Rebirth of Okuki Kofuro

Not only was it deserted in the afternoon of the first day, but no one came to the door for the next few days.

The shopkeeper and the waiter waited in a hurry, many pimples appeared on their faces, and they were almost unable to hold back. When they disobeyed the young master's order and went to the street to promote their library, a scholar in long robes finally came.

The young scholar looked a little cautious. He first browsed around the two rows of bookshelves in the library, opened almost every different book, and looked back at the shopkeeper from time to time, as if he was worried that he might read After a long time, you will be disgusted and urged by the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper who had been told many times by Liang Kangsheng obviously wouldn't do that. He noticed the nervousness of this hard-won customer, so he lowered his head and fiddled with the abacus, pretending to settle the accounts, and didn't say anything, which made the scholar relax a lot.

Then, the scholar seemed to have taken a fancy to two books in the library. He struggled with the two books for a while, and finally put down one of them, and took the other to the counter to pay the bill.

Standing outside the counter, the scholar seemed to touch his purse, and asked distressedly, "Shopkeeper, how much is this book?"

The shopkeeper has long been familiar with the books in his library, and he can understand the price of this book just by looking at the cover: "Scholar, this book is the annotations of the great scholars of the previous dynasty, and the paper and ink are all of the best quality, so It’s a little more expensive, one tael and eight qian.”

Just now the shopkeeper talked about the book in front of him, which made the scholar's heart tighten. A book like this usually costs about two taels of silver. Two taels of silver, what if it is not enough?

Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper said it was expensive, but the book only cost one tael and eight dollars. The scholar was overjoyed. The money he brought was not only enough to buy the book, but he also had two dollars left over to buy half a knife of paper, which is really great !

The scholar was about to take out his purse to pay the money, but unexpectedly, the shopkeeper blocked him with his hand, and asked kindly: "Scholar, may I ask you a question, just now you seem to have taken a fancy to two books and only chose this one. I don't know if the book is not to your liking or there is another reason?"

The shopkeeper saw that the corners of the robes worn by the scholar were washed white, and guessed that he didn't choose to buy two books because he was short of money, but asking so extravagantly was not humiliating, but the shopkeeper had other plans.

Seeing the scholar's nervous expression, the shopkeeper hurriedly explained: "The store has just opened, and the owner wants to know what kind of books you readers would be willing to buy, so I asked this extra question, and please don't blame the scholar."

Although the scholar is reserved, his eyes are clear and his facial features are upright. He is not a small-bellied person. After understanding the meaning of the shopkeeper of the library, he smiled shyly and bowed his hands to the shopkeeper: "Xiaosheng's surname is Tian. There is no special reason why I didn't choose that book. For the time being, there is only enough money to buy a book.”

"So that's it." The shopkeeper's expression became more kind, and he looked at Tian Shusheng with a smile, "Tian Shusheng, I have a proposal, I wonder if you have time to listen to it?"

Tian Shusheng had a good impression of Nanlou Library and the shopkeeper, and he was not in a hurry, so he just wanted to hear what the shopkeeper had to say: "All ears."

"Tian Shusheng, you can actually copy the books sold in the small shop on the desks and stools over there and take the copies away." The shopkeeper motioned Tian Shusheng to look at the neatly arranged desks and stools behind the bookcase.

Seeing Tian Shusheng's shocked expression, the shopkeeper continued: "Considering that the guests may not necessarily bring pens and inks with them when going out, the shop also provides pens, inks, paper and inkstones. If you are willing to copy the book yourself, why not try it?"

As he said that, the shopkeeper pointed to the small square sign hanging above the counter, similar to the dish signs hanging in restaurants and restaurants, on which the prices of pens, inks, papers and inkstones were written.

Tian Shusheng's throat was dry, his eyes were fixed on these small square cards without blinking, and the shopkeeper didn't speak to urge him, and waited patiently.

After the initial shock subsided, Tian Shusheng's brain began to move. Renting pens and inkstones cost five coins at a time, but ink and paper are different. Ink sticks come in three hundred and four hundred coins. There are three types of [-] Wen per piece, and [-] Wen per knife and [-] Wen per knife.

If he wants to copy these two books, the paper may cost a knife, and the cheapest one will cost four hundred cash, and the ink will not be used up. However, the ink stick cannot be sold in half like paper, so he can only buy one. What he usually used was 710 Wen a piece of ink, plus Wu Wen Zuo Pen and Wu Wen Ren Inkstone, could he copy two books for a total of [-] Wen?

After calculating this figure, Tian Shusheng was stupid again. He felt that the price was too cheap, and couldn't help wondering if he had made a mistake.

Seeing the scholar's expression changing several times, the shopkeeper probably thought he had figured it out, but before he made a decision, he put out all the pens, inks, papers and inkstones prepared by the library.

It is true that you can copy books and take them away without buying books!The moment Tian Shusheng saw these things, he was willing to believe it. His lips trembled with excitement, but he held back his excitement and then confirmed to the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, I want a piece of paper, a piece of ink, and rent a pen, a piece of ink. Inkstone, can you really copy the book and take it away?"

The attitude of the shopkeeper was the same as before: "No problem, the total is seven hundred and ten coins, and there is a deposit of fifty documents. Scholar Tian, ​​please remember to return the original book to the counter after copying, and the deposit of fifty coins will be refunded to you."

Tian Shusheng calmed down, and when he heard the shopkeeper say a deposit of 760 Wen, he thought that even if the [-] Wen was not returned to him, it would save a lot to spend [-] Wen to copy two books.

But if the shopkeeper is cheating, then he can’t get back the money he bought for paper and ink, but he needs to use paper and ink. If he can’t copy books after buying paper and ink, then he will have to go back to buy books. push back...

After hesitating for a moment, Tian Shusheng gritted his teeth and gave the money, took the things he bought and the other book he wanted to buy, sat on the table and stool behind the bookcase, and wrote vigorously.

Even if he didn't care about the clean layout of the two books, it would take a lot of time to finish copying them, and he was worried that the shopkeeper would drive him away at any time. Scholar Tian wrote very fast, and he finished one book after an hour, his hands and neck All stiff.

Just as he was changing books, the shopkeeper came over and surprised Tian Shusheng, but the shopkeeper did not intend to chase him away, but instead carried a tray with a small teapot and a teacup on it.

"Tian Shusheng, this is the water provided by the shop for free. If you are thirsty, take a sip." The shopkeeper deliberately emphasized that the tea is free, and then turned around and left without saying anything else.

The summer was hot and sweated a lot, Tian Shusheng was really thirsty, he dried the copied paper and put it away, then poured out a small cup to drink it, it was indeed just plain water, not even the tea foam, which made him Feel relieved, after all, if he drank tea, he would be embarrassed not to give money.

It took two hours for Tian Scholar to finish copying the two books. He could barely feel his hands and neck, which were all very stiff. However, looking at the thick stack of paper, he was filled with joy.

After all, he was still a little worried, so Tian Shusheng packed up his things when the ink was dry, and hurried to find the shopkeeper with two books, pens and inkstones.

The shopkeeper was unambiguous, Nanlou Library is a shop open for business, and it is not a black shop, so the deposit of fifty cash will be refunded as soon as it is due.

Not only did he refund the money, but the shopkeeper also told him: "Scholar Tian, ​​you can bring your own pen, ink, paper and inkstone next time. As long as there is still space in the store, you can copy whatever books you want."

Stepping out of the Nanlou Library, Tian Shusheng still couldn't believe it, but the paper full of words in his hand told him that he really "bought" two books with seven hundred characters.

Looking back, Tian Shusheng happened to see that the shopkeeper was clearing away the teapot that he had emptied without knowing it. Thinking that there were still many books in this library that he hadn't read before, he couldn't help feeling hot.

At first, Liang Kangsheng imagined to put a table in the library for everyone to read books carefully when choosing books, and the others were added later when Quyi was busy with Zhuang.

For example, the pens, inks, papers and inkstones that Tian Shusheng encountered today were rented or sold, as well as tea.

Both pens, inks, paper and inkstones and tea are very cheap, especially tea, the price is set much lower than that in teahouses, pens and inks cannot be lowered, and the price is the same as outside.

The reason why these things are added to the library is because Zhuang knew that it is not easy for students from poor families to study when preparing the library.

She was born in the Zhuang family, and there was a school for enlightenment in the family. When she was young, she had never seen how people outside were studying. When her son was studying, because of his poor health, he almost never went to school.

So she knew that it was not easy for poor people to study, but she didn't know exactly what it was like. This time when she went to other bookstores in the county to "steal teachers", she saw with her own eyes the distress of many students, so she was moved with compassion.

Qu Yi is not as soft-hearted as Zhuang's, but he also thinks that it is not easy to be a scholar. No matter the family is poor or rich, if you want to be successful in reading, you have to work hard, so he helped Zhuang's think a lot.

The shop is their own, and these things are prepared only for the convenience of readers, and they don’t expect to make much money from them, but as more and more people come to the library, the income from selling tea, pens and paper is even higher than selling books.

After that, Tian Shusheng became a frequent visitor of Nanlou Library, and he often came to sit for an entire afternoon. He was embarrassed to sit, and occasionally ordered a pot of the cheapest tea for twenty cents.

Not only him, but people gradually discovered the difference in Nanlou Library, especially the students from poor families, who almost regarded this library as a second school.

It is rare to see so many books in the school, and the books in other people's homes will not be shown to them for free. After the reputation of Nanlou Library spreads, students can see at least half of the room in the library every day. Some read books quietly, some wrote quickly, and no one would sit idle on the stool in the library.