can actually play all kinds of musical instruments. The pipa is just the one I am best at. Mother Liu said that I have a special talent for music. I can also sing."

Mei Chengan looked at Sang Wen again. Does being pretty mean she can be so arrogant? So he asked a soul-searching question.

"What is your dream?"

It’s a pity that Sang Wen didn’t get it.

"What is...a dream?"

“It’s something I dream of doing.”

Sang Wen let out a soft "ah", which was very cute, and then entered a state of thinking.

It turns out this girl is a versatile person, but it's hard to tell in the drama. And from the looks of it, she's not forced to perform. She really likes music. Her eyes change whenever anything related to music is mentioned.

Mei Cheng'an drank a glass of wine and gently placed it on the table. He didn't knock it this time. He didn't want to interrupt Sang Wen's thoughts, so he looked to the other side.

Xin Qiwu and Wang Sicheng were obviously drunk and didn't know how to communicate with girls. They were confused and drank from every glass of wine the girls brought.

It seems that no matter in ancient times or modern times, girls who sell wine are very good.

"I've thought about it." It was Sang Wen who spoke.

Mei Cheng'an looked back at her and asked with interest.

"Tell me, what is your dream?"

Sang Wen spoke with a firm expression.

"I want to become a great opera artist, respected and admired like an oiran."

As expected, she wanted to be a musical artist.

"Don't you want to redeem yourself?"

Sang Wen was confused for a moment.

"I think I'll redeem myself when I earn enough money."

"And then continue to perform as a freelance artist?"

Sang Wen paused and nodded.

"Yes."

Mei Chengan knocked on the table.

When Sang Wen heard the knocking on the table, he subconsciously looked down and saw that the wine glass was empty again, so he quickly filled it up.

"What if you can only choose between becoming a famous opera artist and redeeming yourself?"

"Become a master of folk art." Sang Wen blurted out.

This is too decisive! Mei Cheng'an was shocked. Don't girls in brothels dream of redeeming themselves?

"The madam has asked you to serve wine. If you don't redeem yourself, how can you have a chance to become a famous opera artist?"

Sang Wen looked at Mei Chengan, but she didn't expect that Mei Chengan was also looking at her. The two of them looked at each other, and Sang Wen's face turned red instantly and she lowered her head.

This young man has beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. Why does he keep staring at me? These are the thoughts that come to my mind when we look at each other.

"Liu, Mama Liu is very kind to me. This time I was the one who got angry because of my temper, so she asked me to serve wine until the pipa was repaired."

Mei Chengan smiled.

(End of this chapter)