The Little First Grand Secretary in My House

The subscription ratio for this article is ≥50% and can be read normally, otherwise it needs to be delayed for three days, and you can read it immediately if you replenish it. The books in the bookcase are new and old, some are hardcover, which are valuable at first glance, and some are wired, which look a little shabby. What's more, there are all kinds of copied copies. Generally, they are not sure that the book will be easy to sell. Bookstore owners always ask people to copy them, because if they are printed, thousands of copies will be printed.

Zhao'er was familiar with the boss and greeted her with a smile when she walked in. The strange thing was that the boss actually recognized her. When he saw her, he smiled and asked her if she was here to buy paper for her brother.

When it comes to this, it's old news.

At first, Zhao'er felt sorry for Xue Tingyan, so she saved some money to buy him calligraphy paper. Who would have thought that this paper was much more expensive than she imagined. Even the poorest quality yellow bamboo paper cost forty cash per knife, and Zhao'er collected all the money he had that day, but only thirty cash.

In order to get the boss to sell the paper to her cheaper, Zhao'er struggled with the boss for a long time. She even made up the pretense that she had a diligent and studious younger brother, but unfortunately both parents died and the family was poor, before the boss agreed to sell it to her cheaply. Later, she came to buy several times, always at the same price as before, but she became familiar with Boss Chen.

Boss Chen praised her for her noble character. She earned all her hard-earned money, but she still supported her brother's education. Usually when she comes to buy paper, she almost always buys half and half for free.

Normally, Zhao'er would have tolerated such words shamelessly, but with Xue Tingyan here today, she was inevitably a little embarrassed, fearing that Boss Chen would let the matter slip and the young man would look down on her for lying.

Zhao'er has suffered, so she knows how to survive, but the little man doesn't, especially the scholar who has a particularly pedantic air, so every time she encounters a situation where the two people's ideas are in conflict, she will always subconsciously Avoid these.

Within one day, two people in a row said that they were his younger brothers, which made Xue Tingyan very unhappy. Naturally, he did not notice Zhao'er's hidden thoughts. By the time he came to his senses, Zhao'er had already talked with his boss, and even showed him the book Hundred Family Surnames that he copied overnight.

Is this your brother? He is handsome, but a little thin. Boss Chen is an elegant middle-aged man over forty years old, with a goatee. Wearing a scholar's shirt, he looks more like a scholar than a business boss.

He was ill for a while and got better recently.

No wonder I haven't seen you here for a long time. As Boss Chen spoke, he took the handwritten manuscript from Zhao'er, which was very poor in terms of binding and paper quality.

He knew in his heart that a boy like this from a farm family would not be able to write very well. However, he admired this young man named Zhaoer, so he decided not to criticize him too much and just reject him with some polite words. .

If his skills are not bad and his words can still be read, it is not a bad idea to give him some odd jobs to do, just as a helper.

But when Boss Chen saw the words on the yellow bamboo paper, he was really surprised.

Did he write this? Boss Chen looked at Xue Tingyan in surprise, then turned over the manuscript in his hand.

His expression was so weird that Zhao'er had a bad feeling in his heart. She couldn't help but wonder if the little man's handwriting was not good. After all, no one had ever praised the little man's handwriting. Even Xue Qingshan said that his handwriting was like a spring earthworm or an autumn snake.

Although Zhao'er didn't understand what Spring Earthworms and Autumn Snakes meant, she understood the little man's sad expression, and she knew that it meant that the writing was not good.

But she doesn't think it's the little man's fault. He even has to pick out the paper that can be used to practice calligraphy. Can he write well? It was that time that she got angry, collected vegetables and sold them in the town. She saved a sum of money and bought Xue Tingyan the first piece of paper in her life.

A whole knife, not a few pretense handouts from Xue Qingshan or Xue Juncai.

Zhao'er's head felt cold, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was usually too blind to the little man, or if he flattered him too much. She was not afraid of anything else. She was afraid that if Boss Chen said something unpleasant later, the little man would not be able to bear the blow.

With this in mind, she hurriedly made a gesture to Boss Chen behind her back, led him aside, and then whispered to him: Uncle Chen, if my brother's handwriting is really bad, can you...

Can it be anything? Immediately, Boss Chen understood and said with a smile: It's the same for you kid. Even if you have a protective heart, you shouldn't deceive him. Instead, you should point out his shortcomings so that he can do it in the future. Only then can we make progress.”

His voice was a bit loud, and Xue Tingyan over there must have heard it. Zhao'er blushed, but she didn't know what to say.

Boss Chen added: But your brother is really good at writing, he must be a famous teacher.

He walked up to Xue Tingyan in a few steps, clasped his fists and saluted: I wonder who my little friend is studying under? After saying this, there was also a trace of hesitation in his eyes, because the poor young man in front of him, dressed in coarse short brown clothes, really didn't seem to be able to study under anyone. A person who is a famous teacher.

Just his words...

Since Boss Chen runs a bookstore, he either loves it or it is his ancestral business. In fact, Boss Chen has both, which can be regarded as his family background. When he was young, he took the exam several times, but he stopped being a scholar. However, he was not interested in being an official, so he turned around and took care of his ancestral business. He usually met a few literary friends, played chess, drank tea, and tasted calligraphy and painting together, which was also a beautiful thing in life.

From his perspective, although this boy's handwriting is immature, he already has character.

We must know that the form is easy to obtain, but the spirit is difficult to find. Yan Jia and Liu Jia have always been collectively called Yan Jin and Liu Gu, which is enough to show the characteristics of Yan's body. And Xue Tingyan's calligraphy already has its foundation. As long as it doesn't go askew, in time, he will definitely become a great calligrapher of the generation.

Little did he know that Xue Tingyan deliberately hid his writing skills in order to hide himself. It took him most of the night to finish the book that could have been copied in half an hour at most. Otherwise, when the calligraphy was taken out, Boss Chen would think it was someone's calligraphy work.

Just when Boss Chen's mind was wandering, Xue Tingyan had already answered: The boy has no teacher.

Just copying?

I once visited the Yan Qin Li Monument.

Xue Tingyan did not lie. He had indeed only copied the Yan Qin Li Stele. This set of copybooks was Xue Qingshan's treasure and was never touched by others. And the reason why he was lucky enough to see and touch her once was because Xue Jun, who was still young at that time, showed off to him.

Because of this incident, he was deeply impressed by the Yan Qin Li Monument and even became an obsession. Later, when his family had some money, Zhao'er bought a set of fonts for him. The first font he learned was Yan Ti.

Just visited the Yan Qin Ceremony Monument?

Xue Tingyan nodded.

The light in Boss Chen's eyes grew brighter, and he sighed after a long time: Perhaps you have a talent in this field that is difficult for others to catch up with. I hope you practice more and don't slack off. Well, let's get down to business. Your handwriting is very good. In my opinion, It’s passed here.”

He walked to the counter, took a book and handed it to Xue Tingyan.

I have a copy of University Chapters here. You can take it back and try it. The writing and ink will be produced by me. After copying it, if the finished product is not inferior to the standard of this book, I will pay you one or two taels of silver.

One tael of silver? Uncle Chen, isn't that a bit too much? Zhao'er asked in surprise.

Uncle Chen laughed: Do you know how many words there are in this book? And do you know how much money I would get if I resold this book?

After finishing speaking, he continued to say to Xue Tingyan: Originally, it is supposed to be copied in my bookstore. If you take the book back and copy it, you need to pay some money or things as a pledge. I know your brother well, so forget it. Come on, how long will it take to finish copying?”

Xue Tingyan hesitated for a moment and said: Since Boss Chen has rules here, how about I just copy them here? I just hope Boss Chen can be accommodating. Can I let the kid read one or two of the books here in his spare time?

Boss Chen was stunned for a moment, then understood. He took a deep look at this thin but neither humble nor arrogant young man.

Can!

Then thank you in advance, Boss Chen. Don't worry, I won't damage the books here.

Zhao'er kept silent until the conversation was over, then pulled Xue Tingyan aside to talk.

Do you really want to copy books here? It would be great to take it home. If you are afraid that Boss Chen will not allow it, I still have some money here that can be used as pledge.

You don't think this is a good place.

Xue Tingyan looked back at the room full of books. The books he had read were limited, and in 'Xue Tingyan's' memory, many of his memories in this regard were blurred.

But life is his, and he has to move forward step by step. It does not mean that he has a dream, and he will definitely be the first assistant in the future, and he will definitely pass the Jinshi examination. After all, even Xue Tingyan in the dream had to make a lot of efforts and go through many detours to reach the first rank of official residence step by step.

Of course Zhao'er understood what he meant, but she was very worried when she suddenly left the little man alone outside. She was just thinking about finding an excuse to stay with him here when Boss Chen said from the side: Okay, you don't have to worry about your brother. Can you still leave him here? You don't have to sell vegetables or work today? Go quickly.

In the eyes of Boss Chen, Zhao'er is a hard-working brother who supports his younger brother by selling vegetables and working in the town.

Uncle Chen, I'm leaving now.

She hurriedly took out a dozen coins from her arms and handed them to Xue Tingyan: I should come to have lunch with you at noon. If not, you can buy it yourself, just...

Copy books here, and we can have a light meal at noon. Boss Chen interjected again.

Zhao'er was still nagging: You still have the money and you can buy whatever you want. I'll pick you up in the afternoon.

You'd better pick up your work and finish it first. Don't worry, your brother won't lose it.

This Uncle Chen!

Zhao'er couldn't talk any more and ran out of the bookstore almost in despair.

After they left, Boss Chen smiled and teased: Your brother is very kind to you.

Xue Ting sighed, it was quite good, like a little hen worried about her chicks. For some reason, he actually thought of this sentence.

Afterwards, he was led by the store clerk to a room behind the store.

The furnishings of this room are simple, but elegant, and it can be seen that Boss Chen is an elegant person. The best thing about this house is that it has a large window facing the yard outside, and a set of tables and chairs, which is completely different from Xue Tingyan's imagination of hiding in a dark room without light.

The waiter even brought a basin of water for him to clean his hands. He also prepared pens, inks, paper, inkstones and other supplies. He said he could call him if he had anything to do, and then went down.

Xue Tingyan came to the basin, dipped her hands in the water, rubbed them gently a few times, wiped them dry with a cloth beside her, then went to write and sit down.

He first polished the ink. Grinding ink can very well adjust people's emotions and achieve a 'quiet' state.

After the ink was polished, his heart felt empty. He rolled up his sleeves and started writing. When his hand was empty, he realized that he was wearing a short brown suit. There were no sleeves, so naturally he was not afraid of staining the sleeves.

All this happened just for a moment, he didn't pay attention and wrote quietly.

But Boss Chen, who was standing outside the door, was a little suspicious. He couldn't help but wonder in his heart that this son was the queen of a famous family, but it was a pity that the family was in decline, rather than a poor child. His every word, every action, and even his demeanor don't look like someone from a humble family.

After thinking for a while, he couldn't figure out why. Boss Chen shook his head and went back to the front.