The stall owner looked at the yellow dog with a sneer and a hint of contempt on his face. "What? Changed your mind again? That won't do. Everyone here has seen that your dog has bitten this bowl. Who else would dare to touch it now?"
The yellow dog didn't reply. Instead, it pawed at the silver bowl several times. The bowl made a "clang, clang" sound on the ground. Then it looked at Ye Wanmian and barked twice.
By now, a crowd had gathered around to watch the commotion. To onlookers, the yellow dog's actions seemed to be urging Ye Wanmian to pay for the silver bowl quickly.
But Ye Wanmian somehow understood the message in those dark, beady eyes.
Ye Wanmian used to be the daughter of the Ye family. Ye Changqing, the head of the Ye family, was the imperial censor, a very important official in the capital. The Ye family had a high social status, and she had been accustomed to seeing fine things since childhood.
The yellow dog kept knocking on the silver bowl, and the sound it made when hitting the ground made Ye Wanmian's heart skip a beat.
Something was off about the sound!
She immediately bent down, picked up the silver bowl, and examined it carefully in her hand. Then, hands on hips, she said to the stall owner:
"Boss, that's not fair of you. This bowl is actually made of copper. It only has a silver - like sheen because it's mixed with star sand. Even if it weighs ten taels and three qian, it should be sold at the price of copper. You're asking for nine taels of silver. Who are you trying to swindle?"
Ye Wanmian's voice was so loud that besides the stall owner, everyone in the surrounding crowd could hear her. Their eyes immediately fell on the shiny silver bowl she was holding up.
In the sunlight, the silver bowl glistened, looking truly valuable.
Could it really be made of copper? It couldn't be!
Hey, wait a minute. Something was wrong!
- This bowl was too shiny. It was an unnatural kind of shine!
Surprised that Ye Wanmian had grasped his intention so quickly, Xiao Jingcheng cast an approving look at the girl standing in front of him and barked twice in agreement.
Dogs have extremely sensitive noses. He was able to detect two special scents, which was why he had chosen this bowl.
Silver itself has no smell, but the current copper - smelting techniques give copperware a fishy odor. Even though a large amount of star sand had been added to make the bowl as shiny as silver, it couldn't cover up the original smell of copper.
Therefore, this bowl might look beautiful, but in fact, it was not worth nine taels of silver at all.
The stall owner didn't expect Ye Wanmian to see through the material of the silver bowl at a glance. His face changed slightly, and he was about to argue when Ye Wanmian turned around and shouted to the onlookers behind her:
"Is there anyone who knows about these things? Come and see if I'm right or not!"
"If I'm wrong, I'll pay the nine taels of silver obediently. But if I'm right, the shopkeeper has to sell it at the real price. Otherwise, someone might say I'm trying to force the price down maliciously."
Ye Wanmian's words blocked the stall owner's intention. He was indeed about to say that this young lady was trying to force the price down!
There was indeed someone in the crowd who knew about these things. Hearing this, he immediately pushed to the front, took the bowl from Ye Wanmian's hand, examined it carefully, and then smelled it. He clicked his tongue and said:
"You have good eyesight, young lady. As you said, this bowl is made by mixing star sand. Its material should be copper. The market price of copper is low, but star sand is worth some money. Even so, this bowl is not worth nine taels. It's at most a hundred wen."
The stall owner tried to argue. "Even so, but..."
Ye Wanmian turned around, sighed softly, and lowered her stance a bit. "Actually, I can afford your bowl. But if you sell a copper bowl as a silver one, that's passing off inferior goods as high - quality ones."
"Now there are so many soldiers in the town. The slightest commotion will attract their attention. Boss, you'd better think it through."
As if to echo Ye Wanmian's words, the yellow dog barked loudly twice.
The onlookers around also started to discuss.
"Fortunately, this young lady knows her stuff. She saw at a glance that it was a copper bowl mixed with star sand. Otherwise, we would have been taken for a ride."
"Although the dog is naughty and really likes this bowl, that's no reason for him to ask for an exorbitant price."
"That's right, that's right."
Seeing that the atmosphere had reached this point, Ye Wanmian gave the stall owner another way out. "Boss, you're a straightforward person. Today, let's just make friends, not enemies. Harmony brings wealth. When everyone sees how easy - going you are, they will naturally patronize your stall, right?"
After saying that, she turned around and greeted the onlookers around. "Folks, come and take a look. The goods in this stall are of good quality and low price. They're durable and won't break easily. Whether you use them at home or to entertain guests, they'll make you look good!"
"The most important thing is that the boss has a good temper and gives a fair price. Even ordinary folks like us can use silver - looking bowls!"
Thanks to Ye Wanmian's shouting, quite a few people stepped forward to start selecting bowls from the stall. For a moment, the stall was bustling with activity, and the stall owner was a bit overwhelmed.
Ye Wanmian's move not only saved his face but also brought him a lot of business, far exceeding his expectations.
In the end, the stall owner simply gave the silver bowl to Ye Wanmian for free!
Ye Wanmian put the packed silver bowl into a bamboo basket and squeezed out of the crowd. The yellow dog held its head high, looking like it had won a great victory, while Ye Wanmian secretly let out a sigh of relief.
If it weren't for her quick wits, she would have spent a fortune today!
She had dried so many medicinal herbs and only earned eighty copper coins after selling them. She didn't know how long it would take her to save up nine taels of silver without eating or drinking!
Could it be that Dahuang believed that stinky Taoist priest's words and thought it was really the Celestial Hound from the heavens reincarnated? That's why it had become so picky and thought only a silver bowl was worthy of its status as the king of dogs?
- Although the quality of this bowl was not as good as those she had used in the Ye family in the capital, and the boss finally didn't charge her, it was still the most valuable thing in their family!
"Dahuang, you've been so disobedient today!" Ye Wanmian said angrily, hands on hips, to the yellow dog looking so proud beside her. "How could you just take something from someone else without my permission?"
"Fortunately, it wasn't a pure - silver bowl. If it were, even if I sold myself, I couldn't afford it!"
Ye Wanmian looked extremely pained.
"You got your way today. After we get home, you have to take good care of your bowl. Don't keep knocking it over like you did yesterday. Do you hear me?"
Xiao Jingcheng didn't take her words to heart. At this moment, he was actually a bit curious about the girl beside him.
He had only known her for two days and didn't know much about her. Based on the existing clues, he only knew that she was married, now lived alone in Dongli Town, might have lived in the capital before, and had met him on some occasion and had a feud with him.
Anyone who could meet him in the capital must have a high social background. From the fact that she could easily tell the quality of the silver bowl just now, he knew that she had quite good taste in appreciation.
However, her words and actions were so rough and unrestrained that she didn't seem to be like the dignified and virtuous noble ladies in the capital at all.
This woman was full of mysteries and contradictions everywhere.
This was interesting.