Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 95 Mr. Tong Quan

When people mention pawnshops, people generally have the impression that the poor and gamblers patronize the place.

We can see it in many film and television dramas. It is often the family who can’t get rid of the pot, the one who gambled and lost all his money, and the one who wants to see a doctor but looks down on him... who rummages through the box, takes out some messy things, and takes them to the pawn shop for some money. Emergency; some are used as jewelry, antiques, clothing, and even tables, chairs, benches, water tanks and straw mats...

Do such things really exist?

Yes, but our impression is not accurate.

In fact, pawn shops are divided into grades, which are divided into four types: big pawn, big mortgage, big mortgage and small mortgage—the pawn period is from long to short, and the interest rate is from low to high.

A pawn shop like "Da Pang" not only needs to have strong funds, but also has to be powerful, because they basically serve the rich on weekdays.

Some people may ask, what do rich people do as things?

Then you go and look at the big companies and big companies outside, which one doesn't get a loan from the bank?If you borrow money from the bank, you have to mortgage something, right?Isn't that similar to the nature of a pawn?

In fact, the ancient pawn shop lending is similar to modern bank lending; rich people, especially those in business, need cash flow. When the cash flow is insufficient, it is normal to mortgage something to turn around.

In addition, there are some wealthy people who send valuables to pawnshops not for money but for safety. This is called "pawning"; because they think that the pawnshop's vault is safer than their own home, they pawn their things for a long time. Here, the interest paid at the time of redemption is regarded as a storage fee; and in case something is lost during the "delivery" period, not only will they not have to pay interest, but they can also get another compensation... This is similar to modern banks. The vault business is similar.

As for the kind of pawnshops we often see in film and television dramas, they are generally the lowest level of "small pledges".

What is a small bet?To put it bluntly, it is a usury that uses collateral instead of violent debt collection...

The mortgage period provided by this kind of pawn shop is usually very short. If you don’t come to redeem it for three months, the thing will belong to him;

So this kind of place is indeed only frequented by the desperate poor and gamblers. These people pawned things and didn't plan to redeem them. Some people don't even want to pawn tickets, just take the money and leave.

Xiaopeng also knows who his customers are, so he tries his best to take advantage of the danger of others, lower the price and bluff, and maximize the benefits.

Otherwise, why did the ancient people call the pawnshop "Lei Gong Hong"?Because the pawnshops they have access to are all small bets.

And a young master from a rich family like Song Xiang would definitely not pawn things; even with the financial resources of a small pawn, he would not be able to pawn thousands of taels of silver.

The Song family's pawnshops, whether they are sent or turned around, are all done at the largest pawn shop in Runan City, "Tong Quan Jian".

If you want to talk about this general interpretation, it is really a bit famous.

The meaning of the word "Tongquan" in the appraisal industry is roughly the same as when you say you are "invincible" when playing games. If you dare to hang this signboard, and the business can really go on, there must be an expert in charge .

The master of Tong Quanjian, whose surname is Liu and whose first name is Yu Fang, is known as "Mr. Tong Quan".

The origin of this person is unknown, and he never tells anyone about himself; judging from his accent, he should be a southerner, and judging by his white beard and hair, and his skinny appearance, he should be at least 65 years old. As for others For example, whether he was married, whether he had children, where he came from, what he did before, where he learned his knowledge, etc., everyone didn't know, and he never mentioned it.

When Liu Yufang came to this pawnshop to apply for an appraiser, he made it clear to the shopkeeper here: "The wages are negotiable, and the work is not difficult. I just have one request. Regarding my past, it is best for everyone not to ask."

The shopkeeper thought about it: This old man is at this age, even if he was a gangster before, he is no threat now, and besides, I don't think he looks like a robber with his frail appearance.

Thinking of this, the shopkeeper left Liu Yufang behind.

Unexpectedly, this old man has unparalleled insight and superb skills, helping the shopkeeper to make the business bigger and bigger. In a few years, the place has changed from a "big bet" to a "big pawn".

Therefore, the shopkeeper became a little swollen, hung up the signboard of "Tong Quan Jian", and publicly stated that we have a "Mr. Tong Quan" here, who can identify all the treasures, and everyone can find any good things Take it from me, and you will definitely not lose it.

When he did this, he attracted dissatisfaction from many colleagues, and there were not a few people who came to pick things up.

Don't you gentlemen recognize everything?Then let's all come to test you, if you can really tell the difference, we will be convinced, if you can't tell the difference, nothing else, just smash the signboard.

During that time, every once in a while, someone came to find fault with some strange things that I didn’t know where they found them, such as the saw used by Lu Ban, the straw sandals made by Liu Bei, the white silk that Wu Yong hanged himself, and the sword that Wu Zixu drew his neck... the most strange What happened was that someone came over with a piece of noodles and Gada said in a daze that it was the old noodles left by Zhuge Liang when he made steamed buns.

But no matter how outrageous these guys are, Liu Yufang is still calm, coping with it freely, and accurately told the true origin of everything.

After more than half a year, everyone is really convinced, and they all admit that Mr. Liu really can afford the word "Tong Quan".

Didn't think about it... At the beginning, all the storms and waves came, but today, Liu Yufang was in trouble.

Because today, someone sent the Nine Feathers Sun Chasing Furnace in front of him.

In fact, Liu Yufang recognized this thing at the first sight. He knew exactly what this thing was for, but it was precisely because of this that his heart was agitated.

"Hiss—" Liu Yufang was silent for a long time, and then said to the waiter at the side, "Who brought this?"

The store clerk has worked in Tongquanjian for many years, and it was the first time he saw Mr. Liu showing embarrassment, so he hesitated for a while before replying: "Uh...he's from the Song family."

In Runan City, when you talk about the Song Mansion, everyone understands that it refers to Song Yuanwai's family, that is, Song Xiang's family.

This big family pawns things, and generally there is no need for the family to come forward, just send a servant to take the things; because the deposit period and interest of "big pawn" are relatively reasonable, old customers can make corresponding adjustments if they have requirements , so the family only needs to say the lowest psychologically expected price, and then let the servants use this as the bottom line to talk to the pawnshop. There is no need to make a special trip by yourself.

Of course, there are hidden dangers in this approach...

For example, if the housekeeper of a rich family had evil thoughts, he could steal some valuables from the mansion, cash them in pawnshops, and then abscond with the money.

Another example is that right now, the Song Xiang supervisor stole a treasure from his own warehouse, and then handed it over to his servants to pawn it. The outsider naturally couldn't understand the reason.

"Hmm..." Liu Yufang pondered again, and asked again, "How much do you want?"

"3000 taels." The store clerk replied.

"3000 taels..." Liu Yufang repeated the number, sneered in his heart, and said to himself, "Heh...it's a pity that this thing fell into the hands of those who don't know the goods. It's clearly a priceless treasure, but they only need 3000 taels .”

Thinking about it, on the surface he still remained calm, and continued: "How long are you going to bet?"

"One day," said the shop assistant.

"What? One day?" Liu Yufang thought he heard it wrong.

"It's a little strange." The store clerk also felt that something was wrong, but in any regular pawnshop, there is no such thing as "betting for a day". Gamblers may say this when they go to the small bet to get money, "But the other party said it himself I said, just one day, and I will come back to pick it up at this time tomorrow evening, and I also said that it doesn’t hurt to give more interest.”

"Oh?" Liu Yufang was lost in thought, and he felt that this matter was strange.

After thinking for a while, he asked again: "The shopkeeper's side... how do you say it?"

"Hey, how can I say..." the store clerk said, "The Song family, the shopkeeper doesn't dare to offend, he just waits for your word, if this thing is worth the price, he will give it to you, and the interest is nothing It means that if you can collect a little, it is also considered a business."

"Yeah." Liu Yufang nodded, "Okay, let's put it in custody." He paused, picked up the small incense burner, "This...I'll send it to the warehouse myself."

"Hey, okay, take your time." The shop clerk got an affirmative answer, and went out in a hurry.

After the other party left, in Liu Yufang's eyes, there was a rare...a hint of greed.

…………

It is night, the moon and stars are rare.

A figure walked slowly into an inconspicuous small courtyard in Runan City.

This person is none other than Liu Yufang.

At this moment, in Liu Yufang's arms, there is still a tightly wrapped bundle, and in the bundle is the nine-feather Sun Chasing Stove.

dong dong dong-

After entering the courtyard, Liu Yu conveniently went straight to the door and knocked lightly on the door a few times.

The room was originally dark, and he knocked a few times, but there was no movement inside.

But Liu Yufang seemed to be sure that there must be someone inside, knocked a few more times, and whispered into the room through the door: "Friends of the Five Spirits Sect, can you open the door to meet the old man?"

However, what responded to him was still silence and tranquility.

"Oh... that's all." Liu Yufang shook his head, "You can't force things that don't have fate."

After that, he turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he found that someone was already standing in front of him.

This person was dressed in nocturnal black clothes, covered his face, was of medium build, and spoke in an ordinary voice: "Those brothers inside follow the rules, and they will never answer the door unless they hear the signal... If you have anything to say, you can Tell me."

In the middle of the night, someone suddenly and silently came behind you like a ghost. Most people would have screamed in fright, but Liu Yufang was very calm: "You are..."

"Aren't you looking for someone from the Five Spirits Sect, I am." The masked man said again.

Liu Yufang said: "I know you are from the Five Spirits Sect, but I want to ask who you are from the Five Spirits Sect and what position do you hold?"

"Heh..." The masked man smiled, "I'm afraid it's inconvenient for me to tell you."

"Hmm..." Liu Yufang thought for a while, "It's okay not to say... I think your martial arts are good, even if you are not the banner owner or deputy banner owner, at least you can be ranked in the top five seats of any banner, and you should be on par with your superiors Let's talk."

When the masked man heard this, the expression under the black cloth changed a bit.

Yes, this is indeed one of the five banner owners of Wuling Sect, that is, Tang Fu, the banner owner of the White Tiger Banner that appeared in the previous article; at this moment, there are three things that surprised Tang Fu: First, the person in front of him looks like The old man who has no internal strength can actually see his general level of martial arts; second, this old man can not only find their secret stronghold in the city of the Five Spirits Sect, but also seems to know the internal organization of the Five Spirits Sect; third, The old man's attitude has been calm since just now, and he can even be said to be confident.

"Old man, sorry for my poor eyesight, I don't know if you are..." Tang Fu thought it would be better to ask first.

Liu Yufang said bluntly: "Old Liu Yufang is just a guy in Tongquanjian."

He is so humble, even Tang Fu has heard his name before: "Oh? It turned out to be the famous Mr. Tongquan, I'm sorry and disrespectful..." Seeing an expert, he still has to be polite and polite. After cupping his fists, he Then he said, "I don't know what you can do with the members of the Five Spirits Sect when you come here in the starry night, sir?"

Liu Yufang patted the burden in his arms lightly with his hands: "I want to make a deal with you."

"Oh..." Tang Fu thought for a while, then continued, "Sir, this is not a place to talk, you come with me first..."

After finishing speaking, Tang Fu led the way, led Liu Yufang out of the courtyard, walked east and west, and walked through several alleys.

At night, no one saw them, and after a while, the two came to the back door of a shop selling incense sticks and sticks.Tang Fu put his right hand on the door panel for a few seconds, then knocked three times, and after a while, someone inside finally opened the door.

"Sir, please come inside." Tang Fu lit a candle after entering the door, and then waved to Liu Yufang who was still standing in the back alley.

Liu Yufang still looked very calm, he couldn't see any vigilance or fear, so he just followed in.

After entering the room, he didn't see anyone else besides Tang Fu, probably because the people inside didn't want to be seen by him, so they all retreated to other rooms first.

Then Tang Fu closed the door, asked Liu Yufang to sit down, and then sat down himself, and then said: "Sir, what kind of business are you going to do?"

Liu Yufang was also unambiguous, without saying a word, he put the burden he brought on the table, untied it, and revealed the small incense burner inside: "I want to sell this to you."

Tang Fu couldn't see anything unique about this thing, so he wondered, "This is..."

"Nine Feathers Chasing the Sun Furnace." Liu Yufang said.

Tang Fu really wanted to answer "I haven't heard of it", but felt that this answer was a bit silly, so he skipped this step and said directly: "Sir... I am sorry for my shallow knowledge, so I dare to ask... Your stove, Is it of any use to our Five Spirits Sect?"

(End of this chapter)