Ever since a large silver shop opened across the street, the business of his jewelry shop has become increasingly worse. He brought in the pearl flowers specifically to attract customers. Now that a customer finally came, the shopkeeper didn't want to give up.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "Alright! Six hundred coins is six hundred coins. Miss, come often!"
"I'm afraid we can't come here often. We are here to take the exam and will go back in the next two days." Tian An said while looking at the other pearl flowers.
The shopkeeper felt a little regretful, but still hoped to develop a repeat customer. However, he still smiled and congratulated: "This young man must have passed the exam! Congratulations!" People who didn't pass the exam would not be in the mood to come out and buy things.
Speaking of Zhao Yiming's passing the exam, Tian An's smile deepened. "Thank you, boss! My brother Yiming is amazing! He ranked sixth!"
The shopkeeper was shocked. "The sixth place is Bingsheng! This young man is really amazing!"
Tian An pointed to a pearl flower on the counter and asked, "How much is this?"
The shopkeeper took a look at the pearl flower and said, "I sell this for three hundred coins, but since you are the relative of a scholar, I will charge you two hundred and sixty coins."
Tian An was stunned. It turned out that all her eloquence was not as effective as Zhao Yiming's title of scholar!
"Give me ten at this price."
"Ten?" the shopkeeper asked in disbelief.
Tian An nodded, "Yes, that's ten."
The shopkeeper was so happy that he almost died. He hadn't met such a big customer for a long time, and hurriedly asked his staff to help pack the goods.
Before he could finish being happy, Tian An asked again, "Are there any hairpins of the same price?" Zhuhua bought some and gave them to several maids. Women had to buy hairpins, and the servants she bought them for worked very hard. She took this opportunity to bring some gifts back for everyone as a reward.
"Yes, yes, yes." The shopkeeper's face was almost smiling, and he hurriedly took Tian An to look at the hairpin beside him.
This time, Tian An asked for six hairpins, one of which was slightly better, and the other five were the same. He then picked out a silver hairpin of a simple and elegant style for Granny Qin.
The final price came to 5,900 wen, of which Tian An contributed 5,300 wen, and Zhao Yiming himself paid for the 600 wen pearl flower that he had his eye on. Because they bought so much, the shopkeeper gave them an extra pair of pearl earrings, but unfortunately Tian An didn't have pierced ears, so he gave them to Deng Xue instead.
After leaving the jewelry shop, they went to the bookstore. Zhao Yiming had passed the imperial examination and it was time to visit his two mentors.
When the bookshop clerk saw a few people entering the shop, he smiled and went up to greet them: "What do you want to buy?"
Tian An looked around and didn't see anything suitable, so he asked, "We're looking for a gift for our mentor. Do you have any good recommendations?"
"If you want to give a gift to your mentor, you can use a brush washer, inkstone, writing brush, or paperweight."
As the clerk spoke, he took out two brush washers, an inkstone, three brushes, and two pairs of paperweights from the counter.
It looked much better than the things displayed outside. As expected, the good things were hidden away.
Zhao Yiming looked at the things the waiter took out one by one, and his eyes finally stopped on the two pairs of stone paperweights.
There are two pairs of paperweights. One pair is carved with two bamboos and two lines of poetry in the middle. The other pair is carved with tall green pines and two lines of poetry in the middle. They are perfect for readers.
"These two pairs of paperweights are nice!" Tian An also took a liking to the paperweights at first sight.
"Miss, you have really good taste. These two pairs of paperweights were carved by an experienced stonemason. It's fate that these paperweights were only brought in this morning. If you had come earlier, they wouldn't be available. If you had come later, they might have been sold out." The clerk said happily.
Zhao Yiming picked up one and examined it carefully. The carving was indeed excellent, with precise details and a good polish. It was obvious that a lot of thought had gone into it. He asked the clerk, "How much is it?"
"This stone isn't worth much, but the carving is expensive, and they used a special technique to ensure it won't crack. The shopkeeper said they'll cost two taels of silver a pair."
Two taels a pair! Tian An thought it was a bit pricey, but the carving was indeed good.
She was a little unsure, so she asked Zhao Yiming: "What do you think?"
"Not bad." Zhao Yiming said it was good, but the love in his eyes could not be hidden.
After Tian An got the affirmation, he began to bargain with the clerk, "The price of this paperweight is a bit expensive, can you make it cheaper?"
The clerk said with a bitter face: "Miss, this is the price set by the shopkeeper. I didn't ask for a high price!"
Tian An looked at the paperweight with regret and said, "A pair costs two taels, and two pairs is four taels. It's too expensive, and the numbers are not good, it's unlucky."
The clerk was stunned. "You want to buy two pairs?" Then he muttered, "Four taels... four taels..." Suddenly he paused, "Uh..." Then he laughed awkwardly and said tentatively, "How about I give you a hundred wen less for two pairs?"
Tian An shook his head. "It's only fifty cents less for a pair. It's still too expensive."
The clerk said helplessly: "This is the lowest price the shopkeeper gave me. It really can't be any cheaper."
Seeing that Tian An wanted to say more, the waiter hurriedly said, "Miss, this can't be any cheaper. If you give it to someone, we have to prepare a gift box and maintenance oil. These all cost money, right?"
Tian An thought that since he was a clerk and the price was fixed by the owner, he probably wouldn't be able to lower it no matter how much he talked, so he gave up. "Okay! Then we'll take three pairs."
Zhao Yiming looked at Tian An and said, "Two are enough."
"You want another one! You gave me a gift, so I want to give you one too." Tian An said, gently shaking the pearl tassels on her head.
Unfortunately, the waiter spread his hands helplessly and said, "There are only two pairs of these paperweights."
"Then buy two!" Zhao Yiming took out the silver from his pocket and handed it to the clerk.
The clerk took out a small scale to weigh the silver, gave some copper coins to Zhao Yiming, and went to get a gift box to pack it.
Tian An pulled Zhao Yiming's sleeve and said, "Brother Yiming, let's go to other bookstores later! I have to buy you a better paperweight as a gift."
Zhao Yiming refused, "The ones at home are still usable. At worst, we still have a lot of gifts from other families. There's no need to waste money on buying more."
"But those are not gifts from me." She didn't want to buy a paperweight, but a gift for Zhao Yiming.
"You really want to give me a gift!" Zhao Yiming looked at Tian An and smiled.
Tian An nodded, "You finally passed the exam and became a scholar! We have to commemorate this."
"Then please embroider a purse for me! A purse embroidered by you means more to me than anything else."
Tian An wanted to refuse, but when he saw Zhao Yiming's expectant eyes, he couldn't say no.
After hesitating for a while, she tentatively asked, "How about you wait for me to go back and practice needlework?"
Zhao Yiming's eyes unconsciously showed doting, "Don't feel pressured, it doesn't matter if the embroidery is not good. As long as it's you embroidered it, I like it no matter how ugly it is."
"Ugly? That's impossible. Don't worry, Brother Yiming, I will definitely embroider a very beautiful purse for you." Tian An promised solemnly, but unfortunately, he felt a little uneasy as soon as he finished bragging.
But as soon as she thought of Grandma Qin's exquisite embroidery skills, she felt relieved.
After leaving the bookstore with the wrapped paperweight, the few of them went shopping again, and finally had a meal in a restaurant before going home.
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