Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 226 - 159: Selling Pearls (For the He’s Jade Bi+) -1

Chapter 226: Chapter 159: Selling Pearls (For the He’s Jade Bi+) -1

Treasure Silver Building was a three-story structure, similar to most shops of the era, with green bricks and upturned corners, carved red doors and windows, only the roof tiles were somewhat grey, perhaps symbolizing silver.

Qian Yixiu had once seen the South Sea Golden Pearl in this shop; at that time, the shop had acquired two pearls. One was sold for five thousand taels of silver, leaving the other as the shop’s treasure and not for sale.

Upon entering the main door, they were promptly greeted by a waiter, who didn’t show any disdain for their simple clothing.

Fearing disrespect, Qian Sangui specifically wore his best silk long robe today and even covered his sparse hair with a cloth.

His lovely younger siblings still wore half-new cotton outfits. Even so, the two children drew many second glances, especially from the women, who couldn’t stop praising them. This made Qian Sangui very happy.

Qian Sangui said to the waiter who came to greet them, "I bought some pearls from foreigners back in my younger days. Now my family urgently needs money, so I thought of selling them."

The waiter nodded, inviting them to step further in to talk, then shouted loudly, "Shopkeeper Zhao, there’s a customer here who wants to sell pearls."

"Coming." Along with the voice, a man in his forties, slightly overweight, descended from upstairs.

Once he reached Qian Sangui, he asked, "Sir, what kind of pearls would you like to sell to our shop?" Seeing Qian Sangui didn’t speak, he quickly motioned with his hand towards a room, saying, "Please, let’s talk inside the room."

Qian Sangui entered the room with the little brother and sister, while Wan Dazhong and Qian Hua tactfully didn’t follow.

Shopkeeper Zhao invited the three guests to sit down and had the waiter serve tea before he asked, "May I ask, what kind of pearls are you selling?"

Qian Sangui replied, "When I was a courier in my early days, I bought some fine pearls from foreigners. I couldn’t bear to sell them for a long time. Now, my family is looking to buy farmland, marry off my daughter, and hope to send my grandson to study for the civil service examination. We urgently need money, so I thought of selling them. Shopkeeper Zhao, please take a look and see if you appreciate these pearls." After speaking, he took the pouch from his bosom and poured the pearls onto his hand.

Shopkeeper Zhao looked at the pearls in his hand with delight, picked up the largest one to examine and immediately grew serious. He strode to the window to examine it against the sunlight, then lit an oil lamp and looked at the pearl from different angles by the lamp.

After a while, he approached Qian Sangui and asked, "May I ask, sir, do you know where this pearl came from?"

Qian Sangui shook his head and whispered mysteriously, "I don’t know; I couldn’t understand the foreigner’s language. We conducted our transaction through gestures."

Qian Yixiu chuckled silently. Grandfather Sangui actually had this side to him.

After hearing this, Shopkeeper Zhao picked up the smaller pearls to examine, alike by the window and under the lamp.

Afterward, he came over, sat down, and said, "This large pearl is exceptionally fine, round and lustrous, gleaming with radiant light. These smaller pearls are also good, compared with East Pearls they can be considered of better quality, but they are still somewhat inferior to some South Pearls." After finishing, he looked at Qian Sangui and asked, "Does the sir think what I said is fair?"

Qian Sangui nodded and said, "Shopkeeper Zhao truly knows his trade. What you say is very true. However, the most unique feature of this large pearl, which Shopkeeper Zhao has not mentioned, is that faint golden threads float within the pearl. Whether under sunlight or lamplight, those golden threads shine even more dazzlingly. The value of this pearl lies in those threads of gold."

Shopkeeper Zhao’s face reddened slightly, and he chuckled, "Correct, those golden threads can only be seen upon close inspection. I would like to buy them all. What price do you have in mind?"

Qian Sangui said, "Shopkeeper Zhao is in this business; we trust Treasure Silver Building for its reputation of honesty, which brought us here. If the price Shopkeeper Zhao offers is right, we’ll sell it here."

Filled with desire for the large pearl, Shopkeeper Zhao tried not to reveal his eagerness. After pondering for a moment, he said, "These smaller pearls, although of good quality, are just above average. I can offer a hundred taels each. For this large pearl, how about 2200 taels? The price is already very fair."

This was far beyond Qian Sangui’s expectations. However, before coming to the provincial capital, his granddaughter had reminded him not to immediately agree or reject any offer, regardless of whether it pleased him. He should ponder expressionlessly for a moment and then point out the merits of the large pearl. As for the small pearls, asking for a hundred taels each was enough; there was no point in haggling over them. But for the large pearl, he had to ask for three hundred taels more than their offered price.

Therefore, Grandfather Sangui, who gladly heeded his granddaughter’s advice, didn’t show any excitement. He picked up the large pearl from Shopkeeper Zhao’s hand and said, "I’ve put down many pearls and jewels in pawn before and have paid close attention. I’ve never seen a pearl of this quality. Neither Eastern pearls nor Southern pearls compare to this one."

Qian Yixiu silently praised her grandfather inside, still silent, watching the two men spar verbally.

Shopkeeper Zhao reached out and took the large pearl back, saying, "The price I’ve offered isn’t low, you have to let us make some profit too, right?" Seeing Qian Sangui still silent, he gritted his teeth and added, "Alright, final offer, 2200 taels of silver, and I can’t go higher. Any more, and I won’t have the authority to decide."

Heeding his granddaughter’s advice, Qian Sangui countered, "2500 taels. Take it or leave it."

Shopkeeper Zhao would have agreed to anything up to 2800 taels, so seeing his offer of 2500 taels, he nodded in feigned pain, agreeing.

In this way, the five pearls were sold for a total of 2900 taels of silver. The family of three was extremely delighted.

Shopkeeper Zhao, turning away, couldn’t conceal his joy. As he had been watching Qian Sangui, he failed to notice the young girl, and Qian Yixiu caught him in an unguarded moment. Seeing Shopkeeper Zhao turn around full of joy, she instinctively felt they had undersold.

At Qian Sangui’s request, Shopkeeper Zhao provided them with five five-hundred-tael silver notes, three hundred-tael notes, and five twenty-tael silver ingots.

Qian Sangui pocketed the silver notes and silver, mentioning he also wanted to buy some jewelry for his daughter’s dowry.

After inquiring about their budget, Shopkeeper Zhao had a clerk bring over a tray.

Qian Yixiu was in no hurry to prepare her younger aunt’s dowry that moment, confident they could buy better items later with more funds. However, since they had used that as an excuse to come, she obliged, selecting a set of silver head ornaments, a gold finch hairpin, a pair of pearl earrings, and a set of gold bracelets.

These items were some of the less costly jewelry in the Silver Tower, totaling one hundred and thirty taels of silver. Delighted after making a good deal with them, Shopkeeper Zhao automatically offered a 20% discount, rounded down the total by four taels, charging them only a hundred taels.

Once they left, Wan Dazhong had already chosen the jewelry, spending forty taels of silver on a jade hairpin inlaid with gold.

After leaving Treasure Silver Building, Qian Sangui wanted to treat the children to the famous Yixiang Building’s longan buns, not far away.

Qian Yixiu and Qian Yijin were thrilled at the idea.

They had just turned the street corner when two carriages approached from the opposite direction and stopped in front of Treasure Silver Building. From the lead carriage, two men descended, one of whom was Liang Jinzhao, accompanied by an exceptionally beautiful middle-aged man.