At around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, there were not many guests left in the teahouse. The little teapot finally plucked up the courage to ask Manager Deng for leave and advance the salary.

What made Xiao Teapot grateful was that the stern appearance and kind-hearted shopkeeper Deng not only agreed to ask him for half a day off, but also paid him a month and a half in advance, deducted the money he had made several advances, and finally fell into Xiao Teapot with five yuan and five cents.

After giving the money, Manager Deng told Xiaochao with great sincerity: "I have discussed it with your sister. You will move here from tonight. The monthly salary is not yours, and you will be given another 500-yuan vigilance every month. The most important thing is that you have to have a memory. In the future, you will have to ask for your wife and you can no longer spend money. Be a good person and be filial to your sister."

With a small teapot in hand, I wanted to go to Sister Yi immediately. Seeing the squatted outside the door for a long time, the teapot had to give up.

The two of them rushed to the downtown area and filled their stomachs randomly. Then they turned into the gouache street, picked them again and again, bargained for a long time, and finally bought a half-old carved jewelry box. They walked out of the store and held the stalk in their hands, feeling distressed. A small wooden box the size of a palm had lost the silver hair in the corners of the teapot, which was enough to match sixty or seventy bowls of fragrant red oil noodles.

The two of them headed northward and turned into Huaxing Street, passed through Chunyangguan, and passed by several small teapots that sold old clothes without stopping. Instead, they stopped in front of the barber shop at the entrance of Chunyangguan North Street.

The little teapot pulled the puzzled pole into the inside, forcibly pressed the pole on a chair, and sat on the chair next to it and shouted loudly, looking like a man with money and nowhere to spend: "Shad your head! You have to apply fragrant pancreas in a hot towel, and you have to use high-end osmanthus oil when you comb your hair. If my brothers are satisfied, I will give you double the salary."

The two barbers immediately threw down the cards, responded loudly, greeted a few attentive greetings, and immediately began to try their best to please them. They skillfully and considerately shave off the short hair on their foreheads, and then covered the two masters with a fragrant hot towel. After that, they used a comb and comb their long hair smoothed out. They applied osmanthus oil three times in a row, then started to braid them quickly.

After finishing the repair, the small teapot approached the mirror the size of a palm on the wall in front, looked at his honor very carefully, and took out a thirty-month copper plate with satisfaction and threw it on the shelf, turning to the shiny and fresh-looking pole: "Wow! You are so handsome, you are quite handsome, and you have potential than the martial artist on the stage!"

Ma Gan rubbed his neck embarrassedly: "Brother, what are you doing? Why are you shaving your head if you don't do a serious business? You can shave your head for five cents on the street. How many times the money is spent here? "

The small teapot pulled the scoop out of the shop and walked towards the cloth back street in the west. As we walked, we explained in a low voice: "Do you think I want to spend money? But if it's like a beggar, the foreign shop can let you and me in? You don't know that most people are fucking snobbish, only looking at clothes and not people. In order to sell jade pendants smoothly and try to sell them at a good price, we have to pretend to be the master, otherwise who would like to respect you? Who believes that our jade pendants are antiques handed down from generation to generation?"

"That's true. Just now, in the 'Shenglongsheng' jewelry store on the gouaver street, we were very much discerning. We were just standing at the counter selling bracelets and jade, and we were bombarded by those snobbish guys... But, brother, you and I don't know whether this jade pendant is worth it!"

Ma Gan quickly realized that his cruel living environment and more than ten years of struggle at the bottom made him unknowingly develop the good habit of being diligent in action and quick thinking, so he could analyze it in one example.

Is the jade pendant valuable? Is it a valuable treasure? The little teapot has no idea at all, so I can only answer with a wry smile: "I don't know, I can only try my luck. We have just seen it in 'Sheng Longsheng' and several antique shops next to it, but I haven't seen such a jade pendant. And I feel that this jade pendant looks very comfortable and should be sold for more than five oceans."

"If I can exchange for three oceans, I will burn the incense." Ma Gan was obviously not as confident as the little teapot.

The two of them came to the store selling medium and high-end second-hand clothes, shoes and hats on Buhou Street. They didn't see many customers when they entered the door. The shopkeeper frowned and looked at the small teapot. After a while, they lazily asked what to buy.

The little teapot didn't answer, and walked slowly along the wooden counter, finally took out a handful of corners, played with the five-point silver hair, and returned to the middle, pointing to the two robes hanging against the wall inside the counter: "How much does those two robes cost?"

The shop assistant immediately became energetic, squeezed out a smile on his face, and replied carefully: "Brother, you have a vision! These two thick robes are the best in our store. Look at the style, workmanship, and the row of copper mandarin duck buckles, they are all found by wealthy families. Although they are a little old, the color is still very bright, and it is 80% new! Especially the navy blue on the left..."

"Brother, stop! Just say how much it costs. You also see the two of us shabby looks. Even if you praise the two old robes like dragon robes, you should think about whether we can afford them!" Ma Gan interrupted the guy's show-off loudly, and said one sentence, making the guy's smile condensed and he was very depressed.

The shop assistant had to say the price: "The navy blue one piece three, the indigo blue one piece two on the side, no bargaining price!"

The little teapot smiled and pointed to the shoe rack in front of the left: "Add two pairs of new and old thick-soled cloth shoes, I won't bargain with you anymore."

The shopkeeper's forehead was suddenly full of wrinkles, and he refused casually without thinking. Unexpectedly, the little teapot pulled the scoop and left without saying a word. The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment and hurriedly chased after him. After all, he persuaded and left the two of them. He turned around and ran in to ask the boss's wife. He quickly came out to make a miserable look of being cut off, took off two long robes and handed them to the little teapot, looked at the feet of the teapot with the two wearing torn shoes, and then went to the shoe rack to get two pairs of thick-soled cloth shoes that were almost the most time-honored.

The little teapot was already thin, so he simply put on the navy blue dark flower robe, fastened the collar, and the seven copper mandarin duck buttons on the right collar and waist. He stretched out his hands and shook it in square steps. He turned to Ma Gan very satisfied. Seeing Ma Gan holding the robe but not wearing it, he looked extremely distressed and couldn't help but curse a few times. Then Ma Gan hurriedly put it on.

A quarter of an hour later, the arrogant teapot and the sad slinging pole walked out of the shop, stopped at the intersection of Longxing Street, re-checked the gentle and ancient jade pendant in the jewelry box, then tidied up the collar and hem and discussed it in a low voice, and then walked towards the watch and jewelry store opposite the British Consulate.

The little teapot held his head up and walked with a stroll. At first glance, he looked like a rich young man. In contrast, he was panicked and looked around with a much worse temperament. The two local men standing at the door of the clock house saw the little teapot with a beautiful neck and a fragrant body coming in. They were slightly stunned, and then nodded very politely to greet him. The little teapot just hummed reservedly twice as a gift, and then stepped into the door with a swagger.

The foreign business is indeed extraordinary. A huge wooden painted relief hung on the wall on the front. The pattern is an exquisite Western-style building. Below is a row of English letters. A small teapot with only a few hundred English words is carefully considered. Except for "London, England" and "Company" can understand it clearly, the rest can only be guessed, and he also made him spell out the name of the company "Rodriguez".

Hearing the small teapot read the English pronunciation of "Rodriguez Company", two foreigners who were drinking afternoon tea in the semi-open living room on the left stopped talking, looking at the small teapot with their hands behind their backs and dragging long braids to watch the clock. Seeing the small teapot two people standing in front of the glass counter displaying gold and silver crafts, the two middle-aged foreigners smiled slightly, nodded apologetically to their companions, stood up and buttoned up their suits, and walked towards the small teapot.

"Hello! My dear friend, welcome you. I wonder what I can serve you?" The middle-aged foreigner bowed slightly to the gift, with a kind smile on his rosy face.

The little teapot stepped forward and bowed with a smile: "Sir, you speak Chinese so well. You must be a Chinese master."

The foreigner laughed, and his two beautiful beards with upturned beards trembled: "Thank you for your praise. As you said, I have been in China for six years, first in Shanghai, then in Tianjin, and finally to Chengdu, an ancient and beautiful city... By the way, please allow me to introduce myself. I am from London, England, named Robert Allen Rodriguez, and my Chinese name is Roberting, and I am the owner of this business."

The little teapot was stunned for a moment and bowed again: "Roberting...What a good name! My surname is Xiao, Xiao of Chopard, haha! Living in Lianhua Hutong behind the General's Mansion in the west of the city, I am very happy to meet you today. Our Chengdu is far away from the sea, and you are coming from thousands of miles away. It's amazing."

"Haha! You are very interesting, my friend, according to my observation, you are one of the few enlightened gentlemen who can speak the language of our British Empire. This is rare in ancient places far away from the ocean deep inland. I am willing to meet friends like you. If you mind, I will invite you for a cup of coffee. How about?" Robbing was in a good mood.

"Thank you! I'll give up on coffee. I'll come today, just... just..." The little teapot looked embarrassed.

Roboting was so smart that he smiled cheerfully when he saw this, "Dear friend, do you have anything to do if I need my service?"

The little teapot hesitated, looked around and explained in a low voice: "Sir, that's right, I... my family comes from outside the northern pass, belongs to the Zhenglan Banner, and has been in Chengdu for three generations. Because... because of family changes, my generation was unable to inherit the title, so... I want to go back to Beijing and ask my tribe for help, but I don't... You know, so, I want to sell a handicraft handed down by my ancestors, uh... it's a jade pendant, I don't know where you..."

Luo Boting's eyes lit up, then his face turned as usual, and he smiled and said, "My friend, you don't need to feel sad. I just want to know, why did you come to me? Don't there be many shops in Chengdu that sell crafts? I only sell clocks and gold and silver crafts here!"

The little teapot was very disappointed, and then said apologetically: "Since this is the case, I won't bother sir. I'll go to another place to find a way, thank you!"

"Please stay, my friend, I'm happy to know you, I'm willing to help my friend...but I don't know what the jade pendant you mentioned is." Roboting took a step forward and said expectantly.

The little teapot turned around, and seemed to be difficult to make up his mind. After thinking for a long time, he turned to Ma Rod, and wanted to pass the jewelry box in his arms, and came to Robbing, and opened it carefully:

"Just this jade pendant, what my mother left to me before her death, said that two hundred years ago, my mother's grandfather made military contributions, received the summons from Emperor Kangxi, and gave this phoenix jade pendant, saying that it was something from the Han Dynasty palace more than a thousand years ago, but I knew nothing about it. If it weren't for the force of life, I wouldn't have..."

Roboting had already stretched out his hands, took the wooden box, opened his eyes wide and observed carefully, and asked the two of them to sit down in the living room first, and asked the servants to take the coffee, find a magnifying glass, and check it carefully.

The blond and tall man next to Robo Ting leaned over with great interest. The two looked for a while and started talking in a low voice. Robo Ting then went to the back hall and came out more than ten minutes later, and then whispered to the young foreigner.

The poor little teapot, how could I understand the conversation between the two foreigners at a very fast speed, had to look at the nervous Ma Gan and signal him to rest assured, pick up the coffee on the table and taste it slowly, but the light of his eyes locked the two of Roboting and the others, grasping every subtle reaction and expression of theirs, and carefully pondered and analyzed.

After a few minutes, Roboting carefully put the jade pendant into the jewelry box, raised his head and smiled: "My friend, based on my knowledge, this jade pendant is indeed a bit historical, but the quality and the pattern on it are very ordinary. I wonder if you have ever asked an appraiser to appraise it?"

Now the little teapot had a clear mind, but his face was full of helplessness: "I have found it, and there are more than one, including the newly retired master of the 'Sheng Longsheng' Jewelry Store, but the price they gave was too low."

"Oh? Can you tell me how much the price they gave?" Roboting leaned against the sofa with a smile, looking polite and calm, but his eager eyes floated to the jade pendant that was not covered on the low table from time to time.

The little teapot shook his head seriously: "Oh! They are not very easy to talk about. The most they give are five hundred silver dollars, and the fewer ones are only three hundred. The difference between the hope in my heart is too big. Think about it, what can 500 silver dollars do? It costs more than twenty yuan to take a boat from Chengdu to Chongqing. I have to go to Beijing, cross mountains and wad more than five thousand miles, and it will take more than a month to walk!"

Ma Gan was so scared that he was shocked. He never dreamed that Xiaochaihu would dare to tell such a crazy lie. Fortunately, Xiaochaihu had repeatedly explained it before, and Ma Gan realized that he had lost his composure and quickly coughed and covered it up.

Roboting looked at the young foreigners around him for a moment, turned to the small teapot, and smiled kindly: "My friend, don't be angry. I think the price given by those experts is already very good. Although this jade pendant is a bit historical and has a unique pattern, I am afraid its value is really not very high. I wonder what the expected price in your heart?"

"When my parents handed me this jade pendant during their lifetime, they said that it was the Han Dynasty queen's thing, worth a thousand gold, so I could collect it well and pass it on from generation to generation. If it weren't for the embarrassment of life, I really didn't want to sell it. I just wanted to mortgage it and redeem it later. But no one was willing to let me mortgage it for more than two years. I had no choice but to plan to sell it, but even if it was sold, it could not be less than two thousand silver dollars!" The little teapot was a little excited.

Luo Boting waved his hands repeatedly: "No! My friend, I guess you were wrong. Although this jade pendant is rare, it is indeed not worth two thousand silver dollars. Your expectations are too high."

The little teapot was stunned, lowered his head and thought for a long time, then looked disappointed, shook his head, put away his jade pendant, handed it to Ma Gan, stood up and thanked Roboting politely: "Thank you for your kind reception, I... won't disturb you, thank you!"

After finishing the bow, the little teapot sighed and left slowly. Ma Gan didn't expect the result to be like this, but he didn't know what the little teapot was thinking, so he had to follow closely behind.

In fact, the little teapot has no confidence at all. Since he stepped into the threshold of this foreign company, he has been betting!

What he bet was that the flash of greed he saw in Roberting's eyes was real, what he bet was the foreigners' always eager possessiveness of ancient Chinese cultural relics, and what he bet on was his intuition and luck.

"Please wait--"

Roboting's voice finally rang out, and the feet of the small teapot stepped onto the threshold were fixed. This sound was like a sound of nature, causing his heart to contract suddenly.

The little teapot slowly withdrew his feet. When he turned around, Roboting had already come to him. His red face was full of sincere smiles: "My friend, I really hope to help you. I have a suggestion. If you agree, I am willing to pay 800 silver dollars to buy your jade pendant."

The little teapot frowned hesitantly: "This is... no, sir, eight hundred silver dollars are too small, it's really too small, and the minimum is not less than 1,500!"

"No! My friend, I can tell you honestly that except me, no one in Chengdu is willing to buy this jade pendant at a high price. Considering our friendship, I can only add another two hundred or one thousand silver dollars, and I can't get more." Luo Boting's face was calm, but his voice rose and his speech speed increased. Obviously, he cared about this rare jade pendant in his heart.

The little teapot struggled a lot, and finally turned to the pole pitifully, as if asking for advice.

Ma Gan was already scared by the sky-high price shouted by the small teapot and didn't know what to do. He quickly lowered his head and closed his eyes, but Ma Gan's behavior fell into the eyes of two foreigners, becoming a painful manifestation of having to sell treasures at a low price.

The little teapot took a deep breath, spit out slowly, and finally said helplessly: "Let's do this, sir, can you add another 200 yuan? One thousand yuan is too low!"

Roboting was a little crazy, but he was unwilling to give up this rare precious jadeware, so he had to grit his teeth and nodded, making a generous look of cutting his flesh: "Okay, you touched me, my friend, I can only add another hundred yuan, not more, this is the highest price I can afford."

The jade pendant was finally successfully traded. When the two local men guarding the gate walked out of the foreign business under the shocked eyes of the two local men guarding the gate, the heavy cloth bag containing 1,100 silver dollars was pressed on Ma Gan's trembling shoulders with excitement. Ma Gan's breathing was rapid and his steps were disordered, as if he was walking in the clouds, his lips kept trembling and unable to say a word.
Chapter completed!