A family of four lived in the main house, which was a common style in the county. The stove was set up in the hall, with the stove platform against the wall and the kang on the other side of the wall.
There were two rooms in one house, so two stoves were set up. The elderly couple lived in the east room, and the young couple lived in the west room.
In the courtyard outside, there is a wood shed that also serves as a storage room. The other side room is a small workshop.
They are not a street-front shop, so the rent is cheaper. They have already earned enough money in the past two years to buy the house. Now they are completely settled down.
The younger brother of the Lu family is called Lu Xiaoshui, but he is usually called Shui Ge. His name sounds gentle, but he is a straightforward person. Lu Yang has dealt with him many times.
Today, he brought Xie Yan to visit and brought a lamb leg. Shui Ge saw this and asked him, “Do you need my father’s help with something?”
Lu Yang nodded, “Yes, I have a business opportunity and want to ask if you are interested.”
Shui Ge led them into the house.
The main hall had a stove, so they usually sat inside the room.
At night, they brought out their bedding, but during the day, they laid out bamboo mats and sat wherever they pleased.
There were also chairs on the ground, but they were shorter than the bed, so sitting on them to chat wasn’t comfortable. Most people sat on the bed instead.
Shuigou was eight years older than Lu Yang and was now twenty-seven. His father, Old Master Lu, was over fifty, with white hair and beard, and already showing signs of old age.
Tea was served, and Shuigou mentioned the matter of Lu Yang bringing the lamb leg. Old Master Lu told Lu Yang to speak directly.
“Don’t beat around the bush; I don’t have the energy to listen.”
Lu Yang asked Xie Yan to bring out his small booklet and handed it to Lu Laoyezhi to look at.
“My husband wrote a booklet of answers and wants to print it and try to sell it.”
While Lu Laoyezhi was flipping through the book, Shuigou sat beside him and chatted with Lu Yang: “Do you know the prices at my place?”
Lu Yang knew that printing, especially woodblock printing, required a lot of silver. Even the smallest workshop, with its craftsmanship, would be sought out by bookstores for collaboration, and the price wouldn’t be low.
Woodblock printing was charged by the page, with each page costing thirty to fifty cash, depending on the number of characters per page. Typically, a book would cost three to five taels of silver for woodblock printing.
Lu Yang couldn’t afford it now. If he paid, Xie Yan’s tuition would be gone.
He wanted to collaborate with the two families or get credit first.
If the book business didn’t work out, he still had his shop to make up for the shortfall.
Old Master Lu shook his head: Yang Ge, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but there are several bookstores in the county, and your husband is a scholar; he knows. Our family’s business has been declining over the years. After buying a house and settling down, there’s not much silver left at home. This is a book for the imperial examinations; should it be sold before February? Before February, we still have some work to do, and we can’t afford to delay.”
In business, one must know how to use liquid assets.
Old Master Lu also shook his head.
Woodblock printing is just the beginning; the paper and ink for printing are also silver, and that’s no small amount.
Shui Ge also took the booklet to look at it and said to Lu Yang, ” Don’t blame my father. After our family bought the house, for some reason, it was rare for any business to come our way. The bookshops we used to collaborate with no longer came, saying that they already had woodblock printing and their own workshops for printing books, so they didn’t need us. Recently, Jin Boss of the Popular Books Shop obtained a good book and wanted to have it woodblock printed to sell in the east. That’s when our family finally got some business.”
Xie Yan raised his eyebrows.
The book that Mr. Jin got?
Lu Yang was also surprised.
The world is indeed small.
Lu Yang told him, “My husband knows Mr. Jin from the Popular Books Studio. If I’m not mistaken, this book was transcribed by my husband.”
Shui Ge was also surprised: “Ah? Mr. Jin said this is a copy, written by your husband?”
Xie Yan couldn’t confirm it, so he recited the beginning of the book to confirm with him. He found that it was the same book.
Xie Yan let out an “ah” and didn’t know what to say.
Lu Laozhe said, “I’ve printed several copies of this book. They all took books from the east and sold them in the west. Books from the west were sold in the south. They found my small workshop, so no one else could find them.”
Lu Yang: “…”
No wonder Wu Pingzhi said Xie Yan had been cheated.
Xie Yan let out another “Ah.”
He hadn’t made many friends in the county, and he was already quiet and reserved. Once he withdrew, he disappeared without a trace. Later, he was expelled from school. He remembered someone coming to find him, but he didn’t react much, and after that, no one came anymore.
He looked at Old Master Lu again and used the long-forgotten title, “Godfather, take a look. My husband is a capable man; the owners of several bookstores recognize that. This booklet of his is sure to make money. Shui Ge can engrave, and so can your husband. The bookstore said the business is due in two months. If you hurry up, you’ll make it in time. They only need the woodblocks; you can earn labor fees, but not as much as I can. We can split the profits and earn the silver together. You’ve been kind to me, and I remember it. If I weren’t confident in this matter, I wouldn’t come to ask you. I’m not a heartless traitor; would I betray you?”
Lu Lao Ye remained silent as Shui Ge finished flipping through the book.
In their line of work, they don’t need to read extensively, but they can understand common books.
Having been exposed to them for years, they also understand some of the ways of the imperial examinations.
After finishing the book, Shui Ge still felt unsatisfied. He handed the book back to Lu Lao Yezi.
Lu Lao Yezi was willing to consider it, looked at it carefully, thought about his finances, and told Lu Yang, “Take five taels of silver as a deposit. The paper and ink for printing the books will be provided temporarily.”
Lu Yang lowered his eyes to calculate. There were still ten days before the start of school, and business had been good lately. He could also make money by selling fermented soybean paste, which was more expensive than dried mushrooms, and recoup the costs before the start of school.
If Wu Pingzhi backed out, he could still send Xie Yan to school as usual.
The payment on the ledger would remain unchanged, and Li Feng would take on the risk. If this went wrong, he would drag his younger brother down with him. He decided to take three taels from his savings to make up the difference.
He agreed, and Old Master Lu’s brow relaxed as he invited them to stay for a meal.
Lu Yang didn’t hesitate, leaving Xie Yan to chat with Old Master Lu while he went to the main hall with Shui Ge to start a fire.
Cooking lamb requires skill; if it’s not done properly, the lamb is wasted.
Mr. Lu loved lamb soup with steamed buns, so Lu Yang stewed a pot for him.
He also prepared the rest of the lamb, so that they could simply take a bowl of hot soup whenever they wanted to eat it. It was suitable for both stewed dishes and soups.
He also brought some bamboo shoots and mountain produce today, all from the shop. He couldn’t leave everything behind after coming all this way.
Luo Dayong was at home today. Seeing the two of them come over to deliver vegetables, he smiled broadly.
“Why be so polite? Everything in the shop is for sale, and you keep giving things away. How are you going to run your business?”
He said this, but he was touched by Lu Yang’s concern for him, and he smiled so broadly that his eyes narrowed into slits.
The two families lived close to each other, so Lu Yang came over to talk things through and make sure everything was clear, so that when the two families met outside, they wouldn’t chat and discover that he was favoring one over the other, causing a rift in their relationship in the future.
After saying all this, Lu Yang told him, “I called him my godfather, and he didn’t chase me away. Next time I see you, I’m definitely going to take advantage of you.”
Luo Dayong and Luo Erwu, the two brothers, had been mischievous since childhood. Since Lu Laozhe’s house had plenty of wood, they would often sneak into Lu’s courtyard to take small pieces of wood to play with, only to be chased and scolded by Lu Laozhe as “brats.”
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