The Scam (2)
"One thousand taels?"
The shopkeeper was secretly alarmed; he shouldn't let such a large sum slip by.
"Ahem." The shopkeeper suppressed the turmoil in his heart and pretended to be nonchalant, saying, "Sir, words alone are not enough. I can keep an eye on things for you, but we need to draw up a contract. Would it be alright if you paid a deposit? Otherwise, you might not want the herbs after I receive them!"
The man fanned himself, pondered for a moment, and said, "A written agreement is fine, a deposit is also acceptable. But what if you don't receive it within 15 days?"
"I'll return your deposit in full, just pretend I didn't say anything, okay? Anyway, you're staying here temporarily, and my pharmacy is here too, you can't just run away!"
The shopkeeper's words made sense, and the man nodded, saying, "Alright. But I can only give you one-third of my purchase price as a deposit."
"Alright, alright. As you wish!"
The shopkeeper, bowing and scraping, produced his writing implements and asked for the written agreement. The official, upon seeing it, didn't hesitate and signed the agreement.
After signing the agreement, the man had his attendant take out three hundred taels of silver from the carriage.
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up when he saw the three hundred Snow of silver, and he happily accepted the money, after which the man left.
After carefully putting away the receipt, the shopkeeper quickly had his assistant write a sign that read, "Fingernails for sale, three inches long."
The pharmacy is a bustling place, with many people coming and going every day, and the shopkeeper has never seen anyone with such long fingernails.
Not only did they wait in the shop, but the shopkeeper also sent several employees to search in the surrounding villages outside the city.
Whoever finds it will be rewarded with five taels of silver.
Because of this, the shopkeeper couldn't eat or sleep well, keeping a close eye on the counter every day, afraid of missing anything.
Fourteen days passed in the blink of an eye, and on the last day, the matter of the nail was still unresolved. The shopkeeper felt a pang of sadness, thinking that the gentleman would return tomorrow and return the three hundred taels of silver he had just received.
Just as the shopkeeper was sitting in the shop worrying about his sore throat and mouth blisters, a ragged, smelly hoodlum walked in.
The man entered the door shouting loudly, "Give me an ounce of cardamom!"
Upon hearing this, the pharmacist quickly went to the back to fetch the medicine.
This scoundrel is waiting right behind the counter.
The shopkeeper, already fuming, looked at the ragged, smelly man and became even more enraged, looking up as if he wanted to yell at him.
This scoundrel was leaning against the counter, patting it with one hand while watching the clerk dispense his medicine.
The shopkeeper, who was about to start a tirade, immediately brightened up when he saw the hooligan's filthy hands.
This scoundrel had an unusually long fingernail on his Little Hand, and at first glance, it looked much longer than three inches.
The shopkeeper suppressed the lust in his eyes, walked over to the hooligan, and said softly, "Hey buddy, buying medicine?"
When the loafer saw someone speak to him, he glanced sideways at the shopkeeper and said, "Not buying medicine? Came here to eat? Got a death wish?"
The shopkeeper took one look and thought, "Oh, this is a thug!"
"Bro, can I ask you something?"
The shopkeeper suppressed his disgust and anger, and still greeted them with a smile.
"What are you discussing? Are you treating me to dinner? Hurry up, buddy, wrapping a cardamom pod is taking forever."
This scoundrel didn't want to talk to the shopkeeper and loudly urged the clerk who was dispensing the medicine.
"Brother, let me tell you, even though I won't treat you to a meal, I can make sure you eat well every day for the rest of your life. How about it?"
Upon hearing the shopkeeper's words, the loafer's attitude changed somewhat, and he stopped shouting, "Such a good thing?"
"Of course." The shopkeeper chuckled and stepped out from behind the counter, pointing to the sign above his shop. "Brother, to be honest, take a look at the sign hanging outside my shop."
"Speak your mind, or shut up. I can't read!"
The hooligan's attitude softened slightly, but he immediately reverted to the way he had when he first entered.
Seeing the thug's attitude, the shopkeeper decided not to be polite, since the man couldn't understand polite words. "Well, our pharmacy is currently buying medicinal herbs. We're buying fingernails, and I think your Little Hand is worth a little money. We're going to buy it."
Upon hearing the shopkeeper's words, the hooligan glared at him. "You son of a bitch! Our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents, and these Little Hand are my treasures! Do you know how long these nails have been growing? I'm not selling them, buddy! My medicine isn't ready yet!"
Although the shopkeeper was scolded, he still spoke to the hooligan in a humble tone for the sake of a thousand taels of silver, "Brother, let me tell you, fingernails can grow back, but this opportunity to make money is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Think about it carefully. Look at what you're wearing; it'll get cold soon. You should buy a leather jacket, wouldn't that be better?"
When the shopkeeper mentioned his attire, the loafer hesitated for a moment. Seeing that things were looking promising, the shopkeeper added fuel to the fire and continued to persuade him.
After much pleading, the loafer finally spoke up, "How much?"
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he held up one finger.
The hoodlum looked at it, opened his mouth, and stammered, "Only one tael of silver? No, no, that's too little."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper burst into laughter. "Brother, one tael of silver? I'm not trying to rip you off. I'll offer one hundred taels!"
After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he glanced at the hooligan's expression and realized he was in trouble. He had really gotten a little carried away. The hooligan clearly hadn't expected his nails to be worth so much. Now that he had suddenly quoted such a high price, the hooligan would definitely realize how valuable his nails were and would probably try to rip him off!
Sure enough, upon hearing the price of one hundred taels of silver, the loafer suddenly gleamed and grinned, "Hey shopkeeper, these fingernails of mine are hard to find, aren't they? One hundred taels won't do. I've raised the price; I want five hundred taels! That way, I can buy a house in the city, get married, and even start a business!"
The shopkeeper took one look and realized he was in trouble, so he pretended to wave his hand and said no, it was too expensive, and he wouldn't accept it.
To everyone's surprise, this scoundrel didn't even blink, walked to the counter, picked up his cardamom, and headed out the door.
The shopkeeper, seeing that the man had really left, quickly chased after him, saying, "Brother, brother, wait! Five hundred taels is too much. Let's discuss it again."
"Get lost, don't mess with me, or I'll beat you up." The hooligan ignored him completely, shoved the shopkeeper aside, and continued walking forward.
"Stop, stop, stop! Fine, it'll be five hundred taels it is!"
After saying this, the shopkeeper gritted his teeth. Five hundred taels of capital, five hundred taels of profit, that's good enough. These past few days haven't been a complete waste of time. It's better than having to return the deposit.
When the scoundrel saw that the shopkeeper had agreed, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Still not entirely sure, he checked several times before slapping himself a few more times.
The loud slapping sounds startled the shopkeeper, who immediately closed his eyes.
"Ouch, damn it, this isn't a dream! I'm rich! I want cash, cash!"
"Okay, okay! Cash!"
Seeing that this hooligan seemed a bit crazy, the shopkeeper quickly agreed.
The money was exchanged for the goods; five hundred taels of silver were given to the hooligan, who then cut off his fingernails and handed them to the shopkeeper.