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Song Shizhu had always been timid around this elder sister-in-law, and now he dared not enter to jinx his luck any further.
So he turned a corner and went to the east side to check on Chunsheng and the children there.
He could see Chunsheng’s legs from a distance. Chunsheng had gotten onto the ox cart, and Song Shizhu fumbled for a few copper coins to slip over, but when he saw that grandfather Lizheng had actually taken out a tael of broken silver, his few copper coins felt utterly insignificant.
No matter how much he wanted to give, first, he was reluctant to part with it, and second, he truly didn’t have more. The money at home was managed by his wife, and on him, there were only a dozen or so copper coins left for buying tobacco.
He secretly slipped the money back into his pocket and then overheard the group of women scolding Sanzhu. He couldn’t help but want to say something in defense—after all, that was his cousin.
“Bah! What do you mean by ‘not being gentle’? Song Sanzhu, weren’t gentle at all—if it were you, did you want to beat your own son to death?”
“I, I… ah!” Song Shizhu sighed, speechless.
He would never bear to beat his son. When the wife at home scolded their son, he even wanted to intervene and calm things down.
Songjia Village was more than ten miles from the county seat. By the time they arrived in the county town, it was already midday.
Song Fuquan was the third grandson of Grandfather Lizheng, and still quite young—one year younger than Song Chunsheng.
“Brother Chunsheng, should we go to Xinglin Hall or to the Li Family Physician’s Clinic?”
Xinglin Hall was a government-run public clinic, usually suitable for treating common ailments like headaches and fevers. But if it was leg injuries they needed to treat, of course, the Li Family Physician’s Clinic—famous for treating bruises and fractures—was the better choice.
Song Fuquan asked this because Xinglin Hall was cheaper.
It was clear that Brother and Sister Song didn’t have much money. Going to the Li Family Physician’s Clinic relying only on the one tael of broken silver given by their grandfather wouldn’t be enough.
“Of course we should go to the Li Family Physician’s Clinic,” Song Jinxiu said before her older brother could speak.
“Brother Fuquan, first take me to the pawnshop. My mother left me a hairpin—I want to pawn it first.”
Song Fuquan was momentarily surprised, then smiled and said, “Oh, you have a hairpin? That’s good. The pawnshop is just ahead. Wait for me to park the cart, and I’ll go with you.”
Although she wasn’t sure if the hairpin was worth much, Song Fuquan followed along to give Sanya some courage.
“No need, no need. There are too many people in the county. If you leave and the ox misbehaves, hurting someone would be a problem,” Song Jinxiu said.
Song Jinxiu quickly blinked at her big brother, signaling him to keep an eye on things. Without waiting for the cart to stop, she hurriedly got off, clutching the item hidden in her skirt, and ran toward the pawnshop.
What a joke—it was impossible for her things to be seen by Song Fuquan.
She only let her big brother know to ease his mind. Besides, her big brother wouldn’t blab to others, but if Song Fuquan found out, there was no telling how far the news might spread.
“Hey… slow down. Wait…”
Seeing Song Jinxiu quickly cross to the other side of the street and enter the pawnshop, Song Fuquan nervously called after her from behind.
He still felt uneasy—after all, this was a pawnshop.
“Brother Chunsheng, I think I should go take a look too. If the pawnshop refuses to accept it, maybe I can help mediate.”
He remembered that Chunsheng’s mother had also endured hard times before. He didn’t know if the hairpin was valuable—if it was just a wooden hairpin, the pawnshop might not even accept it.
Since he often drove the ox cart to the county town, he considered himself worldly and experienced. Worried that Sanya might be too timid to negotiate a good price, Song Fuquan wanted to step in and help.
“No problem. If my leg can’t move in the future, she’ll have to take charge of the household like the head of the family. She needs to practice more anyway. Besides, there really are a lot of people on the street right now—you’d better hold the ox’s reins.”
The younger sister lied, saying it was a hairpin. If Fuquan came along, the secret would be out.
Song Chunsheng was also worried that his sister might be swindled by the pawnshop people, but he had no way to help. He didn’t even know how much the silver bowl, silver spoon, and silver chopsticks could pawn for.
Ten taels—should be about that much, right?
Inside the pawnshop, the shopkeeper, sporting a goatee, was examining a colored-glass cup.
A young man in a long robe looked reluctant and said, “Mr. Liu, this is a night-glow cup—it’s an heirloom passed down through our family.”
Song Jinxiu quietly lined up, standing behind the young man.
The goateed shopkeeper said, “Hmm, it is indeed a night-glow cup, but it has quite a few impurities. If it’s a dead pledge, fifty taels—that’s the highest price I can offer.”
The counter was very high, and Song Jinxiu tiptoed to look over.
A glass cup, mottled with impurities, was actually worth fifty taels.
Song Jinxiu couldn’t help but feel a stir in her heart and reached out her thoughts into the space.
She tossed the silverware aside and rummaged through the trash basket, pulling out a crystal ball.
Inside the crystal ball was a landscape painting. It had originally been a decorative piece, but after its base broke, she had thrown it away.
The young man pocketed the fifty taels and left, and only then did the goateed shopkeeper look toward Song Jinxiu.
“Little girl, are you here to redeem or to pawn?”
“To pawn,” Song Jinxiu quickly replied, handing over the crystal ball.
“Shopkeeper, please take a look and tell me how much this is worth.”
The goateed shopkeeper took the crystal ball and, upon examining it, was visibly moved. He suddenly stood up with such force that the chair behind him toppled over.
“Little girl, come inside and have a talk.”
He quickly led Song Jinxiu to a private VIP tea room beside the shop.
“Little girl, where did you get this? Did the head of your household know you came to the pawnshop?”
Song Jinxiu watched the shopkeeper’s eyes darting around—sometimes looking at her, sometimes at the crystal ball.
She wondered to herself if the old man suspected she had stolen it.
“This is our family’s heirloom ‘a paradise on earth’crystal ball. It was originally given by an immortal; it’s our treasured family heirloom.”
“Dongtian Fudi? Hmm, it really is a paradise on earth .”
The goateed shopkeeper carefully studied the beautiful scenery inside the crystal ball, growing more and more reluctant to part with it.
Song Jinxiu curled her lips. This was just the little gift she had received when she bought her phone. She had liked the landscape painting inside so much that she had casually placed it on her desk.
“Shopkeeper, give me a price. I urgently need money to take my brother to see a physician. If the price is right, I’ll give it to you; if not, I’ll have to find another buyer.”
The goateed shopkeeper pondered for a long moment, his small eyes glancing at her, then said, “If it’s a dead pledge, I’ll give you this amount.”
He raised his thumb.
Song Jinxiu thought: What does that mean? One hundred taels or one thousand taels?
Not understanding, she asked, “Ten thousand taels?”
The moment the shopkeeper heard this, his eyes widened in horror, and he exclaimed dramatically,
“Oh my, little girl, you really dare to ask for the moon! Do you know how much ten thousand taels is? My entire pawnshop isn’t worth that much.”
“So how much then? A thousand taels is way too little, right? This was left behind by an immortal. If it’s too cheap, what if the immortal gets unhappy and takes it back?”
Song Jinxiu blinked innocently—after all, he’d stuck out a single thumb and made her guess.
The goateed shopkeeper was speechless. He studied the crystal ball carefully.
Its material was crystal clear, flawless, and he had no idea how the scenery inside had been created. It truly was a treasure.
But a thousand taels…
If it were a fallen noble lady pawning it, he might not dare to lowball the price.
He glanced at Song Jinxiu’s patched, threadbare jacket and suddenly had a plan in mind.
He forced a smile. “Little girl, your item is nice to look at, but it’s just a decorative trinket. At first, I planned to offer you a hundred taels, but since you’re in urgent need of money, I’ll give you one hundred and fifty. How about that?”
“If I weren’t in such a rush, I wouldn’t even part with it for a thousand taels. You’re offering way too little—I’m not selling it to you,” Song Jinxiu said, making a move to take back the crystal ball.
“Hey, hey, hey, let’s talk this over,”
The goateed shopkeeper quickly stopped her.