Qi Yu's guess was not wrong. After listening to the discussion for a while, he realized that there was indeed a big deal coming from Luming Bookstore, but the specifics were unknown.
Because there were too many people, Qi Yu couldn't get into the center despite squeezing left and right.
Ahem...
Don't they say that scholars are powerless? Why are they so tough now?
Is Qian Zhuang a coward?
That is also insulting to gentlemen!
However, now is not the time to be polite. The benefits are always first come, first served, so how can we still care about face?
Finally seeing an opening, Qi Yu bent down, quickly dodged his body, and got in like a loach.
In the middle of the crowd, Shopkeeper You was sitting there. He looked around the crowd and shook his head regretfully. Finally, he pressed his hands and said seriously: "You talented people, please be quiet and listen to me.
"
"Shop Manager You, please speak!"
The crowd suddenly stopped making noise and became silent.
Shopkeeper You straightened his clothes and said loudly: "I believe everyone has heard that the county magistrate Mr. Yu is offering a reward to find a painter, and asked me to wait for the book club to recommend talents. Unfortunately, no one I recommended has been recognized.
, which also includes Master Yan who just passed away."
"...I won't stop you if you insist on going, but you have to think carefully about whether your skills can match Yan Zhen? Otherwise, it will be just in vain..."
Master Yan?
Naturally, he knew that he had sent elegiac couplets to his family a few days ago, so Qi Yu smiled.
Around here, Yan Fuzi's paintings are famous for their cleverness, and the young people are all convinced of them. If they can't even pass the test of his wonderful paintings, there is little hope for others.
What's going on with this reward?
After asking around, I learned that Yu Hai, the magistrate of Lanshan County, was looking for someone to paint a painting as a personal gift, and had offered a high price of twenty taels of silver.
Because it was for his personal use, he could not publicly advertise for talents, otherwise it would be suspected of private use. For this reason, he entrusted each bookstore to recommend Confucian scholars.
Faced with the temptation of twenty taels of silver reward, the scholars all rushed there, but the results were unsatisfactory. As Shopkeeper You just said, all of them failed, but none of them got the silver reward.
Twenty taels of silver is quite a lot. It can be used to buy more than ten acres of fertile land in the countryside. Who wouldn't be tempted?
But if you want to think about it, reality is reality. If you want to get that porcelain job, you must have that diamond. In the final analysis, it is still a question of strength or not.
One person sighed: "I am far worse than Master Yan, so I won't try."
"I...let's give up too." Another scholar echoed.
Everyone is self-aware. After their minds cooled down, the scholars all regained their senses.
Although the reward is huge, it requires the ability.
Qi Yu also felt itchy after hearing this. If he could get this reward, he would not have to worry about money for the county examination in the next year. Unfortunately, although he had studied art in his previous life, he knew nothing about the current traditional Chinese painting, and he felt quite inadequate.
And lack of strength.
After a period of mourning, the scholars all left with regrets, and Luming Bookstore returned to its previous calm.
After the crowd dispersed, Shopkeeper You noticed Qi Yu's arrival and said apologetically: "There were a lot of people doing things just now, so I neglected Mr. Qi. Please come and sit inside."
Qi Yugong cupped his hands and praised: "Shopkeeper You is full of people. This is a good sign."
"Haha, it's just a bit of excitement and no profit."
"That's right. Uh...this is the finished manuscript. Please take a look at it."
Shopkeeper You took it and flipped through a few pages and praised: "Young Master's writing skills are excellent and he writes carefully, which shows that he has put a lot of thought into it. It's not like some people who, in order to pursue the speed of copying, write only some so-called wild cursive."
.”
"That's ridiculous, shopkeeper. Since I took over this job, I have to try my best to do it well and never do it carelessly." Qi Yu said sincerely.
Shopkeeper You smiled happily: "The words are just like the person, and the attitude of copying the book is a kind of self-cultivation. The young master is not impatient or impatient, and his spirit is indeed commendable. He is much more stable than before."
Qi Yu smiled awkwardly and did not answer the question again.
Then came the final payment. In addition to the 100 cash deposit paid in advance, the bookstore still had to pay 200 cash, and then added the 30 cash payment for "Hundred Family Surnames", and the final total was 230 cash.
Qi Yu took the money and stuffed it into his arms without counting it. He looked like he was not greedy for money, but his heart was already pounding.
At this time, the clerk in the store was busy receiving the goods. In order to prevent the goods from being mixed up, marks were drawn on the wooden boxes from time to time, some were round and some were square.
Huh……
The handwriting was dark and felt very familiar.
Shopkeeper You saw him staring and was quite curious: "Young master, are you interested in these wooden boxes?"
"No." Qi Yu shook his head, "It's not the box, it's just that I'm curious about the pen in the clerk's hand. Can you show it to me?"
"Haha, of course."
The waiter was quite clever. After hearing this, he stopped what he was doing and ran over to hand over the pen without waiting for the shopkeeper's instructions.
Qi Yu rubbed it for a while, then held it in his hand and asked, "What is this pen called?"
Shopkeeper You explained: "I heard it's called a marker, and it's a fresh product brought from the West. I don't know much about it."
"Oh, it turns out it's a Western product."
"I heard that the refill of this kind of pen is made of a kind of marking stone. The foreigners made many improvements before making the shape of the pen, which is what it looks like now."
"You said it's called...marker?"
Seeing Qi Yu's high interest, Shopkeeper You added: "Yes, this kind of pen is used for making marks. It doesn't need to grind the ink and dilute it when using it. It's very convenient."
"It's wonderful..."
Surprise is followed by joy.
I never expected that the prototype of a pencil would look like this.
Although the workmanship of this piece cannot be compared with that of later generations, it can be considered a considerable improvement at the moment. From this point of view, the manufacturing industry in Western countries is more developed than imagined.
In this era where the brush is respected, pencils are absolutely worthless and can only be used for making marks.
Suddenly, an idea came to mind...
Qi Yu concealed his joy and said calmly: "Shopkeeper, can you resell this pen to me?"
"What do you want it for?" Seeing his sincere look, Shopkeeper You added, "Well, if you like it, it's okay to resell it to you, but this is an imported product from the West, and the price is not cheap."
Everyone knows that rare goods are worth living in, and it is expected that they are not cheap. Imported goods, aren’t they all like this?
"As for the price, you can just accept it."
Scholars talk differently. They obviously want to lower the price, but they say it and let you take it. It’s such a subtle expression!
"Young Master is not an outsider. I will charge you a capital fee, four pens worth fifty cents, and I won't make any profit."
"cough……"
It's really not cheap. If fifty cents were exchanged for grains and rice, it would be enough to feed a family for half a month.
After feeling distressed, Qi Yu generously took out the money.
Qi Yu did not take up the job of copying books this time, but asked for a letter of recommendation from Shopkeeper You. He stated that he wanted to try Master Yu's reward. If he did not have a letter of recommendation, he would not be able to meet the county magistrate.
"My dear nephew, do you really want to win this silver reward?"
"Oh, I can't help it, I'm too short of money now." Qi Yu was very honest and directly admitted that he was a poor man.
Anyone who says he is not short of money is not poor. This is like having three thousand beauties but saying he is not good at women. In a word, it is not true!
If you have a chance, you should give it a try. What if it happens?
Seeing his insistence, shopkeeper You didn't try to persuade him any more, so he just went along with the flow and made a favor. Anyway, it was just a matter of pen and ink.
But in Qi Yu's view, Shopkeeper You has been very generous, and this opportunity was given to him generously.
After leaving the bookstore, Qi Yu walked to the market with the remaining money in his arms.
Things in the market are still as expensive as ever, especially meat.
Haha, if it's expensive, eat less, but you can't live without it. The taste of meat in March is a saint's feeling, which ordinary people can't compare with.
On the way home, Qi Yu also met many neighbors and took the initiative to say hello to everyone.
This caused the neighbors to be surprised. Is this kid from the Qi family crazy again?
Why did you become so polite after going crazy this time?
…
Today's affairs were done quickly, and Qi Yu returned home before noon.
When he entered the main room, he saw his neighbor's Aunt Zhang chatting with his blind old lady. As soon as he saw Qi Yu come in, he immediately suppressed his smile and hurriedly got up to leave.
"Is Second Aunt leaving now?" Qi Yu asked.
"It's time to go back and make lunch..." Aunt Zhang replied awkwardly, moved her little feet, and hurried out of the house.
Seeing this scene, Qi Yu shook his head and smiled bitterly.
In the past, I really offended people all over the place!
However, Qi Yu didn't pay too much attention to it. The road was long and the days were still long. He would let others change their views on him in the future.
"Why did mother and second aunt talk so happily?"
Qi Yu walked to sit next to Zhou and asked with a smile.
Mrs. Zhou smiled and said: "Your Second Aunt Zhang said that there was a big joke in the West Village..."
It turned out that during the funeral yesterday, the coffin where Master Yan was lying fell apart.
The impact of this incredible thing can be imagined.
When a problem occurs, you can only find the cause.
After Zhou Dashui's inspection, he found that the coffin was shoddily made and had problems with its workmanship. Not only did the joints not close, but even the wooden tenons fell off, which is why the joke of the coffin falling apart was made.
Mrs. Yan's widow Qin said that this coffin was made by shopkeeper Qian and cost her five taels of silver. He should give an explanation for this.
Then, some villagers recognized the coffin and said it was the one that the Qi Yu family had returned, and the Qi family's wife even wrote a debt deed for it.
There were two buyers for a coffin.
Can business still do this?
According to the guys in the coffin shop, shopkeeper Qian had his own idea. His plan was to sell it to the Qin family first, and then make a replacement pair for the Qi family later. In this way, he sold two pairs.
coffin.
The intention was obvious. Shopkeeper Qian was so darkened by profit that he came up with unethical and damaging tactics.
The villagers all reviled him: a shameless profiteer who plotted against the living after he plotted against the dead.
