The night was dark, and Yang Ji lay on the bed but couldn't sleep.

"I still underestimate them, I can't wait so soon. Twenty copper coins...... This is trying to force me and Uncle Liang to death. ”

"If the eldest lady in the clan is in charge, she will definitely not give me any more silver, and she will never help me anymore, and she may even say to the outside world that she has given me more silver. Without enough silver, Liang Bo and I either froze to death or starved to death. In Pingchuan County, many people fail to survive every winter. ”

Yang Ji's mind went up and down, and many thoughts turned in his heart.

Liang Bo is old, so he can only figure out his own way. If you want to get through this difficulty, you must find a way to make enough money before the end of the year, which is a problem that has to be faced.

For the first time in his life, Yang Ji felt the pressure of life and had a tricky feeling. There are only a dozen days left before the Chinese New Year, and after that, there is a long period of heavy snowfall.

In such a short period of time, how easy is it to earn money to spend two months? Not to mention that Yang Ji has no experience.

“...... Pick firewood and sell it for money?"

Yang Ji shook his head and quickly denied his thoughts:

"At this time, the dead branches on the mountain have long been picked up, and the people who need firewood have already prepared enough firewood to survive the winter. Selling goods?"

Yang Ji shook his head again, "I don't have the money, I don't have the means, I don't have the funds to sell livestock at all, and it's easier said than done, and I don't necessarily do it." ”

"Helping people with hard work?"

"No! People will look down on me when they see me young. And for more than ten days, I can only do short-term work. Even if you fight to the death, you won't be able to earn the money for me and Uncle Liang to spend the winter. ”

......

Yang Ji was secretly thinking, and one idea after another came out of his mind, but one after another he denied it.

That night, he had insomnia.

"Yes, at the end of the year, every household has to post couplets. If I go and write couplets to people, I may not be able to make money with my calligraphy. ”

With his eyes open until dawn, Yang Ji's eyes lit up, and he finally had an idea.

In other aspects, Yang Ji didn't have much advantage in asking himself, but in terms of calligraphy, he asked himself not to lose to anyone.

“...... It's just that people who read books sell words, which is insulting, and I have been reading books for eight years, how can I do such a thing!"

Yang Ji hesitated again, but remembered Liang Bo's hard work, and felt a pain in his heart:

"Uncle Liang has been with my family for more than 20 years, he is loyal, I don't care if I am a young man, but how can I let his old man also follow me to starve and freeze. ”

Yang Ji had mixed feelings in his heart, gritted his teeth, and finally made up his mind.

............

The cold wind hit the street, and a chill came from the north, becoming deeper and deeper.

Early in the morning, Yang Ji took five copper coins from the old housekeeper, carried a pen holder and a pen box, and walked out of Yang's mansion directly from the side door.

The weather was getting colder, and there were not many pedestrians on the road, so after bypassing three intersections, Yang Ji walked into a "study shop" that sold rice paper.

The shop has been in town for some years, and it is decorated in an antique style, and the surrounding walls and desks are filled with things of all grades, not only rice paper, but also other pens, inkstones, inkstones, calligraphy and paintings, and so on.

Two or three scholars were picking things inside, and near the entrance of the room, the old shopkeeper was wearing a green robe, clasping his hands together, leaning against the counter and smiling:

"Guests, whatever you want, whatever you want, we have anything of any grade here, and you are satisfied. ”

Yang Ji nodded and didn't say anything.

There are a lot of things in the study shop, but Yang Ji doesn't have much money, and after turning around a few times, he directly picked a small stack of rice paper, and then took out three copper plates, spread them out and opened them to the counter.

"Shopkeeper, trouble, this is the money to buy paper. ”

Yang Ji didn't have much money on him, so he didn't dare to buy too much at a time.

"Hey, young man, that's not enough. ”

The old shopkeeper smiled, his face was full of wrinkles, and he stretched out a calloused finger and knocked it twice on the counter, and actually pushed back the three coppers:

"Three coppers was the price a few days ago. Now rice paper is more than that. ”

"What?"

Yang Ji was taken aback, although he didn't usually buy rice paper, he still knew the price.

"Hehe, don't think I'm bullying you. Everything is rising in the past ten days before the end of the year. ”

The old shopkeeper squinted, glanced at the back box behind Yang Ji, and said with a smile:

"Besides, judging by your dress, you bought this rice paper to go to the market to sell couplets, right?" ”

“weishenme？”

Yang Ji raised his head in surprise, this was not what he expected.

The old shopkeeper leaned back slightly, and said with a smile:

"Originally, there was no reason to push the business outward. However, I have always relied on a conscience to do business. You're so young that you're smart enough to come up with this idea. But to tell you the truth, this meal is not so delicious. ”

"In the past few days, there are a lot of people who come to my store to buy rice paper, and they all write couplets for others with the idea of making a few bucks. The rice paper in the store sells a lot, so the price naturally rises. If you had come a few days earlier. Depending on the number of people selling the couplets, you might be able to get a piece of the pie, but now, -- it's not so easy. ”

"Writing couplets for others is not that you read and write, just write and draw casually, but choose the best of the best, from the group of people who write haode, pick out the group of people who write the most haode, and then you can make money. Many old gentlemen who have been reading poetry and books for decades can't eat this meal, let alone your little doll. This kind of money is really so easy to make, and the streets are already full of people. ”

The old shopkeeper said with a kind face:

So, listen to my advice and think carefully before making a decision. ”

"The old shopkeeper is kind. ”

After the initial surprise, Yang Ji gradually quieted down, and there was a look of gratitude in his eyes.

Jiang is old and spicy, and the old shopkeeper's knowledge cannot be said to be high, and Yang Ji has to admit that what he said does make sense.

"Unfortunately, I had no other choice. The cold winter is coming, and if I can't make enough money in these ten days, when the snow covers the mountains and the weather is cold, I and the old housekeeper will have only a dead end. ――It's not easy to do this job, but I don't think I'm bad at calligraphy, so I'll have to give it a try anyway. ”

Yang Ji thought like this in his heart, and quickly made up his mind.

"Shopkeeper, xiexie. Still, I'd like to ask you to pack these things for me. ”

Yang Ji said with a firm face, and after handing over an extra copper coin, he carried the stack of rice paper under his ribs and walked out under the surprised gaze of the shopkeeper.

"This young man...... It's really not easy. ”

The old shopkeeper looked at Yang Ji's back, his eyes shining with surprise......

......

The market is in the northwest direction of the town, and the New Year is approaching, and it is also the most crowded time.

Although he had expected in his heart that this trip would not be easy, when Yang Ji arrived there, he couldn't help but feel a sinking in his heart.

Although the old shopkeeper of the study shop had mentioned him, the number of gentlemen in the market was still much more than he expected, and in the surging flow of people, more than a dozen old gentlemen with a very thick temperament set up stalls, scattered on both sides of the street, and were waving ink to write New Year's couplets for people.

These people have excellent calligraphy, such as waterfalls, such as smoke clouds, such as strange peaks, such as dangerous rivers, even with Yang Ji's gaze, I have to admit that these people have been immersed in calligraphy for a long time, and they are by no means comparable to an ordinary teenager.

"It's a bit of a hassle. ”

Yang Ji's brows twitched twice, feeling a little headache.

In the crowd, he even saw several large family Xixi. These people have been immersed in scriptures, calligraphy and painting for decades, and their fame is not trivial.

"It's too late for me to get involved, and now there are so many old gentlemen and Xixi, there are more monks and less porridge, and the idea of writing to make money seems to be a little tricky now. ”

Yang Ji also deeply felt that it was easier said than done, and it was not easy to support his family.

Yang Ji thinks that his calligraphy is not bad, and it is difficult to compare with his peers. But it's another thing to compare with these old gentlemen, however, Yang Ji is by no means a person who gives up easily, and the situation in front of him has inspired the arrogance of the young man in his heart.

Carrying a pen case, Yang Ji walked around the crowd and looked around for comparison.

"I've been practicing calligraphy for more than eight years, and I've never slackened. Although it is not as good as those old scholars of Xixi, it is still more than most of the people here. As long as you work hard, you may not be able to make enough money before the end of the year. ”

Yang Ji suddenly felt relieved.

Subsequently, Yang Ji bargained and rented a bunk in front of a bow shop for ten days for a copper. Even tables, chairs, and flags were included.

"This time I'm really destitute. ”

Yang Ji touched his bag, shriveled and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

The first time he sold words on the street, Yang Ji was inevitably nervous.

"There's no turning back from the bow, and I'm going to raise enough money anyway. ”

Yang Ji calmed down, untied his back, spread out a piece of rice paper, and finely polished the ink, ready to write the first couplet. This is called "lintel", which is to show your calligraphy skills to the people around you, and there are not too many rules, so there is a lot of room for choice.

Seeing a fifteen-year-old boy in the crowd about to write a couplet, the people around him were amazed and soon attracted a lot of attention.

Yang Ji was not impatient, and after the ink was even, he lifted the pen shaft, pondered slightly, and immediately became confident.

"Cloud airbrush, flower Teng, tiger and leopard. ”

Yang Jibi walked the dragon and snake, or hook or slight, and quickly wrote the upper link, paused, and the next link also came out soon:

"The rain turns over the ink waves, and the dragon walks. ”

"It's a pity that there are two pieces of rice paper. ”

Yang Ji secretly regretted in his heart, this lintel could not be sold, Yang Ji was very poor now, and he wasted two pieces of rice paper on his body at once, so he was naturally a little distressed.

After the two couplets were written, Yang Ji blew the ink and quickly hung it on the banner behind him. As soon as this word came out, it immediately caused a round of applause around:

"Good words, this strength is almost comparable to a few old gentlemen, amazing!"

"I've never heard of this couplet! He must have come up with it himself, right?

"This young man has a good future, much better than my family!"

......

There was a round of applause, although they were laymen, they could also see that Yang Ji's writing was strong, very stylish and beautiful.

"This pair of words...... It's a bit of a doorway. ”

A few old gentlemen who sold words couldn't help but look at it twice, and unlike those rough people, they looked a little deeper. Yang Ji's calligraphy is indeed excellent, but it is only relative to his peers, and what really makes them focus on that couplet.

"The cloud airbrush flowers are tigers and leopards, and the rain turns over the ink waves and walks the dragon", it is they who sell words.

"It's okay, the response is good. ”

Yang Ji's face was silent, but he was secretly relieved in his heart, "As long as everyone can recognize my strength, it will be easier to talk about it later." ”

There is also a threshold for selling words, and if the words are not written well, no one will buy them at all, and they won't even read them. At least this first level, Yang Ji has passed.

However, the next thing made Yang Ji's historical data inferior.

Although there are a lot of haode, no one really went to Yang Ji's stall to inquire and buy, and the crowd that had gathered around Yang Ji quickly dispersed one by one.

"What's going on? No one buys it!"

Yang Ji thought it was an accident at first, but one hour passed, and two hours passed...... , until the third pole of the sun, Yang Ji stood so numb that his waist and legs were numb, and there were still many people in front of the stall, and he didn't even sell a couplet.

"If this continues, not only will I not be able to make money, but even the five coppers that Uncle Liang gave me will be wasted. ”

Yang Ji's heart sank, and he became more and more anxious.

"It doesn't make sense...... , even if my words are not the most haode, they are by no means too bad. It's normal that not many people patronize the first day, but there's no reason why you can't even sell a pair of words for so long!"

Yang Ji began to ponder deeply.

"I'm young, and I'm not as stable as those old gentlemen, but so many old gentlemen, just I'm a young man, which has become my advantage. And there were so many people cheering just now, could there be no one in Weishenme? There must be something in this that I didn't notice......

Yang Ji raised his head and looked around carefully......

[New books for recommendation, for collection!]