Forget it, he should keep some extra coarse rice and millet at home so that when she can't make ends meet and comes to borrow grain, she'll still have some to borrow.
He sighed and agreed, thinking to himself, "How could this stone possibly sell? Is You Run's wife crazy? Who would buy a stone for no reason?"
Yin Lan didn't notice Zhao Dashan's gaze towards her, which had gone from admiration to looking at her like she was a fool.
So why do some people just not make money? It's because they're bound by their mindset.
Those who only focus on their own small world will naturally fail to see the needs of the entire intellectual community.
Yin Lan walked toward the place where scholars often gathered.
The place wasn't far from the city gate, but it was in a rather remote location. Today wasn't the day for the gathering of poets, but since scholars weren't short of money, quite a few people came here to make friends and discuss things.
Merchants are also putting in a lot of effort to promote their products.
Just as Yin Lan was walking inside, she saw several people gathered together, and she could hear sounds of what sounded like an argument coming from inside.
“This stone of mine is absolutely natural.”
"Brother Wang, would you like to make a bet with me? This man's strange stone was actually carved and crafted by human hands."
After a few more words of argument, the old man selling stones pushed through the crowd and hurried away, though it's unclear what the scholar said.
The standing scholars shook their heads and sighed, "Such petty tricks, yet they dare to show them off."
The scholar surnamed Wang blushed, "Who would have thought he would dare to lie to me like this?"
"Brother Wang bought a fake stone a few days ago, hahaha." A burst of laughter rang out from the surroundings.
The scholar surnamed Wang was so angry he was snorting.
Yin Lan looked at it for a moment before stepping forward. "Everyone, I also have a strange stone here..."
Before she could finish speaking, the scholars shook their heads and scattered, saying, "Another one has arrived."
It turns out that someone had previously sold rare stones here for a high price, and in recent days, several people have come here to swindle and cheat.
In the end, it was discovered that they were all hand-carved, and even quite crudely made.
So when Yin Lan approached, no one believed her anymore.
“Young man, take a look at this stone of mine,” Yin Lan stopped the scholar surnamed Wang.
He stopped and actually picked it up to take a look. His previously uninterested face immediately showed surprise and delight.
"This is a strange stone!"
The scholars shook their heads and laughed.
At this moment, a bossy, well-dressed scholar walked over and said, "Wang Meng, even if you buy twenty or thirty stones, it won't help. With your brain, hahaha, what I can memorize in an hour, you can't even memorize in two days. I think you should go back to your escort agency and learn martial arts. You're no good at studying."
Once this person spoke, no one else dared to speak.
This is the nephew of the prefect above. I heard he was unruly and mischievous, so he was sent here.
The Wang family were镖师 (bodyguards/escorts). Although they were wealthy and had martial prowess, the common people couldn't fight against the officials. Moreover, Wang Meng was definitely not cut out for studying; even the teacher shook his head when he saw him reciting.
Everyone around burst into laughter.
Wang Meng's face turned bright red. He looked at the stone and prepared to hand it back to Yin Lan.
But his gaze fell on Yin Lan's old clothes, which were covered in patches.
He looked at the stone. "Ma'am, how much are you offering?"
Yin Lan's tongue was almost broken off, auntie?
She lived to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight in her previous life, and in this life she is only twenty-three, yet she is being called "auntie".
However, this is the appropriate way to address her now, since she is already a mother of three.
Yin Lan swallowed hard. "Ten taels."
Just as Wang Meng was about to take out his money, the others burst into laughter, but he ignored them and just took out his own money bag.
The imperious Zou Weiqian walked over, his gaze falling on the stone, when suddenly his pupils contracted.
"It looks like a calligraphy brush?" He snatched the stone and examined it closely, his gaze gradually changing.
"Fifteen taels, I'll buy it."
But by the time he snatched it to examine it closely, Wang Meng had already handed ten taels of silver to Yin Lan.
"Excuse me, sir, the item has already been sold. Could you please give it to me? I'm selling it to this young man."
Zou Weiqian narrowed his eyes. "I said, I want it."
Yin Lan remained composed and neither humble nor arrogant, "Alright, twenty taels."
"You audacious woman, how dare you ask for such an exorbitant price? Perhaps this thing of yours is fake."
Yin Lan glanced at him. "Then are you still going to buy it?"
Zou Weiqian glanced at the quick-witted woman, then suddenly sneered, "So what if you bought it? Does it really make you suddenly smarter? What a joke! Let's go!"
He threw the stone directly on the ground.
"I could have anything like that, only a fool like Wang Meng would spend ten taels of silver on a worthless rock, hahaha..."
Several people followed Zou Weiqian and left.
"Zou Xiong, I heard today that there's a new delicacy in Taiping Town called Fairy Flower Seeker Jelly. It's said that eating it will help you become a top scholar in the imperial examination. I'll buy some for you to try next time."
Zhao Weiqian did not speak.
Others chimed in, "But this food is said to be very rare."
Zou Weiqian: "You're making a fuss over nothing. But let me have a taste. Humph, I can pass the exam even without eating it."
The voices of the group gradually faded, and then their figures disappeared around the corner.
Wang Meng pursed his lips and lowered his head.
Yin Lan sighed inwardly, bent down to pick up the stone, and said, "If you don't buy it..."
Wang Meng took the stone and gave Yin Lan fifty coins.
"Everyone says I'm stupid, but I'm not stupid. Those people only did this because they had no other choice. I have money, so I'll help them if I can."
Yin Lan hadn't expected that this seemingly unintelligent scholar would have such thoughts.
She handed him the stone, saying, "This is a rare stone, I'm not lying to you."
The stone is softened before processing, so that absolutely no trace of handcrafting can be seen.
Yin Lan continued, "That fierce person just now, he must be very smart, right?"
Wang Meng nodded somewhat dejectedly, "He was the top student in the academy."
He learns everything very quickly, memorizes quickly, knows a lot, and is highly appreciated by his teacher.
Yin Lan encouraged him, "That's because he came from the provincial capital, where the teachers are probably more skilled, and he's older, so it's only natural that he knows more."
Wang Meng's eyes suddenly lit up.
Yin Lan continued, "Do you feel like you're slow at memorizing, that you're stupid, and that you're particularly discouraged? I once heard a story, let me tell you. There was a person who was even dumber than you. He studied day and night, but he still forgot what he memorized, and then he would memorize it again. One night, he was studying hard again in the middle of the night, and even a thief on the roof couldn't stand it anymore. He jumped down, pointed at his nose, and cursed, 'You idiot! I've been listening to you read for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and I've already memorized it, but you still haven't remembered it!' The thief was so angry that he forgot to steal anything and just left."
At this point, Wang Meng was amused and said, "He's really stupid."
"Is he even dumber than you, and slower at memorizing?"
Wang Meng nodded.
"But do you know what happened to the last two people?"
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