[Red Chamber] Madam's wishes come true

"type?"

"It's movable type printing," Daiyu said with a smile, "It is said that it is different from our Dayang's engraving printing and wooden movable type. Sister Li's husband uses our Dayang's local copper movable type, ceramic movable type, wooden movable type and other materials. And the advantages and disadvantages of some overseas metal movable type, and finally selected a metal material that is very suitable for movable type printing. I have forgotten the specific name, but I only know that it is a newly discovered metal overseas.”

Lin Kou suddenly asked, "Do you want to do movable type printing?"

Daiyu nodded: "My family's books and those test papers are just kept at home. To be honest, no one reads them. I read books slowly, and I can only read one book in a few days. My father and mother are very busy, so I don't have much time for reading." Not much, how much can the three of us see?"

"But books are for people to read when they are written." She smiled shyly, "I just thought, if I were the author of those books, I must hope that the books I wrote after all my hard work can be read." Let more people see it."

Daiyu likes to read books very much, even when she is in the environment of being under the fence of the original novel of A Dream of Red Mansions, most of the time when she appears, she has one or two books in her hand or at hand.

When Grandma Liu went to visit her room, she also admired her for not having many expensive items but a room full of books. She even mentioned to Jia Mu that if she hadn't known in advance, she would have thought that Daiyu's room was It's a man full of economics living here.

Daiyu's love for books is absolutely unmatched by others.

Because of this, it is very easy for her to empathize with the characters in the book, and even the author of the book.

And what Daiyu said is also true. In ancient times, writing a book and setting up a biography was a very serious matter, and many people were often middle-aged and old when they wrote books.

How could they write books at such an age just for their own entertainment?That must be to hope that my book can be known by more people, and can be circulated for a longer period of time, preferably through the ages, so that my name can be known along with the book.

It can be regarded as an alternative, leaving a name in history.

There are very few people who are qualified to write books, and very few of them can stand the test of time and have been handed down to this day.And if you continue to hide the book, it might be lost if you are not careful, that would be a pity.

So Daiyu really wants to print her own book collection so that more people can see it.

But she doesn't know anything about business. Although Jia Min can manage the shop, and the Lin family has the most books and farms, but...

The business of the Lin family's bookstores is not very good.

Although there are a complete range of books, but because they have never managed scripts and do not understand marketing, most bookstores everywhere can only maintain a balance of income and expenditure, and barely make a little money.

So Jia Min didn't plan to intervene too much.

Jia Min didn't intervene, and Daiyu couldn't force Jia Min to help, so she could only try to ask people she knew, that is, these people who appeared in Lin's house now.

It is worth mentioning that Daiyu and Xue Baochai are not very familiar with each other.

Xue Baochai was brought here by Tanchun.

Because when the Xue family lived in Rongguo Mansion, Tanchun was very close to her, so even though the Xue family lived in Rongguo Mansion for a short time, Tanchun knew that the real head of the Xue family was actually Xue Baochai.

Although it is a book business, it is also a business, isn't it?

Finding Xue Baochai was also the right person.

Daiyu and Xue Baochai did not hit it off, after all, their personalities were almost completely opposite, and when they first met, they were more tentative than close.

But after getting along, Daiyu and Xue Baochai soon became as close as sisters.

After all, when Xue Baochai wants to please someone, it is very difficult for someone to refuse.

Xue Baochai is indeed the one who knows the most about business among all the people: "Sister Lin's idea is very good, but I can ask, why did you choose movable type instead of woodblock printing? My family also opened a bookshop before. , but almost all books use engraving instead of movable type, not because movable type is bad, but because this printing method has many disadvantages. Although the cost of engraving is more, after the final evaluation, I still chose engraving.”

"Furthermore, Sister Wakabayashi wants to print books in large quantities, and woodblock printing is more cost-effective than movable type printing."

Before Daiyu could speak, Lin Kou smiled and said, "Daiyu shouldn't have told you how many books she plans to print, right?"

Xue Baochai was taken aback for a moment, then nodded: "It should be... one or two hundred copies, right?"

Although the Lin family has a large collection of books, many books must be common in the market. There is no need to print out such books, after all, every bookstore outside has them.

Xue's family used to be regarded as the family of officials, and there were many books in the family.

If it weren't for this, it would be impossible for Xue Baochai to know so much knowledge at a young age.

But Xue Baochai mostly read miscellaneous books, and those miscellaneous books are also available in every bookstore, and many of them are still selling well in bookshops, so when Xue's family went to Beijing, they didn't bring them with them at all.

She didn't quite understand how "a lot" "the Lin family has a lot of books".

So, Daiyu took the people directly to the small library where she was taken.

Of course it is impossible to bring so many people in.

Daiyu just stood in front of the small building with all her sisters, pointed to the small building and said: "This small building is where my family used to store books. Most of the ordinary books are kept in my father's or my study room, and here are Books that are uncommon or even unavailable in the market.”

Everyone: "!!!"

Xue Baochai instantly understood why Daiyu wanted to print with movable type.

If you want to print so many books and use woodblock printing, the cost alone is an astronomical figure.But these books are basically not required for the imperial examination, and the sales volume will definitely not be very good after printing. Printing with engraving is completely losing money!

Even if the Lin family is not short of money and wants more people to read these books, it is impossible to pay for it by themselves!

The Lin family is not a fool.

Furthermore, if the Lin family really lost money and made money, the emperor should suspect what Lin Ruhai was trying to win the hearts of the people.

No need, no need at all.

Movable type printing is the best solution.

After figuring this out, Xue Baochai immediately used his brains to plan for Daiyu: "In the beginning, I definitely couldn't think of printing all the books. Sister Lin, you can choose a few books that are famous but have been lost. Fame, and then publish a few books a month. At the beginning, it is enough to print only one or two hundred copies of each book, and after the books are all printed, we will see which books sell better, and then repeat the printing.”

Lin Kou thought for a while and added, "Daiyu, you can make a table for the book store under the name of the Lin family to record the monthly sales of each book, and then draw a column chart based on the time when each book is sold out. , all books appear side by side, and the popularity is clear at a glance."

Daiyu was at a loss: "A form?"

Xue Baochai was puzzled: "Histogram?"

Others looked at Lin Kou, also full of doubts.

Lin Kou paused, and said simply: "Let's go back first, let someone bring a pen and paper, and I will draw it for you. You will know what a table is and what a histogram is at a glance. In addition to the histogram, there are fan charts and various graphs. There are two kinds of graphs, these graphs are for better comparison of various data, each graph has its own advantages and disadvantages, the specific choice depends on which one is more suitable."

A group of little girls became curious in an instant, and they couldn't wait to go back to the place where they discussed things without Daiyu leading the way.

When Lin Kou arrived, the pen, ink, paper and inkstone were all ready.

She glanced around dumbfoundedly, shook her head, sat down in her seat, picked up the brush and started to draw: "The brush is too soft, so I definitely can't draw neatly and neatly. You just need to understand the general meaning."

After speaking, draw a few lines horizontally and vertically, and a simple form full of squares is ready.

Lin Kou drew a slash from top left to bottom right on the first square, writing the title and month of the book respectively.The first line writes last month, and the first column writes a few books randomly.

Then he pushed the form to the center of the table and said: "It's probably like this. Just send this form to each bookstore, and then just ask the shopkeeper to fill in the numbers in each box. For example, the first line The first column should be filled with the sales volume of "The Analects of Confucius" in the first month, the first row and the second column should be the sales volume of "The Analects of Confucius" in the second month, and the second row and the first column should be "The Analects of Confucius". The sales volume of Sun Tzu's Art of War in the first month, the third row and the first column are the sales volume of "Book of Rites" in the first month... By analogy, the sales volume of each book per month is very large. Clear, it is impossible to make a mistake unless you are careful."

"Of course, if you want to publish all the books in the Lin family's collection, it is estimated that it will be impossible to complete it in a few years." Lin Kou laughed, "So you can add another line on top of the first line, or leave a line without adding it. A blank space is fine, and then directly write the year of the year."

"This is a very basic form, and it can only record relatively simple data. But if necessary, you can design a form based on this form that can record more complex data, as long as it can be more clearly If you understand the data and there is no data duplication and confusion, then it is a qualified form.”

Although these little girls had never touched the form, they were all extremely smart people. After Lin Kou explained it, they instantly understood the beauty of the form.

Xue Baochai understood the table better than others, so she asked a little eagerly: "What about the histogram and other graphs that Sister Kou mentioned earlier?"

Lin Kou smiled, and took out another blank sheet of paper: "The table is mainly for recording data, and the various graphs are for comparing various data and the pros and cons of each element."

She drew the xy axis on the white paper, and then wrote the names of several books at equal distances on the x axis, and wrote the numbers on the y axis: "For example, the number of all books is the same, and there are only two hundred , then these numbers are the time to sell [-] copies. For example, "The Analects of Confucius" is sold out in one month, then we will draw a dotted line from here to the place of "The Analects of Confucius", and then draw according to this dotted line A rectangle."

"It's the same for other books." Lin Kou said with a smile, "In this way, we can judge which book sells the fastest according to the length of the pillars of each book. The shorter the pillars, the faster the sales."

Soon, she introduced other types of charts, and finally concluded: "These charts have their own advantages and disadvantages, and you can choose the appropriate chart according to your specific needs."

Daiyu hugged Lin Kou happily: "Sister Kou, you are so amazing, I couldn't think of these charts."

Lin Kou laughed, "I didn't invent this."

"That's amazing too," Xue Baochai said seriously, "Sister Kou is the one who knows these charts because she is well-informed. Like us, we never knew that there are such useful charts in this world."

After a pause, Xue Baochai looked sad, "If I had known about the existence of these charts, my business..."

It will not be so defeated that you have to sell all of them.

Because there is no income, they can only sit and eat. The current living standard of the Xue family has fallen to the level of a well-off society. The maids and other servants have been cut down. Every time they eat, they don’t care about the defense of men and women, but the whole family sits at the table together. It’s eaten on the table, and each meal is only four dishes and one soup. It’s really...

Xue Baochai originally had lofty ambitions, but now she has to worry about making a living.

If not, she would not try to enter the Lin family and put down her figure to please Lin Daiyu.It's just a hope to find a backer for the Xue family.

but……

If possible, who is willing to put down their figure to please others?She was also raised by her father in the palm of his hand, and she had never suffered hardships or hardships before.

As long as her elder brother Xue Pan is a success, as long as her brother Xue Pan is not so easy to fool, and the family books are not messed up, as long as she got these charts before Xue's accident, as long as...

Xue Baochai shook her head and didn't think any more.

The girls looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing what to say for a while.

The four major families fell one after another, but only the Xue family was the weakest, so that when the other three families were ransacked one after another, they survived intact, and the final result was even worse than the other three families.

Sanchun and Shi Xiangyun can still live the life of a small rich family at any rate, and the males in the family are not hopeless, but the Xue family really has no possibility of recovery at all, because with Xue Pan, the Xue family can only Sitting and eating the mountains and empty eyes helplessly and can't find a way out.

Xue Baochai realized that other sisters were sympathizing with her, so she quickly changed the subject with a smile: "Sister Lin, if she uses this chart well, she will know which cost to control. I won't say how much money I will make, but at least I won't lose money." And if the scholars all over the world know that the Lin family is willing to publish the books in the family, apart from other things, the future imperial examinations of sister Lin's younger brothers will be much smoother."

Daiyu wanted to facilitate this matter out of sheer whim, and never thought of profiting from it.

But it would be a surprise if it could pave the way for the future of the younger brothers.She hurriedly dragged Lin Kou and Xue Baochai to discuss other details of the business.

Sanchun and Shi Xiangyun also enthusiastically advised her, but Wang Xifeng looked at Xue Baochai thoughtfully, as if thinking of something.

Lin Kou looked up, attracting Wang Xifeng to look over. The two looked at each other and smiled.

This matter cannot be discussed in a day or two, so Lin Kou and Daiyu made an appointment, so they took their leave and went home.

Halfway there, she suddenly realized one thing——

The Lin family wanted to print and sell their own collection of books and test questions. She and Zhen Fu didn't need to send people to the Lin family to copy the contents of those books. They could wait for the books and test questions to be printed and buy them directly!

And because the imperial examination stipulates that examinees must use Guange style to answer questions, so some books and examination questions sold by the bookshops do not use Song style, which is easier to carve, but Guange style.

In this way, when Zhen Fu's treatment reached the later stage, wouldn't she no longer have to worry about the exam papers?

but……

Is this a bit of a coincidence?

Lin Kou frowned and thought about it, remembering that one day before, he suddenly lost weight without making a wish.

Although, what she made a wish at that time should have a photocopier?

But even though she doesn't have a copier now, she no longer needs a copier, does she?In a way, her wish was fulfilled?

Combining today's events, Lin Kou can almost confirm that the sudden weight loss back then was indeed related to making a wish.

Thinking of this, Lin Kou couldn't help laughing: "This is convenient."

After returning, Lin Kou told Zhen Fu what happened to the Lin family.

Zhen Fu sighed: "I didn't expect Cousin Lin to be such a selfless person. It's just that there are few rich people and even fewer people who love books. I'm afraid Cousin Lin will be disappointed in the end."

Lin Kou looked at Zhen Fu: "How could you be disappointed? As long as one person buys it, it won't be considered a waste if the book is printed. If you think about it, Daiyu won't feel disappointed. Instead, she will feel that she has helped the author of the book and let his book be printed. The book has been seen by more people."

Zhen Fu paused and smiled: "Yes, even if only one person buys it, Cousin Lin has achieved her goal."

Lin Kou sighed: "I hope that the Lin family can earn more money. People who do good deeds should be rewarded accordingly. Even though Ms. Xue said that this matter will help Shan brothers in their future imperial examinations, but That will be more than ten years later, who knows if there will be anyone who will appreciate the Lin family's actions?"

Feelings are easy to fade and disappear with time, who can guarantee what will happen after more than ten years?

Lin Kou still prefers to get benefits immediately.

With enough benefits, the Lin family's book publishing business will not be abandoned halfway, will it?

Otherwise, in the middle of publishing the book, Lin Ruhai found out that it was too bad, and Lin Ruhai stopped it directly?This is not impossible!

Furthermore, this incident was mostly caused by her own wish. She couldn't just watch the Lin family publish books and test questions because of her wish. In the end, except for her reputation, her busy work was completely in vain, right?

But Zhen Fu didn't understand this aspect, so he could only shake his head: "The Lin family will definitely make money. Even if not many people buy those books, the test papers published by the Lin family alone are enough to attract those scholars. As long as the Lin family produces more Exam papers, so many scholars, will definitely make the Lin family a lot of money."

The key test papers are basically needed by anyone who studies.

And every year, there will be many more scholars, and this business will continue to continue.

Zhen Fu was not worried at all that the Lin family would not be able to make money.

After hearing this, Lin Kou couldn't help thinking: "If you classify all the scholars in the world according to their academic achievements, what level do you think has the most scholars?"

This still needs to think?

Zhen Fu replied directly: "Naturally, they are scholars who have just come out of the enlightenment stage. The second is those who have already participated in the imperial examination but failed to get the honor; after that, they are Tongsheng, Xiucai, Juren, and Gongsheng. The least should be Jinshi."

"Yes!" Lin Kou smiled, "So if you want to make money from exam questions, the most important thing is not those of you who already have fame, but those scholars who have not yet achieved fame but have already reached a certain level."

For example, Tongsheng.

The exam questions for children's students are quite simple.

Lin Ruhai is busy with being an official, so it is impossible to help out with the questions, but Daiyu and Xue Baochai, two young girls who have read poetry and books, can definitely try to come up with questions!

It can pass time, make money, and get enough satisfaction.

If the position is stabilized in the future, if you expose yourself as the person who created the question, you may even earn yourself a good reputation.

Of course, in order to avoid someone criticizing the person who made the question by saying that ordinary people are not qualified to write it, it is best not to present this part of the test in the form of a test paper. If someone finds it useful, buy it, and if it's useless, you don't have to buy it.

Speaking of criticism...

The previous examination questions collected by the Lin family actually had such problems, and since Lin Ruhai was still an official, this problem should be avoided.

Lin Kou's eyes fell on Zhen Fu.

In fact, it can be made into "Five-Year Township Examination and Three-Year General Examination". Not only is the name catchy, but after breaking up and reorganizing the topics, it will not be caught by others——

After all, the content of the exam is only so much. Many dynasties can no longer find questions that have not been asked before in the later period. In order not to repeat themselves, some strange questions are created. A sentence is combined with a sentence from another book to form a "interception question".

The difficulty of this type of exam is never the answer, but...

Review questions.

In fact, it is very annoying, but there is no way.

There are always powerful and important ministers in the court who have a way to get the questions of previous years, and if these candidates who have done these questions and those who have not done the exam questions are asked to take the same question, they don't need to guess, and they will know the final result——

After all, since your parents have spent so much effort to find the exam questions for you, will they still not give you the answers after you finish?

Therefore, as for the test questions, as long as the content is still limited to the scope of the Four Books and Five Classics, everyone is likely to write the same questions.

Even if the DPRK and China criticize this, Lin Ruhai can completely refute it.

Lin Kou immediately wrote his thoughts into a letter, and asked Bai Shuang to send it to the Lin family.

But Lin Kou didn't know that Lin Ruhai, who she was worried about just now, was holding the picture she got from Daiyu to say, "Get a treasure!"

He didn't expect it at all. He just agreed to a small request from his daughter. He didn't even think that this matter would be successful. The matter of clinker gave him such a big surprise.

"Yu'er, don't be in a hurry. Give these charts to my father first, and I will return them to you after I copy them."

Daiyu was at a loss: "But father doesn't do business, what do you need these charts for?"

Lin Ruhai smiled wryly: "Yu'er forgot to be her father and now she is the Secretary of the Household Department? The Household Department is in charge of money and food in the world. It can be said that it is the biggest business in the world. The data is complicated and the accounts are numerous. If you are not careful, you will be deceived by the people below. And every time the accounts are settled at the end of the year, the officials of the household department, big and small, basically have to go crazy several times with those unclear and unreasonable data."

"However, with these charts it's different."

"If those data are organized into charts, not only the workload of the household department will be greatly reduced, but the possibility of us being deceived will also be reduced. This is a good thing that benefits the country and the people!"