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

chapter 28
Li Chengxiang said: "It's not a fake jade. It's a white jade galloping horse of the Han Dynasty imitated by people today. At first glance, it is a genuine product handed down from the Han Dynasty, but when I took a closer look with a magnifying glass, I felt something was wrong. The craft of "Gossamer Hair Carving" has incised lines as thin as a hair. Although it is curved to a degree, there is no trace of jumping knife. I see this white jade galloping horse. The jade quality and composition are the same as the real one. Only the horse The double wings are engraved on the ribs, but the lines are thicker than a hair, and they seem to be continuous or broken. There are traces of jumping knives in several places, which does not have the slender and secluded effect of the "gossamer hair carving" of the Han Dynasty. It is obviously a fake made by today's people. If my estimate is correct, the lifetime will not exceed 100 years. As far as this piece of jade is concerned, it is not bad to be a hundred yuan for 80 yuan. If you want to be more than 1000 yuan, then he will take me for a fool. It's in vain that he has studied poetry and books, and he can use this trick to cheat people of money, but he also underestimates me, Li."

The second cabinet understood his thoughts, and said with a smile: "So you introduce him to Yufeng's pawn shop calmly, and borrow this white jade galloping horse in his hand to try the old man Zhang Baoheng's eyesight. right?"

Li Chengxiang gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "This old Zhang Baoheng made me suffer a big loss last time. If I can make him suffer a little this time, it will also account for the bad breath in my heart."

Let's say that Sun Lin took the white jade galloping horse, turned from Paoma Street to Yipu Street, came to Yufeng Pawnshop, said "excuse me", and handed the white jade galloping horse into the window.

Zhang Xu at the counter took a look, and couldn't help but "ouch", and said, "I'm afraid your jade horse is quite old, right?"

Sun Lin said: "It's something that has been passed down from the Han Dynasty. You think it should be no problem to be [-] yuan?"

Zhang Xu looked at it and said: "Please wait a moment, I have to discuss this with our shopkeeper." He hurriedly ordered someone to ask his father to come out.Ever since he suffered a big loss last time, Zhang Xu no longer dared to be sloppy in dealing with things. Whenever there were valuables to be pawned, he would ask his father to come out and check them out.

Zhang Baoheng came to the counter, looked at Sun Lin, and recognized him as the down-and-out grandson who was arrested and imprisoned for writing an inscription at Dongyue Temple a few years ago. He cupped his hands and said, "So it's Mr. Sun."

Sun Lin also cupped his hands and said, "Master Zhang, my mother is unfortunately sick. I want to raise some money for her to see a doctor. This white jade galloping horse is an ancestral item of my family. I want to use it as [-] yuan for emergency treatment."

"It's easy to say." Zhang Baoheng answered, picked up the white jade galloping horse, put on reading glasses, and examined it carefully. When he saw the wings of the jade horse, he frowned slightly, and raised his head to look at Sun Lin. After one glance, he suddenly laughed and said, "Sure enough, it's a good piece of jade. It's not expensive at [-] yuan. This white jade galloping horse was taken by Yufeng's pawnshop."

Only then did Sun Lin let out a sigh of relief, and thanked him repeatedly.Someone over there had already written a pawn ticket, and handed it to Sun Lin together with a bag of silver coins.Sun Lin took it, bowed his hands and said goodbye, and left in a hurry.

An elementary school student from Demao's pawn shop who had followed Sun Lin rushed back to tell Li Chengxiang.Shopkeeper Li Da heard that Zhang Baoheng, who had always been shrewd, had also been duped, and the corners of his mouth twitched with joy, almost cramp.

4
Three years later, the Revolution of [-] broke out, and the sound of rumbling guns announced the fall of the Qing government.It was the end of spring and the beginning of summer when a group of revolutionary troops armed with live ammunition, wearing hard-shell hats and leggings marched into Xiulin City.It is the time when the old and the new are changing, and the people in the city are in panic. The rich people have already rolled up gold and silver and hid in the countryside. All the shops on the street have closed their doors, but the Yufeng pawnshop on Yipu Street is still open. Guys Busy in and out, as usual.

On this day, just after lunch, Zhang Xu was sitting on a high stool behind the counter drinking tea, when he heard a burst of orderly and powerful footsteps from the street, a group of revolutionary troops with live ammunition suddenly drove to the gate of Yufeng Pawn Shop .With a single command, the team changed into two rows, separating the two sides of the gate like javelins.

Zhang Xu had never seen such a battle before, he was so frightened that he held a mouthful of hot strong tea down his throat, swallowed it and neither spit nor spit it up, tears came out from the heat, he kept complaining to his father in his heart, always saying that the revolutionary army would not disturb the people Don't disturb the people, don't need to hide in the countryside.This is great, all the soldiers have come to the door, is there any good fruit to eat?
Just when he had no idea, an adjutant-like man with a pistol on his waist and glasses walked in with his hands behind his back, and shouted at the counter: "Who is the big shopkeeper here, come out quickly, the commander of the 10th Division of the New Army of the Revolutionary Army is here!" visit."

Xiulin City is located on the border of Hunan and Hubei, on the south bank of the Yangtze River, and the commander of the 10th Division of the New Army of the Revolutionary Army is the highest military commander stationed in the two provinces of Hunan and Hubei by the new government.Zhang Xu was so frightened that he didn't even dare to breathe, so he hurriedly sent someone to find his father.

Zhang Baoheng hurriedly came down from upstairs. After waiting for a while, he heard the sound of kicking footsteps. A young officer in high boots, woolen military uniform and golden collar patch strode away from the passage between two rows of soldiers. Come in.

Zhang Baoheng didn't dare to neglect, and hurriedly led his son to greet him.

The teacher went into the pawn shop, took off the big-brimmed hat on his head and handed it to the adjutant.Zhang Baoheng and his son looked up, hey, why are they so familiar?Just as he was wondering, the officer had already burst out laughing, cupped his hands and said, "Shopkeeper Zhang, are you here all right?"

Only then did Zhang Baoheng and his son see clearly that the commander of the revolutionary army was actually Sun Lin.The father and son were taken aback for a moment, then heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly invited Mr. Sun to drink tea in the living room.

The two parties sat down, drank tea for a while, and then Sun Lin said: "I pawned 500 yuan in silver dollars from Yufeng's pawnshop, and went to ask my mother to see a doctor, but my mother was already very ill, and I went to see several doctors, and finally returned home. The sky is powerless... After my mother died of illness, I finished her funeral and took the little money left in my hand to go out to study... Later, I met Huang Xing in Guangdong and joined the League and the Revolutionary Army..."

He took a sip of tea and continued, "Sun came here for no other purpose. He just wanted to redeem the white jade galloping horse that was raised three years ago. After all, it is a family heirloom. If it is lost, after a hundred years, Sun I really have no face to go to see my ancestors. Sun knows that the current period has passed, so Sun is willing to pay an additional [-] yuan in ransom in addition to the interest. If the white jade galloping horse is still in your place, please ask Zhang Da for convenience .”

Zhang Baoheng hurriedly said: "Mr. Sun is too polite. Please forgive me for paying the additional ransom. This old man has kept the jade horse carefully, and only waits for you to come back to get it." He bowed and said, "Please wait a moment." Turning around and going upstairs, he took an exquisite small wooden box from the warehouse and handed it to Sun Lin with both hands.

Sun Lin opened the box and couldn't help being stunned. There were actually two identical white jade galloping horses in the box. After looking closely, it took him a long time to realize something. It turned out that the jade horse with straighter and thicker wings was the I pawned it to Yufeng's pawnshop, and the jade horse with fine and smooth wings and consistent carving depth seems to be more comfortable, but I don't know where it came from.

He held the box in his hand for a while, and then asked suspiciously, "This is..."

Zhang Baoheng smiled slightly, but he was not in a hurry to explain. He only pointed to the two jade horses and explained to him the technique of jade carving: "The most prominent carving techniques in the Han Dynasty were 'Han Eight Knives' and 'Gossamer Hair Carving'. 'Han Eight Dao' adopts the method of single withdrawal, with light starting and heavy falling, concise cutting and strong lines. The inscribed lines of "Gossamer Maodiao" are as thin as hair, curved to a certain extent, and the veins are clear. Later generations imitated this The two kinds of knife techniques are mostly useless. The vigorous and concise "Han Eight Knives" and the slender and secluded "Gossamer Maodiao" are beyond the reach of later generations, especially the imitation of "Gossamer Maodiao". It is smooth, but most of the time there will be knife jumping, and an insider will know it at a glance..."

Sun Lin looked carefully at his white jade galloping horse, and saw that there seemed to be traces of jumping knives in the subtle parts of the inscribed thin lines. He couldn't help being shocked: "Could it be that my jade horse is a fake?"

Zhang Baoheng shook his head and said: "It's not a fake, it's just an imitation, but the carving is not bad. If I didn't have a real white jade galloping horse in my hand a few years ago, it would be hard to tell the authenticity."

Sun Lin was stunned, and said, "This white jade galloping horse is a treasure handed down from generation to generation by our Sun family. How could it be an imitation? Could it be..." He frowned, "By the way, I remembered, in my childhood When I was in the family, the family fortune was not yet in decline, and the family was stolen once. I once heard my great-grandfather nagging that the most valuable thing in the family was lost, and later said that it was found. Could it be that the heirloom was lost at that time? Bao, because you are afraid that you will face your ancestors without face, so you find someone to carve a copy?"

Zhang Baoheng nodded and said: "I think that's probably the case. It's just that people didn't expect that after the thieves changed hands, this white jade galloping horse was sold to me again, and I kept it in my collection. "

Sun Lin was stunned again: "So, as soon as I brought this white jade galloping horse to Yufeng's pawnshop three years ago, you knew it wasn't the real thing?"

Zhang Baoheng nodded with a smile, and said: "Not only do I know that this is not genuine, but I also know that you don't know that it is not genuine. You are a pawn shop, and you are particular about helping others, so I accepted it at the price you asked for... ..."

Sun Lin stood in a daze for a while, and suddenly understood the old man's good intentions, bent his knees, and knelt down in front of him with a "plop": "Boss shopkeeper, if it weren't for your kindness back then, I, Sun Lin, would have just I am afraid that I will starve to death already, and there will never be today..."

"Mr. Sun is serious." Zhang Baoheng hurriedly stretched out his hand to help him up, and smiled gratifiedly, "Alright, these two jade horses just happened to be returned to their original owners."

Sun Lin quickly waved his hands and said, "Sun Mou will give this jade horse to Yufeng's pawnshop, and Sun Mou will redeem it according to the price, and Sun Mou will not dare to ask for the other one."

Zhang Baoheng's expression darkened, and he lifted up the jade horse and was about to smash it to the ground.Sun Lin hurriedly stopped him: "Boss, what are you doing?"

Zhang Baoheng said: "Since even its real owner doesn't want it, why should I keep it?"

Sun Lin saw that he insisted on giving him a gift, so he gave a wry smile, so he hugged the two jade horses in his arms, and said gratefully: "The shopkeeper, the old and the new are changing, and the world is not peaceful. If you need Sun Lin in the future, just open your mouth." , Sun Lin will go through fire and water, and will never refuse."

Zhang Baoheng said: "Definitely, drink tea." The two sipped the tea and laughed.

While drinking tea and recounting the old days, suddenly a clerk came in with a letter from outside.When Zhang Baoheng opened it, his brows furrowed immediately, and he handed the letter to his son.Sun Lin saw the clue and asked, "Could something be wrong?"

Zhang Baoheng quickly shook his head and smiled: "It's all right, Mr. Sun, please drink tea."

After reading the letter, Zhang Xu was not as calm as his father, and immediately jumped up against the case, angrily angrily said: "You bastard, what kind of world is this, they are only allowed to do business, but we are not allowed to open pawnshops, what is the law? What is the justice? "

Sun Lin stood up and asked, "What's the matter?"

Zhang Xu was impatient, he took a look at his silent father and told the whole story.

It turns out that Yufeng Pawnshop has grown in business in the past few years. It wants to open a branch in Changsha and Wuchang, the provincial capitals of Hunan and Hubei provinces. The people in the city were xenophobic and formed a pawnbroker's guild, and they were obstinately not allowed to enter the city to make money.

After hearing this, Sun Lin laughed: "What's the difficulty? Hunan and Hubei provinces happen to be under Sun's jurisdiction. The big shopkeeper can safely open the branch to the provincial capital. Sun promises that no one will be there in the future. Dare to trouble you."

Zhang Xu was overjoyed: "Really?"

Sun Lin nodded vigorously: "There is no joke."

In this way, Sun Lin arranged for an adjutant to say hello to the Dianye Association of the two provinces, and the two branches of Yufeng Pawnshop in the provincial capital opened up in full swing.

Li Chengxiang, the treasurer of the Demao pawn shop who had taken his family to hide in the countryside, was so angry that he couldn't sleep for several nights. Let him pick up a big deal after three years.In the end he wanted to understand the truth. To open a pawnshop, one must have foresight, not only for goods, but also for people.Who knows if Zhang Baoheng had already seen that this boy, the poor grandson, would have a day of great success in the future, so he planted such a foreshadowing in advance?

Half a year later, Zhang Baoheng moved the main store of Yufeng Pawnshop to Wuchang, the provincial capital. Later, with the help of Sun Lin, he opened nearly [-] branches in some big cities in Hunan, Hubei and neighboring Sichuan, Guizhou, Anhui, Jiangxi and other provinces, becoming One of the largest pawnshops in Jiangnan during the Republic of China.

(End of this chapter)