The next morning, Luo Zhiwan handed the child over to Zhiruo and then left with the house deed and license.
She arrived at the bustling area of Phoenix City Street, found the largest pawnshop—Li Family Pawnshop, and swaggered inside.
The waiter was leisurely munching on sunflower seeds when he saw her come in. Judging from her clothes, he assumed she was just there to buy a small item like a hairpin, and casually asked:
"Young lady, what are you peeking at? We only accept valuables here; please don't bring out those cheap items..."
Xiao Er's attitude greatly displeased her; if this were modern times, she would definitely expose him online.
She tilted her head back, looking haughty, and glared at him.
"Call your manager out here."
The waiter replied without hesitation.
"The shopkeeper is busy."
Luo Zhiwan could tell that Xiao Er looked down on her.
She took out the property deed and license from her pocket, patted them on her hand, and
"Sigh! Since I don't have time, I'll just pawn this house and shop somewhere else!"
Upon hearing this, the waiter rushed out from behind the counter and grabbed her.
"Young lady, young lady, what did you say? You want to mortgage the house deed and the shop?"
This is a lucrative business. People who pawn these things are usually in dire need of money. Very few can save enough silver to redeem them. Moreover, the pawnshop will only give the pawned items half of their original value. When the pawn period is over and these people don't have the silver to redeem them, the pawnshop will take over the houses and shops and make a huge profit.
So how could the shopkeeper miss out on such a sure-fire deal?
Luo Zhiwan frowned slightly in displeasure.
"Didn't you say the shopkeeper was busy? I don't want to talk to a lowly waiter like you about such a big deal."
The waiter hurriedly approached, bowing and scraping, with a fawning smile.
"Yes, yes, I'm free. Everyone else is busy, but since you've come, of course I'm free. Please wait a moment while I go call the manager."
As he spoke, he gestured for Luo Zhiwan to sit down in a chair, poured her a cup of tea, and then eagerly ran to the back room.
A short while later, a man who looked to be around fifty years old and had a small mustache came out of the back room.
He approached Zhiwan, clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, and bowed.
"Miss, I am the manager of Liu's Pawnshop. I heard you want to pawn something big?"
Luo Zhiwan nodded, then pushed the things in her hands toward the center of the table.
"Yes, the house deed and the shop. Take a look and see what price you can offer."
Manager Liu sat opposite her, glanced at the property deed she handed him, then looked at the shop's business license, before nodding in satisfaction.
"Well, you have more than ten houses of various sizes and a shop. I'll give you the house deed for eight hundred taels of silver. The shop is in a less desirable location, so I'll give you five hundred taels."
Before he could finish speaking, Luo Zhiwan snatched the property deed and license from his hand without saying a word, stuffed them into her bosom, and then got up to leave.
Manager Liu raised his hand to her, somewhat puzzled.
"Young lady, what do you mean by this?"
Luo Zhiwan couldn't help but sneer.
"Manager Liu, you're not honest at all in business. My house is big and worth at least two thousand taels, and you're only giving me eight hundred taels? And this shop, it's close to the house, although the location is bad, it's still on the street and worth at least one thousand taels, and you're only giving me five hundred taels? We can't do this deal."
"Girl, don't be in such a hurry."
Seeing that she was really about to leave, Manager Liu quickly got up to stop her.
“Young lady, business is business, so we have to take our time. If you feel something is not right, we can renegotiate. Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Besides, in Phoenix City, which pawnshop can come up with so much cash? Only my Liu Family Pawnshop!”
Manager Liu's words made sense, which was why she came directly to Liu's pawnshop.
After thinking for a moment, she sat down again and held up two fingers to him.
"The house deed and shop are valued at 2,500 taels, with a one-month payment period."
A month?
Such a short period?
This is truly a great deal! Manager Liu's eyes darted around, and he immediately made the decision.
"Alright, then so be it, miss. I'll go write the pawn ticket now. Do you want cash or a silver note?"
Luo Zhiwan said without thinking:
"Two thousand taels of silver notes, five hundred taels of cash."
"Alright, please wait a moment, young lady."
After speaking, the shopkeeper went behind the counter, took out the pawn ticket, quickly wrote it down, then opened the silver in the counter, took out two stacks of silver and several silver notes, and returned to Luo Zhiwan.
"Miss, I've brought the pawn tickets, silver notes, and cash."
After Luo Zhiwan checked that the pawn ticket and silver notes were in order, she handed the land deed and shop license to Manager Liu. She put the silver notes into her bosom, asked him to find her a cloth bag, stuffed all the silver into the bag, carried it on her shoulder, and swaggered out the door.
A young woman carrying so much cash swaggered around the city; even Manager Liu felt it would be against all reason not to rob her.
He immediately gave the waiter a wink, and the waiter nodded in understanding before quietly slipping out the door.
After leaving the pawnshop, Luo Zhiwan headed straight for Rong Family Pharmacy, the largest pharmacy in the city.
The Rong family is a prominent and wealthy family in Phoenix City. They own three pharmacies in Phoenix City, and all of them are doing well.
As she walked, she pondered how to explain receiving so many medicinal herbs to her father without arousing his suspicion. She also worried that Jiawang would be beaten if his mother discovered the land deed was missing. How could she prevent Jiawang from being spanked by his parents?
As she was pondering these things, she suddenly felt someone touch her. Looking up, she saw that the silver pouch she had just been holding had been snatched away by a masked man in front of her.
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