Chapter 73
Chapter 73
As soon as Yue Chang left, the students couldn't help but talk about it.
After Master Wei said this several times, everyone came to their senses and continued to practice riding and archery. Some people also looked at Ji Yuan.
He even learned horse riding and archery so quickly?
When everyone found out that he practiced before and after the national exam, their shock turned into admiration.
Can he catch this moment?
Ji Yuan knew, however, that he had only just begun to learn how to ride and shoot. This was only the beginning.
Cai Fenglan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Anyway, he will definitely be better than me."
He couldn't see the target in front of him at all!
Everyone couldn't help laughing, and then they heard Wu Ying say, "Just learn how to draw a bow first, or learn swordsmanship, then you don't have to worry about your eyesight."
This is a good choice.
Before Cai Fenglan could say anything, Wu Ying said, "Not right now. Let's wait until our Cuju team returns from Qinglan Prefecture."
Qinglan Prefecture?
Isn’t this the mansion next door?
Are they the Cuju team?
Li Jin knew something: "Are you really going to play in the game? This is amazing! When will you leave and when will you come back?"
Ji Yuan didn't know about these things either. Wuying Li Jin and others introduced: "It is the Cuju competition held every September."
"The provincial and state schools in the four neighboring states have agreed to meet in one place for a competition that will last for half a month."
“If our team makes it to the finals, the academic officials will go to watch.”
Cuju game!
I heard a little about it before the era.
There were two Cuju fields outside the Jianmeng Mansion School, where people were often playing football.
Wuying, a few people from Wei, and a dozen people who are good at football in Fuxue are all players of Fuxue Cuju.
I didn’t expect there would be competitions in the fall.
I then heard from them that the venue for the Cuju competition is different every year, and this year it is held in Qinglan Prefecture.
The Cuju teams from the four neighboring provinces were required to arrive at the designated location before September 20th.
The competition starts on September 20th.
In the first round, two players will compete against each other, and the top three players in points will be selected.
The top three will compete again, the last one will be eliminated, and the top two in points will proceed to the final.
Anyway, it lasts for fifteen days, and we'll see which Cuju team is better.
In modern times, it should be called a friendly match between schools.
Wuying and others will set off tomorrow.
They are very excited and determined to get good results.
Only Ji Yuan was not very clear about this matter. Most students would ask a few questions when they saw the members of the Cuju team recently, and kept cheering them on.
At the same time, it is a pity that the Meng Mansion is not being built this year, otherwise they could watch the fun after school.
What a pity.
Ji Yuan felt regretful when he heard this. Who wouldn't want to watch such excitement?
Someone else asked curiously: "Seeing that you study every day, are you also interested in Cuju?"
"Of course, Cuju is so interesting." Ji Yuan said with a smile.
Unexpectedly, Wu Ying touched his chin and said, "When you are a few years older, maybe you can join the Cuju team."
ah?
Can he?
Wu Ying said seriously: "Ji Yuan is smart, playing football also requires brains, and he has good physical strength."
He also said: "He is much stronger than the average scholar."
The bow is pulled well.
Speaking of bows, Ji Yuan once again thinks of compound bows.
But he opened his mouth and didn't mention it.
It is possible to improve the bow and arrow. In modern times, it may be considered a toy in the shooting range, but in ancient times, it was a gun, a real weapon.
The first thing you say is to modify weapons?
That’s okay.
Ji Yuan played with the bow and arrow in his hand, thinking about trying again when he had the chance.
Yue Chang's matter was soon forgotten by everyone.
Some people also asked, will he come to school tomorrow?
The answer is, coming.
But he didn't come to the tenth class.
I don't know how his family arranged it, but it seems that he relied on the relationship of the instructor in charge of the seal and went to the ninth class to study.
Jianmengfu School is divided into ten classrooms.
From the first to the tenth class.
The newest students who have not yet been divided into classes are all in the tenth class.
Every class has a class teacher, who is called an instructor here.
The instructor in charge is equivalent to the dean of studies. Not only does he manage ten schools, but ten instructors also work under him.
It was easy to transfer him to another class if the instructor was persuaded.
But naturally some people are indignant.
This is not a modern class. The level of teachers in each class is different, but not particularly big.
Each school in the provincial academy is better than the other.
The teacher in the ninth class is definitely better than the one in the tenth class.
Ji Yuan guessed that Yue Chang's family transferred him to another class not because of the good teacher.
Like she's avoiding him?
Ji Yuan is not narcissistic.
But the way Yue Chang looked at him that day seemed particularly devastated.
Anyway, it was right for Yue Chang to stay away from him.
So Ji Yuan didn’t think much about it.
It's mid-September now.
The annual exam will be in November, and the classes will be divided according to the exam results. He won't stay here, right?
People around Ji Yuan also think so.
Li Jinben felt that he came here to study, and it didn't matter where he studied.
Cai Fenglan loves reading and doesn't care about these things at all.
White monk?
He is called Bai Heshang, so why does he still care about these external things?
Yue Chang originally thought that he would be criticized, but unexpectedly he discovered that although the people in the Tenth Class minded that he went to a better school, they didn't say anything.
This made him, who was prepared to be embarrassed, at a loss for words.
In fact, don’t think about it. Most of the people in the entire provincial school are seeking further studies, and there is not much difference between them.
Everyone pays, it’s just a matter of how much you pay.
For students who have already been admitted, their goal is not the ninth class, but the top three or even the top two.
Why would I care if someone went to the ninth class?
Everyone seems to have their own goals in mind and doesn't care what others think.
After Yue Chang disappeared from everyone's sight, everyone's life continued as usual.
Occasionally, there would be news from Qinglan Prefecture that the four prefectural schools’ Cuju teams were competing, and that they had already made it into the top three and were just waiting to continue the competition.
Apart from that, Ji Yuan's life was the same as usual. However, he had actually finished copying the book "Comprehension of the Rhythm of Chen Family's Poetry" in advance.
A book of more than 10,000 words is not that thick. Ji Yuan writes quickly and he writes whenever he has free time.
Originally he said he would have to submit the manuscript before November 5th, but now it is only October and he has already finished it.
Since it was his first time to polish the writing, Ji Yuan asked Monk Bai and Cai Fenglan to check if there were any omissions and whether the characters were the same size.
Both of them have read a lot of books.
Monk Bai had also seen many Buddhist scriptures with excellent printing. He said at a glance: "Very good, the fonts are uniform and the structure is excellent. If it can be printed like this, people will buy it just for the words."
Ji Yuan learned the official script, which has clear and beautiful characters.
It is now perfect for use in printing.
Cai Fenglan also took a closer look and nodded in agreement.
Having said that, the three of them still found several areas that could be improved and are determined to keep striving for perfection.
On the tenth day of October, the book was completely copied.
Cai Fenglan saw that Ji Yuan put away the copied book and instead studied the original article. It seemed that he wanted to read a book on how to write poetry.
Cai Fenglan asked curiously, "With your level of poetry, do you still need to read it again? Are you trying to find omissions in it?"
He added: "Today is a good day off, so why not just send the copied documents over, and then you can get the balance."
In Ji Yuan, it cost fifteen taels of silver to copy a book, with five taels as a deposit and ten taels given to the people after the copying was completed.
Cai Fenglan knew that Ji Yuan did not have much money on him because he had to buy the treasure.
If it weren't for the royalties from the articles in the Tongshi examination, my wallet would probably be empty.
But even so, it is good to have more silver in hand, as money is needed everywhere in the city.
In this case, why not submit the manuscript in advance and get paid in advance? You can still take on new ones.
Ji Yuan's ears turned red when he heard the previous question, and he turned to answer the next question: "We agreed to hand it in before November 5th, I can't hand it in too early."
Monk Bai understood what was going on when he heard it: "Yes, it was handed in too early. It will have to be this early in the future."
Moreover, there is more than one Mr. Runbi in Zhou Family Bookstore. He knows that he writes fast.
This is not like studying. If you get first place, you just get first place.
This is about making money. If you get too excited, other people who are doing normal things will be implicated.
It is inevitable that some people will say, others write fast and well, why are you at this speed?
There is no need for that. It would be better for everyone if we just follow the steps.
Ji Yuan also gave this matter some additional thought because of Yue Chang.
The reputation alone is enough to drive people crazy, and if money is involved, it is even more of a different story.
Cai Fenglan also seemed to be thinking about something, and finally said: "It's hard to go to school, and it's even harder to get along with others."
Who says it isn’t?
As for money, Ji Yuan felt that he had enough. He had sold his essay for the children's examination for thirty-six taels, and he had five taels left as a deposit for his job as a writer.
Although daily food and drink require money, I also bought some daily necessities.
But now I still have thirty taels of silver, which is already a lot of money!
Ji Yuan is not afraid of needing more money occasionally.
He had fifty taels of silver from Dr. Luo and two paintings from Master Fang.
If all else fails, he will become a spendthrift and exchange the bills for silver!
However, he really wanted to study the book "Insights into the Rhythm of Chen Family's Poetry".
That means his classes are indeed full now, otherwise he would really have to spend time learning how to write poetry.
This book on rhythm and rhythm understanding I have on hand is selling very well in Guangdong and Guangxi. Many things it talks about are easy to understand and quite suitable for beginners.
The first chapter also briefly talks about the origin and development of poetry, as well as the situation in Tianqi Kingdom.
The basic knowledge in it, such as rhyme, level and oblique tones, parallelism, etc., are all covered.
Unfortunately, this knowledge is probably too basic, so it is briefly skipped over in the book and not written in detail. It mainly talks about the level and oblique tones, as well as the subsequent parallelism rules.
Read Ji Yuan carefully and at least learn the basic knowledge first.
I'll take it slow later.
What Ji Yuan didn't expect was that the matter of copying books did involve money and became very different.
On October 15th, Ji Yuan had just finished school when he saw someone from Zhou's Bookstore standing outside. When they saw him coming, they hurried over to him, with an embarrassed look on their faces.
"Brother Yuan has been very busy lately." To show closeness, the bookstore manager kept calling Ji Yuan "Brother Yuan" after they became familiar with each other.
Ji Yuan looked at him and asked directly, "Is there something wrong?"
"Brother Yuan is really smart. Do you still remember the book 'Comprehension of the Rhythm of Chen Family Poetry'?"
Ji Yuan nodded, and the manager continued, "Can you finish copying this book quickly? The bookshop must give you some emergency expenses."
As he spoke, the steward even took out the remaining silver, totaling twenty taels.
Ten taels is the final payment, and the other ten taels is for expedited payment.
Ji Yuan was stunned: "What's going on? Why are you so anxious?"
"We can't help it. Some people don't follow the rules." The manager of Zhou's Bookstore gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know how much has been copied so far. If it's urgent, how many days will it take to finish it?"
The manager knew that many writers liked to procrastinate and would not write until the last minute.
I just don’t know if this is Ji Yuan’s habit.
Seeing Ji Yuan was confused, the manager had no choice but to tell him the whole story.
So that's what is happening.
"Comprehension of the Rhythm of Chen Family's Poetry" was brought from Guangdong and Guangxi, and all these eras are known.
The author's local terms were also deleted and replaced with the current version.
This book is normal. Customs and languages vary from place to place. If we use words that are easier to understand, local students will be willing to buy it.
But the problem lies in the different versions.
According to gossip from Zhou Family Bookstore, Yue Family Bookstore also bought the book "Chen Family's Understanding of the Rhythm of Poetry" and published a different version.
The Yue family actually rushed to complete the work and was determined to sell it before them.
If the Yue family really did it, then all the expenses that the Zhou family spent on buying books and a series of production costs would be wasted.
"My book selector has a keen eye, and the books he chooses are usually not too bad."
"I don't know how the Yue family knew about our new batch of books, but they found a way to buy them back. "Chen Family Poetry and Lyrics Comprehension" is one of them."
The bookstore industry has developed into a very complete industrial chain.
Among them, some of the book selectors are like modern physical book editors. They choose potential bestsellers from many books.
I will also select suitable ones from books available in various places.
The selected books are generally industry secrets. After all, what do you think if the potential stocks that you have selected with great difficulty are bought by the other party?
It seems that the Zhou family's book list was leaked, allowing the Yue family to get a good deal. They don't have to choose the books themselves, they can just buy them according to the list.
Ji Yuan said, "Isn't this wrong? When signing the contract for this book, the original author shouldn't be allowed to sell two copies, right? At least not twice in our Jianmeng Mansion."
"A contract is a contract, and accountability is accountability." The manager of Zhou Family Bookstore said, "Jianmeng Mansion is two or three thousand miles away from Guangdong and Guangxi, and the books we bring back are always in batches. The other party probably knows that we will not hold them accountable for a single book."
"Besides, this is also a competition. If I really lose, wouldn't it be a joke to others?"
That's how it works in business.
Ji Yuan nodded and said to Monk Bai and Cai Fenglan, "I'll take Uncle Zhou to get the book. You guys go eat first."
Ji Yuan asked Monk Bai and the others to go to Li Jin's place for dinner first, and asked them to bring two pancakes back to Qiyan Temple for him later.
The manager was a little surprised by this and went to get the book directly?
Ji Yuan said: "I have already copied the book, you can just take it and print it directly."
"Not really. Please check it later. If there is any problem, I will rewrite it on the spot."
What? !
Already finished writing! ?
The person who was called Uncle Zhou was full of joy, that’s great!
I originally thought that the submission date was November 5th, but today is only October 15th, so there are still twenty days left!
Zhou Bozhao got out of his carriage and said, "Let's go, it's faster to ride on a horse."
Then, he gave Ji Yuan another twenty taels of silver: "Brother Yuan has helped a lot, you should also accept this advance emergency fee."
Zhou Bo said bitterly, "The Yue family has been doing more and more outrageous things recently. His eldest son is also useless. Did he really think that he could grab the title of No. 1 with such a despicable method?"
Ji Yuan didn't want to interrupt as he didn't know what was going on.
Soon, the carriage arrived at Qiyan Temple. Zhou Bo checked the book copied by Ji Yuan in the yard of the delivery room. He thought the calligraphy was really good at first glance.
In today's terms, it is similar to modern printed materials.
The main thing is that Ji Yuan has seen what modern printed materials look like, and he knows that square handwriting looks good when printed.
This concept never existed in ancient times, so it was naturally impossible to imitate it.
Ji Yuan probably didn't even know that his modern understanding of printed materials has already influenced the copying of books today.
Zhou Bo has read many books, and he thinks that Ji Yuan's book is really well written, and it will be absolutely neat and beautiful when printed.
Zhou Bo was very satisfied. He thought for a moment and said, "You can take a break on the 20th. Remember to come to the Back Street Bookstore again and start copying the second book then."
Then, Ji Yuan said, "The time for the second book should still be about two months, right?"
Zhou Bo thought for a moment and smiled: "Don't worry, I will never ask other writers to use your time or quality."
"We will not forcibly reduce the reserved time."
Without Ji Yuan saying much, the people of the Zhou family actually understood what he meant?
Zhou Bo snorted and laughed: "Do you think we are the Yue family? You don't care about quality, you don't care about the pen-refining master, and you just treat us as cheap copyists?"
Ji Yuan scratched his head: "I am judging others by my own standards."
Zhou Bo shook his head. He liked Ji Yuan more and more now.
Uncle Zhou didn't talk much. He took his people and left quickly to print the book!
After printing, be the first to sell it!
By then, the one who will suffer the loss will be the Yue family!
The business war between the two sides was going on back and forth, and Zhou Bo did not forget to ask the coachman to bring back dinner for Ji Yuan.
How can such a good man like Mr. Runbi only eat cakes?
The food that the coachman brought back for Ji Yuan was exactly the same as the food that Cai Fenglan brought back.
In Li Jin's words, why can Ji Yuan only eat biscuits!
Pack some food for him and take it back in a lunch box!
Ji Yuan couldn't help laughing. It was really nice to have this group of friends.
Monk Bai went to chant sutras as usual at night. Cai Fenglan sat down and ate something. After thinking for a while, he said, "Ji Yuan, how good do you think my calligraphy is? Can I become a calligraphy master? Even a small workshop will do."
It’s not surprising that Cai Fenglan wants to be a writer, after all, it’s a profitable business.
After today, Ji Yuan will have twenty-three taels of silver in his pocket, enough to last him for a while.
Ji Yuan knew Cai Fenglan's calligraphy, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "We can try a small workshop, starting with storybooks?"
As he spoke, Ji Yuan shared his skills and experiences without holding back.
Cai Fenglan took a deep breath. He had been practicing hard recently and was determined to learn how to be a good writer.
Ji Yuan said, "I will go to Zhou's workshop in the back street on the 20th. Why don't you try Zhou's first? If that doesn't work, I remember there are a few small workshops with reasonable prices."
As he spoke, Ji Yuan took out the notes he had made earlier. He had visited all the workshops and understood the temperament of each manager.
"Okay, I'll try harder in the next few days." Cai Fenglan also explained why he wanted to be a pen-runner. "Last time I saw you buy a pair of pens, I wanted to buy one too. You know, I'm nearsighted, so I still need to buy a pair of pens."
As for daily expenses, Cai Fenglan's family could still afford it. His parents, brother and sister-in-law were all there. After he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, his family did not have to pay taxes and saved a lot of money.
But if he wanted to buy a few dozen taels of silver, Cai Fenglan couldn't bring himself to ask for it.
Just earn it yourself.
Ji Yuan expressed his understanding and shared his thoughts with Cai Fenglan. Cai Fenglan wrote down everything and would make sure to catch up in the next few days.
Cai Fenglan was preparing to become a copywriter for all bookstores, big and small. The bookstores on the first street of East Market were also competing with each other.
Since they are all competing, it is normal to have some things between them.
But this kind of competition still makes people very unhappy.
He actually stole the Zhou family's book list and even printed it out first. How could there be such a shameless person?
The eldest son of the Zhou family had a cold face and knew something.
The Yue family has always wanted to surpass the Zhou family and become the number one bookstore.
The title of the No. 1 Bookstore is not earned for nothing. In the book guild, the quality of publications is more important than the quantity.
It is even more important than how many official books have been printed.
The Yue family obtained the printing rights for "Tong Shi Lu" this year, so they wanted to move up.
The sales data of Tongshilu this year is also good.
It was due to the honor of Xiao Sanyuan, and also because the supervising official, Lord Xu, praised him.
So this year the book sold better than in previous years.
I guess the other party wants to take advantage of the current popularity and launch a few more good books so that the Yue family can gain the upper hand this year.
Of course, it is also to wipe out the previous stigma.
But if you want to publish a good book, go find it yourself.
The Zhou family searched all over the country for good books. They even looked for books from Guangdong and Guangxi, which were two or three thousand miles away. It was all for the quality of the books.
You actually stole the book list, you are really something.
The eldest son of the Zhou family has been running a bookstore with his father in recent years, and he finally understood why his father hated the Yue family so much.
But the Yue family had a very good relationship with the provincial school, so they couldn’t do anything about it.
If it weren’t for the fact that Zhou Family Bookstore was really great and had always produced excellent quality books, this year’s “County Examination Records” would probably have been given to the Yue family.
The more this happens, the more the Zhou family values quality.
Forget it, let’s ignore the Yue family for now. Once this batch of books is printed, I will make them lose all their money.
At this moment, the Yue family still thought that they would print and sell them according to the original schedule, but they had no idea that they were working overtime to print them ahead of schedule.
By then, some people will suffer the consequences.
Among this batch of books, the eldest son of the Zhou family was most satisfied with the printing of "Comprehension of the Rhythm of Chen Family's Poetry and Lyrics".
The main reason is that Mr. Runbi is very good. The characters he writes are all of the same size, and even the strokes are the same.
If I must say something, it doesn't look like the official script, it's even smaller and squarer than the official script.
If you show it to modern people, they can tell it at a glance.
Isn't this just a cruder form of printing?
But after all, it was written by Ji Yuan, so it is not yet perfectly square.
Even so, it is already one of the most outstanding works.
When Mr. Zhou came, the eldest son of the Zhou family handed him the book.
Mr. Zhou exclaimed in amazement: "Ji Yuan is really a genius at writing. He has already developed his own style in his first book."
Yes, Mr. Zhou felt that this was the style of Jiyuan, square, particularly beautiful and clear.
Some calligraphers would say that this character is too rigid and not beautiful enough.
But this is a book for people to read, not a work of calligraphy.
The first priority is to enable people to see clearly.
At least that’s what Mr. Zhou thinks.
Many characters are indeed very beautiful, but they cannot be used for printing, otherwise they will be incomprehensible.
For printed books, the content must be good, the handwriting must be clear, and finally the quality of the paper must be considered.
There is a reason why Zhou Family Bookstore has been able to continue operating to this day.
The workshop is busy.
The carving craftsman also thought that the word "Ji Yuan" was good, and his boss gave him money for expedited payment. So when Cai Fenglan went to the first street of East Market on the 20th of Ji Yuan, "Chen Family's Comprehension of the Rhythm of Poetry" was already on the market.
Their main destination today was the workshops in the back street, but before going there, they took a walk around the front street.
There is no other reason, one of which is that the book copied by Ji Yuan is on the market.
Another one is "Tong Shi Lu" which is also on sale.
Ji Yuan and his companions first went to Yue Family Bookstore, where they heard the clerk at the door say, "The official school designated Yue Family Bookstore to print this year's "Tongshilu". The best articles of the Little Three Prizes are all here, and the children of all families can buy it and read it!"
My goodness, Ji Yuan and the Yue family are not on good terms, but his family still relies on Ji Yuan’s reputation to sell something.
Since the departure of the supervising official Lord Xu, this year's "Tongshilu" has gone on sale.
It is now October 20th, two months have passed, and there are still many people willing to buy this book.
It is impossible to say that there was no era in between.
Some people will buy a copy even if they don't read it, just to "get a taste" of the prodigy's talent.
Is it similar to the function of a blessing sachet?
Cai Fenglan's article is also among them, and many people mention him.
Cai Fenglan couldn't help but shake his head. Forget it. He was too lazy to read the previous articles and he would not buy it.
The clerk at Yue's Bookstore tried to sell the book to them enthusiastically but failed, so he had to give up. Seeing that the two of them were very young, he gave them some paper.
This is the old rule of the First Street in East City.
The two came out from here and went to Zhou Family Bookstore opposite.
The guys here were still enthusiastic. Seeing them holding the Yue family's papers in their hands, they immediately gave them more, which made Ji Yuan laugh and cry.
Fortunately, after the steward saw Ji Yuan, he smiled and said, "Brother Yuan is here, come and see."
Do you want to see the new book he copied?
Before I even got close, someone said, "The calligraphy in this book, 'Chen Family Poetry and Lyrics Rhythm Insights', is excellent. Take a look."
"How come the handwriting strength can be seen in the characters that are supposed to be very rigid?"
"The handwriting is really clear like this. How about buying a copy?"
"Buy it. Nowadays, people write good poems, which is not bad. Just look at Ji Yuan and you will know."
"Forget it. Ji Yuan's poem is not something that an ordinary person can write."
The two scholars said, "Didn't Zhou's bookstore publish this year's "Tongshilu Buyi"? Go buy a copy and read Ji Yuan's article."
They each bought one and prepared to go back and read slowly.
The "Tongshilu Buyi" published by Zhoujia Bookstore naturally gave money to students, which was different from the previous small workshop.
I didn’t expect that even the supplements sold well.
Cai Fenglan was happy just by looking at it.
This is not officially published, it is entirely the personal behavior of other scholars.
Zhou Bo, the manager of Zhou Family Bookstore, said, "You guys are going to the back street next, right? You can leave your things with me for now, and take them away when you return."
It is indeed inconvenient for both of them to have papers in their hands.
Zhou Bo was particularly attentive to Ji Yuan. There was nothing he could do about it because his handwriting was so good.
"Comprehension of the Rhythm of Chen Family's Poetry and Lyrics" sells well, not only because of its good content, but also because of its calligraphy.
This kind of words has never been seen on the market.
Mr. Zhou has directly called this "Ji style" and said that this font is very suitable for printing.
Ji Yuan didn't know about this, he and Cai Fenglan had already gone to the back street.
There are not as many people in the back street as in the front street, and most of them are people working.
Cai Fenglan took a deep breath.
I hope he can earn enough money to buy a new one, otherwise it will be really hard for him to read the book!
Ji Yuan took him directly to Xu's bookstore. When the bookstore manager heard the purpose of the visit, he asked Cai Fenglan to write a few words first.
As he was writing, Master Zhou came over. When he heard that Ji Yuan was here, he smiled and said, "Come on, let me take a look at his classmate's calligraphy, too."
Having said that, it is most likely that Cai Fenglan will be accepted.
If I can make friends with Ji Yuan, what's the big deal about collecting an extra fee from Mr. Renbi?
However, when Master Zhou saw the words, he said, "I originally wanted to give you a backdoor, but I didn't expect that it wouldn't be necessary at all. This is absolutely qualified, but I have to copy the script first. Is that okay?"
What this means is that even if the handwriting is qualified, one has to start by copying from the lowest level of script, and the price is between seven and ten taels.
Cai Fenglan breathed a sigh of relief: "Of course, my handwriting is not that good, I know that."
"But it has the meaning of Ji style." Master Zhou stroked his beard and saw Ji Yuan. Cai Fenglan looked at him in confusion and said with a smile, "Isn't Ji Yuan's handwriting Ji style? His handwriting for copying books is very suitable for printing."
Is this the Ji Ti?
Ji Yuan felt quite uncomfortable, as he was writing according to his reading habits in his previous life.
In short, Cai Fenglan has learned about 40% of the skills, so he can definitely copy the scripts.
Cai Fenglan followed the backyard manager to sign the contract, while Ji Yuan followed Master Zhou to the printing workshop.
Before, whether signing a contract or discussing matters with the manager, it was basically done outside the workshop.
The interior is very different.
The eldest son of the Zhou family was in the workshop. When he saw his father and Ji Yuan coming, he smiled and saluted: "Ji Yuan is here."
Ji Yuan was shocked by the interior of the workshop.
The printing scale in front of us is as neat and tidy as an assembly line. There are both woodblock printing and movable type printing. Different printing methods can be selected according to the type of books to be printed.
Truckloads of paper were brought in from the backyard.
Some are stored in warehouses, while others are waiting to be made into books.
In the other part of the workshop, there are dozens of male and female workers, who work together to do some cutting and some binding.
A workshop of this size is worthy of being the number one bookshop in the city.
So this is what the interior looks like.
Seeing Ji Yuan's surprise, the eldest son of the Zhou family said, "I'll take you to see the paper workshop in the suburbs later. That place is even bigger, and the space for drying paper is not small."
The eldest son of the Zhou family is only eighteen or nineteen years old this year and has some youthful mentality. For some reason, he likes Ji Yuan's personality and treats him like a friend.
Ji Yuan nodded. He was really curious about what the ancient paper mills were like.
While listening to the workers working, Ji Yuan also saw several craftsmen dressed in different clothes. Each of them had a disciple serving them, and they were doing their work in a disjointed manner.
These craftsmen are the engravers of the bookshop. They seem to be slacking off, and they are indeed slacking off.
It doesn't matter in front of the master and the young master.
Why?
They are skilled workers. No matter how good the calligraphy of Mr. Ji Yuan and others is, it depends on them to carve it out, so their hands are definitely very steady.
Seeing the master and the young master coming over, five or six carving craftsmen stood up and looked at Ji Yuan with curiosity: "Is this Ji Yuan?"
Ji Yuan bowed, and three craftsmen avoided him: "We are just white clothes, we can't accept the courtesy."
The remaining three were scholars. They didn’t say anything, but they also looked at Ji Yuan with some fondness.
Someone even said, "If you need a seal engraved in the future, just come to us. We can engrave any seal you want."
If you are not absolutely confident in your skills, you can't say such things.
After Ji Yuan expressed his gratitude, he was actually moved.
Nowadays, scholars generally have their own private seals, but unfortunately the stone and jade materials used to make seals are very expensive, so he needs to save up some more.
After coming out of the workshop, Ji Yuan received the task of writing the second book.
It’s actually a storybook.
But this story seems a little different?
Mr. Zhou went to work, leaving the eldest son of the Zhou family to chat. He said, "A few years ago, the court opened the library compiled by the previous dynasty. There are many books compiled by the previous dynasty, including literature, poetry, history, medicine, and miscellaneous books. This set of "Dream Butterfly Order" is a good product in the vernacular."
After listening to this, Ji Yuan understood.
Oh, the officially revised romance novels were collected in the palace of the previous dynasty. After the court opened its library, major booksellers started printing them.
Yes, is this considered a classic masterpiece?
The words used in it are more elegant. Although it talks about talented men and beautiful women, it also wants to educate people with profound ideas and stories.
In short, it has both storytelling and educational value.
There are a total of ten volumes in a set of "Mengdie Ling", each volume has 30,000 to 40,000 words, so the price is 24 taels per volume.
This task was given to Ji Yuan. After copying one book, the balance of the book would be collected and then the deposit for the next book would be given.
After copying everything, I had about 240 taels of silver in my account.
Of course, it will take a long time, at least half a year.
Generally speaking, that's true.
But when the eldest son of the Zhou family said it himself, it was different. The eldest son of the Zhou family coughed lightly and said, "Well, my father was thinking that since it is a love story, it would be better to add some illustrations."
illustration?
Although Ji Yuan understood it immediately, he had read quite a few books in Tianqi Kingdom, but it seemed that there were no illustrations yet?
As he spoke, the eldest son of the Zhou family secretly took out a few low-quality books from the back: "Don't read the contents, just look at the pictures inside."
"This was privately printed by some illegal booksellers. Although the production is crude and the content is not good, this kind of innovation is excellent."
There were more than a dozen workshops of various sizes in Jianmeng Mansion.
There are hundreds and thousands of workshops in Tianqi State.
In areas like Jiangnan, there are a great number of bookstores, and they are very densely distributed.
In this environment, some small booksellers naturally cannot compete with their peers in business, so they have to find other ways.
If we can’t improve quality, then what about innovation?
The Zhou family members in the Jiangnan area keenly captured this "market trend" and discovered books with illustrations.
And before long, many books in Jiangnan and even Fujian began to be equipped with illustrations.
Then how could they miss the opportunity to build the first bookstore in Meng Mansion?
Mr. Zhou decided without hesitation to add illustrations to this book "Mengdie Ling".
Not only should it be accompanied by pictures, but it should also be accompanied by pictures of beautiful women!
Ji Yuan listened to the eldest young master of the Zhou family talking, and couldn't help but interjected: "Why don't you match the picture of young men and women traveling together."
???
Even better!
The eldest son of the Zhou family looked at Ji Yuan and said, "Well said! Handsome men and beautiful women as illustrations! I'm sure more people will like it."
The eldest son of the Zhou family also stated the ultimate goal: "Ji Yuan, you can draw, if you are willing to illustrate this book."
"I'll give you twenty taels of silver for one picture and three books and paintings. What do you think?"
No wonder I talked so much about it, it turns out this is the idea of Zhou Family Bookstore!
I want Ji Yuan to help me draw.
Three sheets for one book, thirty sheets for ten books, that is six hundred taels? !
The eldest son of the Zhou family said something else: "However, we will publish them one by one. Let's sell the first copy of "Dream Butterfly Order" first. If it sells well, we will draw the second copy."
In other words, the plan is for ten books and thirty illustrations.
Start selling from the first book. If it sells well, there will be follow-ups. If it doesn’t sell well, then there will be no follow-ups.
This was also a reasonable consideration for the bookstore. Otherwise, to publish so many things at once, the silver money paid to Ji Yuan alone would have to be more than 800 taels, which is not a small amount no matter how you put it.
Ji Yuan said, "You really want me to draw the illustrations? Have you never seen me draw before?"
The eldest son of the Zhou family was given a meal.
He certainly hadn't seen it.
But the right instructor of the prefectural school praised him at the provincial examination banquet, so they believed it instinctively.
As he spoke, Ji Yuan began to look through the books from Jiangnan. The quality of these books was indeed average, as they were mostly stories about prostitutes and talented men. It was obvious that they were written for poor scholars.
The pictures inside made Ji Yuan frown.
This, this picture is too confusing.
He thought it was a painting of a lady commonly seen in later generations, but unexpectedly it was a vague figure among the ink-colored flowers, looking at the hem of the woman's skirt, but no real person at all.
knew.
This was ancient times after all, and illustrations had just begun to be made, and people were still embarrassed to draw real people.
No wonder the eldest young master of the Zhou family was so excited when he talked about young men and women traveling together.
I have read the entire book by Ji Yuan and have a rough idea of the current level of illustrations in Tianqi Kingdom.
It is naturally incomparable with later generations.
Then he will have confidence.
Ji Yuan nodded: "Then copy the first one, one book, three illustrations, right?"
The delivery period for this book is three months, so it can be submitted next year.
Books generally take a long time to produce.
Because Zhou Family Bookstore was also doing this type of miscellaneous books for the first time, the eldest son of the Zhou family nodded and said, "Don't be too stressed. Jiangnan booksellers have always been the ones leading the trend. If it doesn't work, we can learn from them when they are mature."
???
Just copy the business model, right?
Ji Yuan smiled and thought, maybe he didn’t need to learn from others this time.
After taking the book, Ji Yuan and Cai Fenglan both left with the storybook in their arms.
At the same time, there is a deposit for each person.
A book from Ji Yuan, including the book and illustrations, costs eighty-four taels, and the deposit is twenty-four taels.
Cai Fenglan only copied books, one book cost seven taels of silver, and the deposit was two taels.
Even so, Cai Fenglan was still very grateful.
He is one step closer to his dream!
Ji Yuan calculated the silver he had on hand and simply said, "Why don't you buy it first?"
Ji Yuan said directly: "With the money I earned before and the deposit this time, I have more than fifty taels of silver on hand. I will take out a part of it to buy you the 叆叆, and you can pay me back when you earn more."
The era is not just a casual word.
He already had a plan in mind.
Besides, after lending it to Cai Fenglan, he still had a lot of money in his hands, which was enough for him to spend.
Cai Fenglan shook his head: "You won't get the final payment for this book until next year, so you need to keep some money on you."
"That's enough." Ji Yuan said again, "You won't run away, just come back to me."
"叆叆 is a necessity for you. Otherwise, how would you read for such a long time?"
Although Ji Yuan has never suffered from myopia, he knows that for modern myopic students, without glasses, not only reading, but even life would be a bit troublesome.
It’s better to buy this kind of necessity early so that you can enjoy it early.
As he spoke, Ji Yuan pointed out several shops that he had visited when buying things for the Master.
On the one hand, Cai Fenglan really wanted to buy it, but on the other hand, he felt embarrassed.
It was Ji Yuan who pulled him over.
Finally, Cai Fenglan borrowed 25 taels of silver from Ji Yuan, and with his own money, he bought a 30 tael one, and promised: "I will pay you back as soon as Mr. Runbi's money arrives."
"Do I need you to tell me?" Ji Yuan laughed, "Don't I trust you?"
After returning to Qiyan Temple, Monk Bai looked at Cai Fenglan's tiara and marveled at it. He also tried it on himself.
Monk Bai was not nearsighted and only felt dizzy after putting it on. He was also happy for Cai Fenglan.
With this thing, their learning efficiency can be improved, and when the annual exam comes, they may be able to get into a school.
Cai Fenglan was so excited that he couldn't sleep for several days.
This one is so precious to me.
In addition to this, he practiced calligraphy diligently and was even praised by Master Du, a calligrapher, for his rapid progress.
Of course!
Got glasses!
There is also guidance from Ji Yuan!
While everyone was excited, they heard another piece of news.
The Cuju team that went to Qinglan Prefecture to compete is back.
Instructor Zhang Yin brought them back with a gloomy face. The students of the Cuju team had bruises on their faces, as if they had been in a fight.
For a time, there was a lot of discussion in the school.
The inside story was also revealed.
The Jianmengfu School Cuju team entered the finals.
They start the competition on September 20th.
Defeated three opponents along the way and entered the final with the last team on October 5th.
It doesn’t matter if the Cuju team loses the game.
At the end of the game, they actually started fighting with the players from the opposing team. In the end, the surrounding constables were dispatched to separate the two sides.
This is really embarrassing.
Fortunately, the academician of Jianmeng Mansion School has not left.
But the instructor who went there specially lost face and was not in a good mood towards the Cuju team the whole time, so he simply came back early.
The Cuju team, which had played for half a month, was kept by the local authorities for questioning.
They were laughed at wherever they went, and were asked this question for five or six days, and they almost lost their temper again.
It was only after the academician of Jianmeng Prefecture saw that the instructor had returned on his own and wrote a letter to the academician of Qinglan Prefecture that he was able to get the students back.
When they came back, it was already October 22nd.
Logically speaking, you should be praised for coming in second.
Now it has become a joke in several provincial schools.
When Ji Yuan saw Wu Ying in the archery department, he practiced archery fiercely and said through gritted teeth, "What a crappy school! I won't go to this school anymore."
Ji Yuan’s eyelids twitched when he heard this. Is there any reason behind this?
Ji Yuan actually doesn’t believe that Wuying and his men are particularly impulsive people.
Moreover, the instructor probably wouldn't have anything good to say about throwing his students out there and leaving them alone.
Cai Fenglan, who was wearing glasses, also came over and asked, "What happened in Wuying? We don't believe that you really beat people for no reason."
"Yes, if there is any reason, tell us and we can help you take a look." Ji Yuan also answered.
My classmates who were studying the same shooting course were also secretly listening.
To be honest, before I had come into contact with people from Wei nationality, I thought they were rude and impolite, but I knew everything after meeting them.
The people in Wuying are loyal and cheerful, and everyone likes to be friends with such people.
If you say that they beat people for no reason, no one would believe it.
Wu Ying held his breath and gritted his teeth, "The team playing against us in the final is the Cuju team from Qinglan Prefecture. They bribed the referee, and the referee has been biased towards them!"
"Otherwise, how could we lose!"
Moreover, the referee was so obviously biased that even when the Qinglanfu Cuju team scored a goal, their own spectators were whispering.
Even so, the final championship was given to the people of Qinglan Mansion.
The people from Qinglan Prefecture even mocked Wuying and the others. This was unbearable, so they started fighting.
Wuying and his men were already good at martial arts, and more than a dozen constables on the other side couldn't stop them. If the instructor Zhangyin hadn't spoken, they would probably have beaten everyone.
What a strong fighting power.
Ji Yuan said silently, it turned out that the other party played a fake match at home and even mocked it, no wonder T Wuying and others were angry.
Anyone with blood in their veins would definitely fight.
Sure enough, after hearing these words, the students in the shooting department were extremely angry.
The Qinglan Mansion is too shameless.
And the instructor in charge of the seal, didn’t you stop anything like this when you encountered it, and just let others bully others?
Wu Ying and the others didn't say anything. They seemed to be still feeling depressed and had the urge to drop out of school.
Ji Yuan and the others persuaded him again and again, and finally he calmed down.
Just when everyone breathed a sigh of relief and thought that the matter was finally over, the instructor in charge actually gave the order directly.
Wu Ying, a student from Wei, was expelled from school directly.
If you don't want to go to school anymore, then don't go and drop out.
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