Chapter 18 Buying and Selling

  "No." He Jing shook his head. "Mother hasn't left her room from last night to this morning." His small face wrinkled, and he fiddled with the hem of his clothes with a guilty conscience.

  He Wan lowered her head and looked at him, asking: "Do you also think I shouldn't have found Huang Zhuanggui?" She believed that Tao Shi must have cried to He Jing about it, listing all her wrongs.

  "No." He Jing shook his head in denial, looking somewhat anxious, and lowered his head, not daring to look into He Huan's eyes.

  He patted him on the shoulder and said nothing.

  He Jing raised his head and hastily explained: "Although mother's words are right, I like the current big sister. I don't want to see my sister sad and crying secretly every day." Before he finished speaking, he realized that he had misspoken, his face suddenly turned red, and he was at a loss for what to do with his hands and feet.

  He Huan smiled and said, "Since you say so, from now on we will live a happy life. Now let's go to the kitchen and see how breakfast is prepared." She pulled He Jing towards the kitchen, her eyes glanced at the window of the west wing.

  Behind the window, Tao's eyes widened as she stared at He Jing raising her small face and talking to He Huan while walking. Her eye sockets suddenly turned red, and she sat behind the window, constantly wiping away tears, feeling both wronged and resentful in her heart.

  He Huan and He Jing had finished their breakfast, urging him to go back and study, while she herself carried the porridge to Tao's bedroom. Seeing that Tao was lying on her side with her back to her, her shoulders slightly shaking as if crying, she put down the tray and said in a low voice: "Auntie, even if you are angry with me, but your body is yours, it's not worth getting sick over me..."

  "I know you're not worried about my health at all, you're just afraid that if I get sick, it'll cost the family money!"

  He Huan was enraged by Tao's words and retorted, "If a person doesn't even care about themselves, then they don't deserve others' sympathy." With that, she turned around and left.

  As soon as He Huan's figure disappeared behind the door, Tao felt a lump in her chest. She got out of bed and drank several mouthfuls of porridge, but tears rolled down her face again, and she muttered weakly: "After all, they are siblings, what am I?"

  He Huan returned to the Western Cross Academy, and had just tidied up her clothes when Bai Zhi told her that Huang Zhanggui from Yongji Pawnshop had arrived. Actually, Huang Zhanggui had sent someone to deliver a message to He Huan a few days ago, but since she was visiting the Shen family every day to pay her respects to Lin Xiyin, he made an appointment with her for today.

  Huang Zhanggui was over forty, not very tall, and slender. He wore a brown-green robe with wide sleeves that made him look even shorter and more shabby. When he saw Cao Shi, he smiled fawningly, but she just snorted coldly, her eyes filled with disdain. She didn't greet him and was about to turn around and leave, but stopped herself.

  Huang Zhanggui bowed to them one by one, and even called out to Bai Miao with a polite "Miss Bai". He Xuan had exchanged greetings with him, but couldn't help feeling a few points of vigilance in her heart. Since he knew that Bai Miao wasn't called "He Bai Miao", it meant that he had inquired about the He family's situation, and he hadn't concealed this fact either.

  Huang Zhanggui examined the screen while using his peripheral vision to size up He Huan. He Huan had pawned quite a few things, all of which were taken to another shop in the eastern part of the city. In the eyes of those in the trade, she was also considered a plump sheep that could be slaughtered at will, so why did she specifically look for him this time?

  Huang Zhāngguì thought for several days but couldn't figure out the reason, and could only say with difficulty: "Miss He, to be honest, this screen is indeed an antique, but one hundred taels of silver... even if we ask a skilled craftsman from the shop to carefully restore it, it's still not worth this price."

  Cao heard the words "old object" and her eyes lit up immediately, she circled around the screen in excitement. She had always thought that thing was not even worth chopping up for firewood, which is why she let He Huan put it in the west wing of the house. She secretly glared at He Huan, thinking to herself: So you knew all along, that's why you hid it away.

  He Huan didn't actually recognize the screen, and even if Lin Xiyue had, without Shen Jinglun's guidance, she wouldn't have known that the carvings on it were done by a famous artist. He Huan came up with an excuse to get rid of Cao Shi and Bai Xia, then turned to Huang Zhanggui and said: "Shopkeeper, if I say that just this screen alone can make you earn at least 100 taels, what do you think?"

  "Miss He smiled." Manager Huang smiled, but didn't explicitly express his opinion. One hundred taels wasn't a small amount, but some things still depended on whether they were worth it or not. Perhaps, he shouldn't have appeared at the He's in the first place.

  He Huan saw the hint of disdain in his eyes and smiled: "Huang Zhuanggui probably looks down on this trivial one hundred taels, but I think that every half year, Guibao Number's bidding meeting earns not just the commission from it?"

  As soon as he heard this, the look of surprise in Huang's eyes flashed by, and his careless attitude disappeared. They will always remember that their pawnshop in Jizhou City is only medium-sized and not eye-catching, but he dares to say that their annual profit is absolutely the best in the industry, and most of their income comes from the bi-annual auction conference. The He family has long since declined, and the He family doesn't even have the qualifications to know about the existence of the auction conference.

  "Miss He, I don't understand what you mean." Huang Zhuangju pretended to be stupid.

  He Xian smiled and then spoke seriously, "Mr. Huang is a busy man, so I'll get straight to the point. I have a way to ensure that Mr. Shen buys this screen at the auction, no, to be precise, I will only sell this screen to Mr. Shen."

  Huang Zhanggui turned his head to look at the screen, and again a few points of disdain arose in his heart. At present, it's not just Jicheng City, but also several nearby towns where unmarried girls are all staring at Shen Jinglin. He Wanhuan wants to use the screen to get close to Shen Jinglin, which he can understand, but is Shen Jinglin really someone who is easy to get close to? Even if the carved flowers on the screen are what he likes, his vision has always been extremely high, and he's probably not interested in something like this.

  "Miss He, since you're a straightforward person, I'll be direct too. Our store has been favored by Mr. Shen a couple of times, but we don't really have any close relationship with him, and it's hard to say whether he'll give us another chance in the next bidding...” He smiled awkwardly and shook his head.

  He Huan had dealings with Huang Zhanggui when she was still Lin Xiyu. Eight months ago, Shen Jinglin took her to a bidding conference, so she was very clear that after Shen Jinglin returned to Jizhou, many of the things he collected came from Yongji Pawnshop, which was the only pawnshop that had dealings with the Shen family.

  "Huang Zhanggui, I know you never do anything without being sure of it, and I'm not just talking nonsense. How about this: after a few days, send someone to pass on a message to Shen Guanjia, if Mr. Shen is interested in the screen, you can come find me again. In any case, the next auction will be in four months, so there's no rush."

  He Huan's words had barely fallen when Huang Zhuanggui gave her a deep look. If it were an ordinary day, he would not have bothered with such a troublesome business, but He Huan's words piqued his interest, and he asked: "I wonder, Miss He, how do you think I should deliver this message?"

  "Huang Zhanggui, you must have heard of the title 'Shan Yin Auntie' before?"

  "Yes." Huang Zhuang nodded, unknowingly collecting the smile on his face. Shan Yin was a palace maid during the time of the former crown prince, known for her exceptional embroidery skills, and it's said that the former crown princess particularly liked her work.

  He Huan looked at the change in Huang Zhuang's expression and swallowed the words that had already reached her lips. However, when she took a closer look, Huang Zhuang's face had already regained its smile. She cleared her throat and said: "I think, with Huang Zhuang's connections, even if you can't buy Shanyin's embroidery, buying something similar shouldn't be difficult, right?"

  Huang Zhanggui thought for a moment and nodded: "Since Miss He said so, after Shen Dainai passes the seventh day of mourning, I'll send someone to ask..."

  "Let's talk about it after Taboo has passed the 77th day, anyway this matter is not urgent."

  Huang Zhancui nodded in agreement, exchanged a few pleasantries with He Huan, and then bid farewell and left. He Huan returned to his own room, thinking about Shen Jinglun's various matters, and for a moment felt deeply moved.

  She first saw the screen, and hurriedly asked someone to invite Huang Zhuanggui. At that time, she didn't think that Shen Jinglin would be so heartbroken over his wife's death. In these few days, she had seen his fatigue and haggardness with her own eyes, and she wanted to comfort him, but unfortunately, she had become "He Huan", a woman he disliked. If she wanted Shen Jinglin to change his impression of "He Huan", she still had a long way to go. She let out a soft sigh.

  "What's wrong, didn't you sell the screen?" Cao's wife was already standing under the eaves, her two eyes gleaming with a sly light.

  "Aunt Cao, you're looking for me? Is there something going on?" He Huan replied indifferently.

  Cao's family took a big step into the house, licking his face and saying: "Big sister, you don't know the situation at home, just waiting to buy rice and cook. Besides, you opened your mouth for 100 taels, it's really expensive, how about...".

  "Aunt Cao, selling the screen may bring in some money, but then it will belong to someone else..."

  "Miss, business is about exchanging goods for silver. Do you think you can make a profit without investing anything?"

  "That's right." He Huan smiled and nodded, "I was just thinking of doing a risk-free business, I don't know if Aunt Cao is willing to follow me to earn some pocket money?"

  This article is not about farming or business, so I won't write about auctions and the like. As for the specifics, let me keep you in suspense for now. Also, my new book is weak, please give it a vote and collect it!