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

Chapter 58 Jiangxi Taoist Priest
Wang Wenlong is not stupid. 200 taels is not a lot of money for him now, and wax paper printing will soon be spread, and the fee for method authorization can only be sold a few times.

In contrast, if we monopolize the supply of wax paper and ink, all low-end workshops in Fujian will have to come to him to buy raw materials if they want to use wax paper to print books. Although it will take a longer time to recover the initial cost, this transaction will not happen after a few years. I can still do it in a steady stream.

Wang Wenlong directly explained the situation to the shopkeeper of Chengdetang. There was no need to lie about this thing. The technology was too simple. Even if Chengdetang didn't buy it, he might be able to get the technology himself in a few months.

Wang Wenlong had no plans to open a printing shop, and he had a bunch of engravers assigned to him by Xu Xueju.

Wang Wenlong promised that as long as Chengdetang provided ready-made wooden movable type molds, the set of typefaces would be returned to Chengdetang for use after being processed by the engravers on both sides.

Moreover, there is a threshold for learning technology. By participating in the printing of this batch of things, Quanzhou Chengdetang was able to obtain a group of skilled wax plate printing workers at least half a year before other printing workshops.

The most important thing is that they can still be favored by Xu Xueju, and they will not lose no matter what.

The shopkeeper was also a clear-headed person. After some thought, he agreed and immediately took Wang Wenlong to choose the fonts.

This was also the reason why Wang Wenlong approached Xiong Qingbo for cooperation instead of Yu Xiangdou. There were only a few bookshops in Quanzhou that could produce a set of wooden movable type molds immediately. Chengdetang, which needed fast printing, was naturally the first choice.

After some selection, Wang Wenlong selected the most complete set of pear wood fonts in Chengde Hall. This set has more than 1 characters and a complete set of spare characters. The key is that the wood is good enough. According to the shopkeeper, it was originally made. At that time, the work cost more than 200 taels.

At the same time, Quanzhou Chengdetang also sent more than a dozen engravers and printers to the official engraving workshop to study. They said they were studying, but they also naturally helped with printing.

As for the printing raw materials factory, Wang Wenlong does not plan to open it now. He wants to return to Fuzhou to open the factory after completing the work here.

The buyers of these printing raw materials must be mainly from Jianyang. If the raw material factory is opened in Quanzhou, it needs to travel a long distance by land transportation along the coast and then transfer to water transportation to reach the destination. If the raw material factory is opened in Fuzhou, it can be sent directly to Jianyang by taking the Minjiang River. , At the same time, Fuzhou is also where Xu Xueju’s yamen is located, so he can help somewhat.

However, the wax paper and ink used for printing during this period could only be prepared by Wang Wenlong himself.

In order to protect his own interests, Wang Wenlong, like a thief, had to prepare wax oil and ink cutting materials by himself every time. Even Deng Zhimo and Wang Jingui took the initiative to avoid it.

Don’t think that Wang Wenlong is too cautious. After the first batch of wax paper mimeographed documents were printed, Wang Jingui reminded Wang Wenlong that the master chef of the incense shop who was sent by Xu Xueju to help always poked his head in when he was preparing the ingredients.

Only then did Wang Wenlong pay careful attention, and he found that every time he cut ingredients, the worker in the incense shop hurriedly walked to the pool to stir the ingredients. In fact, he was testing the weight of the ingredients in the pool with a spoon.

Wang Wenlong suddenly became alert, and he quickly sent the man back. After that, he dispersed the steps of cutting ingredients, and even carefully hid the amount of raw materials used to avoid leaking his formula.

It's a little troublesome, but it's a last resort before you can find reliable people to open your own workshop.

Wang Wenlong told Xu Xueju about this matter, and also told him that he planned to open a workshop in Fuzhou and wanted Xu Xueju to become a shareholder. Xu Xueju laughed when he heard this:

"Jianyang is good at doing business."

For him, doing business was just a small thing after all. He didn't pay much attention to it until he heard that the annual income from this business could reach several hundred taels. But now that he had something urgent to do, he said he would wait until he returned to Fuzhou to discuss it.

……

Quanzhou, Yichun Village, Fahua Nunnery.

Li Ding asked the little Taoist boy who was sitting down to bring the guests in. After a while, he saw Li Guangjin walking in with Wang Wenlong with a smile.

Li Guangjin greeted Li Ding and said, "Taoist priest, you are well." Li Ding smiled, and Li Guangjin pointed at Wang Wenlong and introduced: "This layman Wang Wenlong is a staff member of Xu Fantai, the right-hand minister."

Li Ding hurriedly greeted him.

Wang Wenlong returned the gift and looked at him secretly. He saw that Li Ding was about fifty years old, not tall, with a slender face, long beard, and a peaceful face. He was indeed an immortal.

Li Ding was the head of the Jingming Sect of the Zhengyi Sect in Quanzhou City at this time. He was not a native of Fujian, but a native of Jiangxi.

It is not surprising at all these days that people from Jiangxi become Taoist priests in Fujian and become local Taoist authorities.

Because it was close to Longhu Mountain in Jiangxi, the ancestral home of Zhengyi, the influence of Jiangxi people in Taoism was extremely strong at this time.

During the Wanli period, most of the Zhengyi masters in various places were from Jiangxi, and these Jiangxi Taoist priests were also very business-minded. Many Taoist temples opened in various places were named "Wanshou Palace"

In later generations, there were more than 500 Longevity Palaces across the country, basically all of them were monasteries of the same line. If you figure out their locations, you will find that these Longevity Palaces spread throughout the Ming Dynasty, from the southern coast to the northwest desert. It is said to be the first Taoist temple in the Ming Dynasty chain.

Jiangxi Taoist priests who were not born in Zhengyi dare not use this font size.

More than 1000 Wanshou Palaces are connected with each other and are all related to Jiangxi. In addition to being convenient for preaching, they can also carry out various businesses.

The Jiangyou Business Gang formed by Jiangxi people was also a major force in business in the Ming Dynasty.

As a gathering place for merchants in Jiangxi, the Wanshou Palace naturally developed the original function of billing. During the Wanli period, merchants in Jiangxi could even deposit money at the Wanshou Palace in the northwest, and then withdraw money from the Wanshou Palace in Jiangxi with the receipts.

Wang Wenlong knew that the Li Ding in front of him was also a descendant of Wanshou Palace. He went to Quanzhou to promote Buddhism when he was young. He was impatient for justice and had many mysterious deeds. He was now the number one Taoist figure in Quanzhou.

Later, the Li Xiangong enshrined in the main hall of Fahua Nunnery in Quanzhou was Li Ding.

Wang Wenlong saw that there was a Taoist scripture placed on Li Ding's desk, and there was pen and ink on the desk. Apparently he was annotating the Taoist scriptures before. The content could not be evaluated, but the handwriting was very skillful. It was not that naive. Mo’s fake Taoist priest.

Li Ding stood up and poured tea for the two of them. He said sheepishly: "There is no good tea in the temple. I wonder if you two can drink it."

"What's the harm?" Wang Wenlong took the cup and asked, "Have you read the text that I sent to the Taoist priest before?"

Li Ding nodded and said with some embarrassment: "I've finished reading it, but..."

Li Guangjin also had a Taoist surname. He was recognized among Quanzhou celebrities as someone who understood Taoism and had a close relationship with Li Ding.

He said for Wang Wenlong: "If you have anything to say, it's okay to just say it."

"The text Wang Jiansheng gave me said that the method of replacing melons and vegetables saved thousands of people in Chaozhou ten years ago. The local people burned incense to worship the melon and vegetable immortals who saved the famine, and a group of people accompanied them to worship the gods."

Li Ding frowned and said, "But ten years ago I was studying Taoism in Chaozhou and visited all the Taoist temples in Chaozhou, but I had never heard of this."

Okay, I made up lies and met someone who really knows what I'm talking about.

(End of this chapter)