Xu Wei was brought into the room and looked around. He saw a bed, a table, a chair, a screen, a pen, an inkstone, a zither, and books. The antique shelves were filled with all kinds of antiques and toys, and there were many famous calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls. He secretly praised Mr. Xu for being a refined man.
The scene in the room suddenly brought back Xu Wei's memories.
His father Xu Gao once served as the Tongzhi of Kuizhou Prefecture in Sichuan, so Xu Wei could be said to have come from a family of officials.
Unfortunately, his father died when he was about 100 days old, and the Xu family inevitably declined from then on.
Xu Wei remembered that his stepmother and elder brother would regularly sell off household items. First, they would sell calligraphy and paintings, then lacquerware, folding screens, water stoves, small tripod pots, pitching pots, and incense burners. Then, they would sell miscellaneous household items like flowery clothes racks, tea stands, copper washbasins, candlesticks, and foot tubs.
That would have been fine, but what Xu Wei couldn't accept the most was that they even took the evidence left by his father on the desk.
My father's favorite Fujian "Da Si Lian" bamboo paper, the world-class Wuxing rabbit hair ink, Xuanxiang Taishou ink from Huizhou, Duanzhou inkstone from Zhaoqing Prefecture, a rosewood three-compartment stationery box, a red sandalwood inkstone box, an agate mountain-shaped pen holder, a square jade pen screen, a double-lotus-shaped white jade water decanter, a four-roll lotus leaf brush washer, a jade toad paperweight, an ebony ruler...
Xu Wei's heart bleeds when he sees his father's lifelong treasures being sold one by one.
The ancients once said: "A fine pen and inkstone are a joy in life." Stationery is not just a toy.
They can sell anything except stationery.
At this point, Xu Wei no longer had much affection for this broken family.
After his stepmother passed away, he and his brother became estranged. Living under someone else's roof was difficult, and the only thing that kept him here was his wife, Pan, but unfortunately, she had passed away not long ago.
This was the real reason why Xu Wei decided to leave Shaoxing. As for coming to Ningbo to join Xu Yan, it was purely a coincidence.
If he had not met Chen Maoli, he would have planned to go to Taicang, Nanzhili to be a teacher and spend the rest of his life teaching and educating people.
But now everything is different.
Xu Wei wiped his moist eyes and sighed wistfully, "I ascend the tower alone on two festive occasions, drunkenly preparing to celebrate. The yellow flowers of yesterday were even more beautiful today, and the bright moon tonight surpasses the Mid-Autumn Festival."
From that day on, he said goodbye to Xu Wei.
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......
No words were spoken that night.
The next morning, Xu Wei got up early and washed up.
He had just put down the basin when he heard someone knocking on the door, and he hurried forward to open it.
When he opened the door, he saw Xu Yan standing outside. Xu Wei shook his sleeves and bowed, saying, "Good morning, young master."
Xu Yan smiled and nodded: "Brother Wen is up pretty early too."
Xu Yan took a look and found that Xu Wei had changed into the brand new moon-white Huzhou Taoist robe that he had someone send him yesterday. He thought to himself: It is true that clothes make the man. After changing his clothes, he immediately looked much more energetic.
"Brother Wen, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? Let's go eat something together."
Xu Wei wanted to decline politely, but his stomach rumbled loudly, so he smiled wryly and said, "In that case, I'd better obey your command respectfully."
The chef of the Xu Mansion was hired from Hangzhou by Xu Huaiyuan at a high price. His cooking skills were even more exquisite than those of the head chefs of all the big restaurants in Dinghai County, and he could cook all kinds of delicacies from all over the world.
After Xu Wei sat down, he was amazed at the delicious dishes served to him.
Fujian red fermented bean curd, Suzhou hawthorn cake, Nanjing crab roe buns, Hangzhou lotus roots under flowers, Taizhou scallops...
But what Xu Wei envied most was the Dushan water chestnut from Shanyin.
He remembered that he could occasionally eat this when he was a child, but he never ate it again after his stepmother passed away.
Of course Xu Yan noticed this.
In fact, he specially ordered the kitchen to prepare this dish.
Xu Wei was from Shanyin. Now that he had left his hometown, he naturally wanted to taste the delicacies of his hometown.
Xu Yan smiled faintly and chanted leisurely:
"Jingshui has many water chestnuts, while Dushan is completely different. Flowers hold up the August snow, while shells are removed from the maples along the river. The duckweed fruits are sweet and fragrant, while the lotus pods are fragrant. The eaves are open for half a month, and the fresh air is enough for three winters."
Xu Wei was stunned for a moment after hearing this.
He murmured, "Mirror Water has many corners, Dushan is completely different... The wind eaves stay for half a month, and the fresh air is enough for three winters."
It took a long time to pull himself away.
"You are truly a man of great talent, capable of producing such beautiful sentences."
Now Xu Wei was really convinced.
It is not difficult to compose poems and lyrics, but the difficulty lies in being able to do it fluently.
What's more, Xu Yanyong's works are not about those conventional images, but about the Shanyin Dushan Ling.
Xu Yan smiled and said, "Brother Wen, you're too kind. The flesh of the Dushan water chestnut is delicate and can be eaten raw or stir-fried. It's truly a rare delicacy. Brother Wen is from Shanyin, so he must eat it often."
Xu Wei, however, looked embarrassed: "To be honest, I haven't eaten Dushan water chestnuts for more than ten years."
When he was ten, his stepmother died, and he and his eldest brother lived together. But his eldest brother treated him very well, and was only happy to give him enough to eat. Why would he buy Dushan water chestnuts for him to enjoy?
"Well, I was abrupt."
"It's okay. I've let go of the past."
Xu Yan was delighted when he heard this and said with a smile, "That's right. The most important thing in life is to be happy. It's always good for you, Brother Wen, to look forward."
After a brief pause, Xu Yan continued, "What a coincidence! My father recently opened a new bookstore in the city, but it's currently unattended due to a lack of staff. I wonder if Brother Wen would be willing to take on the role of manager of this bookstore?"
Xu Yan thought that if Xu Wei refused, he would find another way.
Unexpectedly, Xu Wei immediately responded, "Thank you for your appreciation, sir. I will do my best to serve you."
Xu Yan nodded and said, "That's good. I'll take Brother Wen to see this bookstore later."
But after the two men finished their breakfast, they went out with a few of their followers.
Miaofeng Hall is not far from Xu Mansion and can be reached on foot.
As Xu Yan's publicity strategy gradually took effect, more and more people came to the store to read books.
Xu Wei was a scholar, so he was naturally familiar with bookshops.
But he found that all the people who came to this bookstore to read were gathered around the "useless books" area, which made him very confused.
"Sir, why are they all reading these 'idle books'?"
Xu Yan smiled and said, "Brother Wen, you may not know that our store recently received a new copy of 'Journey to the West: The Evil', and it's selling very well. These people must have come here because of its reputation."
"Journey to the West to Release Evil?"
Xu Wei shook his head: "I have never heard of it."
Xu Yan thought to himself, of course you haven’t heard of it. If you had heard of it, how would I make money?
"Brother Wen, let's go to the backyard and talk."
The two of them walked through a small door and came to the backyard.
Xu Yan had originally chosen this shop because of its backyard. Now the yard has a roof, which can provide shelter from wind and rain, making it convenient for printing books.
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ps: This chapter made me cry. Xu Wenchang’s past was too miserable.
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