Chapter 35: Being Given a Hard Time

Liu Liwa looked at the girls around him. Each one indeed had something similar to Lanlan. And in yesterday’s story, Liu Liwa had described Lanlan’s appearance very realistically. Even in a story, he did not deliberately embellish it. After all, a legendary woman did not necessarily have to be a stunning beauty. Keeping it plain could make the guests more interested in the girls around them.

These girls had tasted the sweetness yesterday and received rewards. However, there were many new tricks in the story that the guests really liked, but the girls knew nothing about them. Yet, with good professional ethics and sharp business sense, they understood that the more they imitated Lanlan, the happier the guests would be and the more rewards they would get.

So now, they shyly pulled Liu Liwa and asked for details. This really put Liu Liwa in a difficult spot. Last night, he could talk freely and say the most explicit things, but that was facing a group of fellow perverts. It was just like drinking and bragging among friends. But now, a bunch of girls were asking him shyly, and Liu Liwa really could not say it out loud. Moreover, these women showed no sincerity at all. They were not as understanding as Sister Yanhong earlier. How could his secrets of charming men be easily passed on?

Those who gave gifts and those who did not naturally had to be treated differently. And Liu Liwa found that accepting bribes was addictive. After taking money, he started to look down on those who did not give any. He felt that everyone in the world should give him money. Because of this mentality, more and more people abused their power, and corruption became more common. Even Liu Liwa, a mere Brothel Steward, was like this, let alone those high-ranking officials who held real power!

Liu Liwa made up his mind. He would not act without seeing a rabbit; he would not speak without seeing silver. These girls clearly did not have as much social experience as Sister Yanhong earlier. They thought all men could not resist a woman’s temptation. They believed that if they pressed close, rubbed against him, whispered, and acted clingy, any man would surrender. Hah, that might work on others, but with Liu Liwa, they would at least need to squeeze and knead a bit more…

After being clingy for a while with no results, the girls collectively gave him big white-eyed looks and stopped pestering him. Anyway, he would tell stories later. They could just listen carefully and try to understand then!

After sending the women away, Liu Liwa was bored and planned to continue cozying up to Yang Xiaosi. Especially after seeing him secretly give face powder to a girl earlier, he definitely had to ask him how many girls he had “stolen while guarding them” and learn a few tricks. He could not just stroll through a flower garden with sinusitis and not get any fragrance, could he?

Just as Liu Liwa was about to step forward, he suddenly felt his vision go dark. Then he felt countless unidentified objects flying toward him. He subconsciously reached out to catch them and immediately felt a heavy weight in his arms. His face was covered, and at the same time, he smelled a strange odor that was hard to describe.

Liu Liwa flailed around and realized he was holding a pile of clothes. The indescribable smell from earlier indicated that this was a pile of dirty clothes. It was very likely the girls’ clothes, and even the legendary underwear and underskirt. He was so scared he wanted to throw them away immediately. If it were an ordinary girl, he might even help wash her small underwear. But this was a Pleasure House. The underwear of the girls here…

Who the hell threw this to him? He spat lightly and was about to throw the clothes away when Shen Zuijin’s big face suddenly appeared before him. This woman wore heavier makeup than most women, looking like the Lady Gaga of this era. At this moment, she had a sullen face and was looking at him angrily.

Liu Liwa felt a chill in his heart. He thought karma came really fast. Just now, those girls did not bribe him, so he ignored them. If he were a leader, he might even give a hard time to an uncooperative subordinate. Now retribution had come. Shen Zuijin was his direct supervisor. He had not been respectful to her either; instead, he had even offended her yesterday. Now the hard time was here.

Shen Zuijin, with her face full of powder, did not dare to show too much expression for fear of it cracking. She said coldly, “Alright, stop staring. Quickly take these clothes and wash them. They must be dried before tonight. I need to wear them, or I’ll punish you to wash clothes for a month!”

“Ah?” Liu Liwa’s eye twitched, but as soon as he showed a doubtful expression, Wang Meng, the gorilla-like man who had just appeared in the hall, immediately looked over fiercely. Liu Liwa immediately backed down. Wherever Shen Zuijin was, this gorilla was always around. The two definitely had some shady relationship. When he got the chance, he would buy a little dog for them so they could become the “dog and bitch couple”!

“Miss Shen, didn’t you say I was to learn from the four attendants? Why are you making me wash clothes now?” Liu Liwa was still unwilling after all. He rarely even washed his own clothes and bought disposable socks. In this era where you had to fetch water from a well yourself and there was no gentle laundry detergent like Libai, he was even less willing to wash clothes.

Shen Zuijin immediately became unhappy upon hearing this. In the Intoxication Pavilion, besides Wu Liniang, her word was law. No one dared to disobey, and no one dared to bargain with her. She narrowed her eyes and said sharply, “Look at what time it is now. We haven’t even opened for business yet. Why would we need you to attend? You are clearly slacking off. The rule of our Intoxication Pavilion is that those who slack off will be caned thirty times if male or fined five silver taels if female!”

Damn, I’m a shemale, a eunuch, a hermaphrodite! Liu Liwa cursed inwardly, but seeing the gorilla Wang Meng about to charge over, he quickly smiled apologetically and said, “Sorry, Miss Shen. I’m new here and don’t know the rules. Please be magnanimous. Since it’s my first offense, forgive me this time. I’ll go wash the clothes right away.”

“Hmph!” Seeing him yield, Shen Zuijin felt a bit better. Her absolute authority must not be challenged. “Fine, go wash them quickly. It’s getting late now. You must not delay your attendant duties later, and you must wash the clothes clean and dry them. I need to wear them tonight.”

This was pure harassment. Her own words were contradictory. It was getting late and business was about to start, but Pleasure Houses usually opened after dark. The sun was already setting, and she still wanted the clothes dried. Did she think he had a spin-dry function?

“What are you staring at?” Liu Liwa was in a daze, and Shen Zuijin was unhappy again. Her eyes widened once more. “The Intoxication Pavilion does not accept any excuses. There is only doing or not doing, doing well or doing poorly. If you delay any longer, there will be no sunlight left. Then I don’t care if you have to blow them dry with your mouth or roast them dry with fire. In short, I want dry clothes to wear!”

Liu Liwa gritted his teeth in anger but still wore a smile. He said, “Don’t worry. Even without wind or fire, I’ll wear them myself and run in circles to dry them!”

Without waiting for Shen Zuijin to respond, Liu Liwa walked off holding the stack of clothes. His manner was as lofty and spirited as going to battle, but in his heart, he was so angry he wanted to kill someone. Fortunately, when he passed by Yang Xiaosi, this guy was decent enough to secretly tell him, “There are people in the Backyard specifically responsible for washing clothes!”

Liu Liwa was delighted upon hearing this. Yes, weren’t there many young men and women in the Backyard specifically in charge of washing clothes? How could he not use the professionals? However, among this pile of clothes was a set of Shen Zuijin’s intimate underwear and underskirt. Liu Liwa decided he must wash those himself…