７２

  After lingering in various shops for a while, the sunset has already turned slightly red and is about to fall behind the bustling buildings. Many stores have closed early, and Xile is happy that she didn't buy anything, saying that she wants to be thrifty. Then we looked everywhere for an affordable inn, Xile thinks that

  Having a place to stay, you don't need to look for an inn, and you can be more frugal. I say that inns are a must-find, unless you have a place to stay in every city, but by then, do you still need to be frugal?

  In the city, inns are divided into several grades. The highest grade is not called an inn, but a main building, because every night they give more money, so the guest becomes the host. In all of Chang'an, there are only three such main buildings, and nationwide, there are only five. Each has a "good" character personally written by the head of the internal affairs department, meaning it's very good, specifically for officials and nobles to live in. The entrance is heavily guarded, with servants everywhere, courtyards, small bridges, flowing water, rooms over 200 feet long and wide, beautifully decorated, one night costs 50 silver taels. But the bosses generally don't make as much as ordinary inn bosses, only getting the benefit of knowing some important people. Because most nobles have their own mansions, if they go out to discuss business, it's naturally with another noble, so they live in another noble's mansion. Only officials stay here, but officials usually just put things on account or credit, never seeing cash flow, so they can only set up huge entertainment venues in the main building, inviting all the most beautiful girls in town, just to see some cash, taking a cut, barely making ends meet.

  Second-rate ones are more common, and the level is not uniform. The word "general" is often mentioned, everything is general, and the meat you eat will basically not be human flesh, which is very important. The price may only be less than one-tenth, ordinary people all live there.

  Third-rate inns are even more numerous, with no signboards above them; they might be black shops, and several dozen people occupy one room. I think it's still better to sleep under a tree.

  Found a second-rate inn and fell asleep quickly, thinking about going to retrieve his sword the next day.