That afternoon, Hu Qin sat at an Eight Immortals table in the Bamboo House on West Street doing cross stitch.
An upright bamboo pole was tied to one side of the table. On the bamboo pole was a piece of red paper with an advertisement written on it: Very good news. Puqi Caojia Winery will purchase a large amount of soybeans from now on. Anyone who has soybeans is invited to come and deliver them. For sale, there are dedicated personnel to purchase it, and the price is better than local prices. Notice is hereby given.
There is a stack of cross-stitch finished products on the table, and the cross-stitch pattern stacked on top is Zhong Kui's Ghost Hunt.
A male customer with a black scar on the left side of his face came over and looked at the cross-stitch of Zhong Kui catching ghosts. He placed it beside the table and looked at the cross-stitch inside. There are six paintings in different styles including Youyu (fish) patterns. He looked envious and couldn't help but pick up the cross-stitch of Zhong Kui catching ghosts and asked, "How much does it cost?"
Hu Qin stopped his work, raised his head and answered, "Ten coins a piece."
The male customer asked rhetorically, is it so expensive? Can it be cheaper?
Hu Qin replied, it cannot be cheap. I'm not worried about not being able to sell them. During the Spring Festival last year, I sold a total of ten cross-stitch pieces and earned a hundred dollars.
The male customer put the cross-stitch of Zhong Kui's ghost-hunting pattern back in his hand, turned his head to look at the red paper advertisement on the bamboo pole, and smiled silently with a strange look on his face. He said "Oh" again and asked, "Can I exchange the soybeans for your cross-stitch of Zhong Kui catching ghosts?"
Hu Qin replied readily, of course.
The male customer asked, how many pounds of soybeans do you want?
Hu Qin said that it was said that he would need 10 kilograms of soybeans, because the purchase price of 1 kilogram of soybeans was a penny. Since you are replacing it with soybeans, 8 pounds is enough.
The male customer smiled and said, "How can you be willing to pay two cents cheaper?"
Hu Qin said, to tell you the truth, I have a relative in Honghu who entrusted me to collect soybeans and make tofu to sell with him. It costs a lot and is urgent. If you exchange soybeans for this cross stitch, of course I will give you a higher price. A bit cheaper.
The male customer saw that she was embroidering a cross-stitch in her hand, and a magpie's head had just been embroidered, so he asked, "Sister-in-law, what is the name of the cross-stitch you are embroidering now?"
Hu Qin smiled slightly and replied, "The magpie is stepping on the branches."
The male customer said, "Okay, it's very auspicious. The Spring Festival is approaching, and the cross stitch you embroidered has created a sense of joy."
Hu Qin said "Hmm" and asked again, "You said you would exchange the soybeans for my cross-stitch, would you like to exchange it?"
The male customer said, change! You have embroidered five finished products, including the cross-stitch of the Magpie Stepping Branch that you are currently embroidering. Are they all priced at the same price, ten coins each? Hu Qin nodded.
The male customer asked again if the soybeans were exchanged for eight pounds of soybeans. Hu Qin said, of course.
At this time, several more customers came to look at her cross-stitch. A female customer picked up Zhong Kui's ghost-catching cross-stitch and asked, "Do you want to sell it?"
The male customer grabbed the freebie, and I decided to buy it. I'll go back and get the soybeans in exchange.
The male customer with Huqin fingers said that he was the one who suggested this one first, please choose other styles!
The female customer said, I just want Zhong Kui to catch ghosts, and I want to hang it as a door curtain at the door to suppress evil spirits.
Hu Qin said, just wait a few days! I will embroider another cross-stitch for you, in which Zhong Kui catches ghosts.
The male customer said, Sister-in-law, don’t sell that piece. I will send soybeans to Caojia Liquor tomorrow morning. Please give me this cross-stitch of Zhong Kui catching ghosts.
Hu Qin said, if you go early, I will close the shop if it is late. The male customer said, OK!
The weather in the twelfth lunar month was a bit cold, and the sun rising on the horizon in the early morning seemed to have turned red from the cold. Although its light shining into the Cao family compound was bright, it did not feel warm.
A few hired workers on the east side of the yard were rubbing their hands to keep warm, and then serving wine as usual.
The door of the wooden building on the west side of the yard is open, and half of the sun mat is spread inside the door, occupying most of the room. There is a large pile of soybeans on the drying mat, at least a hundred pounds.
Sitting on a chair in front of the door was a lean old man, Cao Yang's father, Cao Hongyou. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked up from time to time, and the one he looked at most was outside the courtyard. There was a clip scale standing against the wall to his left, and the dotted scale marks on the scale beam were shining brightly.
There was a wicker chair under Cao Yang's butt, and he was holding a heavy big cloth bag in his hand. He sat opposite the old man, chatting from time to time.
Cao Yang looked at the soybeans piled up in the room and said with a smile, Dad, yesterday I made a flag with advertising slogans for harvesting soybeans and asked Hu Qin to display it on West Street. The effect was quite good. That afternoon and evening Some people have sent soybeans for sale, and now they have collected more than 100 kilograms.
Cao Hongyou said, OK! After harvesting soybeans for a few days, we can transport them to Jiangbei if we have more than a thousand kilograms.
Suddenly, a man walked in from outside the courtyard gate, carrying a cloth bag. He walked a few steps and stood in the courtyard, looking around.
Hu Qin came out of the inner room over there, holding a cross-stitch of Zhong Kui catching ghosts in her hand and walked to the male customer she met yesterday. She pointed to the wooden building where soybeans were piled in the west, and said kindly, "You sell the soybeans first, and then I will give you this cross stitch."
The male customer said with satisfaction that it worked. So he walked over. Cao Hongyou stood up from the Taishi chair, holding a scale in his hand and asked, "Are you going to sell soybeans?" Come, weigh me.
The male customer handed a heavy cloth bag to Cao Hongyou. Cao Hongyou did not weigh it immediately, but placed it on a flat bluestone beside the aisle. Then he opened the bag and looked at the soybeans. He reached out to touch it and took a handful out. He found that the soybeans were not there. clean.
At this time, Cao Yang also walked over and pressed the cloth bag in his hand, which made a metallic crunching sound. He grabbed a handful of soybeans and looked at them. They were indeed not clean. In addition to tiny bits of dirt and dirt, there was also sand. He shook his head. Then he said to Cao Hongyou, Dad, this bag of soybeans cannot be collected until it is cleaned.
The male customer had no choice but to make concessions and talk in a negotiation tone, asking for a lower price. Do you want to take it or not?
Cao Yang said, you have to pick up the garbage before you can collect it.
The male customer said, I have 8 kilograms of soybeans, can I just make 5 kilograms and give them to you?
Cao Hongyou tried the scale and prepared to weigh the bag of soybeans with the male customer.
Cao Yang stopped him and said, "Dad, after accepting this bag of soybeans, we won't be able to pick out the dregs. Forget it, no, unless he picks up all the dregs from the soybeans before we collect them."
The male customer picked up the bag of soybeans and said dissatisfiedly, "I won't charge you any more. I can still sell them at a higher price if I go to another store to sell them."
Cao Yang patted the big cloth bag containing the money, and there was a metallic sound inside. He said, it’s a joke, who collects soybeans at a higher price than our Cao family? I am transporting soybeans to Honghu. The quality must be guaranteed and the price must be guaranteed.
The male customer glared at the big bag in Cao Yang's hand and said "hum", and the black scar on his left face trembled. After that, he glanced at Hu Qin standing in the yard and left without saying anything.
Hu Qin turned around and walked back into the house with a cross-stitch painting of Zhong Kui catching ghosts.
Cao Yang looked at her and shouted, Hu Qin, the effect yesterday was quite good. If you go to West Street today and hang up the advertising flag for soybeans, you can attract more people to sell soybeans.
Hu Qin said, I know. Cao Hongyou put the scale back to its original place, sat back on the imperial chair, stared at Cao Yang and frowned. He said, Cao Yang, other people's soybeans are dirty. You can't do it. Why do you say so many unnecessary things? Some of them are business secrets. There is no benefit to you revealing them.
Cao Yang said, Dad, the guy with the black scar on the left cheek just now is not a businessman, so what are you afraid of? Are you still afraid of not being able to compete with your peers?
Cao Hongyou said, "Oh, you are so immature. You are dozens of years old and have children, but you don't have any wealth at all." If you show off like this, you will suffer a loss one day.
Cao Yang's ears and face were bright red after being scolded, but he was still a little unconvinced, so he asked resentfully, Dad, where did I go wrong? Cao Hongyou said, where did you go wrong? Think about it for yourself!
