Since the Meirenjian appeared at the Chongyang Poetry Festival, the study opened at the beginning of every day, and a group of scholars, warriors, wealthy households, craftsmen, and even the maids and servants of the boudoir girls...
Because Wang Daguanren clarified that the maker of Meirenjian was a loyal man, his brothers and friends didn't mention the name "Cui Meirenjian" when they sent people to buy it, but just said they wanted to buy "Cuijian". But this saying was originally circulated elsewhere. When you line up, you will hear someone asking for "Cui Meiren Jian".
The insider smiled silently in his heart, but did not correct others' misnomers. Moreover, this slightly fragrant name is very smooth, so that the two shopkeepers are sometimes so busy that they will ask the guests: "Today, Cui Meiren's notes are sold out, the guest officer would like to have a copy of Shenyuan Collection? The top three poems and the soup table "Yong Wan Ning" are also accompanied by pictures of beautiful women, and each copy only costs one or two to five coins.
"A box of eight beauty notes costs two taels of silver, so you can buy color-printed pictures of four beauties and the latest poetry collection by talented people in this county for only one or two bucks. Thinking about it, this is equivalent to spending only five silver coins. I just bought a set of poems with color pictures, is there still such a cheap book in the world?"
Some people who love poetry buy it, some people who don't love poetry but love painting also buy it, and some people just buy it to collect their engravings. Thanks to this color picture, only the talented people who participated in the poetry festival were willing to buy two or three poetry collections as gifts, but this time they sold more than 200 copies.
After the poetry collection was printed, Cui Xie also asked the shopkeeper Ji to give a copy to all the participants.
It is customary for scholars who participate in poetry clubs to produce poetry collections. Cui Xie took care of the matter in the garden. They all had the idea of buying a few copies of their own poems, but they didn't expect that Cui Xie would print the poems so delicately, and even painted new illustrations for them. . Moreover, such a young man, who has not yet reached the age of aspiration, even thoughtfully gave each of them a book. Could this group of students still pretend to be deaf and ignore others when they accept the book
The owner of the poetry club, Shen Zhen, took the lead, and went to the gate of Cui's house together with Tang Ning, who was scheduled to write an ode to the fox girl.
At the entrance of his house, there was an anxious public and a good Yifang. Several scholars got off the bus outside the archway. After passing the archway, they did not wait to get on the bus, and the Ruyi Gate with the imperial decree was already in front of them. So the few people stopped getting in the car, went straight up and knocked on the door of Cui's house, and reported to Cui Yuan their intention to visit here.
Cui Yuan didn't expect that the little master would actually befriend the scholar-in-waiting. He was speechless for a long time, and quickly let them into the hall, and asked Mrs. Huang to ask her husband to go to Mr. Lin's house to ask for leave, and asked Cui Xie to come back to entertain the guests.
When the master was away, the guests drank tea and chatted by themselves, and looked at the courtyard of the Cui family by the way.
He lives in such a small yard, with such a dilapidated home...
When they met at the poetry fair, they paid no particular attention to an elementary school student who had no fame. Later, when I got Cui Xie's paintings and poetry collections, Shen Zhen couldn't help feeling a little ashamed when he saw him living in such a yard. Such a poor boy took it upon himself.
He also distributed a new book to each of the people who participated in the poetry party. With so much money to pay for it, can his family shop still support it
Shen Zheng was full of sympathy, and even wanted to spend money to subsidize him, but he was afraid of hurting his self-esteem, so when Cui Xie came back, he asked him bluntly, "Young Master Cui's collection of poems is very delicately printed, I have the intention to buy hundreds of sets for free. For relatives and friends in the hometown of origin, do you have any extra copies there?"
But Cui Xie didn't know his love for helping the poor. He poured tea for a few talents with his own hands before entering the door, and replied with a smile, "Since Senior Shen likes it, I will ask the workers to work a little longer to stamp it for you. The Chongyang Poetry Collection sells very well, and it is sold out of stock almost every day. If you want hundreds of sets, you may not be able to prepare them in a hurry.
It was only then that Shen Zhen realized that although Cui Xie lived in a small yard and used uncarved old things, he could draw beautiful pictures and make Cui Jian, and he was not as poor as he thought.
Then living in this way is the celebrity style of "living in poverty and enjoying themselves".
He looked at Cui Xie's eyes suddenly different, and said with a smile: "I'm not in a hurry to ask for it. Ask your workers to print them step by step, and save the extra for me, I won't send them home until the end of the year. gift."
Tang Ning had been waiting to talk to Cui Xie about the story of the fox girl. Seeing that Shen Zhen said that he could not talk about the business, he interrupted him impatiently, grabbed Cui Xie and said, "Cui Shidi don't need to pay attention to him for now, let's have a look. The article we wrote for Wan Ning."
Cui Xie nodded at Shen Zhen, and took over the manuscript brought by Tang Ning and others. When he was reading, he would close his eyes and recite it silently from time to time. After putting down the manuscript, he still seemed to be immersed in those delicate and delicate phrases, reciting the good ones repeatedly.
Although he never commented a word, his performance satisfied several contributors more than any commentary.
Tang Ning, however, called out "Brother Shi", dragged him out of the world of Meiwen, and said, "If you have read our article, you should also let us read your article? We have the manuscript of your Yuxianji. It’s hard to ask for it outside, but you’re at your house, why don’t you let us have a sneak peek!”
If others want to see it, he has to stretch it. These are free critics, so of course, I have to invite them to take a look first, so that I can write a few more comments.
Cui Xie squinted his eyes slightly, showing a happy smile from the bottom of his heart: "I can't ask for it. Please, seniors, come with me to the study."
Even though Shen, Tang and the others were students who were accustomed to seeing the world, the moment they saw his study, they were quite shocked: such a small and simple room, such a simple bookcase, but there was a whole wall of books in it. ! On the wall opposite the bookshelf, there is also a whiteboard with a hollow slot, which is used to count down the remaining time for the county test.
In less than half an hour after entering the Cui Mansion, Cui Xie's image in their hearts changed from a romantic child of the Beijing official family to an elegant scholar who does not want to enjoy, does not care about external things, only loves reading, and is dedicated to imperial examinations.
The shock of this study to them is not only that.
Looking at the books on the shelf, the spines of each book are pasted with paper of different colors, and the title of the book is written on the paper. The paper on the back of the book is actually divided into different colors according to the classics and history books, which makes people know their classification at a glance. Among them, on the rows of bookshelves facing the door of the study, were the complete books of the Five Classics, Four Books, and Xingli, which could only be found in the county school.
Although people all over the world say that the "Compendium of the Five Classics" is just a piece of the Song Dynasty Confucian classics, it is a shoddy work, but where can ordinary scholars find such a complete collection of Song Dynasty articles? These students also have to borrow books everywhere to read. Such a poor elementary school student has prepared a complete set of "Daquan", which is really envious of their group of Confucian students.
A student couldn't help pointing to the bookcase and asked, "This is the book that Shidi's family bought for you? But, can you let me have a look?"
Cui Xie answered happily, "Senior, why be polite. The book is there for people to see. If the seniors like it, take it down and read it. If you want to copy it, just copy it on the north window kang, and I will ask someone to bring the four treasures of the study. Zhang Zhai’s (sand) bed (hair) has a higher cushion, so it’s okay to sit and read, but copying books can easily make your back uncomfortable.”
The student sighed, "Brother Shi is really open-minded. That foolish brother is welcome."
Two or three scholars couldn't hold back. They browsed in front of his bookshelf, rummaging through what they needed.
His sofa was also very comfortable to sit on. When he sat deep, his waist was just supported, so he didn't have to stretch it. These scholars have been sitting at desks for many years, sitting with their waists upright.
Tang Ning and the two bookworms sat on the kang and looked at the four books that were bound together. There are also several black and white line drafts of his new paintings next to the manuscript. When you compare them, you can feel that the story is more fragrant and beautiful.
He couldn't help but say: "I will write a short essay for the beauties in the three chapters for you? They are also peerless beauties, how should one favor one over the other, and only let Wanning be praised by scholars? Not only me, but also Brother Xu, Brother Le and the others. Same writing, how about you make a sequence in front of the text?"
Everyone agreed loudly, willing to write for him. Cui Xie sincerely thanked: "I can't ask for it, thank you seniors for loving these beauties."
Tang Ning pressed against his table and said with a smile, "I love these beauties, but I'm afraid that Brother Wang and the others love the study of the Cui family. Cui Shidi, I have the audacity to beg for everyone's favor, can you tolerate us in the future? Do you often come to your house to visit and study? Our group of people are also governors and will not take up your time for school."
Cui Xie looked at the "Five Classics" in the hands of the people on the sofa, and nodded clearly: "Seniors are willing to come to my house, it's an honor to be born late. But this room is too small to accommodate people, seniors can wait a while. God, I will move the study to the west wing, and set up a few more tables, chairs, and narrow beds, so everyone who wants to come can just read books by themselves."
He promised so happily, but the scholars were a little embarrassed, and the rich man Shen Zheng even proposed to arrange this study for him.
Cui Xie said with a smile: "I ordered ordinary furniture for a few cents of silver, and it doesn't cost a lot of money. Senior Shen doesn't have to worry about me. There is only one thing I need to ask you to pay attention to - if there is any damage to the book while reading, please also ask for it. You can copy a page on the spot and attach it to the back so that future generations can borrow it.”
He couldn't read so many books himself, so he simply arranged it into a small reading room, made friends with these readers through books, and first broke into its interior to gain a reputation.
Shen Zhen sighed: "Brother Cui Shi has the style of an ancient gentleman, and he can give people such a rare collection of books to read, how can Brother Yu let you manage it alone. When your study room is built, I will send a few A study boy will help you maintain it, and I will never let your books in this room be damaged in the slightest."
Those who held the book and did not let go also said: "Cui Shidi is willing to lend us such a book, how can I betray your trust and deface the book arbitrarily? It will never cost you anything."
They read books at Cui's house for a long time, and after they went back, they still had a lot of fond memories of his sofa. When they mentioned Cui Xie, they not only praised his family's good papers, but also added: "I like to collect books and make friends, although I didn't go to school. , but has the style of celebrities, and is a member of my generation."
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Cui Xie gained a high reputation among the scholars, and Meirenjian also rose with the tide, and he became a clear confession on the desk of the eunuch of Shizi Township. The business in the shopkeeper Ji's shop is also booming, and the amount of money that passes through every day reaches dozens or even hundreds of taels.
They invested a total of more than 200 taels in order to print these papers and Shen Yuan's poetry collection, and they paid back the paper and Wang Gongzi's large order booked at the Chongyang Poetry Conference, and the rest was pure profit.
In the past, when this shop was doing its best, it might not be able to make so much income in a month. When the shopkeeper counted the money, not only his hands trembled, but his heart trembled. When checking out at the end of the month, he hurriedly took the silver box and the ledger to Cui's house, and counted in front of Cui Xie to feel at ease.
Cui Xie flipped through the running water in his account, and was surprised to find that his sales of note paper not only did not decline with the sales for a long time, but instead slowly increased. Although the scholars didn't buy it like they did when they first came out, there were many ordinary people who took his paper as a good gift, some brothels bought them for their daughters, some merchants sent them to other places to sell, and occasionally there were The big client introduced by Mr. Wang ordered hundreds of taels of paintings at a time.
So much money was enough for him to go directly to Beijing after he was admitted to the graduate school, and he stayed in a hotel in Beijing comfortably until the autumn exam was completed.
If he fails in the township exam by then, he will come back quietly, so as not to let the Cui family know that he has been to Beijing; if he is lucky enough to pass the exam, he is a famous and qualified official, and the Cui family can beat him if they want. , Do you want to kill
He was full of excitement, and said to the shopkeeper Ji: "Since I have made money, I will hire a few more short-term workers to engrave the plates, and long-term workers who are reliable. The paintings of Simeiren are selling so well, so I have to make the story while it is hot. Put it out, don't wait for the guests to get tired of looking at the paintings, and they don't want to buy our books."
Ji Fuzhen, the shopkeeper, was still in high spirits. He promised to find a good version of the novel as soon as possible, and asked Cui Xie when he would be able to publish a new batch of paintings.
Choi Xie shook his head. Previously, it was the promotion of poetry clubs and posters, and the initial publicity had already been put in place, and new posters were redundant. In the rest of the time, he has to draw illustrations for the novel and the accompanying large cross-page picture, as well as a big trick necessary for publicity and promotion...
He stroked his smooth chin and smiled confidently: "The mountain man has his own plan."
The shopkeeper Ji wanted to know what tricks the owner had, but at this time Cui Xie became more serious, and he refused to say no matter how much he asked, so he scratched his ears in a hurry.
However, since Cui Xie took over the study, in just two months, he turned the place that was so poor that he needed to rent a yard into a prosperous shop with daily progress. He doesn't have such a fortune anyway, so instead of trying to make money by himself, it is better to let the fortune-seeking young master toss it out on his own, and it will always bring good things.