After waking up, Fang Yun washed up, had breakfast, then walked around the yard a few times, and then went straight into the room to practice calligraphy and read.
During this period, some people came to visit, but they had no important business and were stopped in the yard by Yang Yuhuan. When those people heard Fang Yun reading, they left tactfully and before leaving, they did not forget to praise Fang Yun for his hard work.
At noon, Liang Yuan brought some wine and food. While eating and drinking with Fang Yun, he discussed the matters of the bookstore. Finally, they decided to go to Dayuan Mansion with Fang Yun to run the bookstore. He left five days earlier than Fang Yun and helped Fang Yun choose a place to live and the address of the bookstore.
After dinner, Fang Yun went to the library of the Academy of Literature.
The library of the county academy of literature is huge, with more than 100,000 books. The only drawback is that it cannot be loaned out.
Fang Yun entered and selected a book that was not available in the Qishu World and he had never read before, called "Collection of Essays from Caolu Mountain Residence", which was a collection of essays by a university scholar of Jing State.
Fang Yun took it silently, and Qishu Tiandi did not react at all.
After a moment, Fang Yun whispered, "Collect!"
There was still no response from Qishu Tiandi.
Fang Yun stared intently at the five words "Cao Lu Shan Ju Ji" on the cover, as if he was going to "kill you with his eyes", but it was of no use.
"Can't we just put it into the Wonderful Book World?"
Fang Yun thought about it and flipped through the pages, but there was still no response from Qishu Tiandi. He had no choice but to memorize every word.
After reading the first page silently, Fang Yun turned the page, and the world of the strange book began to move.
A blank book appeared in Fang Yun's mind. The five words "Cao Lu Shan Ju Ji" gradually appeared on the cover. The first page also had content, but the rest was still blank.
"Do I really have to read all the text silently to be included in the Wonderful Book World? This kind of scripture cannot be read quickly. Two words per second means 7,200 words per hour. Even if you read it for ten hours a day, it is only 72,000 words. Three months and sixty days is only more than 4 million words. There are a lot of works by the saints, especially the works of the new saints in the past two or three hundred years. Adding up, they definitely exceed 10 million words, and many of them are not in the Wonderful Book World. In addition, you have to read the interpretations of the saints' classics by the great Confucian scholars. Don't expect to achieve great success without reading for more than ten years."
Fang Yun was in a dilemma. The provincial examination for a scholar was much more difficult than the county examination, and the scope of the examination was also very broad. If he only got a single pass on the interpretation of scriptures or the words of the sage, it would be too embarrassing.
"If it really doesn't work, don't take the provincial exam this year, and take the exam for the scholar in a few years."
Fang Yun thought about it and left the academy.
Wenyuan Street has many shops related to reading, some selling books, some selling the four treasures of the study, and some selling other sundries. Because the Tongsheng exam had just passed, people from other villages and towns had not left, so this street was very busy and many shops had discounts.
Fang Yun didn’t have much money before and couldn’t buy too many books. Now that he is not short of money, he saw that there was a 10% discount on a set of "Guan Hai Collection of Essays", and he was tempted.
Chen Guanhai is currently the only semi-saint in Jingguo, and his collection of essays is a must-read for many scholars in Jingguo.
"Guanhai Collection" collects Chen Guanhai's works over the years, including poems, classics, policy essays, classics annotations, etc., as well as comments and explanations by other great scholars and university scholars. There are a total of 52 volumes, which are packed in two wooden book boxes, each of which is half a person's height.
When Fang Yun walked into the store, the scent of ink hit him in the face.
"How much is this set of "Guan Hai Collection"? " Fang Yun asked.
"This is a hardcover collector's edition. The original price is twenty taels of silver, and it's now eighteen taels after the discount. No bargaining." The busy bookshelf owner didn't even raise his head and continued to work.
Fang Yun was surprised. He didn't expect that this collection of essays was so expensive. If he was still working in the restaurant, it would take him three years without eating or drinking to be able to afford it.
"Are there any simple ones?" Fang Yun asked.
"Yes, 5 taels per set, no discount."
Fang Yun thought that it was about one hundred coins per copy, which was a sky-high price for him in the past, but not much for him now.
"Then give me a simple set." Fang Yun only wanted to study rather than collect, so there was no need to buy the hardcover one, which was too heavy. If he wanted to collect it, he could wait until he went to Dayuan Mansion.
Fang Yun was just rummaging for the silver when he heard someone ask in surprise, "But what's Fang Yun's plan?"
Fang Yun looked up and saw a young man in brocade robe standing in front of him. He vaguely remembered that he was his neighbor from a few years ago. His name was Xue Hua, but he moved away after passing the examination to become a scholar.
"Hello, Brother Xue. How are your aunt and uncle?" Fang Yun said politely.
"My parents are fine. They were very happy when they heard yesterday that you ranked first in the high school entrance examination. They never expected to see you here." Xue Zheng said with a smile.
Fang Yun was about to answer when the white-haired and bearded bookstore owner shouted, "Are you the Fang Shuangjia from 'The Ox Cart Going to the Examination Room'?"
"It's me." Fang Yun replied.
"You want the 'Guan Hai Collection', right? I've given you the hardcover set. If you want anything else, make a list of books and I'll have them delivered to your home, free of charge." The bookstore owner smiled happily, revealing a mouthful of almost fallen teeth.
Fang Yun hastily declined: "Thank you for your kindness, old man, but I won't accept gifts without merit. I'll just buy it at the normal price."
"How come you have done nothing? Our Ji County has never produced a double-class or saint-level student. You have become famous, and our Ji County has also become famous. This is a great contribution to Ji County. As a native of Ji County, it is my duty to give you some books. Please don't refuse." said the bookstore owner.
Fang Yun wanted to refuse, but Xue Hua smiled and said, "Don't refuse. I've been studying at the Academy for three years and I've known Boss Zhao for a long time. He's a kind-hearted person and especially supports people who read books. The top three students in the Academy's annual exams can come to his bookstore and choose a set of books for free. This practice has been going on for more than ten years."
Boss Zhao said with a smile, "When you become the top scholar in the future, I can say that I, Old Zhao, once gave books to the top scholar. That would be a proud thing. A set of books is nothing. Take it. If you don't take it, I will find out where you live and drop it off at your house at night."
Fang Yun knew that this was the benefit of having a great literary reputation. Seeing that he couldn't refuse, he had to bow and say, "Thank you for the book, old man."
"Why are you being polite? We old bones are no longer strong enough, and we young people will have to rely on you youngsters to fight against the monsters. You must not learn from Fang Zhongyong, who was taken around by his father all day long. If you keep wandering around, you will eventually lose all the knowledge in your belly."
"The younger generation should keep this in mind. When you have learned enough, you will go to the battlefield and kill the monsters and barbarians."
"Good! You have great ambition!" the old man said with a smile.
Fang Yun chatted with the owner and Xue Hua in the bookstore for a quarter of an hour, then left on the pretext of going to read, and walked back alone carrying two boxes of books.
Fang Yun felt warm in his heart, not because of the books, but because of the friendship of the bookstore owner. With such people, the human race and Jing Kingdom would never be defeated by the monsters.
When he got home, Fang Yun opened the book box and took out all the books. The room was immediately filled with the same smell of ink as in the bookstore.
This hardcover book is made of the best paper and ink, and feels great. Fang Yun took it in his hand and looked at the tattered books on the bookshelf, thinking that there are more books than books that should be thrown away.
"Huh? Why is the book gone!" Fang Yun looked at his empty hands blankly. The fragrance of the book was still there, but the book was gone.
Fang Yun looked around and confirmed that it really disappeared out of thin air. Not only was he not angry, but he was extremely happy. Then he tried to recite in his mind: "The First Volume of Guanhai Collection."
A brand new volume of "Guan Hai Collection Volume 1" appeared in his mind, and he could even faintly smell the scent of ink.
Fang used his mind to turn the pages. Just like other books in the strange world of books, the text remained unchanged, but punctuation marks were added to make it easier to read and understand.
"This book is similar to the one in the library of the Academy of Literature, but why is it included in the World of Strange Books? Is it a new book or a hardcover? This possibility is too small."
Fang Yun tried to touch other books, and then silently said in his mind to put them into the world of strange books. He saw that all 52 volumes of "Guan Hai Collection" were put into it, and there were only two empty wooden book boxes left on the ground.
“Is it a matter of ownership?”
Fang Yun took immediate action and went to his neighbor's house to borrow a book he had never read before. However, he could not find it in the Qishu Tiandi. He tried to read the first page, and Qishu Tiandi immediately included the book, but only the first page was included.
"It seems that only my own book can be included in the world of strange books. If it is someone else's book, I must read it carefully."
Fang Yun breathed a sigh of relief. This was much better. If he had to read carefully before he could include the book in his world of rare books, he would have to read boringly for ten years.
"The county town is small, and I need too many books, probably hundreds of thousands. If I buy a large number of books and then disappear out of thin air, people will be suspicious. Once I open a bookstore in Dayuan Prefecture and have a warehouse, I can buy a large number of books without worrying about suspicion."
Fang Yun laughed. He didn't expect that running a bookstore would have this benefit.
After solving the problem of the book, Fang Yun continued to practice calligraphy and recite the works of the saints to understand their true meaning.
In the following days, Fang Yun practiced calligraphy and read books. In the evening, he went to Cai County Magistrate to study the interpretation of scriptures. His life was very fulfilling.
Time passed quickly, and ten days passed in a flash.
Yang Yuhuan found a trustworthy maid, and Fang Yun also selected a kind and honest cousin from among the Fang family's children to be his personal attendant, who gradually handled all the chores.
On a hazy morning, four people loaded their belongings into a carriage.
The roosters crowed loudly, and the four people looked at the empty yard and the faint traces of frost on the ground, feeling a little sad.
Fang Yun looked towards the sky. The sun had not yet risen and the east was all green.
In the quiet morning, the four got on the carriage.
"Let's set off." Fang Yun said in a deep voice in the carriage.
Fang Daniu, who was sitting at the front of the car, cracked the whip, making a crisp "pop" sound.
The three horses immediately snorted, white mist came out of their noses, and they stepped on their hooves to drive the carriage forward.
The bells on the neck of the leading horse swayed, and the melodious sound echoed on the road. The wheels of the cart pressed against the ground, making a gurgling sound, and the people on the cart were gently shaken.
Yang Yuhuan couldn't help but lift the curtains and look outside.
Fang Yun looked through the carriage window and saw a faint waning moon hanging in the sky.
"We will be back." Fang Yun comforted.
Yang Yuhuan reached out and gathered her hair around her ears, saying, "With you here, it's like home, but people always miss the past."
Mrs. Jiang, who was in her forties, said, "The boss is the god of literature, so he is the same wherever he is. When the boss wins the first place in the imperial examination, he can come back to visit his parents."
Fang Yun nodded.