Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Revenge
Was she being treated as a fool?
Lin Xinghuo's master's greatest regret in her previous life was not being able to recover the entirety of their sect's legacy. She once remarked that this was the era when ancient books were most damaged and least valuable. One of the volumes from her master's ancient medical books was found by her master at a scrapyard in the 1960s. However, due to the difficulty of traveling far and searching far back then, she only visited a limited number of cities. Even so, the most valuable portion of her collection was collected during that time.
"No! I can't afford it. Let's settle the price." Lin Xinghuo said sternly, continuing his ignorant style.
What, are you still going back on your word? Boss Chang has encountered people who think it's too expensive, but he rarely sees anyone who dares to go back on his word in this room.
Qiao'er glanced at the big piece of meat in the basket and whispered, "She's just a young fool. Don't bother with her."
The man who had just gone to carry the basket also whispered, "You tough guy, don't talk about that basket..." He made a two gesture.
Chang Liang took another closer look at the person standing on the ground. She wasn't nervous at all and had even started packing up her basket. Did she mean she wouldn't sell the goods even if the price was unfair? If someone like that wasn't stupid, then she was genuinely fearless.
He dared to do business, and had been doing it for as long as he did. His face was as white as if it was painted on. With a flick of his hand, his tone changed. “Okay! Let’s calculate the price first, so both sides have a solid basis.”
Pork at the city's restaurants is divided into three grades, with first-grade meat going for 82 cents per pound. Venison isn't as fatty as pork for making oil, but it's good for replenishing qi and strengthening yang, so Chang Liang simply offered one yuan per pound... The highest-priced item left was surprisingly the jar of frostbite ointment. Lin Xinghuo glanced at Boss Chang; he knew what he was doing.
Boss Chang was also staring at her. When their eyes met, Boss Chang had an idea in his mind and cursed inwardly - he loved such customers the most because they had good stuff; he also hated and feared them the most because these people relied on their abilities and were bold and difficult to deal with.
"...Since this is your first time here, let's make a good relationship. I'll give you four hundred yuan?" said Mr. Chang.
Lin Xinghuo took the stack of big unity bills, twisted them open like a fan, took a quick glance and put the money away, nodded to Chang Liang, put the basket on his back and turned to leave.
Chang Liang rubbed his teeth and said, "Hey, what a temper!"
"Wait!" After giving Qiao'er a look, Qiao'er pouted and left the room. Chang Liang then said, "Little brother, don't think it's too expensive. The old books here are not ordinary. They came from the Fengtian Palace! In the early years of war and chaos, the old eunuchs in the library sold books to make a living..." After boasting about both true and false things, Lin Xinghuo, who was pretending to leave, naturally acted as if he was interested.
Boss Chang had the back room opened, and there were more than ten shelves of books. This time, Lin Xinghuo was really surprised. She had expected a messy pile of papers.
"Just think of it as making friends! These books, regardless of their age, are all sold to you for one dollar each!" With just one sentence, the price was reduced several times or even dozens of times.
The man waiting here saw her carrying out piles of books, flipping through the pages of each one, and quickly picking out a few... Lin Xinghuo was not polite and said to him, "Can you please put these back?"
The man thought of her strength, held his breath, and followed behind her to pick up the torn books. He sneezed several times because of the dust.
"How many books?" Chang Liang and others were in the warehouse where old items were stored. He choked on his tea when he heard this.
"Two hundred and thirty books," the errand boy said. "I counted them right there and gave the money to Wuzi."
"What kind of books did you pick out?" Boss Chang felt a little regretful. He should have waited there and watched in person. Although he had already picked out the famous calligraphy and paintings, what if he had missed something? If someone found something he had missed, it would be embarrassing!
"Then who knows if Wuzi knows a whole bunch of words?"
"Don't worry, what valuables could there be in that room? The books on the innermost shelf aren't even old books. They were bought by the pound when the bookstore was clearing out its inventory a couple of years ago."
When Lin Xinghuo came over with a basket full of books, Chang Liang saw that the one on top was a green-covered "Handbook of Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicines in Snow Province", and his eyelids twitched immediately.
"All the old items are in this room. Take a look and pick one before negotiating the price." Chang Liang felt that he had lost money, but he couldn't say it. He hoped to make back his money in this house.
Lin Xinghuo saw that the items here were mostly small items such as stationery boxes, table and chair ornaments, and knew that this was probably a "lower storehouse" placed outside to attract attention. She was a new customer, so it was not surprising that she was treated this way.
As expected of the largest black market in the provincial capital, there are many exquisite items in Xiakuli, but there are very few that are useful to her.
Lin Xinghuo quickly picked out a box of Hu brushes, a box of "Twenty-Four Immortal Grasses" tribute ink, and half a piece of antique plum blossom jade-plate square.
Just as he was about to negotiate the price with Boss Chang, he suddenly caught sight of a gourd ornament perched atop the Treasure Pavilion. It was a lacquerware with intricate patterns and carved with brocade flowers and plants, a vibrant and lovely sight. Lin Xinghuo looked closely at it, only to find it priceless. But when he glanced at it again, he found it oddly endearing.
"That one was originally a pair of ornaments, but unfortunately the other one was taken away by an expert in Beijing. Since this is the only one left, I won't cheat you. You can take it for three hundred yuan - and these pieces of writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone will be yours as a bonus." Boss Chang picked up a Xiushi inkstone and put it in.
Lin Xinghuo couldn't afford it, and was about to say no, but then he suddenly had a feeling and was reluctant to part with it.
Chang Laoda glanced at the large basket on her back, just watching what she would do: He guessed that the girl didn't have that much money on her. Would she return some of the books or give up the gourd? The gourd was indeed exquisite, an antique from the late Ming Dynasty. If it hadn't been a pair, he would have kept it for himself long ago.
At this moment, Lin Xinghuo's bag suddenly moved, and a furry paw pushed her through the bag.
Lin Xinghuo held the shoulder bag, and the furry claws of the caracal inside touched her. Then, a stick-like object suddenly hit the palm of Lin Xinghuo's hand, and the caracal pushed the thing up.
He turned sideways to hide, reached into his bag, paused, and took out a palm-sized wild ginseng with fresh soil still on it. He asked Boss Chang, "How much is this worth?"
…
"Lost?" Chang Liang expected this and didn't react much. "So what? For the sake of that ginseng and ointment, I'm willing to give in. As long as I can get some medicine from her from time to time in the future, it won't be a loss."
"Daliangzi?" The shriveled old man who asked Qiao'er to bring Lin Xinghuo to see Boss Chang looked over. Has his nephew changed? Wouldn't he test the waters with such a customer?
"Uncle, look at this ginseng."
"Great stuff! Only elderly ginseng pickers can find ginseng of this age and quality. It's a pity it's a little young." If it were over a hundred years old, it would be really valuable. The old man understood as soon as he saw the ginseng. It's normal for Daliangzi's men to lose track of someone who has the ability to go deep into the mountains and forests.
"The frostbite ointment is also quite good. It's worth visiting often."
"That's right. This girl sold us more than 200 kilograms of venison! In the end, the boss made back all the money. How could he lose anything?" Wuzi replied with a smile.
Boss Chang's heart sank, and he slapped Wuzi twice on the shiny forehead. "How dare you say that? Today's deal is all your fault! You wasted money! You watched someone pick up over 200 books without stopping them. If you had just said 'I need to ask Boss', I would have seen what she picked out!"
Seeing that Wuzi still didn't understand, Chang Laoda took out a book from the kang cabinet and asked, "Does this book look familiar?"
Wuzi looked at the green hard cover and asked, "I think I've seen it before?"
"Of course you've seen it. It's the one on top of the girl's basket! It's a herbal medicine manual compiled by the Fengtian Logistics Department in 1970. It was only circulated internally, and the Xinhua Bookstore only sold it a few times. I didn't expect it to be among the new books we got here—and the list price was only two yuan and twenty cents! Guess if I lost money on it?"
Wuzi: “…” Then who knows?
Lin Xinghuo shook off the people who were secretly following him and even went to the scrap yard in the provincial capital. But the people in the provincial capital were more cunning, and the good stuff had already been hidden and sold. This place was not like the black market. If you didn't know someone, no one would dare to approach you to buy something.
Lin Xinghuo lingered in the dark for a while, even hearing the scale keeper begging the old man to help him sell his newly assembled bicycle to Chang, the black market boss. She touched the old pocket watch in her pocket, the case and chain, a mix of old and new, and guessed it was also made from parts—yeah! No wonder even the books in the scrap yard looked so bad. This place was probably also a supply channel for the black market. Her hopes of finding a big bargain were in vain.
The caracal sniffed the gourd in the basket, "It doesn't seem anything special." It didn't understand human antiques, but a monk's first impression of something good was usually a sign of something valuable. His companion was a semi-initiate, so this gourd was at least 80% likely to be a treasure.
The three fox cubs had been squeezed by the caracal for a whole day, and now they could finally stretch out in the backpack. The big fox even stuck his head out and acted coquettishly in a low voice.
Just as they were about to reach the barren slope where they would catch the train, the caracal suddenly stopped: Does the faint smell of mink seem familiar?
"Who?" Lin Xinghuo was alert.
A cold laugh came from behind Huangpo: "You really have some skills!"
Lin Xinghuo took the boning knife in his hand. Nine people came out. The leader, a man dressed in work clothes who looked like an honest worker, turned around and slapped Dirty Beard in the face: "Coward! You've got your stuff in your hands!"
As soon as Lin Xinghuo saw the dirty bearded man with a cloth wrapped around his wrist, he knew what was clear to him: this group of people were the vengeful thieves.
The thief's mouth was filled with ruthlessness: "Deal with him properly! I'd rather have him dead than alive—hang him outside the carriage where Hu Zi was injured, so the villagers can see him and stop anyone from meddling in our affairs!"
Eight men, holding arm-length machetes, slowly and cautiously surrounded them, even Dirty Beard was no exception.
Lin Xinghuo took a half step back and threw the basket away.
These people were no strangers to robbery, and they fought in unison, charging ferociously. Their slashing movements were terrifying. Fortunately, Lin Xing was incredibly agile and quick, and with her quick movements, a single blow from her hands or feet could effectively injure anyone.
Lin Xinghuo felt lucky as she fought, as she had fought a battle with the caracal before and had gained some practical experience. While dodging the blade's counterattack, Lin Xinghuo slowly brought the battle towards the thief. She couldn't kill him suddenly, but she could capture the thief king and hand him over to the station.
The thief leader, standing at the front of the slope watching the fight, saw that the girl, whose appearance could not be seen, was moving with great force and power. The few scratches on her body did not affect her movements at all. He could not help but sneer and said, "Get out of the way!"
The eight besiegers dodged in a hurry, and Dirty Beard even took the initiative to bump into Lin Xinghuo's feet and was kicked far away.
"Bang!"
How dare this man fire a gun near the station! And he even shot his companions!
Lin Xinghuo was caught off guard and couldn't completely dodge the shotgun blasts. The caracal grabbed her head, its tail deflecting several lead bullets that were aimed at her. The little fox in the bag let out a whine...
Lin Xinghuo's right arm was covered in blood, his head was buzzing, and he gritted his teeth and swung the boning knife in his hand with all his strength.
The blade spun through the air, stirring up a puff of hot blood.
The author has something to say:
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Yu has a copy of "Handbook of Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicines in Northeast China": compiled by the Logistics Department and Health Department of the Shenyang Army, distributed and published by Liaoning Xinhua Bookstore in May 1970, priced at 2.2 yuan.
This book I bought from a used book website is palm-sized and is actually printed in color. It's really worth it.
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