When people think of pawnshops, they generally think of them as a place visited by poor people and gamblers.
In many movies and TV dramas, we can see that it’s often the person who can’t get the blame, the person who lost all his money in gambling, the person who wants to see a doctor but can’t afford it... so he rummaged through the box, took out some messy things, and took them to the pawn shop to exchange for some money. Emergency; some can be used as jewelry, some can be used as antiques, some can be used as clothing, and some can even be used as tables, chairs, benches, water tanks, straw mats...
Is such a thing really possible?
Yes, but our impression is not accurate.
In fact, pawn shops are also divided into four grades: large pawns, large mortgages, large mortgages and small mortgages - the mortgage period is from long to short, and the interest rate is from low to high.
A pawnshop like "Dadang" must not only have strong funds, but also be powerful, because they basically serve wealthy people.
Some people may ask, what do rich people use as things?
Then take a look at the big companies outside. Which one doesn’t get a loan from a bank? When you borrow money from a bank, you have to pledge something, right? Isn't that similar to the nature of pawn?
In fact, pawnshop lending in ancient times is similar to modern bank lending; rich people, especially those doing business, need cash flow. When cash flow is insufficient, it is normal to mortgage something for turnover.
In addition, some rich people send their valuables to pawn shops not for money, but for safety. This is called "sending pawns"; because they feel that the pawn shop's vault is safer than their own home, they pawn their items for a long time. Here, the interest paid when redeeming is treated as a storage fee; and if something is lost during the "pawn" period, not only will they not have to pay interest, but they will also get another compensation... This is different from modern banks. The vault business is similar.
As for the kind of pawn shops we often see in movies and TV dramas, they are usually the lowest-grade "small bets".
What is a small deposit? To put it bluntly, it is a loan shark that uses collateral to replace violent debt collection...
The deposit period provided by this kind of pawn shop is usually very short. If you don't come to redeem it for three months, the thing will belong to him; and in terms of interest, it is common to get it back in nine months.
Therefore, this kind of place is indeed frequented by desperate poor people and gamblers. These people have no intention of redeeming the things they have pawned. Some people don't even want to pawn tickets and just take the money and leave.
Xiaobei also knows very well who his customers are, so he does his best to take advantage of others' dangers, lower prices and bluff, and maximize profits.
Otherwise, why would ordinary people in ancient times call pawnshops "Lei Gong Hong"? Because all the pawnshops they have access to are small ones.
As for a young master from a wealthy family like Song Xiang, he would definitely not pawn things to Xiao Bian; with Xiao Bian's financial resources, he would not be able to pawn thousands of taels of silver.
The Song family pawns things, sends them as pawns, or recycles them, all at Tongquanjian, the largest pawnshop in Runan City.
To say that this Tong Quan Jian is really quite famous.
The meaning of the word "Tongquan" in the appraisal industry is roughly the same as when you say you are "invincible" when playing games. If you dare to use this sign and can really do business, there must be an expert in charge. .
The master of Tong Quanjian, whose surname is Liu and given name is Yufang, is known as "Mr. Tongquan".
The origin of this man is unknown, and he never tells anyone about himself. Judging from his accent, he should be from the south. And judging from his white beard and hair and skinny appearance, he must be at least sixty-five years old. As for other things...such as whether he was married, whether he had children, where he came from, what he had done before, where he learned all his knowledge, etc., no one knew anything about it, and he never mentioned it.
When Liu Yufang came to this pawn shop to apply for an appraiser job, he made it clear to the shopkeeper: "The wages are negotiable and the work is not difficult. I only have one request. It's best for everyone not to ask about my past."
The shopkeeper thought about it: This old man is already this old. Even if he was a gangster before, he is not a threat now. Besides, I don't think he looks like a gangster because of his weak appearance.
With this in mind, the shopkeeper kept Liu Yufang.
Unexpectedly, this old man had unparalleled vision and superb skills. He helped the shopkeeper make the business bigger and bigger. Within a few years, this place changed from a "big shop" to a "big shop".
So, the shopkeeper got a little arrogant and hung up the sign "Tongquanjian" and publicly stated that we have a "Mr. Tongquan" here who can identify all kinds of treasures and everyone can use whatever good stuff they have. If you take it from me, you will never lose.
When he did this, he aroused dissatisfaction among many colleagues, and many came to pick troubles.
Can't you, sir, recognize everything? Then let’s test you. If you can really tell the difference, we will be convinced. If you can’t tell the difference, it’s nothing more than destroying the sign.
During that time, every once in a while, someone would come to the door with some strange things they found out from nowhere, such as the saw used by Lu Ban, the straw sandals made by Liu Bei, the white silk silk used by Wu Yong to hang himself, the sword worn by Wu Zixu... the most bizarre things. What happened was that a guy came over with a piece of noodles and said blankly that this was the old noodles Zhuge Liang had left over from making steamed buns.
But no matter how outrageous these guys were, Liu Yufang still remained calm and calm, and he accurately told the true origin of everything.
After more than half a year, everyone was really convinced and admitted that Mr. Liu was indeed worthy of the word "Tongquan".
I never thought... The big winds and waves came over back then, but today, Liu Yufang was in trouble.
Because today, someone sent the Nine-Feather Zhusun Furnace in front of him.
In fact, Liu Yufang recognized this thing at the first sight. He knew very well what it was used for, but because of this, there were waves in his heart.
"Hiss—" Liu Yufang was silent for a long time, and then said to the waiting shop assistant, "Who brought this?"
The shop clerk had been working in Tongquanjian for many years, and it was the first time that he saw Mr. Liu looking embarrassed, so he hesitated for a moment before replying: "Uh... he's from the Song Dynasty."
In Runan City, when you talk about the Song family, everyone understands that you are referring to Song Yuan's family, that is, the Song Xiang family.
When a big family pawns something, they usually don't need the family to come forward. They just send a servant to bring the thing; because the deposit period and interest of "Dadang" are relatively reasonable, old customers can make corresponding adjustments if they have requirements. , so I just need to tell the lowest psychologically expected price, and then ask my servants to use this as a bottom line to negotiate with the people at the pawn shop. There is no need to make a special trip myself.
Of course, there are hidden dangers in this approach...
For example, if the housekeeper of a wealthy family has evil thoughts, he can steal some valuables from the house, cash them out in the store, and then abscond with the money.
Another example is that Song Xiang stole a treasure from his own warehouse and gave it to his servants to be pawned. Naturally, outsiders could not figure out the reason.
"Hmm..." Liu Yufang pondered again and asked, "How much do you want?"
"Three thousand taels," the store clerk replied.
"Three thousand taels..." Liu Yufang repeated the number, sneered in his heart, and said to himself, "Ah... it is a pity that this thing fell into the hands of those ignorant people. It is obviously a priceless treasure, but they only only need three thousand taels." Thousand taels."
After thinking about it, he remained calm on the surface and continued: "How long are you going to be detained for?"
"One day." said the clerk.
"What? One day?" Liu Yufang thought he heard wrongly.
"It's a bit strange." The store clerk also felt that something was wrong. In regular pawn shops, there is no such thing as "bet for a day." Gamblers might say this when they go to a small pawn shop to get money. "But the other person said it personally." I said, it’s just for one day, I’ll come back to pick it up at this time tomorrow evening, and I also said, it doesn’t hurt to pay more interest.”
"Oh?" Liu Yufang fell into thinking. He felt that there was something fishy about this matter.
After thinking for a while, he asked again: "What did the shopkeeper say...?"
"Hey, what can I say..." the shop assistant said, "I don't dare to offend the people of the Song family. He just waits for you to say something. If this thing is worth this price, he will give it to him. The interest is just that. If you can accept it for a little bit, it can be considered a business deal."
"Yes." Liu Yufang nodded, "Okay, let's keep it in custody." He paused and picked up the small incense burner, "This... I will personally deliver it to the warehouse."
"Hey, okay, please take your time." The store clerk got a positive reply and went out quickly.
After the other party left, Liu Yufang's eyes showed a rare... look of greed.
…………
It's night, the moon and stars are sparse.
A figure slowly walked into an inconspicuous courtyard in Runan City.
This person was none other than Liu Yufang.
At this moment, Liu Yufang was carrying a tightly wrapped bundle in his arms. Inside the bundle was the Nine-Feather Zhusun Furnace.
Dong dong dong——
After entering the hospital, Liu Yu walked directly to the door and knocked lightly a few times.
The room was dark, so he knocked a few times, but there was no movement inside.
But as if Liu Yufang was sure that there must be someone inside, he knocked a few more times and whispered into the room through the door: "Friends of the Five Spirit Sect, can you open the door and meet me?"
However, the response to him was still silence and silence.
"Oh... that's all." Liu Yufang shook his head, "Don't force things that are not destined to happen."
After that, he turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he found someone standing in front of him.
This person was dressed in nocturnal black clothes, with his face covered, of medium build, and his voice was very ordinary: "Those brothers inside all work according to the rules, and they will never answer the door without hearing the code... If you have any questions, you can Tell me."
In the middle of the night, someone suddenly and silently comes up behind you like a ghost. Most people would have screamed in fright, but Liu Yufang was very calm: "You are..."
"Aren't you looking for someone from the Five Spirits Sect? I am." The masked man said again.
Liu Yufang said: "I know you are from the Five Spirits Sect. I would like to ask who you are from the Five Spirits Sect and what position you hold?"
"Heh..." the masked man smiled, "I'm afraid it's not convenient for me to tell you."
"Hmm..." Liu Yufang thought for a while, "It's okay not to say anything... I think your martial arts are good. Even if you are not the flag leader or deputy flag leader, you can at least be ranked in the top five seats of any flag. You should be able to match the above. Talk."
As soon as the masked man heard this, his expression under the black cloth changed a bit.
Yes, this is indeed one of the five flag masters of the Wuling Sect, Tang Fu, the leader of the White Tiger Banner who appeared in the previous article. At this moment, there are three things that surprised Tang Fu: First, the man in front of him looks like The old man, who had no internal strength at all, could actually see his general level of martial arts; secondly, this old man could not only find the secret stronghold of their Five Spirit Sect in the city, but also seemed to have a very good understanding of the internal organization of the Five Spirit Sect; thirdly, This old man's attitude has been very calm from just now to now, and it can even be said that he is confident.
"Old man, I'm sorry for my poor eyesight, but I don't know who you are..." Tang Fu thought it would be better to ask first.
Liu Yufang bluntly said: "The old Liu Yufang is just a clerk in Tongquanjian."
He became humble now. Even Tang Fu had heard of his name: "Oh? It turns out to be the famous Mr. Tongquan. I'm so disrespectful..." When meeting a master, he still had to be polite. After cupping his fists and handing over his hand, he Then he said, "I don't know what you, sir, have to do with me, the Five Spirits Sect, when you come here at starry night?"
Liu Yufang patted the baggage in his arms gently with his hand: "I want to make a deal with you."
"Oh..." Tang Fu thought for a moment and then continued, "Sir, this is not the place to talk. Please come with me first..."
After that, Tang Fu led the way and led Liu Yufang out of the courtyard, walking east and west through several alleys.
It was late at night, and no one saw them. Not long after, the two of them arrived at the back door of a shop selling incense sticks. Tang Fu put his right hand on the door panel and held it there for a few seconds before knocking three times. After a while, someone inside finally opened the door.
"Sir, please come inside." After Tang Fu entered the door, he lit a candle and then waved to Liu Yufang, who was still standing in the back alley.
Liu Yufang still looked very calm, showing no warning or fear, so he just followed in.
After entering the room, he didn't see anyone else besides Tang Fu. It was probably that the people inside didn't want to be seen by him, so they all retreated to other rooms.
After Tang Fu closed the door and asked Liu Yufang to sit down, he also sat down and then said, "Sir, what kind of business are you going to do?"
Liu Yufang was also unambiguous. Without saying a word, he put the baggage he had brought on the table, untied it, and revealed the small incense burner inside: "I want to sell this to you."
Tang Fu couldn't see what was unique about this thing, so he wondered: "This is..."
"Nine Feathers Chasing the Sun Furnace." Liu Yufang said.
Tang Fu wanted to reply "I haven't heard of it", but he felt that this answer was a bit silly, so he skipped this step and said directly: "Sir... I apologize for my shallow knowledge, but I dare to ask... Your furnace, Is it of any use to our Five Spirit Sect?"
