Chapter 003 Four Great Classics
Chen Cao showed a proud expression on his face, then stared into Li Xiang's eyes and said: "Chen dares to think so of himself, so he certainly has certain abilities. If Boss Li feels that Chen's request is not excessive, Chen can give Boss Li another favor. "
"Oh?" Li Xiang looked at Chen Cao with a curious expression and said, "I wonder what kind of favor the gentleman is planning to give to the little girl?"
Chen Cao picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and then said seriously: "Chen has nothing to do, and has conceived a new story in his mind. Chen's new novel will definitely become a hit, so if Boss Li Decided to cooperate with Chen. For the next story, Chen is willing to sell it directly to Boss Li for three hundred taels of silver. Of course, if Boss Li doesn’t believe Chen, Chen agrees that if this new novel doesn’t become popular, Chen can return all the remuneration he received from 'Dream of Red Mansions', and Chen can use his words as evidence, how about that?"
Li Xiang stared at Chen Cao for a long time, a smile slowly appeared on his fair face, and he said loudly: "Since the gentleman is so generous, how can the little girl not agree? Let's do this. Mr. "Dream of Red Mansions" will continue to be serialized in my bookstore after thirty chapters. Yes, the price and bonus are consistent with what Mr. said. Secondly, the new novel Little Girl will give Mr. five hundred taels. In terms of dividends, how about giving Mr. 30%?"
"Boss Li is really refreshing. In this case, Chen agreed..."
"Boss Li, we had a great conversation today. Chen will not stay any longer. We will talk about it another day and say goodbye." With that, Chen Cao stood up and walked outside.
"Xiaoxue, go see Mr. off."
When Chen Cao went out, Xiaochun, the maid beside him, said: "Miss, this guy is so rude. He is just a hereditary general and a lackey of a powerful family. How could he write such a good novel? He must have stolen it from a certain scholar." His masterpiece is for his own use, otherwise, how could such a talented person hang himself?"
"I don't think so," Li Xiang shook his head: "Everyone is impulsive sometimes. Besides, I heard that he was grateful that his father died in Liaodong and could not avenge him, so he hanged himself. After thinking about it later, it was just human nature."
For the next ten days, Chen Cao locked himself in his dormitory every day and night, copying "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" non-stop. Finally, it was completed, and then he personally sent it to Zhou Decai. Of course, Li Xiang also personally received the copy. Mr. Lan, after reading the first two chapters, felt that he still had more to say, so he ordered someone to give Chen Cao the previously promised reward.
Because the serialization rights of the first thirty chapters of "Dream of Red Mansions" were previously given to Shuxiangfang, and Shuxiangfang's daily update rate was two chapters a day, so Chen Cao would not continue to transcribe the remaining chapters until they finished updating them. Gathering together, this way, you will have a few days of free time.
'Scholars of later generations will be surprised to find that the original four famous works are A Dream of Red Mansions, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, hahaha...'
Chen Cao thought happily, and then looked at the five hundred taels of snowflake-patterned silver on the desk, and suddenly felt happy. According to the purchasing power of this era, if these five hundred taels were used to live a rich life, it would be enough for a family for a year. .
Making money is the big thing.
Then I remembered that I had asked Song Che to help me investigate a few days ago but there was still no reply, so I wanted to go out and ask Song Che in person. As soon as I walked to the gate, I saw Song Che walking towards me.
"Shixiu," Chen Cao shouted, "How about it, have you found out what you were asked to help?"
Song Che stepped forward and said seriously: "I found it..."
Qinhuai River, in a small private room on the second floor of Yanlai Building, one of the eight major houses in Jinling
"Her father is Li Maohui. He was a Jinshi in the eighth year of Wanli. He was demoted to serve in Huguang because he offended Concubine Zheng. He was promoted to Nanjing in the forty-fourth year of Wanli. Now he is the head of the Nanjing Ministry of War, and his official position is the sixth rank." Song Che He whispered in the private room.
As the saying goes, only by knowing oneself and the enemy can one be victorious in every battle. Li Xiang had thoroughly investigated Mr. Chen, so this woman could not remain unclear to him.
"how old is she?"
"I am 19 this year. After moving to Nanjing four years ago, I opened Juxianju in the west of the city. It specializes in selling books. Naturally, the business cannot be compared with that in the east and south of the city. When it comes to study rooms in Jinling, the top one is of course Donglin Bookstore. , that is the property of Mr. Mu Zhai, the leader of Donglin. The business is tepid, even with Bai Mengsheng, it is just a trust relationship. "
"Shi Xiu, I'm on duty right now and I just go and order some meat. Now my main industry is writing novels." Chen Cao put a piece of braised beef into his mouth and ate it slowly.
"Novel?" Song Che was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Yaozhong, Dream of Red Mansions was not written by you, right?"
Seeing Song Che's surprised look, Chen Cao smiled and nodded: "I have nothing to do, just joking."
In this era, there is no such thing as novels, only scripts, so as soon as Song Che listened to Chen Cao's words, he knew who wrote the Zhanghui novels that are now popular in Jinling City: "Oh my God, YCIS, you and I have known each other for more than ten years, To be honest, your literary talent is not as good as mine, so how could you write such a beautiful story as Dream of Red Mansions?"
"Wonderful, ha..." Chen Cao put down his chopsticks and stared at the boat outside the building and said: "Now my Chen family is also gone. Although I relied on the favor of the Duke's Mansion to get the post of General Banner of the Imperial Guard, it is still an empty shelf. Now I can't even enter the gate of the Duke's Mansion. You and I both know that the title of General is just a false name. To be honest, he is just a lackey of the Duke's Mansion."
"Be careful what you say in Yaozhong." Song Che interrupted Chen Cao: "My uncle gave you this cousin name before he left. He just wanted you to shine on the Chen family. Otherwise, look at which one of you got the cousin name before he even got the crown." ? If you are like this, if the Duke of the country finds out, the consequences will be unpredictable."
"The fact that I am rich is due to the Duke's Palace. If I am poor, it has nothing to do with the Duke's Palace. This world is not what it used to be. Shixiu, if he ever becomes famous, I will get one for you. Let’s play with the title.”
"Yao Zhong, you drank too much..."
...
Chen Cao, who was lamenting his life, walked home alone. At this moment, he felt that he was so lonely in this world. Although money can make the world go round, it cannot buy a person's sincerity. When he is in a state of confusion, , who can get yourself out of the trough.
As soon as he entered the door, he heard the cry of his minor and the low sigh of Mrs. Chen Li. The old housekeeper, Uncle Chen, was comforting him while the old lady kept enlightening him.
"This..." Chen Cao saw this and was a little curious: "Chen Qing, did you make a mistake again and now let your grandmother be your lobbyist?"
Hearing that Chen Cao was back, Chen Qing cried even louder. Grandmother Chen Li sighed and refused to say anything. Chen Cao had to ask the old housekeeper, Uncle Chen, "What happened?"
The old housekeeper hesitated for a long time, until he saw that Chen Cao was about to lose his temper, and then he hesitated and said: "Master, you don't know something. After you left in the afternoon, the Zhang family sent a servant over to say... want..."
"Zhang family?" After integrating the memories in my head for a long time, I finally remembered who the Zhang family was. They were the servants of Zhang Tiande, the Nanjing Zuowei commander: "What do you want?"
"The young man came to the house with a message, saying that the Zhang family is willing to pay five thousand taels of silver, and wants you, young master, to hand over your marriage certificate to Miss Zhang's family."
"What a sin..." Mrs. Chen Li lamented, two lines of turbid tears flowed down her face, and she said in a trembling voice with a turbid accent: "Your father died in the battle, and the Zhang family will regret their marriage. These snobbish people, our grandson , you must not hand over the marriage certificate, otherwise our Chen family will be completely disgraced..."
"Hi..." Chen Cao said with an indifferent expression: "What did I think it was? It turns out it's just the marriage certificate. If they want it, just give it to them."
"I can't give it to you, brother. My father finally made a marriage contract for our family before he went off to war. If we did, our family wouldn't even be able to hold their heads up in the future." Chen Qing said while crying, her voice getting louder and louder.
"As the old saying goes, don't forget each other even if you are rich or noble; their family came to ask for a marriage certificate when our family was in trouble. Even if we get married in the future, they will still be a bunch of white-eyed wolves, so," Chen Cao sat down with a golden sword. He went to the host's seat and said, "You can give them the marriage certificate, but five thousand taels is too little. Her daughter is worth only five thousand taels? Why should we start with 10,000 taels?"
"..." (Everyone in the hall was in confusion)
...
Chen Cao looked at the marriage certificate in his hand, then looked up at the mansion in front of him, and couldn't help but shake his head: "Zhang Shuhua, your name is nice, but you are not good at life."
The servant on duty at the door knew Chen Cao. Seeing Chen Cao standing outside the door, he quickly ran in to report, and then a man who looked like a butler led him to the lobby.
"Sit down for a moment, I'll go and fetch my wife."
After the housekeeper left, Chen Cao sat in the lobby, looking at the luxuriously decorated interior, he couldn't help but nod, and he was determined to rip off the money.
Before half a cup of tea, a graceful and luxurious woman slowly walked into the lobby with the support of many maids and sat directly on the main seat.
Marriage is early in this era, and women must marry at the age of sixteen. This is also a rigid rule of Boss Zhu. The woman in front of me is around thirty-four or five years old at most, but she is fair-skinned and beautiful. She feels like Miss Hatano. From the bottom of my heart, I , Chen Cao is the best young woman with this mature charm... As the saying goes, 'A wife is someone else's good'.
"My son-in-law, Chen Cao, has met Mr. Tai Shui." Chen Cao's memory knew who this woman was. She was his mother-in-law. She came from a wealthy family in Yangzhou. Many people in her family were officials in the capital. It could be said that they came from a family of officials and scholars, but this woman She has one shortcoming: she is too arrogant and overbearing.
Mrs. Zhang Liu looked at Chen Cao with disdain, and then said after a long time: "What's wrong? I figured it out. Let's bring it. Someone, go to the accounting room and get the five thousand taels of silver notes."
"I'm not busy..." Chen Cao interrupted Zhang Liu: "Master Taishui, before handing back the marriage certificate, my son-in-law would like to ask, does Master Taishan know about this?"
Mrs. Zhang Liu's pure white face turned slightly red, and then she yelled angrily: "Stop talking about this thing. Since you are here, just bring your things, and you can leave with your banknotes."
"Then you don't know?" Chen Cao said with a sneer, and then sat in his seat with a golden sword, not paying attention to Zhang Liu at all: "In this case, what does the son-in-law have? What are you talking about? It’s only five thousand taels, Master Tai Shui thinks that your son-in-law will hand over the marriage certificate?”
Mrs. Zhang Liu's face turned from red to pale, and she said coldly: "What do you mean?"
"If Master Tai Shui sends someone to directly take care of my son-in-law's request for this marriage certificate," Chen Cao glanced sideways at Mrs. Zhang Liu: "Chen Cao will definitely hand it over to Master Tai Shui directly. After all, my Chen family is in a state of decline. Master Tai Shui wants to It is natural to find a better son-in-law for your daughter, but..." As he spoke, Chen Cao sat up straight, looked at Zhang Liu and said: "The Ming Law clearly stipulates that any person who signs a marriage contract will not be married unless he signs a marriage contract. The man returns the marriage certificate, otherwise no matter what, your daughter will be the daughter-in-law of my Chen family, and I, Chen Cao, can marry whoever I want, and your Zhang family has no right to stop her."
Including Zhang Liu, everyone around her was shocked, and then they all showed angry expressions. If the murder was not repaid with death, Chen Cao would surely die at the hands of these female hooligans now.
"What do you want?" Zhang Liu's voice became even deeper, obviously trying to control his temper.
The other party's small universe is about to explode, so Chen Cao naturally has to accept it as soon as he can: "The request is very simple. If Master Tai Shui is willing to give out ten thousand taels of silver as compensation, my son-in-law will hand over the marriage certificate to you, and everyone will also be married in the future." It’s no longer in arrears, isn’t it?”
"You've gone too far." Zhang Liu said word by word.
"Does Master Tai Shui think that his daughter is only worth five thousand taels?"
...
Chen Cao returned home with a tired look on his face. Regardless of the comfort of his younger sister and his grandmother, he divided the 10,000 taels of silver notes and 5,000 taels among his grandmother to use as household expenses, and then went back to his room to sleep alone.
Lying on the bed, Chen Cao had only one thought, and that was how to avenge this great humiliation. His only thought was to become more and more famous and become a high official, otherwise it would be unrealistic to make a fortune by writing novels.
Of course, it was not until long afterwards that Chen Cao learned from the side that Zhang Tiande and Chen Fei had a very good relationship. They had carried guns together and were furious that his wife wanted to return the marriage certificate, but in the end he did not dare to disobey his wife, but in his heart I have always felt guilty towards Chen Cao.
So, Chen Cao turned his grief into strength, and spent another ten days, day and night, finally transcribing all the remaining ninety chapters of Dream of Red Mansions, and then sold them all to Li Xiang at once.
The reward was five hundred taels of silver notes. Taking a closer look at the results so far, he had earned eleven thousand taels of silver in less than a month after traveling here, which is already quite impressive.
But this amount of money can only be considered close to the level of well-off society in Jinling City. If calculated according to ordinary families, it would only be a small wealthy family.
'How to make big money? '
This is the thought that has always existed in Chen Cao's mind. Looking back on the things that could make a lot of money in the Ming Dynasty, there seems to be no other good way besides going to sea to carry out trade. The key is that behind these maritime merchants who go to sea are the forces of the DPRK and China. If he rashly If you interfere, you probably won't know how you died.
While Chen Cao was racking his brains, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, lighting him up.
'Yes, if you want to make yourself, Mr. Nalan, famous, you can't just rely on a novel. You have to build your reputation, and a good place to build your reputation is...'
...
The reason why Jinling still became the most prosperous place in the entire Ming Dynasty after the capital was moved was because there was a Qinhuai River, and the brothels lined on both sides became the largest gold sales cave in the Ming Dynasty.
The Nanjing Jiaofang Division is under the jurisdiction of the eight largest families in Jinling City, and they are also the eight with the best business. In addition to these eight families, there are also the total assets of various nobles and high-ranking officials in the current dynasty after the founding of the People's Republic of China and the Jing Dynasty. There are more than a hundred, but among the places where you can make money the fastest every day, the first one is the Painted Boat in the Qinhuai River.
Chen Cao has been here for so long that he has never visited a brothel, but thinking that he wants to build up his reputation, he naturally wants to go to this kind of painting boat to participate in a poetry meeting.
"Yaozhong, your luck is indeed not bad. Jinling Xichunlou has just invited a Qinghuan from Yangzhou. His name is Li Fengchun. He is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Today, he will meet friends with poems on the Qinhuai River. Whoever wins the first place will win the prize." You can be the guest of honor, and when the time comes..." Song Che did not finish his words, but looked at Chen Cao with a smile: "But, brother, I heard that those who want to get on the boat must pay fifty taels of silver first."
Song Che was a poor man, but Chen Cao was not. Chen waved his hand and said, "Let's go and meet this Li Fengchun for a while."
There have been many talented people in Jinling since ancient times, and the ticket for a boat like this costs fifty taels. In a disguised form, the poor scholars are excluded, and the remaining ones are either noble children or wealthy families with huge sums of money in their families.
Chen Cao was dressed in casual clothes today, which was very ordinary. Compared with the group of charming young men in front of him who were always wearing silks and satins, he was naturally at a disadvantage. Song Che was even more shabby and simply wore a double-breasted linen shirt.
All the people who could get on the boat were rich people, which naturally showed that the status of the people on the boat was extraordinary. However, Chen Cao and Song Che stood together and it was really eye-catching, so he said: "Those scholars will be there later." If someone makes fun of you, don't get angry, just laugh."
As soon as she finished speaking, a pretty maid went down to the first floor of the cabin, leaned down and saluted: "My lady thanks all the gentlemen for coming. I will let you prepare for a moment first, and then I will ask you to answer the questions. If any of the gentlemen can answer them, please Go up to the second floor.”
Only then did Chen Cao remember that except for the dead Ma Xianglan, the other seven of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai were not born. There was no such thing as the Eight Beauties at the moment, but after hearing so many rules about Li Fengchun, he immediately became more interested.
Song Che on the side said awkwardly: "Yao Zhong, although you wrote a good story, I really don't know how to write poems and songs. Otherwise, brother, I will wait for you below."
"Brother Shi Xiu, don't panic, leave everything to me." Chen Cao said proudly.
"Miss Xiaolan, please bring the questions quickly, we can't wait any longer." A scholar shouted loudly.
Then there was a response from the whole boat. The maid named Xiaolan quickly walked down from the second floor, handed out a thick pile of topics written on rice paper to the young master in the boat one by one, and then said: " Time is just a cup of tea. After everyone has thought about it, they can write their answers on paper. Whichever young master answers correctly can go up to the second floor to meet my lady."
"good..."
Everyone's topic was the same, "Flower Appreciation". They could write couplets or poems. Without thinking, Chen Cao wrote Tang Bohu's poems for himself and Song Che: A lonely boat crossing the Yangtze River on a cold night, admiring the flowers. Flowers, moon, autumn fragrance and the couplet in the movie.
Sure enough, it was selected.
When Chen Cao went up to the second floor, he saw that including the two on his side, there were only thirty-five people in total. Compared with the previous ones, more than fifty people had been eliminated. Those young men who were not selected sat down one by one with their heads down. The cabin on the upper floor was not selected immediately, but several singers were arranged to sing and dance below, which was very lively.
In the cabin on the second floor, thirty-five people were sitting in the middle, with a tulle curtain in front of them. Li Fengchun was sitting next to the table behind the tulle, with a piano placed on it.
The maid Xiaolan said: "The people who come here are all talented people. My young lady is selected as a guest of the curtain today. She is a talent-based person. I wonder which young man will come to pick this fruit?"
At this time, most people just watch the excitement first, and then consider whether they have the ability, so someone looked at Song Che next to Chen Cao like a demon and said: "I don't know who this young master is, can you tell me your merit and apprenticeship?" ?”
Song Che was wearing a linen shirt and was out of tune with everyone in the cabin. Even Li Fengchun, who was behind the tulle, frowned secretly. He was thinking the same thing as most people. This guy was just a nouveau riche with no education. However, due to this kind of mentality, no one in the cabin thought highly of Song Che, so they arrested him like this.
Song Che was called by Chen Cao, and at this moment Song Che's face turned red. Chen Cao immediately stood up to help him out and said: "Young gentlemen, and Miss Li, please listen to me. The two brothers and I heard that Li The girl is holding a poetry meeting here, and she came all the way to attend it, just to learn knowledge with the many talented people in front of her. My brothers and I don't study much, so it will be a good opportunity to hear the excellent works of all the gentlemen in the future. Brag about it in front of your neighbors.”
Daqing is really a nouveau riche.
But Chen Cao's words were extremely flattering, which made everyone in the cabin feel particularly comfortable. Everyone likes to flatter, but Li Fengchun was the only one who chose the person herself. Everyone's answer was different, but the mood of what they wrote was different. Therefore, she did not comment on what Chen Cao said. The main reason was because there were too many capable people in Jinling City and she should not judge people by their appearance.
"What you say is really nice. I like it. In this case, it will also open your eyes." A young man said loudly: "My son, Zhao Cheng, is from Suzhou. He lived in Suzhou in the 46th year of Wanli. I am holding a provincial examination and my family has a lot of money. I heard that Miss Li, who is famous in Suzhou and Hangzhou, is coming here by boat. I came here specially for a while. Why don't I come first?"
"Brother Zhao, please don't lose the face of us Suzhou people." A young man next to Zhao Cheng said loudly.
When the maid Xiaolan saw someone standing up, she gently rolled up the tulle, revealing Li Fengchun behind him.
Wow...
Everyone in the cabin exclaimed, and Chen Cao's saliva was about to flow.
'She's much more beautiful than those beauties who were born five thousand years ago...'
Chen Cao was stunned. He couldn't describe the Li Fengchun in front of him. There was a hint of tenderness in his maturity, and the little baby fat on his face made Li Fengchun even more beautiful.
Zhao Cheng was also stunned, and it was not until Xiaolan reminded him that he calmed down and said: "Ahem, it's a shame, it's really a shame," and then calmly said: "I wonder what the question the girl asked is?"
"Master Zhao is here after the little girl. How about writing a poem based on 'old friend'?" Li Fengchun said slowly.
"She speaks so nicely..."
Chen Cao spoke from the bottom of his heart, but in the eyes of many young men around him, he was a typical country bumpkin, a gentleman whose demeanor could not be expressed in words.
After all, Zhao Cheng was also a civil servant. It only took half a moment to lift up the poems he had finished on the rice paper. The young man next to him took it and said loudly: "A beautiful city is on the bank of the Qinhuai River, dancing gracefully into the mortal world, with brocade clothes and gauze covering the curtain. , the saying is that when neighbors meet, spring comes..."
"good..."
"Brother Zhao's masterpiece, it's amazing, it's really amazing, it's a role model for our generation..."
"It's not as good as that, it's not as good as that..."
"Young Master Zhao is really great. I wonder if there is any other master who has a good work. Please hurry up and write it down." The maid Xiaolan accepted the poem written by Zhao Cheng with a smile, and then looked at the other people in the cabin.
Some people silently recited the poems they had written. But they all found that they couldn't compete with Zhao Cheng, so they gave up and started watching the fun.
Of course, there were also a few scholars who felt unfair, so they took out their masterpieces. As you can imagine, Li Fengchun secretly frowned upon hearing this.
"Brother, what do you think of Mr. Zhao's actions?" A young man next to Chen Cao asked jokingly.
"You are a careless person, and you won't be able to say too much flattery, but good is good, and bad is bad." Chen Cao said pretending to be serious.
"What do you think?" the man then asked.
"After all, it's just about lifting people up."
This sentence was a provocation. As soon as Chen Cao finished speaking, Zhao Cheng's face turned black. His companion stood up with an angry look and scolded: "You are so presumptuous. I don't know how you got in." , an insult to politeness."
The scholars of the Ming Dynasty all like to use the past to satirize the present and use ancient sayings to curse people. They are powerful figures among their colleagues, but in front of Chen Cao, a bumpkin who doesn't know much about ancient poetry, the attacks of this group of people have no effect at all. effect.
It's not that Chen Caotian is shameless, it's that he doesn't even know where the other person is. He spent a long time talking about what he wanted to express. When his mind was wandering, he actually thought of Zhengde, who was known as the most ridiculous emperor in the history. This guy's imperial edicts were all The vernacular text has no literary momentum at all. For this reason, Yang Tinghe privately said that he did not have such an emperor student.
