Hu Xu forced a laugh, not knowing how to respond, so he sat there for a while, said goodbye to the two of them, and walked away in a daze.
Shopkeeper Wang didn't want to keep him, cursed him inwardly as "idiot", and turned to look at Xu Jiang.
"Madam Xu..."
Xu Jiang interrupted him and sighed, "I know what you want to ask, but Zhu Chun and I are not suitable."
If there was a ravine and rapids between Lou Yunchun and her, then there was a mirror between Hu Xu and her. They could see each other but it was difficult for them to get any closer.
Actually, these two people are not suitable for her.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but laugh. There was nothing even remotely related to this matter, so why think so much about it?
"Manager Wang, please stop worrying about me. My sister-in-law said yesterday that she would invite me to your house for dinner. Be careful, I will tell my sister-in-law about you. You might not even be able to enter the house."
Shopkeeper Wang bowed quickly and said, "Please don't. I won't ask any more about your affairs. But please don't tell my wife. She has a petty temper and won't be offended."
"Okay, you said my sister-in-law has a bad temper, I will remember that."
Shopkeeper Wang didn't bother to argue with her. He quickly finished the remaining kudzu powder in two bites and ran away in shame.
Xu Jiang stood up to clear the dishes, stared at the small amount of food left at the bottom of Hu Xu's bowl, and sighed softly.
After cleaning up, she sorted out Hu Xu's poems and the collection of elementary poetry he had restored. Then she wrote a note, asked a runner to deliver it to Du Hui's house, and invited him to come for tea when he was free.
Du Hui came in the afternoon, saying that he was free.
Xu Jiang naturally enjoyed the tea and food.
Du Hui replied, "I heard a few days ago about the strange story of Shopkeeper Xu blocking the gate of Jisheng Bookstore with his donkey. I've always wanted to come and take a look, but I've been busy with work and can't get everyone together, so it's not easy to come."
Xu Jiang felt a little embarrassed and said, "I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself, gentlemen."
"I did see a joke, but not at you, but at the Jisheng Bookstore. You have no idea how happy Brother Yuan was when he heard about this." Du recalled the scene and found it amusing. He smiled and then frowned and asked, "I heard that they sent hooligans to cause trouble again. Was there any damage?"
"I'm fine, I just got Zhuchun beaten because of it." Xu Jiang became very angry when she mentioned this.
"How audacious! Hu Xu is a man of honor and renown. He assaulted a scholar in the street. He has absolutely no regard for the law. How could he just let them off like that?"
"I've made them confess and sign, and even asked the neighbors to be witnesses. If they dare to come again, I will sue them and Jisheng Bookstore to the government. Let's see who will be embarrassed." She suppressed her anger and said, "But it's not a good idea to make a big deal about this right now. First, Zhuchun will take part in the Spring Examination after the New Year, and getting involved in a lawsuit might affect his exam. Second, now is not the best time to break up with Jisheng. We should stop while we are ahead and leave room for both sides to avoid any harm for the time being."
Then he smiled and comforted Du Hui, "At least they don't dare to cause trouble again openly."
Du Hui knew the hidden meaning behind this. "This is ultimately a disaster. They dare not touch you openly, but they can do it in private. If you want to buy books, sell books, and print books, you must go through the Ministry of Revenue. They only need to give a word and they can drag your small bookstore to death."
"So, didn't I invite you here to give me some advice?" Xu Jiang refilled his tea and handed him the two re-copied collections.
Du Hui took it and looked at it, "What do you mean?"
"I want to reprint these two collections as 'New Collection of Elementary Education' and would like to ask for your approval. Also, I'd like to ask if it would be acceptable to reprint my collection under the name of the Imperial Academy."
Du Hui was stunned for a moment, then clapped his hands in admiration, "Master Xu, you're so good! You actually came up with this idea, planning it all out before you act. It turns out you had it all planned out long ago, that's why you dared to offend people."
Xu Jiang narrowed her eyes like a little fox and said, "Just tell me whether it can be published."
"Yes, of course! If our Imperial Academy wants to publish a book, why should we depend on the Ministry of Revenue's opinion?" He stroked his beard and said, "But our Imperial Academy doesn't publish every book. If the content is not good, it will be rejected."
"That's why I asked you to come and judge for me. You've seen both of these sets."
"There's nothing wrong with this collection of elementary poetry, but some parts of the book need to be revised." Du Hui flipped through the book and asked, "Who wrote these poems?"
Xu Jiang was waiting for him here, deliberately teasing him, "Come to think of it, you know this guy too, why not give him a guess?"
"I know him?" Du Hui pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with an answer. He glared at her and said, "You mischievous creature, why don't you just tell me now?"
"This man's surname is Hu, his given name is Xu, and his courtesy name is Zhuchun."
"Zhuchun?" Du Hui asked in surprise, "You said he wrote this poem?"
Xu Jiang nodded.
Du Hui was heartbroken. "Yuan Zuzhi! This old fellow got away with it. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Xu Jiang suppressed a smile. "When I showed it to you last time, Zhu Chun hadn't come to the temple yet. I saw that you didn't like this book of poems very much, so I didn't talk about it later."
"When did I say I didn't like it?" Du Hui calmed himself down, drank a sip of tea, and pondered: "Give me both this poetry book and this elementary poetry collection. I will personally teach him how to revise it. I must give half of Zhuchun to be my student."
Xu Jiang was waiting for him to say this, so how could she not agree?
"Okay, okay. With your personal guidance, I'm sure the Imperial College will not object."
"Is that even necessary?"
"Sir, according to the calculations, will the printing be completed in time for the spring semester?"
"I'll personally deliver it to the government office after I've revised it. How can I wait until the spring semester? I'll get the approval document by next month at the latest."
Xu Jiang was overjoyed. She was right. It was most appropriate to entrust this matter to Du Hui.
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