North and South Willow Lane, Liuli Factory.

Cao Hao and the sixteenth elder brother got off their horses and walked away. The guards tethered the horses to the place, leaving one to watch, and the others accompanied them near or far.

Except for the sixteenth elder brother, Zhao Feng, and Xiaoman are regular clothes, the others, including Cao Hao, are all dressed in guard clothes, so they have to find a nearby clothing shop first and replace the guard clothes on everyone.

Although the ready-to-wear clothes in this shop have good materials, most of them are fancy in color. The others are nothing, Cao Hao's filial piety period has not passed, so he can only look for plain clothes, there is nothing suitable, and finally he only found a cloth plain Confucian clothes to change into.

Although he is a little fat, fortunately he can hold up his height, and he doesn't look sloppy.

As soon as Cao Hao came out after changing his clothes, he saw a young man hand-copying a folding fan coming into the lobby, with a small servant behind him. The man was twenty-five or six years old, and he had a smile on his face. Although he held the folding fan and shook it gently, he didn't see the scholar's Sven, the gold restraint in his hands, a few jade pendants on his waist, like a rich man, his chin was slightly raised when he looked at people, and his expression was slightly arrogant.

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

Another young man walked quickly to the guest and said, "Please come in, officer, what are you going to pick?" ”

The young man did not answer, but slammed at the little guy next to him, Nunu. The little guy reluctantly took a step forward and pulled out a silver ingot from his bosom.

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

The young man's eyes were already bright, and the shopkeeper also came out of the counter to greet him, and the young man pulled it around with a folding fan, and said, "It's not too expensive, pick out two sets of the most decent clothes for the master, and the master will be a treat at night!" ”

Cao Hao saw that he was acting in style, and he was supposed to be the young master of the landlord's old rich family who went to Beijing to take the exam, but he heard it with a southern accent, not a direct subordinate, so he knew that it was not.

Although this year's Ganke, the township test will be held in February, and the list will be released in March, and the lifters from other places will not be able to enter Beijing until April or May at the earliest.

The young man also noticed Cao Hao, and saw that he was dressed plainly and had an elegant bearing, and he was only a poor scholar who entered Beijing to take the exam, so he bowed his hand as a courtesy.

After Cao Hao finished dressing, when he saw that he was polite, he also arched his hand, which was regarded as a return gift, and then came out of the ready-to-wear shop.

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

The young man frowned, shook his head, and said to himself, "It's weird, why do you look at that kid so familiarly?" Is it also from Xuzhou? ”

Seeing the shopkeeper walking away, Fang complained in a low voice: "Master, there is not much money around us, let's save it!" ”

The young man glanced at him and said, "Talky! If you want to visit Mr. Wu Qiao next morning, do you want to visit friends in old clothes? If you are treated by the servants as an autumn breeze and blast it out, it's not a joke! ”

The little guy was speechless and silent for a while, and then he arrived: "Master, why don't you start looking for Cheng Ye?" Now, this money has been fooled, even if he finds Cheng Ye, he has no money to run away. ”

The young man waved his hand and said impatiently, "Okay, okay, let the roots of the grandfather's ears be pure." Mr. Wu Qiao is the future master of Hanlin, the most noble, where will he know these doorways? I'm just going to eat! ”

* The sixteenth elder brother was already waiting impatiently outside, and when he saw Cao Hao coming out in an ill-fitting Confucian suit, he looked at the scholars passing by on the street, and said to Cao Hao with a smile: "Tsk, 'people rely on clothes, Buddha relies on gold', this sentence is really true, looking at your dress, where is there still the shadow of the four-grade Taoist platform?" Whoever sees it will definitely think that he is a poor talent who entered Beijing to take the exam! ”

Although Cao Hao is not a picky person, he is also uncomfortable wearing this clothes. In order to prevent moths, the ready-to-wear here is repeatedly smoked with incense, and the smell is strong and pungent.

He glanced at the sixteenth elder brother and said, "Just a small detour can allow me to go back to the house to change, you seem to be in a hurry, and you are not in a hurry now?" ”

The sixteenth elder brother laughed twice and said, "Hurry! Urgent! Let's go, let's go to Songzhu Zhai first, I ordered a blue and white pen wash in the Yongle period there, and I happened to bring all the silver tickets to get it today. ”

Songzhu Zhai is the most famous south paper shop in Liuli Factory, and the calligraphy and painting paper and the four treasures of the study are the most exquisite and complete. Cao Hao wants to find an inkstone for Mr. Zhuang, and he is also thinking about this Songzhu Zhai.

Cao Hao came here for the first time a few years ago, and felt familiar when he saw the name of "Songzhu Zhai", and later learned that their owner's surname was Zhang, which opened fifty years ago, and he remembered the time-honored brand "Rong Bao Zhai" that he had heard of in his previous life, as if the previous name was Songzhu Zhai.

Before entering Songzhuzhai, I heard the noise of gossip from inside. Cao Hao and the sixteenth elder brother were a little surprised, and when they entered the shop, they saw several scholars chattering and chatting around the shopkeeper.

Cao Hao and the sixteenth elder brother listened to a few words, as if they had taken a fancy to something, but the money was not enough, so they pulled the shopkeeper's counteroffer. The shopkeeper had a bitter face, and only said that the thing already had an owner, and it was not good to sell it again. It's a bit messy.

Cao Hao is still looking at the inkstone on the shelf, Mr. Zhuang's old daughter Xiao Niuniu is three years old, and it is the time to be naughty.

This time, Mr. Zhuang should find a sturdy inkstone that can withstand Niuniu's fall. Stone, jade, purple sand, porcelain can't be wanted, Cao Hao looked at a piece of copper inkstone with a simple shape, and thought to himself, that's it, it's hard to say whether to absorb ink or not, and it is the key to be able to stand up to a child's fall.

The sixteenth elder brother became more and more impatient the more he listened, and waved his hand to call a young man, asking him to beckon the shopkeeper to come over.

The shopkeeper listened to the young man's words, looked up, saw the appearance of the guest, his face was like being amnestied, pointed to the sixteenth elder brother, and said to the scholars: "It was decided by the guest officer, and I really can't stand a few sons!" As he spoke, he hugged his fists at the scholars and came to the sixteenth elder brother.

When the sixteenth elder brother saw the shopkeeper coming, he asked Zhao Feng to take out the receipt of the shop here, and said, "What about the pen wash that the master said a few days ago?" I'm here to pick it up today! ”

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Waiting for you, Master Jin, the little one will be brought to you!" ”

The sixteenth elder brother nodded with a smile, and saw that Cao Hao was picking up the inkstone, and was about to go over 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, and when they saw this, they immediately stepped forward, protected in front of the sixteenth elder brother, and shouted to the scholars: "Stop, don't be rude!" ”

The scholars were startled and hurriedly took a few steps back.

Cao Hao noticed that the atmosphere in the shop was wrong, put down the inkstone in his hand, came to the sixteenth elder brother, and asked in a low voice the reason, but the sixteenth elder brother was also puzzled.

When those scholars saw that the sixteenth elder brother was dressed extraordinarily, although his face was gentle, but with majesty, and with such a fierce guard following, they thought it was the son of a powerful family of which family.

Everyone was anxious, and when they saw Cao Hao, who was wearing cloth clothes, coming over, and seeing that he and the sixteenth elder brother seemed to be friends, they all thought that they wanted to be left. If it is really the child of a wealthy family, with eyes on the top of his head, where will there be a friend in cloth?

Seeing that Cao Hao seemed to be easy to speak, a scholar stepped forward, with a little pride, and said to Cao Hao: "This son, we are the sons of the middle school examination in this department, and we are going to thank the master of the house tomorrow, and we are looking for a thank you gift." If you are not embarrassed, can you ask your friend to transfer that pen wash, so as to fulfill the heart of our respected teacher. ”

Although the scholars in front of him looked like they were all kind, and they were polite, Cao Hao was impatient when he heard it. Why take this for granted? Even if it's a newcomer, it's not easy to ignore it, it's so crooked.

He glanced at the sixteenth elder brother, and the sixteenth elder brother's face also showed impatience. It's just that since the other party is polite and thoughtful, Cao Hao also said politely: "We are looking for this thing to give a gift, and we have no intention of transferring it." ”

As he spoke, the shopkeeper had already taken the pear wood box and was about to wash and load the pen on the shelf. There was a scholar who didn't give up, and reached out to stop it, just touching the shopkeeper's arm.

The shopkeeper's hand shook, and the blue and white pen slipped to the ground, and immediately shattered, and the fragments were scattered all over the ground.

The shopkeeper was so distressed that tears were about to come out, so he squatted down and pinched a piece in his hand, and while standing up, he trembled his lips and said, "Nine hundred taels, this is nine hundred taels!" ”

The scholar also knew that he was in trouble, and he was so frightened that he retreated, but he was grabbed by the shopkeeper and grabbed his sleeve, and only listened to the shopkeeper's words: "This son, this is what the Jin master has set, the little one has already told you, and he has survived so endlessly, and now everything is broken, what do you think?" ”

The scholar came with his classmates, and the big guy pooled the money to buy a thank you gift, but everyone didn't add up to nine hundred taels. Seeing that there was a disaster at this time, he was also panicked in his heart, his eyes flashed, and he muttered: "It's the shopkeeper's mistake, how can you come to find me?" ”

But he didn't take responsibility for this, and even the few scholars who came with him felt panicked. One of them, who had just been silent with everyone, took a step forward and said to the shopkeeper: "Don't worry, the shopkeeper, since we have damaged it, Zhang Luo's silver money compensation is, and it will not be difficult for the shopkeeper!" ”

At first, the shopkeeper listened to the scholar in front of him and refused to admit it, but he was angry and angry, and when he heard that they were willing to admit it, his face was better.

He put down the scholar's clothes, walked to the sixteenth elder brother, looked guilty, and said: "I'm really sorry for Jin Gongzi, we will return the deposit twice immediately, if the son still wants to find a pen to wash, there is an ivory pen wash in the shop, which was originally sold for 1,500 taels, if the son can see it, the small shop is willing to give 900 taels of silver." ”

Although he almost shed tears for the blue and white pen wash that was only nine hundred taels, but at this moment, the price was unambiguously reduced by six hundred taels.

A few scholars next to him were not angry when they heard this, but they only thought that the shopkeeper was deliberately making things difficult; Cao Hao secretly appreciated it, complaining that he could operate for hundreds of years, pay attention to reputation, and not be greedy for small profits, which should be the key to the long-term operation of this shop.

The sixteenth elder brother was disappointed by these scholars, and his face was much darker, but listening to what the shopkeeper said, it was better, and nodded.

The shopkeeper was a little worried about the scholars, so he gave the two young men outside a look, and then quickly walked into the back room to get a pen.

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

These scholars were bored, and they were like thieves, and they were also annoyed, and they wanted to get angry, but they were stopped by the older man. A few people whispered, as if they were collecting money or something.

Seeing that the sixteenth elder brother was a little frustrated, Cao Hao asked, "But you have to give ...... The old man's birthday gift? ”

The sixteenth elder brother glared at the few scholars over there and nodded.

Cao Hao thought for a while, and said: "I remember that my family seems to have a similar blue and white pen wash, the gift I received a few years ago, it was useless, and I collected it directly, let's look for it in a while!" ”

When the sixteenth elder brother heard this, he waved his hand and said, "Sending this is just my heart, the emperor...... Where is the old man lacking this? Even if there is no blue and white one, the ivory one is the same, at most it will be scolded for two extravagances! ”

Cao Hao smiled: "It's not like this, even if it's a gift to make the elders happy, where can I find scolding?" I'm shelving over there, what's your politeness? Anyway, it was given by someone else, and I am too lazy to do learning, so I also want to use it as a courtesy, so you can use it! ”

While speaking, the shopkeeper had already come over with a sandalwood box and opened it in front of the sixteenth elder brother, and there was a brush wash of ivory carved landscape figures inside.

The sixteenth elder brother held it in his hand, looked at it carefully, and it was indeed extremely exquisite, and said to Cao Hao: "Do you look good?" ”

There are some brushes like porcelain and jade at home, and this ivory Cao Hao is still the first time to see it, nodded and praised: "It's a good thing, it seems to be worth 1,500 taels of silver." ”

The sixteenth elder brother smiled when he heard this, and said, "If you like it, it's fine!" You're right, since you give gifts to celebrate your birthday, you don't have to be reprimanded. Since you don't have anything at home, then I won't be polite to you, but it's not good to take advantage of you in vain, so I'll exchange this ivory for it. It's just a gift for gifts, and this one is more decent. ”

Cao Hao knew that the surname of the sixteenth elder brother had the arrogance of heaven in his bones, and he was not a person who liked to take advantage, so he responded with a smile: "That dare is good, it is two cheap!" ”

The sixteenth elder brother asked Zhao Feng to settle the rest of the silver money, and gave the shopkeeper ten taels of silver as a reward.

The shopkeeper thanked him busily, washed and packed the pen, and handed it to the entourage of the sixteenth elder brother.

The scholars collected all the money on their bodies, but they couldn't make up the eight hundred taels. Everyone was in a hurry, and one of them had sharp eyes, and when he saw a person passing by the door, he hurriedly called loudly: "Brother Jue, stay!" ”

I saw the master and servant coming in at the door, and they were the two people Cao Hao had just met in the ready-to-wear shop.

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

The scholars pointed to the fragments on the ground, whispered the reason, and finally had to borrow money.

Cao Hao really didn't have a good impression of these scholars in the house, he didn't bother to pay attention to their ugliness, he just felt that it was cheap for them, and he just brought over a rich master. He turned around, pointed to the copper inkstone, and asked the shopkeeper for a quote.

Although it is made of copper, it is not a good inkstone, but it is an antiquity of the Jin Dynasty, and the price is not cheap, and the shopkeeper offers eight hundred taels.

Cao Hao estimated it and directly returned four hundred taels.

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

Even the sixteenth elder brother was stunned, couldn't help laughing, and said to Cao Hao: "Have you ever bought anything?" Where is such bargaining? ”

Xiao Man also tugged at the sleeves of Cao Hao's clothes, and said in a low voice: "Uncle, this is not how the bargaining is said, one percent, two percent, it's nothing, if it is returned to fifty percent, and the merchants are still selling, then their prices are inflated, aren't they annihilation merchants?" ”

Cao Hao made a mistake, smiled a little embarrassedly, and told Xiaoman to take the silver ticket to the shopkeeper.

In the past, he rarely bought things in person, and even if he had a few occasional encounters, most of them were with Chu Yu. Every time, Chu Yu was happy to bargain, he just smiled next to him. When they buy things alone, because they are not valuable objects, they are all small and they pay the money directly, and there is no time to bargain. finally bought an antique inkstone, and he made a joke about the bargain.

A few scholars over there had already muttered and discussed, as if the remaining hundreds of taels of silver were all wrapped up by the young man in brocade clothes later. But the money on their lords and servants was not enough, as if there was still a hundred or ten taels.

The young man in brocade clothes was also very simple, immediately took off his new shirt, took off the gold ring from his hand, untied the jade pendant from his waist, and handed it to his little servant, saying: "Find a pawnshop!" ”

Several scholars were so ashamed that they couldn't do it, and they all spoke up to block each other, but they said that they were looking for another way, and there was no need for this.

The young man in brocade pointed to the fragments on the ground, and said: "A few people who have no deep friendship with me Li Wei, I did this, not just to ask a few people to inherit Li Wei's love, but there are rules in this trading house, if this money is not replenished, I am afraid that the job of this shopkeeper will not be saved!" As he spoke, he took the burden from his arms, turned over his old clothes, and put them on casually.

Hearing the word "Li Wei", Cao Hao's eyes lit up, and he immediately turned around and looked at the past in a daze. No matter how you look at it, it's all a gentleman, where is the shadow of a little flower? Is it the model governor of the Yongzheng Dynasty "Li Wei", or is it just the same name and surname?

Li Wei also noticed that someone was staring at him, and looked up, but it was the son he had seen in the ready-to-wear store, so he nodded in greeting.

Regardless of whether he is the governor Li Wei or not, his words and deeds are very much to Cao Hao's appetite. Although he seems to be a prodigal, he thinks that the livelihood of this shopkeeper is much stronger than those scholars.

Thinking like this, Cao Hao said to the shopkeeper: "I will increase the price of this inkstone by another hundred taels, and the shopkeeper will be accommodating, and the pen wash over there will allow them to lose a hundred taels less, how about it?" ”

The shopkeeper also listened to Li Wei's words, and saw that he was not like a deep friend with a few scholars, but he took out all the money around him, not to mention, and went to pawn clothes, just for fear that his job would not be guaranteed, and he was very grateful; I want to open my mouth to dissuade him, but I am afraid that the account is uneven, and I can't explain it in front of the owner, which is very embarrassing.

After listening to Cao Hao's words, the shopkeeper thanked him for his busy work: "This feeling is good, thank you for your kindness, thank you very much!" ”

When several scholars heard this, they also gathered around to thank them. The sixteenth elder brother looked impatient, urging Xiao Man to immediately settle the money and come out.

After getting out of the shop, the sixteenth elder brother nodded and said, "Although those scholars are not things, this Li Wei is a character!" Speaking of this, thinking of Cao Hao's bargaining situation, he couldn't hold it back anymore, laughed out loud, patted Cao Hao's shoulder and said, "I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect it!" I know you, just to see that you are stable and everything is in your chest, it turns out that you are just pretending to be a little adult, and there are still things you don't know! ”

Cao Hao also smiled and said, "If I know everything, haven't I become a living immortal?" I have always only said that 'people's hearts are not ancient', but now I understand that 'faith is priceless', and the merchants at this time are indeed worthy of respect. ”

The sixteenth elder brother disagreed, and said: "Shinong industry and commerce, Shinong industry and commerce, businessmen and the like, although they are not contemptible, but there is nothing worthy of respect, this is not appropriate." Although you are easy-going, after all, you are an official, and when dealing with people, you still need to bring out some shelves, otherwise you will be targeted by the imperial history, and a 'frivolous' hat will be buttoned down, and you will be troubled. ”

Although this view of the sixteenth elder brother is limited, it is the result of thousands of years of feudal society emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business. Cao Hao also knew that he was doing it for his own good, so he responded with a smile.

Songzhu Zhai is not far away, there is a jewelry shop, and the sixteenth elder brother pulled Cao Hao here again. It is also a previously booked East pair.

The sixteenth elder brother instructed Zhao Feng to pack the brocade box of the red gold dotted emerald bracelet, and the one containing the white jade yuan bracelet himself, and said to Cao Hao with a smile: "This is my filial piety to my aunt!" A few days ago, I knew that my aunt was going to enter Beijing, and I just happened to choose a birthday gift for the old man, so I also thought about picking some for my aunt and aunt. Although the things in the palace are fine, they all have the words 'made inside', and they have to be archived or something, which is troublesome, and it is not as good as the trouble outside. It's just that I can't find a good one for a while, so I can only use this as filial piety! ”

Cao Hao said: "It's just a heart, even if you don't have this thing, can your mother stay away from you?" ”

The sixteenth elder brother smiled: "That's right, let's go, let's go to your house!" Although I had seen it in Jiangning earlier, there were many people with big rules, and they were in a hurry, and it was difficult to even recognize a relative! ”

(To be continued)