Qingfengji is the largest and most prosperous market within a radius of twenty miles. This is a place that must be passed from Qin to Shu.
At noon, the carriage slowly drove into the busiest street in Qingfengji: "Shizidian".
This street is located in the heart of Qingfeng Bazaar. As the name suggests, "Cross Store" is composed of four criss-crossing long streets. The four streets are in a square pattern and intersect toward the central Cross Store from the four directions of east, west, south, and north.
On market days, the entire Qingfeng Market is crowded with people and traffic, and the cross store in the center is surrounded by market-goers coming and going.
Both sides of the street are crowded with various shops, and the noisy sounds of hawking can be heard one after another. There is a lively and prosperous scene everywhere.
The carriage stopped slowly at Cross Shop. Everyone got out of the car one by one, Liu Ruyan also tightened the reins, turned over and dismounted.
Today is market day, and the streets are crowded and extremely lively.
The two servants parked the carriage on the roadside and followed the crowd. Liu Ruyan also led the horse to Xu Feng. Leng Yue and Meng Hua held hands and looked around excitedly.
There were all kinds of dazzling products in front of the street shops. They walked happily in front of each other, holding hands and stopping in front of each shop from time to time. They carefully looked at the various colorful products and saw things they had never seen before. Objects, I asked the boss about it. Those two eyes were shining like a mountain man coming to the city for the first time, and everything he looked at seemed novel.
Shangguan Hongqin followed Xu Feng. When he saw the two girls jumping around in front, he couldn't help but smile knowingly, sighing in his heart about their girlish feelings and youthful spirit.
As they walked, Liu Ruyan suddenly asked: "Uncle Xu, this Qingfengji is the only way to travel between Shu and Qin. Why did the younger generation not seem to pass by here when he came? Is it possible that there is a gap between these two places?" Is there any other way to go?"
She recalled the scene when she came, and it seemed that she had not passed this place. The Qingfengji in front of me is very lively, but it feels strange when I see it.
Xu Feng looked around, smiled, and said: "Nephew Liu Xian, Qingfengji is at the intersection of Shu and Qin. After passing Qingfengji, you will enter Shu. When you came, Borrowed the road from Immortal Residence?"
Liu Ruyan thought thoughtfully and said: "Yes, this junior followed the master's instructions and came out from Zhongnan Mountain and went down to Shilipu at the foot of the mountain. Then he went on the post road and rode for half a day before arriving at the Immortal Residence. At the Immortal Residence After the tipping, I went to the official road again..." When he said this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he suddenly said, "By the way, after I went to the official road from Immortal Residence, I forgot the master's instructions, and I just wanted to hurry up as soon as possible. When I went to Cuihua Mountain to meet the beautiful girl, I confusedly parted ways at the fork in the road and walked straight onto the road to see the Black Valley. When the junior arrived at the Black Valley, I suddenly remembered the master's instructions, but by then it was already I've traveled dozens of miles. Hey, it's all my fault that I was careless and wasted some time on the road. Otherwise, I would have rushed back with the beautiful girl to celebrate my master's birthday earlier." He secretly complained about his carelessness, and his expression showed A hint of guilt and regret.
Xu Feng and Shangguan Hongqin looked at each other and smiled. Shangguan Hongqin looked kind and said to him: "My dear nephew, you haven't gone down the mountain for a long time. You and Brother Chu only walked this road once when you were young. It's been so long." After so many years, it’s reasonable that you can’t remember. How can I blame you? In order to come to pick up Hua’er, you went through the wrong path and suffered a lot. Don’t blame yourself anymore!” She whispered softly. Comfortingly.
Xu Feng also smiled and said: "Okay, don't say this anymore. If we take this road, we can reach Zhongnan Mountain before dark."
At this time, Menghua shouted excitedly to them from the front: "Hey, why are you walking so slowly? Brother Liu, come here quickly and see what this is?" She waved to everyone next to a shop in front.
Liu Ruyan looked at her, agreed, and said to Xu Feng, "Uncle Xu, I went to take a look earlier!"
Xu Feng and Shangguan Hongqin smiled at him and nodded.
Liu Ruyan turned around and ran forward quickly.
Arriving in front of the two of them, Menghua pointed at a strange colored object on the shop floor and asked, "Brother Liu, look at it, what is this?"
Seeing her strange appearance, Liu Ruyan couldn't help but secretly laugh. He looked at the object carefully and took a closer look. It turned out that it was a beautifully made Pisces pottery. Two fish-shaped porcelain bottles were carved, one end and one end were fused with each other, and they were quenched and fired at high temperatures. The pottery has unique shapes, exquisite carvings, bright patterns, and rich colors. At first glance, it looks like expensive Jingdezhen kiln ceramics.
This was the first time Liu Ruyan saw such exquisite and unique pottery. His eyes shone and he was deeply attracted.
Menghua and Leng Yue's eyes were bright when they looked at it. Menghua took the porcelain vase in her hand and looked at it carefully. She felt itchy in her heart. The more she looked at it, the more reluctant she was to let go.
She liked it very much and wanted to buy the Pisces pottery. She looked at Liu Ruyan with a smile and said, "Brother Liu, this pottery is so beautiful. I like it so much. Why don't we buy it?"
Liu Ruyan also had this intention, but suddenly she thought: This pottery is exquisite and exquisite. You can tell it is a fine product at a glance. It must be expensive. I'm afraid we don't have that much silver to afford it!
Liu Ruyan then pondered: "This pottery is indeed very beautiful, but the price is definitely not low. I didn't bring much silver with me when I came out, how could I afford it? Hey, although this thing is beautiful, it's not of much use. I think, Should we not want it anymore?"
At this time, the chubby boss opposite saw that they were interested in buying, so he introduced with a smile: "Oh, this girl has really good eyesight. This is the treasure of my store, an authentic Pisces red vase produced in Jingdezhen. I think the girl likes it very much. If you know the owner of the product, I will sell it to you at a cheaper price!" He looked at the three of them with a cunning light flashing in his eyes.
Menghua asked hurriedly: "Boss, how much does this pottery cost?"
The boss squinted his eyes, smiled brightly, and said hurriedly: "It's cheap, you can buy it for only fifty taels!" He looked at the three of them with bright eyes.
When the three of them heard this, their eyes widened immediately, and they exclaimed in unison: "Fifty taels?"
Fifty taels is no longer a small amount. You can already buy a lot of things, at least you can buy a good horse, and you can also stay in the best inn for half a month.
At this time, Xu Feng and others had arrived. When they heard the store's offer of fifty taels, he and Shangguan Hongqin stared at the ceramics carefully for a long time.
Xu Feng looked at the expression on the shopkeeper's face again, smiled faintly, and said, "Excuse me, boss, is this pottery really authentic Jingdezhen red flower porcelain?" He suddenly caught a glimpse of a cunning look on the shopkeeper's face, and knew that this must be the case. There is fraud.
Although this porcelain looks exquisite, its surface is too flat and smooth. At first glance, it is not authentic, but a cleverly imitated fake.
He himself is also a lover of antiques and jades, and there are many people who have seen them. He also has some experience in distinguishing the authenticity of porcelain.
He thought to himself: The store passes off inferior goods, blinds people, and deceives uninformed laymen, but it is really abominable! His mind changed: I must expose his false face! To prevent him from harming others again.
Menghua looked at the porcelain vase with fascination, as if she had not heard Xu Feng's words at all. He just wanted to put the porcelain bottle in his pocket.
The fat boss glanced at Xu Feng's face and smiled to himself: "Sir, this Pisces Red Flower Porcelain is an authentic royal tribute from the Jingdezhen kiln. Take a closer look at this pattern. This texture is definitely the best! I see that this girl has a keen eye for pearls and she really likes it, so I will sell it at a low price."
Xu Feng stroked his beard, glanced at the boss, and said with a cold smile: "Really, the boss said this is a royal tribute?"
The boss's eyes lit up, he nodded hurriedly, and said with a smile: "Yes, this is the best royal tribute, but it is difficult to buy! Sir, I think you are also a person who knows the goods. You say it is so good The tribute red flower porcelain is priced at fifty taels, but it is worth thousands of dollars!"
Xu Feng twisted his eyebrows and asked quietly: "Oh, then I have something unclear. I want to ask the boss. Since you said this is a royal tribute, how did it get into your hands? Could it be that the royal tribute has been lost among the people?" He blinked and glanced sideways at the boss.
When the boss heard this, his expression suddenly changed, and his smile froze on his face. He looked around and interrupted, "Oh, sir, you always don't know something. This is the royal tribute from the kiln in Jingdezhen." It's not the slightest bit false. To tell you the truth, I also bought it from a street vendor. As for how it ended up living among the people, I don't know. However, you can rest assured, there are dozens of people on this street. This shop that sells ceramics has been approved by the government, so there will be no problems."
Shangguan Hongqin saw that Xu Feng was only talking to him, so she gently tugged on his clothes and urged: "Master, it's past noon. We have been driving for a long time. I see that everyone is very hungry. We are still How about finding an inn to hit the tip first?"
On the surface, he was urging Xu Feng to take everyone to the top, but in fact, he wanted to tell him to leave as soon as possible. He had to do more serious things. He didn't want to buy, so why bother talking to him.
She has seen a lot of fakes like this. Although the workmanship looks exquisite and can be fake, it is just a defective product that blinds the eyes. Besides, this porcelain bottle has no use except for its beautiful appearance. place, let alone talk about the value of the collection.
When Xu Feng heard what Shangguan Hongqin said, he felt hungry in his stomach. Everyone must be hungry too, so he said to the boss: "This porcelain vase is too expensive. We really can't afford it, so we don't want it anymore. "
When Menghua and Leng Yue heard this, they couldn't help but be startled. They didn't expect that Xu Feng and the boss had no intention of buying it after they said it nicely. Their expressions immediately darkened, showing a little displeasure.
Menghua pouted angrily, stamped her feet, turned away, and ignored everyone.
Leng Yue saw that Menghua was angry, so she smiled and comforted her softly: "Hua Mei, what's wrong with you, are you angry?" She leaned over, glanced at her, and said: "Oh, it's really true. Are you angry? Actually, I have a lot of such things at home. If I had known you liked them, I would have given them to you."
Leng Yue is the eldest daughter of the Xu family. She grew up with fine clothes and fine food, good looks and fun things, so she had no shortage of anything. As for Menghua, whose family background was mediocre, she could see far fewer rare things.
When she saw something she loved, she had no money to buy it, and people around her were unwilling to buy it for her. When she thought of the suffering she had suffered since she was a child, she suddenly felt sad and aggrieved, and she suddenly turned red. His eyes were about to shed tears.
When Shangguan Hongqin saw this, she sighed and felt bad, so she said to Xu Feng: "Master, it's rare for Hua to like it so much, why not buy it for her?" When she saw Menghua's sad expression, she suddenly felt Once softened, a heart of compassion emerged.
Liu Ruyan had just seen Xu Feng say such words, and he had already guessed some of the reasons. He didn't know the goods, and he failed to realize that such exquisite porcelain was actually a fake.
But then I thought about it, how can I buy authentic high-quality porcelain from Jingdezhen kilns in such a market? Besides, it’s a royal tribute! Isn't it obvious that this is just to fool people?
Liu Ruyan looked at Menghua, smiled, and comforted her: "Hua sister, be good, don't be angry!" He winked at Menghua and winked, "You know what uncle said just now?" Do you mean it?"
Menghua was stunned, raised her head and stared at him with a confused look on her face, and said Youyou: "What are you talking about? Uncle, isn't he bargaining with the boss? I know that you all think it's too expensive and don't want to buy it for me." She pouted, looking lonely and aggrieved. Tears fell unconsciously from his eyes.
Leng Yue curled her lips, looked at her with a smile, sighed softly, and said: "Oh, sister Hua, why do you think so? You have misunderstood what dad meant! It's not that we don't want to buy it for you. , Oops, how can I explain it to you!" She smiled slightly and shook her head helplessly.
She suddenly felt that this pretty girl was acting strange recently. She always liked to think wildly. She looked happy on the surface, but she was always unhappy in her heart, as if she was hiding a lot of troubles. But she doesn't want to talk to others. What should I do if this continues? I'm really afraid that she will do something bad!
When Xu Feng saw Menghua's sad look, he felt bad and didn't know how to comfort her. I just thought that she was angry because he didn't buy her a porcelain vase, but after thinking about it, I felt that wasn't entirely the case!
At this moment, Shangguan Hongqin suddenly reached out and took out a handkerchief from her purse, gently wiped away the tears on Menghua's face, then took her into her arms, and said lovingly: "Okay, don't be sad, Hua'er. Ah, look at you, crying like a tearful person, my aunt feels distressed when you look at it! It's just a porcelain vase, just buy it for you!" She stroked the dream flower and coaxed softly.
Although this Menghua was not her biological child, she had grown up drinking her milk. She had already regarded her as her own child. How could she see her being wronged!
She understood in her heart that the reason why Menghua was suddenly sad and crying was not just because she failed to fulfill her wish, but because she thought of her miserable life experience and lost her mother's love since she was a child, which made her suddenly feel aggrieved and sad. Come.
Shangguan Hongqin then said to the boss: "Boss, can this porcelain bottle be made cheaper?"
When the boss saw that the other party seemed to be interested in buying it, and looked at Menghua's pitiful appearance, he immediately sighed, waved his hands and said with a smile, "That's all, I think this girl really likes this treasure, so I'll bear the pain." How about I give up my love and sell it to you for thirty taels?"
Everyone looked at each other and smiled, Xu Feng nodded and said: "It's so good, let's buy it!"
Menghua turned from sadness to joy, but she smiled sheepishly at everyone, thanked Xu Feng and Shangguan Hongqin, and happily held the Pisces porcelain vase in her arms.
