Chapter 119 Being a Tour Guide (Part 2)

Anyway, after this incident, the two foreigners, Mike and David, became completely obedient and followed Shi Yue obediently. When Shi Yue told them to go east, they didn't dare to look west and felt embarrassed by Shi Yue.

Shi Yue thought that Mike and David were the financial backers after all, so he had to consider their opinions. So he turned around and asked, "Um, Mike, David, is there anything you two would like to see?"

The translator, acting as a bridge of communication, stepped in again. After whispering to Mike and David for a while, he turned to Shi Yue and said, "They want to buy something special, something with a bit of cultural heritage. Ideally, something they can put in their room for others to admire."

Shi Yue: ...

It's the same as not saying anything.

With cultural heritage, there are so many things to appreciate, such as gold, stone, jade, and anything else that can be displayed at home for appreciation. There are also calligraphy and painting books, which are all fine, but foreigners probably can't understand Chinese calligraphy and painting.

He thought about it and was about to say that he would take Mike and the others to have a look when he heard Mike pointing at a stall and exclaiming.

Shi Yue looked in the direction he pointed and found that it was a stall selling root carvings.

He took a quick glance and found that there were quite a lot of things on display in this small stall of less than two square meters. There were root carvings in the shapes of cranes, monkeys, turtles, and other animals, as well as root carvings of courtyards, attics, mountains, rivers, and stone landscapes. There were all kinds of root carvings, big and small, and in various shapes.

The stall owner was a gray-haired old man in his sixties or seventies. He sat behind the stall, carving a tiger root carving that was almost completed in his hand without raising his head.

Mike shouted "Butterfly, Butterfly" and came closer with bright eyes.

The old stall owner heard someone screaming and subconsciously raised his head. He saw Mike's big face in front of him, staring at him straight, which made him scared.

His hand trembled, and the carving knife in his hand almost ruined the root carving in front of him.

"What are you doing, you foreign devil?"

The old stall owner put down the carving knife and looked at Mike warily.

He had seen many foreigners, but this was the first time he had seen one staring at him like that.

Although Mike was a little silly, he was not really stupid. As soon as he saw the look in the old man's eyes, he knew that he had misunderstood what he meant. He opened his mouth and wanted to explain, but he quickly realized that the old man did not understand him. He quickly turned around and pulled Shi Yue and the translator over.

After the translator's explanation, Shi Yue and the old man understood that Mike was attracted by the tiger sculpture that the old man was currently carving.

Shi Yue raised his eyebrows and thought to himself that this foreigner had pretty good taste, regardless of anything else.

The tiger sculpture this old man made is really good.

The tiger's front body is stretched close to the ground, the muscles of its hind legs are tense as if gathering strength, its expression is fierce and majestic, and its eyes are bright and lively. Although this work is not yet completed, its current appearance alone has already portrayed a lifelike tiger ready to pounce on its prey.

Shi Yue looked at the majestic tiger and couldn't help but like it.

Mike really liked this root carving. Without even discussing it with Shi Yue, he directly grabbed the translator and asked him to tell the old man that he wanted this root carving and asked him how much it wanted.

The old man waved his hand and said, "No, no, I haven't finished it yet. I won't sell it now."

After listening to the translator's retelling of the old man's words, Mike pleaded, "I really want this. Please, sell it to me. I'll pay any price."

Shi Yue looked at Mike in surprise. He had been with this foreigner for half a day. Except for the first time when he heard him say an unstandard hello, this guy spoke only English. He thought this guy would only say hello, but he didn't expect him to say anything else!

The old man said, "No, no, even if you want it, I can't sell you this unfinished thing. If I sell this half-finished thing, wouldn't that be a blow to my reputation as Liu the Carver? Look at the other things on this stall, the finished ones, are there any you want? Since you're sincere about it, I'll give it to you at a discount, is that okay with that?"

The old man spoke very fast. He finished a series of words in a row, and Mike didn't even react. He looked at the old man with clear and confused eyes.

The old man took a moment to react before realizing that the foreigner didn't understand him. He shouted to the side, "You fake foreigner over there, come here and translate what I just said to him."

The translator pointed at himself with a questioning look on his face.

Is he the fake foreigner you are talking about?

The old man said: "Yes, it's you. You can speak their foreign language, right? Talk to him."

The translator was silent for a moment, then said silently, "Sir, I'm a translator, not a fake foreigner."

Old man: "Well, it's almost the same."

translate:……

He twitched his lips, but still translated what the old man said to Mike truthfully.

After listening to this, Mike paused and said, "No, no, I want this tiger! I like this tiger!"

The old man frowned and said, "You foreign devil, you are so stubborn. I told you, I haven't finished making this tiger yet, so I won't sell it!"

Mike said aggrievedly: "I like it!"

The old man was getting impatient. He waved his hands and said, "I won't sell that either!"

Shi Yue saw that the two were obviously at a loss for words, so he quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "No, sir, please don't be so anxious. We have something to discuss."

The old man said, "What's there to discuss? I can't sell this thing until it's finished. If I sell it and someone who knows the business sees it, they'll definitely think I'm dishonest and selling unfinished things. I won't do such a thing! And don't even think of asking me to do something that would ruin my reputation!"

Shi Yue: "No, sir, you misunderstood, I didn't mean that."

The old man glanced at Shi Yue and said, "What do you mean?"

Shi Yue smiled and said, "I know you don't want to sell half-finished products, but you can also see that our foreign friends here really like your work. So I want to ask you, how long will it take you to make this work? Can we pre-order it first?"

"Reserve?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "I can pre-order it, but can you wait? Young man, let me be frank with you. Don't be fooled by the fact that the appearance of this thing is almost done, but it's actually only halfway done. I still need to carefully refine the details. After the details are completed, I still need to polish and touch up, paint and varnish it, and then let it dry. All of this will take at least one to two months."

It was because the production time of the product was too long and he felt that the foreigners in front of him could not wait that long, so he was unwilling to sell it.

Shi Yue smiled and said, "Then wait for me to ask him."

He poked the translator, signaling him to relay the message to Mike.

The translator nodded and went off to chat with Mike.

Mike became excited instantly after hearing the translation. He nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes! Wait!"

He said, "Although I'm leaving soon, I can ask Gong to send it to me!"

After parking the car, Gong Fa came over and said:???

He came forward, patted Shi Yue's shoulder, and asked, "What the hell is Mike talking about? What are you sending?"

Shi Yue turned around: "Hey, Gong Fa, you're here?"

Mike was even more delighted to see Gong Fa coming. He babbled a string of bird sounds. Shi Yue and Gong Fa*, both illiterate in English, didn't understand a word he said. It was the translator who kindly stepped forward and said, "Mike said you're back just in time, Mr. Gong. He was just about to see you. He wants this root carving, but it's not finished yet, so he can only take a pre-order. So, could you help him ship it to the United States after it's finished?"

Gong was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and nodded decisively: "Yes, yes, of course!"

Mike asked him for help? Hey, that's a good thing!

Even though it was Mike who asked him for help, Gong Fa was very happy. He was worried about not being able to establish a relationship with the two big money sponsors, Mike and David, but now he doesn't have to worry anymore!

He said with a big smile on his face, "Don't worry, Mike, I'll take care of this. I'll definitely send it to America for you when the time comes!"

Although Mike's Chinese was not very good, he understood what Gong Fa meant. He said to Gong Fa with gratitude: "Gong, thank you, you are such a good person!"

After he finished speaking, he turned around and stammered to the old man who owned the stall, "Can you sell it to me now?"

The old man thought to himself, if you don’t make money even though you have the money, you’re a bastard. Now that the foreigner is offering money to his door so eagerly, of course he’ll sell it!

He smiled and nodded: "Okay, okay."

Mike patted the bulging bag on his body and asked, "How much is it?"

The old man thought about it and realized that this foreigner was followed by several fake foreigners, so he must be a rich man.

So he boldly made an offer: "One price, thirty thousand yuan!"

Shi Yue and Gong Fa both took a deep breath when they heard the price.

Thirty thousand yuan, that’s thirty thousand yuan!

This old man is really brave enough to ask for it!

Although his stuff is good, it's really not worth the price. The market price of ordinary root carvings ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand. The more expensive ones are only around 18,000 yuan, and that's for the big ones. He's asking for 30,000 yuan for such a small thing, which is really an exorbitant price.

Shi Yue wanted to bargain with him, but before he could say anything, Mike asked, "RMB?"

The old man said: "Yes, yes, RMB."

He was afraid Mike wouldn't give him RMB, so he added, "Don't give me money from other countries. I won't take it. Even if I do, I have nowhere to spend it."

Mike nodded, half understanding, and opened the small bag he was carrying, revealing stacks of bundled red bills inside. He asked, "Is this enough?"

Shi Yue was about to bargain, but Mike stopped him from doing so.

Since the silly foreigner has money and is willing to spend it, why should he bother talking so much?

Although the old man asked for a high price, he was not lying. He took out three stacks of bills from his bag and said, "These are enough."

Mike nodded foolishly: "Okay."

The old man glanced at Shi Yue and the others. Seeing that they didn't react, he confidently put the money into his pocket and said, "Okay, consider this a reservation. Um, well..."

He looked at Gong Fa and said, "I just heard from the foreigner that once the product is ready, you will be responsible for sending it to him, right?"

Gong Fa nodded. The old man said, "Okay, I'll give you my address. Remember it. Come to my house and pick it up in a month and a half."

"Okay. Go ahead, sir."

After paying the money and getting the address, Mike and his group planned to leave. Before leaving, Mike smiled brightly and said thank you to the old man.

The old man muttered quietly: "This foreigner really doesn't seem very smart."

But he still likes this foreigner. After all, he is generous with money!

He said 30,000, and it was 30,000. He didn't even stutter, and paid it immediately, and it was a full payment! It's no exaggeration to say he is the God of Wealth!

For the sake of money, the old man decided to rush to work when he got home tonight and he had to finish the thing as soon as possible!

Shi Yue, who had already left, didn't know what the old man was thinking, but it didn't stop him from thinking that Mike and David were just two rich, stupid local tycoons.

Well, not only is he rich, he looks like a local tycoon.

The brothers' aesthetic tastes are also like those of local tycoons.

This was the conclusion Shi Yue came to after taking Mike and the others for a tour.

There are so many stalls in the market, selling everything, but what Mike and David are interested in are things with bright colors, complex patterns, and even complicated piles of things.

During the period, Yue took the two brothers to a stall selling porcelain, and they both fell in love with an enameled porcelain vase from the Qianlong period at first sight.

Shi Yue helped check it out and found nothing wrong with it. It was indeed from the Qianlong period, and a genuine official kiln. It was a good piece, except for the overly fancy patterns. However, things from this period were all rather fancy, so that was normal.

After confirming that this thing was really from the Qianlong period, the two brothers were extremely excited and immediately offered a high price of 200,000 RMB.

The stall owner didn't expect the price to be so high, so he nodded happily and agreed.

David and Mike certainly didn't have that much money on them, but it didn't matter. To them, this was just a small matter. David pulled out a mobile phone from his bag, dialed the number, said a few words to the person on the other end, and then said to Shi Yue and the others, "Wait, the assistant will bring the money over."

Shi Yue and the others waited for a while, and David's assistant came over with a bag full of money.

Seeing this, Shi Yue whispered from behind, "No, Gong Fa, your foreign client is quite powerful. We haven't even been waiting for half an hour, has he? He brought the money right away."

Gong Fa also gossiped to him quietly: "These two brothers are rich. Their family has been doing business since their ancestors. It is said that their business is very big in the United States. A few hundred thousand dollars is just pocket money for them."

Shi Yue bumped Gong Fa's shoulder and said, "You're amazing! You've even done business with such a big boss!"

Gong Fa: "Well, what do you mean by "I can do it"? It has nothing to do with me. They came to China this time mainly to handle other business. I am just a little brother who came here to run errands for them."

He said: "That's it. I had to rely on other people's connections to get the opportunity to do so."

Shi Yue: "Well, they have money."

Gong Fa nodded and said, "That's right. These two young masters are really rich. Seriously, if they give me a little bit of it through their fingers, it would be enough for me to live on for several years."

Shi Yue shrugged: "Who isn't?"

The money David and his friends paid him for being their tour guide for a day was more than his annual salary.

But Shi Yue had no other ideas.

If they have money, they have money. It has nothing to do with him.

Anyway, he took the money given by others, so he just had to be a good tour guide for them.

With this mentality, Shi Yue took Mike and David to the stalls seriously. In order to prove that the money was not taken in vain, he took out all the knowledge he had. Fortunately, he had a wide range of knowledge when he was in the Dayu Dynasty, so no matter what he saw, he could say a few words.

Not to mention porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, when he saw someone selling gilded Buddhas, he started directly from the introduction of Buddhism in the Han Dynasty, why Buddhism was popular in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the characteristics of Buddhist bronze statues in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the changes in Buddha statues after the Song Dynasty. He even talked about Buddhism with David and Mike, two Christians.

David and Mike were so frightened that when they returned to the hotel, they were both muttering "Namo Amitabha".

After sending the two young masters back to their rooms, Gong Fa nudged Shi Yue's shoulder and said, "You can do it!"

He glanced at Shi Yue and said, "I didn't realize before, you're quite talkative."

Shi Yue: "Average, third in the world."

Gong Fa laughed: "You are ranked third in the world, then who are the first and second?"

Shi Yue pointed upwards, then pointed downwards, and said, "The sky is the oldest, the earth is second, and I am third."

Gong Fa was stunned for a moment, then he doubled over with laughter. He gave Shi Yue a thumbs up and said, "Okay, you really can do it!"

Shi Yue: "Alright, alright, stop laughing, let's go down."

"Okay, I'll press the elevator button."

The elevator arrived quickly. Gong Fa and Shi Yue entered the elevator. After the elevator door closed, Shi Yue took out the money from his pocket and began to count it.

Gong Fa: "Is this the tip Mike gave you just now?"

Shi Yue nodded: "Yes."

When they came back just now, Mike gave Shi Yue a tip before getting off the car, saying that it was to thank Shi Yue for his company today. He was very happy that he had gained a lot of knowledge and bought something he liked.

Of course, these words were translated, not said by Mike himself to Shi Yue.

But no matter who said it, that's what it means.

Shi Yue was quite surprised at the time. He didn't expect that this foreigner was so nice and even gave him a tip.

At that time, he didn't have the courage to open it to see how much the tip was, but now that he had the chance, he had to take a look.

Shi Yue raised his thumb and clicked on the pictures one by one. After clicking, he said in surprise: "One thousand yuan!"

What Gong Fa said was absolutely right. For people like Mike, the little bit of money that slipped through their fingers would be enough for them to eat for several years.

The tips alone amount to a thousand dollars!

It’s equivalent to his three months’ salary!

Gong Fa was surprised when he heard the tip was a thousand, but he quickly accepted it. He said, "Just keep it if he gave it to you. I see they had a lot of fun today, and you've worked hard."

Shi Yue: "Well, it's not hard."

Although I was a little tired after walking and talking for a whole day, the money I earned was real money!

Taking this into consideration, he really doesn't feel it's hard.

"The first floor has arrived, the first floor has arrived——"

The elevator chime sounded, and Shi Yue and Gong Fa stepped out. It was already getting late, and looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows, it was already getting dark outside. Gong Fa glanced down at his watch and said, "Oh, it's past seven. Shi Yue, can I take you home?"

Shi Yue: "Okay."

He suddenly remembered something and said, "Well, drive out later and stop at the bakery at the intersection."

Gong Fa: "Hmm? What are you going to do?"

Shi Yue: "I'm going to buy a cake for my daughter to take back."

Just now when he came back and passed by the cake shop, he saw the red velvet cake poster on the big glass bed of the store.

It looks delicious!

His little Qiu will definitely like it!

Gong Fa glanced at Shi Yue with a smile and said, "You seem to be thinking about your daughter a lot."

Shi Yue: "My daughter, if I don't think about her, who should I think about?"

He argued confidently: "Besides, my daughter is so cute, how could I not think about her."

Thinking of Shi Yue's daughter, the little girl named Xiaoqiu, Gong Fa nodded and agreed with Shi Yue's words.

That little girl is really cute.

A pair of big, round eyes, smart and cute.

If he could have a daughter like this, she would probably be like Shi Yue, thinking about her wherever she goes.

What was Shi Qiu Shui doing at this time?

Being scolded.

With messy hair, mud all over his face, and a big torn hole in his pants, Shi Qiu Shui looked like a little beggar. He was sitting obediently in the living room of the Zhao family, listening to Aunt Lu's lecture.

Aunt Lu didn't smile at all. Her face was tense and she said, "You two are really brave, even braver than me! When I see stray dogs on the road, I always stay away from them, but you two are not afraid at all and even dare to provoke them!"

Aunt Lu was really mad at the two kids because they said they were going to practice relay races at school, so they asked her to pick them up from school later. So she didn't go to school until after six o'clock today. As a result, as soon as she arrived at school, she saw the two kids and several other kids clinging on the outer wall of the school, teasing the stray dogs outside.

She said with a fierce face, "How can you mess with wild dogs? Have you ever thought about what would happen if you pissed off the dog and it rushed over and bit you? It's summer, and you're all wearing thin clothes. If the dog bites you, it could bite half of your legs off! And have you ever thought about what would happen if the dog had rabies? You don't know how scary rabies is! In the past, the grandson of Old Wang's family in our alley was bitten by a dog and contracted rabies. He went crazy and died less than half a year after being bitten! Do you want to be like that kid?"

Shi Qiu Shui's face turned paler and paler.

What Grandma Lu said was so scary!

When Aunt Lu saw Shi Qiu Shui's little face turned pale with fright, she also realized that what she said was a bit exaggerated.

But she had to exaggerate, for she was afraid that if she didn't, the two children would not learn their lesson and would go and tease the dog again next time.

Aunt Lu said with a stern face, "Let me ask you, next time you see a stray dog, would you dare to tease it like you did today?"

Shi Qiushui quickly shook his head: "I don't dare anymore."

Zhao Ran followed suit and shook his head: "I don't dare anymore."

Shi Qiushui pursed his lips and explained, "It wasn't us who teased the dog today."

Shi Yue just happened to come back at this time. He pushed open the door, looked at the frozen atmosphere in the room, and asked, "Hey, what's going on?"