Seeing the middle-aged man slowly leaving, the vendor who originally displayed calligraphy and paintings also breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, many people wanted to buy things from his stall, but because this middle-aged man was dancing and talking, it was hard not to think that he had some mental problem.
At this time, the middle-aged man left, and many customers began to walk to the stall.
"Brother, do you know this guy? His hair doesn't look old or frail, but why does he look so old?"
Being asked this question, the vendor was a little helpless.
"My lord, you don't know something. This person is very famous in Kuaiji. His name is Huang Xiang, and his copybooks are very popular among aristocratic families. But this person doesn't pay for writing, but he charges every day.
During the New Year and holidays, I would clearly mark the price and sell my copybooks - the price is not high, but I can still make a living."
"The problem is that this person always spends the money he gets from selling calligraphy when buying calligraphy, so he lives a life of poverty and poverty, which is really weird."
"Hmm! It turns out that this person is the rumored calligrapher Huang Xiang. You really can't tell by looking at his appearance."
The customers who came to buy calligraphy had obviously heard of Huang Xiang's name, and they looked surprised. This made the vendor a little unhappy.
Seeing that the customer hadn't left yet, the hawker quickly added:
"Sir, please don't get involved with this person. He is a person who even cares about his own daughter for the sake of his reputation. A few years ago, her daughter got married, and her husband's family didn't want his money, so they wanted to get married.
He asked for a calligraphy here to get some luck - the result was good. He said that he would not give copybooks to people with whom he had no friendship, which made her daughter want to sever the father-daughter relationship with him. He was really a heartless and unrighteous person in the extreme.
of people.”
"Ah... there is such a thing, well... people are really not judged by their appearance. I'd better thank you for reminding me, little brother."
The customer seemed suddenly enlightened and said to the vendor with a smile.
The hawker didn't have much trouble, and immediately explained his intention:
"So, sir, you can take a look at the calligraphy and paintings on my stall. Any one of them can compete with the imperial elephant - and the price is only..."
"No, no, no, although that Huangxiang has a bad reputation, you also said that his calligraphy skills are superb. Since he has commented on the calligraphy and painting skills of your stall, I'd better visit other places today."
"Hey, hey, sir, please don't leave!"
——
Huang Xiang naturally didn't pay attention to the conversation that happened not far away, and walked to the stall he was interested in.
This alleyway is a bit narrow, so there are not many shops lined up. Even if you want to hold up a table and chairs, it is quite difficult. Most of the vendors have spread linen on the ground and placed calligraphy and paintings neatly on the ground.
It's open for business.
But speaking of the fact that this alleyway has existed for so many years, there are many people selling calligraphy and paintings, but there are few stalls selling things like the Four Treasures of the Study.
The reason is not difficult to guess.
Things like the Four Treasures of the Study are probably considered to be luxury goods.
Some poor literati may not be able to collect a complete set of calligraphy treasures in their lifetime. In such a low-end calligraphy and painting market, it is indeed a bit rare to see someone selling inkstones.
So in addition to Huang Xiang who noticed the stall selling inkstones, other "literati and poets" also crowded their heads to come here.
But Huang Xiang discovered a strange phenomenon as he walked over.
Everyone seemed to be excited to go to the stall selling inkstones, but not long after, most of them left in disappointment. Those who didn't leave just lingered around it, looking quite annoyed.
"what happened?"
As the imperial elephant gradually approached, many people noticed the arrival of this "god of plague" and consciously made room for him.
At this time, through the gap in the crowd, Huang Xiang noticed the specific situation of the stall selling inkstones.
First of all, the person who sells inkstones is a somewhat thin-looking person, and he is not much better than himself.
Moreover, the other person seems to be not as tall as you. At this moment, the other person is squatting on the ground, with one hand supporting the ground and the other hand resting on his knees. He seems quite comfortable and does not care whether his things can be sold or not.
The key is the other party's dress. From the perspective of the emperor, with the other party wearing a cloak and a raincoat draped over him, it is a problem to even see the other party's face——
"It seems like I've never seen this person before?"
Going a little further, Huang Xiang discovered something even stranger.
There is only one inkstone on the other side's stall... How is this...
"Wait a moment!"
"This! This inkstone!"
The emperor elephant suddenly went crazy and threw himself in front of the stall.
His old familiar robe stirred up a cloud of smoke and dust on the ground, and the guests who were wandering nearby also tried to avoid him.
Everyone dispersed, leaving Huang Xiang alone kneeling in front of the stall.
I saw the emperor crying like a ghost, holding the only inkstone on the stall, and mumbling a series of indistinct words.
"This! Isn't this a pure natural inkstone? The pattern and the fineness of the stone are top-notch! This is top-notch!"
In fact, there was a very common phenomenon in ancient times, but few people noticed it.
The older a craft product is, the more difficult it is to find the name of the craftsman who made it.
This is not a strange phenomenon - scholars, farmers, merchants, craftsmen and merchants are the least looked down upon at any time.
If craftsmen want to seek a better life, most of them have to be recruited by the government and become official craftsmen - but this makes it difficult for most skilled craftsmen to leave their names in history.
The particularity of the Four Treasures of the Study has led to a close relationship between them and literati.
Not all literati are so wealthy. Most of them are poor and their living standards are difficult to guarantee.
This led to the need for some literati who were very fond of calligraphy and painting to "reliance on their own." For example, Su Dongpo of later generations was known to the world for his famous poems and calligraphy, but secretly he was a master of making inkstones.
There are many such examples, especially during the Eastern Han Dynasty, when calligraphers and painters were actually quite rare. If you wanted to have a good inkstone, other than making it yourself, you could only get it from the royal family - but how many people were there?
Can we use royal products?
Huang Xiang is one of them.
As an expert, he could see at a glance the quality of this inkstone - but in fact, because this inkstone was so excellent, even the annoyed literati next to him just now also saw how good this inkstone was.
.
"Brother, have you seen enough?"
Being greeted like this, Huang Xiang shivered all over. He raised his head and looked around, only to find that there were a lot of people around him looking at him.
After realizing his gaffe, he quickly stood up, patted the dust on his body, and nodded with a smile.
