"Since you've said it, I don't think that old man Lou Jing can find any fault with it."
"Is this a gift for Mr. Lou?"
"It's not a gift, it's a comparison."
It turned out that the two of them were competing in a calligraphy competition. "If we compare, it's hard to say who is better, you or Mr. Lou."
The calligraphy of the two is equally good, but Lou Jing's calligraphy has more leisurely rhythm than Yuan Zu's, which is more in line with Xu Jiang's preferences.
Seeing that she was adding fuel to the fire, Hu Xu smiled.
Yuan Zuzhi glared, "Which way is your arm bent?"
Xu Jiang chuckled softly and said, "Not going either way." Then she suggested, "Since you two gentlemen want to compete, why not come to a bookstore? I'm thinking of hosting a book appreciation banquet. I'd like to invite you gentlemen and let everyone comment on the books. What do you think?"
"A book appreciation banquet?" Yuan Zuzhi asked sharply, "What kind of books are we appreciating?"
"I'll keep it a secret for now. You'll know when the master comes."
"You, girl, are always so good at keeping people in suspense."
Xu Jiang just smiled.
Yuan Zuzhi couldn't do anything to her, so he asked again, "When is the date set?"
"February 15th."
This year's imperial examinations are scheduled for the second, third and fourth days of the second lunar month, and the results will be announced on the twelfth day of the second lunar month. The book appreciation banquet on the fifteenth day will be a perfect opportunity to welcome the gentlemen and celebrate Hu Xu.
When Yuan Zuzhi heard the date, he knew she had put a lot of thought into it, "Then it's settled."
Xu Jiang looked at Hu Xu and asked, "The reference is still half a month away. Are you confident, Zhu Chun?"
Hu Xu said, "I dare not let down the teacher's careful teaching."
Seeing him so confident, Xu Jiang felt much more at ease. Seeing that it was getting late, she was afraid of delaying the class between the teacher and the student, and she had to go somewhere else, so she said goodbye and left.
After delivering the holiday gifts, she returned to the bookstore and found two people waiting in front of the bookstore. When she got closer, she found that they were Wu Qingchuang and Dan Si. She quickly tied up the donkey, opened the door, and invited them to come in and sit down.
"Sorry to have kept you two waiting."
Xu Jiang was about to light a fire to make tea when Wu Qingchuang stopped her. "Manager Xu, there's no need to bother. Come and sit down. We'll talk for a while and then we'll go back."
"That would be a disrespect to you two."
After she sat down, Wu Qingchuang handed her a book. Xu Jiang took a look and found that it was the set of "Collected Works of Wang Zhonggong" that she had engraved.
"The book was completed so quickly?" This collection of essays was also in butterfly binding, with great care taken in choosing the paper and ink. The printing was clear, without any bleeding, disorder or errors. It looked more refined than her set of "New Collection of Elementary School Works".
Dan Si smiled and said, "This is a sample copy. What do you think, Shopkeeper Xu?"
"Good." Xu Jiang praised: "It's better than mine."
Upon hearing this, Wu Qingchuang waved his hand and said, "Manager Xu, don't be so modest. You priced your collection low out of consideration for your students, so naturally you've compromised on the materials." Then he asked, "Does Manager Xu have any plans to reprint your collection?"
"It has been put on the table, but I haven't found a suitable printer yet, so it's on hold for the time being." She had already chosen the paper, but it was hard to find a printer. The paper mill owner asked many people on her behalf, but either they had already taken the job or they looked down on her small shop and didn't want to come.
Seeing that the spring semester was about to begin, she had already made a plan. If she couldn't hire anyone, she would do the hard work herself and print a few dozen copies to cope with the situation.
Wu Qingchuang slammed the table and said, "Manager Xu, why didn't you tell me earlier? I have someone here who can help you out in this urgent situation."
Xu Jiang was overjoyed, "Really?"
"How could this be false?" Wu Qingchuang pointed at the Collected Works of Wang Zhonggong on the table. "He's the apprentice of the craftsman who printed this collection. Although he's just an apprentice, his craftsmanship is truly excellent and he's a down-to-earth person. He's about to graduate and is looking for work. If you're interested, I'll bring him over to show you tomorrow."
"Okay, okay!" Xu Jiang quickly agreed. Wu Qingchuang's collection was well-printed. A craftsman with such skill would surely teach an apprentice who would also be good. "Then I'll trouble you, Shopkeeper Wu. If you can accomplish this, I'll definitely reward you handsomely."
"No need for a generous reward. Once the books are printed, I'd like to discuss business with Shopkeeper Xu."
"That's really embarrassing. Shopkeeper Wu, just speak frankly about your business."
"Then I'll be shameless and say it. I'd like to put the 'New Collection of Elementary Education' published by your shop on the shelves. What do you think, Shopkeeper Xu?"
Dan Si continued, "I was planning to do just that. Shopkeeper Xu, you don't know that many students have come to our bookstore looking for this set of books, but unfortunately we don't have them. We've missed out on a lot of business."
"So that's what it is. We're on the same page, then. Even if you two didn't mention it, I'd like to discuss it with you after the book is printed, and ask you to sell it on my behalf. It's just..." Xu Jiang hesitated, "If the bookstore gets to know about this, will it be disadvantageous to you?"
Wu Qingchuang said, "Shopkeeper Xu, don't worry. This book was published under the name of the Imperial College. We sell books from the Imperial College, so we can't go wrong."
Xu Jiang sighed, "I'm just afraid they'll do something to trip me up."
"Whether he's secretly trying to trip us up or not, our lives are getting harder and harder. They say everything will be fine once we join the bookshop, but in reality, they're just collecting money and don't do any work at all."
Dan Si's expression was gloomy, and his words were filled with anger and dissatisfaction.
"Not only do they not do anything, but they've also teamed up with several large bookstores to snatch away all the good writers, poets, and craftsmen. They don't care about the lives of small businesses like ours. They blindly drive up book prices and labor costs, and only care about the clothes they wear, not the people themselves. They print nonsense articles for those idiots, which simply corrupts the morals. They prevent talented scholars and writers without money from publishing books and becoming famous. They also make us afraid to publish their books because the labor costs and costs are too high, so we miss out on many good poems, articles, and good business."
Isn’t that exactly what Hu Xu did?
Xu Jiang thought of Feng Miao again and couldn't help but sigh, "If this continues, talented people will inevitably become corrupted and seek other opportunities. How can they write good articles? Worse still, some will never recover from this and ruin their future."
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