There is a street called Qingfang Street in the northwest corner of the capital, although there is no place that is not prosperous throughout the capital, but this is an exception. Actually, it is not accurate to say that it is the exception, it is indeed inaccessible during the day, and the shops on both sides of the street seem to be empty. But one night, when the other streets began to be empty, it quietly rose up its unique prosperity.

This is a famous gambling house street in Beijing, the streets are lined with large and small gambling houses, although gambling houses are not uncommon in the capital, and not all of them are open at night, but the gambling houses here all choose night activities without exception. When the boiling day of the capital begins to rest, the gamblers come here in twos and threes, either indulging themselves for entertainment or pressing the whole family to turn over.

Although there have been very few people who have made a fortune by gambling over the years, it is not uncommon for them to go bankrupt because of gambling. But there is no way, some people who like to work hard are always lucky, hoping to make a lot of money by relying on their own thin fields!

At the end of this Qingfang Street, there is a shop with a very interesting name, the name is 旮旯, although it is also in this Qingfang Street, but it does not make a living as a gambling house, here is a pawnshop! Complementing this street, this pawnshop is also open at night and closed during the day.

There are not many people in the capital who know about this pawnshop, but not many people actually come here to do things. It's not that the business hours here are contrary to everyone's, it's just that the things that can enter this pawnshop are really not ordinary. Not only is there no market for ordinary people's broken copper and iron, bedding, clothes, robes and short coats, etc., but if you don't understand the market and come here with these things, the guys here will drive you out.

If you want to say anything that can enter the threshold of a pawnshop, it must at least be real money, jade and jade and other treasures. Some people may be puzzled, these are all these valuable objects, is this owner still worth being a thing? The answer, of course, is yes, not only yes, but also in a very objective manner. Therefore, even though the business hours of the day in the Hutong are not very long, that is, the doors open in the evening and close at midnight, but after so many years, the pawnshop shopkeeper still earns a life of fine clothes and food.

Recently, the pawnshop ushered in a woman with a very raw face, although she was dressed in coarse cloth clothes, judging from her behavior and temperament, this woman was by no means an ordinary peasant woman, even the wife of an ordinary large family rarely had her kind of cultivation. Although the visitors were all guests, the fiery eyes of the pawnshop men were not only concerned about the things brought by the guests, but even the owners who took them could see a thing or two.

Since the woman first kicked the door and took out a pair of jade earrings for a satisfactory price, the woman would come with some jewelry every once in a while. There are jade hairpins, rings with precious stones, bracelets with gold, in short, the things brought are more and more valuable each time, and the number of times is increasing. Naturally, it doesn't matter who she is, as long as the thing she brings is really a treasure, then take it all.

Of course, the woman could not escape the shopkeeper of the pawnshop.

The shopkeeper's surname was Zhang, and when the guys showed the things to the shopkeeper, he could see at a glance the difference between this seemingly ordinary gold jewelry. He told his subordinates, and quietly informed him when this woman came. Fortunately, the shopkeeper did not wait too long, and within two days, the woman knocked on the door again, this time with an ornament. Antique, hollow design sandalwood ornaments. There is a faint aroma inside. The woman said that it was used to smoke incense at night when she did not sleep well.

Although sandalwood is expensive, it is also wood after all, and although the hollow carving is exquisite, it only accounts for a craft after all, so the man didn't look at it much, because in view of the fact that the things that the woman brought were of high quality, he hastily set a price. Clearly, the woman was unhappy with the offer. A few words could not be spoken, the woman and the man could not get along, and the woman came out angrily with the ornament in her arms.

The shopkeeper Zhang, who was hiding on the side, had already seen everything in front of him, but he didn't make a sound, nor did he come out to persuade him, he just watched quietly from the side. When the woman came out angrily, the shopkeeper also followed out through the side door. Along the way, the woman was very cautious, and kept looking back, but fortunately, the shopkeeper's hand was quite agile and was not noticed by the woman. Shopkeeper Zhang's follow-up all the way to the Imperial City, and soon disappeared behind the small gate of the Imperial City!

A cold laugh came out of the shopkeeper's nostrils, and as he expected, this old lady was from the palace!

Although the shopkeeper Zhang had long been suspicious, but because he really didn't have any evidence, and he didn't want to startle the snake, he didn't tell the truth to his buddy. Now it seems that nothing is out of his guess. This old lady should not be the lady in the palace, but the things she took were definitely not used by her, if she hadn't stolen them, then she must have exchanged some silver for a certain master to help live.

Although the concubines in the harem all have families and rooms and do not live as things, there are always those who are not favored and the masters who are not powerful in the family are tight. Shopkeeper Zhang is not afraid of where this thing comes from, he opens such a pawnshop and earns such silver. Others didn't dare to accept such a thing, so he accepted it without blinking an eyelid, and the price was much lower than this item. Although making such black money is a common problem of pawnshops, the shopkeeper is particularly prominent in this regard.

The shopkeeper Zhang is not afraid, it's not that he is a master of art and bold, but he has been in this industry for so many years, and he has made some so-called dignitaries to some extent, and he can't talk about it in all directions, so it's more than enough to deal with these. Besides, most of the people who come to him to be things are not a decent thing, and when they are finished, they are basically dead, and no one will come to cook them again, so the business has been smooth and smooth over the years, and the silver has also made a lot of money.

When the woman's figure disappeared in the sight of the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper did not stay long, he turned around and went to a place, it was dark, night fell, no one knew where the shopkeeper had gone, and no one paid attention to where he went.

And so it went on for many days, and the woman never knocked on the door again. The idle lad occasionally mentioned the woman, but most of the time it was just about what she was here to do.

I thought that if life went on like this, that woman would not appear again in the near future. Unexpectedly, that night, when the sun had set and the last afterglow had disappeared on the western horizon, the shops on Qingfang Street were lit with illuminated candles, and the young man opened the squeaky door panel to start a new day's business, and a dark shadow seemed to have been waiting outside for a long time.

By the candlelight in the house, the young man discovered that this was the woman he had frequented the other day! The woman was still holding something in her arms, and it didn't look like a little thing, but it was wrapped in a garment, and even if it was impossible to see what was inside, it was probably an ornament.

Because of the shopkeeper's advice, the young man did not slack off, and greeted the woman into the shop. The coolness of the evening breeze flowed through the cracks of the open door, and there was also the coolness of the evening breeze in the pawnshop. Maybe it's a habit of sleeping during the day and working at night all year round, and the guys here don't look very good. But because the money given here is more than that of ordinary shops, and it is never in arrears with ICBC. If something happens to a guy at home, not only can he get the monthly silver in advance, but he can also get special care from the shopkeeper, so many people are still willing to come here to work.

From this point of view, I have to say that the shopkeeper Zhang is still a very good person, and he has not forgotten the guy who worked hard for him after earning money.

The woman was very cautious in her arms, and although she was greeted by a fellow, she did not seem to trust it, and her suspicion never diminished.

"What should I do today?" The man was behind the counter and almost stuck his whole head out to ask, but the woman's face was dark, and she looked at the man and said, "Come out of your shopkeeper!" ”

"That'...... Hold on! The man smacked his mouth twice, and if it weren't for the shopkeeper's explanation, he really didn't have a good impression of this lukewarm woman. What's more, in addition to her conversation and temperament, she can't see anything special, even if she can be determined by this difference, but after all, it was the past, otherwise, how could she come to this pawnshop again and again to do things?

After a while, the shopkeeper came out, and the young man pointed, "The shopkeeper is the one who wants to find you!" ”

The shopkeeper had already seen this familiar guest, but he had been observing behind him without making a sound, and now the woman actually wanted to see her by name, which was really in the hands of the shopkeeper.

"What do you command objectively?" The shopkeeper's face was gentle, the mustache was jumping up and down, the slightly blackened thin face, and a few pits and pockmarks fell on the garlic nose. Although this appearance is not worthy of compliment, he is still very well-dressed, and he has three jewel-encrusted rings on his fingers.

"I want to be something special today, I'm afraid that these guys don't know the goods, and I want to ask the shopkeeper to make a decision himself!" The woman did not shy away from the emotions of the young men, and the words she said made the shopkeeper Zhang laugh too, "Since you can objectively trust you, then it is better to be respectful than to obey your fate!" Please! As soon as she stretched out her hand, the shopkeeper made a gesture to the curtain next to her, and the woman thought about it and walked forward.