Sanxiang is worried about the autumn colors on the temples, and facing the bright moon when returning from thousands of miles away.
——Excerpt from "Late Ezhou" by Lu Lun (Tang Dynasty)
…
In these years of war and chaos, business is not easy to do. The owner has long been interested in selling the store, but he has no one to take over.
Seeing Bai Fu's inquiry, the shopkeeper was quite happy. He first verbally agreed on behalf of his employer, and then asked the clerk to go out quickly and report to his employer.
Princess Qingluan was so anxious that she quickly pulled Bai Fu aside and said, "Master Fu, where are you from?
There is a saying that goes, "Buy gold in troubled times, and hide antiques in prosperous times." Have you heard of it? Now that the war is uncertain, it is safe to have gold in hand.
Even if you have money, you can’t do this badly?”
Bai Fu said with a smile: "In the early years, I followed the Grand Tutor as a guest at the mansions of Dugu, Changsun and others. The rich families all have a hobby of collecting antiques.
Although the Dugu family does not often appear in the antique market, the collection of the Dugu family is recognized as being of the highest quality.
The Dugu family follows the rules that ordinary people follow, but the Dugu family does the opposite. The old clan leader Dugu believes that troubled times are the best time to collect antiques. At this time, sellers are eager to sell, and the prices are low, and even treasures that are never shown to others will appear in the world.
.
In the peaceful and prosperous age, the trend of collecting became popular. Not only did the price of antiques remain high, but there were also too many fakes, and there were a lot of fakes.
These old objects in the hands of the Dugu family were collected during the troubled times of the Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, and late Sui Dynasties."
Princess Qingluan thought about it and realized that it made sense, but she was still uneasy and asked: "But you have never opened an antique shop, let alone a trustworthy, experienced and reliable palm-eye master.
This business is very deep, aren't you worried about buying fake products when you receive the goods and losing the business?"
Bai Fu smiled slightly and asked: "Your Highness, let me ask you this. How do you know that the royal jade seal of the Han Dynasty just now is an old fake, and that the bronze mirror and bronze tripod are genuine?"
Princess Qingluan said coquettishly: "It's been so long, why did you still take the exam for me? Well, I'll tell you.
To be honest, I don’t know how to tell. But if you hold it in your hand and look at it a few times, you can roughly judge it. If it is a fake, it doesn’t feel right.”
Bai Fu put his hands on his hands and smiled and said, "That's the crux! There is a saying from Tai Tu, 'If you are used to seeing first-class things, you will look down on second- and third-class things.'
The shopkeeper of an antique shop must start as an apprentice and practice distinguishing real and fake antiques every day. After decades, he can become a master.
Although you members of the royal family do not deliberately do this process, in your daily life, everything you come into contact with is the first-class items in the world.
You can tell at a glance whether it's a good thing or not. Isn't this the best palm-eye master in the world?"
Princess Qingluan suddenly realized it. Her eyes flashed, she glared at Bai Fu, and said in a feint, "The young master's plan is to let me be your palm master!
I wonder how much bride price the owner is prepared to pay?"
Princess Qingluan said something interesting. The two looked at each other and laughed heartily.
Soon, the owner of the antique shop arrived in person and quoted the transfer price. Before Bai Fu could respond, Princess Qingluan had already gone to bargain in person.
One of the two parties sincerely wanted to buy, the other wanted to sell urgently, so Bai Fu was generous. The owner of the antique shop was very happy and quickly reached a consensus.
Bai Fu paid the deposit and agreed to bring someone to take inventory within three days to determine the final transfer price.
After the sale was over, Bai Fu picked out several pieces of jewelry for Princess Qingluan. They were all old items from the former Sui Dynasty, and Princess Qingluan couldn't put them down.
On the way back, Princess Qingluan said angrily: "I said it was a gift for you, but why did it turn into buying jewelry for me? How can I repay this debt in the future?"
Bai Fu smiled but did not answer.
…
Two days later, two brothers, Li Yan and Li Qiu, sons of King Qing, came to visit him.
The three of them exchanged pleasantries and got down to business.
Li Yan said: "Brother Fu, we have all heard about your management of the 'Jinzouyuan'. The high profits of 'quick money' are really exciting."
To be honest, after the An Lushan Rebellion, all the savings of Prince Qing’s Mansion for many years were plundered, and now they are left with nothing. On the surface, Prince Qing’s Mansion still looks good, but in fact, it has long been unable to make ends meet.
I came to see Brother Fu today just to see if there is any other business that can help my two brothers."
Bai Fuqi said: "As far as I know, in addition to the income from the farm and the salary from the court, the Qing Palace has so many properties and shops in Chang'an that other princes can't match them. Aren't the shops where I bought polo equipment all belong to the Qing Palace?
?
Why can’t you make ends meet today?”
Li Qiu sighed: "Most of these shops were burned down. Even if they are still there, the contents inside have been looted long ago. More importantly, many shopkeepers and clerks died in the war, and there was no one who could help.
People."
Bai Fu said: "I do have business here, but I am afraid that I have condescended to the two princes and it will not be heard well."
Li Yan waved his hand and said: "At the moment, don't talk about face. Even Princess Yuzhen, the sister of the Supreme Emperor, Li Yu, the son of Prince Ning, King of Hanzhong, Li Bin, the doctor of Yinqing Guanglu and other royal family members who are more noble than us are all here.
Looking for ways to open source.”
Li Qiu said: "Brother Fu, if you have any good business, take us with you. If we hadn't encountered difficulties, we two brothers wouldn't be able to open our mouths."
Seeing this, Bai Fu explained his idea of an antique store.
The two brothers Li Yan and Li Qiu were overjoyed and said: "This business is good, decent and effortless, and more importantly, our brothers are good at it! Brother Fu, the matter of 'entering the memorial hall' is over.
You have to take us brothers with you in this matter."
Bai Fu smiled and said: "Don't be busy, I haven't finished talking yet. In order to complement the antique store, I plan to open a pawn shop. Only when there are incomings and outgoings can this business be turned around."
Otherwise, all the collections in this antique shop will be sold out, and the business will no longer continue."
Li Yan asked curiously: "Why don't you just collect antiques directly from an antique shop, but use a pawn shop to collect them?"
Bai Fu said: "This is what I think. People who come to antique shops to buy antiques must be high-ranking officials or literati. Therefore, antique shops should be opened in bustling and busy cities, and the store decoration should be either magnificent or elegant.
There are generally two types of people who sell antiques: those who steal and rob with shady backgrounds; and those who have family difficulties and pawn their ancestral property to make a living.
The first kind of people are afraid of seeing the public, and the second kind of people are afraid of seeing their old neighbors. Both of these people are not willing to appear in the luxurious antique shops in the downtown area, but are willing to close their doors and trade in the pawnshops in the corners."
Brothers Li Yan and Li Qiu looked at each other and said, "Brother Fu understands human nature well and is worthy of being a soldier.
In "The Biography of Huo Shi", Tai Shigong regarded Bai Gui, the Prime Minister of the Wei State, as the "ancestor of Shang" and "the ancestor of life management".
Brother Fu, maybe you are of Bai Gui’s lineage and have the legacy of our ancestors.”
Bai Fu laughed and said seriously: "The genealogy of my family is impossible to trace. But if it is really a descendant of Bai Xiang, then I will be deeply honored.
Shopping malls are like battlefields.
Bai Xiang is resourceful and adaptable, brave enough to make decisions, benevolent enough to give and take, and able to defend territory. His merchant skills have reached the realm of civilization, and are not far different from Sun Tzu's art of war. He can be called the "way of business"!
If I can have the power of Bai Xiangyi, I can also contribute a small amount to the Tang Dynasty."