Although the food prepared by the imperial chef was quite good and suited Yunrong's taste, after eating it for a while, Yunrong became interested in local cuisine and decided to go out and explore it.
Yinzhen naturally accompanied him.
To be honest, the streets of Guangzhou are not as nice as those in Beijing. Because it is close to the sea, there are many fishermen setting up stalls on the streets, hoping to exchange the fish they catch for some money and to buy other things.
So there was a fishy smell on the street, to an acceptable degree, but it was really unpleasant.
Yinzhen and Yunrong didn't bring many people with them on the surface. Their clothes and appearance seemed out of place with the environment. All they could hear as they walked was the sound of vendors hawking their wares and the occasional glances of scrutiny.
The stares were alright, but there really wasn't much to eat here.
Seeing this, Yinzhen sent Liang Jiugong out to inquire, and then Yinzhen and Yunrong realized that they had come to the wrong place, so they decided to leave.
As he walked past a small stall, he suddenly saw a blond-haired, blue-eyed man appear. Yinzhen looked at the man with a hint of disgust in his eyes. This was not surprising, as anyone who had witnessed a group of blond-haired, blue-eyed people breaking through Beijing and looting and burning in the Yuanmingyuan would not have any good feelings towards blond-haired, blue-eyed people.
Yunrong, however, sensitively sensed Yinzhen's emotions at that moment, even though Yinzhen seemed perfectly normal now.
After a brief pause, Yinzhen and Yunrong heard the blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner say, "Oh, I need these things of yours. Give them to me, and I'm willing to exchange them with you."
Yinzhen and Yunrong's gaze then shifted to the stall, which displayed several large clams, which were indeed exceptionally large. Yinzhen and Yunrong did not know much about such things.
Then the stall owner smiled and said, "Sir, what will you trade?" Since he had put the items on display, he naturally wanted to sell them for a good price. Although he didn't mention the specific amount of silver, people from different ethnic groups often came to Guangzhou, and he knew that the imported goods they brought could be exchanged for a lot of silver in some shops.
"How about I trade you a telescope?"
The stall owner was quite satisfied. He had heard of telescopes; they were very valuable, and finding one was lucky. "Such a large clam must contain many high-quality pearls. What do you think of this?"
This blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner had a good understanding of the language and culture of the Qing Dynasty, so he understood what the stall owner meant.
He looked somewhat displeased, feeling that this person was pushing his luck. He naturally knew that there was a high probability that the oyster would produce a pearl, otherwise he wouldn't have thought of exchanging it. He knew that telescopes were very valuable in the Qing Dynasty, which was why he wanted to use it to exchange for a telescope, even though he knew that a telescope wasn't worth much in his country.
Just as the blond, blue-eyed man was about to say something, Yunrong stepped forward and said, "This clam looks huge, husband, I want it."
Yinzhen was well aware of Yunrong's little plan, and with a smile, he said something quite domineering: "How much for this clam?"
The stall owner was immediately delighted when he saw someone coming; everyone understands that competition drives up prices.
The stall owner looked at Yinzhen and Yunrong as if they were gods of wealth, and said with a smile, "Master and Madam, this clam was caught at sea. I've been to sea so many times, and this is the first time I've seen such a big clam. Someone once caught two clams that were almost half the size of this one, and they had quite a few pearls inside!"
Yunrong looked incredulous: "Really?"
The stall owner, with an air of "Why would I lie to you?", said, "Of course it's true. I have no reason to lie to you. You can find out about this by asking around here. To be honest, if I had a legitimate way to make a living, I wouldn't be setting up a stall here. My children are getting on in years, and I'm counting on these few good things to support them. If you gentlemen and ladies would be so kind as to do me a favor, my family might even be able to raise a high-ranking official!"
Upon hearing this, Yunrong found the man quite interesting.
Yunrong smiled and said, "You're quite an interesting person. I am indeed interested in a few things. Why don't you be honest and name your price? No bargaining. I'll take them. Let's make it clear first: although these things are rare, there are plenty of shops selling them at home. Don't try to rip me off."
The stall owner smiled and said, "How could that be! It's a fair price. I've been displaying this for quite a while, and I'm just looking to sell it as soon as possible. How about this: if you really like it, it's a fixed price of five hundred taels of silver, no bargaining. Take it if you want it."
Although the stall owner was a little greedy, he essentially just wanted to sell more silver. The reason he couldn't reach an agreement with the blond, blue-eyed foreigner was that although he knew the telescope was valuable, he didn't have a way to sell it. Nothing is as tangible as real gold and silver.
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen and Yunrong thought that five hundred taels of silver was a fair price if the clam was truly as good as the stall owner claimed.
If not, spending five hundred taels is fine; consider it an investment in the Qing Dynasty's education system. From what the stall owner said, it seems he intends to send his child to school.
Yinzhen said to Liang Jiugong, "Take out the silver."
Liang Jiugong: Yes
Before Liang Jiugong could even take out his silver, the foreigner objected: "What do you mean? I was here first, shouldn't I be allowed to buy things first?"
That makes sense, but: "Sir, I naturally want to do business properly, but you were exchanging goods for money. If no one else could come up with the money, that would be fine, but now that someone has come up with the money, it's much easier for me. Besides, I don't even know the value of your telescope, so please don't make things difficult for me."
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
