"Buying antiques? Aren't you in a hurry today? Cao Hao looked out the window, and it was almost time to fall.

Although Xia said that the days are long, it is now the end of Shen (before five o'clock in the afternoon), and when you arrive at the front door or the glass factory, this shop will also take off the pretense.

Yi Duli was wearing an official uniform, and he looked like he came directly from the yamen of the military department.

He held a golden post in his hand and handed it to Cao Hao, with a little excitement on his face and said: "It's really hard to find this post now, and I don't want to change it, I begged several people, but I didn't get one." I didn't expect it to arrive today, I happened to have a friend, there was something at home, and I couldn't be free tonight, so I put out one. ”

Cao Hao took the post, only felt heavy, and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows: "This is pure gold?" ”

Yi Duli said with a little smugness: "It's not, twelve taels of pure gold." ”

One tael of gold and ten taels of silver, exchanged for one hundred and twenty taels of silver.

Using this as a post, it can be seen that it is luxurious, but it is also full of explosive flavor.

Three words were pressed in the middle with cinnabar, "Hua Heaven", and there were two thumb-sized boys on the lower right, "from the fire".

For this Hua paradise, Cao Hao is no stranger. This is one of the most famous restaurants by the Shicha Sea, and the master in charge of the spoon is the master who retired from the imperial dining room of the palace, and is famous for cooking delicacies from the mountains and seas.

Sea cucumbers, shark fins, prawns, and fresh shellfish, which are not common outside, are common in China Paradise.

It is a seasonal vegetable dish that is exclusively for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and cannot be seen on the market, and it can also be found in Hua Paradise.

Cao Hao remembers clearly that once he was invited to a banquet, and there was a dish of "straw mushroom broccoli" that cost eight taels of silver, which was a common thing hundreds of years later, but it was a rare thing to eat at that time.

According to rumors, this Hua Heaven is the business of Prince Kang's mansion.

Cao Hao was just eating other people's banquets at that time, and he had been there twice, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

It's just that he also knows that even if it is not the business of Prince Kang's mansion, there is a background, otherwise it would be impossible to gain a foothold on the Shichahai Sea.

"Hua Tian changed the antique shop?" The golden post was strangely heavy, Cao Hao pushed it aside and asked.

Yi Duli said with a smile: "It's still a place to eat, but it's just a 'treasure appreciation meeting' every six days, which happens to be today." ”

Looking at the righteousness of the text, Cao Hao knows that this is a place to exchange antique treasures.

There are many powerful people in the capital, and the "treasure appreciation meeting" is common, but most of them are held by antique calligraphy and painting shops, but I didn't expect it to be held in the restaurant now.

Since Yi Duli came over to invite, Cao Hao was not hypocritical, looked down at the tonic clothes on his body and said, "Then go back and change your clothes first?" ”

Yi Duli nodded, hesitated for a moment and said, "Exactly, you and I will go to our respective homes, and in an hour, we will see you in Liuyin Hutong." ”

Liuyin Hutong is on the shore of Shicha Sea, not far from "Hua Paradise".

Seeing that he wanted to speak, Cao Hao smiled and said, "What else do you have to order?" ”

Yi Du Li laughed twice and said, "I really have to beg for shame...... I didn't expect to get today's post, and the money is a little hard to prepare, so if it's cheap, lend me some silver tickets for the time being. ”

Cao Hao was surprised when he heard this.

He had also seen similar activities of this "treasure appreciation meeting" a few years ago, and most of them paid some deposits.

Even if Hua Heaven's hall is larger, a deposit of eighteen thousand taels should be enough. Although the Yidu family is not as good as the Cao family, it is also an official family, and the family has a lot of money, and it will never be difficult to get eighteen thousand taels of silver.

At this time, I heard Yi Duli smile bitterly: "The things that flow out of their house must be paid off on the spot." ”

"Why is that?" Cao Hao listened, a little puzzled.

The antique calligraphy and paintings in the capital cost tens of thousands, which is not unusual. Is it true that whoever used to carry a box of silver tickets, or had a few boxes of silver carry there?

"Otherwise, their family can get good things. The treasures that appeared in their family were not exchanged for by the merchants, but directly from the hands of the owners. Hua Heaven is just handling it, and collecting 30% of the bid price as a commission. If you can pay a deposit, and then the buyer regrets it, even if you pay the deposit to others, it will delay people's efforts, right? Iduli said.

Rich and noble families, ups and downs are common. Especially in the capital, it is not uncommon for people to have treasures at home.

If those antique calligraphy and paintings are sold to an antique shop or pawned by a pawn shop, the amount of silver you get will not exceed fifty percent. Sometimes, it is even pressed to one or two.

If you get Hua Heaven to sell, although you pay 30% of the commission, there is still 70% left, which is still a good thing for the seller to take advantage of.

"How much do you need, the adults give a number, you have to bring less, and it delays the adult's business." Cao Hao thought for a while and said.

Yi Duli stretched out his palm, flipped it over, lowered his voice and said, "If it's cheap, take 100,000." ”

Cao Hao responded in his mouth, but he felt extremely strange in his heart.

Even if Yiduli's family has a lot of money, it is a bit too much to buy antiques for 100,000 taels of silver. Even if it is a noble land in the capital, a large family with a population of more than 100, 100,000 taels of silver can be spent seriously for several years.

It's just that Yi Duli didn't say much, and Cao Hao didn't want to ask each other, otherwise he would talk too much, as if he was not willing to borrow silver.

After saying this, it was also time to fall into the yamen, Yi Duli and Cao Hao went out of the household yamen together, and they went back to their homes to change their clothes without mentioning it.

For after about an hour, there is plenty of time.

After returning to Wutongyuan to change clothes, Cao Hao told Chu Yu about Yiduli's borrowing of silver, and asked her to take 150,000 taels of silver bills from the Bank of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Cao family's silver money is not much in the bank, but in the name of Chu Yu, it is stored in the Bank of the Internal Affairs Department for more than 200,000 taels. Because she has Daoxiang Village in her hand, the business of the shop has been good over the years, and it is not obvious that she has money.

In the name of Caofu, what was stored in the Internal Affairs Office was only tens of thousands of taels. Others, in addition to the purchase of property and the treasury of the family, also scattered in other banks.

Chu Yu happily opened the box and took out the silver ticket. It's just that she, like Cao Hao, is very puzzled by Yi Duli's spending of these silver to buy antiques: "One hundred thousand taels of silver, you can buy a few Zhuangzi." I don't know who it was for, but this gift is too heavy. ”

He exchanged the gold posts of "Hua Heaven" and did not hesitate to borrow silver to buy antiques, which was not for his own use.

Cao Hao listened, but his heart moved.

These words, he and the sixteenth elder brother also received a lot of antique calligraphy and paintings. Those people gave gifts for only one purpose, that is, there was a vacancy in the local government at the end of the year.

100,000 taels of silver, spend money to run for officials, if there is a way, a governor will also come down.

Yiduli was born in a large family of eight banners, a family of prime ministers, and he is a person with a way. And the way he can get his hands on it is to have a good brother-in-law.

Something, is it going to be sent to the thirteenth elder brother?

Cao Hao felt a little incredible, with the relationship between Yi Duli and the Thirteenth Elder Brother, if he really opened his mouth to beg the Thirteenth Elder Brother, it would not be difficult, where would he still need expensive antiques knocking on the door?

This question was brought all the way to Liuyin Hutong and when it joined Yituri.

Yi Duli has changed out of his official uniform, wearing only a royal blue spun silk gown, the hat on his head is inlaid with a piece of mutton fat white jade the size of a pigeon's egg, with a purse and a Pisces jade pendant hanging around his waist, black silk official boots on his feet, and a fan in his hand, which is the fan painted by Wen Zhengming of the previous dynasty.

Even if you don't report the name of the squire of the military department, just by dressing up, you are also rich and noble.

However, what Cao Hao saw was not his dress, but that he only brought two small servants behind him.

If you really spend 100,000 taels of silver to buy a baby, you have to be careful?

Although there are not many people led by Cao Hao, there is also a small servant and four guards. It's not because of the huge amount of money, but the place where you go is unfamiliar, and it's night, so it's better to pay more attention.

Yi Duli saw Cao Hao's question, and said with a smile: "Let's go over to eat now, what are we going to do with those people?" When I came, I had already ordered them to come to the gate of Huatian at nine o'clock in the evening to pick me up. ”

As he spoke, he had already mounted his horse and walked side by side with Cao Hao, and in a few moments, he arrived at Hua Heaven.

There was a Tsing Yi steward waiting at the door, and he inspected Yi Duli's gold post, but led Yi Duli and Cao Hao into the courtyard.

Turning the shadow wall, there is a red patch in the eye.

Outside the three main rooms on the north side, hundreds of red lanterns were hung, and they were red everywhere.

When the steward of Tsing Yi took Yi Duli and Cao Hao into the house, but they walked through the west side door, Cao Hao found that the room was different.

This main room is very deep, and by the window is a verandah about five feet wide, connected to several private rooms. When I saw the private room, I found that one room had two doors, and the other door was facing an open space in the center of the main room.

Cao Hao: Where they are is a private room on the west side of the main house. Corner lamps stand at the corners of the private room, making the room as bright as day.

Although it is a restaurant, it is summer, and the window lattices are full of curtains, but no one is disturbed. Even if I heard some movement, I couldn't really hear it because of the distance.

In the private room, four plates of fresh fruits and four butterflies have already been placed.

The steward of Tsing Yi didn't hand over the menu, and asked Yi Duli in a low voice, so he went down to deliver the dishes.

Cao Hao asked, "This menu is fixed?" ”

Yi Duli nodded and said: "There is only every Saturday, in order not to delay the 'treasure appreciation', it is different according to the room, and the food is served directly." Eight private rooms, all different. ”

When it was time to eat, Cao Hao didn't speak, wiped his hands with the wet towel prepared on the table, and began to move his chopsticks with Yi Duli.

The hot dishes are extremely fast, four bowl dishes, four dish dishes, four porridge dishes, and four pastries.

According to the saying of the Beijing banquet, it is said that it is the "four to the end" banquet, also known as Liuliushun, because there are 12 dishes in hot and cold.

Although there are not many dishes, they include bear paws and humps in the mountain treasures, sea cucumbers and fish lips in the sea treasures, flying dragons and swans in the poultry treasures, and bamboo sunflowers and monkey heads in the grass treasures.

Even Cao Hao and Yi Duli, who are rich and wealthy, saw such delicacies and delicacies, and couldn't help but praise them, forgetting the original intention of coming.

A meal, eat happily.

It wasn't until he put down his chopsticks and the Tsing Yi steward took the little servant to remove the dishes and serve the fragrant tea, that Yi Duli remembered the purpose of his visit.

He took out his pocket watch, it was almost eight o'clock in the evening, and said with a smile: "It's almost time." ”

When Cao Hao heard this, he remembered that the silver ticket had not been given to him yet, so he took it out of his purse and pushed it to Yi Duli. All of them are silver bills issued by the Bank of the Interior Ministry, with denominations ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 yuan, and there are more than a dozen of them.

Yi Duli took it, didn't count it, put it aside, took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, opened it, handed it to Cao Hao and said, "Brother, settle the account, Fu Ruo has put it away." ”

Cao Hao glanced at it, and it was written by Yi Duli.

Cao Hao put it away and said, "My lord wants to be released? ”

Yi Duli nodded and said, "Exactly." Hang a squire in the capital, where can it be more enjoyable than the place of government! Now that everyone is camping, I can't wait. The opportunity is rare, if you wait for a full term, there is no shortage or two words. ”

Cao Hao shook his head and said, "Even so, you don't need such a big brush, right?" The Thirteenth Master has always been close to adults, and he will never accept heavy gifts from adults for this! ”

Yi Duli smiled: "The temper of the thirteenth master, if Fu knows, I also know." It's just that this 10,000-dollar gift is for the Thirteen Princes' Mansion, but it is not for the Thirteen Masters, but for the Thirteen Fujin......"

Cao Hao listened, a little confused.

has been in and out of the Thirteen Elder Brothers' Mansion for many years, and he is also familiar with the Thirteen Fujin.

She was a tenacious and wise woman, favored by her husband, and sat comfortably with the prince's concubine, not a shallow person who was greedy for money.

Seeing that Cao Hao was puzzled, Yi Duli was a little proud, and said: "Even if the Thirteenth Master doesn't accept things, they will return them to me, it can be seen that I spent all this money, and they will also know that I am bound to release it to the outside world, how can I easily refute me?" Now I'm not the only one seeking to be released, but Bai Zhu is also seeking to the Thirteenth Master. As the prince of prime minister's affairs, the thirteenth master has the right to recommend, but there is no reason to recommend in-laws. I'm with the white column, and only one is good. He is the brother of the Thirteenth Fujin, and it is common for the Thirteenth Master and the Thirteenth Fujin to have some concerns. It's just that he is the old son of Shangshufu, and he is far from his sisters, and he is arrogant and arrogant, and he doesn't look the same when he grows up. But I didn't believe that he could be stronger than me. Even if he begged for someone, he only regarded Thirteen Fujin as his own sister, and he should owe him, and he had to worry about him, and he also held a shelf when he begged for someone. Even if the Thirteen Fujin is in a dilemma now, I don't believe that these 100,000 taels of silver are handed over, and if they are so sincere in front of her, she will make me shameless. ”

For the thirteenth elder brother and Yi Duli's brother-in-law Bai Zhu, Cao Haoshi has no good feelings.

In his early years, he met in the Thirteenth Elder Brother's Mansion and had two dealings, but Bai Zhu thought that he was the son of Shangshu and the cousin of Cao Hao's aunt.

That's still in front of people, but it's a narrow-minded person, I'm afraid that he has already held grudges.

Cao Hao could see that Bai Zhu said those words, not because he had any bad intentions, but because he didn't understand the world. To put it bluntly, he is not sensible, and he is a bit of a "second child".

For this reason, although several of his sisters are married to noble families, they are not close to him.

Among the same clan, he is not inferior to his cousins and nephews for the sake of his family property. Although he was Marhan's only biological son, before he was born, Marhan succeeded the father of the brothers Fonde and Foncher.

Now, although the eldest brother has passed away, he has two nephews, Fengde and Fengche. As an uncle, he did not have the slightest love, but was wary of his nephews. Feng De and Feng Che were not allowed by their uncle, and in desperation, they had to follow their father's orders to move out of Shangshu Mansion after their father died.

For this matter, the Thirteen Fujin was so angry that he not only reprimanded his younger brother, but also stepped forward to make the decision, dividing the family property of Shangshu Mansion into two, and half of it was divided into Fengde and Fengche brothers......*

(To be continued)