lcionline Chapter 120 A Pie Falling from the Sky!
Chapter 120 A Pie Falling from the Sky!
After chatting with Yinshuang for a while, and waiting until she seemed to be in a better mood, Su Mowan got up and went back to her bedroom in the main house.
A good night's sleep.
Early the next morning.
Qinghe brought in water and asked in a low voice, "Consort Su, what's wrong with Yinshuang? She looks like she didn't sleep well last night; she looks terrible."
Su Mowan got dressed and washed her face before saying, "You're still young, you don't understand. You'll understand when you're older."
Qinghe was most unhappy that Consort Su said she was still young, even though Yinshuang wasn't much older than her, so she immediately snorted.
"You not only didn't tell me, but you also made up this excuse to fob me off."
Su Mowan smiled and shook her head, saying nothing more.
This is ultimately Yinshuang's own business. If Yinshuang wants to say something, she will tell Qinghe herself. If Yinshuang doesn't want to, it wouldn't be good for her to tell Qinghe now.
After everything was settled, Su Mowan took Qinghe out of the mansion and gave Yinshuang a day off.
Qinghe, unsure of her purpose, asked softly, "Consort Su, where are we going? It's not somewhere we shouldn't be, is it?"
When Qinghe said "places that shouldn't be visited," she was actually referring to places that Murong Jing didn't want Su Mowan to go.
Su Mowan stepped onto the carriage.
"It's not a place we can't go, just the place where we bought that painting last time, Moxianzhai."
This time, Qinghe finally understood. She knew that Consort Su wanted to buy all the paintings in Moxiangzhai and then open a painting studio.
On their way to Moxianzhai, they passed a jewelry shop. Su Mowan got off to take a look before getting back into the carriage and continuing towards Moxianzhai.
The ink-fragrant study was much quieter than it had been the previous two days.
The owner was an elderly gentleman in his sixties who was tidying up his paintings. He stopped what he was doing when he saw someone come in.
He recognized Su Mowan at a glance.
"Oh, it's you, young lady! Old Qin said you were coming today, but I didn't expect you to arrive so early!"
Su Mowan was a little surprised that the shop owner still remembered her, even though she had only bought a painting there once.
Seeing her surprise, the shopkeeper put down the painting in his hand and said with a smile, "Young lady, you are so beautiful. Although we only met once, I remember you very well."
It seems she has a good memory.
Su Mowan smiled as well.
She cut to the chase: "Shopkeeper Qin must have already told you what I meant, right? What is your opinion, sir?"
"No rush, young lady. Take a look at these paintings first, and then decide whether you want to buy them."
The owner of Moxianzhai said, gesturing for Su Mowan to wander around.
Su Mowan admired the boss's work style and thought he would happily start discussing prices.
Who knew, this boss was actually quite honest.
Su Mowan couldn't refuse their kindness, so she immediately started browsing. The paintings covered three walls, totaling about forty or fifty in total.
"Sir, besides these hanging on the wall, is there nothing else?"
The boss shook his head.
"I've sold quite a few at a low price these past few days, and only these are left hanging. But if you need more, I can introduce you to a source."
Su Mowan smiled and declined, "There's no need to trouble you, sir."
Her original intention was to buy all the goods at once if she had stockpiled them, but since she didn't have any, she would buy what the store had first.
"I think these paintings are quite good, but I don't know much about which painter they are by, so please tell me your price, sir."
Seeing that she was sincere about buying and wanted to buy everything at once, the shopkeeper acted very decisively and only hesitated for a moment.
"To be honest, young lady, about half of the paintings here are by famous artists, but I have already sold quite a few at a low price. Since you are so sincere in wanting to buy, I will make it one hundred taels per painting."
Qinghe almost gasped in surprise when she heard that each piece cost one hundred taels of silver.
It's not that I think it's expensive, but...
Too cheap!
Last time, that one painting alone cost three thousand taels. This time, there are at least forty paintings. Although they are relatively ordinary, when combined, each painting only costs one hundred taels.
Buying them all would only cost about five thousand taels!
Not only was Qinghe surprised, but even Su Mowan found the price unbelievably low.
She even brought 10,000 taels of the 100,000 taels of silver notes she had swindled from Murong Jing with her, but... it was all for nothing.
Qinghe alone had five thousand taels hidden in her sleeve.
To be able to buy so many paintings for only four or five thousand taels of silver is like a pie falling from the sky.
Although it was a business transaction, Su Mowan still felt a little guilty after thinking about it: "Sir, your price is so cheap, aren't you losing too much money?"
After all, doing business requires capital, and in the calligraphy and painting industry, the capital required is probably not low.
The shopkeeper waved his hand and said with a helpless smile, "Losing more or less is still losing. Luckily, the young lady was willing to buy them all, otherwise, wouldn't it have been an even bigger loss for me to keep them?"
That makes sense.
Su Mowan immediately made the decision: "Then it's a deal. Qinghe, go and count the quantity to see how many there are in total."
Qinghe turned and left.
The owner of Moxianzhai breathed a sigh of relief; at least he had recovered some of his costs.
Before long, Qinghe finished counting: "Consort Su, there are a total of thirty-six paintings and twelve calligraphy pieces!"
That is, a total of forty-eight, or four thousand eight hundred taels of silver notes.
Su Mowan stood up and gestured for Qinghe to take out the money.
Qinghe understood, took out a large stack of silver notes from her wide sleeves, took out two, and handed the rest to the shopkeeper.
Su Mowan smiled and said, "Please count it, sir, and see if the number is correct."
The shopkeeper smiled and accepted the order, saying readily, "No need to order. Consort Su of the Prince of Qin's mansion wouldn't fool a commoner like me."
After saying that, he instructed the two shop assistants to carefully handle the calligraphy and paintings.
When should I send it to you?
So you can even deliver to my door?
Su Mowan quickly refused, "We've already taken such a big advantage of the old gentleman, so why don't you move the calligraphy and paintings yourself? How about we come and pick them up at noon today?"
"Alright, alright, then it'll be noon! By then it should be all packed up."
The boss agreed.
Su Mowan smiled and said goodbye. She left Moxiangzhai lightly, in a great mood.
Qinghe stuffed the two silver notes into her sleeve and sighed as she walked, "Consort Su, this feels so unreal. That painting last time cost a full three thousand taels!"
"Nothing about it is unreal."
Su Mowan turned to Qinghe and smiled, "When these paintings and calligraphy are sold by me, you'll find it even more unreal."
Qinghe had witnessed Consort Su's ability to inflate prices.
Especially with the example of the clothing store, she had no doubt that this batch of calligraphy and paintings would fetch an astonishing price in Consort Su's hands!
Su Mowan went straight back to the Prince's Mansion and then sent someone to bring the calligraphy and paintings back. She only recognized Feng Yue and Steward Luo among the people handling affairs at the mansion.
Presumably, Feng Yue didn't have time to deal with such a trivial matter, so Su Mowan went directly to Butler Luo.