It happened to be the La Festival when the scroll was being repaired. Xu Jiang followed the customs she had observed that day and it was easy for her to mend it. After she had finished most of the scroll, the servant of the Lou family came to her door carrying two bamboo baskets.
"Hello, Madam Xu."
"Hey, why are you here? Please come in." Xu Jiang waved at him quickly, and then said, "Please sit down and have some tea."
"No, no, I'll leave after delivering the things. The housekeeper is waiting outside and wants me to go shopping for New Year's goods with him." The servant put down the bamboo baskets and said, "These two bamboo baskets are full of southern goods that the Cao Gang just delivered yesterday. The master ordered them to be delivered, saying that Madam Xu should have a taste of her hometown."
"Thank Mr. Lou for me." It was hard for Lou Jing to think of her like this.
"The master also asked me to tell Madam Xu that he had recently acquired two new calligraphy and paintings, and asked Madam Xu to come over the day after tomorrow to help frame them."
"No need to bother. Please reply for me and tell me that I have agreed and will come to visit you the day after tomorrow."
"I understand." After saying this, the servant was about to leave. Xu Jiang pulled him back and stuffed a few cakes into his hands, asking him to eat them on the way.
"Thank you, Madam Xu. I'm leaving now."
After the servant left, Xu Jiang opened the two bamboo baskets that Lou Jing had sent her, and found that one basket was filled with blood oranges and the other was filled with red tangerines, both of which were rare delicacies in the capital at this season.
That’s really thoughtful.
She peeled a red tangerine. The unique fragrance of the tangerine peel refreshed her and also made her nostalgic.
Recalling her childhood, there were several red tangerine trees in front of her home. Thanks to her master's careful care, they bore abundant fruit every year. She would run to the trees every day after the flowers fell, waiting for the oranges to ripen. As soon as the oranges were full, she couldn't wait to pick them and stuff them into her mouth, regardless of whether they were red or not.
The oranges were unripe and so sour that she grimaced and could not eat them at all, so she secretly threw them into the grass to destroy them, and then she could not help but pick them again the next day.
She kept picking and throwing the oranges, and was often scolded by her master, but she never changed. But when the oranges turned red, she no longer wanted to eat them, which made her master very angry.
Xu Jiang broke off a slice of orange and put it in his mouth, tasting the familiar sweet and sour taste. He felt a sense of sadness in his heart, wondering what would become of the orange trees without people around.
She selected tangerines and blood oranges and placed them on two glazed tripod plates as tribute, which was quite unique.
At noon, Wu Qingchuang and Dan Si came to the door as agreed.
Xu Jiang invited the two of them to tea, and after some pleasantries, they got down to business. Wu Qingchuang handed Xu Jiang the volume of Wang Zhonggong's Collected Works. Xu Jiang flipped it open and saw that each page had very few words. According to her habit, the words could be engraved more compactly, saving the two of them several wood blocks.
She read the collection from beginning to end and finally decided, "I'll take this job."
The two shopkeepers were overjoyed.
Xu Jiang's next words delighted them even more. "If this collection is engraved according to my rules, it won't take more than sixty pieces of wood, and it will save you two some money."
"Manager Xu is a really honest person. We will definitely make friends with him." Dan Si's face was full of admiration.
Wu Qingchuang also praised: "It's rare, rare. If it were someone else, let alone saving us money, they would have been lucky if they had tried to add a few more."
A board costs two thousand coins, so buying a few boards can save a lot.
Xu Jiang smiled and said, "This is our first time meeting. Consider this a token of friendship. We are both small businesses, so if we work together and help each other, we can go far."
"That's exactly the truth." Wu Qingchuang nodded.
Xu Jiang added, "Besides, I might need your help in the future. If that happens, please take good care of me."
Dan Si replied, "That's fine. Manager Xu has helped us a lot this time. If you need anything in the future, just let me know. I won't refuse."
Wu Qingchuang bowed and said, "Me too."
"Then let's sign the contract." Xu Jiang found the four treasures of the study, drafted two contracts, and the three of them signed and sealed them. After paying the deposit, the deal was done.
"It's settled, so we won't bother you anymore."
Knowing that the two had a long way to go back and that they were both busy taking care of the business in the shop and would not have much time to chat, Xu Jiang did not stay long.
She sent the two of them outside the shop and did not return home until they were far away.
"Another deal." Xu Jiang put away the silver and the deed, then picked up the "Collected Works of Wang Zhonggong" to read through it.
Although this deal is time-consuming and laborious, it is at least an income. Moreover, after the deal is done, when the second edition of her "New Collection of Elementary Education" is published, she can discuss cooperation with them to see if her collection can be put on the shelves for sale in their bookstore.
If the deal is successful, it will kill two birds with one stone.
Xu Jiang finished annotating the remaining half volume of the county annals when the drum for closing the West Market happened to sound. She put away the scroll and tools, then yawned loudly.
She was halfway through a yawn when she heard the familiar sound of horse hooves outside. She went out to greet him and saw two familiar bamboo baskets hanging from Lou Yunchun's horse, and she immediately smiled.
Are they moving all the southern goods from his house here?
Xu Jiang stepped forward to take the reins. Lou Yunchun smiled at her, dismounted, and went to untie the bamboo basket. He wanted to go back, so Xu Jiang tied the horse under a tree to prevent the stubborn donkey from making a scene.
Lou Yunchun was waiting for her with a bamboo basket, and the two of them walked into the house together.
After entering the room, Lou Yunchun was stunned when he saw the newly added Qing Gong on the table.
Xu Jiang covered her mouth and laughed, "Let's go, why are you standing there like an idiot?"
"My father sent it?"
"Yes. Someone was sent to deliver it this morning."
Lou Yunchun's shoulders slumped, and he felt a little discouraged.
Xu Jiang laughed out loud when she saw his helpless look, then took the bamboo basket from his hand and comforted him, "It's okay, I love eating oranges, I don't mind having too many."
Lou Yunchun breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."
Xu Jiang pulled him to sit down and chatted with him about the trivial matters in the market. When he mentioned helping to carve woodblocks, Lou Yunchun frowned and asked, "You have to repair the county annals and print books. Now you have taken on this job, can you handle it?"
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