ps: Thanks to bnss for the reward, and thanks to fellow Taoists for their monthly votes for encouragement.
Li Laoshi and Liang Xingxia negotiated prices while Zhao Ran sat on the sidelines and watched. This was the way to do business. If he, the boss, went directly to negotiate, there would be no room for maneuver.
After watching for a while, Zhao Ran suddenly became fond of Liang Xingxia. This man was really a businessman, and he did not use his noble status to pressure others. When bargaining, all he mentioned was the value of the house, such as the location and the size of the house.
, the cost of the original construction, the wood and stone used, etc. Even if the argument is red-faced, it is all about business.
After cutting for a long time, Liang Xingxia just reduced the price to 6,800 taels, which was of course unsatisfactory, so Zhao Ran called Li Laoshi back and invited Liang Xingxia to drink.
Naturally, such a large deal cannot be accomplished overnight. Both parties need time to re-evaluate the other party's bottom line. Liang Xingxia had already booked a restaurant, so he immediately invited Zhao Ran to a restaurant in the next street.
After three rounds of wine and five tastes of food, Zhao Ran turned to Liang Xingxia.
"As far as I know, the Liang family belongs to a large family in the Xia Kingdom. I heard that Brother Liang is the nephew of the current Queen Mother?" If there is some background in the family, at least eight out of ten people like to mention "Who is my ancestor?"
"Who is who?" and "Who is who in my family?" Although the remaining two are not mentioned, others will be very happy when they mention them. This relationship was told by Li Laoshi to Zhao Ran, so Zhao Ran mentioned it.
Find something to talk about.
As expected, Liang Xingxia fell into the trap and said proudly: "Yes, my grandfather is the fifth son of Duke Wen Jing and the uncle of the former Prime Minister. After all, I should call the Queen Mother my aunt."
"Sure enough, he is a royal relative, so disrespectful and disrespectful!" Zhao Ran raised his glass in respect.
After a few glasses of wine, Liang Xingxia began to reminisce about his illustrious family background under the guidance of Zhao Ran. Zhao Ran sat aside with expressions of surprise on his face from time to time, or clapped his hands in admiration. He gave full play to the role of compliments, which greatly increased Liang Xingxia's conversation.
Talking endlessly.
Unknowingly, he drank two kilograms of wine. Zhao Ran was fine, but Liang Xingxia was already drunk.
After reminiscing about the journey to the west, without the need for Zhao Ran to continue to guide, Liang Xingxia naturally talked about the reasons for his current downfall. This is also the key issue that Zhao Ran is most concerned about, so that he can judge the other party's bottom line for bargaining.
In fact, when Liang Xingxia was young, his father held a high position as the deputy envoy of Duzhi, and his family was still as prominent as before. However, one time he failed in an errand and offended his cousin, who was the queen at the time. He was directly dismissed from office, so Liang Xingxia's branch
It declined. After Liang Xingxia became the head of the family, the family could no longer make ends meet, so he simply started a business. At first, the business was still good, but in the past two years, it has suffered repeated setbacks, losing a large amount of money, and now it is heavily in debt.
He asked for a loan from relatives and friends in the clan, but no one paid attention to him. He had to sell his ancestral home to pay off the debt.
Liang Xingxia had been very depressed in the past two years, and today he finally found someone who was willing to listen to his story. He was very happy, and he poured out his bitterness to Zhao Ran, wiping more than a handful of tears during the dinner.
By the end of the banquet, Liang Xingxia was completely drunk. He held Zhao Ran's hand, widened his eyes and said, "Brother, you are a righteous man... I am very happy today to meet such a... straight person like my brother."
…”
Zhao Ran was so embarrassed that he just kept saying "Hmm", "Oh", "Oh", "I see" and "What a pity". He didn't really say much, so he didn't know he would make such a comment.
"...We Xia people speak straightforwardly. We like...like to deal with straightforward people..." Liang Xingxia burped, shook his head and said: "To tell you the truth, I owe five thousand taels of silver, and that's why I sold my house.
To repay the debt, brother, you just need to...just help me pay off the debt and take the house away, and I won't even frown on you brother, if I do I will be your grandson!"
Li Laoshi immediately pulled the corner of Zhao Ran's clothes and stuffed a stack of silver notes over him.
Although the banknotes were issued by the Ming Dynasty Bank, merchants in the Ming Dynasty often used them as collateral in the Xia Kingdom. When encountering large transactions, they would first hand over the banknotes and then redeem them after the cash arrived. This is
A common practice for doing business between enemy countries.
Another person might have completed the deal directly at the wine table, but Zhao Ran was not the one. He always believed that there were countless things discussed at the wine table, and even if he signed a contract, it would be unreliable. Liang Xingxia was obviously drunk.
, even if a deal is reached now, there will definitely be all kinds of troubles when he wakes up afterwards. Today's goal has been achieved, the other party's details have been found out, and we can talk about business when the other party is sober, even if he pays more money, he is not afraid, as the saying goes.
Win-win is win-win. If you only want to take advantage of yourself, you will only lose in the end.
Therefore, Zhao Ran shook his head and returned the banknote to Li Laoshi. Li Laoshi was so anxious that he scratched his ears and cheeks and stared.
Liang Xingxia saw him from the side again, blowing his beard and saying: "Brother, what do you mean, you don't believe me, you think I, uh, am drunk? Or do you think five thousand taels is too expensive?"
Zhao Ran explained: "This house is more than five thousand taels. If you really sell it to me, brother, it will be a big loss. Your brother treats me as a brother. How can I, a brother, cheat me? I will wait until I grow old tomorrow.
Brother, wake up and let’s talk about the business.”
Liang Xingxia laughed and said, "I said I saw the right person! Well, I'm telling you, I'm really not drunk. If you don't believe it, I brought the house deed with me!" After saying that, he took out the house deed from his arms and took a picture of it.
On the table, he said loudly: "Brother, look at it, if there is any problem, I will cut off your head!"
Amidst the laughter, Liang Xingxia tilted his head and fell asleep with his head hanging on the back of the chair, his snoring loudly.
Li Laoshi stepped forward, picked up the house deed, checked it carefully, nodded and said: "There is no problem with the house deed, just go to the official to get it done." He looked at Liang Xingxia again and sighed: "It's a pity that he was drunk, otherwise he would be drunk.
Now go to the government to do it."
Zhao Ran shook his head and said: "That's not how business works. You've also seen the house. Five thousand taels is too little. Let's not talk about it for now. Let's send him back." So he asked Li Laoshi to stuff the house deed back.
Liang Xingxia was in his arms.
Liang Xingxia lives not far away. In order to sell his house, he has rented a small courtyard. He has not even paid the rent yet and is just waiting for the rent to be paid after the house is sold. Liang Xingxia's wife Liang Zuoshi and an old man
The servant came out and helped him back. The landlord in the yard next door heard the commotion and came out to take a look. Then he cursed: "I drink all day long, and I owe the rent for two months!" After cursing, he went back.
Liang Zuo's face turned red with embarrassment on the spot.
Early the next morning, Zhao Ran and Li Laoshi came to the small courtyard where Liang Xingxia rented. The old servant who opened the door was the old servant they saw yesterday. The old servant welcomed the two into the courtyard and went to the main room to call Liang Xingxia. Liang Xingxia had just woken up.
, I just have a headache after committing a crime, and now I am still lying in bed. When I heard that Zhao Ran came to visit, I hurriedly dressed and washed.
Mrs. Liang Zuo had already brought out a tray with two cups of hot tea. The old servant brought out two more small stools, rubbed his hands and asked Zhao Ran and Li Laoshi to take their seats.
Zhao Ran looked at the small courtyard. There were only three rooms, and the patio was less than three feet in diameter. At the east end was a closed door, leading to the main courtyard where the landlord lived next door. Everything looked very shabby. .
Liang Xingxia hurriedly came out of the main room and handed over to Zhao Ran: "Brother is here? We are not welcome." After saying that, he took out the house deed and handed it over: "This is the house deed of Nana house. Let's go to Kaifeng now. The government issued a guarantee for five thousand taels. Brother, I don’t want a penny more from you.”
Zhao Ran waved his hand and said: "Brother Liang, don't be busy. I'm here today not to talk about the house..." Nodding to Li Laoshi, Teacher Li held up a small wooden box and handed it to Liang Xingxia. Liang Xingxia opened it and took a look. I was stunned immediately.
Zhao Ran smiled and said: "I went to the next door in the morning and bought this small courtyard together with the landlord's main courtyard. It is a meeting gift from me to my brother. Whether the matter of the house will be successful or not is another matter. This is my brother. I hope I won't refuse. The landlord next door is cleaning up the house and preparing to move out. He promised that I can move in in the afternoon. Then the wall will be opened to make it more spacious. "
Liang Xingxia was stunned: "How did this happen?"
Zhao Ran smiled: "Why can't I do it? It's only a matter of a few hundred taels, so don't be dissatisfied."
Liang Zuo looked at Liang Xingxia eagerly from the side. Liang Xingxia was holding the wooden box in his hand. He was speechless for a while, but his eyes gradually turned red. (To be continued...)