RPAGF Chapter 277: Couldn't figure out the difference!
Chapter 277: Couldn't figure out the difference!
Chapter 277 I couldn't tell the difference!
When Ji Ling heard that the customer wanted to buy storybooks and writing implements, his eyes lit up. He never expected that such an inconspicuous customer would actually be such a big spender.
He smiled broadly and said, "Miss, what kind of storybook would you like? Travelogue, strange tales, or..."
Lin Xiaotang felt that Wang Jiaojiao was a rich young lady, and her family must value rules very much. It was definitely not appropriate for her to read those love stories between scholars and young ladies. Ghost stories were also not suitable for girls to read, as they were quite scary. Those with a weak heart would be in a daze and unable to sleep after reading them.
After careful consideration, she thought she could buy a few travelogues to read. A rich young lady like Wang Jiaojiao would probably rarely go out, and even if she did, she would be accompanied by maids and servants. She certainly hadn't been to faraway places.
Like a bird trapped in a cage, only able to see the sky above, she must yearn for the vast world outside. If she could read some stories and broaden her horizons, she would be happy.
Wang Jiaojiao might not appreciate a gift of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, but she might like this storybook.
The key to giving a gift is to cater to the recipient's preferences!
She replied to Ji Ling, "Could you get me a few travelogues, please?"
Ji Ling walked smoothly to the bookshelf next to her, took out a stack of travelogues, and moved them in front of Lin Xiaotang.
He said gently, "They're all here. You can choose whichever you like."
Lin Xiaotang flipped through several books and saw that the text inside was quite different from Chinese characters, but she could still make out the general idea, so she carefully selected two books.
"I'll take these two. How much?"
Ji Ling held up four fingers and said, "This travelogue costs twenty coins a copy, and forty coins for two copies. The price is fair, and it's already very cheap compared to other places."
He was worried that Xiao Tang would try to negotiate the price, so he gave her a heads-up first.
Two travelogues cost forty coins, which isn't expensive. If she were to buy other gifts, each one might cost several taels of silver. She couldn't afford such a lavish gift.
The two travelogues were inexpensive, the paper was good, and the handwriting was clean and neat, so Lin Xiaotang didn't mention bargaining.
She then pointed to the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on the counter and said, "Please get me two more sets of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, of medium to high quality."
Ji Ling's lips curled up, and he became even happier. He quickly took out several sets of inkstones, paper, and brushes.
After all, Lin Xiaotang had been born and raised in Guihua Village, and had only been doing business for a year. She didn't understand these things, so she reached out and touched them.
I couldn't tell the difference!
After all, she had never used these things before, so it's normal that she didn't understand them.
Xiaoyu stood on tiptoe, looking curious, "Sister, Ninth Brother only needs one set of writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone for school, why did you buy two sets?"
Lin Xiaotang turned to look at her well-behaved and sensible younger sister, thinking to herself that Xiaoyu's personality was completely like her parents'. She never competed or fought for anything. Even if she didn't say she would buy something for Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu would just watch without asking for anything. Even when they passed by food stalls, she would just look at them. She was so sensible that it was heartbreaking.
She gently patted her younger sister's head and said softly, "Didn't we already agree that from now on, I'll teach you to read and write? Ninth Brother needs to buy him a set of books to study, and you also need to practice writing, so naturally we'll buy you a set too."
Oh, is my older sister going to buy her a set of writing brushes and ink too?
This is amazing!
Before the family was divided, apart from my father, all my second and third uncles could go to school. Even the sons of my second and third uncles could go to school and they could all write. Only my father could not. He, my older sister, and my second uncle's cousin Yinxiu could not read or write.
When school was on holiday, her cousins Changyan and Changshengfeng would read and write in the courtyard. Out of curiosity, she wanted to go and take a look, but her stepmother would scold and beat her, kicking her out and not letting her get close at all, as if she had committed a terrible crime.
She was young and didn't understand why, but she knew that being able to read and write was an extremely rare and good thing, otherwise her stepmother wouldn't have only let his son and grandson read and not his father.
Xiaoyu thought for a moment and said, "Sister, our family needs to keep accounts for our business. Don't you need to buy a set?"
That makes sense, since the pig's trotter shop is a partnership business. Manager Su invested money and has shares, so the shop's income and expenses need to be recorded and accounted for. The shop also needs ledgers and writing materials.
However, she didn't bring much money with her when she went out today. Buying these things was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. She wanted to buy books, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones for Ninth Brother, and also buy two travelogues to give to Wang Jiaojiao. If she bought three sets of writing brushes and inkstones at once, it definitely wouldn't be enough.
Even buying cheap writing brushes and ink still costs a lot of money; otherwise, those scholars from poor families wouldn't be struggling to afford their studies.
She discussed with Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, your older sister does need a set of writing brushes and ink, but she doesn't have enough money with her today. Why don't we not buy them today, but buy them for Ninth Brother first, and then come back to buy them tomorrow when we have some free time? It's the same thing."
Although Xiaoyu was young and naive, she had been well-behaved since childhood and could understand her older sister's meaning: her older sister didn't have enough money.
You have to pay to buy things. If you don't have enough money, they definitely won't sell to you. If you encounter a shopkeeper with a bad temper, they might even beat or scold you and throw you out.
She was timid and wouldn't dare to do something like buying something without paying.
So she nodded heavily and said in a soft voice, "Okay, I'll listen to you, sister. We'll come back to buy it tomorrow. Let's buy it for Ninth Brother today so he can go back to his studies and learn to write, and pass the imperial examinations as soon as possible."
The shopkeeper silently stopped using the abacus, then looked up at Lin Xiaotang and Xiao Jiu, finally fixing his gaze on Xiao Yu.
This little girl is only four or five years old, yet she already knows that studying is about passing the imperial examinations.
That's really something!
Looking at the maidservant next to her, whom she called "elder sister," she looked to be only two years older than her. The other was a young man. All three of them were quite young, yet each of them was more sensible than the last, which was truly astonishing.
He didn't know if it was because he was getting old or because kids these days were just too smart. He thought Ji Ling was already clever enough, but he never expected to broaden his horizons and gain so much knowledge today.
He smiled and said, "Little girls, you can choose first. If you like anything, just take it out. I'll have Ji Ling put it away for you. If you don't buy it today, you can come back tomorrow. My shop has everything from musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, painting, antiques, and jade to writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. The prices are all lower than other shops. If you don't believe me, feel free to go to other bookstores to ask about prices and compare. But you can rest assured that the quality of my products is definitely no worse than any other shop."
Before his parents died and his family property was seized, he had received an education and used top-quality writing materials, which were even better than what Ji Ling had brought out.
Thinking of all this, he couldn't help but clench his fists. All the misfortunes he had suffered were due to his heartless uncle and aunt.
He must study hard, and one day he will make them pay the price they deserve, and let them taste the bitterness of hell.
Seeing that the shopkeeper spoke politely, unlike the swindler at the previous shop, Lin Xiaotang smiled and replied politely, "Yes, I understand, thank you, Grandpa."
Ji Ling held up a five, and Xiao Jiu's eyes widened suddenly.
"This ink and brush are worth five taels?"
Although his father had always bought the pens and ink he used before, and he had never bought them himself and didn't know the prices, he had originally asked about the middle to upper quality ones, not the best quality ones, so why were they so expensive?
Seeing Xiao Jiu's exaggerated reactions, Ji Ling almost rolled his eyes.
"This is medium-grade calligraphy and painting, fifty taels of silver, not five taels."
What?
Is this set of writing brushes and ink really worth fifty taels of silver?
This is too expensive!
Let alone buying three sets together, they can't even afford one set!
Xiao Jiu couldn't bear to buy it. He had finally saved up some silver, but it wasn't enough to buy a set of writing brushes and ink. Not to mention that Xiao Tang didn't have enough silver either, even if Xiao Tang had enough, he still couldn't bear to let Xiao Tang spend money to buy it for him.
He already owes the Lin family enough; how will he ever be able to repay them?
So he immediately pushed the brush and inkstone forward and said, "This brush and inkstone is too expensive, do you have any cheaper ones?"
Ji Ling immediately took out the cheapest writing brush and ink in the shop and placed it in front of him. "This is the cheapest in the shop, two taels of silver. But I want to tell you in advance that the writing with this ink is easy to bleed and does not retain color as well as good ink. If you are not satisfied with it after buying it, don't come back to us."
Since ancient times, you get what you pay for; expensive things are good, and cheap things are bad.
Xiao Tang hadn't expected that writing brushes and inkstones would be so expensive. She had just boasted that she wanted to buy two sets, but now she couldn't afford even one set because she was really short of money; she only had two and a half taels of silver with her.
Xiao Jiu felt that two taels of silver for a set of writing brushes and ink was too expensive. If it were before the family property was seized, even five taels of silver for a set would not have been expensive for him. But now he was living with the Lin family, running back and forth between the town and the county every day, and he still had to help out at the shop. He only earned three taels of silver a month. It was enough to buy a set of writing brushes and ink and add some Xuan paper.
He lowered his head slightly, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "This ink and brush are a bit expensive. We don't have that much money, so we'll pass for now."
Actually, he could practice writing on the ground with a twig; there's no need to use pen and ink. If he keeps using pen and ink from now on, who knows when he'll pass the imperial examination? He might not even pass it at all. How much pen and ink would he waste in the long run?
When Ji Ling heard that he didn't want it anymore, his face immediately fell. He thought to himself that he had just thought that a big customer had come, but he didn't expect that he couldn't buy anything of value.
Ugh!
Business is tough!
He said, “If you don’t need the pen and ink, thirteen handwritten copies, each worth fifteen coins, would be one hundred and ninety-five coins, and two travelogues worth forty coins, for a total of two hundred and thirty-five coins.”
Xiao Jiu was penniless, not even having two hundred and thirty-five coins. His face flushed red instantly, and he was immediately embarrassed.
Lin Xiaotang immediately took out half a tael of silver and placed it on the counter. "Here, wrap these up for us first. Keep the change. Give us some ordinary paper for practicing calligraphy."
Xiao Jiu was a little confused. Why did she need to buy paper instead of writing brushes and ink?
He grabbed Xiaotang's arm and whispered, "Xiaotang, there's no need to buy pens and ink. We can just buy these handwritten books. I'll memorize the contents of the books every day on my way to and from the carriage."
"Just memorizing isn't enough; you also need to practice your handwriting. You must have beautiful handwriting, and on top of that, you need to be exceptionally talented to achieve good results."
Lin Xiaotang had two taels of silver left. She could actually buy the cheapest set of writing brushes and ink, but she would wait until tomorrow to buy them. The two taels of silver for the pig's trotter shop could be considered an expense for the shop, but she would have to pay an extra two taels of silver for Xiaoyu's.
In another month or so, the turmeric in the fields of Guihua Village will be ripe. The family must raise enough money to buy it, otherwise they won't be able to eat all that turmeric, and if the herbal medicine merchants find out, they will definitely try to get a share of the profits.
At present, every penny saved is a penny saved.
She thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have any inkstones in your study that are chipped or damaged and can't be sold?"
Ji Ling was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then said, "No, but..."
He suddenly remembered that there were no chipped or damaged inkstones in his study, but there was a batch of second-hand inkstones that others had bought at low prices. They were not only famous inkstones, but also of good quality. However, because they were second-hand, they had not been sold.
At that time, a down-on-his-luck man came to pawn his belongings. The shopkeeper told the customer that this was a study, not a pawn shop, and suggested that he sell his items at a pawn shop. However, the shopkeeper was kind-hearted and insisted on agreeing.
A perfectly good study was turned into a place where all sorts of junk and scrap metal were collected, but then they couldn't sell them, which dragged down the study's business.
Those things are just sitting there unattended. It's better to take them out and get rid of them as soon as someone wants to buy cheap inkstones, so as to save yourself the trouble.
"Please wait a moment, everyone."
He left a few words and immediately ran back to the inner room of his study. A short while later, he returned carrying a stack of inkstones, several of different sizes and shapes.
He explained, “These are all good inkstones, but they have been used by others and are still about 80 or 90 percent new. If you want to buy a good inkstone but think it is too expensive, you might as well make do with these. These are all top-quality famous inkstones.”
Upon hearing Ji Ling introducing secondhand inkstones to the customers, the shopkeeper put down what he was doing and walked over to them.
He had an ethereal and refined appearance, with a slight smile on his face, making him seem very approachable.
“Ji Ling is right. You are still young and probably don’t have much money. If you want good writing materials, why don’t you choose from here? I’ll charge you one tael of silver each.”
Xiao Jiu picked out two pieces from the pile. One was of the best quality, but it was only 80% new. The other was 90% new, but it had dents on the side. No one knew what it had been used to smash.
He turned to Xiaotang and whispered, "It doesn't matter if it's a second-hand inkstone. New or old, it's the same to use. Even if you buy a new one, you'll eventually use an old one. These are just the right price of one or two taels of silver each. Why don't we buy two first? You can pay for them for me, and I'll pay you back when we get back."
Lin Xiaotang decided to support Xiao Jiu's studies and buy him things, so why would she ask Xiao Jiu to pay her back?
"Ninth Brother, it's alright. This is all I have to say to support you. Remember to support me when you become rich and powerful."
If I become rich and powerful, let us not forget each other.
Xiao Jiu hurriedly said, "We are family. My indenture is in your hands. I..." If I can't redeem my indenture, I can't even participate in the imperial examinations. How can I talk about wealth and status?