The current patriarch of the Lanling Xiao family is named Xiao Song. He is a young man who is not very old.
The reason why such a young man was chosen as the clan leader was simply because there were no more people in the Xiao family clan who had died.
However, this Xiao Song was indeed a capable person. He could read a thousand words at the age of three and read ancient Chinese at the age of five. He was a well-known child prodigy and was nicknamed Zhaoming Reincarnation.
If it weren't for his bad temper and his disdain for those immigrant poets who only knew how to complain about nothing, he would have offended many people in the literary circle.
He also caught up with the elders in the family who were qualified to recommend him. He was seriously ill and died. Looking at it, there was no one who recommended him to take the imperial examination. This was the last time he came to this moment.
However, he was very open-minded. He would read books and write articles at home on weekdays. Occasionally when he got drunk, he would curse God for not letting him live a few more years.
Years ago, when the steward came with the urgently printed family tree, Xiao Song didn't take it seriously at all. But when he heard that not only did he not have to spend money to print the book, but he could also make money, he became a little restless.
No, it was just after the New Year, and Patriarch Xiao hurriedly came over from the other side of the river in a small boat.
"Xiao Song has met the prince!"
Although I have always looked down on the cool profession of a poet, everyone has become famous at a young age, and judging from his achievements, this chubby prince seems to be more powerful than himself.
In addition, I really came here to ask for something from this person, so Xiao Song's demeanor was still very low. Although he was not as flattering as bowing to the end, he still honestly put away the arrogance on his face and smiled.
Be very sincere.
"Brother Xiao is famous all over the country. I saw you today, and he is indeed well-deserved." Li Chongrun said a lot of nonsense. Since he was admitted to the Jinshi, this guy has never read any books except account books. Where can he hear about this guy?
A talented man from Jiangnan.
Unexpectedly, Li Chongrun complimented him a lot, and he repeatedly replied that he didn't want to take it seriously, which seemed to be very helpful.
"Please take a seat and watch the tea."
Seeing that he was silent after saying hello, Li Chongrun didn't know the purpose of his coming here, so he could only entertain him according to ordinary etiquette.
"Brother Yu has several acres of tea gardens at home, and they produce some good tea. If the prince doesn't mind it, brother Yu will bring a few kilograms over today. I hope the prince will taste it."
"That's so embarrassing." Li Chongrun actually doesn't like drinking tea. His tea drinking in this dynasty may have been influenced by the Hu people's ancestors of Li Tang. In addition to the milk tea made by Bing'er, Li Chongrun also drinks it occasionally. Normally, he drinks tea.
Li Chongrun was really not interested in that kind of spicy soup.
"I wonder what Brother Xiao is here for today?"
The two of them were polite for a long time. Li Chongrun saw that Xiao Song had not said the reason for his visit. It was almost noon and the opening ceremony of his Commercial Press had not yet been held. He felt a little anxious, so he ignored the etiquette and asked directly.
"Brother Yu heard from the steward at home that the prince's press does not charge for printing books?"
Not daring to ask if he was paying, Xiao Song asked very carefully.
I have been writing books for so many years, but the money for printing them is really not cheap. Although the Xiao family is the sixth surname in the world, it is a pity that I don’t know the dirty tricks. Although I have not borrowed money to survive in the past few years, I just
However, I was unsuccessful in trying to save some money to print books.
Xiao Song was inexplicably overjoyed when he heard the steward said about the conditions offered by the Commercial Press. As soon as they met, he offered his own conditions. He was still thinking that if the prince really couldn't explain it, he would give it to the child at home.
Give him the mountain of tea leaves.
"Not only is it free of charge, but the library can also provide valuable retouching fees based on the quality of the books. Or, based on the quantity sold, after deducting the library's cost, the book library will split it 50-50 with Brother Xiao."
Li Chongrun smiled very sincerely, not betraying the consciousness of the working class at all.
"It's true?" Xiao Song was very happy and happily asked the accompanying book boy to bring out a pile of books.
"Brother Yu has wasted several years and has done some research on the scriptures. There are a few manuscripts that have been unable to be published. If the prince does not dislike it, he can allow brother Yu's bad works to be circulated. Brother Yu will be grateful."
After saying a few words, Xiao Song blushed so hard that he couldn't even speak properly. He just held a cup of tea in his hands and shook it, and even the tea cup rattled on his teeth.
No sound was found.
Li Chongrun was not in a hurry, he grabbed a book and slowly turned it over in his hand.
It was a handwritten book, but in order to save words and cost, there were no sentence breaks. There were so many small words written densely on one page that Li Chongrun felt dizzy.
Seeing Li Chongrun frowning, Xiao Song became more and more nervous and spilled a lot of tea in the cup.
"Brother Xiao, the book is a good book, but I have a suggestion. I wonder if Brother Xiao is willing to accept it?"
Li Chongrun reluctantly read it for a long time and found that it was a book explaining the errata and allusion of several historical treatises in the text. Although the writing was a bit verbose, it was very detailed.
Anthology is a required subject for scientific examinations. This kind of book is very popular among students preparing for the examination. If it is printed, as long as the price is not too expensive, students in this prosperous place in Yangzhou will not be too stingy with money.
"If you have any suggestions, Your Majesty, please tell me."
Thinking that Li Chongrun was trying to find fault with himself, this time Xiao Song miraculously stopped being nervous, and a trace of the arrogance of a master faintly emanated from his face.
"I may not agree with you, but Brother Xiao is indeed unparalleled in the world in terms of scriptures. But I think it's a little strange. Why is there no sentence in Brother Xiao's masterpiece?"
"How can you care about such trivial matters when it comes to learning? If you can't even cut short sentences, what's the use of studying?"
Xiao Song originally thought that Li Chongrun had discovered some serious mistake in his article, but who knew that he was just surprised that there were no short sentences in his book, and he couldn't help but feel a little angry.
"Brother Xiao, what you said is wrong. I don't know how to read the sentence, and I don't understand it. Is it a mistake or not?"
Li Chongrun told him a sentence from the teacher's story. Seeing that his face became more serious, he picked a famous joke from later generations and told it to him.
"The people can make it happen, but they can't make it known?" Li Chongrun read it once, and then read it again: "The people can make it happen, but they can't make it known?"
Xiao Song was a smart man, so he naturally understood what Li Chongrun meant.
"What the prince said makes sense." Xiao Song's nerdy temper in studying suddenly broke out at this moment. He didn't even bother to go home and wanted to revise the manuscript immediately. "Can I borrow the prince's study?"
Li Chongrun occasionally works in the underground secret room on weekdays. The study in the garden is only used by his little cousin when he occasionally goes to write plays, so he can use it casually.
This follower of the Xiao family seemed to be used to the temperament of the head of the family who wrote wherever he went, so he brought many daily necessities and study utensils over from the ship one after another, and soon decorated Li Chongrun's study.
Li Chongrun thought that the nerdy patriarch would get it done quickly, but he knew that he had greatly underestimated the patriarch's academic attitude.
Seven days had passed when the patriarch came out of the study.