At this point, a voice rang out, "Hold on, I've already retrieved the taels of silver. This belongs to me."
He then saw a middle-aged man holding a tael of silver in his hands. Seeing that someone had already bought it, his face fell and he hurriedly said, "I saw it first. I'm only going back to retrieve the taels of silver. You cannot take it away!"
As he said this, he walked forward to retrieve the bundle.
Seeing this, Pei Zi Yun was certain of his suspicions. He then took the bundle from him and said, "I'm just retrieving the taels of silver. I've already paid for it. You cannot fight with me over it."
He then looked at the crippled man who seemed to be tempted, "We're even. Now that I've placed it in your hands, you can take it back."
As he said this, he picked up the statue and turned around. At this point, the man hurriedly chased after him and shouted, "Ten taels, ten taels. I'll buy it. You'll earn five taels of silver. I really like this statue, that's why I'm willing to buy it. If it were someone else, they wouldn't be willing to pay ten taels of silver."
Pei Zi Yun looked at the man in front of him. The man's eyes were gleaming, as if he wanted to follow him.
"Hm, are you an official?" Pei Zi Yun looked at the man in front of him and asked.
How would this man dare to pretend to be an official? He then said, "Little brother, you must be joking."
"Then are you a scholar?" Pei Zi Yun asked, his eyes were filled with killing intent, "Or are you a relative of an important person?"
As he said this, he patted his green robes. This was something only an official could wear. The middle aged man trembled as his face broke out in a cold sweat. He stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
Pei Zi Yun then turned around and walked away. Everyone who saw him were shocked and laughed out loud. The man stood up pathetically, his heart was filled with unwillingness. He looked at Pei Zi Yun from afar and didn't dare to follow him.
"A ruffian dares to fight with me?"
Pei Zi Yun remembered that the original owner of the body had been a ruffian. Perhaps he had heard the news and set up a trap for Pei Zi Yun. However, he didn't have a good ending, and was killed by the officials on charges of being a thief.
Pei Zi Yun returned to the inn. The innkeeper stopped and smiled, "Dear customer, have you walked around?"
Pei Zi Yun then replied, "I walked around and it was very crowded. So I came back and bought a bronze statue."
As he spoke, he returned to his room and closed the door. He then looked at the bronze statue and looked at it carefully. It was a brilliant bronze color. He then laughed, "Who knew that it was only covered with a layer of bronze?"
Retrieving his dagger, he sliced off the copper skin, revealing a thin layer of wood underneath. When he sliced off the wood, a golden glow could be seen. He then weighed it in his hand, "This is gold. Just this alone is worth ten taels of gold."
He then cut open the gold and saw that it was hollow inside, revealing some jewels and jewels. Pei Zi Yun tipped it over and saw a dozen jewels and jewels fall onto the bed.
He took a step forward and saw that they were sparkling under the light of the lamp. He smiled and picked one out, "This is an emerald. Even though it's a little small, it's worth five hundred taels of silver..."
"The other jewels aren't as expensive, but they still cost four thousand taels of silver in total."
"This is a windfall. But since I am an Elementary Scholar, it is not difficult to sell it off. I can just say that it was passed down from my ancestors. Now that I have become an Elementary Scholar, I can finally see the light of day."
"Everyone will be able to understand."
Pei Zi Yun took it out and saw that it was written, "Great Yong Lane's Xu Family, for the sake of our descendants, we have hidden this gold here. In the future, it will be difficult to obtain it, but it will be difficult to accumulate it!"
Pei Zi Yun looked at it and laughed, "It's a pity that our descendants are not up to expectations. I don't think this secret message was passed down. Outsiders might even hear about it."
Counting the jewels, he had a rough idea of what he should do. Seeing that it wasn't too late, he kept the jewels in his pocket, "There's no need to exchange these ten taels of gold. I can use them immediately."
"If it's for jewels, I can look for the Wu family jewels."
The streets were filled with pedestrians. Pei Zi Yun headed straight for the Wu family jewels shop. This shop was almost half closed and no longer accepted customers. Pei Zi Yun walked in slowly.
Indeed, the shop was of high quality. It was three stories tall and had a huge courtyard behind it. There were ten rooms and it was situated right next to the canal.
As he entered the shop, a middle aged man welcomed him, "Dear customer, our shop has closed."
"It hasn't closed yet. I have a big business here." Pei Zi Yun walked in and smiled, "Are you Chao Feng?"
The middle aged man looked at him and smiled, "So it's a husband. I am the Chao Feng here. Since there's a business, naturally I have to do it. Please take a seat and serve us some tea."
Seven hundred years ago, there was the Chao Feng Lang, and the Chao Feng Daifu was an official position. From then on, the term 'Chao Feng' was used to refer to scholars, and was also used to refer to the local people. During this period, rich people and bosses were called Chao Feng. Of course, the shopkeeper of the pawnshop was called Chao Feng. This was similar to how the term 'Xiang Gong' was used to refer to the Prime Minister, but now it was used to refer to Xiucai.
Pei Zi Yun laughed, "I am Pei Zi Yun. My father was the Imperial Secretary of the previous dynasty. My grandfather was the County Magistrate of the previous dynasty. My family was destroyed during the chaotic times and I fled here. I had some gold jewels but did not dare to exchange them. Now that I'm an Elementary Scholar and ranked tenth in the examinations, I'm taking them out to appraise their value."
These words were spoken honestly, not because Pei Zi Yun was stupid. On the contrary, it was because he was wise. If he were to hide his identity, people might treat him as a scoundrel and he would get into trouble.
The middle aged man was taken aback and hurriedly said, "Please enter."
It was indeed an elegant room. Pei Zi Yun took the gold and jewels from his pocket and scattered them on the table. The middle aged man informed the shopkeeper while he carefully appraised the jewels.
After some time, a man walked in. He was about fifty years old and walked briskly. He smiled, "So it's Master Pei. You're only fifteen years old and you've already become an Elementary Scholar. I've heard that the Prefect and Prefectural Magistrate have praised your writing. We've been looking forward to meeting you for a long time."
"To be able to choose this shop, it's our honor." This was obviously the shopkeeper. The middle aged man muttered a few words before the shopkeeper smiled, "This gold is worth ninety-eight percent. That's eleven taels. The shop needs to earn some profit. Master, you can exchange it for ten taels now. How about that?"
"Sure!"
"Among the jewels here, this emerald is the most expensive. It's worth four hundred taels of silver!" The shopkeeper pointed at the jewels and squinted his eyes, "The rest of the jewels will add up to a total of three thousand five hundred taels of silver. That's a total of four thousand taels of silver. What do you think?"
Indeed, business was business. Five thousand taels of silver had turned into four thousand taels of silver. A profit of one thousand taels of silver was very fair. Pei Zi Yun clapped his hands, "I've long heard that Boss Tang is a good businessman. Indeed you live up to your reputation. I'm willing to pay this price."
Boss Tang's face was full of smiles, "Young Master Pei is indeed straightforward. I wonder if you want gold, silver or banknotes. Gold and silver will have to wait for a few days."
"Banknotes are banknotes from the stone market."
Pei Zi Yun understood why he said that. These banknotes were not banknotes, but were used by merchants who carried large sums of money with them. These were called 'banknote shops'. The depositor would hand over his cash to the shop, and the shop would give him a banknote made of paper. When he withdrew his cash, he would have to pay a 3% storage fee.
In the previous dynasty, the powerful banks would set up banknote shops all over the country. They would abide by their promises and would allow anyone to withdraw their money. The 'banknotes' that were printed on the banknotes were specially designed, with markings on the banknotes. The black and red banknotes were all handwritten and hard to forge. This earned them a high reputation. The banks also realized that depositing money would bring in profits, and hence did not require the depositor to pay a 3% storage fee.
However, not all banknote shops were law-abiding and trustworthy. The 'banknotes' might not be able to be cashed in. Hence, the bank's reputation was very important. The capital and bills of exchange were also one to one. A powerful bank would at most be able to exchange a hundred taels of silver in a month's time. A single banknote would never exceed a hundred taels of silver.
Those banknotes that were worth tens of thousands of taels of silver might not even be considered trustworthy. Anyone who had read the history books would know that without a large amount of money flowing into the country, the government would only be able to earn a few million taels of silver a year.
But a few thousand taels of silver was still acceptable. Pei Zi Yun then said, "The banknotes from the stone city's banknotes are acceptable. I will take fifty taels of silver and exchange the rest for banknotes."
Boss Tang clapped his hands and said, "That's easy!"
Before long, he saw a stack of banknotes. Each banknote was worth five taels of silver. The banknotes were white, and the edges of the banknotes were white. Each banknote was worth fifty taels of silver, and there was a stack of banknotes.
After the transaction was completed, Pei Zi Yun hired an ox-cart and left.
Seeing Pei Zi Yun leave, the middle aged man was a little unwilling and whispered, "Boss!"
"It's only four thousand taels of silver. It's not worth it for an Elementary Scholar." Boss Tang's smile faded as his eyes flashed coldly.
"Young Master, where are you going?"
"To the patrol office."
Since the founding of the country, the patrol officer was a martial artist. Not only was he swift and decisive, he also loved money. As long as Pei Zi Yun was willing to hand over some silver, and with the help of a team of archers, he would have a way to deal with the Black Wind bandits.
When he reached the patrol office, he handed over his name card and met with the patrol officer. What followed was a private conversation. Pei Zi Yun did not know what to say. When he came out, he smiled and said to himself, "I've only given him fifty taels of silver. Half of my plan is done. But today's matter is not over yet."
He then ordered the ox-cart, "To Wei Jia Lane."
It was already May or May, and as the ox-cart turned the corner of the street, it came to a small shop. There was a man sitting in front of the shop. He had a worried look on his face as he looked at Pei Zi Yun. He then smiled and said, "Dear customer, what would you like to buy?"
Pei Zi Yun looked around and saw that the goods were all general merchandise. He looked around and saw some books. These were all old books. He smiled and asked, "Do you have any other books?"
The peddler hurriedly said, "Dear customer, what kind of books do you want? I can find them. I have some interesting books here. I'm sure you'll like them."
As he said this, he took out one of the books and flipped it open. There was a drawing of a woman's body.
Pei Zi Yun looked at it and laughed, "I don't want such books. I'm just asking if you can find books from the previous dynasty. Especially books written by Elementary Scholars and High Scholars."
The peddler thought for some time before saying, "Dear customer, why do you want these books?"
He looked hesitant as he spoke.
"Just tell me if you can find them or not. What I do is none of your business." Pei Zi Yun replied impatiently.
"Books written by famous scholars in the previous dynasty are all very expensive!" The peddler sat on a box across from him, a little hesitant.
"There will always be people who are down and out, selling their ancestors' books."
"Dear customer, nobody has ever specially looked for these books. I can find them, but whether or not there are any, I don't know." The peddler raised his head and thought for some time before speaking.
"Alright, what's your name?"
"This humble name is Chen Yuan."
"Chen Yuan, since there's such a way, help me find it. This is a deposit. If you can find it, I'll give you more." As he finished speaking, he threw a tael of silver at the peddler. The peddler hurriedly picked it up and weighed it in his hand. It was indeed silver. This person was very generous.
"If you can find it, come to Snail Village. Just say that you're looking for Elementary Scholar Pei, and you'll be able to find me. If you're suitable, I'll give you the silver." Pei Zi Yun said as he turned around and left.
The peddler watched Pei Zi Yun leave and was surprised. 'This young man is an Elementary Scholar?'
This peddler Chen Yuan wasn't a random person. Five years later, he would make a fortune. Of course, it wasn't a huge fortune, but he was known for his intelligence and ability.
This person had some talent, and was also in this line of work. Pei Zi Yun decided to use him to travel around the county.
Pei Zi Yun then returned to the inn. The night was uneventful, and he returned home the next morning.
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