Chapter 70
"Old woman, if there are no customers, then we'll close the shop today. I have a big fish here. If we can coax it well, we can sell seven or eight of the accumulated fish in the shop."
The old man walked and shouted towards the house.
Qingxi was both angry and amused. The old man must have done it on purpose.
"I won't buy the overstocked goods unless you give me a 50% discount." Since the other party treated her as a fish to be slaughtered, she would not be polite to him just because he was an old man.
The old man turned around and assured with a solemn oath: "It's impossible to get a 50% discount. These are all good products."
He glanced at Qingxi's yukata with disdain, "It's much more exquisite than the one you're wearing."
When the six people arrived at the front, a white-haired old lady had already closed the shop door. When she saw the little girl following the old man, she smiled at them gently.
Then she asked the old man, "Who wants to buy it?"
The old man pointed at the only girl present and said, "Look, that's her. She's from next door, just like us."
After hearing this, the old lady's face suddenly understood.
"Little girl, just tell me what you like and I'll get it out for you later." The old lady asked with a smile.
The old man pulled a stool and sat down. When the old lady finished speaking, he suddenly sighed and asked, "Little girl, let me ask you, can you go back in the future?"
Go back? Where? To the world of gourmet food? To her original world? Or perhaps leave here and go grow flowers in this modern era?
Qingxi was confused by the question.
No, she just came to buy some jewelry. Why did the plot seem to take a turn to some weird place?
I was thinking about not buying it, but I mumbled, "Not necessarily."
She was telling the truth. She was not sure if she really meant it. Everything would have to wait until Atong came back.
The old man looked dejected. He waved his hand and said to the old lady, "Forget it, let's just stick with her. Ah Hai can't make it right, and I don't want to use our good things to fill his hole.
We'll take the money and buy a small house somewhere in Tokyo but a little far from here to live out our retirement."
The old lady did not object to the old man's words. She waved at Qingxi and said, "In that case, come with me, little girl."
Qingxi: “…”
No, she didn't want to go anywhere and wanted to leave now.
There were four other people who had the same idea as her. Tsurumaru Kuninaga and Yagen Toushirou stepped forward and blocked Kiyoki, Rengoku Kyojuro, and Rengoku Chijuro behind them.
"Excuse me, old lady, but my child won't go with you alone," Tsurumaru Kuninaga said with a smile. "Well, could you please calculate the price of those hairpins and fans? We want them. If we don't leave now, we'll miss the fireworks display."
"At this moment, you seem a bit like a retainer." The old man suddenly said.
Obviously, the old man still remembered Tsurumaru Kuninaga's appearance in the street just now, and he was very unhappy.
Then he continued, "Don't worry. Do you think we old men and women would eat that girl? We just have something to give her. After that, we packed up our things here and left as soon as possible to avoid our son who has been led astray and is addicted to gambling and is already hopeless."
"But why the general? You just met today, and it hasn't been even a quarter of an hour." Yagen Toushirou seized on the unreasonable point and said directly.
"My son is useless. When we are gone, are we going to let him squander all the good things we have saved for a lifetime?" The old man said aggrievedly.
Who wouldn't want to leave the good things they've saved to their children and grandchildren? But if their family faces misfortune, what can they do?
"If your son is not okay, you still have your grandson." Yagen Toushirou continued.
The old man rolled his eyes at him and said, "They say family disgrace should not be made public, but you are such a bad boy, picking on me and poking at my heart.
My son is no match for me, and the daughter-in-law I married is always thinking about taking the good things from her in-laws' family home. My two grandsons are worried that they will become estranged from her if we take care of them, so I keep a close eye on them every day. Now they are 6 or 7 years old and can remember things, but they are the same kind of people as their mother. I might as well throw things into the cesspool for them.
Yagen Toushirou was speechless after hearing this.
As a self-defense knife, it's not like he hasn't heard of such things. However, as the old man himself said, family disgrace should not be made public. Moreover, the bigger the family, the more such things there are, the messier and more disgusting they are. Compared with them, these things in the old man's family are just small matters.
"You haven't told me why you chose the general."
"Nothing much, it's just that it's rare to see a fellow countryman in Japan." The old man said as his gaze passed through the gap between the two of them and fell on the girl whose head was trying desperately to poke out but was held back by the boy with flaming hair. The deep meaning in that glance was as if he was telling everyone that they had something that "you know, I know, she knows, but only the four of them don't know."
Yagen Toushirou turned his head to look at Tsurumaru Kuninaga. It was he who had just pulled the admiral away, while he himself was mainly helping to look after the youngest one, Rengoku Chijuro. So, before they came to the old man's stall, besides the admiral, Tsurumaru Kuninaga was the one who knew best what had happened there.
But Tsurumaru Kuninaga felt quite aggrieved. They were speaking a flower language. Although Japan admired Tang when he was forged by Gojo Kuninaga and therefore learned the Tang language, he felt really embarrassed that he did not learn anything from his master at that time.
A trace of disgust flashed across Yagen Toushirou's purple eyes.
He suddenly felt that if it was Mikazuki Munechika who went into battle with him at that time, he might have been better than Tsurumaru Kuninaga.
What do other Shinsengumi think of Mikazuki Munechika?
Grandpa might be a bit useless in life, but his IQ and EQ are really high. If there's anything I can't handle, I can definitely give it to him...
"Of course, I'm not giving it away for free. Didn't the little girl say she wanted to buy it before?" The old man changed the subject. "Finally, if it weren't for this girl, my wife and I would have sold those things soon, left here, and started a new life somewhere where our son and daughter-in-law wouldn't be able to find us.
You are so old. Don’t want to be pestered by your unfilial children and grandchildren and beg for money in the last few years of your life.
Well, the old man has said enough, do you still want to buy it? If not, you can leave now."
"Buy it!" Qingxi said, grabbing Rengoku Kyojuro's hand that kept trying to pull her behind him.
After giving the people around him a reassuring look, Qingxi walked past Yagen Toushirou and Tsurumaru Kuninaga to the old woman, and then followed her upstairs.
This shop is divided into two floors, the lower floor is the shop and the upper floor is the living area. At the back is the small courtyard where they came in. It is not big, but it is spacious enough for three or five people to live in.
Qingxi followed the old woman to the second floor, but apart from three rooms that looked like living rooms, there were no other rooms on the second floor, and it looked like they were used as warehouses.
Qingxi was suspicious, but when the old man opened one of the rooms and walked in first, she followed him in.
The orange light was turned on, and the old woman asked Qingxi to sit in front of the low coffee table. Her voice was old and gentle, with a hint of bookish air in it.
"My mother's surname is Su, and her given name is Miaomiao. My husband's surname is Qin, and he is a royal merchant. Little girl, you can call me Granny Su, or even Grandma Su."
As Grandma Su spoke, she slightly opened the collar of her clothes, and then she took out a small jade pendant that was completely white without any other colors and carved with flowers and plants.
"Miss, have you ever heard of a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru?" asked Grandma Su.
Qingxi's face was full of understanding.
She understood this. It was a standard feature of time-travel novels. To put it simply, it was about space.
But she wasn't jealous because she also had a gourmet backpack.
Seeing Qingxi's understanding look, Grandma Su didn't explain much. She gently stroked the jade token back and forth with her dry, wrinkled hands for a while, and finally she handed it to her.
"My husband and I were shipwrecked while out at sea on a business trip. When we were rescued, only three of the fifteen merchant ships had survived, and my husband and I were the only ones who survived.
It was at that time that I discovered the power of this jade token.
I took possession of the two merchant ships, and later my husband and I sailed on the sea for several days. When we saw an island, we disembarked and went ashore.
We found someone and asked them, only then did we know that we had arrived in Japan."
Having said this, Grandma Su paused, her eyes were blank, as if she was lost in memories.
"At that time, my husband and I were grateful. Scholars, farmers, workers, and merchants, with merchants being the last. Even though it had the word 'emperor' in front of it, it was still a merchant. Similarly, because my husband and I were often traveling, we did learn the languages of the nearby vassal states that were part of our Ming Dynasty.
My husband and I told others that we were visiting relatives and friends, but we encountered bandits and ended up settling down here temporarily.
Later, we secretly returned home once, only to hear that the Qing army had entered the country…” Granny Su chuckled softly, her tone full of sarcasm, “So, my husband and I returned. This life has lasted for more than forty years.”
"Originally, my husband and I agreed that before we passed away, we would tell our only son, Ah Hai, about our origins. But we were so tempted by the world that we had no choice but to learn to gamble and visit tourist attractions... When he ran out of money, he would steal things from shops and sell them, then use the jewelry sold there to give to women. He even had a wife and children, but he didn't care... Later, my husband and I accepted it. He is a piece of mud, a hopeless person. If we really gave him our things, in just two or three years, he would definitely spend them all on those women in the tourist area." Granny Su became more and more angry as she spoke, but just when Qingxi thought she would explode, she calmed down. "Although we have only met today, you have the same opportunities as us, and your eyes are clear. In any case, you are much better than my Ah Hai. I will give you my things. You can give them away or sell them one day, and my husband and I will never complain."
She was given money for no apparent reason. Yes, that's right. In her opinion, all the gifts from Granny Su and Grandpa Qin were money. Qingxi felt a little panicked.
"Grandma Su, you guys..." Qingxi organized her words, "You've lived here for so long, there must be someone you like, right? Don't you plan to entrust your life to them?"
"To be honest, we have thought about it." Granny Su said frankly. She sighed, "But, after all, we are not one of us. As a descendant of Yan and Huang, Ah Hai is the best candidate for succession.
Since they are imperial merchants, which of the goods on the ship is not a treasure?
If they could be preserved for several generations, they might all be treasures?
What a pity—"
"But aren't you planning to sell it?" Qingxi was puzzled.
Granny Su chuckled. "That's just for show. Those things we took out aren't that valuable. Besides, after we sell them, if they want to ask for them or rob them, they can just take them. This is the last thing we, as his parents, will do to "accept" him."
Qingxi understood. Translated, it means that the two of us old people have saved enough money for retirement, enough for us to eat and drink for the rest of our lives. The remaining money can be snatched away by our unfilial descendants, and they will just watch for fun.
What can she say? You two old people are really open-minded.
I can let go of both my own son and my own grandson.
When Grandma Su saw that Qingxi refused to accept it, she took her hand and put the jade token in her hand.
She said, "Little girl, don't feel guilty about making a fortune from our things for free. It's just that we old couple are stubborn and don't want our country's things to be squandered by some jerk and end up in another country."
At this point, Granny Su smiled and said, "Of course, my husband and I don't just keep those belongings. Occasionally, if we come across something good here and have money, we will buy some."
Granny Su had the ability to whet people's appetites. Even Qingxi, who had seen a lot of things, was attracted by her. "For example?"
Granny Su smiled strangely. She said, "For example, the famous historical swords Kiku-Ichimonji, Tsurumaru Kuninaga, Sengo Muramasa, Kokarasuma, and Raikiri..."
Qingxi felt a little dizzy when she heard Granny Su reporting one famous sword after another. Thinking of the crane downstairs that she had summoned in a daze, she felt that if he knew that she had another real sword in her hand in a daze, she guaranteed with her head that he would definitely make a fuss.
Another point is that she doesn't know how the Time Government works in other worlds, but some of the famous swords of this era have been collected by this old couple. Wouldn't it be a headache for them?
After all, the people who collect their country's national treasures are two people from the neighboring country or something.
"Of course, some of these are real, some are fake, so don't take them all seriously," Granny Su said. "When we bought them, some were definitely famous swords, but others weren't. But because they were good swords in their own right, my husband bought them back."
Granny Su sighed, "In fact, over the years we have heard about some wealthy people privately collecting fine items from our country. However, unless those people fail in business and have difficulty in cash flow, they will definitely not take out their collections to exchange for money.
Thinking back to the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, the Japanese Emperor sent a large number of envoys to our country and brought back so many goodies... My husband and I have no way to bring back many."
Since you can't get back your own good things, have you changed your mind and bought a famous Japanese sword?
Qingxi felt that he knew a little too much.
But I have to say, this trick is quite mean.
If Qing Xiliu did not leave in this era, if she decided to return to her country one day, even if she did not return, her descendants would return and hand over these famous swords that could be marked as national treasures to the country and put them in museums... Just thinking about it made her feel a little funny.
Qingxi, whose imagination was a little out of control, tried hard to pull her thoughts back. She asked, "Then Granny Su, how much money are you going to ask for?"
The thing that Grandma Su gave her could no longer be priced, so she asked directly.
"Take as much as you can." said Grandma Su.
Qingxi nodded, thought for a moment, and took out all the banknotes she had from her food backpack. Just as she was about to take more out, she was stopped by Grandma Su.
"Wait a minute." Granny Su looked at the pile of banknotes on the table, feeling both amused and helpless. She pointed at the handkerchief hanging on Qingxi's wrist and explained, "You're a bit too honest, kid. I originally thought I'd take whatever money you had in your handkerchief. I didn't expect you to have such a hidden agenda and take out so much money."
Qingxi blinked, opened the towel and poured it on the table. A small bag was poured out and handed to Granny Su. "I came out today with the intention of eating at the rich man's house, so I didn't put any money in the only loan I had."
Grandma Su opened the small bag and was dumbfounded when she saw the colorful konpeito inside. The two looked at each other, speechless for a moment.
After a while, Qingxi pointed at the bag of konpeito and asked with a smile, "Would you like to exchange this for a jade token?"
Grandma Su tried to hold back but couldn't help it. She glared at her unhappily, put the konpeito away and tucked it into her sleeve. She picked up a stack of banknotes on the table, counted out twenty hundred-yen bills, and then counted out forty or fifty fifty-yen and twenty-yen bills. After doing all this, she asked Qingxi to put the rest of the money away herself.
"Is this enough?" Isn't it a little too little? Not even 10,000 yen.
Qingxi couldn't help but confirm it again with Grandma Su.
Granny Su waved her hand and said, "That's enough. There's no point in taking more. Just let Ah Hai squander his money for a while and stop bothering my husband and me. Once he's spent all his money, my husband and I will leave."
He can live the rest of his life however he wants."
Seeing that Grandma Su didn't seem to change her mind, Qingxi put the remaining money back into the food space.
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