Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 291 Ye Jinmen Brush Wash
North and South Willow Lane, Liulichang.

Cao Yong and Brother Sixteen got off their horses and walked on foot.The guards tied the horse to find a place, leaving one person to watch, and the others followed from near or far.

Except for sixteen elder brothers, Zhao Feng, and Xiao Man who are wearing regular clothes, everyone else, including Cao Yong, are all dressed in bodyguard clothes, so they had to find a nearby tailor shop and change out the bodyguard clothes on everyone.

Although the ready-to-wear clothes in this shop have good materials, most of them are in fancy colors.The others were fine, Cao Yong's filial piety hadn't passed yet, so he could only look for plain clothes, but there was nothing suitable, so he only found a cloth plain Confucian clothes to change into.

Although he was a little fat, fortunately he could stand up, so he didn't look sloppy.

As soon as Cao Yong changed his clothes and came out, he saw a young man who was copying a folding fan in the lobby, followed by a young man.The man was 25 or [-] years old and had a smiling face.Although holding the folding fan and shaking it lightly, he did not see the gentleness of the scholar, the gleaming golden restraint in his hand, and the few jade pendants around his waist, he looked like a rich man, his chin slightly raised when looking at people, and his expression was a little arrogant.

Cao Yong didn't care, and packed up his clothes with the help of Xiaoman.

Another young man hurried up to the guest and said, "Guest officer, please come in, what do you want to pick?"

The young man didn't answer, but snarled at the servant next to him.The young servant reluctantly took a step forward, and took out a silver ingot from his pocket.

The young man frowned and snorted coldly.The young man seemed very entangled, and took out another ingot of gold.

The boy's eyes lit up, and the shopkeeper came out of the counter to meet him. The young man swiped his folding fan around and said, "It's not too expensive. Let me pick two sets of the most decent clothes. I'm going to treat you tonight." !"

When Cao Yong saw that he acted in a dignified manner, he thought it was the young master of the landlord and rich family who came to Beijing to take the exam. He heard that he had a southern accent, not from Zhili, so he knew it was not.

Although this year's Enke, the rural examination will be held in February and the results will be released in March, and candidates from other places will not be able to enter Beijing until April or May at the earliest.

The young man also noticed Cao Yong. Seeing that he was plainly dressed and elegant, he just regarded him as a humble scholar who was going to Beijing to take an exam, so he bowed his hands as a salute.

After Cao Yong finished dressing, seeing that he was polite, he bowed his hands as a return gift, and then left the tailor shop.

The boy in the shop had already gone to pick up his clothes, the shopkeeper let the young man sit on the chair on the east side of the hall, and called another boy to serve tea.

The young man frowned, shook his head, and said to himself, "It's weird, why does that kid look familiar? Could it be that he's also from Xuzhou?"

Seeing the shopkeeper walking away, the boy next to him complained in a low voice: "Master, we don't have much money around us, let's save it!"

The young man glanced at him, and said: "Stop talking! I'm going to visit Mr. Wu Qiao in the afternoon. Do you want to visit friends in old clothes? It's not a joke to be thrown out by the servants as someone who beats the autumn breeze!"

The young man was silent for a while, and then he said: "Master, why didn't you start looking for Master Cheng? Now, all the money has been fooled, and even if you look for Master Cheng, there is no money to go to the government." .”

The young man waved his hand and said impatiently: "Okay, okay, let me clean my ears for two days. Mr. Wu Qiao is the future Hanlin master, the most noble, how can he know these ways? I just went to drink That's all!"

*
The sixteenth elder brother was already impatient waiting outside. When he saw Cao Yong coming out wearing an unfit Confucian uniform, he looked at the scholars passing by on the street and said to Cao Yong with a smile: "tsk tsk, 'people rely on clothes, "Buddha relies on gold clothes", this sentence is indeed true, looking at your outfit, where is the shadow of a fourth-rank Daotai? Whoever looks at it will definitely think that you are a poor scholar who is going to Beijing to catch up for the exam!"

Although Cao Yong is not a picky person, he is uncomfortable wearing this dress.The ready-made clothes here are repeatedly smoked with incense to prevent moths, and the smell is strong and pungent.

He glanced at Elder Sixteen, and said: "I just took a small detour to let me go back to my house to change, you seem to be going to the market, so you are not in a hurry now?"

Elder Sixteen laughed twice, and said, "Hurry! Hurry! Let's go, let's go to Songzhuzhai first, where I ordered a blue and white brush washer from the Yongle period, and I happened to bring all the bank notes to pick it up today."

Songzhuzhai is the most famous Nanzhi shop in Liulichang. The calligraphy and painting paper and the four treasures of the study are the most exquisite and complete.When Cao Yong wanted to find an inkstone for Mr. Zhuang, he was also thinking about Songzhuzhai.

Cao Yong came here for the first time a few years ago. When he saw the name of "Songzhuzhai", he felt familiar. Later, he learned that their owner's surname was Zhang. It opened 50 years ago. "Come on, it seems that the previous name was Songzhuzhai.

Before entering Songzhuzhai, I heard the noise of chattering from inside.Cao Yong and Brother Sixteen were a little surprised. When they entered the shop, they saw a few scholars chattering and chattering around the shopkeeper.

Cao Yong and Brother Sixteen heard a few words, as if they were looking for something, but they didn't have enough money, so they asked the shopkeeper to bargain.The shopkeeper had a bitter face, and only said that the item already had an owner, so it was not easy to sell it.After talking about it twice, it was a bit messy.

Cao Yong was still looking at the inkstone on the shelf. Mr. Zhuang's old daughter, Xiao Niuniu, was three years old. She was just being naughty.

This time, I need to find a strong inkstone for Mr. Zhuang, which can withstand Niuniu's drop.Stone, jade, purple sand, and porcelain are all unacceptable. Cao Yong looked at a piece of copper inkstone with a simple shape, and thought to himself, this is it. It’s hard to say whether it absorbs ink or not. The essential.

The sixteenth elder brother became more and more impatient the more he listened, he waved his hand and called a boy, asking him to call the shopkeeper over.

The shopkeeper heard the young man's message, looked up and saw the appearance of the guest, with a look of amnesty on his face, pointed to Brother Sixteen, and said to the scholars: "It was the order of the guest officer, I'm really sorry for the young masters!" As he spoke, he clasped his fists at the scholars and came to Brother Sixteen.

Brother Sixteen saw the shopkeeper coming, and asked Zhao Feng to take out Zhang's receipt from the shop here, and said, "Where is the brush wash that I ordered a few days ago? Come to pick it up today!"

The shopkeeper said with a smile: "I'm waiting for you, Mr. Jin, I'll get it for you, little one!"

Elder Sixteen smiled and nodded, seeing Cao Yong picking up the inkstone, he wanted to talk to him, but was stopped by those scholars.

Although most of the guards were waiting outside the shop, there were also two who followed closely. Seeing this, they immediately stepped forward to protect Brother Sixteen, and shouted to those scholars: "Stop, don't be rude!"

The scholars were taken aback and hurriedly stepped back.

Cao Yong noticed that the atmosphere in the shop was not right, put down the inkstone in his hand, came to Sixteenth Brother, and asked why in a low voice, Sixteenth Brother was also puzzled.

Those few scholars saw Elder Sixteen dressed in extraordinary clothes, although his face was warm, but majestic, and with such fierce guards following him, they thought he was the son of some powerful and powerful family.

Everyone was uneasy, seeing Cao Yong in commoner clothes coming over, and seeing that he and Sixteenth Brother looked like friends, they all thought they wanted to go left.If they were really the children of wealthy families, all of them had eyes on the top of their heads, how could they have acquaintances with commoners?
Seeing that Cao Yong seemed to be easy to talk to, a scholar stepped forward and said to Cao Yong with a bit of pride: "Young master, we are candidates for the mid-term examination of this subject. We are going to pay homage to Mr. Fang tomorrow. I am looking for a gift of thanks. If it is not embarrassing, can you ask your friend to transfer the brush wash, so that I can fulfill my respect for the teacher."

Although the scholars in front of them all looked kind and kind, and it was polite to say this, Cao Yong was impatient when he heard it.Why this natural attitude?Even if you are a new recruit, if you are more proud, it is not good to ignore it and be so obsessed.

He glanced at Elder Sixteen, and Elder Sixteen also had a look of impatience on his face.It's just that since the other party is polite, Cao Yong also said politely: "We are looking for this thing to give as a gift, and we have no intention of transferring it."

While talking, the shopkeeper had already taken the pear wood box, and was about to pack the pen that was on the shelf.Unwilling to give up, a scholar stretched out his hand to stop him, just touching the shopkeeper's arm.

The shopkeeper's hand trembled, and the blue and white brush washer slipped to the floor, and immediately shattered, with the pieces scattered all over the floor.

The shopkeeper was so distressed that tears were about to come out. He knelt down and squeezed a piece in his hand. While standing up, he said with trembling lips, "900 taels, this is 900 taels!"

The scholar also knew that he had caused trouble, so he backed away in fright, but the shopkeeper grabbed his sleeve, and only heard the shopkeeper say: "Young master, this is what the gold master ordered. The little one has already told you It's too late, but I still keep going on like this, and now everything is broken, what do you think should I do?"

The scholar came here with his classmates. The big guy pooled money to buy tomorrow's thank you gift, even if everyone added up, there was not 900 taels.Seeing that he was in trouble now, he was also panicked, his eyes flickered, and he muttered: "It's the shopkeeper's mistake, how can you find me?"

But he didn't take it seriously, and even the few scholars who came with him felt ashamed and flustered.One of them, who had just followed the crowd and remained silent, took a step forward and said to the shopkeeper, "Don't worry, shopkeeper, since we have damaged it, we will just ask for money to compensate you, so the shopkeeper won't be embarrassed!"

At first the shopkeeper heard the shameless denial of the scholars in front of him, but he was angry and angry, but when he heard that they confessed, his expression became better.

He put down the skirt of the scholar, walked up to Elder Sixteen, bowed guiltily, and said, "I'm really sorry, Mr. Jin, and we will return double the deposit immediately. There is an ivory brush washer, originally sold for 500 taels, if the young master likes it, the shop is willing to give it to you for 900 taels."

Although he almost shed tears just now because of the blue and white brush wash that only cost 900 taels, but at this moment he unambiguously reduced the price by 600 taels.

The few scholars next to me were annoyed when they heard this, thinking that the shopkeeper just now was deliberately making things difficult; Cao Yong secretly admired it, complaining that the shop can be operated for a long time because it can pay attention to reputation and not be greedy for small profits. The trick.

Elder Sixteen was lost in interest by these few scholars, his complexion was much darker, it was better to hear what the shopkeeper said, so he nodded.

The shopkeeper was a little worried about those scholars, and winked at the two boys outside, and then quickly stepped into the back room to pick up brushes and washers.

The two boys stood at the door, stood upright, and stared at the scholars defensively.

These few scholars were making a fuss, and they seemed to be guarded against thieves, but they were also annoyed. They wanted to get angry, but they were stopped by the older man.A few people spoke in low voices, as if they were collecting money or something.

Cao Yong saw that the sixteenth elder brother was a little frustrated, and asked: "But you want to give... the old man's birthday gift?"

Brother Sixteen glared at the scholars over there and nodded.

Cao Yong thought for a while, and said: "I remember that there seems to be a similar blue and white brush washer in my family. The gift I received a few years ago was useless. It was directly stored in the warehouse. Let's look for it later!"

Elder Sixteen heard this, waved his hands, and said, "It's just my wish to give this away. The emperor... how can the old man lack this? Even if there are no blue and white ones, the ivory ones are the same. At most, they will be scolded for being extravagant." !"

Cao Yong said with a smile: "No such thing. Since it is a gift to make the elders happy, how can I find scolding? I put it aside and put it aside. Why are you polite? Anyway, it was given by someone else, and I am too lazy to learn. Use it as a gift, you just use it!"

While talking, the shopkeeper came over with a sandalwood box and opened it in front of Brother Sixteen. Inside was a brush washer with an ivory carved landscape figure.

The sixteenth elder brother held it in his hand, looked carefully, and found that it was extremely delicate, and said to Cao Yong, "How about you look at it?"

There are some porcelain and jade brush washers at home. This is the first time I saw this ivory Cao Yong. He nodded and praised: "It's a good thing, it seems to be worth 500 taels of silver."

Brother Sixteen smiled when he heard the words, and said: "It's fine if you like it! You're right, since you are giving a gift to celebrate your birthday, you don't have to be reprimanded. Since your family has something you don't need, then I won't be polite to you, but it's not good I took advantage of you in vain, so I’ll exchange this ivory. It’s just a gift, this one is more decent.”

Cao Yong knew that sixteenth elder brother's temperament, with the arrogance of the Tian family in his bones, was not a person who likes to take advantage, so he responded with a smile: "That's a good relationship, it's just two times!"

Brother Sixteen asked Zhao Feng to settle the rest of the silver, and gave the shopkeeper ten taels of silver as a reward.

The shopkeeper hurriedly thanked him, packed the brush washer, and handed it over to Brother Sixteen's attendants.

Those few scholars pooled all their money, but they couldn't get together 800 taels.Everyone seemed to be in a hurry, when a sharp-eyed person saw a person passing by the door, he hurriedly called out: "Brother Youjie, stay!"

I saw two masters and servants coming in at the door, they were the two that Cao Yong met in the tailor shop just now.

The young man with the fan had already changed from head to toe into a brand new brocade suit, he was very flattered when he saw some scholars calling him, he strode in with a smile, and greeted them.

The few scholars ate food, pointed to the debris on the ground, whispered the reason, and finally had to ask for money.

For the few scholars in the room, Cao Yong really didn't like them, he didn't bother to pay attention to their ugliness, he just felt that they were taking advantage of them, so he just brought a rich master over.He turned around, pointed to the bronze inkstone, and asked the shopkeeper for the price.

Although it is made of copper, it is not considered a good inkstone, but it is an ancient relic from the Jin Dynasty, and the price is not cheap. The shopkeeper offered 800 taels.

Cao Yong made an estimate and paid 400 taels directly.

The shopkeeper was dumbfounded, and finally gave a reserve price of 700 taels with a wry smile.

Even the sixteenth elder brother was stunned. He suppressed a smile and said to Cao Yong: "Have you ever bought anything? Where did you bargain like this?"

Xiao Man also tugged at Cao Yong's sleeves, and said in a low voice: "Master, that's not how you bargain, [-]% or [-]% is nothing, if it's still [-]% and the merchants still sell it, then they The price is inflated, isn’t it a profiteer?”

Cao Yong made a mistake, smiled a little embarrassedly, and ordered Xiaoman to take the bank note and give it to the shopkeeper.

In the past, he seldom went shopping in person, and even if he did, it was mostly with Chuyu.Every time it was Chu Yu who never tired of negotiating the price, he just smiled beside him.When buying things alone, since none of them are valuable items, Xiaoman and the others pay directly, and there is no time to bargain.After finally buying an antique inkstone, his bargaining made a joke.

The few scholars over there had already negotiated in whispers, and it seemed that the remaining few hundred taels of silver were all covered by the young man in brocade clothes.It's just that the money on their masters and servants is not enough, it seems that they are still short of a hundred taels.

The young man in brocade clothes was straightforward, he immediately took off his new shirt, took off the gold ring from his hand, untied the jade pendant from his waist, and handed them to his servant together, saying: "I'll find a pawnshop to pawn!"

A few scholars were so ashamed that they all opened their mouths to block each other, only saying that they must find another way, there is no need to do so.

The young man in brocade clothes pointed to the fragments on the ground, and said seriously: "You guys don't have any deep friendship with me, Li Wei, and I didn't do this just to get Li Wei's love, it's just that there is a trading company in this business. According to the rules in the shop, if the money is not replenished, the job of the shopkeeper may not be guaranteed!" As he said, he took the burden from the servant's arms, rummaged through the old clothes, and put them on casually.

The word "Li Wei" made Cao Yong's eyes brighten upon hearing the word, and he immediately turned around and stared blankly.No matter how you look at it, you are a dandy, how can there be any shadow of a little beggar?Is it the model governor "Li Wei" of the Yongzheng Dynasty, or is it just the same name and surname?

Li Wei also noticed that someone was staring at him, and when he looked up, it was the young master he had just met in the tailor shop, so he nodded in greeting.

Regardless of whether he is the governor Li Wei, his words and deeds just now are very much to Cao Yong's appetite.Although he looks like a prodigal dandy, but he thinks that the shopkeeper's livelihood is much better than those few scholars.

Thinking of this, Cao Yong said to the shopkeeper: "I will increase the price by a hundred taels for this inkstone. If the shopkeeper is accommodating, they will pay a hundred taels less for the brush washing over there. How about it?"

The shopkeeper also listened to Li Wei's words, and saw that he didn't seem to be close friends with the scholars, but he took out all the money around him, and even pawned his clothes, just because he was afraid that his job would be lost, so he was very grateful; Dissuading, but also apprehensive about the injustice of the account, it is very embarrassing to not be able to explain it in front of the boss.

After listening to Cao Yong's words, the shopkeeper hurriedly bowed and thanked: "This is a good feeling, thank you for your understanding, young master, thank you very much!"

When several scholars heard the words, they also gathered around to express their thanks.Brother Sixteen looked impatient, and urged Xiaoman to pay the money and come out immediately.

When he got out of the shop, Elder Sixteen nodded and said: "Although those scholars are not things, this Li Wei is a character!" Speaking of this, thinking of Cao Yong just bargaining, he couldn't hold back anymore, "Haha "Laughed out loud, patted Cao Yong's shoulder and said: "I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect it! I know you, but I see you are stable and have everything in mind. It turns out that you are just pretending to be a little adult. There are still things you don't know!"

Cao Yong also laughed, and said: "If I know everything, wouldn't I become a living god? I always said 'people's hearts are not ancient', but now I understand that 'loyalty is priceless', and the merchants at this time are indeed worthy of respect. .”

Elder Sixteen disagreed and said: "Scholars, peasants, businessmen, businessmen, merchants, etc., although they are not despicable, they are nothing worthy of respect. This is not appropriate. Although you are easy-going, you are an official after all, and you deal with people. , you still need to show some airs, otherwise you will be targeted by the censor, and you will be troubled if you take off the 'frivolous' hat."

Sixteen elder brother's view is limited, but it is the result of thousands of years of feudal society's emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce.Cao Yong also knew that he was doing it for his own good, so he agreed with a smile.

Not far from Songzhuzhai, there is a jewelry shop. Elder Sixteen brought Cao Yong here again.It is also a pair that was previously booked.

The sixteenth elder brother ordered Zhao Feng to pack the brocade box of the red gold dotted jade bracelet, and he took the one containing the white jade bracelet, and said to Cao Yong with a smile: "This is my filial piety to my aunt! When I was going to Beijing, I happened to choose a birthday gift for the old man, so I thought about choosing some for my mother and my aunt. Although the things in the palace are exquisite, they all bear the words "made inside", and they need to be archived, which is very troublesome. It's not as easy as going outside. It's just that I can't find a good one for a while, so I can only use this as a tribute!"

Cao Yong said: "It's just a wish, even if there is no such thing, mother can still be far away from you?"

Elder Sixteen smiled and said: "That's right, let's go, let's go to your house right now! Although I met you in Jiangning earlier, there are so many people in a well-behaved manner, it's too hasty, and it's hard to even recognize a relative!"
-
(End of this chapter)