Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

"Yes, yes!" Ping Liu kowtowed excitedly, then carefully took off his shoes, wiped his feet, and then went up to the hall and knelt down next to the colonnade again.Madam looked at Ping Liu, then at the porcelain vase in her hand, and suddenly said, "Husband, is there only one vase?"

"What do you mean ma'am?"

"I mean, if there is only one, it might not look good in the hall. It's better to make a pair!"

"Hehehe!" Chi Jian laughed and said, "Madam, this is a treasure from the Tang Kingdom. If we can have one, it is already blessed by the Bodhisattva. How can we have another one? Greed will be punished by the Bodhisattva!"

"Pingliu!" Madam ignored the traces and saw Chijian, and turned to Pingliu who was kneeling beside the pillar: "There should be a lot of porcelain vases like this in Tang Dynasty, right?"

"This—" Ping Liu was stunned. He didn't expect his wife to ask him such a question suddenly. He hesitated for a moment, and replied: "The Tang people's boat is so big, there should still be some!"

"Ping Liu, you're right!" Madam laughed: "Since the people in Tang still have it, can you get another one for us, Ping Liu? Otherwise, it's not good for this bottle to be alone, right?"

"Ma'am! Aren't you embarrassing Pingliu?" Seeing that Chi Yan was on the sidelines, he couldn't see it: "The Tang people are envoys ordered by the emperor, and it's just a coincidence that Pingliu can get a porcelain vase. ?”

"I didn't say to ask Pingliu to steal or rob. I just asked him to go to the Tang people to ask if there is another one. If he bought it or exchanged it with something." The lady said angrily: "It's just a fair sale, and there is another one." What's the trouble?"

"Okay, okay!" Seeing that Chi Qi had nothing to do with his wife, he smiled wryly at Ping Liu, "Ping Liu, you've seen it too, women are like this, when they see something they like, they don't make sense. How about it, you Go ask the envoys of the Tang Dynasty, if you have the same porcelain vase, can you sell us one, or exchange it with something, please!" At this point, Chi Qi bowed his head to Ping Liu.

"Don't dare!" Ping Liu hurriedly knelt and bowed in return. He raised his head and said, "Master, there are many things that Tang people like. Sulfur, buckskin, gold, and silver are all acceptable, and they are willing to exchange them!"

"Deerskin, sulfur, gold, and silver are all okay?" Madam laughed: "My husband, didn't the manor in my hometown send some deerskin and silver a few days ago? It was originally intended to be dedicated to the newly enthroned emperor. Now The emperor has not yet decided, why don't you exchange some with the Tang people for some Tang products!"

"Isn't that good?" Ji Jian Chi Ling showed a hesitant expression.

"What's so bad about this!" Madam laughed: "Deerskin and silver are not rare things. Even if they are given to the new emperor, they will not attract everyone's attention. If you can use the treasures passed down from the Tang Dynasty as congratulations The gift of ascension to the throne will definitely make the new emperor remember your husband's name!"

"That's true!" Seeing that Chi Qi was persuaded by his wife this time, he nodded and said to Ping Liu: "How about it! You take three hundred buckskins and one hundred silver ingots, go with your wife, and tell Tang Ren This was originally a gift for the new emperor, so it must be exchanged for some of the best treasures!"

Cao Sengnu picked up a silver cake, rubbed his fingers against the rough surface of the oval silver cake, put it into his mouth and bit it hard, revealing an obvious tooth mark. It is obvious that the silver ingot is very rough, but the color is quite good .

"These are all for exchanging gifts?" Cao Sengnu tried his best to conceal his reluctance, put down the silver ingot, and asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, there are a total of [-] buckskins and [-] ingots of silver. My master saw that Akatsuki is a well-known lord of the Izumo Kingdom. These were originally dedicated to the new king after he ascended the throne. He hoped to exchange them for some The treasure that came here is a gift for the new king!" At this point, Ping Liu paused for a moment, and pointed to the woman behind him: "This is the wife of the master, and she is here to choose gifts!"

"It turned out to be like this, so it turned out that the person who came this time was a nobleman!" Cao Sengnu laughed, and he bowed to his wife: "You are really rude! Come here, quickly serve tea, serve good tea!"

After listening to the interpreter's translation, I saw that my wife nodded reservedly to Cao Sengnu, and whispered a few words to Ping Liu. God, if there is the same celadon bottle, she wants one more, and they will make a pair! If there are other similar bottles, she wants a few more!"

"No problem, please wait!" Cao Sengnu nodded, at this time the tea had already been delivered, he courteously brought tea to Mrs Ping Liuhe Jijian, then asked one of his subordinates to serve him, and left by himself.

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"Ming Gong!" Cao Sengnu took out the silver cake from his sleeve and handed it over: "Look!"

"Silver?" Wang Wenzuo took the silver cake and looked at it: "Is this from the Japanese?"

"That's right, it was brought by Pingliu, who said it was the wife of his master's family, the great lord of Izumo Kingdom!" Cao Sengnu laughed and said, "There are also some deer skins, which are said to be dedicated to the newly enthroned king. I want to exchange some goods from the Tang Kingdom!"

Wang Wenzuo knew why Cao Sengnu mentioned deerskin so lightly. This is obviously a trick commonly used by businessmen. For Cao Sengnu, deerskin may be a more profitable commodity than silver. After all, silver in the Tang Dynasty It is not a currency that circulates among the people, and it only circulates in a small range, usually as a large certificate of deposit.The buckskin is different, because the texture of the buckskin is very soft, both the East and the West regard it as a high-end clothing and decorative material, as long as it can be transported back to the Tang Dynasty, whether it is sold directly or after processing, you can get a lot of money. times or even more than ten times Li Lan, this is something that Bai Yin can't do.But he didn't care, there are more important things to deal with right now.

"They're lying!"

"Lying?" Cao Sengnu was taken aback when he heard the words: "There is something wrong with this money? I just tried it, it is good money, maybe I misread it!"

"There is no problem with the silver! But there is a problem with the origin of the silver!" Wang Wenzuo turned the silver cake over and pointed to the back of the silver cake: "Look at this seal, this is a unique badge of the Japanese royal family. The silver should not be dedicated to the Japanese kingdom. The gift from the new king was originally the property of the Japanese royal family."

"The Japanese royal family's own property?" Cao Sengnu picked up the silver cake and took a closer look. Sure enough, there was a clear chrysanthemum-shaped imprint on the back of the silver cake. Didn't see it.

"Ming Gong, the seal doesn't necessarily mean the property of the Japanese royal family, does it? Maybe it's a reward or a circulation!"

"You don't know, monks and slaves. The country of Wa is different from our Tang Dynasty. The folks don't even have copper coins, and they all exchange them with grain cloth. How can there be such a reason for the circulation of silver cakes? Moreover, the quality of this silver cake is too new. Presumably other silver coins The pancakes are also like this, if it is a reward, how could it happen that they are all new silver pancakes?"

"That's right, it's true that these silver cakes are all white!" Hearing this, Cao Sengnu was also a little suspicious. Silver is also easy to oxidize. The silver that has just been cast is white. If it is left in the air for a long time It will turn black, Cao Sengnu also knows this.

"Could it be that Pingliu's owner is a thief? Bring the stolen silver to us to buy things?" Cao Sengnu was startled: "Then I will drive them out immediately!"

"That's not necessary!" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "By the way, you said that there is a lady here. Do you think that woman is a noble person?"

"That woman has fair skin, a fat body, and very loose clothes. She must be a nobleman!" Cao Sengnu replied. He was used to business, so he was good at observing people. Cloth is very precious, and those who can eat will gain weight, and those who wear loose clothes are generally rich and noble, which cannot be pretended.

"I probably understand what's going on!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "That Ping Liu didn't lie on purpose, but his status was too low and he didn't know the inside story, so he was deceived by his master, so naturally he was deceived. You! If my guess is correct, the owner of Pingliu is probably an official who manages the local silver mountain for the King of Japan, so the silver in his hand naturally has the imprint of the royal family, so the silver is not a gift for the new king. , but it was originally the property of the royal family."

"Then this fellow is too courageous. He even dared to stuff the Wang family's money into his own pocket. Isn't he afraid of being punished?"

"Of course I wouldn't dare if it was normal, but is it normal now?" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "Is there a Japanese king now? Who is the Japanese king? Who will he give the money to?"

"That's right!" Cao Sengnu patted his thigh and said with a smile, "That's true. Now that the throne is vacant, since he is an official in charge of Yinshan, he naturally has the power to manage it. He can put the silver in his own pocket justifiably. !"

"And have you ever thought that that guy was doing business with us, and what he bought was a gift for the new king. After the new king ascended the throne, we have already returned to the Tang Dynasty. Can the Japanese king ask us to check the accounts? One Whether the porcelain vase is worth five silver pancakes or a hundred silver pancakes is up to him to decide? Even if someone says he bought the expensive one, the question is when will the next Datang merchant arrive? Who can say that he will buy the expensive one? gone?"

"That's right!" Cao Sengnu has fully understood at this time. Since ancient times, luxury goods and works of art have no price. A few years later, the Japanese King went to check the account book where the traces of Chizhi were found. All the shortfall was put on the gift dedicated to the new king's enthronement. After all, no matter how capable the Japanese auditor was, it was impossible to go to Datang to find Wang Wenzuo to confirm the original price of the porcelain vase.

"Whoever said barbarians have no brains, this guy is really smart!" Cao Sengnu said with a smile: "But it doesn't matter to us, anyway, as soon as we get the silver and deerskin!"

Wang Wenzuo didn't speak, but looked at the silver cake playfully. Seeing this, Cao Sengnu stood aside wisely and waited silently.After a while, Wang Wenzuo smiled and said: "Let's do it! I'll go meet this big customer first!"

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"This, this, this, this, and this, I want them all, Pingliu, wrap them up for me!" When I saw my wife saw all kinds of Tang Dynasty porcelain, tea, silk, and medicines laid out, they were originally Her plan was immediately forgotten, and her fingers kept flickering on the shelf. Every time she clicked, the waiter on the side nodded. Naturally, someone took the goods aside and wrapped them up, and then handed them over to Ping Liu.With more and more bags in Ping Liu's hands, his face became more and more ugly. He carefully moved to Madam's side, and whispered: "Madam, is it almost there?"

"It's almost there, what's almost there?" Mrs. Ji Jian's eyes were still fixed on the goods on the shelf: "What is that small box? Give me a copy too!"

"Ma'am, don't you just want a bottle to make a pair this time?" Ping Liu said in a low voice, "Look, I can barely hold it with two hands now!"

"Can't take it anymore?" Ji Jian's wife glanced back: "It doesn't matter, just ask the Tang people to give us a big box, anyway, we have to take a boat when we go back!"

"Ma'am, I don't mean I can't get it, the Tang people's goods are very expensive!"

"Expensive? That's not surprising! Such a good thing is across the sea, can it be cheaper to ship it here? If you don't buy it this time, you may not be sure when you will see it next time!" Mrs. Ji Jian's eyes returned to On the shelf: "That bottle, that's right, show it to me!"

"Ma'am—!" Ping Liu was on the verge of crying when he saw Madam taking another bottle and fiddling with it: "Master asked me to come with you but he brought so much, if all of them are used up, Master may blame me of!"

"I bought too much, why blame you?" Mrs. Ji Jian laughed, she suddenly turned her head, looked at Ping Liu and said with a smile: "Ping Liu, you don't have to worry about it, first of all I am Mrs. Second, Ping Liu, you did a good job this time, not only will my husband not blame you, but he will reward you heavily!"

Pingliu's despair didn't last long. Just as he was plucking up his courage and preparing for the last remonstrance, he suddenly found that all the Tang people in the room had knelt down. He subconsciously turned his head and found a Tang person in scarlet robe and black crown standing At the door, Cao Sengnu followed behind, bent slightly, and was talking.He realized that this should be the arrival of a big man in the Tang Dynasty.

"Madam, Madam!" Ping Liu said in a low voice while tearing at the corner of Madam's clothes, "Someone is here!"

"People?" Seeing that his wife turned her head, she also saw Wang Wenzuo's appearance, and she was stunned for a moment subconsciously. Before she put down the small box in her hand, Wang Wenzuo smiled and said, "My lord, I heard that a nobleman is coming. Sorry for the loss, forgive me, forgive me!"

"You are—" Madam Ji Jian hurriedly tucked the small box into her sleeve without showing any trace, and considered whether to bow or kneel to pay respects to the visitor.

"I am General Dingyuan of the Great Tang Dynasty, the consoling ambassador of the Japanese kingdom, and I am sent to your country by the order of the emperor!" Wang Wenzuo smiled and stretched out his right hand, and made a gesture of invitation: "Just now my subordinates said that there are distinguished guests visiting, please sit down, please sit down!"