Tianzhu: The Record of Foreign Stories in the Republic of China

chapter 26
1
It is the beginning of autumn, and there is a coolness between the heaven and the earth.

On the bustling clothing store street, a huge banner fluttered in the wind.Below the sign, there is a tall and sturdy shophouse, with a wide "screen wall" built at the door, with a huge "Dang" written on it.This is a newly opened Yufeng pawnshop in Xiulin City. The owner is over fifty years old. His surname is Zhang Baoheng. He was originally a salt merchant from out of town.

Bypassing the "shadow wall" and entering the gate of the pawn shop, you will be faced with a row of tall counters as tall as a person. The counters are covered with iron fences and three windows are open.Inside the window, a court priest sat condescendingly.Behind the iron fence is the cabinet room, that is, the business room of the pawn shop, with high stools, water cards, account books, abacus, touchstone, roll pawn bed, lockers, etc. There is a person, the accounting of the accounts, the inventory of the inventory, the cleaning of the cleaning, the division of labor is clear, and they are all busy in an orderly manner.

As night fell, it was getting late, and after a busy day, it was time to close. A figure outside the "Shadow Wall" flickered, and a person came in with a package in his hand. He walked to the high counter and put the package on the On the counter, open it, take out a scroll from inside, stand on tiptoe, pass the scroll in through the smallest window, and say in a slightly hoarse voice: "Excuse me, steward, please see if this painting can be used as a scroll." How much?"

Sitting high inside the counter is the big lack, that is, Chaofeng, who is in charge of inspecting, pricing, and deciding whether to accept pawns in the pawnshop. In today's terms, he is called the chief salesperson. He is Zhang Baoheng's son Zhang Xu.Zhang Xu wore a pair of round glasses, his face was fair, and his body was slightly fat.He took the scroll without raising his head, unfolded it, and it turned out to be a "Taoyuan Fairyland Picture" by the former painter Qiu Ying, ink and color on silk, the composition of the picture is complicated, the layout is rigorous, the mountains are near the pavilion, the clouds are misty, and there are three figures in the picture. The old man in white clothes is sitting beside the river, one of them is playing the piano, one is dancing, and the other is watching quietly. The postures are different and vivid, which is quite good at painting.

Zhang Xu glanced at it, but said in a nonchalant tone: "The color is gorgeous, the bones are strong, and the style is elegant, but it is Qiu Ying's authentic work. It is a pity that it was not properly collected, and it was damaged by insects and rats. It is very eye-catching. It is a silver coin. Fifty yuan."

The man was obviously dissatisfied with his price quotation, said "excuse me", rolled up the scroll, turned around and left.

"Sir, please stay!"

Behind the counter, an old voice suddenly sounded.When Zhang Xu looked back, he realized that his father was standing behind him at some point.

Hearing the call, the host was startled, stopped, turned around and took a look at the counter, and through the iron fence, his eyes fell on Zhang Baoheng's face suspiciously.Zhang Baoheng is over fifty years old, but his brows are sparse and his eyes are rosy, with a businessman's unique kindness on his face. He cupped his hands slightly and said, "The old man's surname is Zhang, and he is the manager of our shop. I don't know if you can show me this picture, sir." painting?"

The man nodded and said, "It's easy to talk about." Fu then passed the painting scroll into the window.Zhang Baoheng opened the picture scroll, put on his presbyopic glasses, inspected it carefully, then raised his head, and looked him up and down, only to see that the man was in his forties, wearing an old blue-gray long gown, the corners of which fluttered, faintly visible A yellow mandarin jacket was put on inside, with disheveled beard and hair, rough face, and a little downcast, but standing outside the counter with his hands behind his back, he had a unique temperament.

Zhang Baoheng had some confidence in his mind, he slowly rolled up the scroll, and said: "I see that the master came from the east, and he must have gone to the Demao pawnshop on Paoma Street to inquire about the price."

The man said, "Yes."

Zhang Baoheng asked: "What price did they pay for this painting?"

The man said, "It's five silver coins higher than your place."

Zhang Baoheng touched a goatee under his chin, and said in a deep thought: "How about this, sir, let's accept this painting. I will give you 60 yuan as the equivalent price, with a monthly interest of [-] cents, and the current period is June. How about it?"

Seeing that the price he offered was higher than that of Demao's pawn shop, the man couldn't help but show joy, and hurriedly cupped his fists at him: "I'm Zhao Shuqing, thank you, Boss Zhang, for your success."

When the pawnbroker surnamed Shi left with the silver coins and pawn notes, Zhang Xu complained to his father: "Father, what happened to you today, just such a broken painting that eats worms and rats, it should be treated The price is sixty yuan? If he doesn’t redeem it when it’s due and becomes absolutely worthless, it’s hard to say whether the painting can be sold at this price. Aren’t you spending money to buy at a loss?”

"Whether it's a loss or not, you'll know later."

Zhang Baoheng was confident, he chuckled, put his hands behind his back, and walked upstairs.

Three days later, the master surnamed Shi came again, still wearing the old blue-gray gown, and still looking downcast, but the burden in his hand was much bigger and heavier than last time.As soon as he put the burden on the counter, it hit the counter with a "boom".Zhang Xu untied the bag and looked at it, and was stunned. Inside were three pieces of white porcelain from Song Ding kiln, a lotus leaf inkstone, and a copper-plated gold Buddha statue, all of which were valuable and valuable.

Zhao Shuqing said: "Please ask Manager Zhang to come out and estimate the price."

After this, this Zhao Shuqing became a regular customer of Yufeng's pawn shop, pawning things from time to time, sometimes two paintings and calligraphy by famous masters, sometimes several Sui and Tang gold wares, and sometimes a piece of Song and Yuan jade wares.Zhang Xu never imagined in his wildest dreams that because of his father's "disadvantage", he got the first boss since the opening.

Later, when I got to know Zhao Shuqing acquainted, I realized that the three generations of the Zhao family worked as errands in the Forbidden City, and they are highly regarded by the current emperor.In Zhao Shuqing's generation, they were framed and demoted to return to their hometowns, and their family fortunes fell from then on, so they had to rely on selling property to survive.Many of the things he made were rewards from the palace.

Zhang Xu asked his father how he knew the identity of this Zhao Shuqing, Zhang Baoheng laughed and said, "Didn't you see that he was still wearing a yellow jacket under his old gown?"

2
On Paoma Street, just across the street from Yufeng Pawnshop, there is a Demao pawnshop. The owner, Li Chengxiang, is a native of Xiulin.Because there is only this one in the whole city, and there is no other semicolon, the business has been booming for more than ten years.During the period, there were occasional squires who wanted to get involved in the pawnshop business, but they were squeezed out by his overt and covert methods.

Suddenly there was a Yufeng pawnshop opened by a foreigner in the city, which took away a lot of business from Demao pawnshop, especially after hearing about the relationship between Zhao Shuqing and Yufeng pawnshop, Li Chengxiang became more and more upset. He made up his mind to bring down Yufeng Pawnshop before it had a firm foothold in Xiulin City.

"We must never let a foreigner steal food from my mouth, Li Chengxiang."

When he said this, he already had an excellent plan in mind, or a conspiracy.

In the twinkling of an eye, autumn and winter came, and the coldness between the heaven and the earth became thicker and thicker.

Every winter, especially when the new year is approaching, every household is in urgent need of money, and those from poor families will take some things to the pawn shop to exchange some small money for turnover, and then redeem it when the economy improves in the next spring.Therefore, this time is often the best time for pawn shop business.It's just that most of the pawnbrokers at this time are poor families, and the goods they pawn are nothing more than household items such as clothing, jewelry, felt, leather goods, etc. Therefore, in Yufeng pawnshop, even though it is the peak business season, there is no need for Zhang Baoheng, the big shopkeeper, to go out in person. It's all taken care of by Zhang Xu, who is in short supply, and can handle it.

In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Baoheng decided to go back to his hometown in Shanxi to bring his old mother to Xiulin to celebrate the New Year.After explaining to his son, he hired a carriage and went straight.

On this day, it was the third day Zhang Baoheng left Xiulin City. Zhang Xu was sitting in the pawn shop to call for business, when suddenly a young man appeared outside the counter, only in his twenties, wearing a Ning silk brocade gown and a one-piece waistcoat , wearing a satin cap with melon skin, walking with three steps, and dressed like a dude.

When Zhang Xu saw it, he was overjoyed in his heart, pawnbrokers were most welcome to this kind of prodigal son from a rich family.Sure enough, the dandy took a long and heavy package from his shoulder and put it on the counter: "Boss, give me a price, young master, I am in a hurry to use the money."

Zhang Xu didn't dare to be negligent, so he immediately put away the work at hand, turned to the largest window, took the package, opened it, and his eyes lit up.

What was wrapped in that bundle was a Guqin, slender in shape, sycamore wood, chestnut shell-colored and black lacquer, pure deer antler gray lacquer body, with calf hair broken patterns in the snake belly.It is four feet long, with a round dragon pond and a flat and round phoenix marsh. The nayin inside the abdomen is slightly raised.With a flick of the hand, there is a gurgling sound, and the sound of the piano is loose and loud, full of ancient rhyme.

Zhang Xu couldn't help being stunned: "The shape of this piano is thick and graceful, the lacquer color is bright and ancient, the broken lines are hidden like a horn, the inscription is neat and simple, the gold emblem and jade, magnificent and magnificent, beyond the reach of extraordinary products. Could it be the famous Qin of the Tang Dynasty?" The legacy of the great sage'?"

Seeing that he knew the origin of this qin, the dandy couldn't help but be very proud: "You still have some knowledge. Let's make a price."

Zhang Xu took out another magnifying glass and carefully examined the "Great Sage's Legacy" guqin from the beginning to the end. After confirming that it was the genuine one, he picked up a copy of "Dangpu" and flipped through it, saying: " Take eight thousand silver dollars."

The dude insisted: "This is the best of the piano, 9000 yuan, one cent less, and I will go to Demao's pawn shop."

Zhang Xu was overjoyed. If the kid didn't redeem it when it expired, as long as he found the right buyer, it would not be a problem to resell the piano for 2, 9000 or even [-] yuan. It is also a considerable income.He hurriedly said: "Okay, [-] yuan, deal!"

Immediately sang loudly: "An old piano, the surface of the piano is gray and white, the strings are all lost, the mountains collapsed, and the insects ate and rats bitten. The silver yuan is nine thousand, and the monthly interest is three cents. The current period is six months. If you don't redeem it within the time limit, you will die." Dang..." Over there, Zhong Que had already picked up a brush and wrote a pawn invoice, which was delivered immediately, and both money and goods were settled.

At noon the next day, Zhang Xu was still secretly happy about the big deal he made yesterday, when a man suddenly appeared in the pawnshop, with a short stature, like a skinny monkey, but a pair of thieves' eyes were piercing. Turn around, with a shrewd look of watching all directions and listening to all directions.

Zhang Xu recognized this person. He was nicknamed Skinny Monkey Zhang. He was a professional manager. To put it bluntly, he was a broker, babysitter, and middleman. Information to earn commissions to live.Because I had introduced several businesses to Yufeng Pawnshop before, so I got acquainted with each other.

Thin monkey Zhang gave Zhang Xu a wink across the counter. Zhang Xu knew that he had business to discuss, so he hurriedly opened the door of the iron fence, invited him into a small reception room next to the cabinet room, and asked the waiter to make him a cup of tea. Had a cup of hot tea.The thin monkey Zhang picked up the tea bowl and took two sips, smacking his lips: "The taste is mellow and bitter, is this year's Wuyi rock tea? It really is good tea!"

Zhang Xu asked, "Brother, why do you want me?"

Skinny monkey Zhang looked at him with sideways eyes, and said, "Brother has a big deal in his hands, I wonder if Zhang Daque would dare to accept it?"

Zhang Xu said with a smile: "As a pawn shop, we only think that the business is small. How can we be afraid of a big business? Everything is worth it. This is the slogan of our Yufeng pawn shop. Have you never heard of it?"

The thin monkey patted his thigh: "That's good. Brother, I found out that there is a rich horse family at the north gate. Because of business failure, they are eager to pawn off a big house and exchange some cash for emergency. If the negotiation can be successful , I’m afraid it’s a big business worth tens of thousands of dollars.”

Zhang Xu said, "Then I have to look at the house first."

The thin monkey Zhang said: "No problem, the rich man has entrusted me with full authority, and I hold the key of the house in my hand. Let's go and have a look?"

Zhang Xu changed his clothes and followed him.Turning to the north gate, I saw that it was a patio-style courtyard with connected roofs, white walls and black tiles, and flowers and plants inside. It must cost several 10 yuan.It seems that the owner of the house is really in a hurry to make a move, the house has been emptied and there is no one living there.

After Zhang Xu looked at it, he thought about it in his heart and asked, "How much do you want to pay for the rich man?"

The thin monkey stretched his hands apart and stretched out ten fingers: "Such a big house, it's not a problem to be worth 10 yuan, right? The house deed is in my hands, as long as you nod your head, we can sign it immediately." contract."

Zhang Xu frowned and said: "The location of this house is a bit remote, if it becomes a dead pawn, it's not easy to deal with it, forget it, our Yufeng Pawnshop can't take this business." After saying that, he turned around and left.

The thin monkey hurriedly stopped him: "The rich man just quoted a price casually, and he didn't say he was dead. How much do you want to give?"

Zhang Xu looked back at the house again: "The maximum is 5 yuan, but the current period can be extended appropriately. It's okay to give him a year or two."

Thin Monkey Zhang sneered and said, "What about my service fee?"

Zhang Xu glared at him, and said, "You skinny monkey, you really are a veritable 'two-headed butcher'. You eat the buyers and eat the sellers. Giving you a hundred yuan for running errands is not a bad treatment to your brother, is it?"

The thin monkey Zhang said happily: "Okay, I will give you the deed of the house right now, and later you write a pawn ticket and have it sent to Wangjiang Tower, where I will drink tea."

There is a saying that goes well: When fortune comes, the Yangtze River embankment cannot stop it.But that's not the case. In the morning, he made a deal with Skinny Monkey Zhang, and in the afternoon Zhang Xu received another night pearl the size of a longan.

For several days after that, one or two big deals were concluded almost every day. Sometimes it was a rare Song Dynasty Duan Inkstone, sometimes it was a rare diamond, sometimes it was a calligraphy handed down from the Tang Dynasty, and sometimes it was a few Song Dynasty inkstones. Jun kiln porcelain.The current price ranges from thousands to thousands, and as many as over ten thousand.

Zhang Xu was secretly proud of himself: The old man always said that I was not experienced enough to be able to handle it on my own. Now that the old man is away, in just a few days, I have made so many big deals, making more money than Yufeng Pawnshop makes in a year. .Will you dare to underestimate me after seeing the old man?

Time flies, and it is the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. Unexpectedly, the business in the pawnshop is better than usual on the day of the new year. The counters are almost collapsed by the flock of pawnshops.Zhang Xu greeted the business at the counter, and was very happy in his heart, but the cashier ran over and said with a bitter face: "Young shopkeeper, there is no more silver dollar in the bank, what should I do?"

Zhang Xu was taken aback, stared at him and said, "How is this possible? The business is so good, how could there be no money in the treasury?"

The account desk said: "We have several 10 yuan in the book, but during this period of time, the pawnbrokers just pretend not to redeem, and all the silver dollars have been exchanged."

Only then did Zhang Xu recall that the business has been surprisingly good these past few days, with tens of thousands of yuan being exchanged out every day, but the recovered "Great Sage's legacy" and famous paintings of luxury houses will not be redeemed anytime soon. The silver coins have been replaced by goods and are backlogged in the warehouse.I was patronizing soliciting business, but I never thought that the bank would bottom out.

Opening a pawn shop has always been based on reputation, but now there is no cash to pay others. If people find out, isn't it equivalent to smashing one's own brand?Looking at the pawnbrokers pouring in like a tide outside the counter, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Just as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, a guy outside came to report: the shopkeeper and then the old lady came back.Zhang Xuwan seemed to grasp at the straw, and hurriedly ordered someone to invite his father over.

When Zhang Baoheng came to the cabinet room, he frowned when he heard his son talk about the current predicament, and walked up to the warehouse on the second floor without saying a word, inspecting all the items in the cabinet that his son had collected.Seeing his father's two eyebrows shrinking and tightening, Zhang Xu couldn't help feeling guilty, and asked softly, "Father, these things are not fakes, are they?"

Zhang Baoheng shook his head and said, "It's not a fake, it's just that when you pawned it, didn't you think about it, such a precious and rare item, a pawn shop in a small town like ours, it's very good if you can accept one or two pieces throughout the year It’s good fortune. But you received dozens of pieces in a row in just a few days, isn’t there anything strange about it?”

Zhang Xu blushed and said, "I was only concerned with doing business, and I wanted to open a pawn shop. Of course, the more business the better, but I never thought about it..."

(End of this chapter)