Open in the city of Bazhou five decoction (pawnshop, Song Dynasty called decorating), is an important source of wealth for the Ding family, Ding Hao now has the inspection of the five decorating, but every time he enters the city, most of them are buying things for Ding's house, when he goes to the decorating, most of them are just a walk around the scene, and the big shopkeeper, the second shopkeeper drink tea and chat, sometimes idle and bored, he also disregards his identity, and runs to watch them play with the shop guys.

Guan pu was a form of gambling during the Song Dynasty, similar to the modern dice rolling. It's just that they use copper coins, rolling dice is to see how many points, throwing copper coins is to see how many words and backs, if the money thrown down is the back, it is called "pure", if it is all back, it is called "pure", which is equivalent to the "leopard" in the dice rolling, all killed.

Ding Hao has been messing with them for a few days, and with his flexible brain, he actually figured out some ways, and occasionally played with those shop guys, but he lost less and won more. If Ding Hao loses, he should invite everyone to tea, and if he wins, he will scatter the money back, because the guys are very affectionate to him.

On the surface, Ding Hao's inspection of the library is just a day of monk hitting the clock, but Ding Hao is a very serious monk, Ding Tingxun immediately appointed him a library (pawnshop) inspection messenger, he will try his best to do this messenger well, no matter what the old fox's intentions, he thinks that he should have a clear conscience. These days, Taoguang is obscure, and he just wants to grasp some of the rules and insiders of the pawnbroking industry as soon as possible in this way.

Now, he's finally ready to do it. He's going to the pig's head depot today. The solution is a pawnshop, but the pig's head is not to ridicule the guests who come in to pawn, but because this solution is opened in the pig's head alley. The name of the pig's head alley is said to be because there was a seller of pig's head meat at the mouth of this alley, and now the vendor who sells pig's head meat has long been gone, and the original deli of the broken thatched house has also been replaced by a bright and dignified courtyard, which is the Ding family's unkudo, but this alley is still called the pig's head alley.

The street in front of the pig's head alley is now the most prosperous downtown area in Bazhou City, and it is a very lively place. However, among the five depots of the Ding family, the profit of the pig's head depot is only slightly higher than that of the one in the slum area of Beicheng, and far lower than the other three. Ding Hao felt that if it weren't for the flaws in operation, then there would inevitably be more serious problems in this depot.

The pig's head solution library is built very magnificently, the courtyard is a green tile and white wall, and there are three in and three out of the big tile house. There are two welcome willows in front of the door, and the wicker has just spit out a little tender yellow. The vermilion gate is painted to be able to illuminate people, there are two yellow and clear door rings on the door, the steps are made of granite, the left side of the door is a pole to hang a lantern, the right side of the door is a horse tether post, the signboard on the lintel is written with four big characters of "pig's head unwarehousing", and then the top is made of green bricks, plastered with white plaster, and the pattern of "bat rat hanging money" painted in color.

One basket of poor and two baskets of rich, three baskets and four baskets of pawnshops, pawnshops have been quite profitable industries since ancient times, and this façade is naturally built with extraordinary style. Ding Hao and Zhen Zhu'er were familiar with the road, and when they arrived at the place, they walked in, and when they crossed the threshold that was almost knee-high, they saw a white-haired old woman bending over and slowly sweeping the yard.

Ding Hao smiled when he saw her: "Granny Liu is so diligent, the ground is already so clean, do you still need to sprinkle and sweep?" ”

The old woman looked up and saw that it was him, and a smile suddenly appeared on her face: "It turned out to be Brother Hao, hehe, you haven't been here for two days." ”

The woman was about sixty years old, wearing a skirt and a jacket, and her spirit was still shining. Ding Hao greeted her with a smile, and saw that there was a rattan basket in the yard, which was full of remnants of soil and debris, and the old woman was about to lift it up, so she stepped forward to help her and helped her lift the basket behind the gate, and then nodded politely to her and walked towards the solution.

Ding Hao, the steward, has no shelf, he is as polite as these sprinkling and sweeping handymen, and he is especially considerate to the elderly, these old people treat him as their own nephew, and they don't even call Ding Steward, only call him Brother Hao, although he is a little less respectful, but very kind.

The pawn shop was quiet, the light was dim, the high counter, the fence that went straight to the roof, Ding Hao walked to the small window, tilted his head and knocked lightly on the window panel, and a person in the counter slowly poked his head out. It was a fellow, and when he saw Ding Hao, he exclaimed in surprise: "Ouch, Steward Ding, you are here, you wait, the little one will open the door." ”

The guy hurriedly ran to the door, opened the side door and said with a smile: "Steward Ding, Brother Xue, please come in." ”

"Hehe, is Steward Ding here?" Hearing the sound inside, a person came out, in his early fifties, thin and shrewd, dressed in a green robe, with a straight pulp and neatly combed hair.

Ding Hao hurriedly smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Xu." ”

The official rank of the Song Dynasty has the position of the court's Fenglang and the court's doctor, and the people also mostly call the court's honorific scholars, so the pawnshop master at this time is not called the court, but is generally called the shopkeeper and the manager. The shopkeeper Xu is called Xu Muchen, an old shopkeeper in the Ding family, who has been taking care of this pawnshop for the Ding family.

Ding Hao gave a salute, and the unsmiling face of the shopkeeper Xu moved slightly, nodded politely, and said, "Steward Ding, how can you have time to come here today?" Sit down, come on, don't hurry up and serve tea. ”

"Hehe, you don't have to be polite, Ding Mou is coming to the bottom of the warehouse today, and he has to buy some things in a while, so he can't stay for a long time."

The shopkeeper Xu's hand paused slightly, the essence in the old eyes flashed, the tip of his eyebrows was slightly raised, and then he smiled slightly: "Oh? Does Steward Ding want to take stock today? ”

Ding Hao observed his every move, and said with a faint smile: "Yes, I have been on this patrol for some days, if I don't check once, it is not easy for the owner to ask, the old shopkeeper, do you say this is the reason?" ”

Xu Muchen laughed, nodded again and again, and said, "What Steward Ding said is, Zhizhou, you accompany Steward Ding...... Let's go to our storeroom, the old decay is guarding the front store. ”

The second shopkeeper is called Wang Zhizhou, who is in his thirties and a very shrewd and capable person. Since Ding Hao entered the door, he was standing at the door leading to the inner hall, and when he heard the order of the big shopkeeper, he nodded hurriedly: "Steward Ding, please ...... here."

The storehouse of this unwarehousing is not small, a row of five houses, classified to put the things pawned by the people, and each room is arranged left and right according to the dead and alive, and the live pawn items that have not been redeemed with pawn tickets after the redemption period are replaced with dead pawn labels and put on the other side.

It can be seen that the two old stewards of the Ding family are good at pawns, and judging from the account books, many pawns can be accepted at a very low price, and once they are sold, they are extremely profitable. Ding Hao carefully counted the inventory one by one according to the account book, and Steward Wang looked at him with a strange look on the side: "Strange, isn't this Ding Hao unreadable, how can he read the account book by himself?" Could it be ...... That rumor is true, this person has really been enlightened by the fox fairy? ”

Ding Haohun didn't pay attention to the strange eyes of Steward Wang, he grew up in an orphanage, and there were not many cultural and recreational activities, so he read books when he had leisure, and read a lot of idle books, including a lot of traditional Chinese characters, and he could understand its simplified meaning after reading many words for a long time, but he didn't learn it word by word, let him know which word it was when he read it, and if he was asked to write, it would be difficult to write words with a lack of pen and drawing.

Ding Hao checked it carefully for a long time, frowned and turned to Wang Zhizhou: "Steward Wang, this account is ...... Something seems wrong, right? ”

Steward Wang was stunned for a moment: "Huh? What's wrong? ”

"Steward Wang, you see, this pair of copper bottles for the golden carp playing in the water, as well as these three sets of single clothes, are all living things, and they haven't expired yet, why did they transfer to the things for sale?"

Steward Wang laughed dryly and said: "Oh, I thought what was the matter, Steward Ding, you don't know something, our shop has been in business for many years, and the people who often come to pawn are from a family, we know in our hearts." Although some people are pawns, they don't have the money to redeem things again, so they ...... Send and sell in advance, and the funds can be returned early. Hehe, last winter, Guangyuan transported grain, and the owner was greatly injured, so we people have to be careful in our affairs, don't we? ”

Ding Hao thought about it, shook his head and said, "Steward Wang, Ding is indeed not very proficient in the pawn industry, but ...... The price of this life is lower than that of death, I still know it. They know that they can't have the money to redeem it when it expires, so how can they choose to live? ”

Steward Wang was a little impatient, and said with a smile: "Steward Ding, you are young at all, I don't know that some people are not self-aware, they always feel that they have some ability, and there will be a way to solve the problem when the time comes, and the result will of course be even worse." Hehehe, if it weren't for the fact that these people don't know the depths, how could we make so much money by opening the library? The people who pawned the clothes and the brass jar were all people in the vicinity, and we know their roots. ”

Ding Hao listened to him, as if he was talking about a pawnbroker, but he always seemed to be stabbing himself in and out of his words, but he didn't think he was angry, and only smiled faintly: "Perhaps, according to the king's management, the things can be sold as soon as possible, and the funds can be returned as soon as possible, but ...... Once people really have money and want to redeem the original, what will they do? Buy an equivalent item for compensation? I don't think there will be a double compensation. If this is miscalculated, I am afraid that the benefits of early sales will not be worth the money and goods compensated. Besides, it also ruins the credibility of our library, doesn't it? ”

Steward Wang stopped smiling, and said coldly: "Steward Ding, this is an accusation that he won't do things?" ”

Ding Hao raised his eyebrows, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "How dare you, I just talk about things in the future, isn't it right?" ”

Hearing the high-pitched voice inside, Chief Steward Xu in the outer hall hurriedly walked in and asked hurriedly, "What happened?" ”

"The chief steward, let's do our best for the Ding family, this is good, but the Ding steward is not alone, you see, this pair of copper bottles, as well as the three sets of single clothes, are the so-called work that will definitely not be redeemed, I said to sell it in advance, the chief steward you also agreed, but now the Ding steward does not agree very much."

"Oh, it turns out that for this, hehe, Ding Steward, you have never done a pawn, you don't know the activity in it, according to the rules, it is true that the living things cannot be sold before they expire, but these things, they are unable to redeem them, the old man has been doing this business for forty years, and this thing has not been able to be accurate? You see if it's ......"

"I'm sorry, shopkeeper Xu, maybe you're right. But what am I doing as a patrol? It's these unruly things that are checked. If I were in your old position, maybe I would have done the same, but I would not have been in his position, and I would not have been in his own position. If you are in your place, you must do your duty. Shopkeeper Xu, please understand my difficulties. ”

Xu Muchen's face also slowly sank. Ding Hao pointed to the account book and said: "One day is not due, one day is not allowed to sell, this is the rule written on the white paper and black letters, this library has been open for ten years, if you want to open it for another ten years, even fifty years, a hundred years, then this rule must not be violated." Not to mention anything else, if someone knows that the solution to the library disposes of the living things in advance and uses this loophole to blackmail, isn't it a loss? ”

Shopkeeper Xu said with a calm face: "What does Yiding mean to be in charge?" ”

Ding Hao smiled like a shy girl, but her voice was unquestionable: "It's not according to my will, but according to the rules, if it doesn't expire, one piece must not be sold!" ”;