When it comes to pawnshops, people generally think of them as places frequented by the poor and gamblers.

In many film and television dramas, we can see that it is often the one who can't open the pot in the family, loses all the money in gambling, and wants to see a doctor but looks down on it...... Then I rummaged through the cabinets, took out some messy things, and took them to the pawnshop to exchange some silver for emergency relief, some as jewelry, some as antiques, some as clothes, and even as tables, chairs, benches, water tanks, straw mats......

Is there such a thing?

Yes, but our impression is not accurate.

In fact, pawnshops are also divided into grades, divided into four types: big pawn, big press, big charge and small charge - the charge period is from long to short, and the interest rate is from low to high.

A pawnshop of the grade of "Dadang" must not only have strong funds, but also have power, because they basically serve the rich on weekdays.

Some people may ask, what do rich people do as things?

Then you go and look at the big companies and big enterprises outside, which ones don't take loans from banks? If you borrow money from banks, you have to mortgage something, right? Isn't that similar to the nature of pawns?

In fact, the pawnshop mortgage in ancient times was similar to that of modern bank lending; rich people, especially those who do business, need cash flow, and when the cash flow is insufficient, it is normal to mortgage something and turn things around.

In addition, there are some wealthy people who send valuables to pawnshops, not for money, but for safety, which is called "sending pawns"; because they feel that the pawnshop's vault is more insured than their own home, so they keep their things here for a long time, and the interest paid when redeeming them is regarded as storage fees; and if the things are lost during the "mailing" period, they not only do not have to pay the interest, but can also get another compensation...... This is similar to the vault business of modern banks.

As for the kind of pawnshops we commonly see in film and television dramas, they are generally the lowest level of "small charges".

To put it bluntly, it is the use of collateral instead of usury for violent debt collection......

The mortgage period offered by this kind of pawnshop is usually very short, and if you don't redeem it for three months, the thing will belong to him, and in terms of interest, it is also common to return nine out of thirteen.

So this kind of place is indeed frequented only by the desperate poor and gamblers, who have no intention of redeeming what they have gone out, and some people don't even want to be a ticket, they take the money and leave.

Xiao Zhu also knows very well who his customers are, so he also tries his best to take advantage of the danger of others, reduce the price and deceive, and maximize the benefits.

Otherwise, why did the ancient people call pawnshops "Lei Gongbang"? Because the pawnshops they could come into contact with were all small pawnshops.

And a young master from a big family like Song Xiang will definitely not go to the small charge when he is a thing, and with the financial resources of the small charge, he will also take out no more than a thousand taels of silver.

Whether they are in the Song family, whether they send them or turn around, they all go to the largest pawnshop in Runan City, "Tong Quanjian".

To say that this is a general interpretation, it is really a bit famous.

The word "general interpretation", in the appraisal industry, is roughly the same as when you say that you are "invincible" when you play games.

The master of Tongquanjian, surnamed Liu, named Yufang, is known as "Mr. Tongquan".

The man was unknown, and he never told anyone about himself, and by the accent, he was supposed to be a southerner, and judging by his white-haired, skinny appearance, he should be at least sixty-five years old, and the rest...... For example, whether he has ever been married, whether he has children, where he came from, what he has done before, where he learned his full of knowledge, etc., everyone doesn't know, and he never mentions it.

When Liu Yufang came to this pawnshop to apply for an appraiser, he made it clear to the shopkeeper here: "The salary is negotiable, and the work is not difficult, so I have one request, about my past, it is best not to ask." ”

The shopkeeper pondered: This old man is this age, even if he was a Jiangyang thief before, he is no threat now, and besides, I don't look like a robber when I look at his weak appearance.

Thinking so, the shopkeeper left Liu Yufang behind.

Unexpectedly, this old man can be said to be incomparably discerning and skilled, helping the shopkeeper to make this business bigger and bigger, and within a few years, this place has changed from a "big charge" to a "big dang".

So, the shopkeeper also swelled a little, hung up the signboard of "Tong Quanjian", and publicly said that we have a "Mr. Tong Quan" here, and he can distinguish any treasure, and everyone can take any good things to me, and I will definitely not lose you.

As soon as he did this, it attracted the dissatisfaction of many peers, and there were not a few people who came to stir up trouble.

Don't you gentlemen be able to distinguish everything? Then let's test you, you have to really be able to distinguish it, we are convinced, we can't distinguish it, nothing else, smash the signboard.

During that time, every once in a while, someone came to the door with some strange things that I didn't know from which corner to find fault, such as the saw used by Luban, the straw sandals woven by Liu Bei, the white silk that Wu used to hang himself, and the sword that Wu Zixu led his neck...... The most strange thing is that a product took a piece of noodles and came over, and was stunned and said that this was the old noodles left by Zhuge Liang to make buns.

But no matter how outrageous these guys are, Liu Yufang is still calm, coping with it easily, and accurately telling the true origin of everything.

After more than half a year, everyone was really convinced, and they all admitted that Mr. Liu could indeed afford the word "Tongyi".

Didn't think about it...... At the beginning, the wind and waves came, but today, this Liu Yufang is in trouble.

Because today, someone sent the nine feathers to him.

In fact, Liu Yufang recognized this thing at first sight, he knew very well what this thing was for, but it was precisely because of this that there were waves in his heart.

"Hiss-" Liu Yufang was silent for a long time before he said to the shopkeeper waiting on the side, "Who brought this?"

The guy from that shop has been working in Tongquanjian for many years, and it was the first time he saw Mr. Liu look embarrassed, so he hesitated for a moment before replying: "Uh...... It's a person from the Song Mansion. ”

In Runan City, when you talk about the Song Mansion, everyone understands that it refers to their family outside the Song Dynasty, that is, the Song Xiang family.

This big family is a thing, and generally does not need to come forward, just send a subordinate to bring something to the line; because the "big dang" deposit period and interest are more reasonable, if the old customer has a request can also make corresponding adjustments, so the family only needs to say the lowest psychological expected price, and then let the next person take this as the bottom line to talk to the pawnshop people, there is no need to run a trip.

Of course, there are hidden dangers in this practice......

For example, if the housekeeper of a large family has a bad idea, he can steal some valuables from the house, cash them out in the big money, and then abscond with the money.

For example, right now, Song Xiang stole a treasure from his own treasury, and then handed it to his subordinates to pawn it, so that outsiders naturally couldn't figure out the reason.

"Hmm......" Liu Yufang groaned again, and then asked, "How much?"

"Three thousand taels. The shopkeeper replied.

"Three thousand taels ......" Liu Yufang repeated the number, sneered in his heart, and said secretly, "Heh...... It's a pity that this thing fell into the hands of those who don't know the goods, it's obviously a priceless treasure, but they only need three thousand taels. ”

Thinking about it, on the surface, he was still silent, and continued: "How long are you going to be detained?"

"One day. The shopkeeper said.

"What? one day?" Liu Yufang thought he had misheard.

"It's kind of weird. The shop guy also felt that something was wrong, but where the pawnshop was regular, there was no such thing as "betting for a day", and the gambler might say this kind of thing when he went to the small bet to get the money, "but the other party said it himself, just one day, and he will come back to get it tomorrow evening, and he also said that it doesn't hurt to give more money." ”

"Oh?" Liu Yufang fell into thought, he felt that there was something strange about this.

After thinking for a while, he asked again, "Where is the shopkeeper...... How so?"

"Hey, what can you say...... shopkeeper said, "The people of the Song family, the shopkeeper doesn't dare to offend, he just waits for your words, this thing is worth this price, he will give it, and the profit will mean to collect a little, and it is also a business." ”

"Hmm. Liu Yufang nodded, "Okay, let's be detained." He paused and picked up the small incense burner, "This...... I personally sent it to the storeroom. ”

"Ah, okay, you slow down. The shopkeeper got an affirmative answer, and went out in a hurry.

After the other party left, Liu Yufang's eyes were rare...... There was a look of greed.

............

It's night, and the moon and stars are scarce.

A figure slowly walked into an inconspicuous small courtyard in Runan City.

This person is not someone else, it is Liu Yufang.

At this moment, Liu Yufang's arms were still carrying a tightly wrapped baggage, and in the baggage, it was the nine feathers that were chasing the sun.

Knock Knock Knock –

After entering the courtyard, Liu Yu walked straight to the door and knocked lightly on the door.

It was dark in the room, and he knocked a few times, but there was no movement inside.

But Liu Yufang seemed to be sure that there must be someone inside, knocked a few more times, and whispered into the room through the door panel: "Friends of the Five Spirits Sect, can you open the door and meet the old man?"

However, in response to him, there was still silence and silence.

"Alas...... That's it. Liu Yufang shook his head, "If there is no fate, you can't force it." ”

With that, he turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he found that someone was already standing in front of him.

This person was dressed in black clothes at night, masked, of medium stature, and spoke in a very ordinary voice: "Those brothers inside are all doing things according to the rules, and they will never answer the door if they don't hear the code...... If you have anything to say, you can tell me. ”

In the middle of the night, a person suddenly came to your back silently like a ghost, and ordinary people were already scared to scream, but Liu Yufang was very calm: "You are ......"

"Aren't you looking for someone from the Five Spirits Sect, I am. The masked man said again.

Liu Yufang said: "I know that you are a member of the Five Spirits Sect, I want to ask which one of the Five Spirits Sect are you and what position do you hold?"

"Heh......," the masked man smiled, "I'm afraid it's inconvenient for me to tell you." ”

"Well...... Liu Yufang thought for a while, "It's okay not to say it...... I see that your martial arts are good, even if you are not the flag master or deputy flag master, at least you can rank in the top five seats of any flag, and you should be able to keep up with the top. ”

As soon as the masked man heard this, his expression under the black cloth changed a little.

At this moment, there are three things that make Tang Fu feel quite surprised: first, the old man in front of him who seems to have no internal strength at all, can actually see his general martial arts level; second, this old man can not only find the secret stronghold of their Five Spirit Sect in the city, but also seems to know very well about the internal organization of the Five Spirit Sect; third, this old man has always been very calm from the beginning to the present, and can even be said to have no fear.

"Uncle, forgive me for being clumsy, I don't know if you are ......" Tang Fu thought it was better to ask first.

Liu Yufang said bluntly: "The old Liu Yufang is just a guy in the Tongquan Jian." ”

He is humble, even Tang Fu has heard his name: "Oh? It turned out to be the famous Mr. Tongquan, disrespectful and disrespectful...... "Seeing a master, he still has to be polite and polite, after holding his fists and arching his hands, he said again, "I don't know if Mr. is here in the starry night, what are you doing to find my Five Spirits Sect members?"

Liu Yufang gently patted the burden in his arms with his hand: "I want to make a deal with you." ”

"Oh......" Tang Fu thought for a moment and continued, "Sir, this is not the place to talk, you can come with me first......"

After that, Tang Fu led the way, took Liu Yufang out of the courtyard, and walked around a few alleys.

No one saw them on this big night, and after a while, the two came to the back door of a shop selling incense, candles, and wax sticks. Tang Fu put his right hand on the door panel, left it for a few seconds, and then knocked three times, and after a while, someone inside finally opened the door.

"Sir, please inside. After Tang Fu entered the door, he lit a candle, and then waved to Liu Yufang, who was still standing in the back alley.

Liu Yufang still looked very calm, he couldn't see the vigilance, and he couldn't see the fear, so he followed in.

After entering the house, he didn't see anyone other than Tang Fu, and it was estimated that the people inside didn't want him to see their faces, so they all retreated to other rooms first.

The soup man closed the door, asked Liu Yufang to sit down, and then sat down himself, and then said, "Sir, what kind of business are you going to do?"

Liu Yufang was not ambiguous, without saying a word, he put the burden he brought on the table, untied it with his hands, and revealed the small incense burner inside: "I want to sell this to you." ”

Tang Fu couldn't see anything unique about this thing, so he wondered: "This is ......"

"Nine feathers are a day-by-day furnace. Liu Yu said.

Tang Fu wanted to reply "I haven't heard of it", but he felt that this answer was a bit silly, so he skipped this step and said directly: "Sir...... Forgive me for being shallow, and dare to ask...... Is your furnace of any use to our Five Spirits Sect?"