"This lady is really good-eyed, this is the best Zihao pen in our store. You see, this rod is made of fine purple wood. You touch, this texture, this carving, this color, I can guarantee that the whole capital is the best Zihao in my house. If you look at it again, this point, long and sharp, slender and slender, clear in color, is definitely the top grade of the top. ”

A man wearing a brown pressed gold cinnamon wide-brimmed eight-treasure hat carefully took out a wooden box more than a foot long from the dark lattice behind him. The wooden box is carved with a rabbit into the secluded picture, gently push open the lid, revealing the purple pen in the box, see everyone's eyes are clear, and the heart is happy: today can be regarded as meeting a big fish.

From the moment Shaohua and his party entered the store, the shopkeeper began to look at the two young men dressed in gorgeous clothes, accompanied by three little ladies who were like flowers and jade. Isn't this the living financier? No wonder when he woke up this morning, he saw a magpie chirping outside the window. I thought it was Widow Wu from the house next door who finally agreed to make him small, so she deliberately dressed up cleanly, and planned to go to the gouache shop opposite to buy a balm to make a gift.

I didn't expect that before I went out, I met such a group of Langjun ladies, who didn't even look at the things in his store, and as soon as they opened their mouths, they wanted to find Zihao pens.

He has been doing business for so long, and he has seen a lot of dignitaries and nobles, but most of them are scholars and gentlemen, or small servants, and it is the first time that he has brought the little lady into the store to buy pens. It seems that the person who has a clear purpose and is good at making a good move. He thought for a moment, and immediately took out the purple pen that had been treasured for a long time in the dark grid.

"How much is that?" Si Yan took it, only to feel that the pen barrel was light, but the pen was lubricated, which was indeed commendable, and it was inevitably a little tempting.

As soon as the shopkeeper heard Si Yan's inquiry, he immediately smiled, looked at Si Yan as if he was looking at his own ancestors, and said politely: "If someone from the side comes to ask, I am not welcome, but seeing that Lang Jun's face is like a crown of jade, and his bearing is extraordinary, I think it will be the Jinshi master in the near future." I will reluctantly cut my love this time, one hundred taels, and I will give you this box. ”

"One hundred taels?" Si Yan, who was used to making generous moves, was also taken aback, not to mention others. "Shopkeeper, this is a pit man! Ordinary brushes are only a few dollars, that is, no matter how good the yew ebony is, you open a seven or eight taels, and I will admit it. You actually told me a hundred taels? ”

He Li Siyan didn't eat white rice in the capital, and he didn't play any precious things. Especially these pen, ink, paper and inkstones, the home is basically prepared in boxes, if you don't choose a pen for Shaohua, you don't have to buy it separately.

"Fourth brother, forget it." Shaohua had never paid for anything by himself, he only knew that Zihao was expensive, but it was the first time he had heard such a sky-high price, and the things they came out to buy today were worth much. "Although Zihao pen is rare, it is not so expensive as gold."

The girls all thought the offer was outrageous, and they all decided to turn around and leave.

The shopkeeper saw the gold owner leaving, and hurriedly said, "Don't, don't go, this is really not my sky-high asking price." Since the little lady knows the Zihao pen, she should naturally know that a good pen is hard to find. Each Zihao pen has to go to the bamboo forest to find wild rabbits, take the black needle tip hair on the back of its neck, pick one of the tens of millions of hairs, and then refine it artificially to make a pen. There are dozens of large and small pen and ink shops in this capital, and every family has Zihao, but many of them are used to use black wool, how many pure Zihao can there be. Please weigh it yourself, and you will know whether I am expensive or not. ”

The shopkeeper said that he was so proud that he almost vomited blood to show his innocence. The girls had never bought such a valuable thing by themselves, and they all looked at each other and only looked at Shaohua. Shaohua also shook her head, she just took the pen to practice, who knew how expensive the Zihao pen was. If it weren't for the fact that she often made mistakes and was punished, she lost a lot of pens, in exchange for her mother being distressed and scolded again and again, and she didn't know that her favorite brush was so valuable.

Si Yan was a little tempted when he heard it, it was because Zihao was so difficult to find, so there were so few people who learned the cloud scroll body. It's rare that Shaohua can have this talent, and it's expensive, and the account office is not unable to pay anyway.

was about to speak, and saw Shaohua's dresses, which were full of grace, and slowly walked out of the crowd. The shopkeeper also said that Shaohua was already tempted, and his brows were happy, but he heard Shaohua say: "Since the store said that Zihao is taken from the back of the wild rabbit, then you must know that the rabbit is divided into north and south." The northern rabbit is cold-tolerant, and the body is mostly covered with fur to warm, while the southern land is hot, so the rabbit hair is hard, and it is good to dissipate gas and dispel heat. Rabbit hair is only harvested in August and September a year, which is soft in the north and hard in the south, and the pens produced are also different. Therefore, the purple hale is as sharp as a cone and sharp as a knife, and the southern rabbit is naturally better than the northern rabbit. ”

Shaohua said a word, and the shopkeeper secretly wiped his sweat, thinking that he could use the jargon to tell this group of rich men and gentlemen, but he didn't expect to meet someone who really knew the goods.

"I've used a lot of Zihao pens, all of which are taken from the back of the Southern Rabbit, I don't know where the materials for this Zihao in the store come from?"

She didn't want to show off, but the other party was ignorant of her low-key, and even thought she didn't understand the goods. Shaohua smiled and looked at the shopkeeper anxiously turning the crystal jade wrench on the index finger of his left hand, and said in his heart: I don't know how many people have been pitted, so that a small pen and ink shop owner can buy such a superb jade wrench.

"This ...... That's it, I'll give you a cheaper one, ninety taels, no less. "What else can he say when he meets such a guest.

"Wait, let me see." Yichen also saw the doorway, immediately understood what Shaohua meant, and also walked over. Picked up the Zihao pen, looked at it carefully, and then sighed and shook his head, "Although the pen is good, but this rod, tsk, it's a pity." ”

"This rod is definitely made of fine yew, I didn't lie to you!" The shopkeeper was afraid that he would be bargained again, so he picked up the wooden box and compared it with it, "Look, this box is also made of yew, and it is the same fir wood as the pen." ”

Shaohua didn't plan to buy it, but just wanted to suppress the shopkeeper's momentum, but seeing Yichen also involved, he couldn't help but wonder.

"I believe this, just the workmanship and carving of this box, put it in the antique shop, it is not expensive to call it fifty taels." Yichen praised the pencil case and let the shopkeeper get some face, "But the material of this rod is far less good than the box, I think it is taken from the end of the twigs, and this box is made of a solid trunk." ”

"Eighty taels, nothing less." The shopkeeper had a suspicion in his eyes that it was not a magpie that stopped at his window in the morning, but a crow.

"Shop, if it's this wooden box, how much does it cost to sell it alone?" Shaohua smiled slyly and made a look of interest in the wooden box.

"This isn't just for sale!" The shopkeeper shook his head resolutely, it is with this wooden box that this Zihao can be so expensive.

"How about I give seventy taels?" Yichen spoke.

"Brother!" Yan Sui was taken aback, a wooden box that was useless was actually priced at seventy taels. Even if his family has money, he doesn't spend it like this, and he has to make You's mother miserable when he goes back.

The shopkeeper was obviously frightened, hesitated for a long time, as if he had made a life-and-death struggle, and finally said ruthlessly: "Seventy is seventy, give cash, and I will give you a bag." ”

"Okay." Yichen nodded, turned around and went to untie the money bag on his waist.

Shaohua was startled, and hurriedly stretched out his hand to stop it, for fear that Yichen would be mistaken. "Brother Yichen, I don't like this wooden box." saw that Yichen also smiled slyly at her, and then took a pair of ten taels and put it on the stage, handed the Zihao pen to Shaohua, and turned around to leave.

The shopkeeper was wrapping the wooden box, and when he looked back, the pen on the table was gone, and hurriedly shouted, "Slow! What about my pen? ”

Yichen turned around and said, "Didn't the money give you?" ”

The shopkeeper picked up the ten taels of Jiaozi, rushed over angrily, and yelled at them: "I have a Zihao pen for one hundred taels, and you only give ten taels, return the pen quickly, otherwise I will pull you to sue the official." ”

Yan Sui and Wanhua saw that the shopkeeper had a fat head and big ears, and his round and strong body ran over, and suddenly there was a kind of suppressed deterrence, and they hugged each other in fright. Si Yan snorted, immediately ran up, and followed Yichen in front of Shaohua. Shaohua hid the pen behind him, poked his head out beside Yichen, and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper, you must be honest in doing business." You just said that you bought a pen and gave a box, one hundred taels, and later lowered it to us by twenty taels. I just asked you how much this box is, and you have to ask for seventy taels, so it seems that this is only the price of ten taels. Then it's not wrong to give you ten taels of Jiaozi? ”

"Who told you about ten taels of pen?" The shopkeeper was a little dizzy by Shaohua's words.

"Then let me ask you, are the pen and box eighty taels?" Shaohua asked.

"That's right." The shopkeeper thought for a moment and nodded.

"This box is seventy taels, do you want it?" Shaohua secretly changed a word.

"Yes!" Why don't you want seventy taels, even if the wood is good, there is such a small box empty, and thirty or fifty taels is up to the top.

Shaohua shrugged his shoulders when he heard this, and said disapprerovingly, "That's not it." ”

"Oh. Wrong! The shopkeeper folded his hands and counted them, and the numbers were correct, but why did he feel that he had been deceived? No, no, it's still eighty taels! Box for you. You give eighty taels, and I'll let you go. ”

Shaohua sighed, looked helpless, put aside Si Yan and Yi Chen, and stepped forward. Yi Chen was worried and wanted to stop it, Shao Hua turned around and smiled at him, Yi Chen's heart palpitated slightly, and his body paused. Shaohua stepped forward to pick up the shopkeeper's box, the shopkeeper looked at her cautiously, not daring to let go, Shaohua was not polite, and pulled hard. The shopkeeper thought about the girl in front of him who was less than half his weight, and how could she not be his opponent, so he let go of his hand.

"I'll ask you again, and you'll be listening." Shaohua took the pen in one hand and the box in the other, put it together and said to the shopkeeper: "Such a set of eighty taels, you can go if you give cash, right?" ”

"That's right, give cash, you can't take credit!" The owner affirmed.

"The box is seventy taels, and you must also give cash, and you can't take credit?" Shaohua's hand holding the pen hung down, secretly hid the pen in his sleeve, and shook it in front of him with the box.

"Yes, I want to give cash!" The shopkeeper nodded earnestly.

Shaohua also nodded, put the box solemnly in the shopkeeper's hand, and said solemnly: "A set of eighty taels, a box of seventy taels, so the pen is ten taels, right?" ”

"yes, ah, no!" As soon as the shopkeeper exited, he immediately reacted, and was tricked by Shaohua again, and his face immediately became as red as pork liver. "You, you are so young, why do you have so many eyes."

Shaohua looked at him pitifully and said innocently: "How can I have it, you are always not good at counting, and you must be honest in business." You've just said you were right, and now you're repenting. Why don't we go to the official and let the government come and hear how you calculated this account, how about it? ”

"It's okay, it's just a drop by to Jingzhao Mansion, I'll ask Wanlu to send you back first, don't let the second aunt and others worry." Si Yan deliberately high-fived and applauded.

When the shopkeeper heard this, he immediately knew that the person in front of him was a child of the official family, and if he really went to see the official mansion this time, he was afraid that he would not be able to take advantage of it.

"Hey, forget it, forget it, I bought it for you at a loss, don't come to stun me again." Like a frustrated rooster, the shopkeeper held his head and turned around in a daze, muttering to himself, "That one this morning is definitely a crow, or there wouldn't have been two plague gods in a row." ”

Shaohua squinted and smiled triumphantly at Wanhua, and when he heard the shopkeeper's self-talk, he couldn't help but wonder: "Who is the other plague god?" ”

"Who else could it be, the eldest young master of Xingyong Mansion!" The shopkeeper said angrily, "You guys hurry up, I'm closing, I have to go and worship God today, it's too unlucky." ”

"Xingyong Bofu?" Shaohua was confused.

Si Yan pushed the girls out of the house, he couldn't stay here for a long time, if this matter was publicized today, he was afraid that he would be nagged to death by the second uncle and aunt. However, when I saw it today, Shaohua was already impressed, and kindly explained: "It is Yan Kai's eldest brother Yan, with the eldest brother, the second brother and the prince, known as the four gentlemen of Shengjing." ”

"Yan Kaizhi?!" Shaohua screamed.