In the setting sun, Zhao Hao looked at the buns in his hand, feeling mixed emotions and even a little sour in his nose.

While he was in a daze, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

Zhao Hao came to his senses and saw that Zhao Shouzheng had returned without him noticing.

"Oh, eating buns again..." Zhao Shouzheng said as he reached into the paper bag.

"It's good to have something to eat." Zhao Hao rolled his eyes and asked Zhao Shouzheng: "Where did you take my candy?"

"Oh, I gave you a gift." Zhao Shouzheng looked at Zhao Hao strangely and said, "Didn't I tell you that I would go to the Imperial College to apply for your reinstatement?"

"Then what?"

"I haven't been in prison for two years. How dare I go to see the Dean empty-handed?" Zhao Shouzheng explained, "The Dean is famous for not doing anything without money. Besides, he must know that my family and Zhou Jijiu have fallen out. How can I ask him to help me go back to school if I don't give him something valuable? Silver is too vulgar, and sugar is more elegant? Besides, we don't have any money..."

"I see..." Zhao Hao suddenly realized, "This is what you told me this morning."

Zhao Shouzheng said while eating buns: "Yes, of course I have to ask you before making something my son made. I only took it if you said it was okay."

"Is there?" Zhao Hao rubbed his forehead and said, "If there is, it's just talking in your sleep."

"Yes, yes, of course." Zhao Shouzheng smiled and praised his son, "Thanks to your pound of sugar, the Dean was able to arrange for my father to return to school smoothly, and he also asked about your grandfather's well-being."

"That's worth it..." Zhao Hao thought to himself, isn't the purpose of making money to study? This pound of sugar is well spent. "But what about my capital?"

"Don't worry, my son. I've already thought about it!" Zhao Shouzheng laughed and comforted his son, "I have close friends all over Jinling. As long as I open my mouth, I can raise hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver, not to mention a dozen or twenty taels."

After saying that, he pulled Zhao Hao home and said, "Go home and eat some buns. I'll go out to raise money tomorrow morning! I won't return until Loulan is conquered!"

Zhao Hao saw that he did not seem to be pretending, and thought that Qin Hui also had three good friends. No matter how bad Mr. Zhao's popularity was, it could not be worse than Qin Hui's.

Only then did he feel a little relieved and followed Zhao Shouzheng home.

In the yard, Gao Wu had also repaired the roof and was fetching water to wash his hands. The father and son gave Gao Wu most of the buns and asked him to take them home to eat with his old father.

Of course, Zhao Hao would never reveal where these buns came from, even if he was beaten to death.

~~

Another silent night.

Zhao Shouzheng got up early in the morning, dressed himself carefully, combed his hair neatly, and hung his hidden jade pendant around his waist.

After looking at the well water for a long time and feeling that he had regained his former elegance, he walked out with steady steps.

Zhao Hao also woke up. How could he sleep soundly when he had something on his mind?

After spending these days with Zhao Shouzheng, he has gained a deep understanding of the nerds in the Ming Dynasty. Zhao Hao was really worried about Zhao Shouzheng. Would he do something weird again? When he heard his father go out, he quietly followed behind.

It seemed that none of Zhao Shouzheng's friends lived in the north of the city, so Zhao Hao followed him all the way to the Xiaofen Bridge area near the Bell and Drum Tower before they arrived at the first house.

He hid far away in the corner, watching Zhao Shouzheng straighten his clothes, take a few deep breaths, and then raise his hand to knock on the gate.

After a while, a man dressed as a servant opened the door. Although the distance was a little far and I couldn't hear the conversation clearly, I could guess that he was asking about Zhao Shouzheng's purpose.

After a few words, the servant waved his hands repeatedly and closed the door without letting Zhao Shouzheng finish his words.

Zhao Shouzheng shook his head in disappointment, pointed at the door, muttered a few words angrily, and then set off for the next house.

The next family let him in, but when Mr. Zhao came out, Zhao Hao saw that he looked depressed and knew that he definitely did not borrow the money.

In this way, Zhao Shouzheng went from house to house. He spent most of the day looking for more than a dozen friends he thought he had a good relationship with, but not a single one was willing to lend him money. He was so angry that he cursed at the last family, calling them ungrateful and dogs! But the family closed the door and pretended not to hear him.

Zhao Shouzheng was tired of scolding and sat down beside the big stone bridge. Zhao Hao felt very uncomfortable when he saw this and couldn't help wanting to show up and call him home.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Shouzheng suddenly stood up and walked quickly towards the Hubu Street opposite. Seeing his excited look, he should not be in a hurry.

I'm afraid he has thought of a solution.

Zhao Hao felt relieved and did not show up for the time being.

Hubu Street was named after the Nanjing Hubu Dushui Division, and its prosperity was much greater than Gulouwai Street. However, Zhao Hao had no intention of appreciating it at this time, and followed closely behind Zhao Shouzheng, fearing that he would get lost if he was not careful.

Following closely, I saw him enter a pawnshop with a black background and a gold sign that read "De Heng Pawn".

"Deheng Pawnshop..." Zhao Hao suddenly felt that it looked familiar. He pressed the felt hat on his head and lowered his head to walk into the pawnshop.

This Deheng Pawnshop is very large, with seven or eight waiters behind the counter alone, and a dozen waiters outside the counter. When they saw Zhao Hao coming in, someone immediately came forward to greet him.

"Would you like to be a guest?"

Zhao Hao didn't say anything, but just pointed at Zhao Shouzheng in front of him.

The guys thought he was Zhao Shouzheng's follower and ignored him.

Zhao Shouzheng came to a counter that was as high as his shoulders, looked up and said to the court official inside: "Excuse me, is your boss, Brother Zhang Shi, in the store?"

When Chao Feng heard the other party calling his boss "brother", he did not dare to be negligent. He quickly walked out of the counter and invited him to the small living room next to it for tea.

After a while, a tall man with a smile on his face and a protruding belly lifted the curtain and came out from behind.

As soon as he saw that person, Zhao Hao suddenly realized that this was Mr. Zhang who had come to his house to lend money at high interest rates that day? !

He listened to the conversation between the two and realized that the Zhao family and Mr. Zhang were both from Huizhou. The Zhao family was from Xiuning, and Mr. Zhang was from Qimen, and the two families were from neighboring counties. In the past, Mr. Zhang relied on this relationship to get in touch with the Southern Ministry of Revenue and became a wealthy man in Nanjing who was half official and half businessman.

It turned out that Zhao Shouzheng had never been to a pawnshop before, but he had always heard that pawnshops were ruthless, so he wanted to find a shop run by an acquaintance to avoid being ripped off.

~~

Zhao Shouzheng took off the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Mr. Zhang.

"Brother Zhang, this is my favorite thing. As the saying goes, 'I am alone and poor at this time'. If I had no other choice, I would never pawn it." Then he sighed and said, "Brother Zhang, please be kind enough to redeem it within a month, considering my father's care for me over the years."

"Don't worry, my dear brother. Since you have come to my place, I will not let you down." Mr. Zhang's sincere smile made people feel very kind. He glanced at the court official beside him and said, "What are you standing there for? Come and take a look. Hurry up and give my dear brother some money to help him out."

"Yes, yes." Chao Feng nodded and took the jade pendant. He first examined it carefully in front of the lamp for a moment, then took out a crystal magnifying glass the size of a copper coin and looked at it for a long time. Finally, he said with embarrassment: "This..."

"Just say what you want to say. You are not an outsider, my dear brother." Mr. Zhang frowned.

"Then I will tell you the truth, Master Zhao, please don't blame me. This jade pendant is probably not the work of Lu Zigang," Chao Feng said, turning the jade pendant over and pointing to the signature "Zigang" engraved on it. "Lu Zigang's signature is powerful, dignified and regular. But Master Zhao, please look, the lines here are too smooth, but stiff and lack roundness, and there are different degrees of cracks on both sides of the knife edge. How could Lu Zigang make such a mistake?"

"Oh, really? I haven't noticed it?" Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help but take a breath. He quickly took the jade pendant and the magnifying glass to look at it carefully. He felt that it was just as the other party said.

"Today, the world is going downhill. There are countless people who make and sell fake jades. Many of them are top craftsmen. They take the counterfeit jades to the pawnshop as collateral, and never come back after getting the money. We are also unable to guard against it, and sometimes we are fooled." The court official sighed and said, "Besides, the purpose of the pawnshop is just to pledge. When the pawn period is up and the money is paid, the items will be returned to the original owner. So to be on the safe side, when we accept this kind of jade, we only look at its quality, size, and carving skills, and don't consider anything else."

"Is that so..." Zhao Shouzheng nodded and asked, "Then how much can your store offer?"

"Ten taels of silver." Chao Feng said.

ps. The second update is here, please vote for me and give me a review~~~~