Later, Emperor Qianlong admired this man's character and gave the Bao family an emerald cabbage tree, an imperial pension plaque made of sterling silver, and a sparrow picture hidden in the palace.
Jade cabbage, does it sound familiar?
Many people say there is only one. In Bay Island, this is wrong. We also have them in China. I have seen four of them.
When it comes to rewards from the emperor, this kind of thing would not be written in the county annals in ancient times. I conclude that this matter is true.
I didn't hide it, so I went straight to the point and asked the old lady if she still had these three things. If she still had them, I would be willing to spend a lot of money to buy them.
After listening to my words, a smile appeared on the wrinkled face of the old lady. She pointed at the house with her pipe pot and said: "Young man, my place was going to be demolished two years ago. I didn't agree, so they cut it off for me."
Dian, look around, I don’t even have any decent furniture here, and all the furniture that can be sold has been sold out a long time ago. Where are those few things left? Who asked you to come here and ask?"
I said sincerely: "Auntie, I was sent here by an antique dealer named Xiong. He took away a human head jar from your house the year before last. I wonder if you still remember it?"
The old lady turned her head, looked at the old man on crutches and asked: "Jiawa, you sold it, right?"
The old man immediately said respectfully: "Miss, I sold that jar for ninety yuan. I used the money to buy a bag of rice and a barrel of oil."
"Ah? Uncle, it turns out you only sold that jar for ninety yuan?"
The old man nodded and said yes.
I shook my head, thinking that this old bear was dishonest. The price he sold to Wenwen's dad was 3,000, but he said he paid 2,800 for it, and still only made 200.
At this time, the lady stood up, and the old man who was called Jiawa was about to step forward to help. The old lady waved her hand: "Jiawa, you are too old to walk, so don't think about serving me all the time."
"Young man, we haven't had a guest in Guozhuang for a long time. I'll take you to visit. If you like any old items, just tell me. The price is cheap."
I said yes.
When I came to the courtyard with a lantern, the old lady pointed to the row of stone piers and said to me: "These stone piers are used to tie horses. A few decades ago, our Guozhuang was very lively, with Tibetan and Han merchants living there."
There are a lot of them, and I often receive some candies.”
From her description, I could vaguely imagine how lively the Guozhuang compound was back then. Then I curiously asked: "Madam, what are those bags piled in the corner for?"
"What did you mean?"
"That's not a cloth bag, it's a cowhide bag." The old lady seemed to have a light in her eyes, and she described to me: "In the past, Guozhuang did three kinds of business. One was to provide food and accommodation in inns, and the other was to help Tibetan merchants sew tea bags.
The third is to introduce the business between the two parties and get a commission."
The old lady said slowly: "These bags are the tea bags left over from that time. Tibetan merchants used to drive horses, and the horses carried Tibetan tea bricks. The tea bricks were made of bamboo and rattan. If the tea bags were not put on them, they would be turned over.
When crossing mountains and ridges, the canes will scratch the horse's back."
The old lady glanced at the old man and introduced: "His name is Jia Wa. He has been a child laborer bought by our Guozhuang to help sew tea bags since he was a child. He has served me for most of his life."
"Young man, please don't call me auntie. Call me Ajia. Everyone used to call me that."
As far as I know, "Ajia" is not a personal name, but a title. The hostesses in charge of the 48 Guozhuang in Kangding are all called Ajia.
These female Ajias are very powerful, very capable, and can manage the huge Guozhuang industry chain in an orderly manner. Ajias often keep their word at home.
Those Tibetan businessmen, after moving into Guozhuang, would try their best to please the Ajias and ask them to help sell the local specialties they brought to Han merchants. This kind of business could not be concluded in one or two negotiations and often required many interviews. Ajias wanted both sides.
To help, neither Han merchants can get a big advantage, nor Tibetan merchants suffer too much, so it all relies on the Ajias to talk in both directions, which is a test of interpersonal skills.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the annual net profit of a large pot restaurant could reach 800,000 yuan. What was the concept of 800,000 yuan at that time? A courtyard house in Beijing only cost a few hundred yuan!
Some people are curious and ask, why does the male owner of Guozhuang not care about the family business?
I really don't care.
Because these men must always accompany the chieftain king and serve him, similar to the nature of servants, they are called "service tributes".
For example, if the chieftain fell in love with a little girl from a certain pot shop, he would say: "Wang Sigong, I have fallen in love with this girl from your family and asked her to serve me for two days."
In feudal society, there are different levels, and the latter often dare not refuse.
After thinking about it, I felt that it was not appropriate to call her Ajia directly, so I called her Ajia's mother-in-law.
"The carving of this stone lion is very good. It seems to be from the Ming Dynasty."
"Young man, if you like it, take it. Just give me a hundred yuan."
It's too cheap, but I can't carry it.
Moreover, I am a drunkard and don’t care about drinking. What I want are their family’s ancestral treasures, jade cabbage, Yuci pension brand, and sparrow picture.
The old lady said that these treasures have been sold long ago, but I don't believe it.
My intuition tells me that there must be something good hidden in her home.
