Chapter 67 8. I am an artist who buys things①

① The original title is "On Shopping". Ordinary people think that a person holding a book is not suitable for business.This seems to make sense.Confucius said "wealth can be sought", even if he is a groom, he is willing.Indeed, there is business experience in doing business, and those who do not understand this industry will fail in speculation.Big businessmen, wealthy businessmen, have their own natural talents, when to buy and when to unload, operate freely, make decisions immediately, and have their own elusive genius.This is another kind of intelligence, a class of people who are born knowing, and others cannot learn it.I often buy the wrong things instead of what I should buy, or I buy things that people think are useless.My wife said that I can't buy things and do small transactions. I really can't, but there are reasons why I can't.

Humans are rational, but not necessarily rational animals.Thinking about studying when I was young, mathematics is not difficult, but it is regrettable to be shrewd in handling things.In some places, the bargaining price should be 50% or 60% less than the asking price. I always bargain with a 10% discount; if I pay half the price, I will never be able to sell.In the past, I signed a contract with a bookstore in a foreign country, and I was very "chic", with a bit of a scholar's personality, and I did whatever the bookstore wanted. We were friends, and I signed the contract generously.After ten or twenty years, I realized that my friend opened the bookstore to make money, and the royalties lost would be considerable, but I regretted it too much.As I get older and experience more and more, when I sign a contract in the future, I won't have the qualities of a scholar who "deadly produces".This is a digression, just talking about the reason why I should not buy in small transactions.

Wandering the streets, looking at the goods displayed in the shop windows, and ignoring them without buying them is a kind of fun, and it is a way for people living in the city to spend no money on entertainment (WindowShopping in English), because it does not cost money, and it is easy to see. You can see dozens of them.But because of watching, sometimes it is unavoidable to stop and enjoy the sight.Women who go to the shoe store don't stop and stare.Sometimes impulsive, stop and step into the store, it is difficult to guarantee not to buy something that should not be bought.I will stop at the stationery store and the hardware grocery store.I once stepped into a hardware store, and bought a hammer, a coil of copper wire, and a good many things of iron and steel which were useful but not necessary.The reason is simple, at first I had no intention of buying anything.But the owner speaks real Longxi dialect.In ordinary Hokkien dialect, there are many counties with different accents.As a native of Longxi, it is inevitable to feel special warmth when hearing the tune of the real hometown.When we talked about Zhangzhou's East Gate, Jiangdong Dashiqiao, and Zhangzhou's lye peaches and fresh milk, all the joys and joys of our childhood came to our hearts.Who has no hometown, how can he go out empty-handed without buying something?So we made a little deal with He Qi and took a big bundle home.

"Y.T. You bought another hammer. We already have one." "I can't find one, but I have another one. How about two?" "We have a lot of copper wire and lead bars. What's the use of those pliers, nails, and screw loaders?" "It's no use at all." "Then why did you buy him?" "I have no idea." People cannot be impermanent, and it is unreasonable to buy unnecessary things for the sake of hometown.Probably, when people do business, they don’t borrow money from you. You are happy, and you get a benefit, so it can’t be regarded as a waste of money.Those who spend money wrongly go to foreign firms and want to buy things when they have money, but they are ignored by others.A certain foreign company in Hong Kong, the goods are very noble, the female clerk is a well-known full-fledged foreign slave, who likes to serve foreigners, and when she sees her compatriots, she always ignores them and makes people angry.Later, when I wanted to buy something I needed, I put on a good look and wore a foreign dress. As soon as I entered, I acted like a foreigner ordering a servant, and spoke beautiful English to the female clerk, and I was greeted obediently by the clerk.Probably this kind of place, it is better not to walk.

Shopping is also a good opportunity to get close to the little ones.When you walk in the street, you are always embarrassed to talk to children for no reason.People are playing, just ask and answer.Probably teenagers, who can manage the store on behalf of their parents, are not bad.No matter how naughty children are, they are not as deceitful and hypocritical as adults.Once in a certain stationery store on Zhongshan North Road, there was a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy watching the store. Whenever he said something wrong, his face would turn red.I figured I'd have to buy something from him because I know you can't fake your blush.So we made a deal of more than 200 yuan.Logically, this pile of large envelopes, file covers, rulers, and ballpoint pens are all things that are already at home, so there is no need to buy them, no need to buy them.However, when I bought it, the child's black eyes were so big, he was happy, and I was also happy.It's the art of buying, and I'm the artist of buying.

In life, the older you get, the more you think, the more unnatural behaviors, and the thicker your skin.Compared with children, it seems that there is something missing that cannot be said, an X is missing.Just ask for peace of mind, you can ask for it if you are dead, but if you are at ease, you may not be able to find it.This is the mystery of life, but also the tragedy of life.I think it's better to keep some warmth, otherwise, if you let go of your heart and can't get it back, you will become a cunning old rapist. Confucianism in the Song Dynasty likes to clarify the mind and see the nature, seek it with sincerity, and remove the mask of material desire.Helpless, this mind and this nature are always empty, and when they reach the state of being unconcealed and desireless, they will become more empty and empty, and being solemn and respectful will become more and more hypocritical.As long as you can understand your mind and see your nature, this is why Yan Xizhai was dissatisfied with Cheng Zhu's learning and protested.I don't need to be clear about the mind, and don't need to see the sex, just look at the children.