As Li Lanzhen looked at the jewelry, she pondered what she should exchange for in the mall to sell to Jin Fulai.
The key issue is that I don't have anything to exchange in the mall, so I'm anxious, but I don't show it on my face.
She moved slowly, leisurely looking around, her mind wandering through the shop. Suddenly, she noticed a shop window that required food, just like her. The item for exchanging food was:
Twenty colorful glass marbles, a pair of tall, round-bellied glass goblets, and a green tin frog!
All you need is one pound of white rice.
Li Lanzhen knew that these things must be from the era in which she lived. Toys like the tin frog only appeared around the 1980s.
Have you played them all? (Image from the internet, please contact us for removal if it infringes on your rights)
Could it be that the person exchanging grain lived in that era? Indeed, there was a food shortage in that time.
Without hesitation, Li Lanzhen took out one and a half jin of white rice to exchange for these things. The extra grain was because she didn't know what difficulties the person exchanging the grain was facing, so she just considered it an emergency measure.
As for how much silver these things could be exchanged for, Li Lanzhen decided to leave it to Jin Fulai and act according to the situation.
Thinking of this, she smiled and said to the waiter, "Brother, I have some family heirlooms here that I'd like to exchange for some silver at your shop. Would you mind taking a look?"
The waiter was taken aback and felt displeased: This old lady must be a bit slow-witted. After three years of famine, our shop's business has declined year after year. Why would she buy something from a peasant woman?
What good things does she have? Even if they are family heirlooms, they are probably just old-fashioned hairpins and bracelets of poor quality. But the waiter still smiled as he looked at Li Lanzhen.
However, when Li Lanzhen took out tin frogs, goblets, and colorful glass marbles one by one from the basket covered with a tattered cloth and placed them on the counter, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Wow, what an amazing treasure! And look at that tattered basket containing it! Glancing at Li Lanzhen, this old lady is absolutely wasting it!
I was really lucky today, incredibly lucky!
Master is absolutely right! Never underestimate anyone! You never know, someone you look down on might bring you good fortune for life. Treat everyone who joins Jinfulai with kindness and courtesy.
Yes, I'm really lucky today. I'm sure I'll get a reward from my master, and maybe I'll even get a promotion.
He looked up at the doorway, quickly grabbed a large wooden tray to collect the glittering treasures, and covered them with a red cotton cloth to hide the things that had shocked him. His face was flushed with excitement. "Auntie, please come in with me. I can't make decisions for this business. Please come with me to the backyard so you can talk to our master."
"What is it that you can't make a decision about?"
Li Lanzhen looked up when she heard the sound and saw a young man of about 20 years old, fanning himself, slowly walking down the stairs.
He didn't show any disdain or disgust when he saw Li Lanzhen.
Li Lanzhen felt more at ease and more confident.
"Master, look at these treasures! You can't even find them in the Treasure Pavilion of the capital of our Li Kingdom!" the waiter exclaimed excitedly.
"Ahem. Hmm."
The waiter looked up and met his master's cold gaze. Only then did he realize that this was business, and he couldn't reveal any business opportunities. How foolish!
Turning to look at Li Lanzhen, he saw that she was looking down at the jewelry in the display case and didn't react much, so he felt relieved.
Actually, Li Lanzhen was secretly delighted at this moment, clenching her fists, thinking that these things should fetch a good price.
The young master lifted the cloth on the tray and was shocked to see what was inside, but he still calmly walked past the waiter to Li Lanzhen, cupped his hands and smiled at her: "Auntie, please come upstairs with me to talk. Please."
Watching the young master walking ahead of her, fanning himself with a folding fan and walking briskly, Li Lanzhen felt a secret delight. Little brat, pretending to be nonchalant, but inside he's probably in turmoil.
Once they were seated on the second floor, the young master said to the servant boy, "Serve tea and some snacks to the aunt."
The young man quickly and nimbly finished his tasks and went downstairs.
Li Lanzhen picked up her teacup, took a sip to moisten her throat, and looked at the two plates of pastries. She unconsciously swallowed, but she didn't reach out to pick them up and eat. Instead, she sat in her chair and waited.
Seeing her like this out of the corner of his eye, the young master thought more highly of Li Lanzhen and became even more cautious about the upcoming negotiations.
Lifting the cover revealed the full view of these treasures, and I was once again awestruck!
A pair of round-bellied stemmed glasses, crystal clear and beautifully shaped, with iridescent glass beads, smooth and shiny, their cores containing colored beads. Sunlight shines on them, passes through them, and reflects onto the wall.
That green frog doesn't seem very pretty.
Seeing through his thoughts, Li Lanzhen picked up the tin frog and gently turned the spring on the clockwork. The hissing sound attracted the young master, who watched Li Lanzhen's actions intently.
When Li Lanzhen placed the tin frog on the table, the frog began to hop around, and his pupils suddenly widened.
When the frog hopped up to him and was about to jump off the table, he reached out and caught it.
"Forgive my ignorance, but this is a... frog? A frog that can hop around on its own?"
"Yes, look, this is the spring that drives it to jump. You can't turn it too hard at once, or it will break. Try it."
The young master excitedly and carefully wound it up a few times, and then, at Li Lanzhen's prompting, placed it on the table. The frog began to hop and jump.
Li Lanzhen saw the ecstatic shock in his eyes, but not the greed or possessiveness.
She felt relieved. She had also been gambling, and if the other party wanted to take the money, she would have been helpless. Fortunately, she was lucky and met a good person.
"Young master, what do you think?"
“Oh, right. Let’s talk about the price. Ma’am, my name is Zhou Yanrong. Our Jinfulai Trading Company is located in all the major counties and prefectures of the Li Dynasty.”
“Young Master Zhou, I can’t say for sure what the price will be. These were all brought back from overseas by our ancestors. You can decide on the price. If it’s reasonable, we’ll pay you back immediately upon delivery.”
The ball was kicked back, and Li Lanzhen sat upright, looking at Young Master Zhou.
At this moment, Zhou Yanrong dared not underestimate Li Lanzhen, this peasant woman dressed in tattered clothes.
He silently calculated in his mind: Three years ago, on the Empress Dowager's birthday, Yin Fulai presented her with a glass bowl and not only received a generous reward of a thousand acres of fertile land, but also the title of Imperial Merchant.
If these were sent to the palace, the reward would be immense! I dare not even imagine!
"How about this, ma'am? We'll give you a thousand taels of silver for these three items. What do you think?"
"What? You asked me, and I went to ask that person again. I don't know either. The second son said that one pound of corn is worth one tael of silver. So how much cornmeal can one thousand taels buy?" Li Lanzhen pondered to herself.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Young Master Zhou frowned and then relaxed, smiling as he quickly said, "How about I give you another 500 taels?"
Li Lanzhen figured this was probably the highest price he could offer, so she decided to take it while she could.
He nodded immediately: "Alright. That's settled then. You pay me 1,500 taels of silver, and all of this is yours, Jin Fulai."
Li Lanzhen's eyes lit up when she looked down at the contents of several baskets next to the table.
Ordinary people can't buy such weapons as broadswords. So she looked up and was about to say that she wanted to buy two swords, but Young Master Zhou spoke first: "Waiter, come here, pack these plates of snacks for the old lady, and pack two more plates. Wrap this sword in cloth as well. Also, bring a water bag and a new basket, put them all in, and take the old lady downstairs."
As he spoke, he took out a wooden plate and handed it to Li Lanzhen. Inside were neatly arranged silver ingots and a considerable amount of loose silver.
Li Lanzhen knew it was time for her to leave, so she nodded and said, "Thank you, Young Master Zhou."
As I carried the plate downstairs, just before I reached the first floor, I heard Young Master Zhou say, "If you're fleeing famine, go east. It would be best to hide in the mountains for a few years."
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