After returning to the guild hall from the Liu Mansion, there was no conversation all night. The next day, Fang Yingwu went to the Ministry of Rites. After his father came out, he still had two questions about whether he would stay in Beijing, so he had to seize the time and get the matter done quickly.
In front of the rites department outside the Ming Dynasty Gate, Fang Yingwu reported his name and origin, and asked to see the Minister of Rites. He was somewhat famous, and he was the son of a criminal who had committed a crime. In addition, he was considered the province's Minister of Rites, Zou Qian.
He was from the same hometown, so the gate officer hesitated for a while and then went to report it.
After a while, the reply still only contained two cold words - missing.
Fang Yingwu was really a little angry. When he first arrived in the capital last time, he visited Zou Shangshu with full hopes, but was rejected indifferently. It was like this again!
If it was obvious that Zou Shangshu came to see him last time because of his father's affairs, he was worried and refused to see him because of his humble status. It was excusable and he had nothing to blame. This time when he was entrusted with the message, he said clearly
He came here for other things, which were not his father's business, but he was still so indifferent.
This can only mean that he is still very sensitive about his identity, so he would rather not see him. It makes sense when you think about it. Even when Grand Bachelor Liu Ji wants to see him, he does it secretly.
Fang Yingwu had no choice but to take out Liu Ji's autographed letter and hand it to the door official, saying, "There is a letter from a distinguished person here. Please forward it to Zou Shangshu."
The gate official took it dubiously and went in to report again. Not long after this time, a message came from inside asking Fang Yingwu to see the minister.
Fang Yingwu followed the servant through the front hall and came to the main hall in the backyard, where Mr. Zou, who was over sixty years old, was sitting upright and attending to matters.
After Fang Yingwu saw the gift, Zou Shangshu asked directly without any polite greetings: "Mr. Liu Ge said in the letter that he asked me to help you with a small thing. I don't know what it is?"
Fang Yingwu replied: "I heard that the test papers of the Jinke Conference are still stored in the Ministry of Etiquette. I want to find someone to copy them tonight for daily study and observation."
As long as the exam results come out, all the test papers will no longer be confidential. Copying them is not a problem, but most people can't get into the Ministry of Etiquette.
Zou Shangshu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that it was just this matter, so it would not be an embarrassment. He had only been in office for a year or two, and he just wanted to get through it in peace and without any disaster. He really didn't want to cause any trouble.
He thought again, since his benefactor, Mr. Liu Ge, had told him to be accommodating, he should just do as he was told. However, Mr. Liu Ge also said in the letter not to reveal to the outside world that he had asked Fang Yingwu to come, and he seemed to be very cautious.
.
Thinking of this, Zou Shangshu agreed: "I have ordered the gate officials and treasury officials today. If you bring a scribe, just let the gate officials take you to the treasury."
After getting the promise, Fang Yingwu felt that he had nothing to say to the unkind Zou Shangshu and was too lazy to talk to his fellow countrymen, so he said goodbye.
Then Fang Yingwu went to Zhongyi Bookshop and entered the front hall. He saw three of his poems hanging on the wall, two of which were poems praising his father's loyalty, and one of which was a reading poem to congratulate the opening yesterday.
Fang Yingwu immediately felt that Yao Qian was quite good at life.
But Mr. Yao was not at the front desk, so Fang Yingwu found Yao Qian in the printing room in the back courtyard and informed him of the matter.
Yao Qian was overjoyed with this good news. He thought about it all night last night, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that printing an anthology of eight-part essays was very promising, and it would open up a new world in the book printing industry. As a businessman, it would be great if it was done.
a feeling of achievement.
But he didn't expect that Fang Yingwu could do things so efficiently. They only parted ways at noon yesterday, and told him that everything was fine at noon today. This was so fast.
If we can recruit a bachelor to work together, it would be easy to copy a few test papers.
Of course, Fang Yingwu would not tell him the inside story first. He only asked Yao Qian to prepare some skilled calligraphers, and then go to the Ministry of Etiquette to start copying the test papers without further delay.
Yao Qian said decisively: "Okay! I will gather the writers this afternoon. At this time, I will put aside other things for the time being and focus on this matter with all my strength. It must be completed as soon as possible!"
While telling the steward to go down and make arrangements, he persuaded Fang Yingwu to stay and have a drink, "Yesterday I wanted to leave Mr. Fang alone, but Mr. Fang refused. I must reward him today."
Fang Yingwu considered that since it had reached this point, some detailed issues had to be determined, and it was time to have an in-depth discussion with Yao Qian, so he agreed.
We drank tea in the bookstore in the afternoon. As evening approached, Fang Yingwu and Yao Qian went to a restaurant and chose a quiet and elegant room for the convenience of talking.
While waiting for the food and wine to finish, Yao Qian spoke first: "We don't have much knowledge here. When we go to copy the test papers, we have to go to the Ministry of Etiquette with Master Fang the first time or two, otherwise I'm afraid they won't be able to cope with it. Wait.
After a few days, people will become familiar with each other, and Mr. Fang will no longer have to do everything."
"This is what we should do." Fang Yingwu agreed, but he had to be wary of others. He was also worried that Yao Qian would leave him alone when he went on the road, so he said mysteriously: "I also invited a university student from the imperial court.
An important minister of the rank of scholar will write a preface to this book and write several eight-legged essays to discuss it, but it is not convenient to disclose it at the moment."
There is also the grand finale for the great scholar? Yao Qian stood up quickly and saluted the other party: "Young Master Fang has really helped me a lot this time. I can't thank you enough. Young Master Fang, please don't worry. Half of the profit from this book will be with you! If
If you don't mind, we can make a contract now."
Fang Yingwu said slowly: "Mr. Yao, what are you talking about? How can I not trust you? Talking about profits is too vulgar. Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry."
Yao Qian did not listen to Fang Yingwu, and asked the store owner to write the contract himself. Fang Yingwu nodded secretly, Yao Qian really knew how to behave.
If he had just used his humble words to stop talking about profit sharing and signing a contract, then he would have to reconsider whether to cooperate with him. He is not the only one who has bookstores in the capital. As long as he can do it
You have the resources, but are you still worried about not finding a partner?
Looking at the two copies of the contract, which stipulated that the profits would be divided equally within ten years, Fang Yingwu sighed: "The purpose of proposing the eight-part anthology is to facilitate the world's scholars. Mr. Yao's move makes me feel uneasy."
Yao Qian smiled and said: "Master Fang is a scholar, so of course he doesn't want to talk about profits. But this is business, and the important thing is that brothers should settle accounts clearly, and talking about profits will not affect the friendship!"
Seeing that the matter was settled, Fang Yingwu stopped hiding it, "I still have some ideas, Mr. Yao can refer to them. This time I went to the Ministry of Rites to copy the test papers, not only from this year, but also from previous years, but
Don’t go too far, just copy two or three recent subjects.”
Yao Qian nodded and said: "That makes sense. Not only can we publish this year's anthology, but we can also publish previous years' selections. It's always better to store more questions."
Fang Yingwu continued: "Not only do you have to copy the papers from the mid-term exam, but you also need to copy the papers that failed."
Yao Qian was stunned by this, "Why is this?"
Fang Yingwu said: "First publish an anthology that tells the world why you passed the exam, and then you can find the opportunity to publish an anthology about why you didn't pass the exam. The world also wants to read it."
This young man can even dig out the selling point of street articles. Yao Qian was so impressed that he said, "Young Master Fang is really a great talent. I've seen it now."
Fang Yingwu finally taught: "An anthology of eight-legged essays is easy to imitate, and there will definitely be others who will imitate it in the future. As industry leaders, we must be innovative, cleverly cataloged, and innovative in order to maintain our lead."
The status remains unchanged!
With the same hundreds of test papers, there can be hundreds of combinations. For example, the Four Books, the Five Classics, the Northern Examination Editor, the Southern Examination Editor, and the Shujishi Examination Papers all depend on how they are compiled. Mr. Yao, please think twice!"
Yao Qian was stunned for a moment after hearing this. After thinking about it, he felt that this was a really wonderful idea. The more he thought about it, the better it became!
He couldn't help but stood up and saluted again: "Last night, I was thinking repeatedly about how to make this kind of anthology a long-term business in the future, so as not to become a one-time deal where the money will disappear after a few years.
Listening to your advice today is really better than studying for three years, and it makes me enlightened! I don’t know how to thank you for such kindness!"
Fang Yingwu waved the contract and said calmly: "If you want to thank me, just add a new clause to the contract."
Yao Qian thought that Fang Yingwu wanted to raise the price, which was human nature, so he asked: "I wonder how much profit Young Master Fang wants? Or maybe our bookstore spent a lot of money to hire Young Master Fang as the president of book editing?"
Fang Yingwu sneered and said in a very displeased voice: "Mr. Yao, who do you think I am! If you want to mention money again, I will leave now and don't mention the cooperation again!"
Yao Qian was shocked, "But my words were inappropriate. May I ask Mr. Fang what other terms you want to add?"
Fang Yingwu replied: "My condition is very simple. From now on, any anthology engraved by the Yao Family Bookstore must have one of my poems added to the title page, whether it is this book or other anthologies in the future."
"This is not a difficult task. I can agree to it." Yao Qian agreed at first, and then asked: "I wonder what poem Mr. Fang wants to use? Is it the reading poem from yesterday?"
Fang Yingwu smiled, picked up the pen, and started writing on the paper. Yao Qian came over to watch, and saw Fang Yingwu write:
"Tomorrow comes tomorrow, and there are so many tomorrows. I live to wait for tomorrow, and everything is in vain. The world is tired of tomorrow, and spring is gone and autumn is coming. The old man is coming. In the morning, I see the water flowing eastward, and in the evening, I see the sun falling in the west. How many tomorrows can there be in a hundred years? Please tell me.
Listen to my song tomorrow."
Fang Yingwu finished writing it in one breath, and when his emotions hit him, he threw the pen to the ground with all his strength, and said with emotion: "It is appropriate for this poem to be placed on the pages of an anthology book to encourage students to be proactive."
Yao Qian also read books. The more he read this poem, the more interesting it became. He sighed: "Master Fang doesn't love money, but I admire his hard work and talent! I just misunderstood that Master Fang asked for money. This is my fault."
, almost insulted Mr. Fang!"
Fang Yingwu let out a long sigh and said with compassion: "Now that the world has been in peace for a long time, and the morale of scholars is declining, I sincerely advise the world to learn from others, cherish time, and not indulge in leisurely pleasures. Therefore, I wrote this poem, but it is unknown. Who will listen? Today I can
It can be considered a meritorious deed of enlightenment by spreading it to the world through your Yao Family Bookstore."
Yao Qian couldn't help but be infected by Fang Yingwu. He saluted Fang Yingwu for the third time, bowed deeply and said: "Young master is young and righteous, and has the benevolent style of ancient times! I just feel ashamed of myself!" (to be completed) Continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)