第九回 事出有因双姝通谜语 客来不速一笑蹴帘波 (Chapter Nine: An Event with Cause, Two Beauties Converse in Riddles; An Uninvited Guest, A Smile Ripples the Curtain Waves)

After dining at Jiuhua Restaurant, He Jianchen said with a smile, "I know you do not frequent the pleasure quarters. I did not mean to drag you there intentionally. Did you not say you wished to investigate Beijing society? The Eight Great Lanes are a microcosm of society. It would not hurt to take a stroll there." Yang Xingyuan thought this reasonable. Investigating society was naturally worthwhile. Seizing this opportunity to pay a visit was not a bad idea. Having decided, he did not refuse and they went out together. At the entrance of the lane, a young woman stood smiling at a doorway. He Jianchen nodded to her. The woman said, "Please come in and sit, gentlemen." Yang Xingyuan looked and saw it was not Pine and Bamboo House. On the doorframe hung a brass plaque inscribed with the three characters 'San Yu Ban'. Next to it was another brass plaque with the four characters 'Second-Class Teahouse'. Yang Xingyuan realized this was a second-class teahouse. He said to He Jianchen, "You were going to Pine and Bamboo House. Why did you bring me to San Yu Ban?" He Jianchen laughed. "No, because you know Pine and Bamboo House, I brought you to a third-class brothel to broaden your horizons. Since you are unwilling, let us go to Pine and Bamboo House." So they turned to Pine and Bamboo House. Entering Li Yun's room, they found Li Yun combing her hair. Seeing Yang Xingyuan enter, she smiled and nodded slightly. Yang Xingyuan sat opposite and watched her comb her hair. Li Yun asked with a smile, "Master Yang, are you still angry with me?" Yang Xingyuan said, "I was not angry in the first place. Where did that come from?" Li Yun replied, "That night, I wished to keep you longer, but Commander Zhang sent someone to fetch me with a chit. I had to go and had to leave you behind." Yang Xingyuan said, "That is your professional duty. How dare I blame you?" Li Yun said, "If you do not blame me, that is good. Will you stay for dinner tonight?" Yang Xingyuan said, "I cannot! I have already made an appointment with a friend to meet at Qingyun Pavilion at nine o'clock." Li Yun said, "Then you must come tomorrow." Yang Xingyuan could only vaguely agree. After sitting a while longer, he left Pine and Bamboo House and went to Qingyun Pavilion. His friend had not arrived yet. He bought a few daily newspapers and read for a while. It was already nine-thirty, and the friend still had not come. Yang Xingyuan thought, "He probably is not coming." After settling the tea bill and about to leave, he saw someone coming up the stairs, sleeves of his woolen robe rolled up, panting and sweating profusely. Upon seeing Yang Xingyuan, he said, "My apologies! My apologies! I was delayed by a minor incident." Yang Xingyuan looked and saw it was his townsman Fu Xueren. He said, "It is alright. I just arrived a moment ago." The two sat down and brewed tea to chat.

Fu Xueren said, "Master Yang Xingyuan, have you seen the news in the papers these days about the sharp fall of Copper Coin Notes?" Yang Xingyuan replied, "I have. It is said that several money shops have gone bankrupt because of it. This is indeed a heavy blow to the financial world." Fu Xueren said, "I have been busy with this matter all day today." Yang Xingyuan asked, "Master Xueren, you have always been active in political circles. Why are you dabbling in finance now?" Fu Xueren explained, "It is not me, but a relative of mine. He opened a silver shop and used my money for speculative ventures, only to suffer heavy losses. I went to settle accounts with him today and spent the whole day arguing." Yang Xingyuan said, "These days, nine out of ten ventures outside result in losses. Looking ahead, each day seems harder than the last. I am afraid we shall all have to tighten our belts to get by." Fu Xueren agreed, "You are quite right. So the people in our club are talking about starting a company to engage in some real business." Yang Xingyuan inquired, "Is not your club full of political figures?" Fu Xueren said, "We have all sorts of people. There are indeed many political figures, but also bankers, journalists, lawyers, doctors, and so on." Yang Xingyuan remarked, "That is what you call having people from all trades and backgrounds, a veritable cross-section of society." Fu Xueren continued, "They are planning to establish a Cigarette Company. They have even looked at a factory site outside the city. But they are still short of two to three hundred thousand in capital. Once the capital is raised, they will start." Yang Xingyuan said, "There are already quite a few cigarette makers in Beijing, like 'Big Baby', 'Hardemann', 'Gold Brick', all quite famous. What brand of cigarettes is your company planning to produce?" Fu Xueren said, "We have chosen a name. The cigarettes will be called 'Three Castles'. Because the name 'Three Castles' has a historical reputation in the market, we plan to use it." Yang Xingyuan laughed, "Capitalists are indeed economical. They even borrow established brand names for cigarettes." Fu Xueren added, "That is not all. They are also planning to produce 'Gallagher' cigarettes." As they were talking, two women entered the room next to them. One was about twenty years old, the other only sixteen or seventeen, both dressed elegantly. Although they were courtesans from a second-class teahouse, they were heavily made-up and adorned, standing out vividly in the teahouse. They sat down. The older one took off her tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses, wiped them with a handkerchief, put them on, and looked around. She spotted Fu Xueren and smiled, nodding. Fu Xueren also nodded, as if familiar. The younger one asked, "Who is that?" The older one said, "Do you not know? That is Third Master Fu." Yang Xingyuan heard this and thought, so Fu Xueren is the third in his family. But how do they know him? Just as he was about to ask Fu Xueren, the two courtesans walked over and sat opposite. The younger one smiled, lowered her head, and played with her handkerchief. The older one started talking to Fu Xueren.

The older one said, "Third Master, how do you have time to come here today?" Fu Xueren replied, "I have arranged to meet a friend here for a chat." Pointing at Yang Xingyuan, he said, "This is Master Yang." The older courtesan smiled slightly at Yang Xingyuan. Fu Xueren said to Yang Xingyuan, "Let me introduce them. This is Cuifeng, and this is Xiao Shanhu." Yang Xingyuan could only smile and nod at them. Cuifeng said, "Master Yang, would you honor us with a visit to our place?" Yang Xingyuan said, "I have been quite busy these days. I shall come another time." Cuifeng asked Fu Xueren, "Is Master Yang telling the truth?" Fu Xueren said, "Master Yang rarely frequents such places. I had to drag him here today." Xiao Shanhu said to Yang Xingyuan, "Even if you are busy, sitting at our place is no different. Or do you have something on your mind?" Yang Xingyuan laughed, "I have nothing on my mind." Xiao Shanhu said, "If you have nothing on your mind, why will you not come?" Yang Xingyuan said, "There is no destined reason." Xiao Shanhu said, "If there is no destined reason, you should come even more." Struck by her words, Yang Xingyuan had nothing to say and only smiled. Fu Xueren interjected, "Enough now. Master Yang is my guest today. No matter what, he cannot go today. I shall bring him another time, how about that?" Cuifeng said, "Third Master, are you serious? Do not trick me." Fu Xueren said, "Why would I trick you?" Xiao Shanhu said, "Third Master, if you promise to bring him, you must take responsibility. If you do not bring him, we shall come looking for you." Fu Xueren said, "Fine, fine." Cuifeng said, "Third Master, we shall prepare some wine tomorrow evening. Will you and Master Yang honor us with your presence?" Fu Xueren said, "That is not necessary." Cuifeng said, "Third Master, you look down on us." Fu Xueren said, "Not at all. But Master Yang might not come. If I go alone, it would not be fun." Cuifeng said, "Third Master, just come. If Master Yang can come, even better. If not, we shall invite you alone." Xiao Shanhu said, "Third Master, please come. If you do not, we shall go to your residence tomorrow evening." Fu Xueren laughed, "You would come looking for me? That is too much honor." Cuifeng insisted, "Third Master, will you come or not?" Fu Xueren said, "Yes! I shall definitely come!" Cuifeng said, "Since you have agreed, we shall prepare tomorrow." With that, the two stood up, urged Fu Xueren to arrive early tomorrow, and then left.

Yang Xingyuan laughed, "So Master Fu Xueren is an old hand at this. I apologize for my ignorance." Fu Xueren smiled, "I am nothing. It is just a casual diversion. The chairman of our company is the real old hand." Yang Xingyuan asked, "Who is the chairman of your esteemed company?" Fu Xueren said, "It is Wen Zhaowei." Yang Xingyuan said, "Is not Master Wen a renowned figure in education? How does he still have such bold interests?" Fu Xueren explained, "Master Wen's education is for society to see, not for himself. So he is quite liberated in his own behavior." Yang Xingyuan said, "At his age, does he still frequent such places?" Fu Xueren said, "He does not frequent them, but he is quite well acquainted with a number of celebrated courtesans. He has a peculiar habit: he loves composing poems for them. That alone would not be bad, but he insists on publishing them in newspapers. People say he is indulging in romantic self-appreciation, but he claims to be promoting elegance. Under the lamplight, his bald brush dances. On a bed, a round fan flutters in coy invitation. It is quite amusing." Yang Xingyuan said, "I have heard something about that. I heard he published two collections, something like 'Gathering Breeze Records' and 'Flower Register of the Northern Quarter'." Fu Xueren said, "Exactly. You see, is not that promoting elegance?" Yang Xingyuan said, "It is mere ennui. To be truly elegant, one must be like Han Xizai, with hundreds of female musicians bustling about him. That is a true scholar, truly romantic. The rest are but poor imitations, deceiving themselves and others." Fu Xueren said, "In Han Xizai's time, there was so much freedom. Not like now, where everything is constrained by law." Yang Xingyuan said, "Legal constraints exist, but those obsessed with the pleasure quarters are always around. The law has no time to bother with such trivialities." Fu Xueren asked, "I heard there are several ambitious courtesans in the lanes lately. Is that true?" Yang Xingyuan said, "There are naturally many women with ambition, not just in the lanes, but in society at large. Any woman with ambition is a good person. To outsiders, courtesans in the lanes seem lowly, but among them are pitiable souls with tragic backgrounds. They might even be less fortunate than us happy folks. As for ambition, everyone has it, but they might slowly lose it due to environmental pressures. Actually, I think there are quite a few with ambition among them." Fu Xueren laughed, "So, Master Yang, you are inclined to champion their cause." Yang Xingyuan said, "I dare not. I am just speaking from what I have observed."

As they chatted happily, they heard a burst of laughter and chatter from the next room. A crowd of people squeezed in. Fu Xueren turned to look and saw several people from their club: Wen Zhaowei, Qin Yanli, Cheng Zhili, and two or three others he did not recognize. Wen Zhaowei first greeted Fu Xueren and said, "Xueren, you are here. I have a question for you." Fu Xueren said, "What question?" Wen Zhaowei said, "I composed a poem yesterday with two lines: 'Brandy drunken, powerless; At Huangxie Pu, night not yet ended.' Some say Brandy is a foreign liquor, and pairing it with Huangxie Pu is forced. What do you think?" Before Fu Xueren could answer, Qin Yanli said, "Master Wen, that poem is simply nonsensical." Wen Zhaowei said, "How so?" Qin Yanli said, "Brandy versus Huangxie Pu not only matches the characters well, but one is a foreign liquor, the other an ancient Chinese place name. It is a match made in heaven. How is it forced?" Wen Zhaowei said, "That is what I thought, but some say Brandy is liquor, and Huangxie Pu is not, so they cannot be paired." Qin Yanli said, "That is even more absurd. Pairing is about the characters, not the nature. If that is the case, only 'liquor' paired with 'liquor', 'tea' with 'tea', would be perfect. Then, the ancients' 'heaven' paired with 'earth', 'rain' with 'wind', would not be perfect either." Wen Zhaowei laughed, "Old Qin, you are absolutely right. I have no rebuttal." Turning to Fu Xueren, he said, "What is your opinion?" Fu Xueren said, "I think Brother Yanli's words are correct." Wen Zhaowei said, "Since you all say so, my poem is acceptable. I shall send it to Flower News tonight for publication. Let us see what they have to say then." Qin Yanli said, "Master Wen, even if your poem is completely acceptable, it is nothing special. I heard yesterday that Hu Chunhang composed a couplet in a brothel. That is truly outstanding." Wen Zhaowei asked, "What couplet?" Qin Yanli said, "The first line is 'In the vast desert, a lone smoke rises straight.' The second line is 'A beauty's complexion is delicate and fair.'" Wen Zhaowei said, "Hu Chunhang never frequents such places. How did he end up composing a couplet in a brothel? Superficially, this couplet seems irrelevant, but it is actually perfectly integrated. 'In the vast desert, a lone smoke rises straight' describes the beauty, does it not? 'A beauty's complexion is delicate and fair' refers to the lone smoke, does it not?" Qin Yanli said, "Master Wen, do not talk nonsense. 'In the vast desert, a lone smoke rises straight' is from a Tang poem. The first line is 'In the vast desert, a lone smoke rises straight,' and the second line is 'Over the long river, the setting sun is round.' That is perfect. He replaced the second line with 'A beauty's complexion is delicate and fair.' What kind of pairing is that?" Wen Zhaowei said, "That is called taking lines out of context, using another's wine to drown one's own sorrows. You do not understand." At this, everyone laughed.

At this point, Yang Xingyuan also stood up. Fu Xueren said to Wen Zhaowei, "Master Wen, let me introduce a friend. This is Yang Xingyuan." Wen Zhaowei looked at Yang Xingyuan and said, "Oh! So you are Yang Xingyuan. I often see your works in the papers. I have long admired you." Yang Xingyuan said, "I am flattered." Wen Zhaowei asked, "Where have you been making your mark, Master Yang?" Yang Xingyuan said, "I just dabble with the pen, working casually at a newspaper office." Wen Zhaowei said, "Excellent. We are all connected through writing. It is rare to meet here today. We must chat heartily." With that, he took Yang Xingyuan's hand and sat down together. Wen Zhaowei said, "Have you produced any major works lately, Master Yang?" Yang Xingyuan said, "Nothing much. Just some scattered writings in the papers daily." Wen Zhaowei said, "As a journalist, you have articles published every day. That is much better than us. Sometimes, we cannot produce a single piece in a month." Yang Xingyuan said, "Journalists' writings are just timely trifles. They do not count." Wen Zhaowei asked, "Has your newspaper office had any good material lately?" Yang Xingyuan said, "Nothing special. Just the government's borrowing of foreign loans is causing quite a stir. It will likely become a reality soon." Wen Zhaowei said, "Borrowing foreign loans is not bad. If used properly, it benefits the country." Qin Yanli said, "Master Wen, I disagree. Too much foreign debt invites motives for international co-administration. Moreover, the collateral is things like customs duties and salt taxes, which are vital to the nation. How can they be easily pledged?" Wen Zhaowei said, "According to you, we simply cannot borrow foreign loans. Then, where will China get capital to develop industries?" Qin Yanli said, "China has plenty of capitalists. Why must we borrow foreign loans?" Wen Zhaowei said, "Chinese capitalists prefer to keep their money in foreign banks, unwilling to invest in industries. What can be done?" Qin Yanli said, "One cannot blame them. If they invest in industries and lose money, would it not be wasted? With foreign loans, profits go to capitalists, losses to the country. So they would rather keep funds in foreign banks and enjoy the fruits of inaction." Wen Zhaowei said, "That is true. But if the government wants to develop industries now, without foreign loans, there is really no other way."