Lin Qinnian made a gesture of invitation, and Du Hui bowed and said, "Look, Brother Rushan has agreed to give it up."
Seeing this, Zhou Shancai had no choice but to give up. Du Hui had a bad reputation and was an official, so those young masters could not control him.
Xu Jiang's eyes flashed with a smile, and Wu Guanshi saw it and whispered something in Zhou Shancai's ear. Zhou Shancai looked at Xu Jiang, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. After looking her up and down, he saw her simple clothes and turned to contempt.
Then he averted his eyes and said calmly, "I believe this must be Madam Xu from Zhanchun Bookstore. I've often heard my two managers mention her, but after meeting her today, she's quite different from what I imagined."
Xu Jiang smiled sincerely, "Oh? I'm quite the opposite. I've often heard of the East Family's reputation these days, and now I see that they are truly worthy of their reputation."
Zhou Shancai was slightly stunned, but gave him a straight look.
Manager Wu shouted, "Disrespectful!"
Lin Qinnian's eyes fell on Manager Wu. "Where is your rudeness? Please explain in detail."
Manager Wu choked and turned his eyes away, not daring to look him in the eye.
Zhou Shancai glanced coldly at Manager Wu, then said pointedly, "Manager Xu, you're a woman. It's not easy to do business in the capital, right? As a colleague, let me remind you a few words. You're new here and you're unfamiliar with the place. You must be careful what you do. Don't take the wrong path and offend anyone."
Xu Jiang thought for a moment, then put on an expression of regret for not meeting someone earlier. "Alas, the boss reminded me too late. I've already offended the people I should have offended." He lamented again, "Nowadays, bullies often come to my place to demand protection money. If I don't pay, they'll send hooligans to cause trouble. After I finally beat them away, I'm still being bullied by them, both openly and covertly. It's really not easy."
Zhou Shancai smiled wryly, "Shopkeeper Xu is truly eloquent and eloquent."
Xu Jiang humbly said, "No, no, I can't compare to Master Zhou, who is good at dancing with long sleeves and rich in business."
Lou Jing had a hard time holding back his laughter behind Du Hui, thinking that his silly son was afraid that the young lady would suffer. Look at his sharp teeth, he hoped he wouldn't scratch Zhou Shancai's face and leave bloody marks.
Zhou Shancai secretly felt angry, but he still wore a smile on his face. He asked with concern, "I heard your shop is going to publish a collection of works? I wonder if you have received approval from the government office?"
Xu Jiang frowned and sighed, "Not yet. I heard that your bureau has published countless books. I hope you will be willing to teach me and share your experience."
Du Hui raised his eyebrows when he saw her talking nonsense, but did not expose her.
A hint of pride flashed across the faces of Zhou Shancai and Wu Guanshi. Zhou Shancai said, "Excuse my bluntness, but a shop like yours, without any roots or foundation, is like a duckweed floating on the water, unable to withstand the wind and waves. If you want to gain a foothold in Kyoto, you still need to find a big tree to lean on."
It's obvious who Dashu is.
Xu Jiang suddenly realized, "I appreciate your advice. I heard that my host and Lord Zhou of the Ministry of Revenue are brothers from the same clan. Not everyone can rely on such a powerful figure." She then said enviously, "Last time at Liquanfang, I ran into your clan's nephews. They were so impressive, constantly calling him 'Minister of Revenue' and 'Jisheng Bookstore,' they outshone everyone else there. It seems Lord Zhou, this powerful figure, has truly blessed many a wandering duckweed. I wonder if he can even accommodate a humble figure like me."
Zhou Shancai's smile faded, and he said to Xu Jiang, "Young lady, please don't be too stubborn. You might end up hurting yourself."
Xu Jiang also stopped smiling and said, "Master, don't be too greedy. It's bad for your spleen and stomach."
The two of them exchanged blows, which made for a good show. Lou Jing saw that the time was almost right and was about to come out to smooth things over, but he suddenly heard a roar from behind him.
"How can such a ridiculous article earn the reputation of a virtuous person? It's simply laughable!"
The roar was like thunder and lightning, tearing apart the absurdity in the hall and spreading filth all over the floor, which was deafening.
The man threw the manuscripts everywhere and continued to curse, "What kind of bullshit is this? I think it's a money grab!"
Xu Jiang couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Zhou Shancai's face changed, and without caring about Xu Jiang, he hurriedly strode towards the man.
The scholars who had their manuscripts thrown away also surrounded the man, pinned him to the ground and beat him. Zhou Shancai quickly called for others to intervene, and after finally pulling the men apart, the man's face was already bruised and swollen.
The man spat out a mouthful of blood foam, his face full of dissatisfaction, and continued to curse: "You bookstores, you say that you are selecting talented people by picking up articles, but it's just a scam, asking for money from both sides. You take the money from these idiots, praising them as talented people, and then publish their shitty poems and essays to mislead students. You are really greedy and shameless."
Zhou Shancai quickly had his mouth covered.
"Wait." Lin Qinnian suddenly spoke up to stop him.
Everyone was shocked.
When the elderly officials present saw him, some were happy, while others were frightened.
Lin Qinnian ignored Zhou Shancai's gloomy gaze, stepped forward, removed the cloth from the man's mouth, and asked, "What's your name? What's your courtesy name? What's your nickname?"
When the man saw him, he lowered his voice for no apparent reason and replied, "I am Zeng Zhui from Shuzhou, my courtesy name is Wenfeng, and I have no pseudonym."
Shuzhou? The surname Zeng? Xu Jiang's heart moved.
After hearing him introduce himself, Lin Qinnian nodded and then asked, "I just saw you among the scholars who submitted poems and essays. Are you dissatisfied with the results of the selection?"
Zeng Zhui became angry at the mention of this. He had come all the way from Shuzhou to participate in the next spring's imperial examination. He had heard that a literary gathering was being held here, and he wanted to show his face and make a name for himself, so that the scholars in the capital would know that he, Zeng Zhui, the top writer in Shuzhou, had come. So he went to the Jisheng Bookstore to introduce himself.
Seeing the bookstore manager readily agree, he thought this was the most open bookstore in the capital. After being told to submit an essay today, he carefully selected one of his best works and submitted it for the competition, but he didn't expect it to be passed over without even mentioning his name.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
