The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Zhao Kan thought the wine was delicious and kept drinking it. Wang Wenlong waited for the wine to heat up and also drank a glass. He only felt that the entrance was mellow and sweet, and the aroma of the wine was intoxicating. Even if he didn't like drinking much, he couldn't help but feel that it tasted good.

However, just having too much wine was not a problem, so he asked again: "Is there anything to eat near your shop?"

In this era, shops sold a single variety. Liquor shops specialized in drinking wine, restaurants specialized in selling rice, and tofu shops specialized in selling tofu.

It's not like the stores of later generations that sell steamed buns, stir-fried vegetables, drinks and barbecued meats in one store. The reason is simple: one store can't stock so many goods.

There are no refrigerators these days, so the chicken, duck, and fish will go rancid if they cannot be sold. Even if so many goods are brought in, we cannot hire so many cooks, so we can only focus on the same thing.

There is even a place for drinking and dining, but it is a large restaurant. Generally, people will not go there without a large banquet. It is obviously not suitable for three people to eat.

But it doesn't matter, Nanjing is a big country, and there are many famous restaurants selling food on the roadside. Generally, just ask the shopkeeper for his recommendation.

The owner of the restaurant said: "There is a roast duck shop at the intersection. The chicken and duck braised in buckets are excellent. It is my brother's property."

Feng Congwu smiled when he heard this and said, "You are an honest shopkeeper. Okay, let's try your brother's craftsmanship."

Wang Wenlong then said to Wang Pingbao: "Brother Bao, go out and buy a roast duck and order some side dishes."

Wang Pingbao nodded, and the shopkeeper smiled and said, "I'll tell my brothers to serve the roast duck." The two of them went together.

Roast ducks in this era were all operated by meat shops. This kind of shop sold not only raw chicken and duck, but also braised tube chicken and braised duck.

Wang Pingbao came back soon after he left. After waiting for a while, a waiter came into the store carrying a food box.

This is called a box shop, and it specializes in takeout business. When you open the food box, the waiter puts down a few stir-fried vegetables, and the cold dish shop brings braised dried tofu, edamame, candied fruits, and fresh fruits.

After waiting for a while, a man hurriedly came in carrying a roast duck.

"Brother, who wants a duck?"

The restaurant owner smiled and said, "Master, the roast duck you asked for is here."

The roast duck in the man's hand was wrapped in a net made of cattails, which could have a certain thermal insulation effect. After he came to Wang Wenlong's table and showed the duck to Wang Wenlong and others, he pulled the chopping board out of the food box. and a knife to cut pieces.

Seeing his neat movements, Wang Wenlong asked, "Is this the famous duck roasting method in Beijing?"

The man nodded: "The famous Biafang roast duck in Beijing was opened in Nanjing during the Yongle period, but they used fat duck. The duck in Nanjing is thinner and needs to be roasted in a sultry oven without using firewood. Some gentlemen can try my skills."

Wang Wenlong nodded and found that the way this man cooked duck was different from that of Beijing roast duck. Instead of taking out the duck and skinning it, he directly cut it into pieces, and finally put it into a plate and poured some marinade on it.

The man put a plate of duck on the table. At this time, the aroma was all over the table. Zhao Kan and Feng Congwu couldn't help but stretched out their chopsticks. Wang Wenlong also took a piece and put it in his mouth. The taste in his mouth was quite oily. However, compared to the ducks in Guangzhou, Nanjing, Beijing and other places that Wang Wenlong ate in his previous life, it was not that amazing.

But he saw that Zhao Kan and Feng Congwu both had bright eyes.

The man also looked expectant, as if he was waiting for praise.

The seasonings and cooking techniques of the Ming Dynasty were much less than those of later generations. Being able to cook the roast duck flavor common in later generations in the Ming Dynasty was already very amazing in this era.

Zhao Kan first praised it: "The taste of this roast duck is really mellow, fresh and sweet."

Feng Congwu also nodded repeatedly: "It's very beautiful, but it's a pity that there is no such method in Guanzhong."

Wang Wenlong also showed an appreciative expression.

At this time, the shopkeeper of the restaurant wiped his hands and came up and said: "I heard that this gentleman is called Wang Jianyang earlier. Are you sure he is not the editor-in-chief of Suzhou Xunbao? Mr. Wang is well-known in Jiangnan. I wonder if you can recommend it to my brother's shop. Font size." Only then did Wang Wenlong understand why the store owner was so attentive, but he didn't care much about this kind of thing. Seeing that Zhao Kan and Feng Congwu both had smiles on their faces, he nodded in agreement.

The shopkeeper had already wanted to help his brother with his business, and he had even prepared pen and ink. Hearing this, he quickly asked the waiter to bring up the paper and pen.

Wang Wenlong picked up his pen and asked the man: "What is the name of your shop?"

The man answered honestly: "Call me East Street Roast Duck."

Feng Congwu laughed loudly when he heard this: "What's this name? If you write it down and people can't tell it apart, why not change it?"

"Change...this..." The man wiped his apron with both hands. It was obviously very difficult for him to think of a name.

Wang Wenlong thought for a moment and said with a smile: "I'll give you the title of East Street Roast Duck."

As he spoke, he put pen to paper. Zhao Kan and Feng Congwu were a little confused at first, but when Wang Wenlong's words were written, they both nodded in praise.

Feng Congwu praised: "Jianyang actually uses gold inscriptions on its signboards. You can't find another shop in Nanjing."

Zhao Kan, a master of epigraphy, looked at it for a while and asked in surprise: "Jianyang, I have never seen your inscriptions with the three characters 'street, roast, and duck'. Where did you get it?"

Wang Wenlong finished writing five big characters in one go, put down his pen, and then smiled at Zhao Kan and said: "These three characters are unprecedented in ancient bronze and inscriptions. They were created by me."

Feng Congwu's face was full of surprise, but after Zhao Kan looked at these three words carefully, he nodded repeatedly: "This is a good idea!"

The bronze inscriptions are the bells and tripods of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and Wang Wenlong's use of scriptures to carry plaques to people also reminded him of the example of Qi Baishi in his previous life.

Because the number of characters found in bronze inscriptions in archaeology is so small that it is difficult to write an article about it, bronze inscriptions were generally not used in daily life in the past. But it is said that Master Qi Baishi used bronze inscriptions for the famous barbecue restaurant Wan in Beijing. The word "roasted" does not exist in bronze inscriptions. Qi Baishi himself created a bronze inscription of "roasted" according to the rules of bronze inscriptions, and added a line under the inscription. Note: "Zhong Ding originally did not have this character "baked", but it was made up by Qi Huang."

As expected, Master Qi Baishi’s inscriptions made the barbecue sign stand out among the many shops.

Wang Wenlong's calligraphy level was just that, and it would be hard for him to look ugly when he wrote in front of Feng Congwu and Zhao Kan, but using gold patterns could cover up a lot, and it would have a good effect.

Qi Baishi's approach at that time was very novel and was widely used in later character designs. The original bronze inscriptions were called original bronze inscriptions, while the newly created bronze inscriptions based on the rules of Chinese characters were called imitation bronze inscriptions.

In fact, because the imitation bronze inscriptions use the rules of later Chinese characters, they are much easier to read than the original bronze inscriptions.

For example, when Wang Wenlong mentioned the words "East Street Roast Duck", because more than half of them are imitations of bronze inscriptions, even people who don't recognize the inscriptions can guess the general meaning at a glance.

After Wang Wenlong inscribed the inscription, the two shopkeeper brothers also thanked him profusely. Although they could not understand the inscriptions, they certainly would not dislike it.

This sign was originally intended for literate people. The gold inscription sign is elegant and unique. It will naturally attract attention when hung on the door. Coupled with Wang Wenlong's signature, it will definitely bring a lot of business to the store.

Wang Wenlong, Zhao Kan and Feng Congwu had a good meal and returned home drunk. The next day he got up early to see off Zhao Kan and Feng Congwu by boat to Changzhou.

Zhao Kan and Feng Congwu came to Jiangnan this time to participate in the establishment of Donglin Academy.

The Donglin lineage as a political force had already appeared in the Wanli Dynasty, but the actual opening of Donglin Academy was not until the 23rd year of Wanli, and the name Donglin Party appeared even later.

Wang Wenlong was also invited to go when the Donglin Academy was established, but the scholars who participated when the academy was established were too easily labeled as political. What's more, the demon book case was in full swing at this time, and Wang Wenlong didn't want to go at all.

Now that he was giving a lecture on "Methodology of Exegesis" at the Nanjing Imperial College, he had a reason not to go to Changzhou, so he only asked Zhao Kan to bring a gift for him, while he stayed in Nanjing, teaching while waiting for news about Ye Xianggao.

(End of this chapter)