"That's it."
With Deng Yuechuan's participation, Ji Shan stopped arguing with Xu Jiang and made the decision immediately.
At the same time, several people had a different understanding of each other because of this incident.
This was Deng Yuechuan's first time dealing with Xu Jiang. He felt that this person possessed a rare kind of righteousness, and he immediately developed a favorable impression of her.
"You two gentlemen are both virtuous and righteous, and Xu Jiang admires you." Xu Jiang also had great respect for Ji Shan and Deng Yuechuan. Then she asked Deng Yuechuan, "Do you have any preferences for the private engravings and annotations you're looking for?"
Before Deng Yuechuan could answer, Ji Shan, feeling itchy, said, "Why don't we take them all out and have a look?"
Xu Jiang jokingly said, "It seems you're here to dig up my secrets." Then he laughed and said, "If you see everything at once, wouldn't there be no hope?"
"I think you just want to hide it."
"If I had kept it to myself, I wouldn't have given you those volumes."
Ji Shan sighed, "I've read those books over and over again, and Zhe Yun's insights are so unique and refreshing. I'm not afraid of being laughed at. Fearing that I might obscure his handwriting, I re-transcribed several books and bound them together before I dared to add my comments."
Upon hearing his comments, Xu Jiang also felt itchy. "Sir, you are well-read, and I'm sure your insights are very brilliant. When we have a book appreciation banquet, why not bring some of them so that we can appreciate them?"
"When? Where?"
Xu Jiang choked and gave a dry laugh, "When the date and time are set, I'll personally deliver the invitation to you, sir."
Deng Yuechuan asked, "Is there a share for me?"
Xu Jiang said sincerely, "It is an honor for me to have you here, sir."
"Okay! Don't forget me then." Deng Yuechuan nodded at the table and said anxiously, "Hurry up and bring out the books. No matter what category, you can have a look at them all."
"I have just finished copying and revising two books. I will bring them to you right away." Xu Jiang got up to look for the books.
"The Mao version is also fine." He was really coveting Ji Shan's books.
Xu Jiang brought the newly copied and bound books along with the Mao edition for him to choose from. However, both copies were badly damaged, and despite her best efforts to repair them, she still struggled to patch up the damage. Fortunately, she was familiar with her master's annotations, which allowed her to piece together the contents. If they were not properly cared for and maintained, they would not last long.
Deng Yuechuan was a little confused and couldn't make a decision.
Xu Jiang suggested, "Sir, you should buy the manuscript. The content is clear and intact, and the price is reasonable. These two rough copies are badly damaged and difficult to preserve. They are also difficult to read and affect the visual experience."
Ji Shan agreed, "Shopkeeper Xu is right. Rather than letting the Maopo fall into your hands, it is better to give it to Shopkeeper Xu for safekeeping."
Deng Yuechuan was persuaded, "Okay, then I'll take these two copies."
"Two thousand coins per volume, four thousand coins for two." Because manuscripts of collected works require more labor than woodblock printing, they are more expensive. This was also the case with the two manuscripts Deng Yuechuan bought, as well as the paper album that Xu Jiang had first published. However, the paper album contained less content, had a simpler binding, and was therefore cheaper than the collected works.
Deng Yuechuan sighed, "The average quality of collected works on the market these days is usually around two to three thousand coins. If you want something better, the price will be several times higher. I see that Shopkeeper Xu's paper selection, typesetting, binding, and handwriting are all top-notch, yet he only sells them at this price. He's truly conscientious."
"This manuscript of mine is only worth this price. It's just that the price of books in the capital is so high these days that you think it's cheap."
Xu Jiang's book sales were based not on the capital's market, but on Furong City's. Furong City was second only to the capital in prosperity, and its prices were higher than those in other prefectures, but cheaper than those in the capital. Xu Jiang's prices were a compromise. Furthermore, her bookshop was small and had a weak foundation. Besides relying on her craftsmanship, she also relied on price to attract and retain customers. If she followed the trend and artificially inflated her prices, she would conceal her inherent advantages and fail to retain customers.
Ultimately, genuine goods and fair prices are the foundation of business.
However, the tomb book business in the capital is now following the lead of the emperor. Book prices and labor costs remain high. Large bookstores are making a lot of money, while small bookstores are suffering.
But the most miserable ones are the scholars from poor families. They want to buy books but have no money, so they have to borrow other people's books and copy them themselves, which will inevitably make people look down on them.
Hu Xu's skill in editing, annotating and transcribing was developed in this way, and it was also because of this that he was looked down upon.
So she hoped that her bookstore could balance the market price and help more people like Hu Xu, as well as people like Master Lin and her master.
"Shopkeeper Xu is honest in his dealings. The fact that he hasn't raised the price of this 'New Collection of Elementary Studies' even after it became famous is truly admirable." Ji Shan praised him, then reminded him, "While this is a good thing, the current price of books in the capital is related to the interests of all bookstores. You're selling it so cheaply, so be careful of being targeted."
Xu Jiang thought to herself that she had been targeted for a long time.
From refusing to pay the entrance fee, to later helping Zeng Zhui and Jiang Gu, and then to her calligraphy, both sides had completely offended each other. As the saying goes, if you have too many lice, you won't feel itchy, and this one thing won't make a difference.
It was just that it was not easy to tell them about these disagreements, so he replied, "Thank you for reminding me, sir. I can avoid it now."
Then he packed up Deng Yuechuan's books, wrote a contract, and gave it to him.
Deng Yuechuan paid readily and said, "I have a good friend who used to be a compiler at the History Bureau. Now he's retired and he's itching to work. Your damaged manuscript might be just what he wants. I'll get it to him in a few days, and maybe even help him close some deals."
"Thank you, sir," Xu Jiang continued, "it's quite a coincidence. I just happened to have a job assigned by the History Bureau. Perhaps I could ask your good friend for some advice and learn some true secrets."
"The tasks transferred from the History Museum to outsiders are all useless, trivial and troublesome. Who assigned them to them?"
"Master Zhong Lu, do you know him, sir?"
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