Chapter 17 buy dowry

"Fourth Sister, Ying Chun told me yesterday that you are like sisters, this time we are marrying a sister, we should prepare a dowry. This is not wrong at all." Grandma Qigu said, "I think you should go by yourself Pick, save everyone's face, just pick and choose, don't be polite. To be honest, Yingchun still has the strength for a few thousand taels of silver." Fourth Sister Luo thought to herself that as long as she married into the Hu family, she would have many opportunities to help Gu Yingchun in the future, so she didn't need to be polite.However, I was too embarrassed to make them spend more money, so I replied: "Seventh sister and brother-in-law said that I have to accept it. However, the things don't care about the value, as long as they are happy, don't you think so?"

"Exactly." Grandma Qigu said, "Pick out the wooden utensils first. Are you free tomorrow?" "null." "Then the second half of tomorrow. It's better to go to Changfa." Changfa is in Nanshi, which is the largest carpentry store in Shanghai. Fourth Sister Luo bought the furniture for her new house there. gone." When Grandma Qigu took her home in a carriage, Fourth Sister Luo immediately took care of Lao Ma and hired another carriage to take the little eldest sister to Nanshi for business. Get off at Changfa in Denan City. The owner's surname is Li. When he sees the regular customers coming to the door, he hastily greets them personally: "Miss Luo Si, why are you free today? Please sit inside, please sit inside."

"I'll take a look at Tangmuware." "Oh, oh!" Boss Li smiled all over his face, "Where is it used?" "in the room." The so-called "in the room" refers to the bedroom, the most important thing is a bed, but it is called "a room", of course there should be a few chairs, tables and stools, etc. Boss Li first asked the material: "Miss Luo Si likes mahogany or red sandalwood?" ?” "Of course it's red sandalwood." "Miss Luo Si, since you like red sandalwood, I have a rare wooden utensil, so don't miss this opportunity."

"Okay! Let me take a look." Boss Li led her into a room, and she was dazzled when she entered the door. It turned out that these sandalwood ware were inlaid with snails, which had dazzling reflections, which made her dazzled. If you look closely, it is gorgeous, delicate, and really cute. "It doesn't seem to be a local product." Fourth Sister Luo said, "The patterns and methods are different." "Miss Luo Si, after all, you are a top-notch connoisseur," Boss Li said, "you can tell it right away. This wooden utensil is from Guangdong. Guangdong is called Suanzhi, which is red sandalwood. It is not uncommon for Guangdong to come. Tell me about the origin, Miss Luo Si, you should be shocked."

"Why?" "This was supposed to be a tribute—" "A tribute?" Fourth Sister Luo interrupted him, "You mean, it was originally used by the emperor." "good." "Boss Li," Fourth Sister Luo laughed, "You're not afraid of cutting corners when you speak big? Why are the wooden utensils used by the emperor in your shop?" "Here, Miss Luo Si, don't you believe it? Of course there is a reason for it. Please sit down and wait for me to tell you." Boss Li asked Fourth Sister Luo to sit down on a high chair, and he was accompanied by the Prime Minister.He is very good at doing business, and the partners and apprentices he uses are also very flexible. When Fourth Sister Luo just sat down, the freshly brewed gaiwan tea and four tall fruit dishes had already been delivered.Fourth Sister Luo was determined to come to buy wooden wares, and the business would definitely be successful, so she accepted Changfa's hospitality frankly, without even saying a word of thanks.

"Miss Luo Si, please take a closer look at the things first." That's what she meant.Because the top chair I was sitting on was small and exquisite, with just the right height and moderate backrest. When I sat down, my elbows rested on the armrests naturally, it was very comfortable. , The workmanship and materials are both fine and flawless. After looking at the top chair, look at the rectangular table next to the chair. There are three layers in total. Pushing it together does not take up space, and pulling it apart is quite practical. A bowl of tea and four fruit plates are placed on it, which does not look crowded at all.

"Things are good." Fourth Sister Luo said, "But the pattern is not like the ones used in the palace. The ones used in the palace should be dragons and phoenixes, not 'five blessings holding longevity'." "Miss Luo Si, your argument is reasonable, but if you know where to use it, you won't argue. There are all kinds of palaces in palaces, not just Sangong and Liuyuan? It depends on the location, the purpose, and the furnishings. It’s the same, they’re all dragon and phoenix tricks, they’re all the same, and I’m tired of seeing them. Tell me, don’t you?”

"That's not a bad word. So, where is this wooden utensil used?" "It's going to be used in the Old Summer Palace—" "Boss Li, you really think I'm a countryman! Who doesn't know that the foreign devils burned down the Old Summer Palace." "If it is burned, it can be rebuilt. Of course, if it is really rebuilt, this wooden utensil will not be with me anymore." According to Boss Li, there were people from the House of Internal Affairs and the eunuchs in charge of the palace. Because the Hongyang Rebellion had been quelled and the Nian Army had been defeated, there was nothing to worry about, so he urged the Empress Dowager Cixi to say: "In three or four years, we will be able to fight against the enemy." When the emperor comes of age, once the two grand ceremonies of "big marriage" and "pro-government" are over, the empress dowagers of the two palaces should have a place to spend their lives, and the Summer Palace can be restored. It is not too much for the empress dowager to "raise with the world" and build a garden .”

The Empress Dowager Cixi was moved, and the little emperor aged 12 or 13 was even more enthusiastic. When word spread, there was a magistrate who was from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and served several times in Guangdong. , and on the way from the sea to the north, things changed. It turns out that this matter has been discussed in private for several months. The current Prince Gong didn't take it seriously, but it is inconvenient to say it out loud, but he kept saying that when the queen mothers of the two palaces summoned him every day, the chaos was at the beginning of peace, and everything was waiting to be done. Difficulty means that I hope Empress Dowager Cixi will automatically dispel this idea.

Unexpectedly, when Prince Gong was working hard in the water, he suddenly heard that there was such a magistrate who actually paid tribute to wooden wares for use in the Summer Palace. Participate in a book.King Gong personally asked for "dismissal and investigation", but the Empress Dowager Cixi was inconvenient to protect her, so she agreed, and the prefect was imprisoned.Naturally, there was no need to transport the tribute to the north. The younger brother of the prefect was the escort, and the wooden utensils were unloaded and sold in Shanghai, which was attributed to Changfa in this way.

"There are three halls of wooden utensils, a living room and a study room. They have all been sold. Now there is only one hall left. An alternate Taoist from Jiangxi came to see it the day before yesterday. He was very happy with the things, and he didn't have enough money. He asked me to replace them." He stayed for ten days, and if he didn't make an order, I didn't care about him. Miss Luo Si, if you like it, I am very self-restrained." Boss Li said again, "Let me be honest again, this wooden utensil is not used by anyone. It’s worth it, you think, if you use such exquisite wooden furniture in the room, what should you use in the hall, flower hall, and study room? This is the reason why my wooden furniture is not easy to get rid of.” Fourth Sister Luo thought to herself, according to his words, it seems that only Hu Xueyan's family can afford this wooden utensil.I didn't want to think that there was such a wealthy Jiangxi alternate road, but I thought again, Hu Xueyan is also a Jiangxi alternate road, could it be that he asked someone to come and see? So she asked: "What's the surname of that Jiangxi candidate? It seems that he can afford it." "The surname is Zhu." Boss Li said again, "Zhu Daotai didn't want to buy this wooden utensil for his own use, but to honor the old lady of a governor." Fourth sister Luo felt moved, and then asked, "What are you doing with this wooden utensil?" Price?" "Sell at par, 1,500 taels of silver. In fact, if you sell at par, the interest has already been lost. Fortunately, I have already made money in the other two sessions, so it doesn't matter if I lose money in this session." "Boss Li, I'll pay you back an integer." "Miss Luo Si," Boss Li said with a wry smile, "One of the three points in the world, you are too fierce in bargaining." "Originally asking for a lot of money, paying back the money on the spot, there are still many businesses that are 'folded in half'." "Miss Luo Si, it sounds like your accent is from Hangzhou?" "Not bad. What do you ask it for?" "You people from Hangzhou are very good at bargaining. 'Fold in half and hit the middle' is the third of the world. How can there be such a business in the world. Miss Luo Si, you always want to be promoted, right?" Gao Sheng and Gao Sheng, agreed to 1200 taels of silver.Fourth Sister Luo brought a bank note, took a piece of four hundred taels and held it in her hand, but she had something to say. "Boss Li, if you follow my advice, our transaction will be successful. I will bring someone to see it tomorrow, and I will ask you the price, and you will say eight hundred taels of silver." "Why?" "Don't worry about it." Fourth Sister Luo said, "You want 1,200 taels, I'll pay you four hundred today, and eight hundred tomorrow. That's a lot of money." It is clearly stated in the article that you must follow my words, and if you don’t follow my words, the deal will fail, and you will double retreat to Dingyang.” "Yes, yes! I will." So Boss Li accepted Dingyang and gave a receipt.Not long after Fourth Sister Luo left, another regular customer came. "Hey, yo! Mrs. Gu, my God of Wealth is coming again. What do you want to watch today?" "Let's see." Boss Li led her to look around, and when he saw the Luodian Suanzhi wooden utensils, he stopped and asked, "What's the price of this wooden utensils?" "Sorry, Mrs. Gu, I just sold it—" Grandma Qigu was very disappointed, but she didn't give up. "Who are you selling it to?" She said, "How can there be such a coincidence?" Seeing this scene, Boss Li changed his mind. There was another sentence in his original words: "Miss Luo Si bought it." But before he finished speaking, "Mrs. Gu" cut it off. Judging by her appearance, she has a lot of power. It means that if you say "Miss Luo Si", she will definitely discuss the situation with others, and then things will be embarrassing. "Miss Luo Si" is very powerful, it's better not to mess with her. After making up her mind, she didn't answer, but the more Grandma Qigu liked her, the more she refused to give up. "How much did you sell it to?" she asked. "Since it's sold, Mrs. Gu doesn't have to ask." "Hey, hey!" Grandma Qigu lowered her face, "On the spot," she said, "Ask me what you are afraid of, Boss Li, do you have a big business and a big air? Or are you getting older and more confused? How can you do business like this, you can’t ask a single question!” "Mrs. Gu, don't scold me." Boss Li had an idea, put away his wry smile, and asked calmly, "I'll ask Mrs. Gu for a few words first, is it okay?" "Yes! What's wrong?" "Mrs. Gu wants to buy this wooden utensil. Do you want to use it yourself or give it away?" "Give it away." "Which one to send?" "Don't worry about it." "Mrs. Gu, you told me, maybe there is a discussion." "Okay." Grandma Qigu said, "Here, it's Miss Luo Si whom I visited with her last time." This time, Boss Li understood, "Miss Luo Si" said that he wanted to bring someone to see, and this person was right in front of him.So he smiled and said, "Mrs. Gu, what a coincidence you said! The buyer just now was Miss Luo Si." Grandma Qigu was very surprised: "She has been here?" She hurriedly asked: "Bought this wooden utensil of yours? How much?" "Eight hundred taels." Grandma Qigu nodded, "The price is fair." She asked again, "How much did you pay for Dingyang?" "Not paid." "Didn't pay?" Seventh Aunt got angry again, "Didn't pay, why didn't you sell it to me?" "Business is a word! Miss Luo Si is your old lady's background, of course I have to trust her." Grandma Qigu thought his two words were very pleasant, so she couldn't help but tell the truth: "Boss Li, let me tell you the truth! Miss Luo Si is going to be a bride, and I bought this wooden furniture as a dowry for her. I’m willing to spend money, so I’ll decide for myself. Like this, I’ll accompany her tomorrow, and you don’t want to take her money, but mine.” "Yes Yes!" "Also, you promised her 800 taels, of course it's still 800 taels, but I want to kill you. The bargain is fake. Today I will pay you 200 taels first, and tomorrow I will bargain down to 600 taels, and you will Said that the old customer had no choice, and agreed. I did this because I was afraid that she would feel sorry for me, do you understand?" "Understood! Why don't you understand? Miss Luo Si had a friend like you, she was really lucky in her previous life, and she bought wooden utensils to marry her, and she had to be considerate of her heart. Except for you, Mrs. Gu, there is no other person who is so kind and considerate. Two." Grandma Qigu bought this good wooden utensil and felt full of ambition. After hearing these few words from him, she became more and more proud. The next day, Fourth Sister Luo came, and Grandma Qigu said as soon as she opened her mouth, "Did you go to Changfa yesterday?" Fourth Sister Luo didn't know how she knew, so she replied calmly, "Yes." "You have taken a fancy to a class of wooden utensils, and the price has been negotiated?" "Yes. We agreed on eight hundred taels of silver." "That can't be better." Grandma Qigu said, "You really have vision! Let's go." So the car arrived at Changfa, and the boss had already prepared tea, cigarettes, fruits, and snacks.Sit down for a while and look at the woodwork. "Miss Luo Si said that the price has been negotiated with you, right?" "yes." "Miss Luo Si bought it, but now I buy it." Grandma Qigu said, "Boss Li, we have been in contact for many years, you should be more restrained, and I will pay you six hundred taels of silver." "Madam Gu, I've already lost money." "I know that you are losing money. It's nothing more than years of friendship. I will kill you two hundred taels." "Next time, I will definitely show friendship. This time." Boss Li said firmly, "My price is what you say, and it must not be changed." Being so unfeeling, Grandma Qigu turned pale with anger, she really wanted to scold him, but firstly, it was a happy event and it was not suitable to quarrel, and secondly, she was reluctant to part with this fine wooden utensil, so she had to swallow her anger and sneered and said: "Okay, okay! You're ruthless." After speaking, he took out the eight hundred taels of silver and threw it on the table. "Mrs. Gu, please don't be angry. I really have a problem. I will come to the house to make amends some other day." "Who wants you to make amends. Let me tell you, this time it's a sap business." After finishing speaking, he turned around and left. Boss Li chased after him and wanted to argue. Grandma Qigu ignored him and got into the carriage with Fourth Sister Luo to go home. They were so angry all the way that they didn't bother to say anything. Fourth Sister Luo also felt that life was boring. As soon as he got home, he met Gu Yingchun in the sitting room.Seeing that his beloved wife looked unhappy, he asked with a smile: "He went out happily, but he didn't seem very happy when he came back. Why?" "Changfa's Boss Li is not on the road!" Grandma Qigu said loudly, "I will never do business with him again. You said you would bring foreigners to him to order furniture, so save yourself! Choose another place." "Why don't you go on the road?" "He," Grandma Qigu said after thinking about it, "he insisted on asking me for eight hundred taels of silver." "Did you pay it?" "You want to!" Grandma Qigu paid the "price difference" in advance, and she told Gu Yingchun. He was thinking in his heart that Boss Li's business is very big, and although he is shrewd, he is very trustworthy, so it seems that he will not swallow two hundred taels of silver , there may be other reasons, but in front of Fourth Sister Luo, it is inconvenient to discuss in depth, so I have to keep silent. So Fourth Sister Luo persuaded Grandma Qigu: "Sister Qi, the things are really good, and eight hundred taels of silver is really not expensive. Please calm down first, and I will discuss it with you. There is a usage for this wooden utensil." Grandma Qigu was about to answer when she was interrupted by the little eldest sister.She came to report that Boss Li is here and wants to see Grandma Qigu. "not see." "I'll see." Gu Yingchun said, "I'll ask him later." After leaving for a while, Gu Yingchun came back with a smile, holding a red envelope in his hand. Grandma Qigu took it and looked at it. The word "He Yi" was written on the label of the envelope, and Boss Li's signature was on the bottom. A silver note of two hundred and forty taels. "What is this?" "It's not for you." Gu Yingchun said, "Didn't you tell him that Fourth Sister Luo is going to be a bride, and it's a gift for a happy event." Hearing this, Grandma Qigu and Fourth Sister Luo looked at each other in astonishment, and when something happened suddenly, they all used their eyes to urge Gu Yingchun to continue, but Gu Yingchun had an air of uncontrollable laughter. "What are you laughing at?" Grandma Qigu gave her husband a blank look, "Say it quickly!" "Why don't you be funny? This kind of thing can only be done by those of you who put your mind to it." Gu Yingchun glanced at Fourth Sister Luo, and said to his wife, "Do you know how much this wooden utensil costs? One thousand and two One hundred taels." "Hey!" Fourth Sister Luo cried out, "Seventh Brother-in-law, did Boss Li tell you?" "Of course you told me. Otherwise, he took another two hundred taels of silver from Dingyang and refused to accept it. How can he explain this?" "Ah?" Fourth Sister Luo asked, "Sister Seven, have you already paid him two hundred taels?" Grandma Qigu was stunned for a moment, she figured out what was going on, and asked, "Did you pay him four hundred taels first?" "yes." "Why?" "I don't want you to spend too much money." "The two of us came to the same road." Grandma Qigu laughed, "I know you don't want me to spend too much money, so I paid him two hundred taels in advance. Let me tell you, where is such a cheap thing!" Fourth Sister Luo also found it funny: "Seventh brother-in-law is right, you have done such a thing with too much thought. You keep it from me, I keep it from you, everyone has got into the horns. But," she said Said, "Boss Li is not quite right, he just let two hundred and two taels, why bother to make Seventh Sister angry for nothing." "He also has his own opinion." Gu Yingchun replied, "I'll repeat what Boss Li said, and he said: 'Miss Luo Si looks like a very powerful character, I have to be wary of her. The note clearly stated that the quotation can only be quoted at 800 taels. If I change my words, I will refund Dingyang twice. If I change my words, Miss Luo Si will take out the receipt and type a "shattering seal", I have nothing to say. So I didn't let go at the time, I would rather offend Mrs. Gu and apologize later.'” Grandma Qigu cleared her suspicions and said with a happy smile: "This person is still on his way, and he gave an extra forty taels of congratulatory gifts." As she spoke, she handed the red envelope to Fourth Sister Luo. "I don't want it." Fourth Sister Luo refused to accept it, "It's not mine." "Could it be mine?" Grandma Qigu joked, "I'm not the bride." Fourth Sister Luo smiled embarrassedly, but still refused to accept it, and Grandma Qigu couldn't withdraw her hand. Gu Yingchun said, "Leave it to me. The two hundred taels are returned from Dingyang, and the congratulatory gift of forty taels is my name." People keep notes there." So Grandma Qigu handed over the red envelope to Gu Yingchun, and then praised the furniture inlaid with sour branches and snails, thinking that 1,200 taels of silver is really not expensive. From this we can talk about the origin of this wooden vessel. Its value cannot be discussed in terms of the amount of silver.Fourth Sister Luo therefore had an idea that even though she used this wooden utensil for "dowry", it was too much and would inevitably be criticized by others, so she discussed with Grandma Qigu privately and planned to use this wooden utensil to honor Mrs. Hu. "My idea came to me after I heard a word from Boss Li. He said that there is a Zhu Daotai in Jiangxi who wants to buy this wooden utensil to pay tribute to an old lady who is a governor. I was thinking in my heart that in the future I will use this Mrs. Hu doesn't use as much wooden utensils as I do, and I feel uneasy after using them, so it's better to borrow flowers to present Buddha as a favor. Seventh sister, you don't blame me, do you?" "Where, where!" Grandma Qigu was extremely relieved, "To be honest, I am relieved that you know how to behave like this. The Hu family has a lot of people, and I am really afraid that you think you are right, you are right, and your temper is too straight. Yes, it will offend people." "It's inevitable to offend people. As long as there are a few people who don't offend, it's fine. For example, Mrs. Hu, she must serve well." Grandma Qigu nodded secretly, thinking in her heart, Fourth Sister Luo must understand the principle of "holding the emperor to command the princes", not only can be a person, but also an "official", it is really unnecessary to worry about her.