Chapter 220 Wei Shao
The floor-to-ceiling windows were three meters high, and the eaves of the building cut off the skylight like sharp swords. Beams of light shone through the wooden grilles of the windows, and dust was flying.
The entire first floor is almost a square, with the ground paved with flat square bricks, extending hundreds of steps in all directions.
Since there are no beams or pillars, the entire hall is divided into visual spaces by several huge pieces of cloth that are more than ten feet long and wide.
The thick goose down cloth was dyed with the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce's iconic pattern of a ship with waves, which was lifted by the river breeze and shook like waves.
Magnificent and magnificent.
Such a building, built entirely on a tree?
It's just where the tree came from.
It seems that Ran Zhongshi was talking about life?
Liang Qu recalled the key words, scanned the area, turned his head to look at Ran Zhongshi, and pointed at the giant tree: "Life? From childhood to adulthood?"
How did the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce manage to plant such a huge tree in Pingyang County within a few months?
"It's to induce labor. I've seen it somewhere else before."
Ran Zhongshi put away his folding fan and used his palm to make a cylinder in front of his chest.
"If a person hugs a thick sapling and waters it with Tianyuan milk, it will grow to the size you see now in two months.
Moreover, the shape of the Jade Rainbow Bridge Tree is very strange. It grows like a floor, layer by layer, with obvious stratification. It will only grow three layers in two hundred years and will never grow more than that.
So apart from the mother tree in the imperial capital, all the Tianbo buildings you can see elsewhere are three-story buildings. When the trees grow up, the craftsmen will add buildings and wood on top. "
"Two months longer? Doesn't that mean the craftsmen only took a little over a month to build it?"
"It's not as troublesome as you think. Tianbo Chamber of Commerce is very familiar with this system. Most of the buildings are standard. They can be transported to the place and assembled. It will only take more than three months."
Liang Qu's eyes were opened wide and he couldn't stop looking around.
Ran Zhongshi laughed.
“When I was eight years old, I first entered the Tianbo Tower in the imperial capital. The first floor was five meters high, two meters higher than the three meters here. My expression was exactly the same as yours, Brother Liang.
In fact, don’t think it’s that amazing. The Jade Rainbow Bridge Tree is just beautiful and intimidating, but it is not easy to use and is extremely troublesome.
Trees can be stimulated to grow, but they cannot be stopped from growing. Killing them would be a great loss. A living Jade Rainbow Bridge can grow a foot of jade heartwood every year. It is a real good thing.
So every once in a while, we have to repair it, cut off the branches and protruding roots. It costs a lot of money just for maintenance, just for the sake of appearance.”
Ran Zhongshi talked as they walked.
Xiang Fangsu, who was standing next to him, took a fancy to a piece of jade and was bargaining for the price.
There are still two quarters of an hour or half an hour before the auction starts, so there is no need to rush to enter.
Liang Qu went over to take a look and found it to be indeed exquisite. The base was mutton-fat white, with a streak of blood-red floating on the surface of the tripod, as if blood had been dripped into cow's milk.
"Sir, do you like this jade? It's a top-quality blood jade stone, worth a hundred gold coins, it's definitely not expensive."
Liang Qu was startled and subconsciously reached for the banknotes in his arms.
Today he brought out all his belongings, and including his previous accumulations and recent income, the total was only nine hundred and fifty taels.
Exchanging silver for gold is the same as exchanging copper coins for silver, there is a certain premium.
A hundred gold coins, that's actually more than a thousand taels.
Furthermore, he did not feel anything special about the jade; it was clearly an ordinary ornamental piece.
Xiang Fangsu shook her head: "The material is good, but the carver is not. Don't think I'm a country boy. I've seen dragon blood jade that's better than this. It's worth seventy gold."
As soon as he opened his mouth, he cut off more than three hundred taels of silver, which made Liang Qu feel suffocated in his chest.
Ran Zhongshi explained: "In the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce, the first floor mostly makes money from rent and commissions, and anyone can come here to sell things.
The condition is that it has to pass the review of Tianbo Chamber of Commerce, so there is no need to worry about buying fakes. Even if there is a premium, it will not be too much.
When you go to the second floor, you will see the good products sold by Tianbo Chamber of Commerce.
Ordinary paintings, porcelain, jade; high-end precious plants, precious medicines, and treasures. If you want to find someone to make medicine or refine equipment, you can also ask the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce to contact the master on your behalf.
The third floor above is where auctions are held. When there are no auctions, it will be rented out to others. It is good to have a Tianbo Chamber of Commerce in a place. It is indeed much more convenient to do things. "
Liang Qu nodded.
As soon as he walked in, he felt that without a certain population base, he would never make any money from running this business, and it would be a pure loss.
No wonder they are only found in the center of a state or prefecture, and warriors all like to go to big places, which is almost the same as the direction of talent influx in later generations.
After a while, Xiang Fangsu came back carrying a small tripod.
Ran Zhongshi asked with a smile: "How much did it cost?"
"Eighty-four gold. The material is really good. I'll find a good craftsman to redo it and send it back to my mother. She likes blood-red jade."
Ke Wenbin clapped his hands and said, "That reminded me. It's just right. I'll buy two too, one for each of us."
Ran Zhongshi raised his eyebrows: "One for each person? Are you also giving one to your father?"
"Zhong Shi is mistaken. This must be a gift for his fiancée."
Ran Zhongshi raised his voice a few degrees: "Fiancée? When did Wenbin have a fiancée?"
Ke Wenbin smiled without saying a word, and left happily, leaving only his back.
Ran Zhongshi looked at Xiang Fangsu, who curled his lips.
"The day before yesterday, his family sent a letter saying that they had proposed marriage to him. You know her, Zhongshi. She is the granddaughter of Master Su. Her nickname is Su Xiaoran. When she was little, she often followed us around and played with us."
"Oh, I remember that. Damn, this bastard is really good at hiding things! June will ask him to pay for it!"
"That's right, that's right!"
After following Ran Zhongshi for a while, Liang Qu inadvertently saw Xiang Changsong and others who were also strolling in the crowd.
"Brother Ran, Brother Xiang, I see some of my brothers."
The two nodded.
"Senior Yang is the head of the Hebo Institute, and he is also the uncle of Brother Yuelong. He is one of us, so I should go and say hello. We will meet on the third floor."
"Well, see you on the third floor."
After saying goodbye to the two, Liang Qu headed in the direction where he had seen his senior brothers earlier.
Unexpectedly, halfway through the walk, a man suddenly walked out from the side and stopped him.
The man who came was tall and strong, a typical martial artist and came from a well-off family, otherwise he would not have such a physique.
Liang Qu raised his eyebrows: "Brother, what do you mean?"
The visitor raised his hand and bowed, smiling, "My name is Wei Shao. I have always wanted to meet Brother Liang, but unfortunately it was not a coincidence. I never thought that we would meet here by chance."
Last name Wei?
Liang Qu immediately understood the other party's identity.
Everyone knew that Wei Lin liked to adopt sons, but he was not afraid of being in public and bowed in response.
"I wonder what Master Wei wants to talk to me about? My fellow apprentices are right beside us, and I am about to go look for them."
"Brother Liang is in a hurry, so I will tell you directly.
Since ancient times, the power of the second-in-command has been far less than that of the first-in-command.
The deputy lieutenant is not even eligible for the award of great merit, but the principal lieutenant has a certain number of great merit awards every month.
So, come and work with us. As long as you are willing to come, I will give you a Yellow Dragon Pill. What do you think, Brother Liang?"
(End of this chapter)
