inspire-indiana Chapter 501 Getting a Bargain
Chapter 501 Getting a Bargain
As soon as he heard it, he wiped off more than five taels. The shopkeeper was anxious, "How can that be? Even if you want to wipe off, you can't wipe off that much!"
Zhou Guo said: "Why not? I bought so many books, and they sound so good. I want to make a fortune! You have to make a fortune! Isn't that good?"
The shopkeeper said, "What's the point of sounding nice? If everyone bargains like you, how can I make a living?"
Zhou Guo said, "Why not? Think about it. There are so many bookstores in the city. Others don't allow bargaining. But suddenly you can bargain. Who in the world would have a problem with money? Right? They will definitely come to you. Then you will be rich, right?"
The shopkeeper had a blank expression on his face and didn't say anything. But when I thought about it carefully, what he said was quite right.
After Zhou Guo finished speaking, he looked at the dusty paper in the corner behind him and pointed at it, saying, "By the way, give me two dollars for the paper in the corner that no one wants and can't be sold. I don't mind. I want it."
The shopkeeper turned his head and looked at it, puffing his beard and glaring angrily, "Who said that no one wants these? They are selling very well!"
Zhou Guo said, "Don't lie to me. There's such a thick layer of dust on them, which means no one wants them. How can you be so heartless as a shopkeeper? What's wrong with giving me some of the books that no one wants? If you're nice, I'll come to your house to buy books next time."
After spending so much money on this trip, how can I not have some gifts?
The shopkeeper looked at her helplessly, bent down, picked up a pile, and put it on the counter, "Is that enough?"
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "That's enough, that's almost four cuts, the shopkeeper is really generous!"
I looked at the paper and found that the quality was not good, but it was not the worst either. Why did no one want it?
She took out fifty-eight taels of silver from her bag, handed it over, and said with a smile, "Here, I want to give it to you, and you should give it to me too!"
The shopkeeper took the money and looked at her smiling face, his expression softened. He also saw her wandering around the bookstore and asked, "Can you read and write?"
Zhou Guo nodded, "Ah, my family is poor and we can't afford to send so many people to school. We can only support my two brothers. Besides, there is no school to accept girls like us, so we can only learn from my brothers at home. But my handwriting is not good, and they all laugh at me for my ugly handwriting!"
The shopkeeper's expression softened. It was not easy to afford to go to school these days, and it was even rarer to let a girl in the family go to school with her brothers. Hearing her say that her handwriting was ugly, it must be because she had no paper and was reluctant to write more.
Thinking of this, he bent down and moved a pile of paper from the corner. He also took out two old pens from somewhere and put them on the counter. He said, "I'll give you these as well. You're right. No one wants them. This paper is more expensive than the worst and cheaper than the better ones. It's neither good nor bad. The poor can't afford it, and the rich don't like it. It can only be piled up in the corner and collect dust."
Zhou Guo had an idea, looked at the piles in the corner, and said, "How about you sell them all to me at a lower price? I don't mind!"
The shopkeeper looked at her, then looked at the papers piled up in the corner for a year or so, which had never been sold. People thought that the papers in his shop were not good. He said cheerfully, "Okay, if you want them all, you can take all the two strings of silver!"
Zhou Guo was really delighted. Such a big pile would need to be packed into a big box, which would cost at least forty or fifty dollars. Two strings of cash, it was worth it!
Zhou Mai and others were also very happy.
All the guys in the store came to pack up.
The other scholars in the store were filled with regret and envy. If they had known that they could buy so much paper for only two strings of coins, it wouldn't have mattered if they lost face. That was so much paper, enough to last them a whole year!
Several people from the Li family who were waiting outside also came in to help.
After everything was packed up, Zhou Guo paid the money readily, said a lot of auspicious words, and left with two thick bundles of paper in each hand.
The shopkeeper smiled and saw them off. It was not until they had walked quite far away that he realized that Zhou Guo was carrying such a heavy object in his hands and yet he was still bouncing as he walked.
Soon he had no time to think, because the scholars in the store gathered around him, wanting to buy paper, and wanted it for free at a small price. Why should they not give anything to a little girl like that? Did they look down on them?
The shopkeeper was both happy and sad.
Although Zhou Guo carried so many things, there were too many for several people to carry. Fortunately, at this time, Zhou Gu and the old man finally came out of the wine shop and came over. When they saw a group of people carrying so many things, they hurried over.
The old man looked at the bags of paper and didn't know what to say. "Why buy so much? Don't we have so much paper at home? The ones the shopkeeper gave you are enough for you to use until the end of next year. Why buy so much more?"
Zhou Guo said, "Master, these are really cheap. This much paper only cost me two strings of silver. It doesn't cost a penny per piece of paper. It's much cheaper than usual."
The old man said, "No matter how cheap it is, there has to be a limit. You buy so much, and after a year or two, it breaks before you even use it. How can you use it when it breaks into pieces?"
"Ah?" Zhou Guo was stunned and looked at the paper in his hand. "Will this paper be so damaged that it can't be used?"
Then he shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. Our handwriting isn't pretty anyway, so it's better to use it for practice. I can't bear to use the ones given by the shopkeepers. I always feel it's a waste."
Zhou Mai and Zhou Mi also nodded. Their handwriting was not good either, and they were reluctant to use such good paper as they felt it was a waste.
The old man thought of her handwriting and didn't say anything. He helped to point out that it was a little ugly, much uglier than his own, and she needed to practice more.
The group returned to the inn with their full harvest. It was difficult to place the newly bought jewelry in the inn, so Zhou Guo put them in the bag in front of him. While stuffing them, he said to Li: "Mom, you have to make a big bag for me when we get back. This one is a little small."
Li said, "How big does it have to be? It's just right for a small person like you. If it's any bigger, it won't look good, like a child stealing an adult's bag."
Zhou Xing smiled and said, "Yeah, isn't it enough for you to normally hold things? If it gets any bigger, it will become a sack."
Zhou Guo stuffed the box full of jewelry into her bag and said, "It's not that exaggerated. It's just that this small one really can't hold much."
He patted his bag and said, "Okay, now that we're done packing, let's go out."
Li and Zhou Xing finally sat down to rest for a while, but before they could even warm up their butts, they said helplessly, "It's almost dark, where are we going?"
Zhou Guo said: "Let's go to Baoyue Tower, let's go to Baoyue Tower to have dinner."
Zhou Xing sat up immediately. One hundred and sixty or seventy taels of silver had been spent. It didn't seem like a big deal to use a few taels of silver to pay for a meal occasionally.
Only Li felt heartbroken. She spent so much money today. If she continued to spend like this, the several thousand taels she earned would be gone like water in a few days. Why did it feel like three thousand taels were not enough to spend?
I used to think that even if I did nothing, I could still spend more than ten lifetimes!