Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination

Chapter 24

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What Choi Xie really wanted them to sign was a nondisclosure agreement.

Color registration and imposition printing are not technical things, but in the early Ming Dynasty, they were things that no one thought of doing. If there is no contract binding, today he tells the craftsman how to make up, how to distinguish the shades of shades, smudges and rubs, and in a few days, all Zhili will be color editions.

It didn't take long for the shopkeeper Ji and his son to call the craftsman back to the shop and renew the agreement with him. A few craftsmen worried that he would ask him to sell himself as a slave, and looked at him regularly, but remembered that he had worked in this shop for many years, and that his children also grew up here. Book.

What they didn't want to get was not a contract of sale, but a long-term contract and a confidential document prohibiting the spread of the printing technology in this workshop.

Not only when they are working in the study room, but also after they leave their jobs, they are not allowed to pass on this skill to other bookstores. The bookstore will pay them a confidentiality fee every year, but if they dare to violate the ban, they will report it to the officials.

They are naturally not afraid to sign this kind of contract. Not to mention that they have been in the business of carving books for so many years, and there is no difference in carving techniques between different schools. Everyone else they know can also know it. If they really learned a new skill in the future, they still have to keep it and pass it on to their children and grandchildren to eat.

The shopkeeper and the buddy had the same words. They picked up the pen and signed their names. The other clerks and craftsmen saw his example and signed the deed with peace of mind. The two township contracts and Li Zheng also signed as witnesses, put away the stack of papers, and prepared to send them to the county government for their signature and record.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Cui Xie asked Cui Yuan to go to the restaurant to order food to invite the middle man to eat, and then asked the workers, "You guys are all picking up work outside? When will it be finished?"

Several engraving and printing craftsmen took over the work of other bookstores, and they had to rush for four or five days to complete the work. Still working in the store every day.

Shopkeeper Ji looked at his face cautiously, but he was neither happy nor angry, and he couldn't estimate his thoughts.

He wants to plead guilty for these workers and let the owner let them go for a few days so that they can get their wages for these days. Unexpectedly, before he could speak, Cui Xie said: "How many days later, let's go and finish it. Since this yard has been rented to the Wang family, you should pack up the engraving tools and move them to my yard, and hand them over from another house. Just find a clean room in the back room to work. If anyone has no place to live, they can move there."

The shopkeepers were all pleasantly surprised, and a tired handyman immediately said that he was willing to move in there. The shopkeeper Ji was still a little frightened, and asked him regularly what he planned to do with their father and son. Cui Xie glanced at him lightly, and said inexplicably, "Let's remember it first. I'll look at it when I check out at the end of the year."

As long as they are not sent to the county government office, this father and son will feel that it is a great luck. The two went down with great gratitude, and Mr. Haosheng scrubbed the storefront and made up his mind that they would work hard to make the owner forgive their sins.

The Wang family, who were making a lot of noise in the backyard of the bookstore, didn't leave either. Wang Daguanren lent them to be a witness, escaped from the hands of the two sweet wives, and sat with them for a long time with a flamboyant face - thanks to him being able to sit still.

After Cui Xie dismissed the staff and invited the middle-aged people to have a drink in the hall, he moved his waist and stood up and said with a smile, "Cui Yishi is really a big heart, I thought your servant was carrying your rent on your back. After leaving the yard, you have to take the shopkeeper to the county government for punishment, and then take back the yard behind the bookstore. Either I sit here with this face, I'm afraid you take the yard back and wait To be reasonable with you, I didn't expect you to be such a reasonable person."

What kind of room to take, where to get one hundred taels of silver to pay him.

These artisans haven't run clean yet, they are exemplary and loyal employees, so let's just rent the yard. The chairman also taught us that "if there are people who lose land, people and land are preserved; if people are saved, people and land are lost." He is also a librarian who has signed a tripartite agreement and almost officially started his post. Dare not to follow in the footsteps of great men

Anyway, the Cui family's old house has a small backyard, a two-story back house facing the street, which is enough to serve as a staff dormitory and a studio. There is no need to spend money for this yard.

Cui Xie replied with a smile, "Since the son gave the money back then to save my family's employees and the yard, this place should be reserved for the son. I haven't thanked the son yet. I didn't know that the bookstore was flooded. , If I had known earlier, I would have come to thank the prince for his help.”

Wang Daguan's flattered smile, the bloodstain on the corner of his mouth was about to burst open, and he "hissed" twice in pain, and hurriedly held his arm: "We are all heroes and righteous people, don't need to learn from the sour scholar, one sip of a son or something. Yes. I think you are a few years younger than me, just call me Big Brother Wang, and I will call you Brother Cui!"

Cui Xie declined and said, "I don't dare, I'm just a scholar..."

"Then you're not an ordinary scholar either." Wang Gongzi slapped his shoulder hard, and if he hadn't been sitting upright, he would have almost lied down: "I saw a long scar on your shoulder just now. Only a strong man who has seen blood has such wounds. I love warriors the most in my life. Come back to my house. My house has a big martial arts arena, several stone-heavy horn bows, and good horses. You love to ride and shoot. Well, it's better than trying swordsmanship, I can accompany you to practice!"

... Thank you, I will compare with you when I go home and practice for 20 years.

Just as Cui Xie was about to decline, a thought suddenly flashed in his heart, his eyes flashed across his bruised and swollen face, and he asked, "Brother Wang is really good at martial arts?" Then how did the two slender women fight like this

Wang Xiangzhen followed his gaze and touched the corner of his mouth, baring his teeth in pain: "I have had some problems in my life, and I can't see beauty and sadness, but it's just a few nail prints, just scratch it. I can't bear to let her go, but what else can I do but endure it."

Although Cui Xie felt that the nursing room was wrong, he admired his attitude of submissiveness. He couldn't help but cupped his hands and said, "Brother Wang is good at self-cultivation. It's just that Brother Wang's Lingzheng already knows what is going on in this courtyard. I'm afraid it's rare to be quiet. I'm going to open this study again, so I can only ask Brother Wang to think about how to arrange that... girl in the future."

Wang Xiangzhen didn't know if he was beaten or if he shouted in a hoarse voice during the fight: "Ah, let's talk about it later, I can't think about what to do about Sister Yue for a while, and I have to think about it in the long run. But brother Cui, brother, I have something to ask for. you-"

Cui Xie raised his eyes and looked at him, silently expressing doubts.

Wang Xiangzhen was stunned by those eyes. He paused for a while before he remembered to breathe. He lowered his head and said with a dry smile, "Brother Cui, please don't go back to the study until your brother's face grows. Sister Yue is a bit watery. , with a young and romantic character like you coming in and out in front, I'm afraid that the second door of the academy is not very secure and can't lock other people's feet."

Cui Xie nodded and agreed peacefully: "Brother Wang's family members live in the back, so I naturally want to avoid suspicion. This bookstore has a shopkeeper to look after it on weekdays, so I won't come too often if I have nothing to do."

Wang Xiangzhen's lips moved slightly, and the wound at the corner of his mouth caused his face to twist. He pressed his face and smiled: "I won't let Brother Cui suffer in vain. I'll take you to Sanjianfangjiang's mother's house, her family's..."

He raised his face and glanced at Cui Xie's clean face and eyes. He swallowed the words behind him, coughed lightly and said, "Go back and give you a pony for your brother. A righteous man needs a good horse to match, you ride a horse. A sword should be fine too... pretty good."

A horse is less than 10 taels of silver. If it is really a good horse, it cannot be bought for hundreds of taels. This gift cannot be taken lightly. Cui Xie quickly declined, but Wang Xiangzhen waved his hand and said, "Okay, my brother has his own plans. I'll see you when my face is healed!"

His wife made a fuss that outsiders bumped into, and went home early in shame. The outsider also shrunk into the room and asked someone to lock the courtyard door. Cui Xie didn't care how the family would make trouble in the future, he accompanied a few middle-aged people to have a drink, and went home with the real account book from the store.

The handyman arrived home earlier than they did, and asked Zhang's mother to arrange the back room. Cui Xie cared about him in the past, and saw that the old bed of Cui Yuan's father and son was placed in the room, the old desk and chair left by Deputy Wang Xiucai as a work table, and the basin, bucket, and towels were all available, and it was a good place to live. .

In the corner of the room was a box of cut wooden boards, and there were some papers, ink, glue, and alum piled up hastily on the table. Li Jinbao said crampedly, "These are all materials that are available in the store. I wanted to print the book, so I just brought it. The son didn’t ask us about the work we were doing outside, and I knew how grateful I was, so I just wanted to make the boards and materials in advance, so that the work could start immediately when the craftsman came back.”

In fact, the printing is not in a hurry. He has not yet decided on the content to be printed. Cui Xie didn't dare to be too radical all of a sudden, so he just asked him, "Have color editions been printed in our store?"

Li Jinbao was stunned for a while, and then asked back: "Young master, did you mean to use apricot yellow paper and magnetic blue paper as the base, and print on it? That paper can't be read without saying that the words are printed on it, but the price of silver is two or three taels per knife. We can't print it! We can't print it!"

Cui Xie pondered for a while, and said, "It's not that kind, but the characters and paintings are printed in different colors during printing..."

The erotic pictures in his impression seemed to be colored, but it was written in the chemistry book that the earliest arched flower technique appeared in the late Ming Dynasty's "Luoxuan Biangu Jianpu" and "Ten Zhuzhai Jianpu". I don't know how far the color printing technique has developed during the Chenghua years. Wouldn't it be too shocking to throw out the latest technology at once

Li Jinbao looked at him as if he was lost in thought, so he couldn't help calling him, "Young Master? I've never heard that the characters in the book have changed colors, so it doesn't look as comfortable as ink characters, right?"

Cui Xie shook his head, bit his lip and asked him, "Don't mention what to print, can you dye the base color on the paper like Xie Gongjian, and print the image in a different color on it?"

Li Jinbao said with an "ah": "It turned out to be dyed paper? Is it for you scholars to write poems and essays? If you only dye a pine flower or a locust yellow, it will be convenient, and it will not take much effort to carve a lace column. You can get it out in a hurry. It just takes a little more work to apply the powder."

If you have a technical background, you can get twice the result with half the effort when you start a new one. Cui Xie asked with some surprise, "Anything on the market that you know?"

Li Jinbao said at first: "I can't say all of them, we have never done those painted with gold and silver in the south, but generally dyed and coated powder and wax paper can also be used."

Cui Xie lowered his eyes and pondered for a while, then nodded slightly: "Tomorrow you tell your shopkeeper that you want him to buy all the paints and tools for dyeing paper, and ask Cui Yuan to ask for money if you need anything, you look at the colors that you can dye. Let me see all the tricks. If I ask who else is going to move in, I can ask the neighbors to order some furniture from the carpenter - but the style will be rudimentary."

Li Jinbao nodded excitedly: "Thank you, sir, we just have a place to live, what style do we choose? To tell you the truth, after the flood last year, the villain even asked for food and lived in shacks. If it wasn't for the shopkeeper That yard—"

He stopped abruptly, lowered his head and peeked at Cui Xie.

Cui Xie twitched the corner of his mouth slightly, flicked his sleeves and turned around: "It's getting late, you rest, I'll go first."

Today, he threatened to kill someone with a sword, forced the shopkeeper and his son to pay an account, and brought these workers back to sign the contract of sale... After doing so much work for the villain's boss, it's no wonder that Li Gong was afraid of him. He should leave consciously, so as not to scare people with a heart attack.