When it comes to pawn shops, people’s impression is generally that they are places visited by poor people and gamblers.
In many movies and TV dramas, we can see that it is often the person in the family who cannot reveal the truth, the person who has lost all his money in gambling, the person who wants to see a doctor but cannot afford it... who rummages through the cabinets and takes out some messy things. Take it to a pawn shop to exchange some silver for emergency relief; some are used as jewelry, some are used as antiques, some are used as clothing, and some are even used as tables, chairs, benches, water tanks and straw mats...
Is such a thing really possible?
Yes, but our impression is not accurate.
In fact, pawn shops are also divided into four grades: large pawns, large mortgages, large mortgages and small mortgages - the mortgage period is from long to short, and the interest rate is from low to high.
A pawnshop like "Dadang" must not only have strong funds, but also be powerful, because they basically serve rich people on weekdays.
Some people may ask, what do rich people use as things?
Then take a look at the big companies outside. Which one doesn’t get a loan from a bank? When you borrow money from a bank, you have to pledge something, right? Isn't that similar to the nature of pawn?
In fact, ancient pawnshop lending is similar to modern bank lending; rich people, especially those doing business, need cash flow. When cash flow is insufficient, it is normal to mortgage something for turnover. .
In addition, some rich people send their valuables to pawn shops, not for money, but for safety. This is called "sending pawns"; because they feel that the pawn shop's vault is safer than their own home. , so they keep the things here for a long time, and the interest paid when redeeming them is regarded as the storage fee; and if the things are lost during the "pawn" period, not only will they not have to pay interest, but they will also get another compensation. ...This is similar to the vault business of modern banks.
As for the kind of pawn shops we often see in movies and TV dramas, they are usually the lowest-grade "small bets".
What is a small bet? To put it bluntly, it is a loan shark who uses collateral to replace violent debt collection...
The mortgage period provided by this kind of pawnshop is usually very short. If you don't come to redeem it for three months, the thing will belong to him; and the interest On the other hand, it is common to go out nine times and return thirteen times.
So this kind of place is indeed frequented by desperate poor people and gamblers. These people have no intention of redeeming the things they pawned, and some people don’t even want to pawn tickets. Take the money and leave.
Xiaozhe also knows very well who his customers are, so he does his best to take advantage of others' dangers, lower prices and bluff, and maximize profits.
Why else would the ancient people call pawnshops "Leigong Bang"? Because all the pawnshops they have access to are small ones.
As for a young master from a wealthy family like Song Xiang, he would definitely not go to Xiaozhan to pawn things; with Xiaozhan’s financial resources, he would not be able to pawn thousands of taels of silver.
When the Song family pawns, mails, or recycles things, they all go to Tongquanjian, the largest pawnshop in Runan City.
To sayThis Tong Quan Jian is really quite famous.
The meaning of the word "Tongquan" in the appraisal industry is roughly the same as when you say you are "invincible" when playing games. You dare to use this sign, and you can really do business. Yes, there must be an expert in charge.
The master of Tong Quanjian, whose surname is Liu and given name is Yufang, is known as "Mr. Tongquan".
This man’s origins are unknown, and he never tells anyone about himself; judging from his accent, he should be from the South, and judging from his white beard and hair, and skinny appearance, he should be at least about the same age. He is over sixty-five. As for other things...such as whether he has been married, whether he has children, where he comes from, what he has done before, where he learned all his knowledge, etc., everyone has no idea. Never mentioned it.
When Liu Yufang came to this pawn shop to apply for an appraiser job, he made it clear to the shopkeeper: "The wages are negotiable and the work is not difficult. I only have one request. Regarding my past, everyone It's best not to ask."
The shopkeeper thought: This old man is already this old. Even if he was a gangster in the past, he is no longer a threat. Besides, I think he looks weak. Not like a robber either.
With this in mind, the shopkeeper left Liu Yufang behind.
Unexpectedly, this old man has unparalleled insight and superb skills. He helped the shopkeeper make the business bigger and bigger. Within a few years, this place turned from a "big store" to a "Dadang".
So, the shopkeeper got a little arrogant and hung up the sign "Tongquanjian" and publicly stated that we have a "Mr. Tongquan" here who can identify all kinds of treasures. If you have any good things, you can take them from me, and I will never lose you.
His actions aroused the dissatisfaction of many colleagues, and many came to provoke trouble.
Can’t you, sir, recognize everything? Then let’s test you. If you can really tell the difference, we will be convinced. If you can’t tell the difference, it’s nothing more than destroying the sign.
During that time, people would come to the house every now and then with some strange things they found out from nowhere, such as the saw used by Lu Ban, the straw sandals made by Liu Bei, the white silk that Wu used to hang himself, and Wu Zixu. The sword that leads to the neck... The weirdest thing is that a guy brought a piece of noodles and said that it was the old noodles left by Zhuge Liang from making steamed buns.
But no matter how outrageous these guys made the fuss, Liu Yufang was still calm and calm, and he accurately told the true origin of everything.
After more than half a year, everyone was really convinced and admitted that Mr. Liu was indeed worthy of the word "Tongquan".
Have you never thought about it... The big winds and waves came over back then, but today, Liu Yufang is in trouble.
Because today, someone sent the Nine-Feather Zhusun Furnace in front of him.
In fact, Liu Yufang recognized this thing at the first sight. He knew very well what it was used for, but because of this, there were waves in his heart.
“Hiss——” Liu Yufang was silent for a long time, and then said to the waiting shop assistant, “Who brought this?”
The shop assistant was doing Tong Quan Jian Fang After many years, this was the first time he saw Mr. Liu looking embarrassed, so he hesitated for a moment before replying: "Uh... he's from the Song Dynasty."
In Runan City , when you talk about the Song family, everyone understands that you are referring to Song Yuan's family, that is, the Song Xiang family.
This is a big family that pawns things. Generally, there is no need for the family to come forward. It is enough to send a servant to take the things; because the deposit period and interest of "Dadang" are relatively reasonable, if old customers have The requirements can be adjusted accordingly, so I only need to tell the lowest expected price, and then let the servants use this as a bottom line to negotiate with the people at the pawn shop. There is no need to make a special trip myself.
Of course, there are hidden dangers in this approach...
For example, if the housekeeper of a wealthy family has evil thoughts, he can steal some money from the house. The valuables were taken into the warehouse and cashed out, and then he absconded with the money.
For another example, Song Xiang stole a treasure from his own warehouse, and then handed it over to his servants to be pawned. Of course, outsiders couldn't figure it out. reason.
"Hmm..." Liu Yufang pondered again, and then asked, "How much do you want?"
"Three thousand taels." The shop assistant replied.
"Three thousand taels..." Liu Yufang repeated the number, sneered in his heart, and said to himself, "Ha...it's a pity that this thing fell into the hands of someone who doesn't know the goods. It's obviously It's a priceless treasure, but they only want three thousand taels." After thinking about it, he remained calm on the surface and asked, "How long are you going to keep it for?"
"One day." The shop assistant said.
"What? One day?" Liu Yufang thought he heard wrongly.
"It's a bit strange." The shop clerk also felt that something was wrong. In regular pawn shops, there is no such thing as "bet for a day". This is what gamblers might say when they go to a small pawn shop to get money. He said, "But the other party said personally that it would only be one day and he would come back to pick it up at this time tomorrow evening. He also said that it would be okay to pay more interest."
"Oh?" Liu Yufang was lost in thought. , he felt there was something fishy about this.
After thinking for a while, he asked again: "What did the shopkeeper say...?"
"Hi, what can you say..." the shop assistant said, "It's from the Song family." Man, the shopkeeper doesn’t dare to offend, he just waits for you to say, if this thing is worth this price, he will give it to you, and he will be willing to charge a small amount of interest, which is considered a business.”
"Yes." Liu Yufang nodded, "Okay, let's put it in custody." He paused and picked up the small incense burner, "This...I will send it to the warehouse myself."
"Hey, okay, please take your time." The store clerk got a positive reply and went out quickly.
After the other party left, Liu Yufang’s eyes showed a rare...A greedy look.
…………
It’s night, the moon and stars are sparse.
A figure slowly walked into an inconspicuous courtyard in Runan City.
This person is none other than Liu Yufang.
At this moment, Liu Yufang was carrying a tightly wrapped bundle in his arms. Inside the bundle was the Nine-Feather Zhusun Furnace.
Dong dong dong——
After entering the courtyard, Liu Yu walked straight to the door and knocked lightly a few times.
The room was dark. He knocked a few times, but there was no movement inside.
But as if Liu Yufang was sure that there must be someone inside, he knocked a few more times and whispered into the room through the door: "Friends of the Five Spirit Sect, can you open the door and meet me?"
However, the response to him was still silence and silence.
"Oh...that's all." Liu Yufang shook his head, "Don't force things that are not destined."
After saying that, he turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he found someone standing in front of him.
This man was dressed in nocturnal black clothes, with his face covered, of medium build, and his voice was very ordinary: "Those brothers inside all work according to the rules, and they will never answer the door without hearing the code... ...If you have any questions, you can tell me.”
In the middle of the night, if someone comes up behind you suddenly and silently like a ghost, most people would have screamed out in fright. But Liu Yufang was very calm: "You are..."
"Aren't you looking for someone from the Five Spirits Sect? I am." The masked man said again.
Liu Yufang said: "I know you are from the Five Spirits Sect. I want to ask who you are from the Five Spirits Sect and what position you hold?"
"Heh... "The masked man smiled, "I'm afraid it's not convenient for me to tell you."
"Well..." Liu Yufang thought for a moment, "It's okay if you don't tell me...I think your martial arts is good, even if it's not. The flag leader or deputy flag leader can at least be ranked in the top five seats of any flag, and he should be able to talk to the top." When the masked man heard this, the man under the black cloth. His expression changed a bit.
Yes, this is indeed one of the five flag masters of the Wuling Sect, Tang Fu, the leader of the White Tiger Banner who appeared in the previous article. At this moment, there are three things that surprised Tang Fu: First, the old man in front of him, who seemed to have no internal strength at all, could actually see his general level of martial arts; secondly, this old man could not only find the secret stronghold of their Five Spirit Sect in the city, but he also seemed to have an understanding of the internal affairs of the Five Spirit Sect. I know the staff well; thirdly, this old man has always been very calm from just now until now, and can even be said to be confident.
"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are..." Tang Fu thought it would be better to ask first.
Liu Yufang said bluntly: "The old Liu Yufang is just a clerk in Tongchuanjian."
He was so humble now that even Tang Fu had heard of his name.: "Oh? It turns out to be the famous Mr. Tongquan, I'm disrespectful..." He still had to be polite and courteous when meeting an expert. After cupping his fists and handing over his hands, he said, "I don't know if Mr. Mister is here at night and wants to see me, the Five Spirits Sect. What are you doing?"
Liu Yufang patted the baggage in his arms: "I want to make a deal with you."
"Oh..." Tang Fu thought about it for a moment. After a while, he continued, "Sir, this is not the place to talk. You come with me first..." After that, Tang Fu led the way and led Liu Yufang out of the courtyard. I walked east and west and passed through several alleys.
No one saw them at this late hour. Not long after, the two came to the back door of a shop selling incense sticks. Tang Fu put his right hand on the door panel and held it there for a few seconds before knocking three times. After a while, someone inside finally opened the door.
"Sir, please come inside." After Tang Fu entered the door, he lit a candle and then waved to Liu Yufang, who was still standing in the back alley.
Liu Yufang still looked very calm, showing no warning or fear, so he just followed in.
After entering the room, he didn't see anyone else besides Tang Fu. It was probably that the people inside didn't want to be seen by him, so they all retreated to other rooms.
After Tang Fu closed the door and asked Liu Yufang to sit down, he also sat down and then said, "Sir, what kind of business are you going to do?"
Liu Yufang didn't know either. Vaguely, without saying a word, he put the baggage he had brought on the table, started to untie it, and revealed the small incense burner inside: "I want to sell this to you."
Tang Fu can see I couldn't figure out what was unique about this thing, so I wondered: "This is..."
"Nine Feathers Chasing the Sun Furnace." Liu Yufang said.
Tang Fu wanted to reply "I haven't heard of it", but he felt that this answer was a bit silly, so he skipped this step and said directly: "Sir... I apologize for my shallow knowledge and dare to ask. In a word...is your furnace of any use to our Five Spirits Sect?"