s: I was too busy yesterday.
My father-in-law’s Internet connection was down.
I didn’t get home until nine o’clock in the evening.
I didn’t update in time.
I’m sorry.
Now there are two updates in a row So Baker picked out the high-end teas on the shelves.
The packaging of these high-end teas is also very beautiful.
They are divided into small cans of half a pound or one pound.
The tea cans are also very exquisite.
There are tin cans, porcelain, bamboo, and lacquerware.
They look very high-end at first glance.
Upgrade.
The popular tea leaves next to them are much different in appearance.
At most they are simple cartons, and some are even loose tea leaves.
Of course, the price is also cheap.
The most expensive ones Baker saw were only 5 shillings per pound, and the cheapest ones were only 10 pence.
After looking at it for a while, Baker realized that the things here were really expensive.
He saw that the price of a kind of black tea he usually drank was about five times that of before.
Although he also knew that the food on the black market must be expensive now, it was so expensive.
For his own sake, it was unacceptable to him.
He winked at his wife, and Lisa said knowingly: "Miss Fran, the tea here is so expensive.
The most common Indian black tea, I remember, does not exceed 10 pence per pound, but you sell it here. 4 shillings.”
"Madam, the price you mentioned is the price in peacetime.
Now is the wartime, so the price is of course different.
Nowadays, it takes an average of four merchant ships to get one in the country.
The risk is too great, and many merchants are unwilling to purchase goods.
Supply of goods If it's less, the price will naturally be higher," Fran explained without changing her expression.
She had to answer questions like this hundreds of times every day, and she was already numb.
"Also, our black tea is all from China.
China is the hometown of tea, and the tea there is much better than that in India.
Moreover, Chinese tea is very safe.
It is definitely not like some teas that have copper carbonate added.
That kind of tea is not only The taste has changed, and it’s still poisonous.”
The Chinese tea merchant said proudly: Oh, we don’t use low-end methods like copper carbonate.
Our exported tea is filled with new antifungal agents provided by Xingke Company, which is guaranteed.
It doesn't taste bad and is guaranteed to last forever.
Okay, everything you said is right, but the price is too bad.
Baker vomited in his heart. adecha.
Not only tea, but also coffee and cocoa.
When did the Chinese start growing coffee and cocoa?
Baker felt that his brain was a little short of energy.
After walking around the Holy Light Building, Mr. and Mrs.
Baker looked unhappy.
This is also normal.
No matter who sees the price of daily necessities increased several times, it will not look good.
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In this era, Britain was exploiting the whole world to support itself, so its citizens also enjoyed a lot of dividends, and the domestic prices of daily necessities were lower than the world average.
So their sterling purchasing power is quite high.
In particular, the British currency system at this time was quite different and not decimal.
One pound was 20 shillings and 1 shilling was 12 pence.
This weird currency system was not abolished until the British currency reform in 1971, which abolished the shilling and made it 100 pence per pound.
For example, in Britain before the war in 1914, 1 penny was equivalent to about 4 Chinese dollars.
One cent could buy a large piece of bread, a kilogram of potatoes, a pint of milk or beer.
Sugar only costs 3p per kilogram, and 1.5kg of flour only costs 2p.
But here and now, the prices of all commodities have skyrocketed, ranging from several times to ten times.
Although Baker is considered a rich man, no matter how much money he has, this is not how he uses it.
Too bad However, now that the entire UK has implemented a rationing system, unless you are willing to eat the unbearably poor quality food rationed and have endured the tear-dropping portions, you will have to buy it no matter how hard it is.
"Don't you have any discounts here?"
Baker asked unwillingly.
"Well, of course there are discounts.
Please pay attention to the price tag.
The small red letters below are the member prices."
Fran smiled and pointed to a price tag casually.
This is a price tag for refined flour.
It says "Refined flour, 1 shilling per kilogram" in large black characters, with "2 o'clock" in small red characters below.
"Well, what does 2 o'clock mean?"
Baker saw it at first, but he didn't understand what it meant, so he didn't care.
Fran explained: "Our membership consumption is not in pounds, but in points.
The 2 points means that every kilogram of flour is 2 points."
"Can I become a member?"
Baker asked as he rolled his eyes.
Although he didn't know the conversion relationship between this points and pounds, he also knew that it would definitely be cheaper than using pounds.
"As long as you meet the conditions, of course.
If you want to become a member, I can take you to our manager," Fran said politely.
Manager's room.
"Hello, I'm Liu Fan, the manager of Shengguang Mall."
Liu Fan shook hands with Baker and introduced himself.
"Hello, Mr.
Manager.
I want to become a member of your mall.
What do I need to do?"
Baker was not polite and directly explained his purpose.
He also knows that the Holy Light Building is the property of the Godzilla Consortium, and the Godzilla Consortium cooperates very closely with China, so it is not surprising to have a Chinese as its manager.
"Oh, thank you very much for your favor in this mall."
Liu Fan said a few polite words with a formal smile on his face, and introduced the membership system here.
Ten minutes later, Baker asked: "Mr.
Manager, according to your regulations, can't you directly exchange pounds for points?"
Liu Fan showed a standard smile with eight teeth: "Of course not.
It is not cost-effective if you use pounds to exchange points.
Now one pound can only be exchanged for 50 points.
In addition, this exchange method is only open to members.
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You If you want to exchange pounds for points, you must first become our member.”
"That is to say, in order to become your member, I must first exchange materials with you for 500 points."
"Yes, this is the threshold for membership.
For a person with status like you, there is absolutely no problem with supplies with only 500 points."
Baker nodded, pointed to the exchange list given by Liu Fan and said, "Okay, I understand.
The types of supplies you need are on this list, right?"
"Yes, that's it.
In addition, this table is time-sensitive and will be updated every month.
The exchange price on this table is only valid for this month," Liu Fan replied with a smile.
There are many types of materials on the table.
The top ones are gold and silver and other precious metals, jewelry, antiques and art, and then various specialties, raw materials and so on.
Baker asked in confusion: "But why do you need supplies first?"
Liu Fan spread his hands and explained: "Mr.
Baker, this is the request of the merchants, because even if they receive pounds, they still need to exchange them for materials to sell back.
This adds another procedure, and time is of the essence at this time. important" Baker hesitated and said: "I also have some of these things at home, but this valuation" He also has gold and silver and other precious metals, jewelry, antiques and art at home.
After all, he is also a capitalist.
Although he is not big, he is There are also things used to show pomp and show off.
"You can rest assured that we have the best appraisers here.
We will never let customers suffer like this.
You can go to the exchange room and have a look."
Liu Fan stood up and made an invitation gesture.
The exchange room is on the first floor.
This is a wide hall with a long row of counters in the middle, and dozens of uniformed staff sitting behind it.
There are several rows of coffee tables and seats in the lobby, obviously for customers waiting to redeem.
There is also a considerate supply of free tea and snacks, as well as books, newspapers and magazines.
This is normal, because the snacks that are exchanged for points here are what Liu Fan and the others want, so they cannot begrudge this little bit of treatment.
Liu Fan took the Bakers to the counter to visit.
At this time, several customers were redeeming points.
One of them brought two gold bars.
An appraiser carefully tested it using touchstones, spectrometers and other instruments and tools.
After weighing it on a scale, he said to a young girl next to him: "Two 24k gold bars, weighing a total of 300 grams."
The girl took out a form and looked at it, then dialed a number on the abacus and reported a number: "2050 points can be exchanged.
Sir, are you sure you want to exchange them?"
"Of course, give me points instead."
The man nodded.
"Okay, please wait a moment."
The girl quickly issued a receipt, handed it to him, and said, "Please go to counter No. 2 to exchange for points chips."
The man came to counter No. 3 with the receipt, and soon exchanged it for a box of colorful small brands.
Baker walked over and took a look, and saw that these small signs looked like casino chips, with various numbers marked on them.
However, the materials of the signs were very strange.
They were neither gold nor jade, nor wood nor stone.
He could not recognize them at all.
Made.
If there are people from later generations present, they will definitely be embarrassed.
Isn’t this a plastic sign?
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Many canteens and restaurants used this thing extensively in the 1980s and 1990s.
Customers would receive this kind of sign after paying, and then go to the window to change it. food.
At this time, an elderly customer came to the counter with a few thick thread-bound old books and was also ready to exchange points.
"This is an ancient Chinese book.
I found it in the Chinese Imperial Palace," the old man said.
Baker didn't notice that Liu Fan beside him trembled obviously when he saw the names of these books.
The appraiser was also an elderly Chinese.
He put on gloves and looked at the books carefully with a magnifying glass.
Then he shook his head calmly and said, "Duliu's three tattered books.
Although they are ancient books, their condition is very poor." , it’s not that long ago, and it’s still a printed matter, so it can’t be considered a cultural relic, it can only be considered a fifth-class work of art.” "750 points can be exchanged.
Sir, are you sure you want to exchange them?"
The girl next to me also quickly calculated the number.
"Well, let's change it.
It's useless anyway."
The old man thought for a while.
At this time, Liu Fan walked over and said with a smile: "Sir, books must be in sets to be valuable.
If you have a set of books, we will give you a high price.
Even if they are not in a set, the more books there are, the higher the price will be."
"I remember there are still a few books at home.
Let's go back and look for them.
Oh, I have a few of them who have this kind of book in their hands.
If they haven't lost it, I can exchange it for them."
The old man thought for a while and said.
"Yes, if you can buy more ancient books, our price will satisfy you even more."
Liu Fan smiled like a flower on his face.
"Mr.
Manager, I have some Egyptian antiques at home.
Do you want them too?"
At this time, Baker said.
"Of course, as long as it's an antique, we want it."
"I really want everything."
At this time, a young man in the customer area stood up and said with a smile: "Do you also want the Big Ben on the Tower of London?"
Liu Fan replied neither humble nor arrogantly: "Of course, as long as you can send the Big Ben here, we will exchange it for you after we authenticate it."
"Uh."
The young man felt bored and retreated in embarrassment.
After sending Baker away, Liu Fan quickly walked to the valuables area.
"Where were those three books just now?"
"Manager, these are the three books we just received.
We have already installed them," a staff member replied.
Three sturdy wooden boxes were already placed on the table, lined with a layer of silk.
There is an ancient book lying in each box, with Yongle Dadian written clearly on the cover.
"Haha, is it really true?"
Liu Fan asked eagerly.
"Manager, the genuine product is absolutely genuine."
The appraiser just now was also inside.
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He said confidently: "Don't worry, with my 30 years of experience as a court official in Liulichang, I will never be mistaken."
"Well done, Teacher Tian, I'll give you a credit this time."
Liu Fan laughed and said, "Your sentence about leaving three broken books is so classic, hahahaha."
"This is what the court officials used to say back then.
They used to cheat the Chinese people, and they really did a lot of sins.
Now the government is willing to use people like us to atone for our crimes, so of course there is no problem in cheating foreigners, haha."
Teacher Tian smiled very obscenely.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, many of the former pawnbrokers and those selling fake antiques lost their jobs, but they were soon recruited by the government.
Wen always will never waste these special technical talents.
Many of the appraisers like Liu Fan's are former court servants, counterfeiters, and experts in deception.
"Great, these books will be sent away tonight and packaged better."
Liu Fan said.
"Don't worry, manager.
We all have experience, there will definitely be no problem with the packaging."
The staff member smiled and agreed.
"Teacher Tian, I think the old man will come back today.
You need to keep a close eye on him and use all your skills as a court servant to try to fish out all his belongings.
This old man is definitely someone who robbed people in China back then.
A handful of old devils, hum!"
Liu Fan said grimly.
"Don't worry, manager, make sure it's on me.
If I don't squeeze the oil out of that guy's stone, I'll write it upside down," Teacher Tian said, patting his chest.
"Ah, okay, okay."
Liu Fanzheng nodded, and suddenly realized something was wrong, so he said, "Teacher Tian, if you write Tian upside down, it is still Tian."
Teacher Tian said awkwardly: "Oh, I didn't pay attention to this.
Well, if I don't squeeze the oil out of that guy's stone, my surname will no longer be Tian, but my surname will be changed."
"Okay, okay, just kidding":