Traveling through ancient times: living a different life

After the afternoon sun, the four of them came to the beach. Bi Yue launched the yacht and everyone got on board. Chen Chen sat in the cockpit and drove the boat in a very professional manner. After half a year of training, his skills were now top-notch. Xiao Mai also became a master and finally brought out two apprentices. The master could now be lazy.

An hour and a half later, when they were approaching the river in the county town, Xiaomai turned off all the lights on the boat. Biyue asked the system to scan where it would be safer to stop the boat. The system pointed out that there was a better place near the left side.

Biyue told Chen Chen to slowly approach the big reef on the right, which was more hidden. It was probably the beginning of the Xu hour and it was dark, so it should be safe to get off the boat here.

The four people got off the boat. Bi Yue put the yacht into her treasure bag and walked for a few minutes to a flat ground. She released the carriage and got on it. They started heading towards the county town. After about ten minutes, they arrived at the city gate and went into the city to the Yuanlai Inn where they had been last time. The shopkeeper saw that they were familiar guests who came so late, so he greeted them warmly with the waiter. After registering, they asked for two superior suites and went back to their guest rooms to rest.

Biyue asked Xiaomai: "If you three are hungry, go out and eat something, then come back to sleep."

Xiaomai went next door to ask Chen Chen and the other two, and the three of them came again to ask the ladies to go out together. Biyue quietly checked the time and it was only 19: p.m., so she closed the door and went outside with the three of them to have a midnight snack. It was not yet curfew outside and it was quite lively. The four of them ate dumplings at a roadside stall. Chen Chen ate fifty dumplings before he was full, Haisheng ate forty-five, and Biyue and Xiaomai only needed ten each. Chen Chen rushed to pay the bill, and he was grinning with happiness, as if he was finally the master of the house. Biyue praised him in her heart, saying that he was such a lovely snake king.

The four of them didn't want to go shopping, so they returned to the inn and asked the waiter to fetch two buckets of water and deliver them to their two rooms. After washing up, they went to rest.

The next morning at the beginning of the Chen time, the four of them got up, washed up, and went downstairs to the shop opposite the inn to have breakfast. They ordered a basket of buns and four bowls of porridge. The master and servant were young and were full with a bowl of porridge and a bun. They ate more than ten buns each as if they were competing. The boss's face was so smiling that it looked like a chrysanthemum. It would be nice to have more customers who were so greedy.

Chen Chen happily paid the money again. The clinic was not far from here, and they arrived in just over ten minutes on foot. There were more people there in the morning, and when Doctor Zhu saw them coming, he greeted them warmly and asked the waiter to take them to the examination room in the back.

Doctor Zhu was inside. When he saw Bi Yue and the other three coming, he asked them to sit and wait for a while. There were two patients being treated inside. Doctor Zhu was removing a needle from a male patient. After he had removed the needle from the patient, he asked Haisheng to sit over and Doctor Zhu would give him the injection. They had to wait fifteen minutes before they could continue.

Bi Yue walked over to Doctor Zhu and asked him to come out with her. When they got outside, Bi Yue quietly asked, "Doctor, do you know which pawnshop around here is more reputable? My friend found some pearls in the sea and wants to exchange them for some money. Isn't the New Year coming soon?"

"Oh, there are several. There is a Laisheng Pawnshop near the clinic. The prices are reasonable. I heard it is run by the county magistrate's brother. You can go and have a look."

After thinking for a while, he said, "If Bi Yue trusts me, can you let me take a look? To be honest, the New Year is coming soon, and I have to prepare some gifts for the people above."

Biyue knew who he was referring to, it must be a powerful official.

"Go in and remove the needle first, and then check after the patient is gone. I know how to keep your wealth in the dark."

After the old doctor finished speaking, he went to the clinic and removed the needle from Patient B. He waited for another three minutes before he finished removing Haisheng's needle.

He took the four people to a study room and closed the door. Bi Yue took out Chen Chen's first box. The old doctor opened the box and saw two large pearls and more than twenty smaller colored pearls. He smiled and said to Bi Yue, "These two large pearls, also known as Dongzhu, are round and shiny, large and bright, and very rare in the world. I am willing to offer 8000 taels of silver. Are you willing to sell them to me?"

Doctor Zhu thought: I only saw one diamond inlaid on the Empress's phoenix crown in the palace. If I donate these two, my eldest son's position in the Imperial Medical Bureau will be secured and I will feel relieved.

Chen Chen said: "I brought it to the county town to sell it. If you buy it, I won't have to go to the pawn shop."

The old doctor was overjoyed. He went to the inner room, took out a stack of silver bills and handed them to Chen Chen, saying to him, "This little pearl is also very good, but I can't afford so much silver at once. Why don't you go to the Treasure Pavilion and ask where there are craftsmen who make jewelry? You may be able to sell it for a high price if you go there."

"Thank you, Doctor Zhu, for your reminder. We will take our leave now."

The four of them left Huichuntang and went to Zhenbao Pavilion. They found the place after asking for directions. After entering, they saw several ladies and maids selling things inside, and the store was almost full.

Bi Yue and the other three had no choice but to stand outside. Seeing this, Xiao Mai went in and found a man who looked like a manager and whispered a few words to him. He then came out and took the four people to the back hall. After they sat down, Chen Chen took out all the small pearls and placed them on the table.

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he grinned and said, "Please wait a moment, sir. I'll call the boss out."

Soon, a beautiful woman in her thirties came in. She walked in, looked at Chen Chen, then sat down and asked, "Hello, everyone. My surname is Xiao. Does this bead belong to this gentleman?"

Chen Chen said readily, "Yes, if the price you offer is right, I will sell them all."

The woman picked up the pearls and looked at them. They looked good, large and full, and were truly top-quality. After looking at them, she said, "These are all top-quality pearls, 38 in total. I will buy them for taels. What do you think, sir?"

Bi Yue thought: The two Dongzhu pearls just now cost 8000 taels, and here are 38 colored beads of various colors, which are only one-third smaller than the Dongzhu pearls. This price is too low.

Bi Yue said to her, "Boss Xiao, the price you offered is a bit low. Although we are not in the jewelry business, we also know the market. You know that it is very dangerous to go to the sea to look for pearls. It took a lot of effort to fish these pearls out from the bottom of the sea."

Chen Chen said: "Since the boss is not sincere, forget it, I will go to another store to have a look."

The woman was anxious and said, "Let's discuss it again. The price is negotiable. How about this? I raise it to 40,000 taels of silver?"

Chen Chen saw her expression and knew that she wanted it urgently, so he said, "One price, fifty thousand taels of silver, and I'll sell it. I have something going on at home and I need money urgently, so I have no choice but to sell it."

The woman thought for a moment and said, "Okay, deal."

She put the pearls away and handed a stack of silver bills to Chen Chen. Chen Chen refused to take them. The woman was a little puzzled. Chen Chen said, "I don't want these papers, I want gold and silver."

Bi Yue suppressed her laughter and said to her, "Boss Xiao, you should change it to gold or silver, preferably gold."

"Okay then, I'll go to the back and check how much cash I have."

Boss Xiao took the banknote and went to the back, while the four of them waited in the small living room.

After a while, Mr. Xiao came in with four assistants carrying boxes. Mr. Xiao said, "I only have 30,000 taels of gold. The rest can only be paid in silver notes. Please count them yourself. If there are pearls of this quality next time, I hope you will come to my Treasure Pavilion again."

“Okay, see you later.