The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 15 Selling Paintings and Met a Colleague

The capital of the Jin Dynasty was formerly the capital of the Yuan Dynasty. When Chen Youliang defeated Zhu Yuanzhang to win the world and established Chen Han, Jinling was the capital at first, and later moved to Beijing. Jinling became the accompanying capital, which was Nanjing.

After 160 years, Chen Han Xianguo was destroyed by the Tatars. The Tatars once occupied the north of the Yangtze River for more than [-] years. It was not until Xu Jin, the Taizu of the Jin Dynasty, showed his might and sent his troops northward, swept all the way, and drove the Tartars out of the Great Wall. Beijing returned to the rule of the Han people.

Chen Han once re-planned the city of Beijing on the basis of Yuan Dadu, and the Great Jin Dynasty expanded and built on the basis of Chen Han, and gradually formed the current pattern, which is divided into imperial city, inner city and outer city.There are a total of 36 squares in the inner and outer city. The Rongning Street where Jia’s Mansion is located is located in Dashiyongfang. It is only one Chang’an Street away from the imperial city, and it is also very close to the six government offices.

However, today’s Jia family has gradually declined. According to the system of succession to the title of the Great Jin Dynasty, Jia She, the successor to the title of the Rongguo Mansion, is only a first-rank general, while Jia Zhen, the head of the Ningguo Mansion, is a younger generation and only inherited the title of a third-rank general.

Closer to home, let's say that Jia Huan left the Rongguo mansion from Xijiaomen, accompanied only by a young servant, this person's name is Qian Huai, he is the nephew of his uncle Zhao Guoji, he is about twelve or thirteen years old, he is quite clever, but he is a bit lazy and picks up the light and fears the heavy.

In ten days or so, it will be Chinese New Year, and the weather is extremely cold in the twelfth lunar month of winter. Qian Huai, this kid, wished he could just sit at home and warm himself up by the fire, but this young man didn't stop, and even ran around in the street in the cold weather.

At this time, the two passed by a bun shop, and Jia Huan ordered: "Go and buy two baskets of meat buns."

Immediately, Qian Huai regained his energy and stopped complaining like a gossip woman. He took the money and bought two baskets of meat buns quickly, and handed one to Jia Huan.

Jia Huan is now exercising every day, with a lot of exercise, and his food intake is increasing. In the morning, he only eats a bowl of porridge with pickles.

"I heard that the third master's breakfast was skipped by the kitchen. Laiwang's daughter-in-law dared to bully the third master with the backing of Youlian's second grandma's hag. Wait until I grow up a few years, and see if I won't be ashamed of her." Qian Huai gnawed on the meat buns while patting his chest to show his loyalty.

"Stop using these useless farts. If you have something to eat, you won't be able to stop your mouth." Jia Huan gnawed on the steamed stuffed bun and walked forward.

Qian Huai smiled mischievously, quickly ran up to him with a cloth bag on his back and said, "Third Master, you've been wandering around the streets recently, what are you looking for?"

"Find a way to get rich." Jia Huan said casually.

Qian Huai laughed and said, "It's still worth looking for, isn't it?" After speaking, he pointed to the gambling house in front of him, winked and encouraged him, "Sir, why don't you go in and play a few games, maybe you will get rich."

Jia Huan took a look at the gambling house. The facade was quite luxurious, with a string of red lanterns hung on each side, and the lanterns were inscribed with the words "Fat Cai Gambling House".

"Have you ever gone in to make a fortune?" Jia Huan turned his head and asked with a bad expression.

Qian Huai nodded subconsciously, but immediately shook his head to deny it. Under Jia Huan's gaze, he said embarrassingly: "The servant went in twice, but he definitely didn't gamble, just to see the excitement."

Jia Huan said lightly: "There is no best thing. As the saying goes, out of ten bets, nine losers. People who are addicted to gambling usually end badly. If I find out that you gamble, uncle will break your legs, and then go back to the Ming Mansion to kick you out."

Qian Huai shrank his neck in awe, and swore: "If this servant gambles, I will let this servant have abscesses, rotten hands and feet, and die a terrible death."

Jia Huan turned around and continued walking. For the sake of his kinship, he could tolerate Qian Huai's laziness, but if this kid got into gambling, he would kick him away without hesitation.

Looking at Jia Huan's thin but straight back, Qian Huai couldn't help sticking out his tongue secretly. This young man used to like eating, drinking and having fun, and he didn't care about cold things. Why does he seem to be a different person now?Although he has a good temper, he is also creepy when he is serious, especially those eyes, which seem to be able to read people's hearts.

Unknowingly, the master and the servant walked to a shop facing the street, and saw that there were three big characters "Baomoxuan" written on the signboard.Jia Huan has been shopping before, so he knows that Baomoxuan is actually a stationery store. In addition to paper, ink, pens and inkstones, it also sells some calligraphy and paintings, folding fans and other literary toys.

"Third Master, do you want to buy pens and inks? I'll just ask the servants to tell me, and I don't need you to come in person." Qian Huai smiled flatteringly.

"Give me the bag, you just wait outside." Jia Huan took the big cloth bag from Qian Huai's hand, and was about to march to Baomo Pavilion, when suddenly a rough voice sounded behind him: "Please let me go, let me go!"

Jia Huan and Qian Huai turned around and saw a burly man striding towards him, pulling a cart. In winter, he was bare-chested, sweating profusely, his skin was black and shiny, and the muscles on his body were lumpy, like cast steel. His height of more than two meters moved like a hill, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

Both Jia Huan and Qian Huai retreated to the side of the road in shock. The big black man grinned foolishly, revealing two big white front teeth, feeling an inexplicable sense of joy. The trolley behind him was pulling a cart full of ice cubes, all cut into squares, piled up nearly ten feet high, and the cold was overwhelming.

Jia Huan couldn't help but whispered secretly, the strength of this big man is too scary, this cart of ice cubes probably weighs several thousand catties.

The big black man's footsteps were steady and strong, and he walked away quickly. The kid Qian Huai slapped his forehead and said, "The servant is awake. This fellow is called Tieniu. He specializes in delivering frozen blocks to the ice cellars of rich families. He also delivered them to our mansion before."

Large families like the Jia Mansion generally have ice cellars dug in their homes. They store a lot of ice cubes in winter and take them out to quench their thirst in summer, such as iced melons and iced wine.

Jia Huan's heart moved, and he glanced thoughtfully at Tie Niu's tall back, then turned and entered Baomoxuan.

The clerk at Baomoxuan obviously still remembered Jia Huan, and greeted him enthusiastically: "Young master, the paper and ink you bought last time are used up? Are you going to buy some more today?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Let me take a look first."

"Okay, young master, just look at it casually, if you like it, just tell the young one." The man backed away tactfully.

This Baomoxuan is mainly engaged in the four treasures of the study, and also sells some calligraphy and paintings, fans, books, bookmarks and other literary toys. Jia Huan inquired last time that Baomoxuan not only sells calligraphy and paintings, but also buys calligraphy and paintings.

Jia Huan walked around pretendingly, walked around the counter unconsciously, and was planning to strike up a conversation with the shopkeeper to sell his paintings, but at this moment two people entered the shop, one old and one young, the youngest was about ten years old, fair-born, with a round head and round face, he looked like a chubby little overnourished man, while the old man was plainly dressed and behaved calmly.

After the little fat man came in, his eyes wandered, his breathing was slightly short, and he was obviously a little nervous. Jia Huan felt strange, so he temporarily gave up chatting with the shopkeeper, and passed the little fat man as if nothing had happened.

The little fat man walked up to the counter, hesitant to speak, his fat face flushed slightly, as if he was getting more nervous, while the old man stood quietly behind him.

The shopkeeper took a look at the two of them, and asked with a smile, "May I ask what you two need objectively?"

The little fat man took a breath, cupped his hands and said, "Shopkeeper, there is a painting here, I wonder if your shop will accept it?"

Jia Huan was pretending to be looking at the inkstone not far away, and almost fell over when he heard the words, I am going, I dare to be a colleague, is the calligraphy and painting circle of the Great Jin Dynasty also so complicated?

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up and he said: "This shop does not reject any celebrity's calligraphy and painting, and the price is fair. I don't know who made this painting, sir. You might as well take it out and let me see it. If it is authentic, I will give you a satisfactory price."

The little fat man's face was flushed, and he said embarrassingly: "It's not a celebrity's calligraphy and painting, but my own clumsy work. Please tell the shopkeeper to check it out. If it's not bad, just give me a price."

The shopkeeper suddenly seemed to be drenched in a bucket of cold water, and his enthusiasm faded instantly. The little fat man in front of him was dressed in extraordinary clothes, and he looked like a rich man. The shopkeeper thought he had stolen calligraphy and paintings of famous people from home and resold them, but it turned out to be the little fat man's own paintings.

One must know that calligraphy and painting are three-point aura and seven-point skill, and skills are often infiltrated over the years. The older you are, the more refined the skills of calligraphy and painting are, and naturally the more valuable they are. And this little fat man is only about ten years old. I'm afraid he is still far away from going out of the mountains. What good paintings can he draw?

"Hey, it turned out to be your master's masterpiece, then I... let's take a look first!" Although the shopkeeper still maintained the politeness of a businessman, he was obviously not as enthusiastic as before.

The little fat man obviously also noticed the change in the shopkeeper's attitude, and awkwardly took out a roll of paintings and handed it to the shopkeeper, who took it and opened it slowly.At this time, Jia Huan approached quietly, stretched his neck and aimed at the drawing paper, and almost laughed out loud, "Damn it, this is...Chicken pecking rice picture?"

(End of this chapter)