Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 663: Nine Out and Thirteen Back
This blind date was clearly arranged for me, why does it seem to be wrong? I think Ye is more interested in Zhu Ying than me. Could it be that this girl loves beauty more than gentlemen?
Zhang Chen wanted to find someone to talk about this strange feeling in his heart, but he was only surrounded by Ah Liu, a fool who didn't understand romance, and Zhu Hong and other followers who didn't go downstairs with him and didn't know if they heard what Ye said. Even if he couldn't hold it in any longer, he couldn't expose his shortcomings to these people, so he was very uncomfortable.
But Zhu Ying actually accompanied Ye shopping in a serious manner. On the several prosperous streets that had just emerged near the Xinglong Tea House, the two beauties, each with their own unique charm, would go to a store from time to time with great interest, and then look at the valuable and invaluable goods and comment on them. From time to time, they would call Ah Liu over to give them some advice, and even ask for his opinion from time to time.
God knows Zhang Chen was so confused that his head was a mess. He had no idea what he was looking at. His answer was just two dry sentences, "Okay, not bad, as long as you think it's good..." He just felt like a stupid goose!
If he had a backbone, he would have walked away immediately and never contacted her again. Anyway, he had not fallen in love with Ye at first sight. He just thought she was interesting and not pretending to be cold and noble. He left. But he always felt that it was too disrespectful to Zhu Ying. In addition, the two women were polite to him, but Ah Liu looked at him strangely.
As he walked, when Zhang Chen came to his senses again, he found that he was in a weapons shop! Nowadays, many weapons are controlled items, so this kind of shop is of course very rare in the capital. Although his family's Duke is not a military officer but a civil officer, there are still many treasures in the mansion. So he glanced at them and saw that the swords, bows and arrows were ordinary, so he didn't care.
But the next moment, he saw the little girl with a red hairband running up to Ah Liu holding a bow as if she had found a treasure, and then she asked in a chattering voice: "Sixth Master, Sixth Master, Miss Zhu said that you have a good eye, can you help me take a look at this slingshot?"
Zhang Chen almost popped his eyes out. It wasn't because the little girl who had just fought with Ah Liu was now obviously trying to curry favor with him, but because... what she showed to Ah Liu was basically just a bow, and it had nothing to do with the slingshots used to shoot sparrows or any other small gadgets when playing!
However, to his surprise, Ah Liu actually took the bow, looked at it over and over for a long time, and finally answered the question irrelevantly: "Are you really using a slingshot as a weapon? Why not a bow? The projectiles used in slingshots are very expensive if they are made of gold and iron, and they are not cheap either if they are made of clay. The most important thing is that they can only be used at close range. They are far less lethal than bows and arrows at long range!"
Zhang Chen suddenly thought of the battle between Cuiyun and Liu, and that Liu was indeed using a bow and arrow. He thought that this answer was not strange at all. However, when he went closer to take a look, he found that in the middle of the bowstring of the so-called slingshot was a small bag, and he could even see some bullets inside. He understood it now.
Unlike the slingshot used by the naughty boy, this slingshot should use a bowstring to eject the projectile. But as Ah Liu said, the long-range killing is far less than that of ordinary bows and arrows... But the problem is that at close range, this thing really comes and goes without a trace, which is just right for the little girl who is a bodyguard in front of him!
Sure enough, the next moment, he saw Cao Qingqing said very embarrassedly: "My arm strength is not enough..." Besides, I won't go to the battlefield, why do I need long-range killing? It is enough to protect Miss Ye at close range. It is illegal to fight and kill casually. She doesn't want to go to jail!
Ah Liu said "oh" and looked at the bullets in the slingshot bag first, then took out another one and tried it out, and finally checked the bow frame and bowstring. He nodded and said, "It's really good, and the workmanship is quite good."
"Thank you, Master Liu. My slingshot is really too old. I'm worried that it might break when I use it one day! It's rare to see a slingshot for sale, and it's still in such good condition. I'm going to buy it right now!"
Cao Qingqing's face immediately lit up with joy. After greeting Ah Liu, she quickly ran to Ye and Zhu Ying, pointed at Ah Liu and chattered a few words, then happily rushed to the smiling shopkeeper beside her. However, as soon as she started talking, her face and eyes dimmed, and finally she put the slingshot back to its original place with her head down.
Seeing that Ah Liu just raised his eyebrows in confusion, Zhang Chen couldn't help but cursed him in his heart, "What a stupid kid!" However, although he felt that they were strange from the beginning to the present, the atmosphere was no longer as stiff as it was in Xinglong Tea House before, so he simply stepped forward with his hands behind his back and asked the shopkeeper with a smile.
"How much did that slingshot cost?"
Zhu Ying's stunning beauty and her self-assured demeanor are second to none among the many rich girls in the capital. Moreover, seeing a girl visiting a place that sells weapons, the shopkeeper could roughly guess who she is. Moreover, when he saw Zhang Chen's dress and demeanor, he remembered that he had just heard an attendant call him Young Master Zhang, and his face immediately broke into a smile.
"Our shop is registered with the Military Equipment Bureau of the DPRK and specializes in manufacturing and selling weapons that are not prohibited. That's why we sell slingshots, not bows and arrows. The swords are also relatively short, and we don't have any prohibited items like armor or helmets..."
Seeing Zhang Chen's obvious impatience, he quickly cut to the chase: "This slingshot was made by a skilled craftsman. It was originally sold for sixteen strings of cash. If you, Master Zhang, really want it..."
"Stop, what is Master Zhang?" Fortunately, Zhang Chen reacted very quickly and interrupted the shopkeeper immediately. Seeing that the man was stunned at first, and then apologized, he immediately shouted angrily, "How can I be like Master Zhang! Master Zhang is my teacher, understand? Don't call me that if you don't recognize me. Fortunately, you met me today, otherwise you would have suffered a lot!"
The shopkeeper was so angry that sweat broke out on his forehead after being scolded by Zhang Chen. He thought to himself that it was terrible enough to meet you, how could he meet another powerful person? However, just as he was nodding and bowing, he heard the beautiful girl who looked like a fairy from heaven and was suspected to be the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhao’s mansion laugh: "He actually mistook you, Zhang Chen, for Ah Shou. He is really short-sighted!"
When the shopkeeper heard the name Zhang Chen, his expression suddenly changed. The resentment he had just felt disappeared completely. He wanted to kneel down and kowtow to apologize: "So you are the eldest son of Duke Qin's Mansion. I was blind and didn't recognize you..."
"Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense!" Zhang Chen waved his hand impatiently, and then said thoughtfully, "Sixteen strings of cash for a slingshot, this price is really not cheap, but Ah Liu said it was a good thing... Hey, little girl surnamed Cao, don't you have enough money?"
Cao Qingqing was originally complaining to herself, not paying attention to the little thing between Zhang Chen and the shopkeeper. When she heard someone calling her, she looked up blankly. It took her a long time to react, but she nodded dejectedly and said, "A bow for an escort in our escort agency is only eight strings of cash, but this one costs sixteen strings of cash. It's really too expensive. The wages I saved up with great difficulty are only seven strings of cash!"
Ah Liu, who was standing by, had just heard her asking for the price. When he heard her clearly say that she was short of money and couldn't afford it, he suddenly had an idea and said, "If you don't have enough money, I can lend it to you."
Huh? Not only Zhang Chen, but even Zhu Ying raised her eyebrows in surprise, and at the same time, a wonderful idea came to her mind. How could a dull mind like Ah Liu actually open up and borrow money from a girl? However, under their excited gazes, Ah Liu actually said to himself: "Of course, I can borrow money, nine out of ten will be returned!"
This kid is finished...
This kid is hopeless!
Not to mention Zhu Ying and Zhang Chen, even Ye's cold and beautiful face couldn't help but reveal an extremely subtle expression at this moment. However, what made them dumbfounded was that Cao Qingqing didn't scold at all, but instead looked very familiar: "Nine out and thirteen back, I know, pawnshops are like this, they say they borrow ten strings of cash, but in fact they only give me nine strings of cash, and after three months, I have to return thirteen strings of cash to the pawnshop!"
Ah Liu looked back at the other person in surprise. Zhu Ying and Zhang Chen thought the boy was going to say that there was no need to ask such a simple question. However, the next moment, Ah Liu's answer once again surprised them.
"That's right, it's like this. The young master said that we should help the needy but not the poor. If you see someone starving to death on the road, if you can, give him a bowl of porridge and try to find him a job to fill his stomach. But if you meet someone who can't afford necessities because of poverty and needs to borrow money, and that thing is not for life, then you should give him nine out of ten and return the money."
This really makes sense... This is what Zhang Chen thought at the moment, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it made more sense. Although his family was not prosperous, relatives and friends often came to borrow money, but his mother would lend to some people and not to others. According to what he heard from his mother, she would lend money to medical treatment and life-saving, but not to buy a house or land. And the money lent must be recovered.
If we don't take it back, everyone will come to our door to ask for money. No one's money falls from the sky!
This sounds really good Zhang Shou... This is what Zhu Ying is thinking at the moment. There is no doubt that she supports Zhang Shou's teachings to Ah Liu. Now think about it, when she lends money to her second brother in the future, should she also ask someone to write a loan note of nine out and thirteen back?
Ah Liu didn't care about other people's reactions. Seeing that Cao Qingqing didn't seem to be disgusted by his words, but just seemed a little conflicted , he continued to speak calmly.
"I am not short of money now. The young master has deposited 270 strings of cash with me. He said that it will be 660 strings of cash in a year. He will advance me 30 strings of cash in interest, which I cannot spend. You can borrow money from me, but I don't want you to pay it back. You can pay me back with something else."
Cao Qingqing's eyes widened immediately, and then she started calculating quickly.
She really wanted the slingshot, but she couldn't even pay it back after three months, not to mention that she would get nine out of ten back. She also heard that the famous scholar Zhang had a very powerful follower, but she didn't expect that he could easily save more than two hundred strings of cash while working as a bodyguard. But she worked so hard and only saved less than a fraction of that...
Moreover, the important thing is not saving money, but that Master Zhang helped his followers save money, and he actually used the method of nine out and thirteen back... Two hundred and seventy strings of cash were saved for a year, with an interest of thirty strings of cash a month, which was exactly six hundred and sixty strings of cash, and he also advanced thirty strings of cash to Ah Liu for pocket money!
She also wants such a generous employer and such thick golden thighs!
But as soon as this thought came to her mind, Cao Qingqing thought of how good Miss Ye had been to her, and hurriedly shook her head to drive away this ridiculous thought. However, as she pondered over the conditions Ah Liu had just proposed, she suddenly became terrified.
She is not as beautiful as Zhu Ying and Miss Ye. She is just an ordinary girl. If she asks others for money, what else can she give in return?
It is even more impossible to default on the debt. Master Cao Wu has competed with others before, and they are people she can never reach!
Just as she was trembling with fear, Zhu Ying asked with interest: "A Liu, what do you want Miss Cao to return to you?"
"I haven't thought about it yet." Ah Liu frowned, then said honestly, "How about you take her into your girls' school, Miss? Girls' schools should have a lot of female students, right? Miss Ye can't handle teaching martial arts alone, right? Besides, there should be other people in Shunhe Escort Agency who have practiced martial arts like Miss Cao, right? Invite them all over? Well, the money I borrow will be deducted from her salary."
As soon as these words were spoken, Cao Qingqing's eyes lit up with excitement, and she almost wanted to shout out loud, "I do."
Even Ye, whose face had just turned cold, couldn't help but look at Ah Liu in surprise. Seeing that no one even looked at her, she stared at Zhu Ying intently, with an extremely earnest look in her eyes. She had originally planned to pay for the slingshot for Cao Qingqing, so she sighed in her heart and said, "Qingqing, this is a good thing, you should agree to it."
"Ah!" Cao Qingqing didn't expect that Ye had also instructed her to agree, and she couldn't help but be overjoyed. After the shopkeeper handed over the slingshot, she couldn't let it go and rubbed it for a while, then hurried forward to thank Ah Liu profusely. Seeing that he didn't care, she suddenly realized and hurried to thank Zhu Ying again. Of course, Ye was also among those she thanked.
Zhang Chen, who was standing by, saw the shopkeeper looking around with a face full of caution and fear. He couldn't help but said unhappily, "What are you looking at? Give the slingshot to Miss Cao. Are you worried that no one will pay the bill?"
It turns out that "Nine out, thirteen back" was not a strategy of playing hard to get. It's just that Liu didn't care about having too much money, so he was willing to lend money and didn't care about the interest. Instead, he was sincerely considering Zhu Ying's female students!
Ah Liu is not a fool at all. This boy only has Zhang Shou in his heart, and now he wants Zhu Ying too!
Seeing Ah Liu take out the bills and count them carefully to the shopkeeper, Zhu Ying felt that everything today was beyond her expectations. So, she rolled her eyes and then looked at Ye and Zhang Chen with a smile and said, "Miss Ye, Zhang Chen, I'd like to ask you two to do me a favor. My eldest brother is getting married soon. Please help me choose a suitable gift. Yes, there is also one for my eldest sister-in-law!"
