Seeing that books were being dried on the balcony, the guests in the pavilions followed suit and asked their servants to dry their books as well.
The scholars and talented people in the water pavilion picked up their poems, calligraphy and paintings and rushed to Yingxiantai.
Most of the people in the water pavilion emptied out, and the water immediately became much quieter.
Wu Qingchuang sighed, "With so many people, selecting the best is no easier than taking the imperial examination."
Xu Jiang asked, "How are the sales of the masterpieces published by the Wushu Elegant Society in previous years?"
Dan Si replied, "Three months at most, and then there will be no more strength to continue."
I don't think it's a masterpiece, but the remaining collection of Jiang Gu's handwritten poems has been copied to this day since it was published.
Xu Jiang then asked, "How many of those who wrote these excellent works passed the imperial examinations?"
Wu Qingchuang thought for a moment and said, "Yes, but not many. Of those who published excellent works last year, only one made it to the second place this year, and his ranking was quite low. Four made it to the third place, and the rest didn't make it."
As expected, there are not many of them. I guess after these people entered officialdom, they all joined these aristocratic families.
As he was speaking, a man who looked like a manager came towards the water pavilion with dozens of attendants.
Everyone stood up to greet him.
The man who looked like the boss stared straight ahead, his face expressionless as he spoke coldly to the crowd, "For this Book-Worshipping Gathering, as long as the books you brought have engravings, our Lord Sizhen will buy them all, including the engravings and the books."
After hearing these words, everyone looked at each other in surprise.
Then he waved his hand and asked his attendants to check them one by one. As long as they were printed with the signatures of bookstores or bookshops, they would collect them one by one, regardless of whether the people present agreed or not.
Two attendants walked to the seats of Xu Jiang, Wu Qingchuang and Dan Si and began to check the books.
Xu Jiang quickly stretched out his hand to block it and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, this shop only sells books, not engravings." Then he winked at Wu Qingchuang and Dan Si, and the three of them quickly put away all their books.
At this time, other people noticed what was happening and started to collect their books.
The manager took a quick glance and said, "Everyone, please think clearly about whose territory you are in. Don't offend someone you can't afford to offend just for a few books."
Everyone hesitated to collect the books, except Xu Jiang and the other two, who put all the books back into the bookcase.
The steward did not stop them. After they had collected the books, he slowly instructed the attendants in front of them, "Check the invitations from these three families."
An attendant said to the three people, "Please show us your invitations."
The three of them looked at each other, then found the invitation and handed it to him.
After receiving the invitation, the attendant walked up to the head official and spread out the invitations one by one for him to review.
The headmaster condescended to look at it and commented, "It's not well-known."
Then he turned to the three people and said in a condescending tone, "It doesn't matter whether a small shop like yours accepts books or not, but you shouldn't offend our Liu family."
Liu Sizhen's face is probably bigger than this pond.
Xu Jiang suppressed her displeasure and asked, "May I ask, sir, what is Liu Sizhen going to do with our engraving?"
Seeing that she was a woman, the manager did not take her seriously. "When is it your turn to ask about Lord Sizhen's affairs?"
"Your Excellency is wrong. Even if the imperial court issues a decree concerning the livelihood of the people, the people can still ask questions. Most of the books exhibited and sold by the owners today are new books. These new books are related to the livelihood of the next few months, so naturally we should ask questions." Xu Jiang's words hit the nail on the head, and many people present echoed him.
"There's no need to use the saint's name to pressure me, either overtly or covertly." The manager was clearly a seasoned man and didn't argue with her. "In a word, are you selling it or not?"
Xu Jiang didn't answer immediately, but asked, "Could it be that Liu Sizhen is also planning to open a bookstore?"
The steward exchanged glances with Xu Jiang for a moment, then casually instructed the attendant, "Don't take her books; send her out."
Xu Jiang smiled and said, "Don't be upset, sir. Although this shop is not well-known, it was invited by your lord through a formal invitation. There is no need to chase me away. I can leave on my own."
After saying that, he turned around and went to carry the bookcase.
Seeing this, Wu Qingchuang lent her a hand, then looked at Dan Si, helped each other carry their own book boxes, and walked out of the water pavilion with Xu Jiang.
After leaving the pavilion, Xu Jiang glanced at the sky in the distance. He was still worried. He stopped and said to the manager, "Sir, I would like to ask you to help pass on a message to Liu Sizhen."
The manager looked at her coldly, thinking she was going to say something harsh, but he heard her talking about something else.
"The Leyou River is blocked by silt, and rain is imminent upstream, so there's a risk of flooding. Liuyuan occupies most of Leyou Township, so if there's a flood, it will definitely be affected. Therefore, I hope Liu Sizhen will dispatch personnel to help Mr. Qian, the doctor of the Ministry of Water Resources, to clear the silt, release the floodwaters, and resettle the villagers. This will also be considered a meritorious deed."
After finishing speaking, Xu Jiang left without looking back. This manager seemed to have some influence in front of Liu Sizhen, and informing him of this matter was considered her best effort.
After Xu Jiang left, the steward frowned, then thought for a moment, called a servant and ordered, "Go to Yingxiantai and ask if Lord Qian has arrived."
"Yes." The attendant replied and quickly ran towards the welcoming platform. On the way, he accidentally bumped into someone. Thinking that he had bumped into an important guest, he quickly bowed and apologized: "I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention for a moment."
The man just said "No problem" and hurried towards the three people who were walking away in front.
The servant looked up and saw that he was dressed as a servant. He immediately felt that he had been wronged and regretted not scolding him.
As Xu Jiang and the other two walked out of the corridor, they heard hurried footsteps behind them. She turned around as if she sensed something and saw that it was indeed Lou Yunchun.
Lou Yunchun didn't ask why they left early, but raised his hand to take the book box off Xu Jiang's back and put it on his own shoulders.
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