Jinling City under the plum rain looks antique and full of ancient charm.
There was no steel jungle or busy traffic. Sun Mo was strolling in the alleys. There were little maids in green clothes and graceful young ladies wearing veils walking lightly into the powder shop in alleys.
There is no smell of chicken in a pot, nor is there the faint fragrance of meat skewers. Instead, the shouts of high-profile customers asking the waiter to serve wine can be heard from time to time.
Sun Mo bit into a plain steamed bun, stepped on the slippery bluestone road, passed by a vendor selling candied haws on a burden, and walked into a bookstore called Yuelaixuan.
Because of the rain, there were very few customers in the store. There was only an old man sitting on a wooden chair, reading a book leisurely, with a cup of tea next to him. The heat had long gone.
The bookstore was very large, filled with tall and heavy locust wood bookshelves. With Sun Mo's tall height, he had to stand on tiptoes to reach the books on the top shelf.
After casually strolling around, Sun Mo fell in love with this bookstore.
The books on the bookshelf are divided into categories and arranged very neatly, like a military parade. Sun Mo saw it when he entered the door. The books here can be borrowed for only one copper plate per day.
Generally speaking, rented books will always have some stains, but there are no ones in this store. This shows that the owner takes good care of the books and has solemnly warned the borrowers.
Sun Mo doesn't like to go out. His usual hobbies include playing games and reading novels, so seeing a bookstore here feels very cordial.
There were many kinds of stories, miscellaneous stories, and poems, but the one Sun Mo held in his hand was a novel.
"The Legend of Killing Immortals in Nine Provinces" is signed by the old man from the mountains. There are more than a dozen sets, filling most of the bookshelves. This should be a best-seller in the Tang Dynasty.
Sun Mo flipped through it. The title was domineering, the plot was thick, it was about the love and hatred between sects, and the style of the book was also very grand. No wonder it could be placed here.
In Kyushu, China, printing technology was still at the stage of movable type printing, so knowledge had not yet been widely spread and popularized. In this era, there were still only a few people who could read and write.
"Tsk, I can write at this level."
Sun Mo looked at it for a few times and then put it back.
"What? Not satisfied?"
At some point, the old man on the wooden chair stood next to him. When he saw Sun Mo putting "The Legend of Nine Provinces Zhu Xian" back, he couldn't help but ask: "This is a best-seller that has become popular in Jinling in the past year. Young people love to read it." .”
"hehe!"
Sun Mo avoided talking. This old man was obviously a fan of this book. If he said the wrong thing, there might be a dispute.
The old man carefully arranged the bookshelf that Sun Mo had browsed, and then sat back on the chair. About half an hour later, he saw Sun Mo coming back, holding "The Legend of Nine Provinces Zhu Xian" in his hand, and he couldn't help but be happy.
"Don't you like it?"
The old man raised his eyebrows. The meaning was self-evident. It didn't sound good, but his body was very honest. Didn't he want to rent it
"Yes, I don't like it, but there are really no books to borrow, so I can only make do with it."
Sun Mo looked helpless. Middle-earth novels were still at the stage of fairies, heroes and ghosts. How could such a monotonous subject matter satisfy Sun Mo's appetite
When he heard the word 'appropriate', the old man's eyes widened and his beard blew angrily: "Then write a book and let me see what it means to read 'not adequate'!"
"Have you seen Transformers?"
Sun Mo teased.
The old man looked confused.
"Have you seen Dragon Ball?"
The old man continued to be confused.
"You haven't read Journey to the West, either?"
Sun Mo's bad taste came out.
"Are you talking nonsense? I am also well-read, so why have I never heard of the books you mentioned?"
The old man was depressed and stared at Sun Mo suspiciously. He didn't expect that this boy was a good-looking guy, but he was also a liar.
"That's because you haven't read enough books."
Sun Mo was serious, but he was about to burst out laughing, but then he became disappointed again. Alas, he won't be able to see it anymore.
The old man's face darkened, but as he loved books, he suppressed his anger and asked in a low voice: "Where did you read these books?"
"I wrote it myself!"
Sun Mo didn't dare to talk nonsense. As a person from another world, if he hadn't been pushed by the old man's words, he wouldn't have said these names, because leaking information would probably bring trouble.
"you… "
The old man raised his hand angrily and was about to give Sun Mo a hard blow. It obviously aroused his interest, but he told him that he was making it up. It was really disgusting.
"Rent for one copper per day, right?"
Sun Mo paid.
"Um."
The old man nodded and went through the book rental procedures for Sun Mo, but in his mind he recalled the three names he had mentioned. Leaving aside the unknown Transformers, Dragon Ball and Journey to the West, just by listening to the names, they It was very interesting, so I couldn't help but ask: "I wonder what Journey to the West is about?"
Sun Mo chuckled and shook his head.
"If you have a finished manuscript, I can pay for it!"
The old man has read too many books, so now it is really difficult to find a book that suits his heart and has not been read before. This is simply torture for a person who is addicted to books.
"How much does it cost?"
Sun Mo's eyes lit up. The money he was spending now was all his savings, which was not much in the first place. In addition, the salary of the intern teacher was very small. Sun Mo could foresee that he would have to spend a lot of money for a long time in the future. Live a life of poverty.
If you fall in love and have a girlfriend, it will be even more difficult to make ends meet. Think about it, you don’t even have the money to go out for a big meal to improve your life. It’s too miserable.
"Two hundred taels of silver!"
The old man made an offer.
Sun Mo shook his head.
"What? Too little?"
The old man knocked on the table: "One hundred taels of silver is enough for a family of three to live comfortably for a year. Boy, don't be too greedy."
"If I publish a book, what will be the market price?"
Sun Moxin said, if I sold you the manuscript of Journey to the West for two hundred taels of silver, I would be a fool.
"Haha!" The old man smiled contemptuously: "Young man, live your life well and don't dream."
China and Kyushu were still in the feudal era, with low productivity and backward printing and papermaking. Publishing books was destined to be an extremely luxurious thing.
Sun Mo turned around and left.
"Okay, I'll satisfy you." The old man compromised: "I'll help you publish three hundred books, and I'll pay you any loss. I'll give you all the money I make."
"A thousand copies!"
Sun Mo said loudly. One of his colleagues had published a reference book. A thousand copies was considered a good achievement at the time.
"Too many, no money, can't do it!"
The old man refused Sanlian because he did not want to be blackmailed.
Sun Mo stared at the old man and activated the Divine Insight.
'Zheng Qingfang, who returned to his hometown after serving as an official three years ago, became a wealthy man, loved books as much as his life, and was at the seventh level of divine power. '
'The body's functions were severely damaged, it had been damaged by toxins, and it left hidden diseases. '
'Remarks, the Zheng family has a strict family tradition. If he falls, you can help him without worrying about being blackmailed. '
Sun Mo browsed the data that appeared next to the old man and became an official? Isn't it just normal for officials to retire? Unexpectedly, this old man who opened a bookstore also served as an official, so he must not be short of money.
Zheng Qingfang had experienced strong winds and waves in the court, but when Sun Mo looked at him, he suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if there were some ants crawling on his body.
"Okay, five hundred copies, no more."
Zheng Qingfang compromised and took the opportunity to look at Sun Mo.
The light blue robe, washed cleanly, coupled with Sun Mo's handsome face and upright figure, exuded a calm and elegant temperament. When the corners of his mouth were pursed, there seemed to be an imperceptible arc, giving people a A restless feeling.
Zheng Qingfang has met many young people with outstanding temperaments in his life, and this boy is quite outstanding among them.
"A thousand copies."
Sun Mo refused to let go.
"Okay, but I want to admire your wooden sword."
Zheng Qingfang's eyes fell on Sun Mo's waist, where the black sandalwood sword was pinned.
Sun Mo shrugged his shoulders, turned around and left. He was just kidding. The Great Universe Wuxiang Divine Art is engraved on it, a top-notch holy-level technique. How could I show it to you
But this old man has sharp eyes, and he can see the most valuable thing on his body at a glance.
"Boy, it's all in vain. Just bring me the manuscript first. If it's interesting, I'll go out of my way to print a thousand copies for you."
Zheng Qingfang shouted. When Sun Mo's figure disappeared outside the door, he sat back on the wooden chair. But when he read the novel in his hand, he was already uninterested. The names "Dragon Ball" and "Journey to the West" were all in his mind.
"What kind of story is it?"
Zheng Qingfang felt like a cat was scratching his chest, and his heart was itching unbearably.
The plum rain was pouring in June. After Sun Mo bought a few pieces of sweet-scented osmanthus cake, he got on a small boat and traveled along the Qinhuai River.
The wooden knife was inserted casually into the belt. It was not expensive in itself, but after it was engraved with the Great Universe Wuxiang Divine Art, it was no longer the same.
Although Sun Mo has memorized this technique, who knows if there is any hidden content? Moreover, these characters were obviously written by a famous calligrapher. It was a pity to destroy them. Sun Mo was worried about losing them in the dormitory, so he could only take them with him.
Swords were prohibited in the Tang State, but bows and crossbows were prohibited. If you possess one, you will inevitably be arrested and taken away with an iron rope, and put in a prison for several days.
Sun Mo wasn't used to carrying a sword yet, and the lightest sword weighed seven to eight pounds, which was really troublesome. The weight of this wooden sword was just right, so Sun Mo simply brought a self-defense.
After burning a stick of incense at Lingwang Temple, Sun Mo returned to school. When passing by a street corner, he saw a thin girl holding a small bundle tightly in her hands and sitting under the eaves to take shelter from the rain.
The girl is about thirteen or fourteen years old. She looks innocent, but now she is full of loss.
"A homeless girl?"
As a teacher, Sun Mo is very sensitive to such children who are alone, because there have been cases of students running away from home in his school.
Sun Mo stared and activated the Divine Insight Technique.
Lu Zhiruo, fourteen years old, penniless and severely hungry. '
Seeing this fragrant name, Sun Mo secretly praised it.
The eaves were too short to cover the plum rain, and the girl's clean blue linen clothes got wet, but she remained unaware, huddled there like an abandoned little kitten.