swear not to be concubine

Chapter 48

Shen Chuo was sitting in a restaurant, holding a blue and white porcelain wine glass with a white background in his hand, listening to Shen Jin talking about Shijing Pavilion.

"...The shopkeeper of the Shijin Pavilion is surnamed Zhou, and his single name is Lin. I checked his details and found that he seems to be a foreigner. He came to Tongzhou at the beginning of the year. He was living outside the city. He didn't look like a rich man in the dilapidated temple, and he didn't have any background here in the capital. Later, he first opened a woolen wool shop in Tongzhou, and the daily profit was about 30 to [-] taels of silver, which was not much. Recently he I rented this shop in the capital, and started selling this kind of beckoning cats and beckoning cats, and I am making a lot of money every day. Speaking of which, even if he produced a style of beckoning cats and beckoning cats, he will have a hard time. Immediately, someone will follow suit and sell this kind of style, and the price is much lower than him, but he can immediately launch a new style, and others will not be able to keep up with his speed. If you bought a beckoning cat or a beckoning cat in his shop, they would put them in a black lacquered camphorwood box with the words Shijinge printed on it, and it looked very classy on the surface, so People would rather spend more money to buy lucky cats and beckoning cats from him. They even see each other’s shops and homes have beckoning cats and beckoning cats, and they will ask, are you from Shijin Pavilion? They seem to be proud of buying the lucky cats and lucky cats in Shijinge, and they are determined not to spend less money to buy them in other places."

Shen Chuo put the wine glass in his hand on the table, then put his hand on his chin, and turned his head to look outside leisurely.

Opposite this restaurant is Shijin Pavilion, which has been famous in the capital recently.Looking down from the window seat on the second floor where he was sitting, he could see a black lacquered and gold-plated plaque hanging above the shop of Shijin Pavilion, with three characters written in large letters on it, Shijin Pavilion.You can also see several black-painted and gold-painted shelves in the shop, on which there are beckoning cats, beckoning cats, vases, bronze tripods, etc., which look very patchwork.From time to time, people entered and left the shop.And most of the people who came out of the shop would hold a black lacquer and gold box in their hands.

Shen Chuo suddenly chuckled.

If Shen Jin puts it this way, this Zhou Lin is a talent in business.Obviously there are other people who have followed the trend and are selling such lucky cats and lucky cats, and the price is much lower than him, but he has the ability to make those people still willingly spend more money to come to him purchase.This is of course the reason why he keeps introducing new styles, but he also put a lot of effort into the packaging. Anyone who understands that people who can afford this lucky cat and lucky cat will definitely not be short of money. But better face psychology.It's just a pity, the capital city is deep, and dragons and snakes are mixed together. A person like him without the slightest background has made such an enviable business. I don't know how many people are staring at him behind him. He stumbled.

Naturally, everyone wants to have a bite of good fat meat, let alone such a piece of good fat meat without any background.

Shen Chuo stood up suddenly, turned his head and smiled at Shen Jin, "Come on, let's go to Shijin Pavilion for a stroll."

If you talk about the feeling after walking into Shijin Pavilion, if it is elegant, it is simple and elegant, if it is vulgar, it is high-end, grand, and high-grade.

In the room, there is a rosewood shelf painted in black and painted with gold. On the upper grid or on the red cushion, there are naive lucky cats and lucky cats with their left or right hands raised, or both hands raised, always smiling. , or antiques, or green radishes, long branches with emerald green leaves curled and hung down.Hanging screens, or calligraphy and paintings are hung on the walls on both sides, and there is a black lacquer and gold begonia-style incense table in the corner, and a pot of gardenias is placed on it.The dark green leaves are mixed with light blue flower buds, which look extremely vibrant.

With his hands behind his back, Shen Chuo looked at the furnishings in the house with great interest, and felt that the Shijin Pavilion was not a shop for business at all, but looked like a son's study, which couldn't be more elegant.

Seeing Shen Chuo and Shen Jin coming in, a guy had already come forward to greet them, introducing them to the Lucky Cat and the Lucky Cat with a smile on their face.

"...Guest, look, the one who raised his right hand and wrote a fortune on his chest is a beckoning cat. Keeping you at home is a source of wealth. The one who raised his left hand and wrote a fortune on his chest is a lucky cat. Lucky cat, if you invite one back, it must be as blessed as the East China Sea, and you can enjoy it endlessly. As for the one with both left and right hands raised, it is both a fortune and a blessing. , who would not want to? And the little golden bells on their chests also have the meaning of good luck, fortune, fortune, and interdependence, which is extremely auspicious. Naturally, if you don’t like this type of beckoning cat , we also have such a type, which looks even cuter. Or if you don’t like white lucky cats and lucky cats, we also have gold, green and other colors. These colors represent The meaning is also different."

Shen Chuo asked humbly: "What is the meaning of the golden beckoning cat and lucky cat? What is the meaning of the red color? And what is the meaning of the green one?"

The little guy showed no sign of impatience on his face, but he introduced it more and more attentively: "This golden lucky cat means good fortune, red means no disease, and green means title on the gold list. The meaning of black is to ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters, and the meaning of yellow is to establish a good relationship. Besides, guests, have you seen the patterns on this lucky cat and lucky cat? Each pattern has a different meaning. The meaning of the treasure ship is the meaning of wealth. Do you think that the treasure ship is filled with gold and silver treasures, does it mean that the wealth is rolling in? There is also the pattern of ghost cranes, which symbolizes longevity. It is used to send the elders It couldn't be more appropriate. The four-season flowers here symbolize wealth and honor. We often say that Yutang is rich, and Yutang is rich and noble, but it is not the three flowers of magnolia, crabapple, and peony."

At the end, he asked again with a smile on his face: "Guest, I wonder if you want to get a meaning?"

Shen Chuo smiled and shook the lacquered folding fan in his hand, and said, "Let me take a look first."

The implication is that he may not necessarily buy it back, but let's see it first.

Hearing this, the young man didn't show any impatience on his face. Instead, he stretched out his fingers attentively and said with a smile, "If you are tired from watching, there is a place to rest there."

Shen Chuo followed his fingers and looked over, and saw two huanghuali armchairs by the window, with a table in the middle, a black lacquer and gold round storage box on it, and a lotus-leaf style chair. A large white plate filled with various seasonal fruits such as loquats and cherries.

Shen Chuoxin strolled over, went to an armchair and sat down, stretched out his hand and opened the lid of the box, and saw nine small compartments inside, which contained various candied fruits from Liuxiangju and pastries from Guixianglou.

He casually took a candied golden date and ate it, frowned, and then put the lid on the box again.

He doesn't like sweets.

Long ago, a young man brought over a cup of tea on a small tea tray filled with gold and lacquer.Shen Chuo saw that the teacup was made of sweet white glaze made of official kiln paper, and when he lifted the lid, he found the top-quality Yuqian Longjing inside.

He thought in his heart that he didn't show any intention of buying anything just now, but the service of the guys here is still so thoughtful, and the tea and food are so high-end and exquisite, which is not the case in other shops. Rare.

He felt that he suddenly understood why those people would rather pay a high price to buy the same thing here.

Since you can enjoy such a high-end service when you come here, and the styles are so complete and novel, why not come here to buy?People who can really afford Lucky Cats and Lucky Cats, do they really care about the price difference of 20 taels of silver?Sometimes what you buy is a comfort and a face.I'm afraid that in the hearts of people in the capital, the words Shijing Pavilion and high-end are synonymous.

This Assorted Pavilion has already made their name famous.It's a pity, as the saying goes, if a tree is beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy it, Shen Chuo thought in his heart, if Zhou Lin had some kind of backing and backstage this week, it would be good to say, this capital can still have a place for him at least , but if there is no backing and backing, this Shijin Pavilion may not be open for a long time.

Naturally, there will be those jealous people who will come and drive him away, and then open a shop like this by themselves.

Shen Chuo was thinking, otherwise he would be such a villain?After all, this Shijing Pavilion can earn a lot of money in a day, and it can grow even bigger in the future.

He leaned against the back of the chair, while slowly shaking the fan in his hand, while still looking around the room.

Then he saw an indigo curtain behind the counter lifted, and a person came out from behind.

That person was wearing a light blue straight gown, and he looked very square.The boys in the room all lowered their hands to salute when they saw him, and respectfully called the shopkeeper.

Then Shen Chuo knew that this person was the shopkeeper of Shijing Pavilion, Zhou Lin.

Shen Chuo closed the fan in his hand and waved to the side. Shen Jin hurried over and leaned over to his ear.

Shen Chuo blocked it with his fan, and whispered something in Shen Jin's ear.But Shen Jin nodded, and then walked towards Zhou Lin.

Zhou Lin was standing behind the counter looking at the account books, calculating the income of the past few days, when suddenly he saw a person coming over, bowed his hands to him, and said, "Master Zhou, Our son invites you to go over."

Zhou Lin raised his eyes and followed Shen Jin's hand, and saw a young gentleman with his hands spread out, resting on the armrests on both sides, sitting in an armchair with his whole body boneless.Seeing Zhou Lin looking over, he narrowed his eyes with a smile, and nodded to him.

So Zhou Lin closed the account book in his hand, walked out from behind the counter, and walked in front of Shen Chuo.

"Treasurer Zhou?"

Shen Chuo first opened his mouth slowly.But he still maintained the posture of sitting lazily in the armchair with his hands on the armrests.

Zhou Lin bowed his hands and saluted, with a very polite attitude: "The boy is really Zhou Lin. Don't dare to ask the young master Gao's name?"

"My surname is Shen," Shen Chuo only said his surname, but did not give his name.

Zhou Lin didn't care too much, but still asked politely: "May I ask Mr. Shen to call the boy over, but what advice do you have?"

Shen Chuo held the folding fan in his hand with two fingers, casually pointed to the empty armchair beside him, and said with a smile, "If shopkeeper Zhou is not busy, can you sit down and chat with me? Your Excellency is very interested."

Just now Zhou Lin had secretly sized up Shen Chuo.Seeing that he has a handsome appearance, the clothes on his body are all high-quality goods, and the few words he said are full of meaning, I think this must be a person with a background.

He didn't dare to be careless, so he bowed his hands to Shen Chuo again, and then sat on the armchair on the other side.

Shen Chuo opened the fan in his hand and shook it twice, then suddenly asked with a smile: "Where is shopkeeper Zhou from? Why haven't I seen you in the capital before?"

"The boy is just a wild man, Mr. Shen is a noble man, how could he have met me?"

"Shopkeeper Zhou is humble." Shen Chuo glanced at him sideways, and then said with a smile, "A talented businessman like Shopkeeper Zhou can build a shop like Shijin Pavilion that everyone in the capital knows in a short period of time. It will stand out wherever it is placed.”

Zhou Lin smiled: "Young Master Shen is absurd. I really don't dare to call it a talent. It's just a random begging for a bowl of food."

Shen Chuo laughed and said, "The job of shopkeeper Zhou must have been made of gold."

Zhou Lin smiled, and was about to say a few more words of modesty, but suddenly saw a group of people coming in at the door.

These people were dressed in rough clothes, and they carried wooden sticks or iron tools in their hands. They all had fierce expressions, and they didn't look like serious guests.

Zhou Lin hurriedly got up and said excuse me to Shen Chuo, then he went towards the group of people at the door, clasped his hands together with a smile, and asked, "What are your orders?"

The headed one had a swollen face and was wearing a black cloth shirt, but his shirt was half open, revealing half of his chest covered with thick black hair.

He looked Zhou Lin up and down with a pair of toad eyes, then he stretched out his hand and pushed him back, saying, "I won't answer you, young man. Call your shopkeeper to come out."

The man's hand was quite strong, and Zhou Lin was unprepared, and was pushed back by him for a moment and staggered back two or three steps.

Zhou Lin was angry, and he was about to explode. He could see the ferocious appearance of this group of people, and the guys in his hands knew that the person who came was not good, so he had no choice but to knock out his teeth and swallow blood, and forcefully suppressed the one in his heart. Feeling angry, he came forward to accompany him and said with a smile: "The boy is the shopkeeper here. May I ask any advice from all the guests?"

The person in the lead looked at Zhou Lin again, then turned his head and smiled at the person beside him: "So this is the shopkeeper of the famous Shijin Pavilion. The clothes are not very good, so I am wrong." Recognized as a boy."

The group of people following him roared with laughter.

Zhou Lin endured the anger in his heart, and had to smile along with him, not daring to get angry.

As for Shen Chuo, one hand was resting on the armrest of the armchair, and the other hand was idly shaking the fan in his hand, with an expression of watching the show.Shen Jin, who was standing at the side, stepped forward and asked if he should help Zhou Lin, but Shen Chuo waved his hand, signaling him not to mind his own business.So Shen Jin retreated to the side and stood with his hands down.

At this time, the vicious big man in the lead had reached out and patted Zhou Lin's shoulder twice, and then said with a smile: "Brothers are here today, I have something to discuss with you, the shopkeeper."

Zhou Lin hurriedly said: "Guest please tell me."

I thought to myself, look at this situation, this is probably a group of hooligans, who came to blackmail him because they saw that his Shijing Pavilion has made a lot of money recently.Worth mentioning.As the saying goes, it is to avoid disasters if you lose money, as long as the money they want is within a reasonable range, just give them.

The big man in the head said: "Brothers are a little tight recently, and I want to ask the shopkeeper to borrow some money to spend. I don't know how convenient the shopkeeper is?"

A rascal face.But Zhou Lin could only smile on his face, and turned to call the boy in the shop: "Go to the counter and get 100 taels of silver."

None of the guys in the shop had seen this battle before, they were shaking like chaff from fright, and had already hidden behind the counter.This time I would listen to the shopkeeper's instructions, although I was scared, but I could only take 100 taels of silver as promised, and sent it over with shaking legs.

Zhou Lin took the bag of silver, and then handed it to the head of the big man with both hands, and said with a smile: "These silver are treated as Xiao Ke's invitation to the big brothers to have a glass of wine."

The big man at the head reached out and took the bag of silver, weighed it in his hand, and then handed it to the younger brother standing beside him.

Zhou Lin felt relieved, and secretly heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that this matter was finally dealt with.

But at the next moment, the big man who was about to be the leader suddenly put on a ferocious face, pushed Zhou Lin back hard, and said angrily: "You are treating our brothers as beggars! ? Just want to send us away for 100 taels of silver?"

Zhou Lin didn't watch out for his push, and fell to the ground all of a sudden, so he felt a little angry.

He supported his hands and got up from the ground, but he still tried his best to hold back the anger in his heart, and just asked: "How much money do you guys want? Just tell me."

The big man in the head raised up his left and right index fingers, put them together like a cross, and said with a smile, "10 taels of silver."

Zhou Lin's expression changed, and he said angrily, "You are here to find trouble."

"We came here on purpose to find trouble. Why, you just realized it now?" The men in the back weighed the wooden sticks and iron objects in their hands, and laughed arrogantly.After finishing speaking, the big man in the head uttered a slam, and then all the people rushed out like locusts, and for a while, only the sound of clanging could be heard incessantly.

So when Zhou Lin came back to his senses, he saw that all the shelves in the house had been pushed down to the ground, and the beckoning cats, beckoning cats, antique vases and other things on the shelves were smashed to pieces.

Zhou Lin was stunned for a moment, and his whole body was weak with anger.

He pointed at the group of people with trembling fingers, and cursed angrily: "The sky is bright and the sun is shining, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, do you still have the law of the king?"

"Wang Fa?" The big man in the head sneered, then took a wooden stick in the hand of the man next to him, swung it towards Zhou Lin, and said with a smile, "Tell me Wang Fa ? The guy in Lao Tzu's hands is Wang Fa."

Zhou Lin was beaten so hard that he could not fight back.Shen Jin at the side asked Shen Chuo again, should he come forward to stop it?But Shen Chuo still waved his hand, telling him to stand still.And he himself was idly shaking the fan in his hand, watching the scene in the room with interest.

There must be some people who are jealous of Shijin Pavilion, who paid money to hire these rogues to make trouble, thinking of breaking up Shijin Pavilion, squeezing Zhou Lin away, and then opening such a room by themselves shop.I don't know who has such foresight, so he acted first in a hurry, but let him sit here and watch such a good show of smashing shops and beating people for no reason.

At this time, Zhou Lin was beaten to the head by the big man, his whole body was covered with blood, and he was completely inhuman.The big man slammed the wooden stick on Zhou Lin's body vigorously, turned his head, laughed and said to the people next to him: "Not to mention, the shopkeeper of Shijin Pavilion just doesn't fight with other people. Same, the skin of the meat floss is soft and tight, no effort at all."

The group of people who followed him also laughed and said: "What is the shopkeeper of Shijin Pavilion, that's all."

Zhou Lin was still cursing angrily, but now he couldn't make any sound, just curled up on the ground, holding his head in his hands.I don't know how many times I have been hit by the stick, I just feel the pain all over my body, and my bones are about to be broken.

The big man in the lead didn't want to make a fuss, because it would not end well.Seeing that the beating was almost done, he threw the blood-stained wooden stick with a bang, pointed at Zhou Lin, and said arrogantly, "Brothers, I came here to tell you that the capital city It's not where you stay. Damn, close your shop, pack up your things and get out of the capital quickly. If you teach me that your shop will open tomorrow, the brothers will come and smash it again. Hit once. I’m afraid it will not be as simple as just beating you at that time. It’s up to you to decide whether to remove your arms or your legs.”

After all, he wanted to turn around and leave with a group of people.But at this time, only a voice with a smile sounded slowly: "I took the money, smashed the shop, beat people, and now I want to leave. Is there such a cheap thing in the world?"

(End of this chapter)