Liu Shichu tried his best to persuade Du Xiuzhu to give him less money, but in the end Liu Shichu still got two taels of silver from him.
After he left with the two small animal wood carvings, Liu Shichu looked at his back and felt a little guilty, as if he had tricked a good person?
"Hey, girl, do you know Mr. Du from Jingzhao Mansion?" A man selling sugar paintings next to him asked Liu Shichu, "Tsk, tsk, just two small toys carved out of wood were sold for twenty taels of silver. Girl, you are like this Business is so easy!”
The uncle was envious and jealous. He himself sold a sugar painting for just a few cents. When he saw that Liu Shichu only made two taels of silver by selling two wood carvings, how could he not be jealous?
Liu Shichu smiled and said, "Didn't I meet Mr. Du by chance? Mr. Du was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see me, a helpless and weak woman, unable to do business, so he kindly helped me. Unlike the old man, your sugar paintings , you can sell dozens or hundreds of them all day long, right? Don’t worry about running out of business... I’m different here. If I’m unlucky, I might not be able to do a single business in a day, so I’d better have your sugar painting business, uncle. The future is..."
Liu Shichu knew that the jealousy of others could easily bring him trouble, so he complimented the uncle without any trace. As expected, the uncle's sour thoughts disappeared and he said proudly: "You are right. Although my business is always You can only make a small amount of money per transaction, but you can sell a lot every day, so cumulatively, you can still make a lot every day... Let me tell you, little girl, your wood carvings are too expensive. Let’s set up a stall here. They are all ordinary people. How many people are willing to spend a tael of silver to buy a gadget that cannot be eaten or worn, but can only be looked at?"
"Uncle, you are right, don't I have no idea about the wood carving business in the capital, so I can only set up a stall on the street to understand the market first?" Liu Shichu said with a sigh.
The uncle began to give Liu Shichu some advice: "You are doing a good job with this wood carving, but if you put it on a street stall, people will only regard it as a toy for children. How can you sell it at a good price? What if you take those cultural toys?" In the store, if you sell to those arty literati and the like, you might still get a good price..."
Liu Shichu's eyes lit up and he said gratefully to the old man: "Uncle, you really showed me a good way out! Thank you, I will give you a lucky cat! I wish your sugar painting business will be prosperous..."
As she said this, she took out a small wooden sculpture of a lucky cat and gave it to the old man. The old man didn't want it at first, but when she said it was a lucky cat, he was happy to accept it. What businessman doesn't want to get rich? So he didn't refuse.
"Uncle, are you a local in Beijing? You are well-informed. Do you know which stationery shop sells this kind of wood carving art?" Liu Shichu took the opportunity to ask him.
"Haha, you asked me to the right person. Three generations of my ancestors are all natives of the capital. There is nothing inside or outside the capital that I don't know. Which antique shop do you want to ask about that collects wood carvings? There are quite a few. Home..." Liu Shichu's question scratched the old man's itch, and he immediately started talking to Liu Shichu endlessly.
Liu Shichu listened attentively. He should not underestimate the locals who are like local snakes. They have lived in the capital for most of their lives and are most familiar with the situation. Liu Shichu can buy this kind of news with a small wood carving of a lucky cat. It is really worth it. value.
The uncle showed off the information Liu Shichu wanted to know without reservation. In the end, he still wanted to know more: "Little girl, do you still want to know about that? I know everything about it, uncle!"
Liu Shichu had already got the news she wanted, and was about to say no, but suddenly an idea came to her mind, and she remembered Mr. Du who kindly bought her two wood carvings, and asked: "Uncle, do you know who I just bought something from?" Mr. Du? What kind of person is he? "
The uncle was just about to show off how well-informed he was. When he heard her ask about Du Xiuzhu, he said without hesitation: "Of course I know him! Mr. Xiao Du has also been a famous figure in the capital these years. He has quite a lot of experience." legendary……"
"What kind of legendary method?" Liu Shichu's eyes sparkled and he pursued curiously.
"Mr. Du's ancestors were from a noble family. I heard that he followed the founding emperor of this dynasty and conquered the world. He was successfully granted the title of marquis and prime minister, and he was honored for several generations. However, later on, his descendants were unworthy and lost his title, and he gradually declined. By the time Mr. Du's grandfather was born, he had become a relatively wealthy commoner. His grandfather was a dandy when he was young. He married many wives and gave birth to many children. Because of his inability to manage the family, the family was in chaos and filled with intrigues. , a smoky atmosphere.
Mr. Du's father was a legitimate son. He wanted to restore the glory of his ancestors, so he studied hard and wanted to take the imperial examination to honor his ancestors. He did have some talents and really passed the imperial examination. But when he was about to take the imperial examination, he suddenly... I fell into a pond at home two days before the exam, and managed to save my life. However, I fell seriously ill and missed the exam. After that, my health also deteriorated and I could no longer continue the imperial examination..."
Liu Shichu opened his eyes wide: "His father paid so much attention to the imperial examination. How could he be so careless and fall into the pond two days before the exam?"
The uncle smiled mysteriously and said: "You have thought of the important point. Yes, Mr. Du's father would fall into the pond at such a critical time. It was his brothers who did it. They were jealous that Mr. Du's father could become famous right away. , and they were afraid that he would take revenge on them when he became successful, so they just did nothing to make him miss the exam."
Liu Shichu nodded with sudden realization, and sighed: "It seems that Mr. Du's uncles succeeded, and his father's future is really ruined."
The uncle said: "Spring is in February and it is very cold. It would be better if I fell into the pond without being frozen to death. Mr. Du's father died after a serious illness. His health became worse and he could no longer continue to study. , let alone survive the nine-day examination, so he is destined to fail the Jinshi exam."
"Then we can only wait until Mr. Du grows up before taking the exam?" Liu Shichu asked.
The uncle smiled meaningfully and said, "If that's the case, then what is there to say about Mr. Du's experience?"
Liu Shichu suddenly became energetic again and quickly asked the uncle to continue speaking.
The uncle stroked his long beard and said as if telling a story: "Master Du's father's life hopes have been ruined. How can he be willing to do so? But Master Du's grandfather protected those who harmed him and asked him not to continue. As the investigation continued, Mr. Du's father became disheartened and had no choice but to accept his fate.
However, there was one person who was not willing to accept her fate, and that was Mr. Du's grandmother. She had suffered a lot all her life because of her husband's lust for women, and she had to fight and fight with concubines and concubines. Seeing that her son was about to have a future, But in the end she was destroyed by her enemies, and she was unwilling to do so, so she did a shocking thing. "
