Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 141 Bookstore
In Guoguo's wife's mansion, Mingzhu walks around the corridor and enters the boudoir.

"Yao Niang."

"Shh."

Yang Yuyao got up, draped her clothes over the screen, dragged Mingzhu to the side room, and whispered: "Speak here, don't wake him up."

She thought it was funny, and she couldn't help laughing and said, "Don't wake up my brother."

"Yes." Mingzhu also found it funny, and whispered: "Yang Zhao came to give the gift."

"I don't have time to see him. If he asks for an official in the future, let him write his official position in the gift list, so as not to be verbose."

Mingzhu responded, turned around and was about to leave, when Xue Bai got up from behind the screen.

"Did you wake up the gentleman?"

"But Yang Zhao is here?" Xue Bai said, "I'll go see him."

The bed here is very comfortable, he slept well, and when he woke up he felt refreshed and at ease, like the master of this mansion.

After tidying up, Xue Bai went to the hall in the front yard to meet Yang Zhao, treating guests like a host.

"Uncle Lao has been waiting for a long time."

"Hey, I am the uncle of the country, and you are also the uncle of the country. Brothers should not be so polite."

Yang Zhao regained his old intimacy with Xue Bai, and even wanted to go up to hold his hand, and said enthusiastically: "You must call me 'Brother', I am too old to call you 'A Bai', How are you?"

"Brother decides."

After some cordial greetings, Yang Zhao sat down in the hall, and he really came to look for Xue Bai. He muttered, "Recently, there have been a lot of troubles in Chang'an City. I heard that the soldiers from Fan Yang are beating people everywhere..."

Among all the officials Xue Bai knew, Yang Zhao had the most free-spirited attitude, only seeing benefits in his eyes, and didn't care much about whether the other party was the right minister, Dong Gong or Yang Dang.At this time, since he said "knocking people everywhere", he must have been blocked by An Lushan.

"Miscellaneous Hu is indeed domineering." Xue Bai responded.

Yang Zhao's eyes lit up, and he became more sincere, and said: "You stopped Zahu from admitting his mother at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, I'm afraid he will hate you, you have to be careful in the future."

"Recently, I only focus on preparing for the Chunwei exam. These matters in court are beyond my control."

"You can't say that. You are so talented. It's not a problem to get a first-class head. After a few years in office, you will soon catch up with me." Yang Zhao said with a smile: "I also have to make progress quickly. .”

Xue Bai followed his words and asked, "Brother, do you have any ideas?"

"Pei Gong has made great contributions to the river east salt tax, so he can move to doctor Guanglu. Wang Yu has been spying on the position of doctor censor for a long time, hoping to exchange red robes for purple robes. Coincidentally, I have a good relationship and have friendship with them all. , this matter is almost settled."

It can be seen that Pei Kuan has nowhere to go in his official career.Although Xue Bai helped him unite with Yang Dang and made contributions, when the time came to share the profits, even Yang Dang was planning to let him hand over the real power of Yushitai and move him to a vain position.

There is no way, the more people expect Pei Kuan to speak for Hedong in the court, the more the emperor will be afraid and suppress him.

Now that things have nothing to do with ability or character, it is impossible for this person to stand out.There is still a way to survive if you take a false position and become an official official. Otherwise, when the foundation of Anlu Mountain is more stable, I am afraid that you will die.

Xue Bai sighed slightly, nodded his head, and said: "After Wang Ji puts on the purple robe, brother wants to seek the position of Yushi Zhongcheng?"

"Yes." When Yang Zhao said that he was getting up, his vulgarity appeared again, and he said, "At this time, Zahu came out and wanted to take the position of Doctor Yushi."

"This rascal." Xue Bai scolded, "Then the Jiedushi of his two towns will be resigning?"

"Naturally, it's concurrent. It's always been about seizing power, how can it be delegated?"

This is how Li Longji employs people. He likes to centralize power, and often allows trusted officials to hold multiple positions. For example, Li Linfu and Wang Huo both hold more than [-] positions.

Yang Zhao is not bad either. He has held several jobs within a year, changing from green robe, green robe to light red robe, and now he wants to change to dark red robe.

Sometimes Xue Bai thinks about it, besides gaining a little fame, contacts, holy family, and the identity of the noble concubine's brother-in-law, he is just a white body so far. He has worked so hard and won not as many as Yang Zhao.

"Zahu is too greedy, eating what's in the pot, and even reaching into the bowls of Wang Hao and elder brother?"

"That's right." Yang Zhao slapped his knees and said angrily, "Miscellaneous Hu bullies you and my brother like this, you should give him some color! Ah Bai, you have a lot of news, do you know the details of the murder case of Fan Yang's powerful soldier?"

"This matter is no small matter, it is advisable not to get involved."

Xue Bai still acted like he had nothing to do with himself, and leaned back, but he was a little wary in his heart.

Zhang Ting, Yang Hui, and Yang Zhao all came to ask him one after another, explaining that he had done a poor job of "staying out of the matter", which made it obvious that he was involved in this matter.

One is that he is really too showy, and the other is that someone with a heart already suspected that he was the son of Xue Ruo, with power hidden behind him.

Sure enough, Yang Zhao decided that he knew something, leaned closer, and said in a low voice: "Can you still not trust me as a brother? If you know something, it will come out of your mouth and into my ears, and I will never let others hear it."

"Why do you think I know something, bro?"

"If that wasn't the case, why did you ask Sanniang to stop Zahu from recognizing his relatives last night?"

"Okay." Xue Bai had no choice but to tell the truth, "In April, I built a huge stone cannon and gave it to Wang Zhongsi, the Jiedu envoy of the Four Towns. We talked about Zahu, and Wang Zhongsi thought that Zahu's shape had been reversed. There are many evils in the liver and gallbladder, and there will be chaos sooner or later."

"Really?" Yang Zhao did go to know about An Lushan, and said, "Zhang Jiuling also said that."

"No matter what, the two generals in the border town are not in harmony. Presumably Zahu is also extremely afraid of General Wang."

Yang Zhao suddenly realized, and said: "No wonder, Zahu killed the Huihe people under Donggong's subordinates as soon as he arrived in Chang'an, so it was to deal with Wang Zhongsi."

"That's right, Shuofang is the closest to Huihe, Genu will use this to frame Wang Zhongsi."

"Ah Bai is worthy of being the brains of the Yang family. I knew there would be no mistakes today." Yang Zhao laughed, and said in a deep voice, "Wang Zhongcheng has the duty to monitor all the officials. How could he ignore the mischief?"

"This matter has nothing to do with us, and Wang Ji is also a disciple of Ge Nu, how could he take action against An Lushan?" Xue Bai shook his head and said: "We can't control it, it's better not to cause trouble."

Yang Zhao only cared about being promoted and didn't care about other things. His eyes rolled, and he planned to make Wang Ji sue An Lushan.

And it is because he is also under the right minister that it is useful to sue, and he has already thought about the words, "How can you let a shameless fat pig climb on Wang Zhongcheng's head?"

~~
After seeing off the guests, Xue Bai sat alone in the hall thinking for a while.

An Lushan will still be in the court for at least one or two months, during which time he and the East Palace will definitely attack each other, and now with the two troublemakers Wang Ji and Yang Zhao, it is considered evenly matched.

He doesn't care about who wins and who loses, the only thing he wants to do is to protect Pei Kuan and Wang Zhongsi.

Regardless of selfishness aside, Pei Kuan is the person who is most likely to worship the prime minister among the big clan in Hedong today. Even if his future is cut off, he should not be forced too much. It is really unnecessary to deliberately intensify local conflicts just because of the bad court atmosphere; Zhong Si is attacking Shibao City, which involves the entire situation in the northwest, and he is the person who can hold down Anlu Mountain the most. It is even more wrong to destroy it rashly, destroy the Great Wall, and cut off his arms.

Sometimes he doesn't know what Li Longji thinks, if he is really afraid, he shouldn't tie the power of the four towns to one person.As a result, the power was given, and Li Linfu and An Lushan were allowed to deal with Wang Zhongsi crazily.

To put it bluntly, it is a superstitious belief in centralization, treating ministers like women, pampering them when they like them, and being ruthless when they are tired of them.Trample the system, do whatever you want, everything depends on one person's preferences.

Xue Bai couldn't help it either, he had tried his best, but he could only cure the symptoms, not the root cause.He has done too much intrigue, and it is time to restrain himself.

It's better to take advantage of this dog-eat-dog time to do something of your own, which will help to change the bad things in the family and country in the future.

……

"Huh? Cousin really came to see you?" Yang Yuyao turned to the hall and said with a smile, "Could it be because you have caused something serious again?"

"Even the third sister said that." Xue Bai said: "He just wants to seek an official and ask me for advice. After all, I am now the brains of the Yang family."

"Third sister, you are tall, and there is no outsider here. They want to see how many things you have in your think tank."

Joking aside, Yang Yuyao also has something serious to say, and said: "Just now Yuhuan sent someone here to praise you specially. It is said that there are few men in the Yang family, and the brothers are not good enough, so I need your help in the future."

"With the honor and favor of the Yang family today, why do I need help? It is because I have received too much protection from my sisters." Xue Bai said: "In the future, if I can make some long-term plans for the Yang family, it will be a chance for me to repay my kindness."

"It's sweet." Yang Yuyao whispered in his ear, "It's repayment for you to treat me well."

"I have business to talk to Third Sister, how about we start another business?"

"Is there still a good industry? Don't discuss the salt law, just talk about the profit of Fengwei Building for a year. Now in Chang'an City, few people can compete with me."

Yang Yuyao is indeed greedy for money, not only has property and filial piety in her hands, but also extorts money by acting as a matchmaker for princes and princesses; she is also lustful, so Xue Bai is fascinated by her.

At this time, talking about these things with this beautiful young man who made money for her, her eyes could not help but shine, and she was very happy.

"I also gave Yuhuan [-]% of Fengweilou's income as a fan, otherwise you think she thinks you are so light-hearted?"

Xue Bai said: "This time the industry is not making money, but the stability in the future."

"Ok?"

"To put it simply, we can set up a bookstore, make paper, publish it, sell the story of the monkey first, and then sell some imperial examination books."

"You want to open a bookstore, so what's the point? Just open it." Yang Yuyao knew that it was not a very lucrative industry, and she lacked interest. The rare thing is that she knew Xue Bai's intentions when she said this, and said: "If You need capital, you ask Guan Deng to ask for it, and still use the name of Mrs. Guo Guo's house to see who dares to trouble you."

She is worthy of being called "the male fox", and she agreed quite boldly and straightforwardly, which saved Xue Bai a lot of talking.

"Then I'll do it."

"Huh?" Yang Yuyao snorted softly, "How about doing something else first?"

"Third sister, the relationship between you and me is different now, it's better to respect yourself."

Seeing his serious appearance, Yang Yuyao found it interesting, she reached out and asked, "What a monster, is this your self-respect?"

"Respect yourself."

Yang Yuyao found it even more funny, but she didn't expect Xue Bai to take last night's sworn brotherhood seriously, she couldn't help but gradually became anxious, worried that if she helped him, she would lose money.

"Don't make trouble."

"It's the third sister who should stop making trouble, there should be no breaking the rules between siblings."

"Okay." Yang Yuyao bit her lips unwillingly, leaned into Xue Bai's ear and said softly, "Don't make trouble, okay? Good brother."

"..."

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon seems to be rounder.

~~
Three or two days later, Xue Bai returned to the Du residence.

What happened at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet has been spread among officials. Although the specific impact is unknown, it can be felt a little bit from some small things.

For example, Lu Fengniang became more enthusiastic about being a matchmaker.

"Fortunately, this child is up to the challenge. My brother and sister-in-law came here to make amends, saying that they misbelieved the rumors and misunderstood you. Now they still want to marry their daughter to you, after all, it depends on your will."

"My nephew is very grateful for my aunt's kindness. It's just that the sisters-in-law have said that they want to arrange a marriage for me, so I'm afraid it's not easy to talk about marriage without authorization."

Lu Fengniang regretted not being able to get closer to Xue Bai, and now that the matter has come to an end, she can only scold her brother and sister-in-law for being too unfulfilling, for losing such a good son-in-law.

In addition, although I wanted to ask whether Xue Bai and Mrs. Guo Guo were innocent, it was not easy to ask about such matters.What was even more difficult to speak was that the two daughters still liked to run into Xue Bai's room.

……

"Bookstore?"

When Du Jin heard Xue Bai's plan, she first frowned slightly.

She is too busy, Fengwei Building is expanding rapidly.

Xue Bai had thought about it a long time ago, and asked, "How about leaving the matter of the bookstore to my mother-in-law?"

Every time Du Yan heard him address like this, she felt a little flustered, especially in front of her younger sister.But as far as business is concerned, she is very interested in the bookstore.

"That's fine." Du Jin said, "I can manage the Fengweilou. The bookstore is just a start-up, and Daxi can help the elder sister."

Afterwards, Xue Bai expressed his thoughts on the matter.

"We don't want to make money in this matter, and it doesn't matter even if we lose money. The important thing is to improve the papermaking and printing process, and reduce the cost of reading. The benefits may not be seen in the short term. My long-term goal is to gradually control public opinion. In addition, there will be More poor students benefit from this, and reading is no longer a privilege of the family, and over the years, these poor students can become a new force..."

Du Jin faintly sensed that this was a serious matter, but she didn't think much about it at this moment, she just felt that he was so noble.

Du Yu didn't think much about it, and listened carefully to Xue Bai's words, and asked, "I'll go to Dongshi to inquire about it tomorrow, how about buying a few bookstores and paper mills directly?"

She looks gentle and soft, but in fact she has been in charge of Fengweilou's accounts all the time, and she has a lot of money under her hands. When she really does things, she is quite bold.

Only then did Xue Bai look at it with admiration, and said: "Okay, I have some experience in craftsmanship. Next, I will point out the way to improve the craftsmanship..."

After discussing the outline of the plan, the Du sisters went back to their room. It was night, but they didn't come back.

But only at noon the next day, Du Yi had a clue about the bookstore.

"I asked someone to inquire in Dongshi. People who can open bookstores usually have a lot of background, but there happens to be a merchant who plans to sell the shop. How about going to see it together?"

"Did you find out so quickly?"

"Er Niang sent a box of food yesterday evening and asked Daxi to send someone to inquire about it."

Du Yi led Xue Bai into the carriage, talking carefully all the way.

"The merchant's name is Jiang Cheng. He is from Sichuan and Shu. He started his business as a paper maker. He opened a shop in Dongshi and has a workshop in the backyard. He originally supplied white rattan paper for the imperial court's official documents. In recent years, the imperial court has reduced paper consumption several times. His business plummeted, so he decided to sell Chang'an property..."

Saying this, the carriage jolted a bit, and the two sat close to each other. Du Ti fell into Xue Bai's arms, and he hugged her.

She was wearing men's clothing today, but it was just for the convenience of traveling. It was obvious that she was a gentle and beautiful woman with a faint fragrance on her body. Because she was not used to being so close during the day, she lowered her head.

"Why didn't you come over last night?"

"Don't talk about this." Du Yan panicked, wanted to avoid it, hesitated for a while, but leaned in Xue Bai's arms, and said softly: "I didn't come to you just for fun, but because... I have you in my heart." .”

Since the acquaintance, she has only said this one sentence of love, but she expresses her heart very clearly. In short, she doesn't want to make him too tired, and hopes to help him a little more.

After that, she tidied her clothes a little, held Xue Bai's hand, and continued talking.

"The reason why the imperial court reduces paper consumption every year is because official documents and imperial edicts only use white rattan paper, and the paper mills cut down ancient rattan paper. The rarer the raw material, the higher the price, so there is a shortage of paper. Nowadays, white rattan paper is often used as a tribute from Yingzhou, Hangzhou and other places. Twisted, row-twisted, and rattan paper are still expensive. But folks mostly use jute paper, kudzu paper, and bamboo paper.”

"Is there any bamboo paper?" Xue Bai asked doubtfully, "I don't see it often."

"Yes, it's just that the bamboo paper is poor and unrefined. If you want to print books, you have to choose expensive white rattan paper..."

While the two were talking, the carriage drove into the East Market and turned to Quxiang where books were sold.

Xue Bai lifted the curtain and looked, and almost everyone who came to buy books was the son of a high school with his maidservant and servant.Even poor families can't afford to read books these days, let alone ordinary people.

It's time to start changing little by little. The process will be slow and gentle, but everything in the world requires a lot of patience.

　It's the transitional and foreshadowing chapter again, and I write slowly.It's late again today, Chapter 2 is still being written, it's not that fast, don't wait~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)