At about two o'clock in the afternoon, there were not many guests left in the teahouse, and the little teapot finally mustered up the courage to go to the shopkeeper Deng to ask for leave and advance his salary.

What made the little teapot grateful was that the stern-looking and kind-hearted shopkeeper Deng not only promised him to take half a day off, but also paid him a month's salary and a half in advance, deducted the money he had advanced several times, and finally fell into the hands of the little teapot with five yuan and five corners.

After the shopkeeper Deng gave the money, he told the little teapot bitterly: "I have discussed with your sister, you will move in from tonight, and your monthly salary will be a lot of yours, and you will be given 500 wen per month for the night vigil." The most important thing is that you have to remember your surname for a long time, and in the future, you have to please your mother-in-law, you can't spend money indiscriminately, be a good person, and honor your sister well. ”

With a small teapot with silver quill, I wanted to go to Sister Yi immediately, but when I saw the hemp pole squatting outside the door for a long time, the little teapot had to give up.

The two quickly rushed to the downtown area, filled their stomachs indiscriminately, and then turned into the gouache street, picked and picked, bargained for a long time, and finally bought back a semi-new and old carved jewelry box, walked out of the store, the hemp pole in his hand, distressed, a small wooden box the size of a palm, spent the four corners of the small teapot silverquill, and was worthy of sixty or seventy bowls of fragrant red oil noodles.

The two went all the way north, turned into Huaxing Street, passed through Chunyangguan, and passed by several shops selling used clothes, and the small teapots did not stop, but stopped in front of the shaving shop at the north entrance of Chunyangguan.

The little teapot pulled the puzzled hemp rod inside, forcibly pressed the hemp rod on a chair, and sat on the chair next to him and shouted loudly, looking very much like an uncle who has money and nowhere to spend: "Shave your head!" Hot towels should be smeared with pancreas, and fine osmanthus oil should be used when combing is done, and if my brothers are satisfied, I will pay you double the wages. ”

The two head shaving masters immediately threw down the cards, responded loudly, greeted a few words of courtesy, and immediately began to work hard to curry, skillfully and considerately shaved off the short hair on the heads of the two masters, and then covered the faces of the two masters with fragrant hot towels.

After trimming, the small teapot approached the palm-sized mirror on the wall in front of him, took a look at his own honor, took out thirty copper plates and threw them on the shelf with satisfaction, and turned to the hemp rod with a shiny and new face: "Wow! Second child, you used to be quite handsome, and you have more potential than the martial arts on the stage! ”

Ma Zhu rubbed his neck embarrassedly: "Little brother, what are you doing?" Why do you shave your head if you don't do business? You can shave your head for five pennies on the street, why do you come here to spend a few times the unjust money? ”

The little teapot pulled the hemp rod out of the shop and walked towards the back street to the west, explaining in a low voice as he walked: "You think I want to spend money?" But if it's like a flower child, a foreigner's shop can let you and me in? It's not that you don't know, most people are fucking snobs, only looking at clothes and not people, in order to sell jade pendants smoothly, and try to sell them at a good price, we have to pretend to be uncles, otherwise who can afford you? Who believes that our jade pendants are antiques that have been passed down from generation to generation? ”

"That's the same, just now in the 'Sheng Longsheng' jewelry store on Gouache Street, we were not less looked at by the guys, we just stood at the counter selling bracelets and jade for a while, and we were blasted out by those snobbish guys...... But, little brother, you and I don't know if this jade pendant is worth anything! ”

Ma Zhu quickly woke up, the cruel living environment and more than ten years of struggle at the bottom made him unconsciously develop a good habit of being diligent and agile in thinking, so he could draw inferences from one another.

Whether the jade pendant is worth anything or not, whether it is a valuable treasure, the little teapot has no bottom in his heart, so he can only answer with a wry smile: "I don't know, I can only try my luck, just now we have seen it in the 'Sheng Longsheng' and several antique shops next to it, I haven't seen this style of jade pendant, and I feel that this jade pendant looks very comfortable, it should be able to sell more than five oceans." ”

"If I can exchange it for three oceans, I will burn high incense." The hemp stick is obviously not as confident as the small teapot.

The two came to the store that specializes in high-end second-hand clothes, shoes and hats in Buhou Street, and did not see a few customers when they entered the door, and the shopkeeper frowned and looked at the two of them in the small teapot, and only lazily asked what to buy for a while.

The little teapot didn't answer, and walked slowly along the wooden counter, and finally took out a handful of one-cornered and five-cornered silverquill and played with it, returned to the middle, and pointed to the two robes hanging against the wall in the counter: "How much are those two dark flower robes?" ”

The shopkeeper immediately came to his senses, squeezed out a smile on his face, and replied carefully: "Big brother, you have vision!" These two thick robes are the best in our store, you look at the style, the workmanship, and the row of copper mandarin duck buckles, are only available in large households, although a little old, but the color is still very bright, enough to be new! Especially the navy blue ...... on the left."

"Big brother, stop! Let's just talk about how much it is, you also see the two of us looking shabby, you just praise those two old robes like dragon robes, and you have to think about whether we can afford it! Ma Pole loudly interrupted the man's teasing, and the man's smile condensed and he was depressed.

The shopkeeper had no choice but to say the price: "The navy blue one is three, and the indigo one on the side is two, no bargaining!" ”

The little teapot smiled and pointed to the shoe rack in front of the left: "Plus two pairs of half-new and old thick-soled cloth shoes, I won't bargain with you anymore." ”

The shopkeeper's forehead was suddenly full of wrinkles, and he casually refused without thinking about it. The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment and hurriedly chased after him, so he turned around and ran in to ask the proprietress to ask the proprietress to come out and quickly come out to make a miserable appearance of being cut meat, take off two robes and hand them to the small teapot, look at the feet of the two people wearing broken shoes in the small teapot, and then get two pairs of almost the most inferior thick-soled cloth shoes from the shoe rack.

The small teapot was already thinly dressed, and the surname Suo directly put on the navy blue dark flower robe, buttoned the collar, right placket and waist of the seven copper-wrapped mandarin duck buttons, stretched out his hands, trembled with square steps, and turned to the hemp pole with great satisfaction.

A quarter of an hour later, the swaggering teapot and the sorrowful hemp pole walked out of the shop, stopped at the entrance of Longxing Street, re-examined the warm and simple jade pendant in the jewelry box, and then arranged the placket and hem and discussed in a low voice, and then walked to the watch and jewelry store opposite the British Consulate.

The little teapot held his head high, walked along, and looked like a rich boy at a glance, in contrast, the hemp pole temperament that was flustered and looked around was much worse, and the two local men standing at the door of the clock shop saw the small teapot with a bare neck and a full of aroma The two people came in, and then nodded very politely in greeting, and the little teapot just hummed twice in return, and swaggered into the door.

The foreigner's trading house is really extraordinary, hanging a huge wooden painted relief on the front wall, the pattern is a beautiful Western-style building, below is a row of English letters, only remember a few hundred English words of the small teapot to ponder carefully, in addition to "London, England", "company" to understand, the rest can only rely on guessing, but also let him spell out the name of the company "Rodriguez".

Hearing the small teapot read the English pronunciation of "Rodriguez Company", the two foreigners who were drinking afternoon tea in the semi-open living room on the left stopped talking, looked at the small teapot with their hands behind their backs and dragged their long braids to watch the clock, and saw the small teapot and the two people standing in front of the glass counter displaying gold and silver handicrafts and did not leave, the older middle-aged man among the two foreigners smiled slightly, nodded apologetically to his companion, stood up and buttoned his suit, and walked to the small teapot.

"Hello! My dear friend, welcome to you, I wonder what I can do for you? The middle-aged foreigner politely bowed slightly, and his ruddy face was full of kind smiles.

The little teapot took a half step forward and smiled: "Sir, your Chinese language is so good, you must be a Chinese expert." ”

The foreigner laughed, and his upturned beautiful beard trembled: "Thank you for the compliment, as you said, I have been in China for six years, first in Shanghai, then in Tianjin, and finally in Chengdu, an ancient and beautiful city. Allan. Rodriguez, my Chinese name is Roberting, is the owner of this firm. ”

The little teapot was stunned for a moment, and bowed again: "Roberting...... What a name! My surname is Xiao, Chopard's Xiao, haha! Living in the lotus alley behind the general's mansion in the west of the city, I am very happy to meet you today, we are far away from the sea in Chengdu, you come from thousands of miles away, it is amazing. ”

"Haha! You are very interesting, my friend, according to my observations, you are one of the few enlightened gentlemen who can speak the Chinese language of our British Empire, which is rare in ancient places far from the ocean and deep inland, and I would love to make friends like you, and if you mind, I will treat you to a cup of coffee, how about it? "Roberting is in a good mood.

"Thank you! Coffee is free, I'm here today, just ...... It's just ......" the little teapot made an embarrassed look.

How shrewd Luo Baiting was, seeing this, he smiled heartily: "Dear friend, is there anything you need me to serve?" ”

The little teapot hesitated, looked around, and explained in a low voice, "Sir, that's the case, I'm ...... My family comes from outside the northern border, belongs to the Zhenglan Banner, and has been in Chengdu for three generations, because ...... Because of the change in family circumstances, I was unable to inherit the title in my generation, so I ...... I wanted to go back to Yanjing and ask my people for help, but I didn't...... You know, so, I want to sell a craft that my ancestors have passed down, uh...... It's a jade pendant, I don't know ...... you here."

Luo Baiting's eyes lit up, and then his face was as usual, and he smiled and said, "My friend, you don't need to feel sad, but I want to know, how did you come to me?" Aren't there a lot of shops dealing in handicrafts in Chengdu? I only sell clocks and gold and silver handicrafts here! ”

The little teapot was very disappointed, and then said apologetically: "In this case, I won't bother Mr., I'll go somewhere else to find a way, thank you!" ”

"Please stay, my friend, I'm glad to know you, I'm willing to help my friend but, I don't know what kind of thing you are talking about jade pendant." Luo Baiting stepped forward and said expectantly.

The little teapot turned around, and seemed to have a hard time making up his mind, and after thinking about it for a long time, he turned to the hemp rod, asked for the jewelry box in his arms, came to Luo Baiting, and opened it carefully:

"Just this jade pendant, my mother left it to me before she died, saying that two hundred years ago, my mother's grandfather made military merits, was summoned by Emperor Kangxi, and gave this phoenix jade pendant, saying that it was in the palace of the Han Dynasty more than a thousand years ago, but I don't know anything about it, if it weren't for the compulsion of life, I really wouldn't ......"

Luo Baiting had already stretched out his hands, took the wooden box, opened his eyes and observed carefully, and asked the two of them to sit down in the living room first, and ordered the people to serve coffee, find a magnifying glass, and check carefully.

The blond, blue-eyed, tall man next to Luo Baiting leaned over with great interest, the two looked at it for a moment, and talked in a low voice, Luo Baiting then went to the back hall, and only came out after ten minutes, and then discussed with the young foreigner in a low voice.

Poor little teapot, where can he understand the conversation between the two foreigners who speak quickly, so he had to look at the nervous hemp pole, signaling him to rest assured, pick up the coffee on the table, and taste it slowly, but the afterglow of his eyes locked tightly on Luo Baiting and the two, grasping their every subtle reaction and every expression, and carefully pondering and analyzing.

After a few more minutes passed, Luo Baiting carefully put the jade pendant into the jewelry box, raised his head and smiled: "My friend, judging by my knowledge, this jade pendant does have some history, but the quality and the pattern on it are very ordinary, I don't know if you have found an appraiser to identify it?" ”

Now the little teapot has a bottom in his heart, but his face is full of helplessness: "I have found it, and there is more than one, including the newly retired master of the 'Sheng Longsheng' jewelry store, but the price they gave is too low." ”

"Oh? Can you tell me what the price they are giving? Luo Baiting leaned on the sofa with a smile, looking polite and calm, but those eager eyes drifted to the uncovered jade pendant on the low table from time to time.

The little teapot shook his head solemnly: "Alas! They are not very easy to talk, the most they give is 500 silver dollars, and the less they give is only 300, and the gap between them and my hope is too big, think about it, what can you do with 500 silver dollars? It will cost more than 20 yuan to take a boat from Chengdu to Yucheng, and I will go to Yanjing, more than 5,000 miles of mountains and rivers, and it will take more than a month! ”

Ma Pole was so frightened that he was excited, and he never dreamed that the little teapot would dare to tell such a crazy lie, but fortunately, the little teapot had repeatedly explained before, and the hemp pole realized that he was out of shape, and quickly coughed to cover up the past.

Luo Baiting looked at the young foreigner beside him for a moment, turned to the small teapot, and smiled kindly: "My friend, you don't have to be angry, I think the price given by those experts is already very good, although this jade pendant has some history and the pattern is relatively unique, but I'm afraid its value is really not very high, I don't know what the expected price is in your heart?" ”

"When my parents handed me this jade pendant before their deaths, they said that this is the queen of the Han Dynasty, worth a thousand gold, let me collect it well, and pass it on from generation to generation, if it is not for the embarrassment of life, I really don't want to sell, I just want to redeem it after mortgaging, but no one wants to let me mortgage it for more than two years, I have no choice but to sell it, but even if it is sold, how can it not be less than two thousand silver dollars!" The little teapot said with some excitement.

Luo Baiting waved his hand again and again: "No, no! My friend, I guess you are wrong, although this jade pendant is rare, but it is indeed not worth two thousand silver dollars, your expectations are too high. ”

The little teapot froze, lowered his head and thought about it for a long time, then made a disappointed look, shook his head, put away the jade pendant, handed it to the hemp pole, stood up and thanked Luo Baiting politely: "Thank you, sir, for your hospitality, I ...... Don't bother, thank you! ”

The little teapot bowed, sighed, and slowly left. Ma Pole didn't expect the result to be like this, but he didn't know what the little teapot thought, so he had to follow closely behind.

In fact, the little teapot is not sure at all, and he has been gambling since he stepped into the threshold of this foreign company!

What he gambled on was that the fleeting greed he saw in Luo Baiting's eyes was real, that the foreigners' eager possessiveness of ancient Chinese cultural relics was real, and that he was betting on his own intuition and luck.

"Please wait—"

Luo Baiting's voice finally sounded, and the small teapot stepped over the threshold and froze, the sound was like a heavenly sound, and his heart suddenly contracted.

The little teapot slowly withdrew his foot, and when he turned around, Luo Baiting had already come to him, and his red face was full of sincere smiles: "My friend, I really hope to help you, I have a suggestion, if you agree, I am willing to pay eight hundred silver dollars to buy your jade pendant." ”

The little teapot frowned hesitantly: "That's it...... No, sir, eight hundred silver dollars is too little, really too little, and the minimum cannot be less than fifteen hundred! ”

"No, no! My friend, I can honestly tell you that except for me, I am afraid that no one in the whole of Chengdu is willing to pay this high price for this jade pendant, and considering our friendship, I can only add another two hundred, one thousand silver dollars, and no more. Luo Baiting's face was calm, but his voice was raised and his speech speed increased, obviously he cared about this rare jade pendant in his heart.

The little teapot struggled a lot, and finally turned pitifully to the hemp pole, as if asking for advice.

Ma Pole was already frightened by the sky-high price shouted by the small teapot, and he didn't know what to do, so he hurriedly lowered his head and closed his eyes, but Ma Pole's behavior fell in the eyes of the two foreigners, and it became a painful performance when he had to sell treasures at a low price.

The little teapot took a deep breath, spit it out slowly, and finally said helplessly: "That's it, sir, can you add another two hundred, one thousand is too low!" ”

Luo Baiting was a little crazy, but he didn't want to give up this rare and precious jade, so he had to grit his teeth and nod, making a generous appearance of cutting meat: "Okay, you moved me, my friend, I can only add another hundred yuan, I can't add more, this is the highest price I can afford." ”

When the two of them walked out of the foreign bank under the shocked gaze of the two local men guarding the door, a heavy cloth bag containing 1,100 silver dollars pressed on the shoulders of the hemp pole that trembled with excitement, only to see that the hemp pole was short of breath, his steps were disordered, as if he was walking on the clouds, his lips trembled vigorously, and he couldn't say a word.

The little teapot did not have a sense of joy and luck in his heart, but a tingling pain, and his mood gradually became heavy. Although he doesn't understand jade pendants and antiques, he is sure that he has suffered a loss, and he is forced to sell it by all means, maybe it is a national treasure-level cultural relics that cannot be exchanged, and maybe he has become a historical sinner.

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