"Brother Hong, you said there was a way?" Qing'er's eyes were wide open, and she was very surprised.

Xie Hong suddenly stretched out his hand and scratched the little girl's cute nose, and said with a smile: "There must be no problem this time, I will go to Erniu during this time, Qing'er must keep it secret, and when you get the reward, my brother will buy you rouge." ”

Although the little girl is sensible and never asks for anything, but when someone in the neighborhood bought the jewelry rouge, Xie Hong also saw Qing'er's envious eyes, which girl doesn't love beauty?

"Really?" The little girl was really happy, and jumped up at once, and her buns were a little scattered.

"Of course it's true, I still have to buy cloth and make new clothes for Qing'er and my mother." Xie Hong smiled proudly, made another wish, and instructed again: "This is the emperor's list, the thing is for the emperor, and it must be kept secret." ”

"Well, Qing'er knows." Qing'er replied quietly, covering her mouth with her little hands, indicating that she would definitely keep it secret.

Seeing Qing'er nodding, Xie Hong breathed a sigh of relief, this matter must be hidden from his mother, as long as he hides it from the old man, then there will be no problem. Hmph, Xiao Zhengde, wait to see my brother's craftsmanship.

……

A month later.

In June, in the middle of summer, the sun is blazing.

Looking at the crowd in front of the yamen, Xie Hong sighed: "The life of this ancient person is really boring, there are still so many spectators on such a hot day. ”

This Beizhuang County is just a small county town under the jurisdiction of Xuanfu Town of Daming, and there are not many people on the street at ordinary times. Today, there was a lively look, and suddenly a lot of people appeared, crowding the entrance of the county government, Xie Hong had never seen so many people for more than half a year after crossing to the Ming Dynasty. The scene of this crowd of people made him somewhat familiar, and he remembered the free delivery on the streets in his previous life.

"Excuse me, let me go, I'm here to offer treasure." Glancing at the package he was holding in his hand, remembering that when Qing'er looked at this thing, he couldn't put it down, Xie Hong had an urge to take the thing back, okay, just make one for Qing'er in the future. This opportunity in front of him should not be missed, he carefully protected the package in his hand, and resolutely squeezed into the crowd.

"Xie Xiucai, you are also here to offer treasures? I heard that you pawned the ancestral jade pendant at home a few days ago, what treasures can you give today? Today's treasures are to be presented to the emperor to congratulate the new emperor on his accession to the throne, don't be in a hurry, take some things to make up the number. ”

There were many people, and when he squeezed in, some of them were unhappy, and those who knew him laughed out loud.

Some people kindly persuaded: "Yes, you can't just give anything to the emperor, beware of the government treating you with a big crime of disrespect." ”。

Treasure? Xie Hong pouted, brother is a real craftsman, with a diploma! Although in this Ming Dynasty, the materials and tools are not handy, but the things made by Brother are not something that people in this era can imagine. If it weren't for the Ming Dynasty's classification of people, my mother wouldn't let us make money with our craft, where would my brother use the pawn ancestral jade pendant.

Ignoring these idlers, Xie Hong just buried his head forward, and after a while, he only felt that there was nothing in front of him, and when he looked up, he turned out to be close to the front. Whew, I didn't sweat in vain, but I finally caught up.

The yamen opens to the south, and the eight-character wall plays the role of a propaganda column, and the two lists are still pasted on it. There was a table in the middle, and behind him sat an old man who looked like a master, and there were people lined up in front of the table, all holding things in their hands, and they all seemed to be offering treasures, and those on the periphery were all spectators, and there were also a few officials who maintained order.

Looking at the large number of people, in fact, there is no need to wait too long, a small county town in Beizhuang County, with a population of only more than 1,000, what great treasures can there be?

"It's better to be virtuous!" Xie Hong sighed in his heart, Zhengde Dynasty is really too suitable for him as a person who can eat, drink and have fun, and the Apocalypse Dynasty can't compare, how can it be comfortable to accompany people to do carpenter work?

He was in a state of distraction when he suddenly heard an angry shout: "It's a kite again!" What's so new about kites? Don't you see the list that says something interesting! ”

Xie Hong looked at the table, and when he saw it, he almost laughed out loud, the table was full of kites, all kinds of them, dragonflies, butterflies, and centipedes, and the funniest thing was that the master who was roaring was still holding a crab in his hand.

"Master Lu, isn't this crab a novelty? I've only seen it once when I've grown this big. ”

"Whew! There are so many things in the old man's hometown, what's so novel? Get out, next! "In these years, Master Shaoxing is very famous, and this Master Lu seems to be from Jiangnan, so of course he is more familiar with these things in the water than people in the mainland.

Next? Xie Hong saw that there was no one in front of him, so he hurriedly stepped forward and gently put the package in his hand on the table, as if it was a treasure in it. Master Lu is also a little interested, such a small package, at least, will not be a kite.

The onlookers and the officials were also a little curious, and they all stretched their necks to see what kind of treasure it was. This Xie Xiucai's family moved from other places more than ten years ago, maybe there are some treasures hidden behind some famous family.

When Xie Hong opened the package, revealing a box, everyone was disappointed, and there were boos for a while, and Master Lu also straightened his face and said coldly: "Xie Xiucai, you are also a reader, you won't be unable to read the list text, right?" Are you going to fool the emperor with such a humble thing? Seeing that you are young, the old man does not care about you, you go down! ”

I don't blame others for despising it, Xie Hong's box is indeed a little shabby in appearance, and the allusion of buying and returning pearls shows that the ancients paid attention to packaging, and the shell was so poor, everyone felt that the inside was not much better.

It's just that Xie Hong is also aggrieved, these tools are not in hand, the materials are rough, and the fine parts inside are all handmade! It's good to make it in a month, where is the time to make this shell?

Xie Hong was stunned and said loudly: "Master Lu, the ancients: judge people by their appearance, and lose their sons." How do you know what's going on inside when you only look at the surface? ”

This saint's words are still a little lethal to scholars, Master Lu listened to it, and also felt that it made sense, nodded, thinking that this is the last one today anyway, let's take a look, at least, he didn't take a kite!

In everyone's expectation again, Xie Hong opened the cylindrical box, and inside was a statue of a scholar in a green shirt. The craftsman who carved this statue carved it skillfully, carved the image of a scholar who sent a friend away and cherished other scholars vividly, so that everyone who saw it couldn't help but feel a strong sense of parting.

Everyone took a breath of cool air, "This carving is indeed ingenious, and it is indeed a treasure." The shell is rough, I think it's because the burrow hides gold, and I don't want to be coveted by outsiders. ”

Master Lu also bowed slightly, and muttered: "This statue is indeed exquisite, it can be called a treasure, and the old man is also impressed to see it." It's just that the text of the list clearly states that this time the solicitation is interesting and playful, and this statue can only be used for viewing. It's a pity, it's a pity. However, the old man is willing to buy this statue, I don't know what Xie Xiucai wants? ”

As soon as he said this, the people next to him were not happy, this old man Lu was using power for personal gain, taking advantage of Xie Xiucai's lack of money, and wanted to keep this treasure for himself at a low price. This treasure is bought, the shell is polished, and then wrapped in a layer of gold leaf, even if it is sold for a hundred taels of silver, it is not difficult.

Although Beizhuang County is small, there are some rich families in the county, and they are not very afraid of this master, and someone immediately shouted the price:

"Xie Xiucai, don't listen to this old man! Sell it to me for thirty taels of silver. ”

"I will give forty taels of silver under my vow!"

……

As soon as Master Lu proposed to buy it, Xie Hong was stunned, the box he made was actually unique, this statue was just carved by him, but he didn't expect it to be sold for a high price of fifty taels, what is the concept of fifty taels?

At this time, it was the time of the Ming Dynasty, the price was not high, one tael of silver could buy two stones of rice, and if fifty taels of silver were used to buy rice, one hundred stones could be bought! Converted into catties, it is 19,000 catties of rice, which is quite a fortune for ordinary civilians.

Thinking that the ancestral sheep fat jade pendant was only pawned for two taels of silver, Xie Hong was very remorseful, he knew that who would want to get this kind of thing that could only be sold for a few yuan in later generations, and that no one necessarily bought it was so popular, so why bother to pawn that jade? It's good to secretly carve some small things behind my mother's back and sell them.

"Xie Xiucai, if you want to sell this thing, you should go elsewhere. This is the yamen, but it's not a place for you to sell things. Master Lu failed in the bidding, and when he saw Xie Hong in a daze, he thought he was thinking about who to sell his things, so he coldly chased away the customer.

Yes, this old man was annoyed and angry, Xie Hong was like a mirror in his heart, but he didn't panic, where is this? This statue is only the tip of the iceberg when it is not really functional. He smiled slightly, pressed his hands, and said calmly: "Master Lu, folks, this thing is called the Music Box!" The statue is just a decoration, please be quiet and let me show you. ”

Xie Hong's voice was not high, but whether it was the audience or the bidder just now, they were all surprised. Such a beautiful statue can only be decorated, so how wonderful should the real function be? Everyone began to look forward to it.

With Xie Hong's gesture, everyone, including Master Lu, who was still a little dissatisfied just now, quieted down, and everyone held their breath to watch Xie Hong's movements, and the yamen was silent for a while.

I saw Xie Hong turn the cylinder upside down, twist something a few times, and then put the cylinder on the table as it was.

Subsequently...

A song is played out of thin air, and no one can tell what kind of instrument it is playing, like the clarity of gold and stone, and the tactfulness of silk and bamboo. The music is smooth and clear, and the simple rhythm contains a strong emotion, and the atmosphere of silence and coldness envelops the audience in an instant.

What's more, the statue of the scholar in the cylinder also moved with the music, wiping away tears with one hand and waving goodbye with the other. This scene reflects the beautiful music, and a sense of parting sorrow rises spontaneously in everyone's hearts, which makes people have mixed feelings and emotions.

The music was not long, and it ended in less than a pillar of incense. At the end of the song, the entrance of the yamen was still quiet, and everyone stood still as before, obviously still intoxicated by the sound of nature. Xie Hong waited for a while, but he didn't see Master Lu speak, and he was a little impatient in his heart, no matter what, you have to give a word, the family is waiting for money.

Xie Hong leaned over and looked, hey! It turned out that this Master Lu was stunned, "This old man is really ignorant, and he was scared by just a music box." Xie Hong muttered a few words in his heart, then knocked on the table, raised his voice and said, "Master Lu, have you passed the test, but you have said something?" ”

Master Lu came to his senses, his face no longer had the arrogance he had at the beginning, and he muttered: "This kind of treasure, the old man has never heard of, how can I decide?" ”

Otherwise, how can it be said that the retirement of cadres cannot be postponed? It's really slow to react when you're old, Xie Hong shook his head and said, "Then you can find someone who can call the shots." ”

After being reminded by him, Master Lu finally regained his senses, and suddenly realized: "Master Xie, please wait a while, the old man will come when he goes." "After that, I went to the county office.