Zhou Shuren took out the banknotes and said, "A total of four hundred taels."
Zhulan was stunned. "I remember buying the two shops for 380 taels. Did the shops raise their prices this year?"
Zhou Shuren explained, "Merchants have their own sources of information. They are the most informed. They got some news and knew that the court was going to relax some policies. As a result, more people bought from the shops, and the prices went up. According to the market price, each shop increased by 20 taels, but I only increased by 10 taels. I wanted to take this opportunity to talk more and test the waters."
Zhulan took the banknote and asked, "Have you found out? Do you think it's a trap?"
Zhou Shuren is used to touching his beard. He is addicted to it. "It's not a trick. I took the initiative to bring it up today. Boss Ma didn't bring it up about antiques. It was just a coincidence yesterday. Boss Ma doesn't deal with antiques either. He just joined the gambling game to join in the fun. He bets on whoever he likes. Antiques are more elegant, so many merchants are willing to watch the game."
Zhulan thought that she was indeed too cautious. It has only been half a year, and it would not be easy for Wang Ru to get out of trouble. Even if Wang Ru got out of trouble, Shi Qing would not relax and would keep a close eye on Wang Ru. Wang Ru was reborn and dared not reveal her tracks. Now Wang Ru was even more afraid of death. Wang Ru must be very cautious and dared not make any big moves. She had the ability to find someone to investigate the Zhou family and then set a trap.
Zhulan was relieved. "I forgot to ask yesterday, what are the rules of the antique competition?"
Zhou Shuren thought it was quite interesting and said, "There are two types of competitions. One is to bring your own antiques to participate. There are ten participants in a competition. The one who can identify the authenticity of all the antiques wins. The winner can take away all the antiques of the ten people. If a participant brings a fake antique, he must give a real antique to the winner after he fails. If several people identify it correctly, they will add the antiques provided by the organizer until there is a winner."
Zhulan thought this competition was interesting. "You mean, participants can bring real and fake antiques to participate, but those who bring fake antiques have to bring an extra real one to the organizer?"
Zhou Shuren nodded, "Yes, so I want to take the jade bracelet I gave you to participate. This pair of jade bracelets is hard to distinguish, and whether I can win depends largely on it."
Zhulan touched the jade bracelet on her hand and was happy, "I never thought that this was the real use of it when you bought it."
Zhou Shuren curled his lips, "Yeah, I was also quite surprised. We were destined to make a fortune."
Zhulan was curious about the other kind of competition, "Aren't there two types? What is the other one?"
Zhou Shuren said, "The other way is to bring silver to register for the competition. There are ten people in one match, five levels, and the winner will win half of the registration fee. Each person registers for ten taels, and the winner can take away twenty-five taels."
Zhulan touched her chin, "So more people come to bring antiques, and the organizers open gambling games outside and act as the banker to make money from the bettors. By the way, why didn't I hear of this place when I came to Pingzhou last year?"
Zhou Shuren, "There are few people I meet who understand this industry, and I go to many merchants, but I don't know the merchants, so I haven't heard of it."
Zhu Lan asked, "Have you figured out how to borrow the help of Brother-in-law Dong?"
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "You forgot that I helped the county magistrate to identify antiques. It can be seen that Dong's brother-in-law's boss is an antique lover. I just need to show my ability and then wait for him to verify it."
If it weren't for the fact that he was afraid that the antiques would be sold forcefully after he won, he wouldn't need to seek help. Boss Ma revealed a lot of information, and Pinjianlou is also black-hearted. If you are a young and fearless person who has no one to rely on and participate in the competition and win, Pinjianlou will buy it at a lower price. It's easier to get good stuff than opening an antique shop.
Of course, if you try to force your way in, they won't dare to provoke you, and they will give you a fair price when you buy from them.
He didn't think of waiting until he passed the exam before taking the exam. He could get the money early so that he could make other plans in advance. After all, a scholar is still a juren. In the eyes of Jiangda people, there is basically no difference as long as you don't pass the jinshi exam. It is better to show your value early so that you can avoid a lot of trouble in the future.
I just don't know if he will come across any good antiques when he participates. The last time I went to see an antique, the most valuable one was four hundred taels. It's a rare opportunity, so I hope to come across some good antiques!
Because once he wins, he is not allowed to participate in the competition again, so no matter whether he wins or loses, he only has one chance. If he loses, he will have no antiques to participate in the competition again, and if he wins, he cannot participate in the next competition.
Zhulan's eyes were particularly bright, "Can I go with you?"
This is a rare competition and she wants to go too.
Zhou Shuren felt sorry for Zhulan. He hadn't had any entertainment since he came to the ancient times. "No."
It's not that he didn't take her with him, but the women he brought were all prostitutes who were not respected. Ladies and young ladies of status would not go there. Even in the fictional dynasty, there were still many places where decent women were not allowed to enter, for fear of being branded as frivolous and ruining their lives.
Zhulan knew it and was a little disappointed, "Ah, being a woman is hard, and being a woman in ancient times was even harder."
Zhou Shuren said: "If I really win this time and make a fortune, I want to go to the capital, and then we can go together."
Zhulan was full of energy again, and even overcame the bumpy carriage. "Okay, then you must win. If you lose, I will lose my bracelet and I can't go to the capital."
She was really curious about what the ancient capital city looked like!
Zhou Shuren couldn't lose not only for the money, but also for Zhulan, "I will never let you down."
Zhulan thought about it. There were many talented people in ancient times. It’s better not to put too much pressure on Zhou Shuren. "We just need to work hard. At least we have tried hard. There is no regret if we lose. Even if we really lose, we still have 500 taels of silver. Although the jade bracelet is an antique, it only cost 40 taels. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
He is confident here because he really knows his stuff. I watched a competition yesterday. No really capable appraisal masters participated. Those who participated were those who thought they had some skills and could win a lot of money. There were really no veterans, so his chances of winning were really great. He has not stopped learning about ancient antiques since he came to ancient times, so he is confident that he has the skills in his hands.
Zhulan and his wife were calculating their money. There was a knock on the door, and Zhou Laoer said, "Dad, Mom, I'm coming in."
Zhou Shuren sat up and smoothed his clothes. He changed from lying lazily back to the head of the family and stroked his beard, "Come in!"
Zhulan looked at Zhou Shuren speechlessly and put away all the banknotes.
Zhou Laoer and Zhao came in, "Dad, Mom."
Zhou Shuren asked, "What's the matter?"
Zhou Laoer said, "Dad, we have something to ask you."
Zhou Shuren is such a good person that he can tell at a glance that this is not about Zhou Laoer. "You go ahead."
Zhou Laoer originally planned to find out slowly on his own and did not want to trouble his father, but his ability was limited. He went out to inquire twice but did not get any results. He had followed his father to Pingzhou before, and he knew that his father had to socialize everywhere. Even if his father did not show it on his face, he could feel his father's fatigue. He did not think deeply about how capable his father was, he just felt sorry for his father's hardship.
When he moved to Pingzhou this time, he also wanted to find out things by himself, but his father sent Rongchuan and Mingyun to the academy. He felt that his understanding of his father was incomplete, so after talking with Zhao, he still had to rely on his father for this matter. If he found out things by himself, he didn't know when he would be able to find out!
Zhou Shuren coughed, "What are you thinking about? Isn't there something wrong?"