Chapter 137 – Rogue Scholar (13)
The other people copying books in the Wei Family Bookstore were in a room with multiple people, but Yan Jing Ze was different, he was alone in a room.
At this moment, he is standing in front of his desk writing.
Ordinary people in Donggu County wear short clothes and trousers. If the family is not wealthy, women also wear trousers, after all, it is more convenient and cost-effective – wearing an extra skirt over the pants is bound to cost more fabric.
However, rich people tend to dress more carefully. Women must wear skirts, while men often wear long robes with big lapels.
Of course, different identities have different dresses, and they will also be worn with waistcoats and the like.
Yan Jing Ze is not a rich man.
After it got cold, he had a cotton jacket and a pair of cotton pants made for him, and now he is wearing a cotton jacket and cotton pants, standing at the table writing.
Because he was too tall, he had to bend down a lot.
In short, there is no image.
Li Xiucai and others looked particularly speechless, but at this moment, Yan Jing Ze started to write!
This time he chose a large piece of paper, penned with dragons and snakes, and wrote a poem: “may you have a successful career as an official,
uncorrupted like a bowl of clean water in the world. when the auspicious air rushes in from the four seas, great fortune will definitely follow.“
Previously, Yan Jing Ze wrote in small print, but this time it was written in big print.
Small characters and large characters are written differently, after Yan Jing Ze finished writing, he felt dissatisfied.
However, Li Xiucai and others were already stunned.
This Yan Da, unexpectedly recognizes characters!
He also wrote such a good calligraphy!
This handwriting is so powerful and majestic that the person writing it must be a broad-minded one.
Li Xiucai and the others looked at Yan Jing Ze and couldn’t help but wonder—could it be that the things they had heard before about Yan Da were all false?
Stunned, Li Xiucai and others were about to praise, when they heard Yan Jing Ze say: “This calligraphy is not written properly…”
After speaking, Yan Jing Ze picked up his brush, changed a piece of paper, and wrote again.
After he finished writing, Yan Jing Ze was still dissatisfied, and wrote it for the third time.
Li Xiucai and others: “…” They thought that this person had written well enough for the first time, but as a result… he could write better?
Many calligraphy masters can write good works, but it also depends on the right time and place. However, this person… how can he be so casual?
“Mr. Li, what kind of calligraphy do you want? If this doesn’t work, I can copy a book for you.” Yan Jing Ze said, “As long as you are willing to guarantee for me.”
“You… copied the books?” Li Xiucai asked.
“Yes, I have been copying books in the bookstore recently to support my family.” Yan Jing Ze pointed to the papers he had just copied next to him.
Li Xiucai and others saw what Yan Jing Ze had copied and said, “A terrible waste! What a waste!”
“Such good characters, how dare you use them to copy books!”
“Such magnificent inscriptions are rare to find even if you pay a thousand gold!”
……
Yan Jing Ze asked immediately: “My writings are very valuable? Do you want to buy it?”
Li Xiucai and others: “…” When they said a thousand gold, it was just an analogy. As a student, can you not talk about vulgar money?
Of course, despite what was in their minds, Li Xiucai and others did not hesitate to say: “I want to buy it!”
But… they previously thought that the copy of the Three Character Classic was a work of a calligraphy master, so they were willing to give a high price, but now?
After some bargaining, Yan Jing Ze finally offered the price of 50 wen per large character and 20 wen per small character.
That makes it more than 20,000 wen per copy of Three Character Classic!
At this time, the amount of silver taels exchanged for copper coins will vary depending on the price of silver, but generally more than one thousand wen can be exchanged for one tael of silver, and 20,000 wen is 20 taels of silver.
What a way to make money!
Of course, these people didn’t let him write the Three Character Classic. Li Xiucai took out a collection of his own poems and asked him to copy it and someone else took out his own policy theory and asked him to copy it.
Each of the five xiucai who came this time had something they wanted him to write, and by the way, they also asked him to write some big characters—basically all words of blessing.
Yan Jing Ze wrote as soon as he picked up his brush, writing Li Xiucai’s first.
While writing, Yan Jing Ze asked other people: “Do you want to change the font?” Listening to these people, they are going to take these things to give gifts and ask for advice from others, will it not be good if everyone gives the same gifts?
“Don’t be distracted.” Li Xiucai said. After speaking, he realized that even if Yan Jing Ze was speaking, his writing was still very good and very fast. That speed… is really enviable!
At this time, it takes nine days to examine people in the township examination. In addition to the large number of questions, it also has something to do with the slower writing.
At this time, it takes nine days to finish an exam in the provincial examination. In addition to the large number of questions, it also has something to do with the slow speed of writing.
Most people don’t pay attention to writing well so they can write quickly. They can write two thousand characters in one hour, but if they want to write well, they can write one thousand words in one hour.
But what about this person in front of him?
The brush moved quickly in his hand. At his speed, he could probably write three or four thousand characters in one hour!
Yan Jing Ze is still at a speed of 4,000 characters per hour and he can write 20,000 characters if he writes five hours a day.
Now there are twenty wen per character, that is four hundred silver.
Scholars are really good in making money!
Yan Jing Ze feels that if someone is willing to buy, he is willing to write until the end of time.
“You can still change fonts?” someone asked.
“If there is a copybook for me to refer to, I can follow it.” Yan Jing Ze said: “There is a copybook in the bookstore.”
Several scholars looked at each other and immediately indicated that they would change the font—they all plan to use this calligraphy to give as a gift to Master Zhou, it is better if each was different.
They went to find copybooks one after another.
Yan Jing Ze quickly copied Li Xiucai’s collection of poems and then began to learn from other copybooks.
He has copied a lot of books recently and the brush seems to have become a part of his body, he can write what kind of character he wants to write!
At this time, after reading the copybook and practicing, he immediately changed a font and wrote a policy theory.
Then learn another font…
Yan Jing Ze learned very seriously, after all, these are things that can be used to make money in the future!
And those scholars, they have nothing to say at this point.
They are all proud sons of heaven and always think they are very powerful, but the result, an uneducated bastard managed to far surpass them after only a few days of learning.
They all began to wonder if they were too stupid.
No, no, it’s definitely not that they are too stupid, it’s definitely that this bastard is too powerful.
This is not a bastard either… They are so embarrassed to call him a bastard and they all want to turn their heads and worship…
As they were writing, County Magistrate Zhu came in from outside.
Majesty Zhu came to the bookstore and regretted it a little.
He listened to a few constables and then he came to find the bastard Yan Da.
He asked people to inquire about that Yan Da, he never went to school. How could such a person copy books in a bookstore!
Copying books is not so easy!
But he’s here anyway… Seeing that there was only a young man greeting the guests outside, the county magistrate asked, “Where is your shopkeeper?”
“A few xiucai came here and the shopkeeper took them to the backyard,” the young man said.
How come so many xiucai came to this bookstore? That’s something to check out. Magistrate Zhu, with his attendant by his side, immediately walked to the backyard.
As a result, once he reached the backyard, he saw some papers drying on several bonsai in the courtyard.
The newly written characters cannot be stacked together, they need to be dried first, so Li Xiucai and the others put the paper copied by Yan Jing Ze and dried them around.
“Good writing!” The County Magistrate Zhu passed by, glanced at the characters on the paper, and couldn’t help but marvel. What shocked him even more was that when he picked up a piece of paper, he found that the ink was still wet!
County Magistrate Zhu is a Jinshi and he has contacted many scholars but he has not encountered a few who can write such good characters.
Feeling excited with this hunt, County Magistrate Zhu wanted to talk to the person who wrote it, but at this moment, he saw another piece of paper.
The writing on that piece of paper was different from the one he’d read earlier, but it was just as good!
Wait, there is a third kind of handwriting.
This is… There are three calligraphy masters who compete for calligraphy here?
The more he thought about it, the more excited the County Magistrate Zhu became, and somewhat spiteful of what these calligraphy masters have written.
This poem is filled with artistry and is so mediocre that it really doesn’t catch his eye!
In addition, this policy theory does not pay attention to reality, but is actually a piece of opinion pieced together from some widely spread policy theories!
The calligrapher’s words are good but the knowledge is average…
The County Magistrate Zhu was thinking so when Li Xiucai came out again to dry the paper.
“Master Zhu?” Li Xiucai saw the County Magistrate Zhu and hurriedly saluted. When a scholar sees an official like the county magistrate, he doesn’t need to bow down, but he still has to practice the etiquette of a scholar.
County Magistrate Zhu had met Li Xiucai before, a guarantor: “You are… this is what you wrote?” Li Xucai’s writing is surprisingly so outstanding? Why is he not famous?
“Master Zhu, I didn’t write these,” Li Xiucai said.
“Then who wrote them?” the County Magistrate Zhu asked.
“Master Zhu, have you… ever heard of Yan Da?” Li Xiucai asked.
“What’s wrong with him?” the County Magistrate Zhu asked: “Could it be that he wrote them?”
“He wrote them, they are all written by him,” Li Xucai said.
Magistrate Zhu: “…” That Yan Da was so powerful that not only could he make the constables but also make Li Xiucai speak good things for him.
What does he want?
In any case, County Magistrate Zhu does not believe that Yan Da can write such good characters.
When Li Xiucai saw the appearance of the County Magistrate Zhu, he knew what the County Magistrate Zhu was thinking, and immediately said, “Your Excellency can go in and take a look.”
County Magistrate Zhu looked at Li Xiucai suspiciously and followed Li Xiucai into the house.
Then, he saw a man wearing a coarse cotton jacket, who was very boorish at first glance, writing something at his desk. Because he was writing too attentively, he hadn’t noticed his arrival.
Yan Jing Ze actually found out that the County Magistrate Zhu had arrived but he is now a peasant. He has to kneel when he sees the county magistrate but he doesn’t really want to kneel, so he just pretended not to notice…
Yan Jing Ze continued to copy the book.
Magistrate Zhu leaned over to take a look and was stunned.
This man’s hands are extremely rough, not at all like the hands of a pampered scholar, but his writing…
This handwriting exceeds the vast majority of scholars!
More importantly, unsurprisingly, this person in front of him should be Yan Da. The Yan Da that abducted the young master of the Wei family.
He thought that the constables of the county office were talking nonsense before, but it turned out to be true?
This Yan Da, how can he write such good characters?
He’s not a bully at all, is he? Has he been eavesdropping outside the school since he was a kid, bent on learning?
County Magistrate Zhu was shocked when Yan Jing Ze finished writing another piece of paper.
Putting the paper aside, Yan Jing Ze looked at the County Magistrate Zhu: “Twenty wen per character… do you want it?”
***TN
I found someone to translate this for me. It’s Nonono… from Novelupdates. Thank you, Nonono…
江山通万里, 乾坤一清瓯。四海来紫气,鸿运自当头。
Lol the way he just immediately mentioned the money. Thanks for the chapter
Thanks for the chapter! 😂😂😂