"call……"
Song You stood at the door of Wase, holding his hands in front of him and exhaling white air into his hands.
It's getting colder and colder today.
The clothes are still thin.
Dayan has already had cotton, and has begun to use cotton to make clothes and quilts, but it is not common. At present, only high-ranking officials can afford it. Most of the civilians had paper clothes and quilts, and they had to find many ways to stay warm. The warmth of Song You's robe is not as good as the Chuzhi clothes worn by passers-by on the street.
Washe has a large flow of people and is also a gathering place for businesses.
Song You visited several shops and bought a paper fur coat. This kind of clothing is cheap and warm, and the color is very plain. It is so plain that some literati would paint on it and make it look like they like.
Song You liked plain clothes.
It’s time to warm up by the fire.
You don’t need to buy a stove, you already have it at home.
Unexpectedly, I walked back to the door of Wase. Opposite there was a shop specializing in the Four Treasures of the Study. Song You stopped and thought for a moment. The pen he bought before was already a little rough after use. In addition, the pen was a large pen. He actually wanted to buy another one with better quality for writing small characters.
It's been a long time since I left, so it's time to write a letter back.
So I walked into this store.
The pen is not necessarily good, but the ink is good.
This store actually sells "Ningxiang" ink produced in Yangzhou.
Ningxiang ink is one of the most famous inks in Dayan and is the highest pursuit of literati. It is no exaggeration to say that the price is better than gold.
There are two main types of ink, pine smoke ink and oil smoke ink.
No matter what kind, they are made from burning soot and medicinal materials to boil glue, and some also add unique spices.
Pine smoke ink refers to the soot after burning pine wood. Oil smoke ink is made from oil lamp soot. The oils used include tung oil, sesame oil, rape oil, soybean oil, etc. Among them, tung oil produces the most smoke after burning, making the ink black and shiny. After writing, it will become darker and darker over time, and the handwriting can last for thousands of years. The remaining oil produces less smoke, making the ink light and faint, and the handwriting will become lighter and lighter over time. Therefore, among the oil smoke inks, tung smoke ink is the most common and easy to use.
Pine smoke is black and dark, slightly bluish, while oil smoke is black and bright, slightly purple. Each has its own use in calligraphy and painting.
Ningxiang is tung smoke and ink.
Using tung oil to smoke, add dozens of precious Chinese herbal medicines to boil the glue, add unique spices, light glue for 100,000 pestles, dry in the shade for several years, and then you can get this dark and shiny ink that will not fade for thousands of years, and has a delicate fragrance when you write it.
This is the top luxury product of this era, and it is also the pinnacle representative of traditional craftsmanship and craftsmanship. It can represent the ultimate of a culture and a skill.
People like Song You are not good at painting or calligraphy, but they are still somewhat interested in such things.
It's a pity that his wealth is extraordinary, with a wat worth ten thousand yuan.
Song You looked at it again and again, and had no choice but to say goodbye.
Today is short of money, but the future is long. Since I am traveling around the world, I naturally want to see the top craftsmanship of this year.
In the end, he only bought a pen, which cost 200 yuan.
Across the street, Yu Zhizhou sat in the shed for a while before walking out of the house. He saw Song You again at the door. He stood and watched for a while. The entourage beside him held the horse and waited quietly.
Until Song You left.
After thinking for a long time, he said:
"Go and ask."
A follower immediately responded and went to inquire. After a while, he came back to report that it was Ningxiang produced in Yangzhou.
"How much does one cost?"
"The asking price is ten thousand."
"Buy one...two."
"yes."
Yu Zhizhou then mounted his horse and had to go back.
…
It’s wonderful to say——
When Song You returned home, he discovered that Empress Sanhua had somehow passed the stage of transformation.
However, it was different from his imagination. He originally thought that Sanhua Empress was an adult cat. Even though she had lived in the village temple for a long time and had a pure mind, she should be an adult woman after she transformed, but she was only a girl of a few years old.
When the bedroom door was opened, the girl was wearing his gown. She was not as tall as his gown, as if she was wearing a floor-length skirt, and it was baggy. She was sitting in the middle of the bed, staring blankly at him.
"Has Sanhua Empress transformed successfully?"
"The Three Flower Empress has successfully transformed."
The girl sat down in the middle of the bed, looked up at him and answered very seriously.
Her voice has changed a bit since she transformed. She can now tell that it's a human voice, and her gender can be identified, but the tone and wording are still the same, serious but rigid, not a common way of speaking for ordinary people. It sounds somewhat unintelligent.
"How did you succeed in transforming?"
"It takes shape on its own."
"Tell me carefully."
"that is……"
The girl hesitated and couldn't say anything.
"good……"
Song You had no choice but to give up and asked again: "Isn't Sanhua Empress a big cat? How did she transform into a girl?"
"It transformed itself into a girl's."
"Then how does Sanhua Empress know how to wear clothes?"
"Miss Sanhua, I see you are wearing it too." The girl stared at him intently with a serious expression, "Anyone who doesn't have hair on their body must wear clothes."
"I see."
"I see……"
"I should buy you some clothes that suit you."
"I want to wear the same thing as you."
"That won't work."
"Why?"
"because……"
It took Song You a long time to explain it to her.
So he went out to buy clothes for her.
After Sanhua Empress put on the clothes that fit her, she finally looked more pleasing to the eye, but she still maintained some cat habits, and her every move inevitably looked a bit strange.
Later that night, there was a sudden knock on the door outside.
"Tuk tuk tuk..."
"Since Sanhua Empress has transformed into a human form, please open the door for me." Song You glanced at Sanhua Empress, "If you know someone, invite him in. If you don't know him, ask him who he is looking for."
"good."
The little goblin skipped towards the door.
"Squeak."
Sanhua Empress looked up.
"Who are you looking for?"
Not a single superfluous word.
"I wonder if Mr. Menglai lives here?" A servant stood outside the door, bowing his hands in a respectful manner.
"do not know."
"Huh? Don't you live here, sir?"
"Which sir?"
"Song Menglai Mr. Song."
Sanhua Empress stopped talking for a moment.
She knew Mr. Song, but Mr. Song didn't teach her what to do next. It wasn't that he was embarrassed, it wasn't that he didn't know what to do, or he just didn't want to do anything, so he just stared at him.
Observe this person first.
Until Song You came up behind him.
"I'm traveling to Song Dynasty."
"I've seen you, sir." The servant immediately bowed and respectfully held a small wooden box with both hands. "I came from the mansion of Zhizhou Yu Jian and Bai Yu to bring a small gift to my Zhizhou and a message for the Zhizhou. Thank you, sir, for being here in the afternoon. She and my family Zhizhou answered it correctly. I hope I can have a chance to talk to you next time. Please accept it, sir."
Song You could already smell the fragrance of ink.
It turns out to be Lord Zhizhou.
"We just talked in the afternoon. Not only did Mr. Yu enjoy it, Mr. Song also benefited from it. Why did Mr. Yu specially send someone to give the gift?" Song You said, "Besides, the gift is expensive, how can Mr. Song accept it?"
"It's just a small gift, no matter how precious it is, but it's a rare thing in the world to talk to my husband." The servant paused, "Besides, gifting cultural relics between literati is an elegant thing and is not considered a gift from the common people. We are in love, sir, please don’t refuse.”
"You are quite eloquent."
"Sir, don't embarrass the villain." The servant immediately showed a look of embarrassment, "Sir, if you don't accept it, even if Zhizhou doesn't punish you, the villain will feel uneasy."
"..."
Song You smiled, thought about it again, and then took it.
"Thank you Zhizhou for me."
"Goodbye, villain."
Song You then turned around and rubbed the head of the girl next to him: "When you turn into a human form from now on, I will tell others that you are my child."
"Why?"
"Find an explanation."
"Tong'er."
"Um."
Song You closed the courtyard door and walked into the house.
Opening the small carved wooden box, there was a small strip wrapped in red cloth. Then he opened the red cloth, and it was the Ningxiang ink that he had seen in the afternoon, with a rule of two taels, and patterns printed on it.
Sanhua Empress stretched her neck and stared.
"It's burned wood!"
"It's Mo."
"oh."
"Since Sanhua Empress has turned into a human form, please help me grind the ink." Song You said to the girl again.
"What is ink grinding?"
"Just like when I occasionally write, I add water to the inkstone and grind the ink with the ink stick to turn the water into black."
"What is an inkstone?"
"It's the one that holds water."
"oh."
"Is it okay? Empress Sanhua."
"Why?"
"please."
"Oh well."
Although Sanhua Empress didn't understand why she had to do this and why she had to do it herself, she still came over with doubts, took the burned firewood from Song You's hand, and stood there obediently waiting for Song You to do it. She rolled up her sleeves to the crook of her arms, revealing a thin, white forearm.
Looking at the clothes, then the arms, and then the ink stick held by the hand, it seemed as if the hand was not his own, and the world was not the world in his original eyes.
The newly transformed little monster is full of curiosity about everything.
"Add water first?"
"How does Sanhua Empress know?"
"Ms. Sanhua, I see you are doing this."
"I see."
"Are you going around in circles like this?"
"Empress Sanhua is extremely wise."
"Ms. Sanhua has seen you use it."
"It's rare to be able to understand everything after just seeing him a few times. Such wisdom is really rare. Song Mou admires it endlessly."
"..."
Sanhua Empress stopped talking and became more and more serious the more she worked.
Ningxiang has no ink skin, and the ink sinks quickly. Once it is rubbed, the fragrance will come out. It is a wonderful medicinal fragrance, neither strong nor light, and has a charm of its own.
Song You spread out the paper beside him.
"alright."
"Is it okay?"
"Thank you, Miss Sanhua."
"You're welcome."
The new pen was stained with ink and scratched again and again on the inkstone.
Song You thought about it again and again before he raised his pen and started writing.
"Seeing words is like meeting each other, showing trust and comfort."
The ink has a pleasant fragrance, and the wet words are reflective, and every stroke is exquisite.
The ancient cypresses of Jinyang Road, the potholes on the bluestone slabs, the mortal fireworks of Yidu City, the rolling clouds of Eagle Mountain, the greedy monks, and the masters of magical skills. Song You used very ordinary pen and ink to describe Master talked about his experiences and insights and gains from practice since coming down the mountain.
Also talked about Sanhua Empress.
Strangely enough, I only wanted to get together with Sanhua Empress on a whim. I wanted to avoid the long journey of solitude, but unexpectedly I got an unexpected surprise. Now just being with her has made this journey a lot more fun.
We must not forget that there is also Zhizhou who yearns for immortality.
This ink is the best in the world. I wonder if the old man has seen it before, so I have to remind her to smell it.
As I was writing, suddenly a fluffy cat's paw stretched out and hooked the lanyard hanging on the pen. The cat's nails had a glass-like texture.
Song You stopped writing and turned around.
I saw the calico cat with a serious face and hooking its paws.
I searched the room again.
The new clothes I bought today have fallen to the ground.
"Miss Sanhua, what are you doing?"
"Well?"
The calico cat seemed to realize that he had stopped writing, and turned to stare at him, thinking for a few seconds, and then said seriously: "You write yours, and I'll play with mine."
"..."
Song You then continued writing.
Sanhua Empress continued to play.
The picture is harmonious and quiet, with the sound of wind coming from the bamboo forest coming through the window.
