Chapter 61
The county government office was completely silent at this moment, and Magistrate Li and his men were staring at Xiangli Valley intently.
Xiang Li Gu was stared at by several gazes, and his dark face became even darker.
Ever since he boarded the pirate ship of Lin County Magistrate, he has been working diligently and conscientiously and has never had a rest. After the spring plowing season, I finally didn’t have to instruct the craftsmen in making farm tools every day. After just a few days of free time, I started taking students to school without stopping. Not long ago, County Magistrate Lin found him another good job, and he gladly accepted it because of the salary.
When he was called over in a hurry by the police just now, he guessed that his leisurely days would not last long, as County Magistrate Lin had a new idea.
Looking at the gentle face of County Magistrate Lin, and thinking about the ideas and propositions of his ancestors, he remained silent and just nodded.
"So it can be done, right?" Magistrate Li asked anxiously.
"It's feasible." Xiang Li Gu affirmed.
Magistrate Li stroked his beard and laughed, "Then let's start right away. I'll be waiting for your good news."
He turned to Lin Shuge and said, "Shuge, you are amazing. I can sleep peacefully because of you in this county." After that, there was another burst of laughter.
"Okay, you should focus on discussing this matter in the next few days. Don't make it public until it's done." County Magistrate Li looked at Qian Wancai.
Qian Wancai knew that County Magistrate Lin wanted him to listen to such secrets because he wanted him to appease and mediate among the merchants, but he also understood this principle: secrecy leads to success while disclosure leads to failure.
He immediately made his position clear: "Don't worry, sir, this matter is of great importance, and I know what to do."
Magistrate Li nodded with satisfaction and asked everyone to leave.
Lin Shuge followed Xiangli Gu to the official residence. In order to facilitate Xiangli Gu's work, the county government set up a separate room for him, which could be used as a simple studio.
Xiangli Gu found a piece of hard pear wood as Lin Shuge said, and Lin Shuge asked the clerk with the neatest handwriting in the county government to write an original text of the "Spring and Autumn Annals".
After Xiang Li Gu polished the wooden board, he pasted the written side of the manuscript onto the board. He found a suitable carving knife and began to carve the words in relief along the lines of those pasted on the wooden board.
Being born in Xiangligu Qinmo, engraving was naturally a piece of cake for him. He just moved his fingertips slightly and the carving knife slid along the ink. A word was carved out, and the font was slightly raised. This was the positive text of woodblock printing.
That’s right, the papermaking technology is not as good as those in Nanjun, so Lin Shuge can only bring the printing technology to the market earlier.
Woodcut engraving is the simplest. As long as the craftsman is skillful, he can carve out a plate quickly.
Xiangli Gu carved very delicately. Half an hour later, a piece of wood carving was completed. Xiangli Gu gently blew away the sawdust on the board. Seeing that some sawdust still remained, he put it into water to wash it.
"Sir, it's finished carving." Xiangli Gu said.
Lin Shuge took the engraving plate and praised it: "It is so exquisitely engraved. Let's print a draft first to try it out."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Li Gu pulled out a brush from the shelf. He made it from pig bristles and it was very convenient to use when doing carpentry work.
Lin Shuge pushed the ink to him. Xiang Ligu dipped the brush in the ink and gently and evenly applied the ink to the raised characters on the plate. Then he covered the plate with a layer of white paper and carefully brushed the paper with the brush. The ink was clearly printed on the paper.
The two of them stared with bated breath. Xiang Li Gu did not move for a long time, so Lin Shuge had to peel off the paper himself. The handwriting was clear, and the ink was thick and even, without any smudges.
He said happily, "It's done."
Lin Shuge held the manuscript page in his hand and said, "Xiangli, I will remember your contribution. You should ask the craftsmen to print a copy of the Book of Documents immediately. I will check the cost of binding it. If there are not enough people, I will ask Qian Wancai to ask if there are any craftsmen who are good at this."
He thought for a moment and added, "I'll go talk to Xu Yu at Haoranzhai. He has many scholars with neat handwriting. Ask him to send some of them to assist you here."
If printing technology was invented, it would naturally have a small impact on the scholars who copied books. Although a group of talented people were recruited to work as teachers when the school was built, there were still many who still relied on copying books to make a living. If they came here, at least they could have another source of income.
Xiang Li Gu didn't show it on his face, but in fact his hands were shaking slightly. He had witnessed yet another miracle, and a hint of admiration could not help but appear in his eyes.
Lin Shuge smiled and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
As if remembering something, he added: "It's not my idea. Remember the immortal I told you about?"
Xiangli Gu lowered his head and said nothing. He didn't know whether others believed what County Magistrate Lin said, but he didn't believe it anyway.
Lin Shuge was in a hurry to report to Magistrate Li and had no time to deal with his little thoughts. He just told him a few things to pay attention to and then excitedly took the manuscript to see Magistrate Li.
"You made it so quickly?" Magistrate Li stood up from his chair and said, "Let me see it."
Before Lin Shuge could say anything, the manuscript in his hand had been snatched away by him. Looking at his empty hands, Lin Shuge complained in his heart: Can you be calmer, Mr. County Magistrate?
Magistrate Li's eyes sparkled, as if he was looking at some rare treasure. He paced back and forth excitedly, muttering to himself.
"Shu Ge, this is truly a great achievement that will last for generations." He was in tears. He turned around and looked at Lin Shuge, wishing he could worship him.
"Sir, I have asked Xiangli Gu to arrange for craftsmen to start making the stereotypes, but I still need to trouble Boss Qian and Boss Xu to cooperate."
"Just go ahead and do it. I will help you deal with any trouble you have. I will write a letter to the county magistrate's office and inform Envoy Wei." County Magistrate Li came out of his excitement and said slowly.
"Thank you, sir." Lin Shuge said.
…
In the county government office, Qian Wancai and Xu Yu followed Lin Shuge and looked at the scene in shock.
Xiangli Gu and a group of craftsmen were carving words. Wood chips were flying everywhere, but positive characters were quietly born under the hands of the carvers. Next to them, a group of scholars were writing furiously, carefully looking at the manuscripts of scriptures.
A craftsman was brushing the engraving plate gently with a brush, and sheets of manuscripts were being dried in order.
"This... this is simply..." Xu Yu's jaw dropped in shock, and a hint of ecstasy flashed in his eyes.
He runs a study, and he can tell at a glance that if he masters this craft, his study will surely make a fortune.
In the past, if we hired a group of scholars to copy books, it would take at least several days to copy a book, and that was assuming the copyists were careful and quick.
If the block for a sutra was really carved, the craftsman only needed to print it. He couldn't even imagine how many copies a craftsman could print in a day.
Qian Wancai was so excited that he was speechless. If he had such a workshop at home, he could not only make paper, but also print books and sell them without haggling with the bookstores.
Xiang Ligu saw Lin Shuge and raised his hand to wipe the sawdust off his face. "Meet County Magistrate Lin." He took a bound book and said, "Sir, this is printed."
Lin Shuge reached out and took it, but before he started flipping through it, two heads popped over to him.
Lin Shuge looked at the two of them with amusement and opened the book. This was the first volume of "Book of Songs". Due to the tight schedule, only the original text of "Book of Songs" was included and some classic meanings had not been added in.
But the paper quality was excellent, and the rows of handwriting were very neat. When Lin Shuge flipped through the pages, he found that a craftsman had been so ingenious that he even added several illustrations.
Lin Shuge touched the plants drawn on the book with surprise and asked Xiang Ligu, "Who came up with this?"
Xiang Li Gu replied, "It was the craftsman Li Zigao."
"Send him over." Lin Shuge said with interest.
Xiang Li Gu responded, and soon a young man trotted over.
"Sir, Li Zigao has arrived." Xiangligu said.
"Greetings, County Magistrate Lin." The voice was weak and faint, and he was a little afraid to speak.
"Don't be afraid, did you draw this picture?" Lin Shuge asked in a gentle voice with encouragement in his eyes.
"Yes... me. I made both the picture and the stereotype." His voice was a little shaky, as if he was not used to speaking in front of so many people.
"Well done. You will go to Zhou Zhubu to collect your reward later." Lin Shuge said loudly.
After hearing this, Li Zigao was so excited that he couldn't speak clearly, "Thank... Thank you, sir."
The other craftsmen stopped their work and looked over here.
"If you have such clever ideas, you can also tell the prime minister. After the prime minister adopts them, he will inform me and I will reward him." Lin Shuge said, looking at the craftsmen.
The craftsmen nodded in agreement, thinking to themselves: Why don’t I have such a good brain?
Lin Shuge walked around the clerk's residence for a while, and without disturbing them while they were working, he called out to Qian Wancai and Xu Yu who were whispering to each other while holding books.
"Boss Xu, Boss Qian, have you seen it? If you have, you can leave now."
"Okay, okay." Xu Yu carefully closed the book, with reluctance in his eyes, and returned the book to Lin Shuge.
The three of them walked out of the official residence, and Lin Shuge asked, "How is it? Are you two satisfied?"
Qian Wancai said repeatedly: "Satisfied, of course I am satisfied."
He had been feeling uneasy these past few days. Although he had listened to County Magistrate Lin's proposal at the time, no one had seen it with their own eyes. Because he had agreed to the appointment by County Magistrate Li and County Magistrate Lin, he had already boasted in front of all the major merchants in order to appease them.
But even though the words had been spoken, I was still a little worried. When I saw him today, all my worries were gone with the wind. Sure enough, there would be nothing wrong in following County Magistrate Lin.
He was once again thankful in his heart that he always took the right path.
"Then I'll have to tell Boss Qian and the merchants. If they are interested, we'll still follow the papermaking method. If not..." Lin Shuge smiled.
"Of course I agree." Qian Wancai said respectfully, secretly thinking that those people were rude at that time and they must be taught a lesson.
Lin Shuge nodded, "Then let the merchants who are interested send their craftsmen to come and learn from Xiangli Gu. Remember, you are doing business, there are some taboos that cannot be violated. If you want to publish some books, you must check them several times and send them to the county government for inspection before you can print them."
"I know." Qian Wancai bowed.
Lin Shuge nodded and let him leave.
Only Xu Yu, who had been silent the whole time, looked at him with a smile and joked, "Lin County Magistrate looks very good when he has a cold face."
Lin Shuge was in a good mood at the moment and didn't bother with him. "Boss Xu, the emergence of printing technology may have an impact on your study."
After all, if each merchant can print by themselves, they will not have to cooperate with bookstores, and the bookstores' business will naturally decline.
Xu Yu rolled his eyes, "Then how does County Magistrate Lin plan to compensate me?"
Lin Shuge smiled and said, "I wonder if Boss Xu wants to find another way out?"
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