Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 233 My wicked intentions surged again (Bonus chapter for fellow Daoist's donation!)
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The waiter looked aggrieved: "Fifth Master, you yourself said it was ten days ago. These days in Beiping, prices change every day, and with the continuous devaluation of the Lianyin Certificate, the prices at our teahouse are already very reasonable."

Fifth Master Fan: "."

Well, he really didn't know how to respond to that.

If he continues down this line, it will be seen as him being unreasonable and bullying people.
"Alright, alright, I admit I was in the wrong." Master Fan wasn't an unreasonable person, so he took out another twenty and slammed it on the table: "Consider the rest as my apology."

"Fifth Master, you're so generous! Please take care, gentlemen!"

Just as the two reached the door, Fifth Master Fan glanced to the side out of the corner of his eye and suddenly let out a soft "Eh."

"What's wrong?" Cao Weida followed his gaze and saw at the back of the teahouse, a little old man with a full head of gray hair and wearing a gray mandarin jacket was being stopped by the waiter from leaving.

After listening for a bit, I roughly understood that the old man had drunk the tea but couldn't pay for it, so the waiter wouldn't let him leave.

Judging from the implication in his words, this old man used to be quite wealthy, often coming here to drink tea and tipping the waiters quite a bit.

But now that he's fallen on hard times, the waiter no longer acknowledges this friendship.

"Fifth Brother, do you know him?"

Fifth Master Fan nodded, "I guess we know each other. His name is Elechini, and everyone calls him Master E. He is a descendant of the royal family and belongs to the Bordered Yellow Banner. In the past, if I ever met him, I would have to kowtow to him."

"Wow, he's actually a descendant of royalty." Upon hearing Master Fan's introduction, Cao Weida couldn't help but think of a character from a TV series.

The old man in "Rongbaozhai: A Century of History"!
"But he was once a descendant of royalty, how did he end up in such a sorry state?"

He only remembered the person, but he really didn't know how he had fallen on hard times.

"Hey, this brings us to the temperament of this old man."

Master Fan explained, "This man was a complete playboy in his youth. He loved studying antiques and calligraphy, but he was also very poor at judging them. As a result, he was often fooled by forgers in the antique circle, which led to the decline of his family."

"Oh, I see." Cao Weida nodded knowingly. If he remembered correctly, in the TV series, this man later partnered with counterfeiters in the antique circle to make a living and swindled money with fake cultural relics.

However, this guy was a tough one, specifically targeting traitors and Japanese.

Finally, he tried to deceive the Japanese with a high-quality replica of an ancient jade hook from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, but the flaws in the jade carving revealed his deception, and he was exposed by the traitor Song Huai-ren. He was eventually beaten to death by the Japanese.

Many Republican-era TV dramas depict the Manchu bannermen as having strong national pride, such as Master Fan and Master E.

He didn't know if it was intentional on the part of the TV series' producers or investors, but now it was the real world, and these characters had become real people.

As long as someone has that kind of backbone, Cao Wei Da wouldn't mind lending a hand.

Just as he was about to step in to help, a customer next to him suddenly shouted, "I'll pay for this gentleman's tea!"

Cao Wei raised an eyebrow, showing interest as he withdrew his foot.

"Cao'er, shall we go?"

"No hurry, wait."

"Waiting for what?" Master Fan looked over in confusion, only to see that the guest had not only paid for Master's tea, but also warmly invited him to sit down and refill his cup.

Then, he showered his grandfather with praise, describing him in the most flowery and eloquent way.

"Wow, are there still such kind-hearted people these days?" Master Fan looked on with suspicion.

He was a down-on-his-luck Manchu bannerman like his father, and had long been accustomed to the coldness of human relationships. He simply couldn't believe that strangers would be so kind these days.

The key point is that they start with a barrage of praise, which really raises suspicions.

"Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious and suspicious." Cao Weida chuckled. There really was such a person in the TV series, that counterfeiter in the antique world!

The moment he saw this person, his mischievous thoughts surged again, and a bold idea suddenly popped into his head.

On the other hand, the old man who was flattered as soon as he sat down was not stupid. After all, he had lived to such an old age and experienced the coldness of human relationships. How could he be so easily swayed by a few sweet words of flattery?
He knew that one was obligated to accept gifts and favors, so he directly asked the man what he wanted.

To my surprise, even though he was already down on his luck, the other party was willing to partner with him in business!

Grandpa chuckled and said, "Oh my, this is something new! You want to do business with me?!"

"I've never done this before, and I don't have the capital. I think you should find someone else."

But what the man said next shocked the old man: "Of course you have one! Your status is your asset!"

"Putting everything else aside, just sitting here like this, without even saying a word, just that demeanor and expression, you're the kind of guy who's seen it all!"

“If you’re not a true member of the Eight Banners, no one else can fake that kind of aura!” Cao Weida nodded in agreement upon hearing this. Aura is an ethereal thing, but you have to admit that it is real and can be keenly perceived by people.

Different backgrounds, different upbringings, different family environments—it's simply impossible to fake a temperament that isn't your own!
It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to slowly cultivate and experience it before one can gradually figure it out.

Despite his disheveled appearance, that old man possessed the bearing of a Manchu nobleman in every gesture.

His gaze involuntarily drifted to Master Fan beside him. Sensing the gaze, Master Fan straightened his back and said smugly, "That man has a good eye. The bearing of our Eight Banners descendants is not something anyone can fake!"

"You've become proud of yourself." Cao Weida rolled his eyes, both amused and exasperated. The entire Manchu bannermen, except for those who became traitors and dogs for the Japanese, were all in such a sorry state. What was there to be proud of?

Of course, it wasn't that those Manchu bannermen who didn't become traitors didn't want to be dogs for the Japanese, but rather that the Japanese simply didn't want most of them!

The Japanese weren't stupid either. Of these Manchu bannermen, only a small number were somewhat useful; the rest were mostly good-for-nothings who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun.

If we take them in, not only will they not be of any help, but we'll also have to spend money to support them!

Nobody wants to do a business that loses money!
Raising pigs is more profitable than raising them!
Upon hearing this, the old man naturally understood that the man wanted to partner with him and use his former status as a member of the Eight Banners to make a quick buck!
Grandpa immediately became interested, but right now Grandpa's biggest concern was money.

He didn't mince words and asked directly, "So, how will the profits be split?"

"Two times one equals five, how about that?" The counterfeiter replied without hesitation.

This is definitely a very generous profit-sharing arrangement. Grandpa nodded with a smile, "Sounds alright."

"Then, it's settled?" Upon hearing this, the counterfeiter was overjoyed and immediately prepared to finalize the deal.

But then my grandfather suddenly spoke up: "Wait, could you lend me ten silver dollars first, as an advance, and I'll deduct it from your account later? What do you think?"

"Hey, that's really shrewd." Cao Weida, standing at the door, chuckled at this remark. He hadn't even started the job yet, but he was already raking in ten silver dollars.

The counterfeiter was straightforward; he genuinely wanted to cooperate with the old man and immediately took out ten silver dollars and handed them over.

"Grandpa, please keep this safe."

He weighed the silver dollar in his hand, and the wrinkles on his face widened into a smile. "Alright, since you're so agreeable, what am I hesitating for? It's settled then!"

Seeing that they had settled the matter, Master Fan at the door was so angry that he almost lost his beard.

He rolled up his sleeves and said, "These counterfeiters have turned the antique market in Beiping into a complete mess. I'm going to find them and give them a piece of my mind!"

"No, Fifth Master, what's the rush? Come on, let's hide for a bit." Cao Weida grabbed Fifth Master Fan and pulled him away. He was joking, though; he was still thinking of using them to do his bidding.

Counterfeiters are certainly despicable, but if used in the right way, bad things can turn into good things.

Although he couldn't figure out what Cao Wei was up to, Master Fan still obeyed and didn't resist, and was pulled aside to hide.

It wasn't until Grandpa and the counterfeiter came out of the teahouse chatting and laughing, and hailed a rickshaw, that Cao Weida pulled him aside and said, "Come on, let's follow them."

"Oh, I see," said Master Fan, looking shrewd and intelligent. "You want to follow them to their hideout and wipe them all out in one fell swoop?"

Cao Weida rolled his eyes: "Do you think I have that much free time? Never mind, I won't explain to you now, hurry up and catch up."

As he spoke, he flagged down a rickshaw and pointed ahead: "Follow that rickshaw, but don't follow too closely. I'll give you double the fare when we get there."

Upon hearing that there would be double the money, the driver was overjoyed and immediately said with great enthusiasm, "Just you wait and see!"

Tempted by the promise of double the fare, the rickshaw driver followed closely behind. After about ten minutes, the rickshaw stopped in front of a rather secluded courtyard.

"Give."

Seeing the car stop, Cao Weida kept his word and gave double the money. Before the other party could say thank you, he waved him away.

Seeing that the counterfeiter had already opened the gate to the courtyard and was about to go in, Cao Weida nodded and said, "Fifth Master, let's go and get to know him."

The counterfeiter led Grandpa into the courtyard. Just as he was about to close the gate, a hand stopped him.

"Don't rush, we haven't even come in yet, why are you closing the door?"

The counterfeiters were immediately shocked: "Who...who are you?!"

Hearing the commotion, Grandpa hurriedly turned around and, upon seeing Fifth Master Fan, exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, isn't this Fifth Master Fan? What are you doing here?"

The counterfeiter was taken aback. "Sir, you know him?"

"Of course I know him, Fan Shirong. He's the fifth son in the Fan family. His family used to be descendants of the eight Iron-Cap Princes who held hereditary titles. They were once imperial relatives! I used to hang out with his father all the time."

(End of this chapter)