Most of the bookstore owners in the Song Dynasty were literati. Some literati did not like to serve as officials in the court, but liked to write their own articles or poems, so they opened a bookstore to cultivate their sentiments.
But what they have in common is that most of them have other industries.
For example, Chen Qi, the owner of "Chen Daoren Bookstore" in the Southern Song Dynasty, was a local gentry, and his family had numerous properties and shops.
Because I like engraving, copying, and collecting books, I thought it was too troublesome, so I just opened my own bookstore and set up a printing factory to print books. As a result, it became popular all over the country and opened many chain bookstores.
The same is true for the owner of Yuanjing Bookstore. His surname is Meng, and his name is Meng Chengqi. His family is a grain merchant in Bianliang.
He is the second eldest son of the Meng family, in his forties. While helping his father with some shop business, he opened his own shop because he loved collecting books.
At the moment, he is carving books by himself at home. In the afternoon, he plans to go to various shops to check the accounts, and by the way, he will go to the printing factory to send the newly carved books today to be printed.
Printing factories in the Song Dynasty were relatively loss-making. They did not have major customers printing books for them every day. The business relied entirely on bookstores to maintain their business. However, when the literacy rate was low in the Song Dynasty, the business of bookstores was not necessarily good.
Unless people like Liu Yong's poems are submitted to the publishing house, and the poetry collection suddenly becomes popular all over the country, ordinary bookstores and printing houses will suffer losses.
This is also the reason why bookstores and printing shops in the Song Dynasty were often opened by wealthy owners who loved books.
The shopkeeper went all the way to Meng's house, and because he was familiar with the family, there was nothing to stop him.
When he learned that the shopkeeper was coming, Meng Chengqi put down the engraved printing plate, raised his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
"My boss, there is a noble man who wants to buy our printing shop."
The shopkeeper said.
"oh?"
Meng Chengqi asked: "Which noble family is he from?"
The shopkeeper replied: "I don't know. I only know that he has more than a hundred followers around him when he travels, and even the Heavenly Holy Army is his guard."
"Oh, such a grand display."
Meng Chengqi shook his head and said: "I guess it's some government official who wants to be arty. I hate these people the most. They can't read books clearly, can't write a few lines of poems, and just want to promote their literary names all day long."
The shopkeeper said cautiously: "If I don't meet my boss, I might not be able to offend him."
"Um."
Meng Chengqi thought for a while, then put down the carving and stood up, saying, "Okay."
It doesn’t hurt to meet.
If the other party is really a big government official, making him happy will also be beneficial to their family's business.
The most important thing is that although Bianliang's literary style is flourishing, there are not many printing factories. The money and cost required to do this business are too high, and ordinary people cannot afford to operate it.
Although the Meng family was rich, it was not built like this. The old man had already complained about his printing factory, so Meng Chengqi had no choice but to spread the word and wanted to sell the printing factory.
It's just that I've always been a little reluctant to give up, so I'm quite resistant. I hope to meet a book lover and buy the printing factory.
But since the other party is a noble prince and cannot afford to offend him, even if the other party is not a book lover, there is probably nothing he can do.
Soon Meng Chengqi arrived at the shop of Shuxiangfang.
When he was outside, he saw the bodyguards on three levels inside and outside the door. Then he realized the seriousness of the matter. He quickly quickened his pace, put on a smile and walked in. He cupped his hands and said to Zhao Jun: "I felt the magpies calling this morning. , it turns out that a distinguished guest came to visit, and he came a little later, please give me a warm welcome."
The voice arrived before the person arrived. Businessmen did not want to offend the powerful, so even if they felt that Zhao Jun was an arty second generation ancestor, they still had to remain respectful.
Zhao Jun saw that the other party was very enthusiastic, so he put down his tea cup, stood up and returned the greeting: "I have met my boss, my name is Zhao Hanlong."
"It turns out to be Mr. Zhao."
Meng Chengqi smiled and said: "I, my courtesy name is Yanzhi, and my friends all call me Nanshan Individual Guest."
"Mr. Meng is polite."
Zhao Jun responded. He knew that the Nanshan individual was his nickname. At that time, literati liked to give themselves nicknames, such as Dongpo layman, Tieguan Taoist, Dongshan individual, etc. Fortunately, this was just a Nanshan individual, not a foreigner. Nanshan Pizza Hut.
"I heard that the young master wants to buy a printing shop?"
Meng Chengqi asked.
"Yes."
"This printing shop is not a simple thing."
"Oh? Sir, can you tell me something?"
"Although the literary style of the Song Dynasty was flourishing, if it could be printed, it would require engraving templates, so the cost was extremely high."
"How high?"
"According to the number of words, the engraving can range from a few or dozens of words to hundreds or even thousands of words. Therefore, ordinary people will not come to the printing shop at all. On weekdays, the business of the printing shop is very busy, and it may take several months to lose money before there is work. "
"So the printing shop is losing money most of the time?"
Zhao Jun was curious. No wonder he heard that there were not many printing houses in Bianliang when he asked people to find them. It turned out to be the case.
"Yes."
Meng Cheng nodded, and then talked about the other shortcomings of the printing plant. It is best to say: "I dare not deceive Mr. Zhao. If you want to publish poetry collections and articles, there is really no need to buy a printing shop."
He spoke out the problems of the printing house without reservation. In fact, he was still reluctant to sell it. Although his father was dissatisfied that the family business was always losing money, he was a book lover, so how could he really be willing to sell the printing house to others? ? Unless that person is a bibliophile like him.
Zhao Jun thought for a while and said, "Then let's go and have a look."
For others, the printing house will definitely lose money. But it's different for him. Running a newspaper can bring back funds, and printing textbooks can also bring back funds. At worst, he can make some poems to sell.
Based on the poems he knows, if placed in the Song Dynasty, they would probably have the same effect as Liu Yong's. Are you still worried that the things won't be sold?
Meng Chengqi saw that Zhao Jun insisted on going to see the printing shop, so he had no choice but to lead the way.
The printing shop is not far from the bookstore. It is in Qiaobeifang City, north of Xiaohengqiao in the outer city. Next to it is the outer city wall and close to the outside of Bianliang City. It is easy to get in and out. It is an area on the edge of the outer city and the land price is relatively cheap, so there are many There is a workshop in between.
Different from the literati and calligraphers in Shuxiangfang, most of the visitors in Qiaobeifang are workers, all kinds of workers, including printing workshops, weaving workshops, porcelain workshops, tea workshops, ironware workshops, smelting workshops, etc.
There are many such workshops in the outer city of Bianliang near the city wall. They are all handmade workshops. Their existence also supports the prosperity of business in Bianliang.
Meng Chengqi took Zhao Jun and Song Cai through Qiaobeifang and passed two more streets before arriving at his Meng family printing shop.
There was a smell of ink coming from far away.
The workshop occupies a large area and is located on the edge of the Wuzhang River. The remaining waste ink is basically discharged into the river. In addition, other dyeing and weaving workshops, porcelain workshops, and smelting workshops nearby also discharge wastewater. , causing the water downstream of the Wuzhang River to be muddy yellow with various colors.
Entering from the gate, there is a huge courtyard with many sheds set up under which papers are dried. In addition to printing books, the printing shop also has to bind them by hand, so after brushing, they need to be dried and then sewn.
Seven or eight printing workers were working in the courtyard. Since there had been no work recently, Meng Chengqi asked the workers to print some old books, which seemed less busy.
Seeing Meng Chengqi coming over, the workers greeted each other one after another, walked over in a responsible manner, nodded and bowed, "My boss!"
"Let's all work."
Meng Chengqi signaled everyone not to worry about them, then turned to Zhao Jun and said: "Young master, you must have seen that the printing shop is actually very busy on weekdays. It may not be until March or May that there will be big work. If you don't open a bookstore, or there are no other bookstores, If you come to buy goods, you will basically lose money.”
"Um."
Zhao Jun asked: "What do you need to lose on weekdays?"
Meng Chengqi smiled and said: "I bought this land for more than 3,300 guan. If the young master rents it, the annual rent will probably be 70 or 80 guan. He also has to pay wages to the workers and support more than 20 guan. People, if you pay local taxes, commercial taxes, etc. to the government, you will probably lose five or six hundred yuan a year."
It doesn't look like much, but in the Song Dynasty, a family of three could earn twenty or thirty guan a year, which was pretty good. At that time, working for a month only earned one or two guan, and the total assets of middle-class families were only two to three thousand guan. This year's loss was equivalent to one-fifth of the small boss's family property.
For example, although Meng Chengqi's family is a grain merchant, their annual income is only tens of thousands of guan, and the entire family industry may only be about 400,000 to 500,000 guan. It's no wonder that Meng Chengqi's father doesn't like this printing factory. It is really dangerous to continue to lose money like this. Waste of money.
As for the prime minister's annual income of 20,000 to 30,000 guan, and the ordinary officials' annual income of hundreds or thousands of guan, that is a matter of being an official and has nothing to do with ordinary people, so this amount of money is actually a lot.
Zhao Jun frowned.
Even though he confiscated millions of dollars from his house, the Imperial City Division still had so many people to support.
The fixed salary of three thousand guards is about one month, plus various allowances, which is about thirty or forty guan a year. The annual expenditure for three thousand people is 120,000 guan.
Then there are more than 2,000 inspectors. The salary of the inspectors is slightly lower than that of the Imperial Guard, but it is basically maintained at more than 30 dollars per person per year. Therefore, the Imperial City Division has more than 5,000 people to pay out every year. About twenty strings.
Zhao Zhen had approved 100,000 yuan, which would be enough for half a year's expenses. If Zhao Jun didn't raid his house within half a year, he would have to disband the Imperial City Division.
But simply confiscating homes is killing the goose that lays eggs, and it won't last long. You still have to find your own way to make money.
Zhao Jun has relatively little exposure to business now, although he knows that he can get involved in profit-making industries such as tea, salt, and grain to make money. However, these industries can easily affect people's livelihood, and if they are not done well, they can easily lead to instability in people's livelihood, so they need to be treated with caution.
When the annual expenses are already so high, it is really not a good idea to open another printing shop that will lose hundreds of dollars a year.
However, Zhao Jun did not say not to buy it immediately. Instead, he took a look in the yard first, asking about Meng Chengqi's printing factory, while observing their operation methods, printing conditions, engraving templates, etc.
The two chatted for a while, and then Meng Chengqi took Zhao Jun to the back room to see. There was a yard at the back. This was where the engravings were made, and carved printing plates were placed everywhere.
These carvings are basically the size of a palm, and every word must be carved well, which shows how difficult it is.
There are six carvers inside carving.
The engravings at that time were not meant to be used all the time if you had a complete set. Not only were they subject to wear and tear, but also because the books were updated every year, such as annotations and interpretations, new templates often had to be carved, and the amount of work and cost were very large.
Zhao Jun noticed a large disk in the corner next to him. The disk seemed to be able to rotate. Hundreds of Chinese character modules were densely placed on it. He couldn't help but wonder: "What is that?"
Meng Chengqi took a look and said: "That was invented by an engraver in Hangzhou, and it's called movable type printing. This old craftsman has good engraving skills, but it's a pity that he didn't use it in the right way and had to do something useless. I I had always wanted to invite him to Bianliang before, but he refused, saying he was old and didn’t want to leave Hangzhou, which is even more of a pity.”
"Is this old craftsman's name Bi Sheng?"
Zhao Jun opened his eyes wide.
Meng Chengqi was surprised and said, "Young master, do you know about Craftsman Bi?"
"Have heard a little bit."
Zhao Jun responded vaguely, and then said: "This movable type printing technology is very good, why is it useless?"
Meng Chengqi smiled bitterly and said: "When I went to Hangzhou to hire the craftsman Bi, I really thought it was good, so I bought some back. But when I came back, I found that the cost was even greater than the engraving. How can I afford it?"
He only bought a few hundred Chinese characters, but a set of movable type printing technology that could meet the needs of typesetting would have to have at least tens of thousands of movable types, with different movable types arranged in sets.
For such a large quantity, the production cost is very high and it takes a long time. Generally, private printing workshops cannot afford the investment.
Moreover, ordinary engravings are fired with mud. The main problem of clay movable type is that it is easily broken and damaged. The texture of wooden movable type is uneven and easy to become uneven after contact with water. The adhesion of water-based ink on copper movable type of metal movable type is very problematic.
So actually movable type printing sounds good, but in ancient times when a complete set of books was needed, the cost of engraving was lower and it took shorter time. This is also the main reason why movable type printing was not popular in ancient China.
Unless it is publishing articles and the like, rather than books, the demand for movable type is relatively small to satisfy.
But isn't this a coincidence?
Zhao Jun planned to print notices against Wuyou Cave and Guifan Tower, and later planned to start a newspaper, so movable type printing came in handy.
At that moment, he made a decision and said: "This is a good thing. Meng Dongjia, what is the price of your printing shop? I bought everything together. Please give me an honest price."
"Good things are good things, but they are a bit expensive and of little use in daily life. Wait a minute, what did the young master just say?"
Meng Chengqi didn't hear clearly at first, then he looked at Zhao Jun in surprise and said, "Young Master really wants to buy this printing shop. The annual loss is not a small amount."
"Meng Dongjia, do you think people in Bianliang like poetry?"
Zhao Jun asked.
Meng Chengqi smiled and said: "If it is a good poem, everyone will like it. Just like Liu Tuiguan, when he was in Bianliang, he published a few poems that attracted the attention of Bianliang. Whether it was a brothel lady or a noble lady, everyone was in dispute. Our printing shop also made a lot of money by robbing his collection of poems. It's a pity that Liu Tuiguan was admitted to the imperial examination and went to another place to serve as an official. We in Bianliang will no longer have such a prosperous scene."
"You mean that if new good words appear, the printing house can start printing and sell poetry collections in large quantities? Make a lot of money from it?"
"That's natural!"
"hehe."
Zhao Jun laughed, took out a small stack of paper from his arms and handed it over: "My boss, why don't you help me see how much these words can be sold for?"
Meng Chengqi took the papers with a little doubt, looked at the first one, and his eyes widened.
Then page two, page three, page four.
His breathing became more rapid and his face gradually turned red. In this late autumn and early winter season, it seemed as if hot steam was coming out of his nostrils.
"Master Zhao, these words"
Meng Chengqi raised his head and asked with surprise, "Did the young master write it?"
"Yes."
Zhao Jun smiled and said: "If we want to use these words to become famous in Bianliang, why worry about not making money for my printing shop?"
I feel sorry for all the famous poets in the Southern Song, Ming and Qing Dynasty after the Northern Song Dynasty.
In order to maintain the expenses of the Imperial City Division.
In order to allow myself to have a small industry.
In order to establish a newspaper in the future and occupy the high ground of public opinion.
I can only feel sorry for you first.
oh.
And of course future generations of students.
I think that even if all of our poems in the future are copied, with the talents of people like Su Shi, Li Qingzhao, Lu You, and Xin Qiji, we might still be able to write better ones.
So the students will feel twice as happy, no need to thank me too much.
(End of chapter)
