The Red Mansions Across the Four Seas

Chapter 35

The scene here in the flower hall is much more elegant.

On the small stage, Gu Panpan, a famous courtesan in the imperial capital, was playing the pipa in a low voice, the sound was like a clear stream in an empty valley, trickling softly.Just like the background music of later generations, it can be heard without overwhelming the voice of the host.

Zhao Bancheng was wearing a purple gown, with a slightly fat body and a dignified appearance.At this time, he was holding a banner in his hand.

Under the stage, more than 200 officials and dignitaries sat around a dozen rosewood tables for the Eight Immortals.

Those who were able to enter the flower hall had to post posts at the door, or they were brought in by prestigious people.They are all high-end customers.

They are not short of money, and this is what they play.

There are 100 taels of silver here, and they are sweating profusely. Amidst the yelling of the soldiers, they line up to grab the 5 taels of silver wine. I can't afford to lose that person.

Sitting here is naturally decent.

The tea is Laojunmei, and the wine is 70-degree liquor packed in expensive official kiln wine sets, 1 tael per person.

Now, they all wanted to see what was so different about this 50 taels a catty wine.

"The wine has been tasted. Now, I would like to invite you to appreciate something. Has anyone seen the authentic work of Mr. Yedu? Please pass it around to see if it is the authentic work of Mr. Yedu?"

Mr. Yedu is naturally a scholar of Ji Mingluan University.

Zhao Bancheng handed the banner to Gu Panpan, and Gu Panpan stepped down, walked between the tables with the banner.

"Ah, the universe is big in drunkenness, and the sun and moon are long in the pot. It seems to be Mr. Yedu's handwriting."

People talked about it.

On that banner, there are exactly 10 words and signatures of "the universe is big in the drunk, the sun and the moon in the pot are long".

Calling Gu Panpan instead of asking others to come down and pass on this banner is just to play a little ambiguous, let these normally pious guys take the opportunity to enjoy the beauty, and also prevent them from talking casually and questioning the authenticity of this banner.

"The old man has some friendship with Mr. Ye Du, so I'll check it out."

It was Wu Shangshu who spoke.

He is Ji Mingluan's friend and fellow villager, and also the Minister of the Ministry of Industry.Among the people sitting here, he has the highest official position, so he is still qualified to say this sentence.

Wu Shangshu took the banner and looked it up and down carefully. Chen Hanlin, who was beside him, also came to the side to observe.

"That's right, this is the authentic work of Mr. Yedu."

Wu Shangshu finalized the case with one sentence.

Wu Shangshu had said it all, so others naturally didn't dare to question it anymore.

"I know, everyone here has a question, why can this wine be sold for 100 taels of silver per box? Is it worth 100 taels of silver?"

Zhao Bancheng paused for a moment and glanced down.

"Now, I want to say that not only is it worth 100 taels of silver, but it is far more than 100 taels of silver. Today, as long as you are lucky enough to get a box of Guogong wine, you will get a picture of Mr. Yedu."

"That is to say, every box of wine today will come with a picture of Mr. Ye Du's calligraphy. That's why it's sold for 100 taels of silver."

ah?What?No way?how is this possible?It's incredible!
Discussions arose.

It was an open secret in official circles that Ji Mingluan was addicted to alcohol.It was precisely for this reason that he was left idle today.

Last year, because he was drunk, he confronted the emperor face to face when discussing matters in the Hall of Martial Arts. The emperor knew his virtue, so he was unwilling to talk to him.But this time, Ji Mingluan was so confused that he even pestered the emperor after the emperor ordered him to retire.

Such ignorance of the general situation naturally made the emperor intolerable, so he was dragged out and played 10 times as a punishment.

This punishment is already light enough.What the emperor meant was to ask him to go to a lecture the next day, to ask for punishment for the crime of "disrespect", and then he was reprimanded for a few sentences, and he didn't really want to punish him.

Unexpectedly, this Ji Mingluan was hit by a board and felt ashamed, and the next day he also went to a class, but he was begging for bones.

It means that I want to resign and stop serving you.

No matter how generous the emperor was, he would not get used to his stink, so Ji Mingluan was out of work.He thought about calling him back when the emperor's weather cleared up, that's why he stayed in Yeduju all this time.

It wasn't until a letter came from his family that he was not summoned by the emperor, so he gave up, handed over the house to Jia Min, and went back to his hometown in Jinling.

Since Ji Mingluan is addicted to alcohol, and the state liquor comes out of his house, it is really normal for him to write some banners.Moreover, Wu Shangshu also endorsed the authenticity of the banner, how could it be false?
Ji Mingluan has a bad temper.As far as he was concerned, he could write for nothing.It's hard to ask how much money for someone he doesn't like.

Even if it's not for the sake of the wine, even if it's just this picture, 100 taels of silver is worth it.

With Nan'er as Ji Mingluan's personal book boy, Jia Min naturally understood Ji Mingluan's temperament.

So, I have been thinking about how to play Ji Mingluan's card.

In the drafts left by Ji Mingluan's study, Jia Min found all the ten words "the universe is big in the drunk, the sun and the moon in the pot are long", so he asked a scribe to forge 100 banners according to the font, and engraved them privately. Ji Mingluan's seal, so these banners were freshly released.

As for the consequences of Ji Mingluan knowing the truth in the future, Jia Min already had a plan to deal with it.

After a while, he was going to buy the house.If Ji Mingluan comes back, buy another one for him in the city.If you don't come back, the money will be sent to Jinling.Anyway, after autumn, he will also go to the south for a while, and then he can visit him in Jinling by the way.

If he doesn't come back, when the time comes, tell Zhao Bancheng that he will be given free wine for the rest of his life.Even for the sake of the wine, Ji Mingluan would sell the house to him.

As for the falsification of his banner, I will apologize to him at that time, and I believe he will not get to the bottom of it.

There are many counterfeit works of his in the market, which one will give him royalties?Maybe he's used to it by now.

Now that Ji Mingluan's work is confirmed to be authentic, it is not a problem to sell 100 copies of the collection.

However, this problem was solved, and a new problem came again.

There were 200 people who came to the scene. When they saw something of great value for money, they definitely wanted to buy it. Who did they sell it to?

Jia Min once thought about the auction method, but in the end he denied it.

Of course, the auction will sell more money, but it is obviously suspected of taking the opportunity to make money, and these people are fighting back and forth, which is unavoidable.

This is not only bad for Jia's reputation, but also damages the brand image of Guogong Liquor.

At the same time, there is another hidden worry about the auction format.

These wines and banners are all the same.In terms of quality, it is a homogeneous thing.If it is an auction, the final transaction price may be different.

With the price comparison, compared with those who get it at a high price, the psychological experience will be worse, and there will definitely be a feeling of being at a disadvantage.

There is also a possibility that some of the auctions may fail in the end, which would be embarrassing.

This is not what Jia Min wanted.

During the research a few days ago, both Boss Hu and Zhao Bancheng were inclined to auction, but they were rejected by Jia Min.He decided to take the method of drawing lots.

Drawing lots can not only avoid the above-mentioned disadvantages, but also has the biggest advantage, that is, it can push out all one hundred pieces at once.

Just imagine, the 200 people here all have some dignity.Even if he didn't want to buy it, he just came to see the excitement, and he was too embarrassed to withdraw at this time for the sake of face.This can guarantee that all 100 lots can be drawn.If you get it, no one is ashamed not to pay.

"Such a precious collection is naturally what everyone wants. However, there are only so many things, and it is destined to be difficult to meet everyone's needs. So, who are you selling to?"

Zhao Bancheng deliberately sold off.

"Everyone is a guest, and everyone has a chance. For the sake of fairness, we decided to draw lots. I have 235 notes here. 100 of them are written as 'medium', and the rest are written as 'Missed'. As long as you catch the 'hit', you are eligible to buy."

"Of course, if you don't win, don't be discouraged. If someone wins and wants to transfer it, you can also trade it privately."

"At the same time, everyone who fails to win today will have a consolation prize. You can leave a name card or address. Afterwards, Yeduju will send someone to the house to give a gift worth 20 taels of silver and a box of Guogong wine. If you want, Just tip a few dollars, if you don’t want to, just treat it as Yeduju who made friends with you. It’s just Mr. Yedu’s handwriting, but it’s gone, so I’m very sorry.”

Even if it was luck, everyone couldn't say anything, so Gu Panpan stepped down again, and Qianqianyu walked among the tables with a plate full of paper balls in his hand.

Next, various voices sounded.

Excited, naturally hit the mark.Frustrated, naturally missed.After a while, they began to come to the stage to pick up goods and pay money one after another.

In the effort of a cup of tea, 100 boxes of collections were taken clean, and then they left one after another.

The venue on the side of the flower hall had the latest opening, but the fastest ending. It seemed that 1 taels of silver were in hand in the blink of an eye.

Niu Jizong and others also participated in the lottery, but only Feng Ziying and Liu Fang got the "middle", so they looked a little happy.

After a while of excitement, everyone seemed to remember something, so they all looked at Jia Lian.But Jia Lian's face was already pale, but he was still sitting on the chair alone, sitting alone.

They all knew about the bet Jia Amnesty made with Jia Min.Now, just 100 copies of the collection, Jia Min sold 1 taels of silver.The other two have been on sale for a long time, and there are still so many people queuing up.It seems that if they are all sold, there is no problem at all.

So, what about that bet?Is Jia Amnesty really going to climb a circle in front of the Jia family's two thousand people?
The accountant of Hu's Winery, with two assistants, came to deliver the money to Ping'er.

According to the prior agreement between Jia Min and Boss Hu, all the proceeds from today's wine sale belong to Jia Min.Boss Hu will arrange and advance funds for the hired Yuhualou girls, band, Gu Panpan, colorful flags, plaques, display boards, etc., and Jia Min will pay for it afterwards.

The soldiers and horses of the five cities who maintain order are each given a bottle of hard-bound wine.Qiu Liang, who led the team, added a gift bottle of 20 taels of wine on top of one bottle per person.

All kinds of packaged wines are prepared a little extra for emergencies.

There are cash and bills, Ping'er counted the amount and handed it to Xueyue to keep.Sitting there in a daze, thinking about it, somehow, I cried again.

(End of this chapter)