Zhou Shuren took out a banknote, “A total of four hundred taels.”

Zhulan was stunned, “I remember buying the two shops for three hundred and eighty taels. Did the shops increase their prices this year?”

Zhou Shuren explained, “Merchants have their own sources of information. They are the most informed. They got some news that the court is going to relax some policies. As a result, people are buying more shops, and the prices go up. According to the market price, each shop has increased by twenty taels, and I have only increased by ten taels. I wanted to take this opportunity to talk more and test the waters.”

Zhulan took the banknote, “Did you find out? Do you think it’s a trap?”

Zhou Shuren was used to touching his beard. He is addicted to it. ” It’s not a trap. I took the initiative to bring it up today, and Boss Ma didn’t bring up antiques. It was just a coincidence yesterday. Boss Ma doesn’t deal in antiques, so he just joined the gambling game to bet on whoever he likes. Antiques are more elegant, and many merchants are willing to watch the game. “

Zhulan thought about it and realized that she was too cautious. It was only been half a year, and it was not easy for Wang Ru to get out of trouble. Even if Wang Ru got out of trouble, Shi Qing would not relax and keep an eye on Wang Ru. Wang Ru was reborn and dare not show her true colors. Now Wang Ru was more afraid of death. Wang Ru must be cautious and dare not make big moves. Otherwise, she could find someone to investigate the Zhou family and then set a trap.

Zhulan felt relieved. “I forgot to ask yesterday, what are the rules of the antique competition?”

Zhou Shuren thought it was quite interesting and said, “There are two types of competitions. One is to bring antiques to participate. There are ten participants in a competition. The ten people bring their own antiques to compete. The one who can identify the authenticity of all the antiques wins. The winner can take away all the antiques of the ten people. If a participant brings a fake antique, he or she must take out a real antique to give to the winner after failure. If several participants identify it correctly, they will be asked to identify the antique provided by the organizer until a winner is crowned.”

Zhulan thought this competition was interesting. “You mean, participants can bring real and fake antiques to the competition, but those who bring fake antiques have to bring an extra real one to the organizer?”

Zhou Shuren nodded. “Yes, so I want to take the jade bracelet I gave you to participate. This pair of jade bracelets is not easy to identify. A large part of whether I can win depends on it.”

Zhulan touched the jade bracelet in her hand and laughed. “I didn’t expect that this was the real use of it when you bought it.”

Zhou Shuren curled the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, I was also quite surprised. We are destined to make a fortune.”

Zhulan was curious about the other way of participating “Aren’t there two types? What’s the other type?”

Zhou Shuren said, “The other type is to bring silver to register for the competition. There are ten people in a game, five levels, and the winner will win half of the registration fee. Each person registers for ten taels, and the winner can take away twenty-five taels.”

Zhulan touched her chin, “So more people participate with antiques, and the organizers open gambling games outside and act as the banker to make money from betting. By the way, why haven’t I heard of this place when I came to Pingzhou last year?”

Zhou Shuren said, “Few of the people I know are familiar with this field, and I visit quite a few merchants. Since I don’t know the merchants, that’s why I haven’t heard about it.”

Zhu Lan asked, “Have you thought about how to borrow the help of Dong Shi’s jiěfū?”

Zhou Shuren smiled, “You forgot, I helped the county magistrate to identify antiques, which shows that Dong Shi’s jiěfū’s boss is an antique lover. I just need to show my ability and wait for him to verify it.”

If he hadn’t been afraid of winning the antiques only to be forced to sell them, he wouldn’t have needed to seek support. Master Ma revealed a lot of information, indicating that the appraisal house was also quite ruthless. If you were a naive newcomer without any backing and participated in the competition, the appraisal house would buy your winnings at a low price. This method made it much easier for them to acquire high-quality items than running an antique shop.

Of course, if you insist on standing your ground, they naturally wouldn’t dare to mess with you and would offer a fair price for your items.

He didn’t consider waiting until he passed the provincial exam to participate. He wanted to get the money in hand early so he could make other plans in advance. After all, whether a xiùcái or a jǔrén, in the eyes of the people in Jiangda, there was essentially no difference unless he passed the imperial exam. It was better to demonstrate his value early on, which could save him a lot of trouble in the future.

He just didn’t know if he would come across any valuable antiques when he participates. The last time he went, the most valuable antique was worth four hundred taels. It was rare to have the opportunity to leverage support, so he hoped to find some good antiques!

Because once he won, he would not be allowed to participate in the competition again. So, whether he won or lost, he only had one chance. If he lost, he wouldn’t have any antiques to compete with again. If he won, he wouldn’t be able to join the next competition.

Zhulan’s eyes are particularly bright, “Can I go with you?”

This was a rare competition, and she wanted to go too.

Zhou Shuren felt sorry for Zhulan, who hadn’t had any entertainment since coming to ancient times. “No.”

It wasn’t that the participants didn’t bring anyone; the women they brought were all courtesans who were not respected. Ladies of status, like wives and young maidens, would not attend. Even in a fictional dynasty, many places remained off-limits to proper women, who feared being labeled as frivolous and having their reputations ruined for life.

Zhulan knew it and was a little disappointed, “Ah, it’s hard for women, and it was even harder for women in ancient times.”

Zhou Shuren said, “If I really win this time and make a fortune, I want to go to the capital, and then we can go together.”

Zhulan was energetic again, and she could even overcome the bumpy carriage, “Okay, then you must win. If you lose, I’ll lose my bracelet and can’t go to the capital.”

She was really curious about what the ancient capital looked like!

Zhou Shuren couldn’t lose not only for the silver but also for Zhulan, “I will not let you down.”

Zhulan thought about it. There were many talented people in ancient times, so it was better not to put too much pressure on Zhou Shuren. “We just need to work hard. At least we have tried our best. There is no regret if we lose. Even if we really lose, we still have 500 taels of silver. Although the jade bracelet is an antique, it was only bought for 40 taels. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

Zhou Shuren smiled, “Don’t worry, I know what’s going on.”

He was confident here because he really knew what was going on. He watched a competition yesterday. No really capable appraisal masters participated. Those who participated were those who felt they had some skills and could win a lot of money. There were really no veterans, so his chances of winning were really great. He did not stop learning about ancient antiques since he came to ancient times, so he was confident with his skills in his hands.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were calculating the money. There was a knock on the door. Second Zhou said, “Dad, Mom, I’m coming in.”

Zhou Shuren sat up and smoothed his clothes. He changed from lying lazily to being the head of the family. He stroked his beard and said, “Come in!”

Zhulan looked at Zhou Shuren speechlessly and put away all the banknotes.

Second Zhou and Zhao Shi came in, “Dad, Mom.”

Zhou Shuren asked, “Is there something?”

Second Zhou said, “Dad, we have something to ask you.”

Zhou Shuren was a man who knew it was not Second Zhou’s business at a glance, “You go on.”

Second Zhou originally planned to find out slowly by himself and didn’t want to trouble his father, but his ability was limited. He went out to inquire twice and didn’t get anything. He came to Pingzhou with his father before. He knew that his father was socializing everywhere. Even if his father didn’t show it on his face, he could feel tired. He didn’t think deeply about how capable his father was. He just felt sorry for his father.

This time when he moved to Pingzhou, he also wanted to find out slowly by himself, but his father sent Rongchuan and Mingyun to the academy, and he felt that he did not fully understand his father, so after talking to Zhao Shi, he still had to rely on his father for this matter. He didn’t know when he would be able to find out!

Zhou Shuren coughed, “What are you thinking about? Isn’t there something?”

(End of this chapter)

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