Chapter 18 Fireworks Mu Xue was unfamiliar with pawnshops. Before she traveled through time...
Mu Xue was really unfamiliar with pawnshops. She had never dealt with them in her two lives before and after traveling through time.
With her identity, she couldn't stay in the shop to observe and investigate and obtain first-hand information. She could only rely on some simple imagination and analysis.
Since the pawnshop mainly relies on the interest from people who come to pawn their things for profit, the first priority should be to increase the number of people willing to pawn their things. For example, if one day, her princess's mansion was unable to maintain a decent life before receiving the next year's salary because of the current income, and had to pawn things to get some money to live on, how would she feel?
Maybe, you will feel ashamed and angry?
She would definitely send her trusted people, such as Aunt Wu and Aunt Zhao, to go there secretly, preferably without anyone seeing them.
But... nowadays, shop doors are made of pieces of boards. If you want to open the door for business, you have to remove the door panels. People coming and going can see what's going on in the shop.
Maybe adding a screen at the door would be better?
It was a minor change, and it wouldn't take much effort, so Mu Xue told Madam Wu and asked her to pass on the message to have Rong'an Pawnshop put up an extra screen at the door.
"It doesn't matter what expensive screen you use, just pick a wooden one that's high enough so that people passing by can't see your face when they walk in." Mu Xue thought for a moment and added, "Why not put some auspicious paintings on the side of the screen facing outwards, so it looks better."
I wanted to consider other matters, but the next thing was New Year's Eve, and I had to go to the palace to attend a banquet and socialize with other royal relatives, a lot of trivial and specific things.
At the palace banquet, Mu Xue also quietly asked other people about their pawnshops. The Fifth Prince said to her, "I got one when I got married, and so did my Fourth Brother. This kind of pawnshop is quite convenient, and you don't have to worry about it. You just put the capital there, and they will give you the interest at the end of the year."
He thought she was worried that the pawnshop owner was not honest, so he explained, "Even if Fourth Sister is away from Beijing, they dare not cheat on the interest they should pay. I will also help Fourth Sister keep an eye on it."
Mu Xue nodded and changed the subject.
It was New Year's Day and fireworks were also set off in the palace.
By the pond in Nanyuan, Kangxi led his concubines, children and other royal relatives to enjoy the fireworks. The crowds were full of people. In the past, Muxue would also watch, but she didn't find it interesting, so she was too lazy to squeeze to the front. She still hid behind the crowd, just to make up the numbers.
Dorji, who had accompanied her into the palace, suddenly asked, "How long will the fireworks last?"
Mu Xue was stunned for a moment, looked at him sideways, and suddenly realized that Dorji had never seen such fireworks.
In the past few days, Dorji accompanied her to the palace for banquets almost every day. With so many people and so many unfamiliar rules, he never complained. He just accompanied her appropriately and played the role of a perfect prince consort.
On the day of the New Year's reunion, his family was far away in Mobei. For a moment, Mu Xue felt a little pity for him.
Forget it, it’s New Year’s Day, just pamper him.
Seeing that the time for the fireworks was approaching, and it was inconvenient to squeeze to the front, Mu Xue simply pulled Duoerji's sleeve and said, "Come with me—"
Without waiting for him to say anything, she pulled up her sleeves and ran to the side.
Not far away, there is a rockery in the bamboo forest near the pond. It was a treasured place for watching fireworks that Mu Xue found when she wanted to watch the fireworks but didn't want to crowd.
As soon as she reached the rockery, Muxue stepped on a stone and heard a loud bang. Fireworks burst into life, and the night sky was dyed beautiful.
"Wait for two more bangs. The one that's set off will be the most beautiful. It will illuminate half of the pond in red."
Muxue spoke in a cheerful tone. She turned her head to look at Dorji, but found that he was not watching the fireworks. Instead, he was looking at her and smiling.
The dazzling light from the fireworks shone on Dorji's face, and his pupils reflected the fireworks and her face.
Mu Xue only felt a flash of excitement. Amid the deafening roar, she raised her voice and shouted at Dorji:
"What are you looking at me for? Look at the fireworks! They're gone in an instant!"
As a result, the smile on Dorji's face became deeper, revealing his two fangs.
What the hell! How could this person always make her angry for no reason?
At the moment before Muxue couldn't help but get angry, he finally turned his head wisely and admired the fireworks in the sky.
The fireworks are scattered like thousands of branches competing for beauty, and they shine like thousands of red torches.
It was truly a magnificent fireworks display.
The 37th year of the Kangxi reign arrived.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, a small market opened.
Some shops whose families live in the capital city opened one after another, while some shops whose families live far away have to wait until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to open.
On the street in front of Rong'an Pawnshop, several children covered their ears and stared at the firecrackers in the clerk's hands.
The flints collided and ignited the fuse, and the bamboo pole with the firecrackers was immediately extended forward, making a crackling sound and covering the ground with red paper scraps.
Shopkeeper Hu clasped his fists and congratulated the second shopkeeper and the employees: "In the new year, I wish you immediate success and prosperity."
After lowering the board and opening the door, Shopkeeper Hu asked a few of his assistants to bring out an elm wood screen. The shopkeeper and his assistant from the neighboring shop came over with their sleeves tucked in and looked at it: "What's the point of this thing? It blocks the light."
Cui Gu, who was standing in the corner, glanced at them and said with a smile, "New Year, new atmosphere. Put up a folding screen to gather wealth."
There was a clerk in the neighboring shop who couldn't stand women's tyranny. When he saw Cui Gu coming directly to the shop during the small opening hours, he didn't even bother with the screen and just snorted.
These women don't stay at home to take care of their husbands and children, but come out to show their faces in public and meddle in business. How shameful!
The clerk in the neighboring shop whispered to his companion, "Let this woman with long hair and short knowledge interfere in the business of the shop. Shopkeeper Hu is getting worse and worse every year. I think this Rong'an Pawnshop will be ruined by this woman sooner or later."
The companion said, "You have only been here for two years, so you don't know. The original owner of this pawnshop was the father of this woman. It's a pity that the old owner was childless, so he raised this daughter. Later, he found a son-in-law, and that's how Owner Hu came."
"That's the crowing of a hen..."
"Hey! What are you two whispering about?" Cui Gu had noticed the two men long ago. They had shifty eyes and looked uncomfortable. When she got closer, she heard something like a hen crowing. She immediately raised her eyebrows and shouted.
"Louder! Tell your aunt!"
When she got angry, the two men lost their temper. They pretended nothing happened, turned around and touched the goods here and there, dusted there, and looked busy.
You are such a coward.
Aunt Cui sneered, "Our Rong'an Pawnshop has been an official pawnshop since my grandfather's generation, and now it is a legitimate royal pawnshop. Even if you want to act hysterical, you have to remember that our master is the fourth princess. What hen or drake, touch your neck before you speak! It's New Year's Day, and your aunt is kind-hearted, so she'll let you go. If it happens next time, just wait!"
After saying that, he spat fiercely at the place where the two men had originally stood, then turned around and went back to the shop.
Shopkeeper Qian advised: "Okay, it's New Year's Day, you've already cursed, be happy."
"Of course you can." Cui Gu rolled her eyes and continued walking towards the warehouse.
There was a pomegranate tree next to the corner, which was planted by her grandfather when she was born. However, this place surrounded by bluestone slabs was not friendly to pomegranate trees. After so many years, it only grew to about one person's height, with sparse branches and leaves.
Cui Gu turned her head and saw the bare pomegranate tree trunk, and was slightly dazed.
She grew up in this pawnshop as far as she can remember. When she was a child, it was only as high as the corner of the wall. Later, as she grew older, the wall, the house and the furniture seemed to become shorter.
She had walked through every room and every bluestone slab of Rong'an Pawnshop countless times.
Her father doted on her very much. Since he had no son, he would occasionally teach her some pawnshop rules.
As the saying goes, “New clothes and jackets taken to the pawn shop will be eaten by bugs and rats, leaving nothing behind.” As long as the clothes are pawned, no matter whether they are new or not, a note of “eaten by bugs and rats” must be made to avoid any accidents during the storage period, or the pawner causing trouble when redeeming the items.
There are also code words such as "kou ren er bi cai, hui cun ben jin" that replace numbers to prevent outsiders from knowing the price.
She was very smart and her father only had to say it twice before she memorized it completely.
Her father was so happy that he picked her up and spun her around in the air: "My Niuniu is so smart. She is born to be a shopkeeper."
But then, my father's smile turned bitter, like unsmelling Chinese medicine.
"pity……"
Little Cui's heart also sank, she knew what he was regretting. Grandma's angry face, her mother's tears dripping on her face, the word "never again" blurted out when arguing with her playmates... every little thing, as small as a cow's hair, was like a storm hitting her.
From a little girl, to a young woman, and now to a woman, these voices have been like maggots in my bones, never ceasing.
Cui Gu took a deep breath, shook her head, went into the house and took out a dozen thick pages of paper.
That day, the arrival of the fourth princess was like fireworks in the night sky, making her heart surge.
She remembered the words that the fourth princess left before she left. Visiting relatives on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, all of them should be put on hold!
She used the excuse of being sick to escape from the trivial chores that a housewife had to take care of, and plunged headfirst into organizing the documents about the current situation of pawnshops in Beijing.
Although I know that there is little hope, and it may just be a joke from the nobles, but...
But Cui Gu still couldn't help but hold on to hope.
What if, what if, because of this new master, her future will be a little different?
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