Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Lin Qiuran didn't expect the box to be able to...
Lin Qiuran chuckled. Aunt Li turned around and looked over. After all, she was caught gossiping behind people's backs and she couldn't hold back her face. There was a hint of embarrassment on her face.
But her face was dark for a moment, and soon she asked with a stern face: "What are you laughing at?"
Lin Qiuran said, "Of course I laughed because I thought it was funny."
She originally wanted to leave quietly, but who knew she was being mentioned, so she listened for a while and heard Li Cuihua spreading rumors.
Lin Qiuran said, "Auntie has a really good attitude. If anything happens in the future, just say it's someone else's fault. Then, the people who went out with you that day, the people you met, and your family members will probably all be blamed. Auntie is still brave enough to say that there are no weddings or funerals in her family.
Besides, my husband died in battle, sacrificing his life for his country, a noble act. The court even exempted my family from taxes for five years. Moreover, my husband isn't the only one who dies in battle every year defending our country. Could it be that so many others are simply unlucky because of our family's misfortunes? That's just too much of a complaint."
Lin Qiuran said to Li Cuihua, "Those who talk behind people's backs are just gossipy women."
Lin Qiuran looked at the others again, "Aunties and aunts, today she told you about my Xiao family's affairs. Maybe one day she will tell others about you. It's not that I want to stir up trouble, but you really have to be careful."
Lin Qiuran clapped her hands and went home. As soon as she left, the people sitting there said, one said it was time to make dinner, another said it was time to feed the chickens, and another said, "Why is there smoke in my house? Is there a fire? I'll go check it out."
The three people left in a hurry without even looking at Li Cuihua's expression.
Thinking about it carefully, Lin Qiuran's words made sense. Xiao Xun sacrificed his life for his country. Without people like Xiao Xun, they wouldn't be able to live a good life. Not only did they not help him at all, but they also talked behind his back. Being a widow was pitiful enough. Lin Qiuran didn't abort the child and remarry. This alone was something they couldn't do.
They also knew Li Cuihua. She was a gossipy person and would talk about everyone's affairs. Maybe she really talked about them behind their backs.
When Li Cuihua saw that everyone had left, her face turned purple.
Lin Qiuran went home and closed the door. It seemed that he couldn't find any work in the village.
Sun saw her coming back and asked, "How is it?"
Lin Qiuran said, "There weren't many people outside. The wind started to blow, so I came back."
It’s better to sell the fish first and make garlic-flavored crucian carp tomorrow. There are more than 40 fish in total. Lin Qiuran asked Sun that if Zhao Guangcai didn’t come tomorrow, she should go look for him.
If the house didn't sell and they refused to lower the price, they would think of another way. If it sold, it would only mean that she was not destined to be with this house. Since she wasn't pregnant yet, it wouldn't hurt to go to the county town a few times and slowly save money.
The next day was also a sunny day. The weather was getting cooler day by day. Lin Qiuran was not as anxious as before when cooking fish, and it was much easier.
They got up early to prepare the garlic-flavored crucian carp, which was then transported to the county town by Sun and Xiao Dashi. It was three quarters after midnight. The two of them had returned at this time yesterday. Today, Lin Qiuran went to the village entrance to look, but there was no sign of them.
Lin Qiuran became worried whenever they came back late.
I was worried about what might happen on the road, and I was also worried that I wouldn't be able to sell the fish. After all, I sold a lot yesterday. If I sell more today, even if the crucian carp is cheap, I just ate it yesterday, so I'm afraid it won't be easy to sell.
A quarter before 3 p.m., Sun and Xiao Dashi finally returned home, pushing their cart. Sun's face wasn't looking good. Lin Qiuran closed the gate and asked, "Did you fail to sell the fish, or what?"
Sun shook her head. "Qiuran, the fish has been sold. Boss Zhao is here today, but he said... the owner of the house won't give me a discount. He wants thirty-seven taels, not a penny less."
Zhao Guangcai negotiated for two days but failed to reach an agreement. He had already tried his best.
Sun was worried all the way back. That day, Lin Qiuran said that the family had 34 taels of money saved. He had sold fish for two consecutive days. He sold a lot yesterday and earned 796 coins. Today he earned 243 coins.
Including the loan for Aunt Yu, it was only thirty-six taels. There was also the intermediary fee and the deed tax to be paid to Zhao Guangcai, so it was still not enough.
Sun sighed in worry. Lin Qiuran said, "Mother, don't worry. We still have some fish at home. We can sell them tomorrow and make some money. I'll go with you tomorrow and exchange the gold and copper coins for silver. Then we'll go to the Wang family and ask Madam Yu to borrow some."
You can also ask the Wang family if they need Thirteen Spices. We’ll sell you two cans for a cheap price.
Sun said, "That's fine, but Boss Zhao said there are a lot of people looking at this house. Qiuran, do you think it won't be bought by someone else tomorrow?"
It was so hard to find a house I liked, but if someone else bought it, all my hard work would have been in vain. Sun knew that Lin Qiuran wanted to buy a house in the county town, and she would definitely feel bad if she failed.
Lin Qiuran consoled him, "Boss Zhao is a dentist, so he'll definitely say that to us. It's okay. If we think it's too expensive, others will definitely think it's too. If it can't be sold for a while, we'll go back and have a look tomorrow."
Sun nodded. That was the only way. She said, "Let's cook the fish tomorrow. When it's done, we can go to the city by ox cart."
Lin Qiuran hummed, "Then I'll tidy up the house first."
These days all I earn is copper coins. A few days ago, one thousand and twenty copper coins could be exchanged for one tael of silver. I don’t know what the situation is now.
There were 4,480 copper coins. Lin Qiuran strung together every 1,000 of them with a rope, which counted as one hundred coins. If exchanged, it could be exchanged for about 4 taels and 4 qian of silver.
The salary for working at the post station was silver. Together with the silver at home, the total amount was seventeen taels and six cents. Lin Qiuran had weighed it three times.
The gold bracelet dug out from the ground was still in the box. Lin Qiuran took it out and looked at it carefully. The bracelet and earrings were both very beautiful. After looking at them for a while, she put away the earrings, bracelet and box separately.
Xiao Dashi went fishing this morning and caught a few. He will continue to sell them over the next two days. Fortunately, they are carp, so he can make more money.
Lin Qiuran lowered her head and touched her belly. She wasn't showing any signs of pregnancy yet. She'd been going everywhere these days, but she still hadn't reacted. This must be a well-behaved and hardy child.
Lin Qiuran thought to himself, I also want to take you to live in the city. If there is not enough money, we can only wait. But the family has always had income, so we won’t have to wait too long.
After dinner, Lin Qiuran washed up and went to bed. She got up early the next morning to cook the fish. After the fish was cooked, she and Sun took a ox cart to the county town, and Xiao Dashi took the fish to sell.
This has been sold for several days now, and the price has been set. All we have to do is wait for the customer to come and weigh it. It's not too much trouble, and Xiao Dashi can handle it by himself.
I can go over and help after they finish their work.
The two of them first went to a money shop and exchanged all their copper coins for silver. They were lucky today as they could exchange one tael of silver for one thousand and three copper coins, and they got a total of four taels and four cents.
Lin Qiuran put the silver away carefully, then took Sun to inquire about pawnshops in the county town, finding three. Although he had an idea of how much he could exchange, Lin Qiuran still decided to visit all three.
Lin Qiuran went to the first one first. It was close by and only took him half a minute to get there.
There was a flag hanging in front of the pawnshop with the word "pawn" written on it.
After entering, there is a straight counter, and behind it is a treasure cabinet. At the top is a statue of the God of Wealth. There are many other items in the other compartments.
Sun looked around and followed Lin Qiuran.
Lin Qiuran asked, "Boss, do you want to collect the things?"
The boss raised his eyelids, not paying much attention, "What is it? Let me see it?"
Lin Qiuran said, "It's jewelry passed down from my family."
She took the earrings out and placed them on the counter. The shopkeeper took them, first placed them on his palm to examine them, then lifted them up to the light and looked at them for a few seconds. Finally, he weighed them on a small scale, glanced at Lin Qiuran, and said, "They weigh two cents. If you pawn them, I'll give you two taels of silver."
Pawned items can still be redeemed, but the pawnshop will only sell them after the deadline.
This is the same weight that Lin Qiuran weighed at home. The bracelet is one liang and one qian, the earrings weigh one qian each, and the whole thing weighs one liang and three qian.
But this is jewelry, how can it be sold according to the price of gold and silver? She said: "Boss, this is gold jewelry, two taels is too little."
The shopkeeper said, "Oh, old jewelry has to be melted down and remade. What's the point of having a good look? You can get the same price elsewhere."
Lin Qiuran took the earrings back without showing him the bracelet. She planned to go to another store directly to have a look. If the price was the same, it would not be too late to change it later.
The two went to the second shop, and Lin Qiuran showed him the earrings again. The shopkeeper took a look and found out that Lin Qiuran was pawning them. He said, "They look good. The total is two cents. I'll give you three taels of silver."
Lin Qiuran said, "There's another bracelet here, Boss, take a look at it too."
The shopkeeper took the bracelet, examined it for a moment, and weighed it on a small scale. "...It's quite heavy, but not as beautiful as the earrings. I can give you twelve taels of silver for the bracelet."
Twelve taels plus three taels equals fifteen taels, which is more than Lin Qiuran calculated. This was beyond her expectations. However, she felt that a place like this would definitely not give you a fair price.
Lin Qiuran said, "Boss, this is an heirloom in my family. My elders cherish it. I spent dozens of taels of silver to buy it. Fifteen taels is too little. This style is not out of date now. If it weren't for an emergency at home, I wouldn't sell it to others."
The price of gold jewelry is definitely different from that of gold. Jewelry has always been expensive since ancient times.
Sun was listening on the side, with a look of anxiety on her face. She thought Lin Qiuran was very capable, but she would not say those words. However, she would definitely not hold Lin Qiuran back.
Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper refused to budge and said, "My dear lady, anyone who comes here to pawn something is desperate. No matter how much you paid for it, once it leaves the jewelry shop, even if you sell it back in our store, it won't be worth the same price. I'm already giving you a lot, and I'm sure you'll pay more for it than gold."
This is the same excuse everyone gives when they come to the pawnshop, and the owner is tired of hearing it.
There were indeed some that paid according to the price of gold, but Lin Qiuran still planned to go to the last one to have a look and compare prices. If that one didn't work out, she could just go back to this one. After all, the pawnshop would not leave here.
If I sell it now, the money will be enough to buy a house, but more money is always better.
Coming out of the pawnshop, Sun whispered to Lin Qiuran, "I didn't expect this gold jewelry could be sold for so much money."
Lin Qiuran hadn't expected this. It was obvious that the person who had buried the jewelry was either wealthy or noble. Even if they sold the jewelry for a little more, their family would have been better off. Could it be that they hadn't bought anything since they moved? If they had spent all their money on buying a house, life would have been difficult.
Lin Qiuran asked passers-by and went to the last pawnshop.
It was a little bigger than the previous two, with a smooth, reflective floor and an abacus account book on the counter. Not only was the owner there, but there was also a clerk next to him.
Lin Qiuran took out the earrings and had them checked and weighed by the shopkeeper again.
Without waiting for the shopkeeper to speak, Lin Qiuran spoke first. This thing was also passed down from his ancestors. When he bought it, he spent several dozen taels. The previous pawnshop gave him fifteen taels, saying that these savings were used to cheat people out of the gold price. Lin Qiuran knew the market price.
If the shop owner thinks the item is good and wants to buy it, he will naturally have to pay more.
After listening to them, the shopkeeper looked at the bracelet and earrings carefully, and even took out a magnifying glass. He lowered his head and said nothing while looking at them, probably wondering in his mind whether they were worth paying more for.
After watching for a while, the shopkeeper asked, "Live or die?"
Lin Qiuran: "Death."
I found it originally, so I'd better sell it as soon as possible.
The shopkeeper nodded. The things the pawnshop collected could be sold off immediately. If they gave too much, they would make less money. However, they had already given fifteen taels of silver, so he said, "I'll give you another tael of silver."
Lin Qiuran took a deep breath and said, "Add another two taels. The bracelet is exquisite, and so are the earrings. After cleaning them well, we can sell them. The boss can make money by reselling them."
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Well, if you still have something like this at home, you can sell it here."
Lin Qiuran nodded. She thought for a moment and took out the box. "Take another look at this box."
Originally, Lin Qiuran didn't think that the box could be sold for money, but after hearing what the shopkeeper said, he couldn't help but think deeply. The box and the bracelet were together, and the bracelet could be sold for so much money. The box had been buried in the ground for so long, only the lock was corroded, and the patterns on the lock buckle and the box were still there, and there were no signs of insect bites or decay.
The shopkeeper took a quick look and became interested. "Let me see it."
Lin Qiuran handed the box over, and the shopkeeper looked at it over and over again with a magnifying glass. It was square and flat, with patterns on the top and bottom, but the lock was broken.
The shopkeeper said, "It's red sandalwood, good material, and the lock is gold."
He opened the box several times, looked it over, and finally said, "I'll give you ten taels of silver for the box. It's also sold with the bracelet. You won't get this price anywhere else. You've looked elsewhere, so you should know."
Lin Qiuran didn't expect that the box could be sold for a good price. At the time, he was only concerned about the joy of digging up gold and didn't think about the box at all, let alone carefully see that the lock on the box was made of gold.
She nodded and said, "Okay, my family is short of money, otherwise I wouldn't sell it."
The shopkeeper nodded, took a piece of paper and wrote a receipt, and asked Lin Qiuran to put his fingerprint on it, making two copies to avoid any problems in the future.
Lin Qiuran felt that this thing should be more valuable, otherwise he would not have paid such a high price of twenty-seven taels of silver. A pawnshop like this would only charge about half the price.
However, you cannot look at the original price of items sold outside.
After putting the money away, Lin Qiuran and Sun left the pawnshop.
She kept the money close to her. Now she had the money to buy the house, and she could tell Zhao Guangcai today.
Selling Ganoderma lucidum for ten taels and gold for twenty-seven taels makes exactly thirty-seven taels, which is the price of the house.
The author has something to say:
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Child: Mom!!! Rich!!!
I'm ready, but I can't speak.
The next chapter will be v, v on Wednesday, thank you for your support [pink heart]
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