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

chapter 27
Zhang Baoheng scolded with staring eyes: "Idiot, you don't even know you were tricked. Do you think you're really lucky, and the pie in the sky just hits your head? Anyone with a little brain will think that the world's most beautiful There is no such good thing, let alone such a coincidence, this matter must be manipulated by someone behind the scenes."

Zhang Xu was confused: "Someone is manipulating behind the scenes? Who are you talking about?"

Zhang Baoheng pondered and said: "The things you collect, from real estate to calligraphy and painting, from rare treasures to high-quality porcelain, are of various categories, and each piece is a high-quality goods. Except for the pawn shop where everything is pawned, who would own these things at the same time? "

Zhang Xu was taken aback: "Pawnshop? You mean these things are all transferred to us by other pawnshops?"

Zhang Baoheng nodded and said, "Yes."

Zhang Xu scratched the back of his head and said in bewilderment, "Which pawn shop would do such a thing?"

Zhang Baoheng smiled bitterly: "In the huge Xiulin City, besides our Yufeng pawnshop, how many other pawnshops are there?"

Zhang Xu suddenly understood: "Except for our Yufeng pawnshop, there is only Demao...Father, do you mean that Li Chengxiang from Demao's pawnshop did this?"

Zhang Baoheng said: "If Weifu's guess is right, it should be him. He wants to crush our Yufeng pawnshop! He has been running a pawnshop in Xiulin City longer than us, and has more funds than us. The goods are also richer than ours, so we pick the most expensive and most valuable things in our pawnshop and transfer them to us to spend our funds. If the bank is bottomed out and there is no money to pawn, the reputation we have painstakingly established It will be destroyed once, and this pawnshop will never be able to operate again."

Zhang Xu couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat. He gritted his teeth and scolded: "Li Chengxiang, an old fox, actually used such despicable and indecent means to crowd out his peers. It's really disgusting. But this is the end of the matter, there are so many pawns outside waiting for us to accept pawns and exchange money." , This, how can this be done?"

Zhang Baoheng stroked a goatee under his jaw, and said with a sneer: "The devil is one foot tall, and the Tao is one foot high. If Li Chengxiang thinks that this can crush our Yufeng Pawnshop, then he is too underestimating us. We are not strong." How dare we open a pawnshop here in Xiulin City because of our economic strength? Father, to tell you the truth, before opening this Yufeng pawnshop, I have reserved 30 yuan in circulating funds, which are stored in a bank in the provincial capital. You Go out and tell the pawnbrokers that today is the new year, and the pawnshop is closed for an inventory day. Please come back tomorrow morning. Dad will take a few people to the provincial capital to withdraw cash, and come back early tomorrow morning. Then you will take someone to pick me up at the gate of the city. .”

If the 30 cash can really be withdrawn, then naturally all problems will be solved.Zhang Xu never dreamed that his father would still keep such a skill, he was both happy and admired.Back at the counter, I told my father's words to the customers outside.Everyone didn't have any doubts and dispersed.Zhang Xu put up a sign saying he was out of business for an inventory check, and closed the door of the pawn shop for a day.

Early the next morning, before it was time to open for business, a large group of pawnbrokers with large bags and small bags gathered at the door.I saw that it was time to open the door at eight o'clock, but my father went there yesterday, and there is no news so far.Standing in the window, Zhang Xu watched the guests' heads throbbing outside, and his heart couldn't help but hang up again: Could it be that something went wrong with his father in the provincial capital?
Seeing that the sun had already risen high, if the doors were not open for business, I was afraid that people would become suspicious, so he was anxious when the man who sent out to the city to inquire about the news suddenly rushed to report that the shopkeeper had already arrived at the gate of the city with two carriages. , Tell him to bring someone to meet him quickly.Zhang Xu was overjoyed, he ordered people to open the door to collect the pawns, and at the same time led people to rush to meet his father.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the city, he saw his father personally escorting two carriages, driving into the city.There are several large baskets on the carriage, which are covered with strips.He scrambled closer to uncover the bamboo strips, and sure enough, he saw that each basket was full of gleaming silver coins.His heart was hanging, and then it fell safely.

Zhang Baoheng wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "I left in such a hurry that I forgot to bring the wooden box for money into the city. Time was running out, so I had to find a few baskets to pack it in."

Zhang Xu said with a smile: "No matter what, it's good to have money. Hurry up and send it back, everyone is waiting for the money to open the door and collect it."

Hearing this, the coachman driving the carriage knew that the matter was urgent, so he yelled "drive", and slapped the horse's buttocks with a whip, trying to drive the carriage faster.Unexpectedly, the horse jumped up suddenly after being whipped.When the carriage jolted, the basket on the carriage tilted, and a piece of silver splashed down, dozens of silver coins fell out, and rolled under the carriage.

Zhang Xu lowered his body and was about to climb under the car to pick it up, when Zhang Baoheng yelled, "You bastard, the pawn shop is on the verge of a fire, you still have time to climb under the car to pick up these small coins? Don't worry about it." Hurry up and drive the carriage back to the emergency!"

When Zhang Xu heard it right, he didn't bother to pick up the silver coins that fell on the ground, jumped into the carriage, and drove back.

A lot of spectators had already surrounded the gate of the city. Seeing Yufeng pawn shop using big baskets to hold silver coins, and not caring about dozens of silver coins falling down.As soon as the carriage left, they swarmed up to grab the silver coins on the ground.

Before Zhang Baoheng returned to the pawnshop with the carriage, the news that the head shopkeeper of Yufeng Pawnshop personally brought several baskets of silver coins into the city, spread throughout the city as if he had grown wings, and naturally spread to Paoma Street and Germany. Mao pawnshop, spread to the ears of Li Chengxiang, the big shopkeeper of Demao pawn shop.

The shopkeeper Li's face immediately turned pale.

As Zhang Baoheng guessed, the valuables that Yufeng Pawnshop received recently were pawned by Li Chengxiang from Demao Pawnshop.Li Chengxiang originally wanted to squeeze out this new pawnshop opened by outsiders with the abundant funds he had accumulated over the past ten years.Unexpectedly, the strength of Yufeng Pawnshop was far beyond his imagination.

He has already withdrawn 10,000+ yuan from Yufeng Pawnshop. He thought their treasury was about to bottom out, but Zhang Baoheng transferred back several baskets of silver dollars from the provincial capital overnight, probably worth 40 to [-] yuan .In this way, his painstaking plan to crush Yufeng's pawnshop not only failed, but also he pawned so many things in Yufeng's pawnshop, and the monthly interest was three cents. The interest alone was not a small amount.This is really a man's calculation is not as good as the sky's calculation, lifting a rock to shoot himself in the foot.

He couldn't sit still, so he hurriedly sent someone to Yufeng's pawn shop to redeem all those "Great Sage's legacy", houses, night pearls, etc. Loss of interest can be greater.

3
It wasn't until the Spring Festival was over and the Lantern Festival was over, and the story of "the old shopkeeper of Yufeng pawnshop witted against local snakes" spread in Xiulin City, that Li Chengxiang, the big shopkeeper of Demao pawnshop, realized that he had been tricked by Zhang Baoheng.It turned out that the big baskets that Zhang Baoheng brought into the city that day were filled with pebbles. He just borrowed 500 yuan of silver dollars from a friend's house in the provincial capital overnight, and spread a layer of white flowers on top of the baskets. .Li Chengxiang, who learned the truth, trembled with anger, his mouth twitched, and he almost had a stroke.

After the first month passed, the pawn shop, which had been quiet for a month, gradually became lively again.It's just that most of the people who entered the pawn shop this time were old customers who came to pay to redeem the items pawned before the Spring Festival.Because at the time of receiving the redemption, it is only necessary to check and collect the money, and the procedure is simple, so it has always been done by Da Baoyi, and there is no need to worry about external shortages.

On this day, Li Chengxiang, the big shopkeeper of Demao Pawnshop, was drinking tea in the lounge next to the cabinet room while looking at the "small card" on the wall. The "small card" recorded the business figures of the previous day. In today's terms, it is Daily business report.An apprentice ran in and said that the shopkeeper was invited to take a look at the counter.Li Chengxiang gave a "hmm" and knew that another big business was coming.

The "outer vacancies" of a pawn shop are generally composed of large cabinets, second cabinets, third cabinets, and fourth cabinets. They are arranged from left to right according to their respective identities and grades. They sit behind the counter of the shop, responsible for inspecting and pricing, and deciding whether to accept or not. , is the person who deals directly with customers in the pawnshop, commonly known as "chaofeng".Li Chengxiang boasted that he had read countless things, and he had never mistakenly accepted fakes. Therefore, the big cabinet of Demao's pawn shop, that is, the big shortage, has been kept by himself.At the time of pawnshop receipt, general business can be received by the second, third, and fourth cabinets. In case of large transactions, other staff will try their best to let the big cabinet be responsible. First, for safety, and second, to show respect.This is an unwritten rule in pawn shops.So when Li Chengxiang heard the call from the counter, he knew it was not a small business.

He responded and drank a bowl of tea unhurriedly before getting up and going out.When I came to the counter, I saw a young man with a sallow face standing outside the counter, wearing a thin old gown full of patches, shivering in the cold spring.

When Li Chengxiang saw it, he was very angry.He recognized this down and out ghost. His name was Sun Lin. He was a scholar. He had studied for more than [-] years, but he didn't get any fame. He was the only one in the family who depended on his old mother. ".The down-and-out grandson is poor, but complains a lot. He scolds the sky and the earth all day long. Last time, he inscribed a poem on the courtyard wall of Dongyue Temple, which read:
Scholars are the most uneven.Rotten Shiwen, rotten as mud.The country was originally a trick to seek talents, but who knew it would become a trick to deceive others.Three people accepted the title, broke the title with two sentences, swayed their tails and shook their heads.Do you know what kind of articles the three links and four histories are, and which dynasty emperor was the Han ancestor Tang Zong?Put high-end sermons on your desk, and buy new sharp weapons in the store.I read with my spine high and my back low, and my quarrel was hesitant.Bagasse is chewed and chewed, what's the taste?To live up to the time and to be in a coma in vain for a lifetime, so that he can deceive high-ranking officials is also a bad luck for the common people.

As a result, the officials found out that he was attacking the court, so he was arrested and imprisoned for two months. It is said that he was released only a year ago.

For such a poor scholar, besides a few rags, what other valuables can he pawn?Li Chengxiang was very upset. He glared at the second cabinet, and was about to explode when the third cabinet rushed over and said, "Master Sun has a white jade galloping horse and wants to give it to us. But his asking price is too high, so we dare not decision."

Li Chengxiang couldn't help but glanced at Sun Lin more, and then he noticed that he was holding a jade galloping horse, which was carved out of top-grade white jade.He immediately changed his face, and said with a dry smile: "So it's Mr. Sun, do you want to be this jade galloping horse? Can I let the old man take a look first?"

With a worried expression on his face, Sun Lin passed the jade galloping horse in through the window and said: "This is an ancestral relic of our family. It has been passed down from the Han Dynasty and has a history of one thousand and hundreds of years... My mother had an unfortunate accident a few days ago. I got sick and urgently needed cash to see a doctor and get medicine, so I had to..."

Li Chengxiang took over the white jade galloping horse, and saw that the jade-colored horse was transparent and soft, the horse's head was high and neighing, its mouth was open and its teeth were showing, its ears were erected, its ribs were carved with two wings, its tail was raised high, and its front foot was raised in the air. , It seems to be flying across the clouds, with a flying look, and a perfect appearance.The composition is ingenious and the workmanship is fine, which can be called the best in jade.

He was secretly happy in his heart, but his face remained calm, and he said lightly: "It's a piece of real jade, how much do you want?"

Sun Lin said, "Five hundred yuan."

Li Chengxiang gave a noncommittal "hmm", held the white jade galloping horse in his hand and played with it for a while, and seemed to be uneasy, picked up the magnifying glass and looked at it carefully, and after a long time raised his head and said: "It really is a treasure left by the Han Dynasty." , it has been preserved for such a long time, and it is still so perfect. It is not easy. It is not expensive at [-] yuan, but..."

Sun Lin asked, "How about it?"

Li Chengxiang said in embarrassment: "It's just that the business of the shop has been busy these few days, and there is not much silver left in the bank. The old man is sending people to the provincial bank to withdraw money. I am afraid that he will not come back at this moment. If Mr. Sun I'm anxious to wait for the cash, I'm afraid the old man won't be able to help... But fortunately, Demao's pawnshop is not the only one operating pawnshops in Xiulin City, Sun Xianggong might as well go look elsewhere."

Sun Lin said: "Thank you, shopkeeper Li, I understand." He cupped his hands, put away the white jade galloping horse, turned around and ran towards Yipu Street.

The second cabinet behind Li Chengxiang was a little anxious, and said: "The treasurer, I think this white jade galloping horse is worth some money. If it is sold from our pawnshop, it will not be a problem to sell it for three to five thousand yuan. How do you transport the money you get to Yu?" Push it at the Feng pawn shop?"

Li Chengxiang snorted coldly, and seeing Sun Lin's back was far away, he said, "This kid, if I hadn't been careful, I would have been tricked by him."

The second cabinet was startled: "Oh, could it be that he took a piece of fake jade?"

(End of this chapter)