Chapter 19
No matter how others envy the letter with the little man's drawing on it, since it has been agreed to be written for grandma, it can only be hers.
When the letter was passed around and returned, the whole piece of paper was wrinkled, but fortunately the calligraphy and painting on the paper were not damaged.
Jiang Wanning asked the old woman for her opinion and still used the slightly damaged letter.
The old woman asked tremblingly: "How much does this letter cost..."
This is what everyone cares about.
Jiang Wanning was in charge of writing and painting, but had no idea about pricing, so she could only look at Lu Shang inquiringly.
Lu Shang said, "Letter writing is two cents, and figurine drawing is five cents. Grandma, do you need mailing service?"
"Ship on behalf of others?"
"Just give us the letter. You just need to tell us where to send it and who to send it to. We don't have to worry about the rest."
"How much is it?" The old woman was very tempted.
Lu Shang stretched out a finger and said, "One cent." Five cents, two cents and one cent made up exactly eight cents.
The onlookers helped the old woman count the money. After hearing the final amount, she finally smiled and said, "Yes, I want them all... I have money, and I happen to have these. I'll count them out to you now."
She counted out the copper coins wrapped in rags one by one. Each copper coin was stained with oil, and her hands were covered with it.
As if he didn't notice the dirt on it, Lu Shang happily took the money, carefully asked for the address and the recipient, and said loudly: "Don't worry, grandma, I will help you deliver the letter in a moment."
After he finished speaking, he added: "My wife only needs to write and draw for others. For the rest of the messy and troublesome things, just come to me."
These words made some people who wanted to find Jiang Wanning stop and turn their attention back to him.
Lu Shang was about to hand the money to Jiang Wanning, but he saw a moment of hesitation in her eyes.
Lu Shang chuckled and put the money into his pocket. Jiang Wanning couldn't regret it.
When someone else wanted them to write a letter for them, Lu Shang refused to accept it. His reason was quite sufficient: "My wife is not in good health and should not be overworked. One letter a day is enough. If you need anything, please come earlier next time!"
"When is the next time? Will it still be here? Will it still be the same price?"
Compared to the most common per-word charging in town, Lu Shang and his team were simply giving it away for free. Those few copper coins were not even enough to cover the cost of the pens and ink.
Lu Shang didn't have a precise plan for the future arrangements, but that didn't stop him from breaking their unrealistic fantasies.
He laughed and said, "Grandma doesn't have much money, don't you? I'm just doing you a favor today, but you won't be so cheap in the future."
"But don't worry, ours is definitely cheaper than other stalls. As for the specific price, I'll have to wait until I get back to ask Madam for her opinion. It's not my decision, Madam's decision is the final word."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone around him burst into laughter.
"So he's still a henpecked man..."
The scholar who had caused trouble before had escaped at some point, but before leaving, he did not forget to take away the letter stall where he had eaten, leaving no extra pieces of paper behind.
The people were talking and laughing, and Lu Shang, taking Jiang Wanning with him, was also ready to leave.
But at this moment, the owner of the bookstore stopped them and said, "Wait a minute, if you don't mind, please come sit in the store."
Even though the boss didn't explain his purpose, Lu Shang and Jiang Wanning knew what he was talking about. Lu Shang tilted his head and asked, "Want to go in and take a look?"
Jiang Wanning nodded.
Although bookstores are places where business is done, ordinary people would never set foot there except for scholars and students.
The streets outside were still chaotic, but once inside the bookstore, all the noise outside was isolated.
This bookstore is not big, with only seven or eight rows of bookshelves in the store. The owner does not hire any workers and does everything himself.
The boss's surname is Huang. He is a distant relative of Mr. Guo, a famous wealthy businessman in the town. He has been running this bookstore for more than ten years.
There was no one else in the store at the moment. Considering that they still had many places to go, Lu Shang didn't bother to argue with him and asked directly, "Boss Huang, what can I do for you?"
"I don't deserve it, I just want to discuss a business deal with you, sir..." Although Lu Shang said he would listen to his wife, Boss Huang remembered that the previous farce was all led by Lu Shang. If he really wanted to do something, he would probably have to hand it over to Lu Shang.
"May I ask your surname, sir?"
"No need to mention your surname, Lu."
"So it's Mr. Lu and Mrs. Lu. Well, I've noticed Mrs. Lu's handwriting is quite good, and our shop happens to be buying calligraphy all year round. I wonder if Mrs. Lu would be interested in cooperating with us."
"Of course, if you are willing to sell your calligraphy, that would be even better."
Lu Shang waved his hand: "I don't need it. My handwriting is not as good as yours. May I ask what calligraphy the boss is talking about?"
Boss Huang's face lit up with delight. He hurried behind the counter and brought over a stack of calligraphy pieces. Some were large, some small, and the handwriting was different. He showed two types: "This type is commonly used by students in the academy. They have higher requirements and are more expensive."
"This is for children's enlightenment. As long as the font is straight, it's fine. The demand is not high, and it is usually only sold to regular customers."
Lu Shang took a quick look and found that Jiang Wanning's handwriting was better than any of theirs, not exaggerating.
This is what Mr. Huang wanted, of course: "This kind of post costs 200 coins per post, and the pens, ink, and paper will be provided by the bookstore."
Lu Shang smiled and said, "The letters written on the street are written two cents for each character. I see there are 300 characters on a copybook. How can it be only 200 cents?"
Boss Huang's smile froze, and he stammered, "That's true, but Mr. Lu, the people who come here to sell calligraphy are always scholars. If people knew that this calligraphy was written by a woman, Mr. Lu, you see..."
Lu Shang's expression suddenly turned cold.
He grabbed Jiang Wanning's hand and was about to refuse.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Wanning suddenly tugged at his sleeve and took a half step forward: "Five hundred coins, I can write better."
Boss Huang lost his voice: "Students in the capital city only pay 500 coins per ticket. Madam, is it—"
Jiang Wanning said with a stern face, "Boss, once you see it, you'll know if it's worth the price."
Boss Huang was still hesitant, but he couldn't give up, so he finally took out a pen and paper.
This time the paper is medium-grade rice paper, and the surface is much smoother.
Although he thought Jiang Wanning would write better, when he actually saw it, he was completely speechless.
“This, this, this…”
Jiang Wanning asked, "Are these worth five hundred coins?"
Lu Shang leaned over and saw only seven or eight words on the paper. Each word was written in a different style.
Some are as sharp as iron and some are as majestic as silver. Some are graceful and elegant. There are also brick characters which are most admired by contemporary scholars.
If Boss Huang hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he really couldn't imagine that these words were written by the same person.
"Worth it!" Boss Huang shouted with full energy, and made the decision on the spot, "I won't give you 500 coins, I'll give you 700 coins, one post every ten days, can Madam finish it?"
If she devoted herself to writing, it would not be impossible to write one piece a day, but Jiang Wanning had no idea how much time she would have after returning home, so she could only calculate the minimum.
"Then one per ten days, as for paper and pen..."
"Madam, don't worry. I'll provide you with paper and pen. I'll give you two sheets of paper each time, and you can use the extra sheet as you wish. But if both sheets are wasted, I'm afraid you'll have to fill in the blanks yourself."
"Okay." Jiang Wanning had just agreed when Boss Huang went to the back to prepare paper and pen.
The paper he sold was the best Chengxintang paper in the store. There were only a dozen or so sheets left in the entire bookstore. The pens and ink were also top-grade. If you paid to buy them, just these two sheets of paper, a lamp of ink, and a pen would cost more than thirty taels of silver.
Boss Huang gritted his teeth and said, "I trust the Madam and the Young Master, so I won't hold your things against you. I just hope that after ten days, I can wait for the Madam and the Young Master to come and hand in the letter."
Jiang Wanning knew the value of these things and also understood how rare it was for Boss Huang to do this. She thanked him and carefully wrapped the things. She was afraid of wrinkling the paper, so she just held them in her arms.
After finalizing the calligraphy cooperation, Boss Huang still had something on his mind, but he couldn't tell Jiang Wanning directly about it.
After thinking it over, he blinked and waved at Lu Shang: "Mr. Lu, may I have a moment to talk?"
Lu Shang had a neither good nor bad impression of Boss Huang, but considering that he would have to take money from him later, he finally agreed.
Fortunately, they did not go out, but went to a corner a little further away from Jiang Wanning. However, in a moment of distraction, Boss Huang pulled out a booklet from behind him.
"I see that Madam is also an excellent painter. If I were to ask Madam for help with a painting, would you mind, sir?"
Lu Shang keenly sensed something was wrong: "What painting?"
Boss Huang smiled awkwardly and stuffed the booklet into Lu Shang's hand.
Lu Shang casually flipped through a few pages in the middle, but saw that there was not a single word on the book, only a picture on each page.
Just one glance and he was stunned.
Boss Huang said in a low voice, "It's the secret play picture."
"……absurd!"
Jiang Wanning didn't know what Boss Huang and Lu Shang had said, but not long after, she heard Lu Shang shout angrily.
Soon, Lu Shang came out from the corner with a cold face. He grabbed her without saying a word and left the bookstore without even saying goodbye to Boss Huang.
Jiang Wanning was frightened by his actions. She didn't ask until they were quite far away, "Did my husband have an argument with Mr. Huang? Then I won't accept his calligraphy."
There was still a hint of anger in Lu Shang's voice: "It has nothing to do with you, no need to go back."
"From now on, when you come to him to deliver invitations or get paper, I must accompany you. Mr. Huang is not a good person. No matter what he says, don't believe it easily."
Jiang Wanning stammered, "Okay, I understand."
Lu Shangyou was worried and reminded him, "Some books are not good books. You are still young, don't read those messy things, that's not good."
Jiang Wanning was confused, but seeing his serious expression, she still agreed obediently: "Okay."
The two walked on the street for a while. As more and more people came, Lu Shang's unhappiness faded.
He asked about the time and saw that the sun was getting stronger and stronger. So he stopped and looked for a place to eat something and get some shade.
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