"Boss, although you are open for business, you can't be too shady, right?"
"Yes, we buy a seal. This seal cutting should be considered a service, right? Is there any charge?"
There were various doubts among the noisy crowd, and of course, they were all caused by Zhuang Rui's charging standard.
Generally speaking, people’s names have 2 or 3 characters. In addition to sealing or identification, 3 or 4 characters need to be engraved. In other words, not counting the cost of the seal, it will cost a lot of money just for the seal engraving.
One or two thousand, no wonder these people have opinions.
Not to mention them, even Zhao Hanxuan and Master Ge are stunned by Zhuang Rui's idea. The streets are full of computer-engraved people. Can they do the opposite? Can they succeed?
Master Ge was afraid that Zhuang Rui wouldn't be able to get off the stage, so he pulled Zhuang Rui from behind and whispered: "Xiao Zhuang, this... carving is my job, so don't charge extra..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head and said: "There are charges and the price will increase in the future. Master Ge, please don't worry about this..."
"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment and listen to what I have to say..."
Zhuang Rui walked up to the crowd and waited until it calmed down before speaking: "Everyone knows that now the streets are full of computer-engraved seals, and there are fewer and fewer private seals. What is the reason for this? The person said
explain……"
"What's weird about this? Who still uses private seals nowadays..."
"Yes, in addition to official seals and financial seals, private seals are used less and less..."
"Young man, does this have anything to do with asking for money to engrave a seal? Let's be honest..."
After hearing Zhuang Rui's question, everyone gave various answers, but none of them got to the point because they had not thought about this question.
"Haha, everyone still hasn't answered why there are fewer and fewer private seals. In my opinion, this is a cultural loss. Modern people have chosen more convenient signatures and fingerprints, but they have used the ancient seals that can best prove their identity.
I forgot about it..."
Zhuang Rui's words made everyone's expressions gradually become serious.
"The craft of seal carving has been around since ancient times, and most calligraphers and painters are also masters of seal carving. Not to mention ancient times, even in the Qing Dynasty, seal carving seals made by masters of gold and stone were hard to come by.
But in modern times, everyone, can you still find a hand-engraved seal stall on the street?"
When he said this, Zhuang Rui's tone suddenly rose and he said loudly: "Let me tell you, there are no or very few calligraphy and paintings anymore. From now on, the calligraphy and painting you write will be stamped with machine-processed seals.
Is that still our culture? Is that still something passed down by our ancestors?”
Hearing this, the expressions on many people's faces became thoughtful. Zhuang Rui is right. Calligraphy and painting are about a kind of artistic conception. If you use something machined on it, it will really insult calligraphy and painting.
Art.
"Modern machinery has given us a lot of conveniences, which is undeniable, but we also have many excellent handcrafts that have been lost because of this. Isn't it sad for everyone?
Look at the computer-engraved seals all over the street. A seal can be produced in one minute, but they are dead objects. Can they be compared with Teacher Ge’s handicraft?
Hand-engraved seals can also make some anti-counterfeiting marks that are difficult to imitate according to your requirements. This is something that computer engraving cannot match. I hope you can think about it seriously.
Another point is that everyone has witnessed Teacher Ge's craftsmanship with his own eyes. The seals he carved are not only practical, but also valuable for collection. In my opinion, 500 yuan a word is not expensive!
Maybe one day in the future, Xuan Ruizhai's seal will become 5,000 yuan per character. I feel that it is equally inexpensive for the inheritance of traditional culture!"
After Zhuang Rui finished speaking his powerful words, Xuan Ruizhai became silent, and people were digesting what he just said.
After a few minutes, there was a sound of applause. Slowly, the applause became louder and everyone applauded.
"This young man is right. Modern people are too utilitarian and impetuous. They don't pay so much attention to the cultural heritage of the past..."
An old man in his fifties or sixties in the crowd stood up and was the first to agree with Zhuang Rui's point of view, and then said: "I want to order a soapstone seal with 4 words and a deposit of 2,000 yuan. I will order it today."
Hand it over first..."
Someone has to take the lead in everything. With the old man's move, people who were still weighing whether it was worth it all joined the ranks of ordering soapstone seals.
In fact, one or two thousand yuan is nothing to people who like antique calligraphy and painting, not to mention that a seal can accompany them for a lifetime and is not a consumable. After thinking about this link, everyone is still willing to spend this money.
of.
"Monkey, go help Lao Zhao register, you don't have any eyesight..."
Seeing that Zhao Hanxuan was a little too busy, Zhuang Rui quickly kicked the monkey. Then the monkey woke up as if from a dream, agreed and ran over to help.
Little did Zhuang Rui know that Monkey was thinking just now, Brother Zhuang is really good at deceiving, no wonder he has such a big fortune at such a young age, how dare he lie to someone with such a mouth without paying for his life.
"Master Ge, you...what's wrong with you?"
After Zhuang Rui delivered this speech, when he turned around and was about to greet Master Ge, he found that the old man standing behind him had tears in his eyes and couldn't help himself.
"Xiaozhuang, okay, that's well said. If you can say this, old man, I don't want a penny and I'll do it for you for free, so I'll admit it..."
To be honest, Master Ge was really moved by Zhuang Rui's words. In the 1970s and 1980s, hand-engraved seals were extremely prosperous. Although they were mostly official seals of some units, relying on this craft to maintain a family
Food and clothing for young and old is not a problem.
But after the rise of machine seal engraving in the 1990s, hand-engraved seals disappeared from the streets almost overnight. For these veteran craftsmen, it is difficult to express the loss in words.
of.
What's more, this also cuts off the way to eat. Master Ge himself has three generations of Jinshi family. This is an ancestral craft. However, in his generation, his sons are unwilling to learn this craft, and his grandchildren are even clamoring to go abroad.
This made Master Ge very confused. He saw that the skills left by his ancestors were about to be destroyed in his own hands.
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words today, the old man has finally met a close friend. As he said, even if Zhuang Rui doesn't pay him a salary, Master Ge is willing to work, for no other reason than to be happy.
"Master Ge, if you talk inside, how can you do it without giving me money..."
Zhuang Rui smiled. The old man had been depressed for a long time. He couldn't take it seriously. If he really didn't give money, Zhuang Rui wouldn't be able to get through it. There were too many guests outside. Zhuang Rui took Master Ge to the inner room.
After sitting down, Zhuang Rui said: "Master Ge, we agreed that the basic salary will remain unchanged at 5,000, but for every seal you carve, you will charge 300 yuan for each word. Do you think it's okay to divide it like this?"
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Master Ge quickly stood up and declined: "What? No, no, Xiaozhuang, a salary of 5,000 yuan is not low anymore, let's forget about this raise..."
Speaking of Master Ge, he is also very famous in the metal and stone seal carving industry in the capital. With his family skills, he has carved private seals for many high-ranking officials and even seals for some foreign friends.
It’s just that there was little money to be made for engraving seals at that time, only three to five yuan each. Later, after hand-made seal engraving was replaced by computer seal engraving, these craftsmen could hardly even eat, and some young people changed careers one after another, so the old man’s life,
I lived a relatively poor life.
If the grandson hadn't wanted to go abroad and the family couldn't come up with money, the old man wouldn't have come out to work at such an old age. Of course, what he just said about working for nothing was also said in agitated mood, just as Zhuang Rui thought,
It cannot be taken seriously.
"Master Ge, you make money with your craftsmanship, and it's not a bad idea to get the money. Don't refuse, just do as I say. We are a partnership.
By the way, if you are free, see who is more skillful in the store. You can also bring an apprentice, and together we can promote the craft of hand seal engraving!"
Zhuang Rui waved his hand and settled the matter. He had more things on his mind than Master Ge. Nowadays, people who like antiques, calligraphy and paintings would not be short of such a small sum of money. After this matter spreads, I am afraid that people will come to ask for help.
Character.
Zhuang Rui wanted to make this trend popular in the antique circle, so that collectors of authenticity would be proud to have the private seal of "Xuan Ruizhai".
For experts like Fatty Jin and Teacher Sun, Zhuang Rui planned to give each of them a private seal so that they could go out to appreciate the objects in the future. If the experts didn't bring Master Ge's private seal, they would be too embarrassed to sign the appraisal certificate.
With this gimmick, we can definitely gain the reputation of "Xuan Ruizhai". Nowadays, fame and fortune are always tied together. If you have a reputation, why don't you worry about not making any money?
"Okay, okay, Xiaozhuang, I accept this affection from the old man, so you can rest assured..."
Master Ge really needed money now, so he didn't refuse at the moment. However, he already regarded the seal carving craft as a career, and no longer had the mentality of setting up a roadside stall in the past.
"Hey, Boss Zhuang, it would be a big loss if you don't give a speech now, haha..."
After Zhuang Rui and Master Ge had negotiated, Zhao Hanxuan pushed in the door and joked with Zhuang Rui when they met, and then said: "A total of eleven people have ordered soapstone seals, and the materials they want range from high-end to low-end.
Yes, I just collected more than 8,000 yuan for the deposit alone..."
"Haha, Lao Zhao, the good times are still to come, but you can order a computer seal engraving machine later..."
Zhuang Rui's words made Zhao Hanxuan and Master Ge a little confused. They were going to promote traditional crafts here, so why did they order to buy a computer seal engraving machine?
