The entire auction hall was quickly filled with people. Although some people were whispering, overall, the entire auction venue was relatively quiet.
At this moment, a slim figure walked in from the back hall of the auction house and came to the auction stage in front.
She smiled and said, "Welcome to Jubaolou Auction House," her voice was clear and clear, rippling through the auction hall, giving people a light and friendly feeling.
This woman is in her twenties, her facial features are also delicate and soft, her skin is smooth and fair, and she has three thousand black and silky hair. Her whole person gives off a classical temperament, full of oriental charm.
She is Lan Xiuying, the chief auctioneer of Jubaolou Auction House.
"I announce that today's auction has officially begun. Please keep quiet. The first item will be auctioned now." As soon as Nian finished speaking, a maid came up holding a box.
He placed the box on the auction table and stood aside. Lan Xiuying opened the box, and there was a ginseng inside, with all the beard and tail, without any damage. From a visual inspection, it would be at least seventy or eighty years old, if not a hundred years old.
This kind of ginseng is already very rare in the Central Plains and can be used as a century-old ginseng.
"Everyone, everyone has seen that this is an old wild ginseng in the wild. It has been used as medicine for more than seventy years, and its appearance is very complete. Its medicinal effect is lower than that of a century-old ginseng. The starting price is fifty taels of silver. Each time the price is increased, it must not be less than five taels of silver."
"Fifty-five taels of silver."
"Sixty taels of silver." Twist
"I will pay seventy taels of silver."
"······"
"I'll pay one hundred and twenty taels of silver." Lan Xiuying said: "This boss bids one hundred and twenty taels of silver. Is there anyone else who bids higher? If there is no more bid, this old wild ginseng will be the one who bids me." It belongs to the boss." After waiting for a while, no one bid again.
Lan Xiuying said: "One hundred and twenty liang once, one hundred and twenty liang twice, one hundred and twenty liang three times."
With a "dang" sound, the auction hammer in Lan Xiuying's hand fell. twist
"This old wild ginseng belongs to this boss." In the end, the ginseng was sold for 120 yuan, which is not a low price.
After all, this kind of old wild ginseng is relatively rare in the Central Plains. Next, several antique calligraphy and paintings were auctioned, and the bidding was quite enthusiastic.
Jia Cong just came to see the excitement, see how popular he was in the glass mirror, and took Lin Daiyu and others to open their eyes.
I wasn't very interested in these things, so I didn't participate in the bidding. After more than a dozen items were auctioned, the final item was my own glass mirror.
twist
"Everyone, the crystal mirror, the final treasure of the auction, was collected by our auction house with great difficulty. It is said to have come from the other side of the ocean tens of thousands of miles away. It is very rare." A maid came to the auction table holding the crystal mirror. superior.
Lan Xiuying took out the crystal mirror and displayed it in front of everyone.
"This crystal mirror is very clear. It is countless times clearer than the bronze mirror we use. You can see the eyebrows on the face clearly. It can be said that every detail is exposed. So far, this is the first time it has appeared in our Dachu territory. It is A real rare treasure. The starting price is one hundred taels, and each increase in price must not be less than ten cars. If you like it, you can bid."
"Really or not, is it really that good?"
"I don't know, no one has seen it." Twisted
"..." The people below began to talk about it. Although the publicity was quite good, no one had seen it, so no one was in a hurry to bid.
"Miss Lan, although what you said is so good, we haven't seen it yet. What is the specific effect?" Lan Xiuying said: "Everyone can recommend a few highly respected and trustworthy people to come and appreciate it and see the effect. , but you are not allowed to get close and touch." Soon more than a dozen people came on board, standing one meter away from the auction table, and saw the effect of the mirror.
"Wow, this is so clear. This is the first time I have seen such a clear mirror."
"Yes, it's really a good thing. It can indeed be called a rare treasure." Nian
"..." After being confirmed, everyone felt relieved and started bidding one after another.
"I'll pay you one hundred and fifty taels of silver."
"I want to buy such a rare treasure for only one hundred and fifty taels. I'm just dreaming. I'll pay you three hundred taels of silver."
"I'll pay you four hundred taels of silver."
"I will pay eight hundred taels of silver."
"I will pay you one thousand taels of silver." Nian
"..." Soon the price soared to more than one thousand taels. At this price, ordinary people could not participate.
Basically, the wealthy young men in the box were asking for prices. Lin Daiyu blinked and said: "It really exceeded one thousand taels of silver. It's incredible. There are still people bidding." Jia Cong smiled and said: "This is the charm of the auction. Sometimes people come up to each other and interact with each other." If the price is raised, it won't be a problem if the price increases four or five times. This is relatively rational." Xue Baochai said: "Brother Cong is right. My brother spent thousands of taels of silver at the auction before. I bought something worth a few hundred taels of silver just because we were in conflict with each other. No one would admit defeat, and we finally pooled our financial resources." Jia Cong said with a smile: "So, you have to be sensible when participating in the auction. Of course, when you encounter something truly rare, It's something I like, so I have to get it even if I spend more money." Nian Tanchun said: "Three brothers, the price is more than two thousand taels. I didn't expect this mirror to be so valuable." At this time, the asking price outside had already exceeded After paying two thousand taels of silver, there is still competition.
"I will pay you two thousand three hundred taels of silver."
"I paid two thousand six hundred taels of silver. If anyone bids higher than me, it will be his." The price has reached a psychological level. No matter how high it is, I would be reluctant to part with it. After all, it is just a mirror.
"Two thousand six hundred and two once, two thousand six hundred and two and two, two thousand six hundred and two and three times, the deal is done. This mirror belongs to this old version. Congratulations. You are the first one in Da Chu who owns this kind of mirror." Baby." The final transaction price reached 2,600 taels of silver, and several little girls chatted happily.
The second mirror was sold for 2,300 taels of silver, and the last mirror was actually bought for 3,200 taels.
Three mirrors were sold for 7,000 taels of silver. It's scary to think about it. This is why rare things are valuable. On the way back, these little girls were still chattering in the car and talking excitedly. This time they came out, it was an eye-opener for them.
······Autumn is here in a blink of an eye, and the weather is getting cooler. The battle in Liaodong has been tepid. The Chu army was unable to attack the city. Facing the high walls of Shenyang City and the fierce barbarian soldiers, there was nothing they could do.
Amin was busy consolidating his rule in the rear, and was busy winning over and winning people's hearts. Before he completely consolidated his position, he was basically unable to go south, and the two sides continued to be in a stalemate.
After Emperor Nianlongqing learned about the situation, he was a little helpless. No matter how anxious I was, there was nothing I could do. Knowing that the entire army was almost wiped out in the last battle, I stopped urging them and let them figure it out on their own.
Many areas in Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places are experiencing persistent drought, with almost no autumn harvests and serious disasters.
Many people have no food to eat and have no choice but to dig wild vegetables to survive. Unfortunately, there are too many victims, and all the roots and bark of trees have been eaten up. They can only beg everywhere and become refugees.
Food prices began to rise. Food prices in the disaster-stricken areas have increased five or six times. The price of food in the capital has doubled, and food in the south and other places has also increased to varying degrees.
Famine is a disaster for the common people, but it is also a good opportunity for tycoons, corrupt officials, profiteers, and loan sharks to make a fortune. As the saying goes,
"One debt waits for three harvests." Fortunately, Nian had prepared in advance this year. In addition, Jia Cong ransacked his house and obtained nearly 30 million taels of silver for the treasury, so there was no shortage of money and food.
Emperor Longqing arranged for officials to go to various places to provide disaster relief. If there were no corrupt officials, engaging in mischief, embezzlement and expropriation, there should not be much of a problem.
However, this situation is almost impossible to prevent. As long as it doesn't cause big trouble, no one will care about it.
These things have nothing to do with Jia Cong, and he can't take care of them even if he wants to. He just has to do his own job.
Lin Ruhai also entered the court again and became the Minister of Rites. The Department of Nian Rites was in charge of important court ceremonies, such as worshiping heaven and earth, worshiping ancestors, etc., imperial examinations, and receiving foreign guests. It was similar to the modern Ministry of Education and the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Provincial Family Courtyard has also been completed. The entire provincial residence has been cleaned up and Jia Cong has successfully taken over.
Jia Lian said: "Brother Cong, fortunately you have fulfilled your mission. It is finally completed. This garden is really nice. Are you satisfied with it, brother Cong?" Jia Cong said: "It's quite good. Thank you for your hard work, brother." Jia Lian smiled and said: "Cong As long as I am satisfied with it, there is one more thing. The plaque in the yard has not yet been found. I wonder if Cong brother has any ideas?" Although Jia Cong remembers some of the plaques in the Grand View Garden, he is not comprehensive, and he is not good at that thing either. .
Nian remembers that it was drafted by father and son Jia Zheng and Jia Baoyu. Later, during the family visit in Yuanchun, they changed it again. In this case, let's leave this matter to them and save myself the trouble.
"Second brother, I'm not good at plaques either. Let my second uncle handle this matter. I think he should be happy with it." Jia Lian said, "Okay, I'll go talk to him later and see what he's doing." What do you mean?" As the two were talking, they saw Jia Zheng walking over with a group of retainers.
Jia Zheng said: "Brother Cong is here too. I heard that the Provincial Family Courtyard has been completed and I plan to go in and have a look. Do you want to go and see it together?" Jia Cong said with a smile: "Second uncle came just in time. I was with my second brother just now." Speaking of which, I have to trouble my second uncle about the plaque in the yard. I'm not very good at these things." After hearing this, Jiazheng pondered for a while and said, "It's a difficult thing to do with the plaque. In terms of etiquette, It’s time to ask the imperial concubine to give you a title. However, if the imperial concubine doesn’t see the scenery in person, it will be difficult to write the title. If you wait until the imperial concubine is on a tour and then ask for the title, if the scenery is large, there are several pavilions, and there is no word title, no matter how beautiful the flowers, willows, mountains and rivers are, it will be useless. Can't produce color." All the Qing guests laughed and replied: "What I saw is very true. Now we have an idea. The plaques at each place are indispensable and cannot be determined. Now according to the scenery, maybe two The words "three words" and "four words" are combined with their meanings. For the time being, I made a couplet on the lamp and plaque and hung it. When the imperial concubine is traveling, please name her again. Wouldn't it be best to have both?" Jia Zheng said with a smile: "You don't know, I myself When I was young, I was mediocre in writing poems about flowers, birds, landscapes, etc. Now that I am old and tired of typing, I am even more unfamiliar with this pleasant article. As soon as I drafted it, it is not unavoidable to be pedantic, but it makes the Hualiu Garden Pavilion look worse. It's very boring." All the Qing guests said: "That's okay. We all read the public draft and each made use of our strengths. We kept the good ones and deleted the bad ones. We can't do anything." Jia Zheng said: "That's fine. Let's go. Well, let's go in and have a look together." Jia Cong had no objection, and together with Jia Lian, followed Jia Zheng and others to the main entrance of the Provincial Family Courtyard.
As soon as he arrived at the gate of the garden, he saw Jia Baoyu running out of the garden with a puff of smoke. He turned the corner and looked up to see Jia Zheng leading the guests. He couldn't hide and had to stand aside obediently.
When Nian Jiazheng saw Baoyu, he was about to scold him, but he thought that he had recently heard that Confucian scholars praised him for his ability in correcting. Although he did not like reading, he had some crooked talents, so he ordered him to follow him into the garden, hoping to give him a try.
Baoyu had no choice but to follow him obediently. The main entrance has five rooms, with tiled roofs and clay ridges above. The door rails and windows are all of the new style with fine withering, and are not painted with vermilion. The walls are all polished with the same color, and the white stone steps below are chiselled into passion flower patterns.
Looking to the left and right, you can see the snow-white powder wall with the texture of tiger skin stone underneath, which is not gaudy or cliché. When I walked in the door, I saw a green mountain range in front of me.
All the Qing guests said: "What a mountain, what a mountain!" Jia Zheng said: "If it's not this mountain, as soon as you enter the garden and you can see all the scenery, what's the point?" Everyone said: "Exactly, How could I have thought of this unless there were huge hills and valleys in my chest." After saying that, he looked forward and saw rugged white rocks, which looked like ghosts or monsters, standing vertically and horizontally.
The moss on the top is mottled, or covered with wisteria, and the intestine path is slightly exposed. Jia Zheng said: "We will swim from this path, and when we come back, we can go out on that side to see everything." Everyone agreed and walked along the path into the mountain pass.
Looking up, I suddenly saw a mirror-faced white stone on the mountain, which was exactly where I left the inscription. Jia Zheng turned around and said with a smile: "Gentlemen, please see, what is the name of the title here?" Everyone heard that this title was also mentioned.
The word "Piancui" is also mentioned in this question.
"Jinzhang", there is another saying
There is another saying about "racing incense burner"
"Xiao Zhongnan" has more than dozens of names and colors. It turned out that all the guests had known that Jia Zheng wanted to test Baoyu's talent, so they only gave him some clichéd names.
After hearing this, Jia Zheng didn't comment, so he turned around and ordered Baoyu to come. Baoyu said: "I have heard the ancients say: 'It is better to write down the old than to write down the new. Carving the past will eventually defeat the present.' Moreover, this is not the main scene of the main mountain. It has no title. It is just a step forward in exploring the scenery. It is better to write directly to the ancients. The old saying 'winding paths lead to secluded places' is above, but it's quite generous." After hearing this, everyone praised: "It's very good, very good, my second brother is very talented and far-reaching, unlike us who have read rotten books." They were all a group of flatterers. Jia Cong and Jia Lian followed, silently watching the performance.
Jia Zheng laughed and said: "He is a young man, so he cannot praise him too much. He is just making fun of him by using his knowledge for ten purposes, and then make a decision later."
