Wang Tuo originally thought that the business would remain so bleak, but two days later, more and more customers came to the calligraphy shop, filling up the entire room, each holding a pair of blank couplets in their hands.
The person squeezed in the front was none other than Lu Wangsheng.
At this moment, he pretended not to know Xiang Sheng and asked with a smile, "Boss Xiang, we all heard from Widow Wang that writing a couplet here is cheaper than other places, only eight cents."
As he spoke, Lu Wangsheng took out a blank couplet and handed over a copper coin: "I'm just hoping for a good start to the new year. I'll give you eighteen coins. Please help me write it beautifully!"
After hearing this, Xiang Sheng was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
She wondered what was going on today, and it turned out that Widow Wang was trying to get her business. Lu Wangsheng, probably remembering the friendship they had when they opened their shop to exchange charcoal that night, came to help her.
At present, the disasters in various parts of Dongzhou have come to an end. Xiang Sheng has nothing to do, so he did not refuse. He spread out the red paper brought by Lu Wangsheng and wrote two lines with a quick brush.
Fortune and luck come together in spring, and auspiciousness comes together in the year
"good!"
Lu Wangsheng couldn't help but shout, his face full of joy.
He was the owner of a cloth shop and had only a few years of education. He could not understand the cursive script hanging on the wall, but the regular script on the couplet was very beautiful and was no worse than those written by the literati in Lanyuan.
You know, if Lan Yuan accepted the pen to write a couplet, the starting price would be one or two taels of silver.
Thinking of this, Lu Wangsheng suddenly felt that he not only did not lose money by acting as a shill this time, but made a lot of money instead.
"Boss Xiang, your handwriting is absolutely amazing!"
Lu Wangsheng praised repeatedly, then carefully blew the ink dry, and immediately turned around with the banner in his hand so that everyone in the back of the room could see it.
Seeing this, everyone was shocked.
"I can't read, but the handwriting is so beautiful!"
"Only eight cents, too cheap, ask the boss for a pair!"
"I came here first, you go behind!"
"I'll give you ten cents!"
"I'm offering twenty coins, who wants to compete with me?!"
"To the boss..."
The people that Widow Wang invited were all ordinary people. Most of them were illiterate, but they could tell beauty from ugliness.
It was rare to come across such neatly arranged and beautiful couplets, and everyone rushed to grab them as if they had gotten a great bargain, almost getting into a fight.
When Chen the blacksmith heard the noise, he came over in time to calm the situation. Several hooligans mixed in the crowd immediately ran away in shame like mice meeting a cat.
"Pi San?"
Chen the blacksmith recognized the gangster's identity and frowned slightly. Didn't he go to the west of the city? Why did he come back?
Inside the house, Xiang Sheng was concentrating on writing couplets and didn't pay attention to the incident happening at the door.
She wrote very quickly, and each couplet was different. In less than an hour, all the guests left happily, holding their own couplets.
Seeing this, Chen the Blacksmith, who was guarding the door, was about to go back, but was stopped by Xiang Sheng, "Chen the Blacksmith, please stay."
Xiang Sheng fished out ten copper coins and handed them over, "Thanks to your help today, there was no trouble. This is a small thank you gift, I hope you will accept it."
Blacksmith Chen had never dealt with scholars before, so he felt a little envious when listening to Xiang Sheng's flowery words.
He smiled sheepishly, pushed the copper back, and said frankly, "I won't accept this. Sister Wang asked me to take good care of you, and I just followed her advice. If you want to thank her, thank her."
Xiang Sheng was slightly startled, then chuckled: "Okay."
"Miss Xiang, I... have another favor to ask of you."
Blacksmith Chen's face flushed, but he still said shamelessly, "I wonder if the young lady could take Fengfeng in for a couple of days?"
He was afraid that Xiang Sheng would refuse, so he immediately added, "There's a lot of work at the docks during the New Year. I'll be off unloading for two days and then back. I definitely don't intend to abandon Feng Feng.
Sister Wang is very busy these past two days. Many wealthy families in the city have to slaughter pigs and have no time to take care of Fengfeng. After much thought, I can only ask you, young lady, for help."
At this point, Chen the Blacksmith gathered some scattered copper coins from his pocket, handed them over, and muttered, "These are... all I have left."
Xiang Sheng glanced at the black copper coin in Chen the blacksmith's palm and said calmly, "Take the money back. It's not too late to settle the reward when you come back."
When Blacksmith Chen heard the first half of the sentence, his face darkened, but after hearing the second half, he immediately showed surprise, "Miss Xiang, you agreed?!"
Xiang Sheng nodded slightly. Blacksmith Chen was overjoyed and ran back home without saying a word. Not long after, he brought Feng Feng back with him. "Feng Feng, call me auntie!"
This was the second time Fengfeng had seen Xiang Sheng. When she heard about her father's flowers, she immediately called out, "Auntie."
Xiang Sheng responded softly, took the little girl in his arms, looked up at Chen the Blacksmith, and his expression returned to normal. "What else do you want, Blacksmith Chen?"
"No, it's okay."
Blacksmith Chen waved his hand quickly, then squatted down, held Fengfeng's little hand, and whispered: "Fengfeng, be obedient here. Daddy will be back on New Year's Eve."
"Um!"
Feng Feng responded obediently, but her eyes showed reluctance. "Daddy, you must come back as promised. Don't do it like last time."
Blacksmith Chen felt a little sad, and before tears fell, he ran out of the door.
“Daddy…”
Fengfeng leaned against the door frame, pursed her lips, and tears began to fall.
After a long while, she wiped her eyes, turned around and put on her usual flattering smile: "Auntie, Fengfeng is very well behaved and will not cause you any trouble."
After Fengfeng finished speaking, she saw Xiang Sheng was concentrating on writing something and there was no movement. She couldn't help but scratch the ground with her toes.
But this difficult task obviously did not pose any difficulty for her.
Fengfeng's eyes rolled around, and she immediately had a new idea. She looked up at the sky outside, then feigned surprise and said, "How come it's almost noon already? Fengfeng will go make you some food."
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