After the Confucian Council meeting ended, the paper began to be officially sold the next day. What was beyond Ziyou's expectation was that in just an hour, all the paper was snatched up. Baijia, the court, and scholars competed for the paper at a high rate. Beyond Ziyou's expectations, there are still some people who haven't gotten the paper and are still waiting at the door of the store, wanting to know when the next paper sale will be.
At this time, Zhanri had been waiting for him for a long time. When he saw Ziyou arriving, Zhanri saluted and said
"Sir, enough paper has been made."
"Since this is the case, let's put a tag on the shop. The sale will start tomorrow. You will send someone to escort one to Xianyang and divide it into three parts. Marquis Wenxin will have one share, the king will have one share, and another share will be given to Shang Qing Yao Jia." Ziyou said that letters from Lu Buwei, Ying Zheng and Yao Jia arrived yesterday.
Lu Buwei asked Ziyou if he could borrow Ziyou's story and wanted some good paper. At the same time, he sent five luminous pearls as a deposit. Ziyou also knew that Lu Buwei was writing a book and said that paper was indispensable, and so did Ziyou. Agree.
Ying Zheng talked about some recent major events in the court, including the recent friction between Lao Aiqi and Lu Buwei, and Qin Mo who wanted to visit Ziyou and had already sent people on the way. Finally, he wanted to represent Qin. I want to buy some paper, and Yao Jia wants to buy some paper on behalf of the Confucianists of Qin.
Ziyou didn't expect Lao Ai to cause trouble for Lu Buwei now. If Lu Buwei hadn't done it for the friendship and Zhao Ji's identity in the past, Lao Ai wouldn't know how he died now.
"It's sir." Zhanri left with Ziyou's order.
At this time, Xue Nu, Yan Fei and Jing Sala were looking at the luminous pearl sent by Lu Buwei. Women are naturally interested in sparkling things. Ji Yan, who was leaning on the table, was also holding the luminous pearl and drooling, seeming to regard this as a Something delicious.
"Marquis Wenxin is indeed a famous businessman in the seven countries. Luminous pearls of this quality are rare, but there are five of them in this shot." Concubine Yan said, touching one of the luminous pearls fondly.
"This is indeed rare, but Marquis Wenxin also exchanged some papers and the story of Zigong's redemption from the gentleman. No matter how you look at it, he is not at a loss." Xue Nu said.
In these days, apart from practicing martial arts with Concubine Yan and Jing Salamander, she spends most of her time reading. Anyway, there is a Confucian stronghold like Xiaoshengxian Manor, and she borrows the books that ordinary people are begging for to read every day. Watch.
As she read more and more, Xue Nu's horizons and perspectives opened up, and she naturally knew the content of the stories Zi You told.
Jing Salamander did not speak but took away the night pearl that Ji Yan was chewing. After Jing Salamander took it away, Ji Yan screamed angrily. Seeing this scene, Xue Nu and Concubine Yan lowered their heads and hugged Ji Yan. , holding Ji Yan's soft little face with a motherly smile.
"If you like it, take it away. It's useless for me to keep it." Ziyou yawned and said. He really didn't need the Night Pearl, and he didn't like it either. In his opinion, it was no different from the light bulbs of later generations. It's just worth more.
Just when Ziyou was about to return to his study to continue writing a book, Xue Nu suddenly said
"Sir, someone sent a letter this morning, saying it was from a farmer. It was a treasure appraisal meeting held by Qianlongtang. I hope you can participate."
"Show me the invitation. Qianlongtang's treasure appraisal conference? It's interesting." Ziyou said, touching his chin.
In addition to Liutang, the farmhouse also has two properties, Qianlongtang and Zuimenglou. One of these two properties is treasure exchange and the other is a brothel. They are both places used by farmers to win over the powerful and make friends. Qianlongtang has There are two branches, one in Xinzheng, South Korea, and the other in Songhai.
Qianlongtang will hold a Yibao conference on the "Suo and Wang" days of every month, and send out invitations to the proposed guests. Sometimes, you can also "invite guests as guests". You only need to say hello in advance. Some guests You can take your place if you are not in a hurry. Even if the number of people participating this time is full, it will be arranged for the next time. Anyone with strength and status will not be rejected by Qianlong Hall.
The high-ranking officials and nobles have searched for all the rare treasures in the world, but they are not satisfied. They always feel that what others have in their hands looks better, so they naturally cater to this deal.
Here, beauties and rare treasures are all goods. As long as they can be obtained and someone wants them, they can be exchanged. Qianlongtang is only responsible for hosting the Yibao Conference and escorting the safety of these guests to and from the guests. The specific transaction matters are left to the guests themselves. After mutual negotiation, it was decided that Qianlongtang would charge a large commission from both parties after the transaction was successful. This was also its way of survival.
And today is the day of the new moon (the first day of the lunar calendar).
Xue Nu gave the invitation to Ziyou. Ziyou took a look at the invitation and said
"I won't be back tonight. I'm going to see the treasure appraisal meeting at Qianlong Hall."
Outside Songhai City, Ziyou rode his horse to a large house that looked dignified and simple on the outside before stopping. There was a plaque hanging directly above the house, with the three characters Qianlongtang written in gold letters on an ink background. When he walked to the inner house, there was a A sharp-edged building appears in front of you.
At this time, a man with an oval face, a goatee and a mustache, with white hair in the middle and black hair on both sides, was waiting for Ziyou with a smile. He was wearing a splendid costume from the Qianlongtang period, with the collar of his vest spread out to both sides, a green auspicious cloud pattern on the outside of the lining, and a whole black dragon pattern on a golden background in the middle of the lining.
Looking at this man, You had a slight impression. This man was Situ Wanli from a farm family. He would be the future leader of Siyue Hall, but now he was just the deputy head of the Qi Kingdom stronghold of Qianlong Hall.
"Welcome Mr. Ziyou to Qianlongtang. It really makes our small place shine. I don't know if it will disturb Mr. Ziyou from writing a book." Situ Wanli said with a smile on his face, "I am from Qianlongtang." Deputy Hall Master, Situ Wanli."
"Deputy Hall Master Situ, I don't dare to interrupt you, but this is my first time in Qianlong Hall. I don't know the specific rules. Please forgive me if I offend you."
"Don't dare, don't dare. It is our greatest honor for Qianlong Hall to have you here. I wonder what treasures you have brought today?" Situ Wanli asked, looking at the hidden things in Ziyou's hand.
"Of course it's the treasure this time." Ziyou smiled, but had no intention of opening it.
"Sir, what you brought must be a treasure. Sir, please give the things to the maid." Situ Wanli said.
A very good-looking maid came forward with a tray in her hand. After Ziyou handed the things to the maid, Situ Wanli led him to a small vermilion door, which was covered with a dark carved dragon screen, and Hua Hua could be vaguely seen. Light, pipa half-hidden.
"Sir, please come inside. This is the treasure appraisal conference. We will divide the venue according to the identity of the visitors and the treasures in their hands. This is the Tianzi No. 1 treasure appraisal room, and it is also the best treasure appraisal room here. If the treasure appraisal room After it's over, if some guests don't get what they want, they can leave their treasures with us, display them outside, and then choose what they like." Situ Wanli explained.
Ziyou nodded and looked to the side first. There were indeed many small doors like this. Every guest present would remain a bit mysterious. Most of them might not know who was participating until they were inside.
Seemingly interesting, Ziyou withdrew his gaze with interest, walked toward the door, walked around the screen, and his field of vision suddenly broadened.
The screen is the back, and in the middle are placed the chairs and desks for sitting and lying. The hanging purple gauze is combed on both sides to form a small compartment.
After Ziyou sat down casually, the maid covered the "treasure" he brought with a brocade handkerchief and walked towards the center of the hall.
This is a peculiar hall designed based on the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. There is a six-sided table in the middle, with five brocade handkerchiefs placed on it, echoing each compartment. There are low-hanging dragon heads spitting water in between, implying the hidden meaning of the world. The meaning of the dragon looks even more gorgeous under the illumination of the mercury lamp on the top.
Looking left and right, people were already sitting in the other compartments, but these people also had many acquaintances of Ziyou, including the Six-fingered Black Man of the Mo family and Jing Ke. Jingke greeted Ziyou with a smile after seeing him, and raised his hand. Raising the wine glass in his hand, Ziyou also raised his wine glass in response. On the right side of Ziyou was a man wearing a black cloak, making it difficult to see his face. There was also an old man with white hair, and two middle-aged man.
After a few seconds, a clear bell rang, attracting the attention of Ziyou and the others.
Situ Wanli stood in the middle of the hall with a smile on his face, raised his hands and clasped his fists, and said loudly, "Welcome to the Yibao Conference in Qianlong Hall. I am deeply honored."
With the end of some polite words, Situ Wanli began to introduce the treasure. The six-fingered black man brought a famous sword. It was Lingxu, one of the top ten famous swords on Windbeard's ranking. As the saying goes, famous swords have spirits, the style of Mohism. It was not suitable for Ling Xu. After getting this sword, the Six-Fingered Black Man was ready to exchange it.
The man in a cloak next to Ziyou brought two blood-red agate stones, which were intact as before and extremely rare. The white-haired old man brought a meteorite, a meteorite that can be used to make famous swords. The old man also explained His identity is that he is the head of the Kanyu family, and he wants to exchange this meteorite for money.
The Kanyu family is a small sect among hundreds of families, and there are not many people. They sound like those Yin-Yang teachers of later generations who read Feng Shui and Dragon Veins, but in fact they don’t understand these things. What they are best at is geological exploration and planning projects. For example, building roads, opening water canals, exploring minerals, etc. are what they are good at, but because these things are not taken seriously by people, because these things in this era are also called corvee, so people who learn from them do not Not many, just two or three people in each generation.
One of the middle-aged men is the steward of the Korean Zhang family, the Zhang family that has been serving as Korean prime ministers for generations, and is also the family of Zhang Liang. However, Zhang Liang is still a child now. They also brought a famous sword, fish intestines. Another middle-aged man brought a copper bell made of mutton-fat jade, which was used for sleeping. Soon it was time to introduce Ziyou. Situ Wanli paused and said
"Mr. Ziyou is the person we specially invited, so we have not checked his treasure, but I believe that according to Mr. Ziyou's reputation, this treasure must be valuable. Now everyone can exchange it by themselves."
Everyone looked at the tightly wrapped package. They were curious about the contents, but they didn't go back to change it because it wasn't worth it. Who knew if Ziyou was being mysterious and wanted to do something with his reputation? The Six-Fingered Black Man changed Zi You's things out of curiosity, and Jing Ke specially reminded him.
Soon everyone started exchanging treasures. The head of the Kanyu family looked at the people around him expectantly, but no one around him wanted to exchange with the meteorite. If there were people here who were proficient in sword refining, they would definitely choose that piece. Meteorite, but obviously none of those present here. The Six-fingered Black Man and the steward of the Zhang family were very clear that what they wanted was the sword in each other’s hands, so they quickly completed the exchange. As for the cloaked man and another middle-aged man, they completed the exchange. After the exchange, only Ziyou and the old man were left.
Ziyou did not take the initiative to exchange things. After the exchange was completed, the head of the Kanyu family was full of disappointment. The old man was called Luo Zhan. The Kanyu family had few people, and their specialties were the same as corvee work, so there was no monarch and The big shots appreciate them, but their life has been very difficult. Now the Kanyu family will have no money to support their research, so the old man came out and wanted to exchange the meteorite for something, but he came back disappointed again.
Just when the old man wanted to leave, Situ Wanli stopped him
"Master Luo, Mr. Ziyou would like to invite you for a chat."
"Invite me?" Luo Zhan was a little surprised. Naturally, he had heard a lot about Ziyou in the past few days. Confucianism, as a major sect among hundreds of schools of thought, generally looked down on their small sects who were doing hard work. , and Ziyou, as a popular figure in the Seven Kingdoms, is an old man who is half buried in the earth and still doing corvée work. It seems that these two people have no way of socializing with each other.
"Mr. Ziyou invented paper. He made more money in one day than I did in Qianlongtang in a month. It was more than enough to support a family." Situ Wanli said. As a gambler, what he is best at is trying to figure out other people's psychology. , Ziyou suddenly invites Luo Zhan, a small sect that even farmers look down on, there must be something wrong. No matter what, let’s facilitate this meeting first and become familiar with Ziyou.
Luo Zhan thought for a while and agreed to Ziyou's invitation, then followed Situ Wanli to a soundproof box.
When Zi You saw Luo Zhan arriving, he immediately stood up to greet him. Luo Zhan was also shocked by Zi You's courtesy. Seeing this scene, Situ Wanli quietly exited the box and closed the door. In the room, Luo Zhan looked at Zi You who was drinking tea. He asked directly without hiding anything.
"I wonder what you are looking for?"
Although Luo Zhan is over fifty years old, his thoughts are not that different. They are a group of very simple people. They explore geography, summarize what they know, make some money when they have no money, and go about it shamelessly. Take on a disciple.
"Mr. Luo, I know the plight of the Kanyu family today, and I am willing to help the Kanyu family. I can even help the Kanyu family expand their influence, and even make the Kanyu family no longer have to worry about money and the future." Ziyou said.
Although the Kanyu family is not taken seriously nowadays, Ziyou knows how important the role of this sect is. In future generations, they will be civil engineering experts who are still very good at fighting. Luo Zhan looks like he is not young. He was there with just one push, but Ziyou could clearly feel that the old man's strength was probably not weaker than Xunzi's.
A person who explores in the wild every day is still so old. If he didn't have some strength, he would have been feeding the wild beasts long ago.
"What do you need me to do?" Luo Zhan thought for a while and said cruelly. He knew that this was an opportunity for the Kanyu family. Even if they couldn't become what Ziyou said, as long as they had a relationship with the Confucian family, their situation would not be like this. Well, at least I won’t have to worry about food and clothing anymore.
Ten thousand words complete
(End of chapter)
