Chen Lanyi is a down-and-out scholar. Her parents died early. With the savings at home, she participated in three palace examinations in a row. She was all lost and spent all her money. In the end, she could only make a living by selling calligraphy and paintings and writing letters. Because her family was poor, she was still alone in her twenties.
On this day, it was getting late. Chen Lanyi was about to close the stall and go home. A girl came to the painting stall. Looking closely, she saw that the girl was seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed simply and had a handsome face, but there was a hint of sadness between her eyebrows.
"Sir, my mother wants to ask someone to write a letter on her behalf. I wonder if it will be convenient for you tomorrow?" said the girl. When business comes to your door, Chen Lanyi is naturally very happy: "Miss, please leave your address, I will definitely visit you tomorrow."
"Thank you, sir, my family will go east along this road to Yulin Lane, turn left and arrive." After the girl said that, she hurried back.
Chen Lanyi remembered the address in her heart and walked back. It was already time for Xu and it was completely dark. Before leaving the city, Chen Lanyi felt hungry and thirsty. Chen Lanyi remembered that if you walked more than a mile and there was a tavern on the side of the road, where the food was both affordable and cheap. Chen Lanyi endured her hunger and walked for more than a mile. When she arrived at the tavern, she was stunned - "Pawnshop No. 7", and a sign that was not very conspicuous came into her eyes.
Every time Chen Lanyi comes, she will pass by the tavern here, "When did she open a pawn shop? Where did the original tavern go? Are you quit?" I thought to myself that I could only endure the hunger and continue walking home.
In order not to affect the stall setting up and make more money, Chen Lanyi arrived at the girl's house early the next morning as the way she pointed out. Unexpectedly, when she went in, Chen Lanyi was stunned. The girl's house was barely barefoot, and there was not even a decent table. A middle-aged woman was lying on the bed.
Through chat, I learned that the girl's name is Xiao Cui. The middle-aged woman lying down is Xiao Cuiniang. After the greetings between the two sides, Xiao Cuiniang said, "I have been overworked in the past two years and have been in poor health. I am sick in bed. Xiao Cui's father usually makes some money by helping others slaughtering livestock, but he is addicted to gambling and has never taken a penny of the money home. As long as he has money in his hand, he will go to gamble and will only come back after losing all the money. It was not until two days ago that he came back with a sad face that he learned that he borrowed 100 taels of usury for gambling. After the repayment period is reached, the principal and interest will be paid back 150 taels, but there is nothing at home, so what can I pay it back? Seeing that the usury cannot be paid off when it expires, not only did he be beaten up, but the creditor said he would also sell Xiao Cui to pay off the debt. I came to you this time, just to write a letter to Xiao Cui's uncle to see if I can borrow some money to deal with the emergency. In fact, we know that Xiao Cui's uncle has no money, just treats it as a living horse. If you can't borrow money, you can only sell Xiao Cui, or find a rich man to marry as a concubine and exchange for some bride price. "After saying that, Xiao Cui's mother shook her head helplessly.
After listening to it, Xiao Cui shed tears of sadness.
"How can I exchange my girl's life happiness for money?" Chen Lanyi replied.
"What can I do? This is also what her father meant. If you don't repay the loan shark, Xiao Cui will still be sold!"
Chen Lanyi wrote the letter based on what Xiao Cuiniang told me, and returned without taking the reward. In this situation, how could she still bear to collect the money? Walking on the street, Chen Lanyi was in a state of peace for a long time, "If I have money, I might be able to help them. Miss Xiaocui is also a good person. If I have money, it would be better to marry Xiaocui home. But I only earned a few coins a day, so where can I get so much money?" Thinking in my mind, Chen Lanyi had arrived at the stall and started a day's business, but she was thinking about how to earn some money to marry Xiaocui home all day. The dazed day passed like this.
Before I knew it, it was dark again. On the way back, I walked to the tavern again. "Pawn Shop No. 7", "The original tavern was really changed to a pawn shop? There was still some old furniture at home. Go in and ask if you can exchange some money, so I can help Xiao Cui!"
thought to myself, Chen Lanyi pushed the door and found that there was no one on the counter of this pawn shop. Yes, there were few customers in the middle of winter, so there were no need to be guarded all the time! He thought to himself, and shouted, "Shopkeeper, the shopkeeper..."
shouted for a long time before a tall middle-aged man in his forties slowly walked out from behind. His face was dull, skinny, and his eyes narrowed into slits, as if he had just woken up. When he walked up to him, he bent his waist and his voice was hoarse: "Young Master, I have been waiting for you for a long time."
Chen Lanyi glanced at the middle-aged man and asked: "Shopkeeper, can you use this as old furniture?"
"Young Master, I'm sorry, we only treat one thing here, which is time." The shopkeeper replied slowly. "Interesting, I know that pawn shops can be used as many things, and I have never heard of having time." Seeing Chen Lanyi confused, the shopkeeper grinned and said, "Customers can give us an hour a day, and we only act as dead." When
When he said this, Chen Lanyi felt that his mouth was empty and a little scary. However, he couldn't help but wonder and asked, "Being time? How to be the method?" The shopkeeper stretched out a slap and said, "A hour is 50 taels of silver."
! "Chen Lanyi widened her eyes, "Are you saying true? "You must know that you have worked hard and exposed to the wind and sun, and you may not be able to earn 50 taels of silver in two years. It just so happens that you need money now.
"Is that the service for you this time? "
The shopkeeper replied: "No need to do anything, because once you get it out, there are only eleven hours left every day. That hour may be spent unconsciously during your sleep. "
" is so easy, a good thing! "Chen Lanyi's heart moved and decided to try the truth for an hour first. "If I want to do it, when will the money be obtained? "
" now! "After saying that, the shopkeeper turned around and returned to the inner room, and then came out again. At this moment, he had an extra tray in his hand, and 50 taels of silver were neatly placed in the tray.
"Okay, I'll do it! "Chen Lanyi hasn't seen so much money for a long time, and her voice is a little trembling. It's really a pie that falls from the sky!
When Chen Lanyi packs up the money and walks out of the pawn shop, her legs become weak and she doesn't sit on the ground. "I'm either dreaming or having a great fortune. He thought again, would he ask me to take the money away first and then find someone halfway before taking it back? "
He looked around and there was nothing unusual. He hurried back with the silver with a nervous mood. Nothing happened along the way.
When he woke up the next day, Chen Lanyi found that 50 taels of silver was still there, and then he confirmed that he was not dreaming last night. He did not set up a stall that day, but invited Xiao Cui out for a meal.
Xiao Cui said: "Thank you, sir, for helping write letters yesterday! The letter has been sent out, but I know that my uncle must not have that much money, so I have to think of other ways. "
" Xiao Cui, don't worry, there are 50 taels of silver here, you can take it first, and I will find a way to find the rest. "
Xiao Cui refused again and refused to accept it, but when she thought of her future destiny, she stared at the 50 taels of silver with longing.
Chen Lanyi looked at Xiao Cui's expression and knew that the money was far from enough, so she simply waited for her to save up 150 taels of silver for her.
Chen Lanyi sold it for an hour, but she lived every day as before. What's the difference? He didn't think it was strange. Did he suspect that the pawnshop shopkeeper really took away his hour? Only God knows. Since that's the case, what's wrong if he sells another hour? Then he will be one step closer to Bang Xiaocui.
Chen Lanyi thought about it and walked into the "Pawnshop No. 7" again and again. The shopkeeper was still deserted, and the shopkeeper was sitting there. When he saw Chen Lanyi coming in, he looked expressionless and said slowly: "You are here! "It seems like I know he's coming.Chen Lanyi couldn't care so much, so she said directly, "I'll be another hour!"
The shopkeeper's eyes twitched, then squinted slightly, and said firmly, "Yes, but I want your daytime!"
Chen Lanyi was a little surprised when she heard this, thinking, I couldn't afford this guy, and said, "Yes, but I want 100 taels of silver!"
Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper nodded happily.
Chen Lanyi had the 100 taels of silver, and just made up 150 taels to help Xiao Cui’s father pay off the loan shark. Xiao Cui’s father promised to marry Xiao Cui to him and set a date for his marriage.
Two months later, and a series of strange things happened. Chen Lanyi obviously felt that the time of day had become much shorter. What's even more terrifying is that Chen Lanyi looked at the mirror one morning and looked at the wrinkles in the corners of her eyes, the more white hair appeared on her head, and the white temples became. She seemed to have grown 10 years old all of a sudden.
is related to the selling time? Chen Lanyi was so scared that she quickly calculated that she didn't know. She was shocked when she calculated that she was three months less than a normal person in a year, but she became 10 years older after three months. Could it be that the shopkeeper was secretly making trouble?
He angrily found the pawnshop shopkeeper and asked, "I have only sold for two hours. Why do I feel like I am 10 years older?"
The shopkeeper opened his empty mouth expressionlessly and replied, "The world, everything, the sun rises and sunsets, all have rules, but you have not followed the times and violated nature. Without the nourishment of heaven and earth, you naturally grow old quickly."
"Then why didn't you explain it to me clearly at that time?" Chen Lanyi felt cold on her back when she heard this.
"You are eager to get money, but you have never asked me!" The shopkeeper stretched out his slender hand, patted him, and turned around and left. Chen Lanyi looked at his back in annoyance, feeling panic in his heart.
When he got home, he felt more angry the more he thought about it. It was not cost-effective to sell the time so cheaply. He decided that he could not just forget it and must settle the score with the shopkeeper.
That night, Chen Lanyi came to the pawnshop. There was no one inside. He opened the door leading to the inside, but saw a coffin placed inside. There was a spiritual seat directly behind the coffin. Chen Lanyi suddenly became nervous, "A big living person put a coffin in the room. It would be silver inside, so he used a coffin to cover up his eyes and ears." Thinking of this, Chen Lanyi slowly pushed open the lid of the coffin and looked down. The pawnshop lying inside the coffin was a pawnshop shopkeeper with no blood on his face, as if he had been dead for a long time.
"Ah!" Chen Lanyi was shocked. It turned out that the shopkeeper had already...he bought time and must have wanted to return to the world! Thinking of this, Chen Lanyi wanted to escape. But it was too late, and a withered hand suddenly stretched out from the coffin, like vise , which jammed his neck. "Since you know everything, don't think about leaving here!" The pawnshop shopkeeper who sat up from the coffin was speaking. Chen Lanyi struggled, wanting to beg for mercy, but felt increasingly weak and finally lost consciousness...
When he woke up, he was already sitting in the pawnshop, holding a feather duster in his hand.
"A customer comes to the door, go and greet him." The shopkeeper urged beside him, and Chen Lanyi obediently agreed to walk away, "Yes, the shopkeeper."
One day a month later, Chen Lanyi was working in the store. When he heard footsteps coming in, he looked up and couldn't help but be slightly stunned. It was Xiao Cui who walked in. I saw that her eyes were black, her eyes were empty and dull, and she was so haggard that she walked straight to the shopkeeper and said, "I'll be the one more hour."
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