Tea Merchants of the Song Dynasty

'The steaming cream moistens the cold purple cloud, and the fragrant fragrance is refreshing and green. What is the elegant and cold light like? The half-window wind and moon are peaceful.'

Jiang Yin was wandering around the Hui ink in the shop. Some of the Hui ink was as hard as jade, with patterns like rhinoceros horn, and it would only cost a penny to write dozens of pieces.

Some are so fragrant that they penetrate the skin and bones, and the fragrance remains even after being ground into powder.

Some people take pine soot, select good glue, and use the force of a pestle to get rid of all the residue in the inkstone.

Some are as hard as stone, have patterns like rhinoceros horn, and are as black as lacquer. One snail is worth ten thousand coins.

Some of them can be used for reflection, some can be used for cutting, some are as good as jade, and some are as delicate and exquisite as jade. The carving and decoration are exquisite, and everything is beautiful.

In short, every piece of ink has its own characteristics, and Jiang Yin wants to take every piece of ink home.

Unfortunately, Hui ink is like the Shu brocade from Chengdu Prefecture, difficult to make and expensive, so she only selected five pieces.

Two of the five pieces had gold-painted tea trees and bamboos on them. Jiang Yin liked them very much and bought them back to hide in his own private vault.

As for the remaining three pieces, I planned to sell them on consignment in the teahouse.

The three characters "Su's Ink" are engraved on the back of each piece of Huizhou ink, representing that the ink was produced by the Su family in Huizhou.

In the past, Jiang Yin had heard more about Su's ink. This showed that Hui ink was also well-known.

After buying Hui ink and leaving, Jiang Yin tilted his head and asked in confusion, "May I ask, Brother Su, has your Su ink ever been sold to the royal family, or used as a tribute?"

Why Mengshan tea has attracted so much attention is not only because of the quality of the tea itself, but also because it is a tribute tea.

Because of the tribute tea from the imperial tea garden and the surrounding areas, officials paid special attention to Mengshan tea during the tea picking season every year.

Therefore, Mengshan tea has always been in great demand. If it is shipped to foreign countries, the money can be doubled. There are also government officials to escort it, intimidating those dignitaries who covet Mengshan.

If Hui ink can catch the eyes of officials, there will be no worries about opening up its sales.

Su Shan paused for a moment, looked at Jiang Yin meaningfully, and then said, "Of course I have thought about it. It would be great to be favored by the government, but it is not that easy."

Not to mention that these little people like them have no chance to meet the government, even if they want to find someone to take them there, they don't have any channels.

Jiang Yin asked in confusion: "The governor of Huizhou is unwilling to help?"

The prefect can report this to the emperor, so this is a win-win situation and we should not sit idly by.

However, Su Shan sighed and said, "It was mentioned before, and the best Hui ink was sent, but in the end nothing came of it."

I don't know if it was intentional or what. Or maybe, was he waiting for them to send something better?

In short, the Su family had already tried the path of becoming a prefect, and it was a dead end.

Jiang Yin frowned slightly and turned his head to Li Qing and asked, "Is your rice paper the same?"

Xuan paper, like Hui ink, is something worth showing off.

Li Yu, the last emperor of Southern Tang, spoke highly of Huizhou's ink and Xuan paper. It is unreasonable that they were unknown in the Song Dynasty.

No, it wasn't that he was unknown. After all, even she, who was far away in Chengdu, knew a little about him.

As they were talking, they arrived at the Li family's rice paper shop.

Li Qing invited them into the shop and explained, "It's the same situation. I don't know what went wrong."

He took a piece of rice paper for trial use, and handed a brush to Jiang Yin, asking tentatively, "Brother Zhang, would you like to try our paper?"

"A good horse deserves a good saddle, and good paper deserves good ink." Jiang Yin took the pen and sighed, "Brother Li's ink is also Su's ink, right?"

Being able to use Huizhou ink as a test paper is really a bold move. Just for this reason, his Xuan paper is also a good seller in Huizhou.

"Brother Zhang has good eyesight." Li Qing raised his finger and said, "Try it?"

Jiang Yin nodded, picked up the brush and dipped it in ink, and wrote on the rice paper.

The Huizhou Xuan paper of the Li family is pure white and fine, with clear texture, soft and tough, unbreakable, glossy but not slippery, absorbs water and moisturizes ink, suitable for writing and painting. It also has unique penetration and lubrication properties.

When writing or painting on rice paper, the writing will have both spirit and vigor, while the painting will be full of energy and vitality, which best demonstrates the five colors of ink.

The painting is completed in one stroke, with clear shades, distinct layers, and a strong sense of strength. It gives people a feeling of being alive on paper and full of vigor.

According to Li Qing, Huizhou Xuan paper also has the function of preventing corrosion and moth. Therefore, it is known as the king of paper because it can last for a thousand years.

Xuan paper can be divided into three categories according to its material ratio: cotton material, pure skin and special pure material.

There are dozens of varieties and specifications, as well as a wide variety of processed paper and rice paper products such as album leaves, fan leaves, etc.

The main raw materials for papermaking are bamboo and wood. Wood is flexible, and the paper made from it has strong ink absorption. Bamboo is brittle and hard, and the paper made from it has weak ink absorption.

Therefore, based on this difference in characteristics, it is divided into two categories: weak ink-absorbing paper and strong ink-absorbing paper.

Paper with poor ink absorption is mostly made of bamboo. The paper surface is smooth, and the ink floats on the surface and is not easy to spread, so the colors are bright, and it is mainly stationery.

Strong ink-absorbing paper is mostly made of wood and has strong ink absorption. The surface is rough, and the ink spreads easily once it is on the paper. It is often starched or waxed for writing, and the luster is not as bright as that of stationery, and is more subtle.

In addition to being used for writing poems, painting, and writing, Xuan paper is also the best paper for preserving archives and historical materials.

In order to convince Jiang Yin and make her understand Xuan paper better, Li Qing took Jiang Yin and Su Shan to a private room and even took out the 200-year-old books in the shop for her to see.

"This book was written on rice paper. It has been more than 200 years, and it is still intact." Li Qing handed the book to Jiang Yin carefully and continued proudly, "I have a longer-standing copy at home, but it is not easy to display it in the shop."

As a papermaking family, the Li family still has some foundation.

But if the purpose is just to sell paper and prove that Xuan paper can be preserved for a long time, then putting this two-hundred-year-old book is enough.

Jiang Yin opened it, his eyes lit up and he asked, "Is the ink in this book Huizhou ink?"

Li Qing smiled and said, "Yes, it's Hui Mo."

The Li and Su families are old friends, and they seek to become rich together.

Jiang Yin couldn't help but sigh: "Mutual benefit can save a lot of trouble."

Thinking about how sincere these two were to her, although their main purpose was still to cooperate, she could feel their sincerity.

She stood up and bowed, saying, "To be honest, I'm in some trouble, so it's difficult for me to reveal my identity."

"But this won't hinder our cooperation." She paused and continued, "If you two feel at ease, you can prepare a tribute of Hui ink and Xuan paper for me to take away.

Although I cannot convey my thoughts to the emperor, I can still convey some of my thoughts through other channels.

If this is successful, how about you give me 80% of the current price?"

There is no gain without pain, she will not do business at a loss.

Whether through her own channels or through Li Ji and Xie Daoyun, she had a way to present the things to the emperor.

But there has to be enough profit, otherwise she won't waste her time doing this.

She was not afraid that they would regret it after it was done. After all, she could make it happen or destroy it.