She saw Shopkeeper Wang standing in front of the rice shop, eating his breakfast with a bowl in his hand, and she greeted him, "Brother, good luck in opening the shop."
"Good luck in opening the shop, good luck in opening the shop." Shopkeeper Wang raised the bowl in his hand towards her. "Would you like a bowl of multi-grain porridge? This is the custom of our shop every year when it opens."
Xu Jiang waved her hand, "No, I had breakfast and I'm feeling full."
After the two chatted for a while, someone came to buy rice. Shopkeeper Wang quickly put down the bowl and weighed the rice for the buyer.
Xu Jiang said enviously, "It's open now." Then she went back to the shop, moved out the shelf where books were originally borrowed, put out those leisure books such as vernacular novels and legends, and took down the paintings that Hu Xu had originally painted and hung on the tree.
Although these paintings were painted on oil paper, the wind and snow had blown on them day and night, and many of the pigments and ink had already fallen off. They looked old if they were still hanging. Besides, the tree would soon sprout leaves, and by then it would be a fresh green, so there would be no need for decoration.
Xu Jiang swept away the dust on it and found a wooden box to seal it up. She could wait until the leaves fell the next year, then fill it with color and repair it, and reuse it.
After putting the paintings away, a customer came to the bookstore. He was an old man in simple clothes.
Xu Jiang approached him and asked, "What would you like to buy, sir?"
"Just take a look." The old man first looked around the store, then walked to the bookshelf, pulled out a few books and flipped through them, then put them back.
Xu Jiang accompanied him patiently, and whenever she saw him pick up a book to read, she would explain the origin and edition of the book.
I didn’t read the last one.
Xu Jiang didn't care. Since she was free at the moment, she might as well accompany him for a walk.
Seeing that she had a smiling face from beginning to end, the old man asked, "Are these the only books you have in your store?"
Xu Jiang asked in return, "What book are you looking for, old sir?"
"I've read all your books, and I've quite liked a few of them. Unfortunately, I already have a collection at home. I'd like to look for some annotated or privately printed books. I wonder if you have any."
"Personal annotations, private engravings?" Xu Jiang's heart moved slightly. "What kind of personal annotations and private engravings of classics do you want to find?"
"It doesn't matter what category you choose."
He has read through all the official and famous annotations that are popular on the market today and knows them by heart. Now he wants to find some fresh and unique ones to change his eyes and ears.
But most of the new annotated editions published today simply repeat what others have said, or blindly follow the trend, rarely offering original insights. Even if one does come across one or two that have ideas and insights, they are often immature and shallow, unable to withstand the scrutiny of experienced bookworms.
Recently, one of his grandchildren got a copy of "New Collection of Elementary School Books". When he was supervising his children's homework, he accidentally took a look at it. He found the insights in it quite novel, and the new poems at the end were also quite good, so he asked his grandchildren where they got it from.
His grandson pointed him here, but when he looked around, he couldn't find the book he wanted. Disappointed, he realized that the young lady had been explaining it to him all the way, so he asked a question.
I didn't have any expectations. After all, even the big bookstores didn't have it, so where would such a small place come from?
Unexpectedly, the young lady said, "I do have some annotations and private engravings, but many are damaged and haven't had time to repair or annotate them, so I haven't copied them out for the shelves. Today is the first day of our shop opening in the new year, and I don't want to let you go empty-handed, and I also want to bring good luck. If you're interested, I'll show you some."
The old man was immediately interested when he saw her speak so seriously and heard that it was an unrepaired copy. He hurriedly urged, "Bring it here so I can see it."
"Please sit down for a moment, old sir, and have a cup of tea first. I'll get it for you." Xu Jiang still had one cup of Kuizhou Xiangyu left, which was just right for the old gentleman. Then she went to the bedroom in the backyard and opened her two boxes of treasures.
These were some classics and privately printed collections annotated by her master. Today, she met this person, and she didn't know if it was the master's appearance.
She took out four intact volumes of personal annotations and private engravings: "Supplement to the Outer Chapters", "Explanation of the Four Books", "Xu Ke's Annotations to the Mao Poems", and "Annotations to the Book of History in Ancient and Modern Texts", and carefully presented them to the front shop for the old man to see.
When the old man saw her coming out with the book, he quickly stood up to take it. After taking it, he saw the handwriting on the bookmark on the cover and immediately liked it.
"Good word."
"Sir, please sit down and take your time to read it."
"Oh, good, good." The old man sat down, moved the teacup away, and carefully placed the book on the table. Xu Jiang watched his every move and knew that he was a book lover, and she felt a little bit of favor in her heart.
The old man first opened the book "Supplement to the Outer Chapters" and was fascinated by the first chapter.
Xu Jiang was drinking tea on the side and did not disturb them.
The old man finished reading the first chapter and flipped through several other books. When he came to the "Xuke Mao Shi Zhushu" (Notes and Annotations to the Poems of Mao), he asked, "Xuke, is Xu the surname of Zheyun in this annotation?"
"Exactly."
"What is its name?"
"The single character for name is Yuan."
"Xu Yuan, Zhe Yun." The old man praised: "Such a wonderful person, his name is not known, and his book is not passed down. It is really a loss to the world."
Xu Jiang smiled silently and did not respond.
The old man asked again: "Is this person still alive? If so, I must make his acquaintance."
Xu Jiang replied, "He has been gone for eight years."
"What a shame!" The old man closed all four books and said to Xu Jiang, "I want these four books. How much do they cost in total?"
Xu Jiang smiled bitterly and said, "You might as well tell me, sir, that these books have not yet been priced."
"It's not too late to set the price now." Seeing her troubled expression, the old man asked, "Are you having any difficulties, boss?"
"Sir, would you accept a copy?" She would only give out copies of her master's original handwritten works unless she met someone who truly loved them.
The old man was stunned when he heard this. "A manuscript?" Judging from the annotations alone, a manuscript is fine, but after seeing the original, the manuscript is probably not worth seeing. The old man was scratching his head, "Why only publish a manuscript?"
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