"Really?" Old Madam Guo responded casually, picked up the diamonds and looked at them carefully, and said, "What old lady doesn't have a few heirlooms? It's nothing special for me to wear it out. But my three granddaughters, two grandsons, and two daughters-in-law... Well, although my youngest son is not married, he should not be left without what he deserves. Don't you think so? Silang!" Madam Guo raised her head and found that Cheng Chi, who was sitting next to her, was nowhere to be seen.
She became anxious and stretched her neck to look, and saw Cheng Chi standing next to Zhou Shaojin.
Old Mrs. Guo smiled slightly. Cheng Chi picked up a pearl flower from the glass hairpin that Zhou Shaojin picked out and looked at it for a few seconds. She said, "This pearl is emerald green and clear. People who don't know it would think it is jade. You have good taste."
Zhou Shaojin blushed slightly and said, "I just think it looks good."
Cheng Chi smiled and nodded, then said to the waiter beside him, "Are all the better colored glass hairpins in your store here?"
The clerk thought Cheng Chi was dissatisfied with the quality, and said hurriedly: "Although this colored glaze is a Western product, it can be made in the palace now. Many ladies wear it just for the novelty. If they wear it today, they may give it to others as a reward tomorrow. Our store focuses on style. As for the big ones, they are mainly treasures. Our store got a vase of red coral a few days ago. Because it didn't look good, it couldn't be made into a bonsai, so we invited Yong Fusheng's master to come and help carve two pairs of hairpins, four pairs of pearl flowers, four pairs of earrings, a set of 18-bead Buddhist beads, and a set of 108-bead Buddhist beads. As a reward, Yong Fusheng took away two pairs of pearl flowers, two pairs of flower rings and the set of 18-bead Buddhist beads. Sir, would you like to take a look? The 108-bead Buddhist beads are the size of soybeans..."
Cheng Chi interrupted the clerk with a smile and said, "So, the set of 18-bead Buddhist beads that Yong Fusheng took must be at least the size of a lotus seed?"
The waiter smiled awkwardly and said, "Sir, you are amazing. I just let it slip and you guessed it right away. However, the 108 beads in this string of Buddhist beads we left behind are all the same size and there are no flaws..."
Cheng Chi interrupted the waiter again and said, "Then take out those red coral jewelry and let me see them."
The clerk hurriedly told the apprentice beside him to pass the message to the second manager who was in charge of the warehouse.
After a while, the apprentice came in carrying a black lacquered plate covered with white velvet. On it were two pairs of hairpins, two pairs of pearl flowers, two pairs of earrings and a set of Buddhist beads with 108 beads.
Zhou Shaojin's attention was immediately attracted by the 108 Buddhist beads.
Although the string of Buddhist beads is not big, it has a bright luster and is moist and pleasant, making people want to touch it when they see it.
She couldn't help but wonder, is this what the legendary acacia beans look like
Cheng Chi saw it and said to Zhou Shaojin, "This string of Buddhist beads is beautiful. But the old lady is old, and although the beads are good, the beads are too small, so they are not suitable for the old lady. Second Miss, I think it is just right for you... You might as well buy it. Such quality and such price are rare, and it will be no less useful as a family heirloom if you buy it back."
Zhou Shaojin is a Buddhist and he likes Buddhist beads, especially those carved from this rare red coral.
She smiled and said, "From what Uncle Chi said, is it much cheaper to buy this kind of beads here than in Jinling?"
Are women naturally good at talking
Look at the tone. You don't ask directly how much the beads cost - that would make you seem petty; nor do you ask whether the beads are cheap - that would make the shop assistants think you are being taken advantage of and would offer a very high price. Instead, you compare the prices here with those in Jinling, thus setting a threshold. If the shop assistants want to sell the beads, they can only lower the price according to the standards of Jinling City.
But before Cheng Chi could say anything, the clerk said hastily, "Whether it's Jinling City or Hangzhou City, most of the goods are supplied by us, so they are naturally much cheaper than those in Jinling City."
Zhou Shaojin didn't ask the price. He just smiled at the waiter, as if waiting for you to finish speaking.
The clerk said, "Such fine beads would cost at least two hundred taels of silver per string in Jinling City, but here, they would only cost one hundred and twenty taels of silver at most..."
Fortunately, I brought two hundred taels of silver with me.
Zhou Shaojin was thinking in his mind.
I used one hundred and twenty taels of silver to buy a string of Buddhist beads, and there were eighty taels left, which was enough to buy some glass hairpins to take back.
She smiled and asked, "I brought silver bills with me. Will your store accept them?"
"Take it!" The clerk said hastily, as if he was afraid that the banknote would fly away. "We can also help the guests exchange it for gold."
Zhou Shaojin felt relieved, and saw Cheng Chi move the glass hairpins on the tray next to her, and all the hairpins that she had worked so hard to select for half a day were mixed together.
"Uncle Chi!" Zhou Shaojin said angrily.
Cheng Chi didn't even look at her, and said to the clerk, "Ask your boss for a few lucky bags and put all these glass hairpins in them. We want them all."
How is this possible
Let her pay the bill herself, she can't afford it for now. Let Uncle Chi help her pay the bill... Madam Guo and Uncle Chi have been very kind to her, she can't ask for more.
Zhou Shaojin jumped up.
Who knew Cheng Chi turned his wrist, pointed at the remaining coral jewelry, and said, "We want this too."
Zhou Shaojin was speechless.
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "I know you don't like some of those colored glass hairpins. You can use the ones with poor quality to send off those maids who do the rough work."
I'm not doing this for...
Zhou Shaojin thought dejectedly.
Forget it, Uncle Chi has already said that all of these have been bought. If she has a different opinion, wouldn’t that be offending Uncle Chi
She would let Uncle Chi help pay the money first, and then she would borrow some more money from Jiying when she returned to the bank and pay it back to Uncle Chi.
When Zhou Shaojin saw that Qin Ziping paid more than 400 taels of silver for the pile of things in front of her, she became even more upset. She was so listless that she was not interested in doing anything afterwards.
Cheng Chi couldn't help but touch his chin after seeing this.
I really pissed this girl off this time. If she remains unhappy, wouldn’t it be a waste of my trip to Fuyuan Street
He took them to a shop selling Western toys.
The magnificent gold-foil utensils, colorful carpets, dazzling array of beads, and snuff boxes with paintings of blonde, blue-eyed, bare-shouldered beauties interspersed among them made Zhou Shaojin and others dazzled. They soon put aside the unpleasantness in the silver shop. Even Mrs. Guo couldn't help but take a Western puppet to look at it.
It seems that women like to shop no matter how old they are!
Cheng Chi felt relieved.
Two Hu women walked in.
Cheng Chi whispered to Zhou Shaojin, who was concentrating on selecting beads, "Look! Hu Ji."
Zhou Shaojin turned around quickly and saw two women wearing gorgeous sarongs, face masks and with emerald green eyes like Persian cats walking towards her.
She was so frightened that she could not help but tightly grasp Cheng Chi's sleeve and whispered, "Their eyes are, they are green!"
Seeing her face turn pale, Cheng Chi couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
Not everyone can accept the appearance of the Hu people.
"Don't be afraid." He had to comfort her, "Look at the Western beauty on the snuff box. She has golden hair! People in barbaric lands usually look very strange."
The two women were whispering to the shop owner in a very strange language. The strong fragrance on their bodies made Zhou Shaojin sneeze, and Ke Xin gradually calmed down.
Her upbringing of not looking at anything inappropriate made her feel embarrassed to stare at the two women after just one glance.
She whispered to Cheng Chi, "I've seen snuff boxes with Western beauties painted on them before, but I always thought they were just someone else's fantasy... I didn't expect there really are such people!"
"More than that!" Cheng Chi laughed, "When I was a kid, I followed my father to the home of one of his best friends. He kept a singing girl, a Westerner with red hair and green eyes. She was very scary, but my father's best friend liked her very much and praised her as a peerless beauty!"
Zhou Shaojin smiled, only to find that he was actually holding Uncle Chi's sleeve.
She quickly let go of her hand and pointed at the beads and said, "Uncle Chi, what are these made of? Some only cost a few coins, while others cost dozens of coins."
He wanted to divert Cheng Chi's attention and hoped that he didn't notice that he had grabbed his sleeve.
Cheng Chi looked calm, took a look at the beads, and said calmly, "Some are turquoise, and some are Miao silver. They are all quite cheap. You might as well buy some to send back."
Still buying!
Zhou Shaojin complained in his heart.
If that’s the case, then why did Uncle Chi ask me to buy it at the jewelry store just now
Compared to the glass hairpins, these Western beads are more suitable for her to buy back to give away.
But I've already bought the colored glaze hairpin... and these beads are so cheap...
Zhou Shaojin was in a dilemma!
Cheng Chi watched her frowning and biting her lip, and he almost laughed out loud.
But he decided not to embarrass the girl. He pointed at the beads and winked at Huaishan, then said in a friendly manner: "Are you not satisfied with these beads? Then let's talk about it when we get to Hangzhou Prefecture. There are a lot of things there, but the imported goods are just a little more expensive than those in Ningbo. I will take you to Baoshan Bridge. There are many shops selling things there, all of which are smaller than this one, but the goods are very complete, from hairpins and rings to shoes and socks. There is nothing you can't buy. Aren't you going to bring things to your sister and aunt? That's the best place."
Zhou Shaojin didn't know what to say.
Fortunately, Cheng Chi changed the subject and said, "I see you are quite a Buddhist. You can go to Qiantang Gate when the time comes. There is a Zhaoqing Temple behind Wangjiang Tower, which is full of incense. There are even pilgrims who often go to Zhaoqing Temple from Qiantang Gate, so there is a saying that there is 'Incense basket outside Qiantang Gate'."
Zhou Shaojin's eyes lit up when he heard this.
What she fears most now is buying things!
"How many days will we stay in Hangzhou?" Zhou Shaojin asked Cheng Chi, "I heard there is a Lingyin Temple there, which is very effective. Will we go there to burn incense when the time comes?"
Cheng Chi smiled and said, "We will stay in Hangzhou until August 12 or 14 before we set off. You can discuss with the old lady where you want to go, and I will send someone to take you there when the time comes."
Zhou Shaojin noticed that Cheng Chi said "bad" instead of "accompany".
※
Sisters, I found that the time between 1am and 2am was a difficult time. I was writing and fell asleep at the table. When I woke up, it was 3am...
An additional update for Zixiao 1.
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: I found that as long as I become a V, I have to compete for the monthly ticket list every month. This is really a painful process.
Save the pink votes!
※(To be continued)