Of course, the Cao family is not short of money. A mere five thousand dollars is really just drizzle to the Gaoling Hou Mansion. Cao Liang's expenses at the farm today alone are many times more than that.

But now at this juncture, Cao Liang happened to be penniless, and it was obviously too late to go back to the Marquis Mansion to get it.

The mocking expression on Steward Qingyi's face became even more intense, as if he had won this deal.

A group of melon-eating people around looked at it with great interest. They thought that a broken sword that no one cared about would be snatched up at a high price. It was unexpected.

Shi Bao was a little hesitant. Logically speaking, Cao Liang asked for the price of this sword first. Based on the principle of first come, first served, Cao Liang was the first buyer.

But Cao Liang only inquired about the price and did not pay. Later, the man in Qingyi threw the money over. Five thousand dollars was enough to solve his urgent need.

Shi Bao endured it for a while and decided to take a look. If Cao Liang couldn't come up with the money, it wouldn't be too late for him to accept the money.

Just when Cao Liang was hesitating, Fang Bu, who was silent behind him, took out a piece of gold from his arms, threw it in front of Shi Bao's stall, and said in a deep voice: "This piece of gold is worth five or six thousand yuan.

Is it enough to buy your sword?"

During the Three Kingdoms era, the exchange ratio between gold and copper coins was about one to ten thousand. "One pound of gold is worth ten thousand dollars." The piece of gold thrown by Fang Bu was about five or six taels, which was enough to be worth five thousand dollars.

.

Cao Liang couldn't help but look back at Fang Bu. He didn't expect this cold-faced bodyguard to be so generous, but Fang Bu nodded at Cao Liang, as if saying, don't worry, we have plenty of money here.

Cao Liang knew immediately that this must be his mother's arrangement. Since his rebirth, Cao Liang has never found any money in his pocket, and his parents don't seem to have any intention of giving him money. Naturally, Cao Liang doesn't either.

I had the nerve to open my mouth and ask for it.

Fortunately, Liu Qiong had made arrangements a long time ago. Since Fang Bu was asked to be Cao Liang's bodyguard, he would naturally be responsible for Cao Liang's expenses. Whether it was gold, silver or copper coins, it was always inconvenient to carry heavy ones with him.

of.

Well, this mom is quite considerate and meticulous.

Shi Bao no longer hesitated, immediately grabbed the piece of gold in his hand, and said to Cao Liang with a smile: "Thank you, Master." At the same time, he turned to the steward in Qingyi and said: "You can't sell one thing to two owners, I'm really sorry."

The green-clad steward's face was darker than the color of his clothes. He picked up the five pieces of money angrily, glanced at Cao Liang gloomily, snorted heavily, and then walked away.

Cao Liang looked back at Fang Bu, who had an indifferent expression on his face, as if except for what he said when he threw the piece of gold, he had made no movement during the whole process.

Didn't it mean that the master would humiliate his ministers to death? The steward in Qingyi was so domineering, and if he had been an ordinary servant, like Afu and Agui, he would have fought to the death for a long time.

But Fang Bu always stood there with an indifferent expression, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

Cao Liang was very curious. Since Fang Bu was sent as his bodyguard, would he have to wait until his life was in danger before taking action?

Seeing that there was nothing to do, the crowd of onlookers shook their heads and dispersed. Some people even talked about it, seeming to think that it was not worth it for Cao Liang to spend such a high price to buy back a broken sword.

Shi Bao is also packing up his things and preparing to leave.

Cao Liang spent money to buy a sword. He had no interest in swords. When he saw Shi Bao leaving, he immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Brother, please stay."

Shi Bao was a little puzzled. It was common sense for strangers to go their separate ways after the deal was completed. Could it be that he regretted it?

"I wonder what's wrong, Master?"

"I wonder if this sword was made by Brother Shi himself?" Cao Liang asked.

Shi Bao said: "Exactly."

"I didn't expect Brother Shi to have such superb craftsmanship at such an age. I admire him so much. But this sword has not been completed yet, but I don't know why?"

Shi Bao's face turned slightly red and said: "I am from a poor family. The purchase of the sword blank has already exhausted my family resources. When the sword body was cast, it was no longer able to sustain it, so I had to sell it at a low price to make the young master laugh.

"

Cao Liang said: "That's it. This sword is only a half-finished product after all. If other craftsmen take over to complete it, it will inevitably be like a dog's tail. So I sincerely invite Brother Shi to come to my house to complete this sword. How much labor will it cost?"

, I will pay you truthfully."

Buying the sword is just a pretense. Cao Liang's purpose is to win over Shi Bao. Even if he can't use it for himself, this kind of talent cannot fall into Sima Yi's hands. As long as Shi Bao agrees to go to Cao's house, Cao Liang will naturally have follow-up means.

He stayed.

Otherwise, there is no point in buying this sword.

Shi Bao was a little hesitant. Although Shi Bao was good at forging iron and making swords, he obviously didn't have this ambition. In this era, the status of craftsmen is really too low. Even if he has reached the level of a master forger, he is still still

At the bottom of society.

Ma Jun is a clear example. If he does not hold the position of giving, no matter how many inventions and creations he makes, he will not have any status in the end.

Among the Three Kingdoms, the only person who entered the official position as a craftsman was Pu Yuan from Shu. Zhuge Liang, the Prime Minister of Shu, attached great importance to technical talents and appointed Pu Yuan as the Prime Minister's Mansion West Cao, specializing in weapon making.

Gu made three thousand knives for Zhuge Liang. The knives he made could split bamboo tubes filled with iron beads and were known as the magic knives.

Although Shi Bao came from a humble background, he was unwilling to be just a small blacksmith all his life and wanted to enter an official career.

He had previously served as Sima for Farming in a small county in Jizhou. Sima for Farming was an official position that did not even have any rank. Shi Bao worked there for several years, but he could not feel that he was getting ahead and was depressed.

Later, by chance, Shi Bao met Xu Yun, who was then the Minister of Civil Affairs. Xu Yun greatly admired Shi Bao's talent and said that he had great potential and should be appointed as a minister.

Shi Bao took the opportunity to ask Xu Yun for the position of county magistrate, but Xu Yun said that his public talents are far better than mine, and if he were to be the county magistrate, it would be a dereliction of his talents, and he should serve in the imperial court.

Later, Shi Bao resigned from his job and went to Luoyang to seek employment, hoping to become a part-time official. Although he and Xu Yun were old acquaintances, it was rude to show up empty-handed. That's why Shi Bao prepared to buy the job he had previously bought.

He made a good sword out of a piece of cold iron and sold it at a high price, so that he could also give Xu Yun a meeting gift.

Unfortunately, the difficulty of making this cold iron sword blank exceeded Shi Bao's expectations, and things were expensive in Luoyang, so Shi Bao ran out of money, so Shi Bao could only sell the sword at a low price.
Chapter completed!