The Red Mansions

Chapter 15 Han Hui
Jia Heng suppressed the unhappiness of being "exploited by the channel" in his heart, nodded, and cupped his hands: "I would also like to thank Mr. Liu for his understanding."

"It's easy to say, easy to say." Liu Tong put down the brush in his hand, and said with a smile: "The manuscript purchase document has been written, Mr. Jia has a look, but is there anything wrong that needs to be discussed and changed?"

As he spoke, he handed over the book's deed and a box of red clay.

Jia Heng carefully examined the bibliography of 240 chapters, one chapter is two taels, and all are due in three months... Nodding his head, he said: "The old gentleman writes meticulously, and the contract is fair, there is nothing wrong with it."

As he spoke, he picked up the writing brush left on the washbasin, inscribed his name on each of the two deeds, and stamped his fingerprints.

Seeing Jia Heng signing the contract, Liu Tong twirled his beard under his chin with a smile on his face, and said, "Young Master Jia, according to the rules of contracting manuscripts in the industry, the deposit for the first fifteen rounds was originally paid first, but Jia The young master comes from a good character, and this old man can believe it, this is a deposit of 50 taels, young master Jia will keep it."

As he spoke, he took out a neatly folded 50 tael bank note, and explained: "This is a bank note from Sitong Bank, and it will be redeemed upon sight."

The so-called deposit, this world also has a "deposit penalty rule". If Hanmozhai breaches the contract, the deposit will not be returned; if Jia Heng breaches the contract, the deposit will be doubled.

Jia Heng received the bank note, cupped his hands and said: "Don't worry, old man, I will submit the first fifteen chapters at the end of the month."

After the contract was agreed upon, Jia Heng also breathed a sigh of relief.

240 taels is also a huge sum of money for him.

This can be compared to the previous life, the sum of money is 30 million RMB, and it is enough to raise a car that is not nearly as good.

And once Romance of the Three Kingdoms became famous, he could negotiate the price again if he wanted to sell other manuscripts.

Like Journey to the West?
"Journey to the West" was published in the Wanli period in the previous life. After the death of the Jiajing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, Chen Han was appointed to the capital of Shenjing. Where are Longqing and Wanli?
"The four great classics, Water Margin, have already existed in this world, Dream of Red Mansions... Well, I can't write this one. After copying Journey to the West, I will copy Jin Yong's Trilogy of Shooting the Condors..." Jia Heng thought.

If you want to take the road of becoming an official through the imperial examination, you can't do business with great fanfare.

But if you are not a merchant, you will have no money. Not to mention daily consumption and waste, but in the future, even if you are raising an army, where will the money and food come from?

"Actually, maybe you can find some... white gloves?"

Jia Heng's eyes flickered, thinking that maybe Aunt Cai could buy a bookstore, and then raise some literati who were struggling to make a living as writers...

Even other businesses are not impossible.

"This matter needs to be discussed in the long term." Jia Heng suppressed the matter in his heart, raised his head and said goodbye to Liu Tong.

Liu Tongdao: "The old man will send Mr. Jia off."

As he spoke, he followed Jia Heng down to the second floor.

Jia Heng went down to the second floor of the Hanmozhai, came to the cabinet, took the purchased collection of Shiwen compilations from the clerk, bowed his hands to Liu Tong of the Hanmozhai, and said: "Mr. Liu, stay a while."

"Mr. Jia, go slowly." Liu Tong smiled and nodded at Jia Heng, and watched him leave the gate of Hanmozhai. He twisted his beard under his chin with his square hand, took the manuscript, and turned to the counter. He still couldn't put it down, squinting his eyes. Ornamental.

"Unexpectedly, there are such romantic people in the Jia family." The more Liu Tong looked at it, the more satisfied he was.

But Jia Heng left Hanmozhai and was about to walk home when suddenly he heard a clear call.

"Brother Jia, please."

Jia Heng fixed his figure, looked up, and saw a young man in a green shirt and a folding fan in his hand, looking at him with a smile. The young man was wearing a scholar's square scarf, and his face was elegant, making people feel like a spring breeze. The young man was a bit taller, with piercing eyes under thick eyebrows, looking at Jia Heng.

"Brother, Jia is being polite." Jia Heng also bowed his hands in return.

Then, the two exchanged names, surnames, and table characters.

The young man in green shirt and straight coat is named Han Hui, styled Zisheng; the other is named Yu Zhen, styled Wendu. Both of them are studying in the Imperial College.

Han Hui said with a smile, "Brother Jia just wrote a poem about Immortals Linjiang, which is unremarkable and far away, heroic and generous, which really opened Xiao Ke's eyes."

Yu Zhen smiled and said: "The atmosphere is majestic, and there is a hidden style of a generation of masters. It's just that the meaning of the words is broad-minded and desolate. It seems that there are other difficulties. But the words are sharp, and people dare not look at them."

In a word, the mentality of the words is like seeing through the world, the afterglow of the sunset in the ups and downs of the officialdom, but the words are just like the rising sun, with great light.

Jia Heng smiled and said: "A few days ago, reading the history of the Three Kingdoms at night, it was inevitable that yesterday's gold and iron horses, and today's sighs of white clouds and gray dogs, revealed a thing or two in the words."

This is also a reasonable explanation.

People's emotions change at any time. For example, many literati have written poems chanting history and nostalgia, and they may not have experienced any kind of worldly situation. It is more of a feeling of seeing others and seeing the world.

Even Li Bai once wrote boudoir grievance poems from the perspective of a woman. Could it be that Li Taibai is still a woman?

Yu Zhen's face was stunned, and he laughed loudly: "No wonder, he is generous and tragic, but also full of high-spirited momentum."

Han Hui said with a smile, "Brother Jia, it's noon, why don't you just keep quiet and hear that there is a new restaurant named Linglong Pavilion opened downstairs, why don't we talk while drinking."

As expected, Han Hui is good at making friends, he treats people well, and there is a sense of comfort in the quietness of moistening things.

Jia Heng pondered for a moment, then said with a smile: "Since Brother Han invited you, it is better to obey than to be respectful."

He also intends to make friends with scholars. Since he decided to take the imperial examination, such friends are indispensable.

After talking, they headed towards Linglong Pavilion.

This is a five-story restaurant with exquisite decoration. Judging from the carriages parked in front of the door, it is all rich and expensive.

Han Hui led the way and introduced with a smile, "This restaurant was opened at the beginning of the month. I heard that the chef inside is an imperial chef from the palace, and the lion head is also excellent."

Jia Heng followed Han Hui up to the second floor.

I called the staff and found a wing room, which was partitioned off by a screen. The interior space was open and spacious, and several tables were brightly lit. At this time, the rings were tinkling, and the fragrance of orchid musk was floating. There were a few beautiful women in bright dresses, Give refreshments, and then retreat slowly.

Jia Heng pondered for a while, and said: "Brother Han, it's the first time we meet, how can this cost you so much?"

He and this Han Hui were just acquainted for the first time, and it was hard to understand why this person entertained him like this.

This may be somewhat persecution paranoia.

Han Hui said with a smile: "Brother Jia, you are being polite. Even if you don't meet Brother Jia, Wendu and I are going to come here to try something new. Just sit down and sit down. Next time you can find a noodle stall on the side of the road and eat while you can. Talked."

Yu Zhen also smiled and said: "Brother Han is right, we don't feel good eating in the Imperial College every day, and we come out just for this meal."

Seeing that the two sang together and spoke frankly and interestingly, Jia Heng laughed and said, "I'm sorry."

After that, he accepted it calmly.

Han Hui's eyes flickered, and he nodded secretly. This Mr. Jia of Ning Guogong has a good manner, neither humble nor overbearing. He doesn't seem to come from a small family. Characters in sentences such as "中".

There is a saying that no nobles can be raised in three generations. If one comes from a humble background and meets a powerful person, one will either flatter oneself or be arrogant.

Han Hui has a lot of friends, so he may not have other skills, but the ability to read faces and expressions has been acquired through experience.

He brought this down-and-out kid from Ningguo Mansion here intentionally, just to see his background.

No matter whether it's from the pretty maid who came here, but this brother Jia didn't change his face, his eyes were clear, and he was calm and composed when he heard about the Hualou, he didn't look like a child from a poor family should have.

The three of them were talking while drinking tea.

Talking with him, Han Hui nodded secretly when he saw that the answers were fluent and his knowledge was extraordinary.

To catch up with the conversation, I mentioned the imperial examination to enter school.

　Regarding copying books, if I travel through the world of Dream of Red Mansions, I will probably copy books to earn the first pot of gold.

The knowledge of physics and chemistry learned in middle school has long been returned to the teacher, and I can't make glass, mirror and wine.

For science and engineering, even if you are given a complete technological process, it is difficult for one person to make it all at once, even if you have not done it before, and it also requires the preparation of material materials.

Unless you were a relevant practitioner in your previous life, and even if you are a relevant practitioner, it is difficult for you to master a complete process because of the complexity of modern technology and the division of labor.

As far as we can see, industrial products that are taken for granted are supported by an industrial system with complete disciplines and various categories.

As far as the jeans we wear are all kinds of acrylic, petrochemical, and olefin mixtures.

So rubbing one by hand is really not that easy.

As for other livelihoods, merchants were considered lowly in the feudal period, and it was okay to let relatives do business, but it was impossible for the protagonist to set up a stall. After much deliberation, scholars could only copy books.

The publishing industry of novels in Ming and Qing Dynasties was very developed. This is all recorded in historical materials, and relevant research papers can be found on HowNet.

Of course, this is harmless, and it is not impossible for historical literature to make some small inventions that are not too far behind the times, as long as they can justify themselves.

　
(End of this chapter)