Chapter 98: Let the Black-Hearted Merchant Bleed
Gu Lan remained calm, took a sip of the tea that the waiter had just brought, but put it down with a look of disgust, obviously thinking that the tea was of poor quality.
The shopkeeper suppressed his anger. After all, the woman who called him out was wearing such rags. It was obvious that she was so arrogant. He thought she must come from a good family. So he patiently accompanied her.
"Miss, these...are you kidding me? You can buy a bunch of these for just a few cents at a small stall."
Gu Lan looked at him calmly, "Ten cents? Are you kidding me? I wouldn't sell it even if it was worth a thousand gold."
"Then what are you doing..." The shopkeeper's anger was almost uncontrollable.
Gu Lan pursed his lips and said, "I only want five taels of silver. Wait, I haven't finished speaking yet."
Gu Lan's aura frightened the shopkeeper who was about to interrupt her, so he didn't dare to say a word.
"I'll come get it in three days, and I'll give you fifty taels of silver then."
The shopkeeper laughed, obviously finding it a little ridiculous.
"If it weren't for the fact that your shop is bigger and safer, I wouldn't have come here." Gu Lan said arrogantly, "Don't worry, I won't refuse to pay you. Words alone are not enough, so I'll put it in writing."
The shopkeeper looked confused. "Miss, you've already lost forty-five taels of silver in just five days. What's your intention?"
Gu Lan glanced at him contemptuously, "You're just trying to make me happy!"
The shopkeeper pursed his lips and didn't dare to talk back when being scolded.
"Don't you see? It's just the two of us sisters. It's inconvenient and unsafe to carry this thing with you. Remember, keep an eye on it. I spent so much money on it. If you sell it to me, I won't let you off."
"Sister, words alone are not enough, so a written document is enough."
Gu Lan nodded, "That's right, boss, do you want to do this business?"
The shopkeeper was tempted to get so much silver in just three days, but he was also a shrewd person. "If the young lady doesn't come to collect it, won't I lose the five taels of silver as well?"
Gu Lan was furious when he heard this. "Who are you looking down on? How could I be short of your five taels of silver for what I'm wearing?"
"Haha...Miss, there are a lot of scammers these days." The shopkeeper apologized with a smile.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the necklace on Li Mumu's neck. There was a big pearl in the middle, which looked very valuable.
"How about this? Since the young lady trusts me, it's my honor. But let's be gentlemen first and villains later. Why don't you leave this young lady's necklace with me? When she comes to pick it up later, she only needs to pay the original price. Do you think this is feasible?"
Gu Lan glanced at Li Mumu and thought to himself that this guy was not so easily fooled.
Li Mumu looked at the 9.9 yuan necklace that Pin Xixi bought on her neck. The plastic beads in the middle were luminous. Although it was cheap, this kind of technology was not available in that era.
"This is what my mother gave me. I won't give it to you."
The shopkeeper laughed dryly, "Miss, look..."
Gu Lan frowned, "Sister, listen to me. Leave it here first, and I'll buy you a bigger one later."
Li Mumu nodded, "But my beads glow, so please buy me a bigger and brighter one!"
Gu Lan pretended to be relieved and said, "No problem, just wait for Hong...your brother-in-law's business to be settled."
The shopkeeper took the necklace in his hand and weighed it. The weight was correct. It was this bead that was different from the ones he had seen before.
But when held in the hand and away from light, the bead would indeed glow. After all, night-shining pearls were extremely rare, and he had only seen them a few times, so he figured it couldn't be wrong.
"How much does this lady want to bet?"
Gu Lan said casually: "Fifty taels will be enough. Anyway, we have written the receipt, and we will definitely come back to get it."
The shopkeeper did not dare to delay and quickly asked his servant to bring pen and ink to write a document, which clearly stated that if the shopkeeper breached the contract, he would have to pay triple compensation.
"Please keep it." The shopkeeper said with a flattering smile, holding the collar tightly in his hand.
Gu Lan took the banknote, took Li Mumu's hand and walked away without looking back.
She looked cool, but only Li Mumu knew that her cousin's palms were full of sweat.
After walking a short distance and making sure that the people in the pawnshop were out of sight, Gu Lan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mumu, I got the banknote. Is it done?"
Li Mumu smiled and said, "It's only half of it. How can the money be enough at once? He is so cruel, so of course he has to spend more."
Gu Lan was very confused. "But how did he believe that collar? Didn't you just buy it casually?"
Li Mumu wanted to say that modern construction technology was so advanced that it would be indistinguishable from the ancients', but she couldn't tell the truth. "Of course he saw that my cousin was so noble and dignified. In the end, he was just greedy."
Gu Lan smiled, and felt that she was pretending well, but she was curious whether her cousin could really make him bleed again.
In Yuanbao Pawnshop, a young clerk came forward and said, "Boss, I have never seen a night-shining pearl before. Can you let me take a look?"
The shopkeeper rolled his eyes at him and said, "Well, let me open your eyes and see how beautiful this green light is."
The young man nodded excitedly. "It's really beautiful. But how could they be willing to pawn such a precious thing at such a low price?"
"Just for those two junks?"
The shopkeeper took a deep breath, placed the necklace in the brocade box himself, and looked at the two pieces of junk again.
It is true that they are women, but they are not stupid. They would sacrifice such a precious treasure for a pair of junks. Is there really something fishy about these two things?
Is it because I am not well-educated and don’t understand it?
The storyteller thought for a moment and said, "It would be best if we put these two out in the open so that everyone can see them."
The guy didn't understand what he meant. Even though it was tattered, people would come to redeem it after all. Wouldn't it be bad if it got damaged?
"Just do as I say." The shopkeeper was too lazy to explain to him.
The clerk unfolded the fan and painting and hung them up, then asked with a smile, "Boss, are you really going to redeem them?"
The shopkeeper glanced at him and said, "What are you talking about? We run a pawnshop and we have to be honest. But if something is lost, there's nothing we can do. We just have to pay for it."
The young man smiled knowingly. After all, even he knew that the collar was worth much more than the triple compensation of 150 taels of silver.
When Li Mumu took Gu Lan to buy things, Gu Lan was still a little uneasy, "Mumu, why don't you not spend the money? If things don't work out, we will have to pay him back."
Li Mumu waved her hand and said, "Boss, pack them all for me except for that one and that one I don't want."
She then turned around and took the time to say, "Cousin, I do want to return it, but it depends on whether he will give me this opportunity."
Gu Lan gasped, surprised and delighted, "You mean we can still get compensation for breach of contract?"
Li Mumu nodded. "My cousin is smart, but this is not the only money."
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