Mr. De's real name is Rhodes.

Luo means a net for catching birds, a conical net. Virtue means integrity.

"Therefore, Mr. De's parents may have been bird catchers or hunters of small beasts." Gu Chuan thought to himself, "But in order to go to a more upper-class society, I abandoned the hunting industry and chose to let my children do learning." ”

Before signing the contract, Mr. De first asked Gu Chuan to write a few paragraphs to test him. After he saw Gu Chuan's handwriting, he was quite surprised.

"Who taught you this? Your handwriting is good. ”

It's Wang Xizhi and Liu Gongquan, and other scholars whose names you haven't heard.

Gu Chuan lowered his head and said:

"It's my mother."

Calligraphy itself is a visual art, and Sunset City's language is not out of the linguistic framework of form, sound and meaning. Both phonetics and ideograms have calligraphy, and some strokes can naturally be used universally.

Mr. De is not suspicious:

"You're already better than I am! It's a relief for me. ”

After that, he patiently chatted with Gu Chuan in detail about treatment, salary, work and rest time.

This was rare in the pre-industrial era, and it made Gu Chuan surprised for a while.

At that time, Gu Chuan couldn't help but ask: "If I was resting that day, but there happened to be an urgent matter, Mr. De, how would you contact me?" ”

The old man coughed and said solemnly:

"I'm not going to contact you, you have your own life, right? But if you want to come on your own, you can come on your own. I'm happy for you to help, and I'm happy to do the same, except I won't pay a penny more for it. This really has to be written! Kirishi, you want to notarize! ”

"Mr. De, are you reluctant to pay that overtime pay, or don't you want Xiaochuan to work more!"

Kirimi couldn't help but laugh at the time.

"This penny does a job, a penny does a job, I have a ruler in my heart, you don't need to say much, if you don't accept it, you can not sign." The old man was in a strange place, strangely discerning.

Gu Chuan didn't know Mr. De's personality at that time, so he didn't believe it. You must know that he has seen a lot of things beforehand and chicken feathers afterwards.

It's just that as a result, from the later point of view, in the actual implementation, Mr. De did not violate the contract once, and he never asked Gu Chuan to work overtime urgently. On the contrary, Gu Chuan often took advantage of the leisure time when he had nothing to do, and ran over to read some information books.

Information books are related to the content of the work. Gu Chuan's work can be roughly divided into two aspects, on the one hand, it is to run errands for Mr. De, find relevant craftsmen, old soldiers, and old people, and make interview transcripts, and on the other hand, it is to sort out and edit materials for Mr. De.

The first few days were spent in understanding and running-in.

In this era when the productive forces were not yet developed, computers did not exist, and manuscripts had to be written by hand. Mr. De successively showed Gu Chuan the outline he completed before the 20 solar terms, as well as the part of the process that took the 20 solar terms to complete, Gu Chuan roughly flipped through it, and saw knitting, brick making, hat making, pot making, gold and silver jewelry, pins, clocks, carvings, leather, horseshoe and other countless doorways.

Each door is compiled by Mr. De personally visiting folk craftsmen to talk or inquire about the early years of information excerpts, one by one. The record of the collation and interview work alone is enough to have hundreds of explanatory and descriptive pamphlets, which opened Gu Chuan's eyes.

"That's all ...... A treasure trove of knowledge. ”

Gu Chuan couldn't help but sigh.

Mr. De was not without pride: "If you say that, it is a bit spiritual." ”

Gu Chuan's memory is very good.

After Gu Chuan wrote down many categories of knowledge, he would go back to the rented house to share. Occasionally, Gu Chuan could borrow some pamphlets from Mr. De and give them to other young people in Rizhao Village.

However, there was an unexpected situation that made Gu Chuan can't help but be suspicious.

That is, Kirimi often visits Mr. Toku's house.

Often the wind and the sun are beautiful, and when Gu Chuan is sorting out the materials in Mr. De's study, he can hear Tongshi shouting loudly outside the door:

"Chuan, Chuan, are you there? Mr. De, are you there? ”

If the light shines on the window, the delicate face of the girl will lean against the window, blinking and staring at the side face of the young man who is struggling to write.

Gu Chuan had to open the door with a look of disgust and said:

"Why are you here again?"

He always had the gut feeling that this might be Mrs. Ogiri's spying on him, but when he thought about it, he felt that it was just his own passion.

"Aren't you glad I'm coming?" Kirishi, who always wears a heavy coat or a robe that covers her whole body, explains with a smile, "But I'm not looking for you, I'm here to find Mr. Toku." ”

Mr. De occasionally went out alone, and Kirishi would stay by Gu Chuan's side and wait quietly. Gu Chuan's recent task is to transcribe, and the tip of the pen always makes a rustling sound on the papyrus. He wrote, occasionally taking a distracted peek at Kirimi. As a result, in the twilight by the window, Kirimi's eyes were always on him...... It was as if he was being observed or examined. This made Gu Chuan nervous, and he would quickly turn his gaze, not daring to look at Tong Shi again.

"Speaking of which, what do you think of Xia Huai?"

"What do you mean?"

"Peace Lingbi, how about Xiahuai? I'd like to hear what you, an out-of-town person, think. ”

Gu Chuan didn't understand what Tong Shi meant, he still knew too little about Tong Shi and Mrs. Okiri, so he didn't dare to say too deeply, so he only said suspiciously:

"The scenery of Xiahuai District is much better than that of Pingling District."

The front window of the rented house in Pingling District is a black wall, and the back window is also a black wall. Mr. Dande's room is very well lit, and from the back window of the large study, you can see the water of the Rizhao River flowing clearly through the earth. The sun shines on the water, and it is extraordinary.

"Is that all?" Kirishi laughed, "The Huaishui section of the Rizhao River is indeed good, and I like it too." ”

Maybe it's because it's boring to be alone with Gu Chuan, and Kirimi occasionally picks up a few pamphlets to read—Mr. De doesn't prohibit this behavior—she reads and reads, and often can't help but sigh:

"Mr. De's content is almost more detailed than the Sunset City Inner City Library. No wonder no one wanted to do the craft content, only Mr. De decided to finish this part of the content. ”

There is a large library in the inner city of Sunset City, but according to Kirishi, the inner city library does not record knowledge from all walks of life. This is a spontaneous act of the Round Tower family.

"You also represent Mrs. Ogiri, and you've been in contact with Mr. Toku, right? Haven't you read the pamphlet where Mr. De did the interview before? ”

Once, Gu Chuan couldn't help but ask.

"It turns out that I was not interested, and I didn't wait if I wasn't there, and after Mr. Hede finished speaking, I left."

Kirimi blinked her eyes and stared at the young man who looked soft and handsome in the sunlight.

The plain old shirt and the pants that have been repaired many times are worn on Gu Chuan's body, which seems to be a well-made match made in heaven. Kirishi suddenly understood a little bit of Chuan's mother's letter, and Chuan's mother's love and pride in her child.

As they said this, Mr. De happened to be back.

Tong Shi hurriedly stood up, and Gu Chuan unhurriedly repeated Tong Shi's words to Mr. De like a report to a teacher, and the old man showed a smug expression.

"That's what 'encyclopedia' is all about. The Inner City Library is too tall to collect only the noble 'Wisdom Learning' and the 'Art of the Citizens'. And encyclopedias are different. The encyclopedia is to collect knowledge scattered in all disciplines of the world, and to present this knowledge very systematically in front of people like us. In this way, this knowledge will also be better passed on. ”

This is one of Mr. De's main points.

That's the genealogy of knowledge.

He believes that the development of knowledge is a gradual process, and that the development of people, the development of things, and the development of all aspects are mutually interactive and interfering with each other. Therefore, it is possible to draw out the knowledge one by one and make entries in a developing state of affairs.

This is the outline of what Mr. De has spent a long time compiling, most likely the world's first encyclopedia.

Gu Chuan often heard Mr. De triumphantly talk about how he used that outline to completely convince the Yuanta family, as well as the people he found to be in charge of other parts.

When Kirimi heard this, he couldn't help but ask curiously:

"But, Mr. De, have you ever thought about it? Our current knowledge will probably be useless in a few years! For example, the process of building a house with a cast iron frame will be eliminated. In the new city, there are no more original buildings! So, what is the use of documenting these processes? ”

Mr. De did not speak.

However, Gu Chuan relied on the insight of the previous life and other opinions, so he naturally replied:

"Kirimi, have you ever thought about it? In the future, the contents of this encyclopedia will become the basis for future people to understand the history and social changes of the past, and to explain the truth of this era for them. Perhaps they will be able to discover and even understand the laws of social and historical progress. ”

The law of social and historical progress is a highly abstract word, and Kirimi didn't understand it.

When Mr. De read this word, his eyes lit up:

"Ogawa, your statement is novel. This is also a kind of genealogy of knowledge, and it is the law of knowledge development. General knowledge is to study each knowledge, so that the craft or art can be improved, more practical, and better-looking. The epistemology of knowledge is the study of how knowledge itself progresses, which is the meaning of the encyclopedia's emphasis on the future. ”

"Besides......" said Mr. Toku, turning his head to Kirimi, "I have done this job, and anyone can search for the knowledge they want from the encyclopedia, without having to search for it themselves and ask for someone else's house." Isn't that a good thing? ”

Kirimi first said yes, then fell into deep thought, and shook his head:

"But Mrs. Ogiri has said that this may also create a large number of fake scholars, who use the contents of the encyclopedia to deceive."

Mr. Tak only said:

"That's not something I can handle."

Gu Chuan didn't care about Tongshi's question, but was very interested in the printing system of this world, and couldn't help asking:

But how do you print an encyclopedia in large quantities? I know that this 'encyclopedia' was commissioned by the 'Round Tower Family' of the citizens of the inner city, but how did this book fly into the homes of ordinary people? ”

As a result, Mr. De paused.

Gu Chuan realized from this person's realization that the printing industry and communication industry in this world are not developed enough, and movable type printing may have been born, but the efficiency is not high enough.

Mr. De says:

"When the people from the publishing house approached me, they didn't mention the matter of printing and publishing, but only conveyed the thoughts of the Yuanta family. The people of the Round Tower family say that they hold a special item into which they can record large quantities of drawings. This kind of drawing can also be a drawing of words. Therefore, they wanted to produce a groundbreaking and inclusive intellectual document that would cover all the knowledge in the world, as a treasure for their family, for the benefit of future generations, and also to show their majesty. So they ordered us to be completely compiled, and it must not be limited to the content of the Inner City Library, which is why I won the bid. ”

And what exactly this item is, no one outside the core of the Round Tower family knows it.

This was the first time that Mr. De mentioned the Yuanta family to Gu Chuan, so Gu Chuan couldn't help but smack his tongue secretly:

"That's a great thing! It's just that...... I'm afraid that the Round Tower family in Sunset City itself will perish, and the encyclopedia will be handed down! ”

At that time, Gu Chuan thought of the Taiping Yulan and Yongle Ceremony in the previous life.

When Tong Shi heard this, he hurriedly patted Gu Chuan:

"Chuan, you have to be careful when you speak, you must not say this nonsense outside. The Round Tower family has been standing in Sunset City for thousands of solar terms. Your mother, your grandmother, your grandmother's mother was guarding Sunset City before they moved to the land! ”

Mr. De also hurriedly said:

"Don't say that outside."

Only then did Gu Chuan realize that he had committed this social taboo between the feudal and capital periods, so he quickly closed his mouth and said:

"Yes, yes."

At this time, another person opened the door and startled Gu Chuan, thinking that the Yuanta family knew that he was slandering him and was going to cross the city to enforce the law.

But the man just changed his shoes and whispered into the room:

"Are Kirimi and Ogawa both there?"

"Yes."

Mr. De said with a smile on his face.

This is Mr. De's wife back. Mr. Dek's wife was a gentle woman, and she was hospitable to Kiri and Gu Chuan, and treated these two children about the same age as her son like a mother:

"Is Ogawa going to stay and eat?"

"Nope." Gu Chuan replied shyly, "It's not early, I have to rush back." ”

Mr. De leaned against the window and looked at the sundial:

"It's really time to get off work, so don't stay with Xiaochuan. He definitely has a life of his own. ”

At that time, the sunset had passed, and the strange tree lights were lit up one by one, so that countless points of light floated in the night of Sunset City, stretching to the end of the civic district, the beginning of the border district.

On the long night road, Gu Chuan walked away alone. In the window on the third floor, Mr. De drank a thick soup made with vegetables while staring out the window at Gu Chuan, who was walking away.

"Today, what news did Mrs. Ogiri, Totomi, bring?"

Mrs. De asked.

Mr. De, still staring out the window, replied:

"Mrs. Oki said that there may be a struggle between several families in the inner city in the near future, and asked me to inquire about the thoughts of the Lower Circle Tower family."

"Inquire ...... It should still be a safe thing. ”

Madame de breathed a sigh of relief.

As a result, Mr. De's eyes were still outside the window, which made Mrs. De secretly annoyed, and a little funny:

"Are you worried about your new assistant?"

"He said a lot more today, and it made me a little curious about what this kid thought."

Mr. De turned his head and said.

Then he told Mrs. De a lot of what Gu Chuan had said during this time, and some of the things he had overheard.

After hearing this, Mrs. De showed a contemplative expression:

"This is a young man with ideas. According to his words, I feel that he will not be able to do your business for long, and you have to teach him a lot of new things...... In this way, I am afraid that you will have to change people again in a few days, and if you do, many things will have to be re-run and time will be wasted. You promised the Round Tower family that you would do everything as quickly as possible. ”

"Yes."

Mr. De took another sip of the soup. The stable hot soup went straight into his stomach and made him warm in this cold night. He said:

"But first of all, we can give young people a little more opportunity to experiment and choose. Secondly, the treatment we can give, it is true that no one will want to come. It's good to find someone who is willing to come, so let's try it first. ”