Chapter Seven 1600 West Street
Although Uncle Gui had a different opinion of this person due to the previous words of Qi Xian, he did not hold any hope for recovering the loss from the pawnshop. That little girl was clever and always had her own strange logic, but after all, she was just a novice in business, and Uncle Gui only saw it as a child's play. The little girl sometimes seemed to be very cunning, and sometimes looked like an ordinary child of that age, really didn't know how Young Master Jing picked up this "treasure".
The apprentices in the shop seemed a bit lazy, and Uncle Gui was just sitting in the inner hall drinking tea. It wasn't that they wanted to slack off, but recently the business in the shop had been really bad. Although there were many pawnshops in Shazhou City, the common people still trusted Guangyuan the most. After all, the reputation of the Gan family was at stake. The only one who could rival the Gan family seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding with them, and never touched the pawnshop industry. It seemed that the Gan family was also following the same rules. But for some reason, the Zhu family suddenly broke this unspoken rule. The newly emerged Xingyuan Tai Pawnshop in the south of the city suddenly became popular, and its opening ceremony was a grand affair. Although on the surface it appeared that the big boss was a merchant from the south, everyone knew that the real manipulator behind the scenes was still Master Zhu from the mansion.
"I want to redeem it!" Many foreigners come and go from the sandy island every day, and Guangyuan Pawnshop is not without its share of foreign customers. However, Uncle Gui almost immediately recognized that voice, originally these small matters could be left to Zhang Xiaohua to handle, but this was only the second time in his life he had misjudged someone. So he put down his teacup and went out to greet him, he was also very curious about what method that girl had used to make that man jump out again and voluntarily return the silver.
The old man narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the IOU: "The color is dull and lusterless, like a dead fish's eye. How can such a thing be used?"
"This is none of your business, the silver is here, you just need to take out my things and that's it. Isn't it that your pawnshop swallowed up those things and now can't take them out? I know the rules of the pawnshops in Zhongyuan, if you can't take out the goods, you have to compensate with ten times the price, which is 5,000 taels." The man had a smug expression on his face, as if he was certain that the pawnshop couldn't produce the pearl. He had reason to be confident. In front of the Tianfu Teahouse, he almost recognized the pearl in the rich merchant's hand at a glance. Wasn't it the same pearl he had taken to Guangyuan Pawnshop to cheat for money? So his greedy thoughts arose again, and he turned back. He knew the rules of the pawnshop, one fake pearl could be exchanged for 5,000 taels of silver, who wouldn't want that?"
The noble uncle was a picture of composure, with a hint of mockery on his face. "Why do they say that foreign countries are barbaric lands?" he seemed to be saying. "Let's see who can outdo whom in cunning." When the wooden box appeared on the counter, the foreigner looked like he had been choked by several eggs and couldn't speak, but only glared at the noble uncle with anger in his eyes. The noble uncle smiled and said, "Honored guest, please take your time!" In his heart, he was thinking, "You think you're so big just because of your large eyes?"
Recently, it's clear that Uncle Gui is having the most relaxing time of his life. Deep down, he's still a good buddy who wants to be loyal to his boss. Many times, he just doesn't have any other choice. Moreover, even if Young Master is not doing well, he can still be considered half a boss. Doing things for him doesn't go against his principles, and it's also a way to make some extra money for the family. However, since Qi Xi arrived at the shop, he knew that the temporary peace would soon be broken, and a hint of resignation has been growing in his heart.
Recently, the city of Shazhou has been unusually calm and peaceful. There have been no more interesting news from Kyoto either. The people of Shazhou had long grown tired of hearing about which official was beaten up by the River East Lion for visiting a brothel. People's taste in gossip also gradually upgrades over time. However, on days without any gossip, even the opening of Nancheng Xingyuan Tai pawnshop became a topic of conversation among idle people who had eaten and drunk their fill. But after just a few days, the topic of discussion among the ladies immediately shifted to a small building that suddenly appeared on Fenghuang West Street. What's more mysterious is that the outside of this small building has been covered with black cloth all along. As everyone knows, this pawnshop originally belonged to the government and had only recently put out the word that it was going to be sold. The Gan and Zhu families seemed to have their hearts set on acquiring this prosperous shop, but no one knew who had made the purchase so quickly. It's likely that a high price was paid for it. Those people in the government are like hungry flies that can't be satisfied. From then on, when people met each other, they would ask "Do you know what that place is used for?" instead of "Have you eaten yet?"
Here is the translation:
Every time she passed by No. 6 West Street, her heart would beat rapidly, and she couldn't help but look at the small building covered in black cloth with a sense of excitement. Since the shop's business had been handed over to Uncle Gui to manage, there was no problem with that. As a result, she became a regular customer at Tianfu Teahouse, where she also heard many rumors about No. 6 West Street. On this particular day, she happened to have an appointment with Gan Jing in the teahouse, and originally thought that someone like Gan would be indifferent and uninterested in gossip. But unexpectedly, he was more enthusiastic than those nosy old women: "Little girl, what do you think No. 6 West Street is doing with its mysterious secrecy? I also sent people to negotiate with the government, but the Zhu family wouldn't fall behind. In the end, neither the Zhu nor Gan families won out - it was some unknown businessman who came from who-knows-where and proposed a novel method to the county magistrate. Who knows what he whispered in the magistrate's ear? The magistrate actually agreed! If the three families had fought to the end, the outcome would still be uncertain. But that nameless merchant actually bought No. 6 West Street for just 50 taels of silver - my servant came back and told me that at the time, the county magistrate's face turned green with rage. It seems like that man played a trick on the magistrate while also offending both our Zhu and Gan families. I really want to see how he'll do business from now on. The only thing is, the Zhu family's attitude this time was somewhat ambiguous - they offered a price that was only one tael less than the nameless merchant's. My servant had never seen such a scene before and was so flustered that he forgot to bid; it really made the Gan family lose face."
Qī Xiāng naturally knew the whole story from beginning to end, because the idea was originally hers. The unnamed merchant who appeared in the county yamen was actually Sī Mǎ, who had come from Yún Zhōng City. Gān Jìng and others would not be able to investigate this person's background. Qī Xiāng did not intend to deceive him, but whenever she thought about how this guy, who was not much older than herself, kept calling her "young girl" every day, it made her feel uncomfortable. She wanted to prove to him that she was no longer a little girl, but why did she want to prove it to him? Qī Xiāng didn't know herself.
That night, a figure suddenly slipped into a house not far from the Gan family's mansion. This was Qiuxi's residence. Later, Qiuxi had also suspected that some merchants who left their hometown might be arranged by Gan Jing on purpose. When Qiuxi asked Ah Guan about this question, Ah Guan was shocked in her heart: Seventh Miss is really impressive, she can think of this, but can she also think of it as a deliberate arrangement by Young Master? After all, everyone is closer and can take care of each other, or maybe there are some hidden reasons behind it. Ah Guan seemed to have sensed something, but what about those two self-proclaimed clever fools?
