Chapter 27 The Four Great Palaces

The contract was concluded and the tea was almost finished.

Zhou Yi was preparing to say goodbye.

Shopkeeper He was squirming, with a look of hope on his face.

"Businessman, is there any more of this Taoist scripture? I really like this word and am willing to buy a copy at a high price."

The ancients regarded calligraphy as an art. Many calligraphers failed to succeed despite repeated attempts, and even though they were in small and powerful positions, they were respected by the world.

Calligraphers can use all kinds of methods for the calligraphy they like, such as stealing books, threatening to jump into a river, digging graves to steal books, and leaving many allusions.

There is a long way between Zhouyi and calligraphy masters, but they are also rare in having good calligraphy. In terms of imitation ability and elegant temperament, who can compare with the monks.

It takes a day to copy a volume of Taoism. How much does it cost?

Three to five taels is not worth it, and one hundred and eighty taels is too evil. Zhou Yi wants to do long-term business.

When Shopkeeper He saw Zhou Yi brooding in silence, he thought it was causing displeasure. He said regretfully, "I'm too abrupt. How can a layman's calligraphy smell like copper..."

"How many rolls does the shopkeeper plan to have?"

Zhou Yi smiled and said: "Can you sell a volume every day?"

"Is the layman willing to sell his calligraphy?"

Shopkeeper He looked surprised. Many scholars who are conceited about their talents believe that calligraphy cannot be associated with the smell of copper, otherwise it will be worthless.

"Living in Kyoto is not easy. More than ten years have passed, and I still live in an inn. Recently I plan to buy a small courtyard."

The Book of Changes originally had the intention of copying books and selling them. Zhuangyuantang's business level was extraordinary, and its customers were all literati in Kyoto. If you let them operate it, the price will definitely not be bad.

After all, the inn is crowded and many things are inconvenient.

"Don't worry, layman, your handwriting can be used as a copybook to copy a volume of Taoist scriptures..."

Shopkeeper He calculated for a moment and said, "I can sell at least ten taels."

"Okay, every three or five days, I will send you the scroll."

The corner of Zhou Yi's mouth curled up slightly. I am indeed extremely talented. I am able to achieve what I am today only because of my own efforts.

The torturer said that the sale would only cost a few hundred taels, and there was still the possibility of being sold off. He copied Taoist scriptures every day, and if he worked hard in a few years, he could buy a house in Kyoto.

It’s easier to make money by doing art!

"Shopkeeper He, I need to trouble you more in the future."

"The layman was joking."

Shopkeeper He complimented: "This sutra copybook will become a major feature of Zhuangyuan Hall in the future. You won't be able to visit it more than once."

"Haha, farewell. Let's talk about it another day."

"Let's talk about it another day."

Everything is over, everyone has their own gains, and they part ways.

When Zhou Yi left Zhuangyuan Hall, he didn't go to the Ministry of Things to order mao. He first went to the West Market and bought a large yellow-skinned gourd.

All the way to the outside of the city, I asked passers-by where Cuifeng Mountain was. When I walked to a deserted place, I turned into a light-escape flight.

Escape is an indispensable skill for monks to travel home, kill people, set fires, and hunt and escape. Master a mysterious escape method, and the speed is far faster than your peers. You can use your discretion when fighting, and even a high-level strong person can do nothing.

As long as your escape method flies fast, you can look back and shout: A first-grade strong man, nothing more than that!

Zhou Yi mastered many escape techniques, most of which were mediocre in speed and had no special attributes.

The escape method being used now is called the Five Elements Escape Technique. It was obtained by killing a demon from the side sect of the Yizi Prison, and can travel through the five elements of the acquired world.

Escape from the earth and enter water, walk through fire and travel through metal, and pass through forests and trees. These are already rare and wonderful techniques.

Of course, it is far inferior to Tu Xingsun's Earth Escape Technique. Not to mention the great magical power of pointing the ground into steel, ordinary restricted formations can block the Five Elements Escape Technique.

Cuiwei Mountain is more than a hundred miles away from the capital, and Zhou Yi arrived at the top of the mountain in a short time.

Ordinary people looking for the spring water at the source of Bibotan have to trace it back slowly for a long time except for the marked location.

Zhou Yi stood on the top of the mountain and used Zhanzhan Qi Technique to observe the terrain of the mountain. Within a moment, he discovered where the water aura was strongest.

There is a clear spring in the crevice of the stone, gurgling water, and a stone tablet is erected not far away.

Two big characters are inscribed on one side of the stone tablet: Qinquan.

On the other side are a few lines of small characters: The wise like water, the benevolent like mountains, and the joy of mountains and rivers lies in a spring. It started with the stubborn determination to break through mountains and rocks, but ended up with the ability to stop at the right time...

The fonts are made of iron and painted with silver hooks, giving it an awe-inspiring aura.

It's a pity that someone seems to have deliberately erased the last few words, making them unclear. I don't know which scholar left them.

Zhou Yi waved his hand and took out a handful of spring water from the spring hole in the stone crack to taste.

It is cold and sweet, and contains spiritual energy that is several times richer than Zhuangyuantang's. However, the spring water in Zhuangyuan Hall is usually stored in urns, and its spiritual energy will dissipate over time.

Zhou Yi had a good drink first, took the yellow-skinned gourd from his waist, and filled it with spring water.

When I arrived at the Ministry of Finance for duty, it was already past five o'clock, probably around 10:30 in the morning.

Zhang Cheng was sleeping soundly on the chair and opened his eyes when he heard the sound.

Zhou Yi put the yellow-skinned gourd on the table: "Brother Zhang, this is the spiritual spring of Cuifeng Mountain. You always use well water on weekdays and waste good tea in vain."

"What do you know, Lao Zhang? What I drink is not tea!"

Zhang Cheng opened the gourd lid and took a sniff. He immediately smiled and said, "I'm serious about it. It turns out to be Qinquan water."

"Brother Zhang also knows about Qinquan. There is a stone tablet next to it. The words on it are quite interesting. Do you know who left it?"

Along the way, Zhou Yi thought about the meaning of the inscription and the charm of the calligraphy, and increasingly felt that the person who left the inscription was extraordinary.

"You don't care who keeps it, it's not a good thing anyway. Would a serious person leave his name everywhere?"

Zhang Cheng snorted and took out the tea set like a magic trick. It was a set of purple teapots that he had never seen before.

Storage artifact.

Zhou Yi expressed that he was very greedy, but unfortunately he couldn't afford it.

A house in Kyoto costs three to five thousand taels, and I can still work hard. For the time being, I can only envy the priceless storage magic tools.

Zhou Yi kept comforting himself in his heart: "When I learn the magic of the earth and the art of the pot, I will not look down on the storage magic tools."

...

Shopkeeper He is very efficient. The book that Zhou Yi needs to bind is ready in two days.

The best master craftsman in Zhuangyuan Hall carefully binds it.

"The Punisher's Talk" has also been proofread by someone, and no word is deleted or changed in one article, and it has entered the subsequent typesetting and printing stage.

Zhou Yi expressed his satisfaction and gave the two newly copied Taoist scriptures to Shopkeeper He.

Shopkeeper He immediately said that he would definitely invite a few calligraphy masters to appreciate it, and build a reputation first, and the price could be doubled.

Half a month passed in a blink of an eye.

The freshly baked "The Punisher's Talk" was put on sale.

In ancient society, communication was backward and there was little mobility of people. If the bookstore could only sell books by setting up stalls, the customers of Zhuangyuantang would be mostly scholars in Kyoto, and it would also face competition from many bookstores.

The owner of Zhuangyuantang took a different approach. Relying on his excellent relationship with many scholars, the book sales channels were no longer limited to bookstores.

Whenever a new book was printed and published, it would be sent free of charge to several familiar government offices, as well as the most important Jixia Academy.

The four major academies in Dagan, Jixia Academy in Luojing, Yujing Academy in Hongzhou, Longchuan Academy in Wuzhou, and Bailu Academy in Jiangzhou, the latter three are all in the southern prefectures, and only Jixia Academy is in the north.

In the court, the number of officials from Jixia Academy is equal to the sum of the other three, which is enough to show its influence.

Students brought new books to the academy and sent them to the desks of various doctoral professors and teachers. After reading them, they would comment on whether the book was good or bad.

The good reviews of the teachers in Jixia Academy, this alone, was enough to become a selling point for books.

The teachers in the academy were also willing to write reviews for good books. Their reviews were sold well and flowed into the hands of readers everywhere, which was a way to become famous.

When encountering a book of excellent quality, the doctors in the academy would compete to write reviews, and even great scholars would write prefaces.

The preface writers of the books that are passed down through the ages also took advantage of it, just like the friends of the immortal poets who were famous for thousands of years.

The principal of the Jixia Academy once wrote a preface for a volume of "New Edition of the Five Classics" published by Zhuangyuan Hall. More than ten years later, it is still one of the best-selling books on the market.

Yan Yuanzheng's reputation directly overshadowed the principals of the other three academies.