After selling goods and buying livestock, they were busy all the way, and it was noon. The three of them parked the car on the side of the road, sat down at a random food stall, and ordered some noodles.
"Uncle Zhang, after you finish eating, you can drive to the city gate to have a rest. Aling and I have to go to the bookstore."
Zhang Da has no objection. He was here to help today. Now that the young couple has their own things to do, he can't always follow behind.
However, when he heard that they were going to the bookstore, Zhang Da remembered what the girl said about asking Shen Ling to study. He was always worried that the girl would suffer a loss and wanted to persuade her, but he didn't know how to say it.
Zhang Da was eating noodles, raised his head, and glanced at the young couple sitting opposite him with tangled eyes.
Then, he saw Shen Ling take the initiative to take the pieces of meat from his bowl to Zhuang Keqing's.
That’s all.
After all, it's a matter between the young couple. He's a country boy and doesn't know how to study, so don't interrupt randomly.
Look at Shen Ling, even when he is eating noodles, he looks better than the other villagers like them. I guess he also learned something from the Shen family, so he might be able to pass the exam.
After finishing eating the noodles, Zhang Da took the mule and walked towards the city gate. He left a rattan basket for Shen Ling in case there was anything he wanted to buy later and there would be no place to put it.
"Let's go?"
Zhuang Keqing pulled Shen Ling and took the candied haws in one hand, "I bought it for you. Why don't you eat just one?"
"dislike?"
like.
Shen Ling replied in his heart.
"You eat too."
"You're saving it for me?" Zhuang Keqing joked, stretching out his hand and holding the candied haws directly in front of Shen Ling, "You eat one and I'll eat one."
The girl in front of her raised her head slightly, her eyebrows were curved, and the midday sun shone on her thick eyelashes, casting a small shadow. Her transparent amber eyes were full of expectation, reflecting her own confusion. Look.
"Eat it." The candied haws of sugarcane was brought to his lips again.
Shen Ling lowered his head and closed his eyelashes, took Zhuang Keqing's hand and took a bite.
Sour and sweet, the taste is better than the one just now.
Seeing that the person ate obediently, Zhuang Keqing narrowed his eyes happily and pulled him to eat a whole piece before taking his first bite.
Wow~ It’s been a long time since I’ve had this.
The outer shell is crispy and sweet, and the inside is sour and glutinous. It feels much more delicious than the ones sold on the street in my previous life.
The two of them were not in a hurry to go to the bookstore, and did not leave until they had finished eating on the roadside.
…
It’s still the bookstore in the east of the city.
A few days ago, there was only one copy of "Collected Annotations" left. The shopkeeper wanted to get some more printed copies from the county seat, but failed. He could only find a few down-and-out scholars in a hurry and let them copy them by hand. He said it was for speed. The faster, the more wages, and pens, ink, paper and inkstones were provided in advance. Now, there is still an empty space in a corner of the bookstore for scholars to copy.
When Zhuang Keqing and Shen Ling stepped into the bookstore, they keenly noticed the difference.
The row of bookshelves against the wall was gone, replaced by a desk with a book on it. There were two or three scholars in Confucian shirts sitting in front of them, engrossed in copying the book.
"Brother Zhou, please turn slowly, I haven't finished copying this page yet," said one of the Confucian scholars in gray.
"Why are you so slow? Qian Zhuo and I have finished copying. If we don't hurry up, I won't wait for you." The young man in blue scholar's shirt was not very impatient, but he did not turn the pages anymore. Instead, he put the pen aside and waited. With.
When he raised his head, he saw Zhuang Keqing and Shen Ling standing at the door from the corner of his eye.
"Shopkeeper, we have guests." He called into the inner room.
After hearing his call, the shopkeeper hurriedly came out, held up the hat that had fallen off on his head, and asked Shen Ling, "What do you want to see, Master?"
He didn't say buy it, and he didn't show any contempt for Zhuang Keqing because of their shabby clothes. He was actually much more sophisticated than the guy they met the last time they came here.
"I'm here to sell manuscripts."
After saying that, Shen Ling took out the book he had written silently from his arms.
"Manuscript? Let me take a look?"
The shopkeeper stretched out his hand to take it.
Although their bookstore is not big, it has the most comprehensive catalog in Songling Town. Not to mention books for scientific examinations, there are also popular story books in the county. There are one or two volumes here. But the market for story books is not very good. Those who are illiterate won't buy it, and those who are literate mostly need to take exams, so they don't have to spend their spare money.
I don’t know what this young master copied. If it was a script, he wouldn’t want it.
But the book was thin, wrapped in oil paper, and in an ordinary format. It didn't look like a miscellaneous book.
Shen Ling peeled off the oil paper on the surface, and the words "Collected Notes" on the cover were revealed.
The shopkeeper slowly opened his eyes and let out a low breath.
"variorum"?!
He sold a printed copy well a few days ago, but it was bought by the Zhao family in this town, and the remaining copy has been reserved. Now that he can stay in the bookstore, the patron is easy to talk to, and he is allowed to stay in the bookstore. It's there for people to copy.
The three Confucian scholars have been copying it for several days and have not finished it yet. And as far as he knows, among the bookstores in this town, only his family has been able to get two copies, and the others have none at all.
So, where did he copy this "Collected Annotations"?
Could it be that he was writing blindly?
The shopkeeper hesitated.
He looked at Shen Ling from top to bottom again.
The farmer's coarse cloth is short-cut, washed and washed, with no patches, and the soles of a pair of shoes are thick. I think the elders or the daughter-in-law in the family are capable.
Looking at the person, even though she is carrying a rattan basket, she does not have the hunched back look of ordinary villagers. Instead, she has an improved figure, handsome bones, a face as white as the moon, and clear features, which is worse than the little girl next to her. Not going anywhere.
Shen Ling didn't pay attention to the shopkeeper's inspection. He just peeled off the oil paper on the outer layer of the book and handed the book over with both hands.
The shopkeeper took it.
The cover and inner pages of this book are all made of the most ordinary Cai Gong paper, and the ink seems to be not very good, but the handwriting is clear, and when you look through it, there are no traces of alteration.
As far as a handwritten book is concerned, it is considered to be of the highest quality.
It's just that this content...
"Zhou Qian, come and help me read this book."
The shopkeeper lowered his head and shouted, and the young man in blue shirt sitting next to him who had just spoken stood up and walked over.
"Let's take a look. Is this the same content as the "Collected Annotations" you are transcribing now?"
Zhou Qian took the book, started from the first page, and read it carefully.
The more he read, the tighter his brows furrowed. It wasn't until a quarter of an hour passed that he closed the page.
At this time, he looked up and found that the two people who had just copied the book with him had gathered around and stretched their heads to watch.
"The contents are indeed consistent," he said.
The shopkeeper was so surprised that he took the book back into his hands and flipped through it.
"Where did you use the original for this copy?"
He didn't know about Shen Ling's visit a few days ago, and thought that other houses in the town had this book for sale, so he couldn't help but worry.
Shen Ling didn't answer.
The shopkeeper was so anxious that he almost reached out to grab the other person's shoulders.
"It's from your family." Zhuang Keqing waited aside, fearing that the shopkeeper would be too excited and scratch someone, so he couldn't help answering.
"Wha, what? It's mine?" The shopkeeper didn't go around the corner, "I originally had this in the bookstore. Where did you copy it?"
The people around me couldn't figure it out either. They were introduced to copying books a few days ago, and they thought they were just copying some Mongolian books. Who knew it was this hard-to-find "Collected Annotations"? It's almost done. Just because of the shopkeeper's permission, the second copy can be given to them as a gift.
They will be finished as soon as next year, and they are waiting for such a good book. I heard people say that this book is difficult to get even in the county, let alone Songling Town.
So, since there is only such a printed version in this town, where did this brother copy this book?
As soon as Zhuang Keqing said these words, he knew that he was impulsive.
This matter was Shen Ling's private matter and she really shouldn't have spoken out about it. She carefully glanced at the young man next to her. There was no special expression on his face, only some indifference.
"Didn't you sell a copy of your book before? Fortunately, my husband got permission from a friend and borrowed it for a few days before copying it."
Remembering that the clerk had mentioned selling one copy of this book before, Zhuang Keqing ignored it and started making up nonsense.
The shopkeeper frowned and said, "Does your husband have any dealings with the Zhao family?"
He looked like he didn't believe it.
The Zhao family comes from a scholarly family. The old man passed the imperial examination in his early years and served as an official for decades. He only returned to his hometown in recent years. Several of his sons are famous scholars, not to mention his grandson, Mr. Zhao, who has passed the exam at a young age. After the college examination, he is now studying in the county school as a scholar, and I heard that he is also an outstanding scholar.
The shopkeeper couldn't help but glance at Zhuang Keqing who was speaking.
Like the young man in front of her, this girl was dressed simply and had no jewelry on her head. Even her hairband was not a bright color like red. Although she did not appear to be from a poor family, she could only be considered average.
