Chapter 37: It's Impossible to Measure the Sea with a Bushel (Part 1)

  Under everyone's expectant gaze, Wang Lao Hu opened the wooden box and took out a delicate, crystal-clear glass bottle with a slender neck.

  This glittering bottle in the sunlight is actually transparent! Everyone was shocked. It's worth noting that although glass bottles aren't very valuable, it's said that only a few top craftsmen from Beijing's Liuli Factory can produce transparent ones.

  "This is not from Liuli Chang." Seeing the admiring glances of the crowd, Wang Lao Hu said with great pride: "This is from a place thousands of miles away, across the ocean, and only less than 100 are left in our Great Ming." The sound of gasps echoed throughout the room.

  At that time, the aristocracy and common people all valued luxury, from high-ranking officials to ordinary citizens, none of whom did not consider colorful things beautiful. Therefore, this colorless vase was not very attractive to the people present. The reason why everyone reacted strongly is because transparent glass vases were rare, and also because that Florence... what kind of place was it?

  The whole crowd was attracted, Wang Lao Hu held up the bottle in his hand and said: "I now feel that this thing is too plain in color. If a layer of gold powder can be plated inside, it will look great with golden light flashing."

  "Kid, this is the question I came up with." He then lowered his head and glanced at Shen Mo with a look of disdain, saying: "Can you do it?"

  As soon as this was said, the scene erupted in a commotion, with everyone saying: "Hei Lao Da is indeed black, that thin bottle mouth, that long neck, how can it be plated with gold?" In this era, to plate gold inside a bottle, you had to use a red-hot iron scraper to burnish it. But the bottleneck was as thick as a thumb, so how could the comb-like iron scraper possibly fit in?

  Moreover, this bottle looks very thin and fragile, even if the iron rake can be inserted, it is estimated that it will break without a doubt after two knocks.

  Out of sympathy, people questioned whether this topic was too professional. Children are not goldsmiths, so how can they gild?

  That Wang Lao Hu shook the contract in his hand, and said with a smile: "It's written on white paper with black ink, and I'm the one who drafted it. That means what I say goes!" He then flashed his golden teeth at Shen Mo and laughed loudly: "Of course! If you admit defeat, then there's no need to fight."

  Shen Mo's face turned extremely ugly, and everyone saw that his whole body was trembling, and they couldn't help but sigh: "Poor child..."

  Fortunately, this young man still had some strength left and heard him say with a snort: "Then I'll give it a try."

  "Want to try? Do you know how much this bottle costs?" Wang Lao Hu sneered, "It's from France, less than a hundred in the whole country!" A hooligan is still a hooligan, no matter how well he dresses up. Seeing Shen Mo being easy to bully, he thought of extorting him again.

  "Didn't you ask me to gild it?" Shen Mo said stupidly: "How can I gild it if you don't give it to me?"

  "Are you okay, kid?" Seeing this foolish kid being completely clueless and unable to pick up on his implied meaning, Wang Lao Hu irritably said: "If not, then don't waste my bottle."

  "Only after trying will you know."

  Wang Lao Hu was so angry that if it weren't for being in a public place, he would have had his men bury this little brat alive. He suppressed his anger and said: "I'm asking what to do if it's smashed? Can you afford to compensate?"

  "How would I know if I don't try?" Shen Mo scratched his head and seemed to suddenly realize, "Oh, you're afraid I'll break it."

  Everyone wiped their sweat and thought... You finally understand.

  "That's what I mean." Wang Lao Hu let out a obvious sigh of relief and said: "You have to give me some money as collateral, in case the bottle breaks, you can compensate me for it." The crowd thought to themselves: How despicable! This is clearly like killing someone and then using their bones to make oil.

  "It won't break." The silly kid unexpectedly said: "I'll just be more careful then."

  The whole field was silent... Everyone looked at Shen with a gaze that revered the Buddha, only then did they realize that there were still such pure and simple people in this era.

  "Alright, alright, you don't have to pay for now." Wang Lao Hu suddenly went crazy and said: "If it's broken, I will never forgive you!" After finishing speaking, he walked away with a huff, not daring to look at Shen Mo again, fearing that he would be infected with stupidity.

  "How did you leave?" Shen Mo held the bottle, saying strangely: "Not even a word of farewell, how impolite." After finishing, he bowed to the two county magistrates and said: "The student takes his leave."

  Zhang Xiancheng closed his eyes and refused to look at him. However, Hou Xiancheng smiled and said: "You are truly a great talent, not inferior to Xu Wenqing of our county."

  "Thank you for the compliment." Shen Mouyi nodded sincerely. This sentence made half of the people present laugh out loud. The other half who didn't laugh were all from Kuaiji, but they were so embarrassed that they walked away without even turning their heads back. Even a foolish child who couldn't tell right from wrong wouldn't be worthy of holding Xu Wenchang's shoes.

  As he watched everyone disperse, Shen Mo very politely said softly: "Goodbye." After that, he hugged the bottle and walked away quickly.

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  As the host had left, Hou County Magistrate patted his sleeves and said: "Old Zhang, let's go too. The two county officials are still waiting for a reply." Zhang County Magistrate nodded with a dark face and walked ahead without saying a word.

  Hou Xian's mood was great, and he didn't bother to calculate with him. He hummed a little tune and followed behind, and before long they arrived at the Yingfeng Building. After inquiring about the location, they went up to room A on the third floor.

  In front of their subordinates, the two county magistrates still had some dignity and would no longer fight.

  They had watched the whole process, only without dubbing. After hearing Hou Xianchang's on-site narration, it was like being there in person. Lü County Magistrate smiled and comforted Li County Magistrate: "County Magistrate Li doesn't have to be too sad, winning or losing is a common thing for military families."

  Magistrate Li hummed, but didn't respond. He repeatedly compared the silent man's behavior before and after, as if he had sensed something suspicious... It was impossible for someone to change so drastically; that little scoundrel must have been pretending to be stupid on purpose.

  He fell into his own thoughts, and even when the Magistrate of Lü County and the Assistant Magistrate left, he didn't react. After a long time, he sighed and said: "This kid is wise but appears foolish!"

  County Magistrate Zhang did not understand and asked: "Is he pretending to be stupid?"

  Magistrate Li nodded in approval, saying: "Before making a move, show weakness first. This can not only numb the opponent but also give oneself more room for maneuver... Once encountering a difficult problem, people will naturally think that he cannot solve it. If he solves it, it's natural to shock and reevaluate him; if he can't solve it, everyone will understand... Either way, there are only advantages, no disadvantages."

  "This kid is born to be an official!" County Magistrate Li praised, "He's simply self-taught!" He then gave a low order: "I also have such vases, take one out tonight and see if there are any skilled craftsmen who can do it." For such a good seedling, he should still help if he can.

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