Du Mingfu is another big city in Jizhou. Since he had been to the land of Zu Yue, Ji Yuan would feel some emotion whenever he saw stable and majestic cities like Dazhen.
In fact, from a personal point of view, Dazhen itself has a lot of problems, but there is no perfect place in the world. Dazhen has already stood out compared with its peers.
Walking on the streets of Du Ming Mansion, Ji Yuan was like an ordinary tourist, wandering around the city, and finally chose a suitable street corner. While no one was paying attention, he took out a table and two round stools from his sleeves, and then sat there.
Unlike Lu Shanjun who was testing Lu Chengfeng halfway, Ji Yuan also had his own plans.
There are two places in the entire Jizhou martial arts world with the largest number of martial artists, one is Dingyuan Prefecture, and the other is Duming Prefecture. Although Desheng Prefecture has Luoxia Villa, it is still not as well-established as these two places compared to the entire martial arts world, and Duming Prefecture is even worse.
The martial arts conference held this time is actually not a casual small meeting, but a grand event of Jizhou martial arts. Even the owner and the third owner of Luoxia Mountain Villa will attend, intending to help improve the status of Jizhou martial arts. The status of the conference has been raised by more than one level. Many warriors from the surrounding states have also come to participate in the conference. The scale is not small, and even the officials of Du Mingfu have been alarmed.
Ji Yuan suddenly put a table in this corner, of course not to bask in the sun, one was to sell his skills to earn some money, and the other was to wait for someone.
There couldn't be nothing on the table. Ji Yuan had taken out the four treasures of the study, including pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, one after another. He placed the pen on the pen holder and began to grind the ink himself.
The weather seems gloomy today, but it is only because it is still early. Ji Yuan knows that the sun will soon break through the clouds and it will be a nice day then.
As Ji Yuan was slowly grinding the ink, the light in the sky began to gradually show its power, the clouds above began to show signs of dissipating, and more people were walking by.
This street corner was obviously also a favorite place for some small vendors. Soon, some vegetable and goods sellers had set up stalls or laid out carpets, and some people frequently looked at Ji Yuan.
What’s magical is that when the first ray of sunlight broke through the blockade of dark clouds, it first shone on Ji Yuan’s desk, making this place appear uniquely bright.
However, only some vendors in the surrounding area saw this scene, and after a dozen or so breaths at most, more and more sunlight shone down, and the weather gradually cleared up.
"What are you going to do, sir?"
Finally, a citizen selling dried goods nearby asked curiously.
Ji Yuan looked at him. His dark skin and wrinkles on his face made him look old, but in fact he was probably only in his thirties or forties.
"It's no different than what you do, except I'm just selling some pens and ink."
"oh."
The man nodded to show that he understood. He was just selling calligraphy. There were the most poor scholars like him before and after the New Year. They were rare in this season, but they did exist.
Ji Yuan looked at the increasing number of people on his left and right, thought for a moment, took out a wolf-hair brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote a few words on two pieces of white paper.
Write letters for family members, sell calligraphy and ask for divination.
Two pieces of white paper were placed on the corner of the table. Although they did not look conspicuous, the handwriting was always beautiful.
After finishing writing, Ji Yuan placed the second stool under the table opposite the table as a seat for the guests.
Unfortunately, although Jiyuan’s appearance was good, from the table decoration to the clothes and attire, he definitely did not look like a fortune teller. He also did not put up a sign, and simply putting up two pieces of paper was obviously not enough. As a result, many people came and went, but not many sat down in front of the stall.
However, Ji Yuan was not really doing business, it was mainly for one person. When three people passed by here from a distance, Ji Yuan opened his eyes to rest.
Although the three people had passed by the table, the leader also glanced at the white paper on the table, and Ji Yuan knew that they would come back.
Sure enough, the three of them stopped seven or eight steps ahead and then turned back.
They were all dressed rather gorgeously. The one leading the group had a small crown inlaid with white jade on his hair. He was tall and slightly plump. He walked to the table with the two people behind him. With a smile on his face, he looked at the words and then looked at Ji Yuan.
"The handwriting is good, but can you tell fortunes when you are like this?"
The man who was speaking was about forty or fifty years old. Although he looked well-off, he had calluses on his knuckles and a darker skin color around his palms. With Ji Yuan's attainments in martial arts, he naturally knew that this was the result of years of using weapons. After all, it was impossible for such a man to swing a hoe.
Hearing the other party's question, Ji Yuan looked at them and smiled.
"I know a little bit. Do you want to buy calligraphy or ask for divination?"
The accountant Yuan deliberately used an illusion to cover his eyes, so his pale eyes were not revealed even in such a gaze, but his calm look remained unchanged.
The leading man frowned and looked at Ji Yuan.
"Sir, have we met before? Why do you look so kind?"
'Of course we have met, Lanninck.'
Thinking so in his heart, Ji Yuan narrowed his eyes as if thinking, and then shook his head.
"I can't remember, maybe I have really seen it. Do you want to buy the words or ask about cheating?"
Ji Yuan asked again.
"Okay, I won't ask. Just write me a few nice words. If you want to write a long scroll with big characters, I'll tell you and you write it."
Ji Yuan nodded, pulled a piece of paper from the side, took a pen and dipped it in ink, and said something after he was ready.
"Please say."
"Just write, 'You are a chivalrous man, a dragon among men.'"
Ji Yuan wrote the eight majestic characters in one go, and the signature on the side was Mr. Yuan, instead of the commonly used Mr. Ji.
"Not bad, not bad, sir, your handwriting is very good. How much is it?"
Ji Yuan thought about it.
"Nine ounces of silver."
When the people around heard this, they immediately got angry.
"Nine taels? You might as well go and rob! Do you really think you're a famous artist?"
Ji Yuan shook his head and explained.
"You can't say that. The works of famous artists may not be as valuable as my calligraphy. Besides, if you buy my calligraphy, I'll give you a few words. Maybe you can escape a disaster!"
The man who had asked for calligraphy before also sneered. He was a little-known person, and his calligraphy was indeed good, but nine taels was too much to ask. Asking a famous calligrapher from Chunhui Mansion to write for him would only cost a few dozen taels. As for the so-called great robbery, it was even more nonsense.
"let's go."
The man put away the scroll, said this and left.
"Hey, everyone, this is top-quality Xuan paper, and you can only buy one foot for a hundred coins."
Ji Yuan stood up and called out. Among the three people in front, only one turned around and looked at Ji Yuan with a fierce look. He took out two pieces of silver from his purse and threw them on the table. Then he and his companions left without looking back.
"Okay, I'll pay for it..."
Ji Yuan sighed and sat back in his seat.
The stall vendor who had spoken earlier made two "tsk tsk" sounds.
"Sir, you are such a vicious person, how dare you ask for such a high price? Nine taels of silver is enough for our family to eat for a year or two. Even these two pieces of silver on the table are worth two hundred coins. You can earn enough just by writing a few words."
Ji Yuan was a little amused and helpless. This kind of sarcastic remark was obviously the kind of talk that came from an amateur who only saw other people making money but not their costs.
"My dear brother, this is three-layered sandalwood paper made from cork from Jinzhou, which has gone through dozens of processes. It is only sold in Xiangmoxuan in Beijing. The cost of one foot is no less than a hundred coins, and this is the price from more than ten years ago. The one he took away was three feet long, and it also came with the mounting. Even if I don't count the money for the calligraphy, I'm still losing money."
This was what Ji Yuan had taken from the Chu Mansion in the capital, and he left a decree as a reward for the favor, along with the loan.
The person next to him was shocked when he heard it.
"Is a piece of paper so expensive? Oh, sir, you are really losing money."
"Of course not!"
Ji Yuan said this unhappily, and then began to tidy up the things on the table.
"Sir, are you leaving?"
The stall owner next to him asked in confusion.
"Mr. is leaving after just one business deal?"
"I won't keep it. If I get a few more orders, I'll lose a lot of money."
The man next to him couldn't help but feel a little gloating. He snickered and tidied up the things on his stall. When he was about to say something else, he looked up and found that Ji Yuan was gone.
Not only was the person gone, but the desk and the stool were also gone.
The man stood up and looked around the street, but he didn't see anyone. Not only did he not see Ji Yuan, but the three people who had left before actually came back in a hurry. Seeing their aggressive looks, the man setting up the stall quickly sat down and pretended that he didn't notice anything.
The three men returned to the place where they had just been sitting at the table, looked around but saw no one.
"Master Lan, the calligraphy seller is gone!"
"Strange, it was there just now."
The leading man frowned and looked around, looking at the farmer who was selling dried goods at a stall.
"Hey, where's the person next to you? When did he leave? Where did he go?"
"No, I didn't notice. I just wanted to chat with this gentleman, but as soon as I was distracted, he disappeared. Yes, it's a bit weird!"
The farmer told the truth.
The three men looked around, and the one in the middle even unfolded the scroll and looked at it again. The original text on it had clearly changed.
Just think about it, you are a dragon among men, and you are worthy of it.
The word is still a good word, but with eight more words, the meaning is hard to accept. No wonder the three of them ran back angrily.
The farmer is illiterate, but he can tell that there are obviously too many words. It should have meant profit, but looking at the angry look on his face, it was estimated that what was written was not a good thing.
The visitor looked around but couldn't find the culprit, and finally left in anger.
When the farmer who was setting up a stall came to his senses, he actually felt that there was something mysterious about it.