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

Chapter 5 Surprise
After taking the manuscript and seeing that it was getting late, Deng Zhimo stood up and said goodbye, while Wang Wenlong sent him out the door.

Deng Zhimo's family also lives in Masa Village, which is not far from Wang Jingui's family. Of course, the environment is much better.

Deng Zhimo has a high income. In addition to several main rooms, the house he rents also has a small courtyard with a beautiful scenery.

Back home, Deng Zhimo's wife quickly asked the servant to get water for Deng Zhimo to wash his feet, and then asked the maid to go to the kitchen to make Deng Zhimo sobering soup. As the eldest master, Deng Zhimo only had to sit on the imperial chair and wait.

Deng Zhimo and Wang Wenlong chatted all the time during the meal and did not drink much wine. They drank a cup of strong tea after the meal. After going home and sitting for a while, he felt that he had sobered up.

So he picked up a stack of manuscripts given to him by Wang Wenlong and started to look through them.

Chapter 1 of The Scholars tells the story of Wang Mian's study in the early Ming Dynasty. Deng Zhimo felt that Wang Wenlong's writing style was a bit like "Jin Ping Mei".

At this time, "Jin Ping Mei" had been written, circulated among literati, and received many praises.

However, this book is too immoral, and no bookstore dares to print it yet. It is only circulated in the form of handwritten copies. The author's real name is unknown. No one knows exactly who Lan Ling Xiaoxiaosheng is.

It is said that several bookstores in Nanjing have already obtained the authentic copy and are preparing to publish it for printing. Once the test is successful and it is not banned, other bookstores will surely follow suit.

"Jin Ping Mei" is the originator of human romance novels, and many of the techniques of later human romance satirical novels come from this book.

Deng Zhimo himself has also read the manuscript of "Jin Ping Mei". Although the copied content is only a few chapters, he still quite appreciates the literary techniques of "Jin Ping Mei".

At this time, seeing that many descriptions in "The Scholars" used techniques similar to those in "The Plum in the Golden Ping", Deng Zhimo nodded and felt that the writing style of this novel was pretty good.

But that's it.

The first page of "The Scholars" is just an introduction. It ends with the death of the famous scholar Wang Mian at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the judgment that using eight-legged prose to recruit scholars will inevitably lead to the corruption of writing style. The story has not yet unfolded.

After reading it, Deng Zhimo didn't feel there was much difference from other novels except that he admired Wang Mianxian Yun Yehe's character and noble character.

He felt that this novel had some potential, but he still suppressed it first and waited until Wang Wenlong's subsequent manuscripts came out to see the situation before considering recommending it to Yu Xiangdou.

When he got up early the next day, Wang Wenlong directly spread out the manuscript paper and continued to copy the follow-up content of "The Scholars". He wrote four more chapters in one day. After drying the manuscript, he turned around and took the manuscript to visit Deng Zhimo at his home early.

When I followed Wang Jingui's directions and asked all the way to Deng Zhimo's house, I happened to meet Deng Zhimo coming out of the house.

When Deng Zhimo saw Wang Wenlong holding a thick pile of manuscripts in one hand and a snack box in the other, he was surprised and said, "There are new manuscripts so soon?"

Wang Wenlong said: "I'll write it when I get back, and I got four more chapters."

Deng Zhimo was quite impressed. People these days cannot write articles so fast.

He said to Wang Wenlong: "It's a pity that I have an appointment to go to Shuangfeng Hall to see the engraving today, so I can only read the manuscript in the bookshop."

Looking at the gifts Wang Wenlong brought, he added: "Since we are friends, there is no need to be so quarrelsome. Brother, please bring these snacks back to the children."

Wang Wenlong naturally thanked him.

Deng Zhimo took Wang Wenlong's manuscript and went straight to Shuangfeng Hall. He went to the study room and read a few chapters of the script. After confirming that it was correct, he asked Yu Xiangdou and the craftsmen to print it.

Deng Zhimo finally got a rest after working hard all morning. He sat on a chair and took out Wang Wenlong's manuscript to read.

Chapter 2 begins with the story of "The Scholars" unfolding completely, from the boy student Zhou Jin's experience of depression to Fan Jin's passing the national examination.

These passages are full of pungent and satirical style, penetrating into three parts the darkness of the imperial examination system, the pain and helplessness of the lower-class literati, and the despicability of the Confucian scholars who fell into the pursuit of wealth and wealth.The stories in The Scholars will be ironic enough for later generations, let alone in this era when human novels have just appeared and satirical novels have not yet been formed. The extremely dramatic stories and profound descriptions of human nature are very important to readers at this time. Seeing something they have never seen before will only make them feel extremely novel.

Deng Zhimo was already moved when he read the passage about Zhou Jin sitting in the palace. He felt that Wang Wenlong's depiction of the tragic situation of the lower class literati was extremely realistic.

He also failed in the imperial examination for many years before he became discouraged and turned to writing books to make a living. When he saw Zhou Jin's situation, he felt that he had become a character in the book.

Then I saw the scene where Fan Jin won the imperial examination. When he saw Fan Jin shouting "Hey, I won the imperial examination!" after he learned that he had won the imperial examination, he immediately went crazy. Deng Zhimo couldn't help but praise him.

"Sarcasm, too ironic!"

He seemed to see the shadows of countless low-level literati he had seen in this book.

He has never read this kind of novel that directly satirizes the world. Although the technique is somewhat similar to Jin Ping Mei, its satire is far more heartfelt and more readable than Jin Ping Mei.

Deng Zhimo found it extremely novel, and felt that the technique of this novel was worth learning. The characters were portrayed so deeply that he still had an aftertaste in his mouth after reading it.

Deng Zhimo couldn't bear to put the book down until he finished reading all four chapters. He just wanted to know how the subsequent story would develop.

He stood up directly and took the stack of manuscripts into the backyard.

The leader of Shuangfeng Hall, Yu Xiangdou, was in the backyard looking at the quality of the pages that had just been printed, when he saw Deng Zhimo hurried in and said, "Mr. Yu, look at this book!"

Yu Xiangdou asked: "What other books did you write?"

"I didn't write it, but a friend of mine did it."

Yu Xiangdou took the manuscript from Deng Zhimo's hand and began to read it slowly. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it, but the more he read, the more focused he became.

After reading for more than half an hour, Yu Xiangdou put down the manuscript, nodded and said, "It's really good writing style. It's a bit like "The Plum in the Golden Vase", but it's satirical and spicy, and the description of human nature is extraordinary. Who is the author of this book?"

"The author of this book is named Wang Wenlong. He is a friend of mine and lives in Jianyang."

Yu Xiangdou asked: "In Jianyang? But he is a scholar in Jianyang County School?"

Deng Zhimo shook his head: "The ancestors of Wang Wenlong went to the West with the Three Treasures Eunuch. He grew up in the West. He is not very proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics, but he has a lot of experience. He asked me to see if this book could be printed. I just saw it today. The subsequent chapters are so shocking that I will give them to you immediately.”

Yu Xiangdou nodded when he heard this: "Our bookstore hasn't printed a new novel for a long time since we printed "The Cases of Emperor Ming Zhusi Gong"."

"The stereotype of "The Biography of Public Cases" will be gone after this manuscript is printed, and the sales are about to bottom out. I am planning to print a new novel. Originally, I was asking for submissions. Now it seems that if Wang Wenlong's words are enough, If it's quick, I can print this book "The Scholars"."

Deng Zhimo was entrusted with the matter of loyalty and took the initiative to ask Wang Wenlong: "Mr. Yu, how much royalties do you plan to give Wang Wenlong for this book?"

Yu Xiangdou: "Mr. Wang is very good at writing. He can give you 80 taels for a book."

Deng Zhimo shook his head and said: "The royalties are too small."

Nowadays, the manuscript fees paid by Shufang Yincheng Wenmoju to collectors can reach more than 100 taels per copy, but that is a price that can only be paid by well-known collectors. As for other types of manuscripts, the manuscript fees can also reach similar levels. Well-known writers like Deng Zhimo compile a book. I can get 80 to [-] taels for this book, and I have to get hundreds of taels to write a novel.

Deng Zhimo felt that it was not too much to get more than 100 taels based on the level of Wang Wenlong's "The Scholars".

Hearing this, Yu Xiangdou smiled and said: "Sir, you are really a good friend. If so, why don't you ask Mr. Wang Wenlong to come to the bookstore? I will have a detailed discussion with him face to face."

(End of this chapter)