Everyone thought that there were indeed some similarities between the two. Wu Zhixiang sighed, "If we talk about the various exotic goods of the Australians, except for glass, which one is not originally owned by China? Once everything comes into their hands, it seems to be completely transformed."
generally."
After he said this, everyone couldn't help but nodded in agreement; whether it was Australian paper, wine, books, sanitary ware and various utensils, except for glass and the "soft glass" used in "unbreakable bottles", nothing has been used since ancient times.
Got any items?
"It's glass, how come we in China don't have it?" Zhang Dai read a lot of books and had a lot of "miscellaneous knowledge". "Glass is just glassware. It existed in the Han Dynasty. It's a pity that it has only been reduced to tiles for building houses."
Wen Huai asked curiously, "Are colored glaze and glass the same thing? I don't think they are similar at all. It is somewhat similar to porcelain."
Several people were walking while talking. The walls were lined with bookshelves as high as the ceiling, filled with books in rows. The arrangement of the books was also different from that in China. They were not put into letters and lying on the bookshelf, but one by one.
They were arranged upright. They had seen Australian books yesterday and knew that Australian books must have spines. The titles and authors of the books were on the spines, so the arrangement could be seen clearly when standing upright.
There are several ladders placed next to the bookshelf - some have iron wheels like ladders, which can be easily pushed around and climbed up to browse.
There were either bookshelves or windows on the walls, but on the dome, there were long strips of paintings hanging. Zhang Dai knew that these were Western oil paintings. He had also seen them in the Catholic Church in Hangzhou and didn't think much of them.
Outside the bookshelf, there are several huge desks - larger than the painting desks used for painting in their home. Various books are displayed on them. There are also small tables and chairs next to the big book desks for people to read and drink tea.
This kind of arrangement is not unusual. Almost all the larger bookstores they visited have similar furnishings. But the style of the seats is unique. The table is a very small round table, and the chair is a backrest chair with a slightly tilted back.
It was covered with a layer of soft cushions. Sun Chun was the first to sit down and leaned back. He felt that the chair was close to the back and waist, and even the head was supported. It was extremely comfortable to lean on this chair.
The small round table is decorated with exquisite tea sets of various colors, including Yixing purple sand tea sets, famous products from various porcelain kilns, and all-glass tea sets made in Australia - Zhang Dai likes it because he can watch the "beautiful color" when making tea.
I bought several sets at high prices.
But this is not surprising. The most surprising thing is that there are several groups of heavy couch-like objects in the hall. Each group is arranged with one long and two short. It seems to be chairs and couches, and the outside is made of fine Western cloth.
Or the brocade was made to look good, and there were many cushion-like objects placed on it. Zhang Dai was not willing to be left behind this time, and was the first to sit down.
"This thing is wonderful!" He sat on it, but his body jolted, and he couldn't help but smile, "Brothers, sit down quickly, this thing is really interesting!"
As soon as Wen Huai and Sun Chun sat down, the feeling of rejection and welcome on their buttocks immediately brought them an unprecedented experience, but it was not uncommon for Wu Zhixiang - it was also available in Ziminglou, and he also bought it
A pair of single people can go back and enjoy themselves, so-called sofa chairs.
Hearing a few people arguing about why this sofa has such elasticity, he immediately laughed and said, "Brothers, don't look at this thing as soft and soft, but it is actually made of iron objects inside."
How can anyone believe that ironware has been seen by everyone and is extremely strong? How can it produce such an effect? Wu Zhixiang said that when he bribed the government officials to enter Ziming Tower, he saw several government officials dismantling it.
The sofa is filled with nothing more than kapok, but the bottom board of this sofa is densely packed with circles made of wires, layered on top of each other.
Everyone was fascinated by what they heard, and Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh, "I used to only think of the wonders of creation in this world, but I never thought that human power could be so amazing!"
A few people were chatting on the sofa, and the waiter who was waiting on the side didn't dare to come up and disturb him, so he quietly reported to Cai Shi. Cai Shi's local people were familiar with each other. As long as Zhao Yingong didn't go out or sent him out to do things, he would always be at the bookstore.
Taking care of. Because everyone knew that this was a scholar who publicly owned the bookstore, and Zhao Yingong also recruited local Confucian scholars and got their care, so ordinary people on the street did not dare to go to the bookstore to pay homage.
Cai Shi's main job is to take care of and build relationships when he sees local gentry coming in person or by sending someone. If necessary, report directly to Zhao Yingong.
He recognized Zhang Dai as soon as he showed up, but he didn't come out to say hello right away - from the guy's failure just now, he knew that these Confucian scholars wanted to see for themselves first, and it would be of little use to go out and say hello by himself.
At this moment, I saw them all sitting on the sofa, talking loudly one by one, and immediately called a waiter;
"Go and tell the master quickly that Mr. Zhang Dai and Mr. Zhang are in the store."
Zhang Dai is a famous figure in the city of Hangzhou, and even Cai Shi knows that the master should make efforts to entertain him. Now that he has come to his door in person, he must have greeted him properly.
Immediately, I asked the waiter to take out the ice-cold soda drinks from the "refrigerator" and pour them into the plants one by one.
The so-called "refrigerator" is not a gas refrigerator produced by Lingao, but a wooden cabinet that uses natural ice to cool down in this time and space. The severe winter of the Little Ice Age made it possible for places like Hangzhou to collect ice and store ice in winter.
This soda was even more rare, having been shipped thousands of miles from Guangdong by ship. When Cai Shi saw that the wooden box contained glass bottles, he was so surprised that his jaw almost dropped. He fully understood the value of such crystal clear glass.
In his mind, this soda is simply like a "good nectar".
Zhang Dai was not impressed by Cai Shi's attentiveness, which was normal, but he was interested in the plate of drinks he brought.
The drink was served in a cylindrical straight glass. At first glance, the glass seemed to be filled with water, but strings of thin bubbles continued to emerge from the bottom of the glass, and the body of the glass was filled with water.
Pearls look crystal clear, refreshing and pleasant.
The few people here are enjoying some at home, and you can tell at a glance that it is served with ice. The sun is already very hot after the Dragon Boat Festival, and even if you are sitting in a sedan, you are sweating. Such a glass of "ice water"
It came at the right time. After drinking it, everyone said it was wonderful. This glass of "clear water" was not only ice-cold, but also tasted sweet and slightly sour from fruits. The taste was extremely refreshing.
Wu Zhixiang wondered: "This is not Kvass!"
Cai Shi was stunned. He didn't know that Wu Zhixiang was a frequent visitor to Ziminglou, but he knew that a drink called kvass had indeed been delivered, and that this drink was prepared in the back cabinet. He couldn't help but wonder;
"Has this gentleman ever drank kvass?"
"My husband has drank countless bottles of kvass." Wu Zhixiang said with a smile, "It is more sour than this and has a fragrant aroma. Is your glass of water also brought from Lingao in a glass bottle?"
"My master is from Guangli!" Cai Shi heard his strange accent and knew that he was probably from Guangli, so he said, "I don't dare to deceive you, masters. This soda is also from Australia. It was specially shipped from Guangli. The shop specializes in serving distinguished customers.
Useful."
Wen Huai smiled and said, "Your master is really extravagant! This cup of fine wine is probably worth a lot of money. I'm afraid I have to take off my robe and pledge it before I can get out."
Zhang Dai frowned slightly, feeling that Wen Huai was too disgraceful—he was simply rude. Given the scene in this bookstore, the owner must be a wealthy and powerful person. How could he care about this cup of "soda" and ask for value?
A man's heart measures a gentleman's belly.
These words made Cai Shi unable to stand and said quickly, "How dare you do this? The shop is a bookstore and it sells books."
Seeing that the atmosphere was not good, Zhang Dai hurriedly said, "Since we are selling books, I wonder if there are any rare books here?"
Cai Shi smiled and said, "I don't know what kind of concubine I want..."
Zhang Dai closed his fan and said, "It wants something novel and interesting. Don't take it easy if it's something that speaks for the sages like "Mencius' Justice"."
Wen Huai said, "Yesterday I read it. Not to mention this dynasty, even since the Tang and Song Dynasties, among all the scholars who have commented on Mencius, no one can compare with this Mr. Jiao. Especially the exegesis, it can be called
Synthesizer."
The others were not very interested in this exegesis. They all laughed and said nothing. Cai Shinu was born in Bubu, and he knew by looking at his appearance that Mr. Zhang was the key figure, so he smiled and said, "The shop is fully equipped with all kinds of books.
Please wait a moment, gentlemen. I will go get it right now."
Some of the books in Wanbi Bookstore are shipped directly from Lingao, and some are imported from Nanjing and Suzhou. Most of the books are made in Lingao and shipped to Hangzhou for local printing.
In order to ensure the reputation of Australian books, not only the paper models were shipped, but also the ink and paper produced in Lingao. The instruction given by the Planning Institute to Zhao Yingong was to try to produce ink and paper in Hangzhou in the future. There is no rush now - start immediately
There will be a lot of unloaded tonnage heading north when the engine moves, and it will be easy to transport anything.
The first book printed by Zhou Dongtian's printing house was "Records of the Four Continents". This was a British book called "Encyclopedia of World Geography" compiled by Lin Zexu. This work was a relatively comprehensive introduction to China.
Works on world geography, humanities, and society. However, Lingao's Four Continents has been comprehensively revised by the History Room of the Grand Library. Contents that do not conform to the historical situation have been removed, and some fallacies and misinformation have been revised. Of course, some have also been added.
Got a lot of new content.
The paper types of the books shipped to Hangzhou are all carefully considered. Books such as the Classics and History Collection are not uncommon in a place like Jiangnan where engraving is prosperous - Hangzhou Printing Office is not currently winning by scale and hitting the market with low costs.
In terms of marketing, if cultural bookstores want to attract people, they must have books that are innovative and surprising in content and have a certain academic level. Academic works by people from the Qing Dynasty have become the first choice.