Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 237 Bookshop Shi Xiu
After seeing off Wu Yong, Shi Qian and the others, Zhao Zhen called over the Smiling Tiger Zhu Fu and the chef Li Xiaoer to discuss organizing a banquet, inviting all the brave men in the army, as well as the heads and stewards of the villages to attend.

It’s not a big deal, it’s just that the mulberries from the two willow trees in Xixi Village are edible.

Zhao Zhen had never thought that mulberries would be so productive. Ever since he heard from Zhao Ji that there were a lot of mulberries growing on the two willow trees, it was time to eat them. Zhao Zhen sent farmhands to pass on the message, and Zhao Zhen himself led people to the old house to see Zhao Ji and others climbing the trees to pick mulberries.

After watching for a while and seeing that everyone was picking the berries carefully, Zhao Zhen estimated that it would take these twenty or thirty boys to pick all the berries from the two trees before dark, so he went to the village to find Jin Dajian.

The book club was prepared years ago. With the efforts of Jin Dajian and a group of craftsmen, the "Three Character Classic Annotations" was finally completed. This book was brought by Zhao Zhen from the main world for enlightenment. Xiao Rang imitated Cai Xiang's regular script, and Jin Dajian personally carved it.

As for choosing Cai Xiang's calligraphy, it was because Cai Xiang absorbed the style of Yan's calligraphy, which was rigorous and vigorous, with both square and round strokes, and had the broad and generous spirit of Yan's calligraphy, and was known as the best calligrapher of the Song Dynasty. In addition, Xiao Rang was also good at this calligraphy.

Zhao Zhen took over the first book in the county. He saw that the text had twelve characters per line and the notes had twenty-four characters per line. It was white and single-edged. On the edge of the book was engraved the words "Collected Annotations to the Three-Character Classic" and below was the page number. There was no fishtail, no border, and no preface or postscript. At the end of the book was the words "Compiled by Zhao Zhen".

world log
Book printing, luck +10.

Zhao Zhen also took a look around the workshop. There were carvers here, some making carved plates while others were making movable type.

As for why they did both, it was Zhao Zhen's idea. When they decided to start a bookshop, everyone discussed and agreed that movable type printing was the best.

After all, as long as you prepare enough individual movable type, you can assemble and disassemble the plates at any time and reuse them. It is much more efficient and easy to store.

Zhao Zhen proposed woodblock printing: "Brothers, the books printed in the past have mainly been the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism, in addition to the famous works of various philosophers and sages, and the collections of classics, history, and philosophy. The contents of these books are relatively fixed, and in this case movable type printing cannot show its advantages."

"On the contrary, woodblock printing is better. After all, there are a huge number of Chinese characters, with more than 5,000 commonly used characters alone. Moreover, compared with movable type printing, woodblock printing has clearer handwriting."

"Movable type printing is not superior to mass-printed books. Instead, it is better for small-volume books such as county annals, family trees, and village annals that only print a few dozen copies. I have heard that in the far west, there is a text composed of 26 letters, which uses movable type, and the combination is convenient and fast."

Zhao Zhen's words prompted the bookshop to use both methods, using woodblocks for large quantities and also preparing movable type. With more characters in stock, it would be easier to print in the future.

To this end, Zhao Zhen even consulted in the main world and found a rotary typesetter from a country called Yuan Dynasty.

A large wheel with a diameter of about 7 feet and a wheel axle of about 3 feet high is made of light wood. The Chinese characters are stored in the wheel in the order of rhyme. When using it, one person reads the character to be found, and the other person finds the character mold according to the rhyme of the Chinese character and arranges it in the printing frame.

Zhao Zhen looked at the "Three Character Classic Annotations" in his hand and praised it, and then had all the craftsmen rewarded with a golden melon seed. He asked the workshop craftsmen to speed up the printing of a thousand copies, and he planned to take it back to the main world to test the waters. If it is feasible, this business can be continued for a long time.

After finishing this matter, Zhao Zhen, accompanied by Jin Dajian, left the bookstore and returned to Baishi Manor without going to the old house in Xixi Village.

It was the farmhand who came to report that a brave man who called himself "Desperate Sanlang" Shi Xiu had come to surrender.

After a while, Zhao Zhen returned to Baishi Manor.

Jiao Ting and Bao Xu were talking to this man in the training ground. When Zhao Zhen looked at him, he saw that although the man was leaning on a shoulder pole and wearing old clothes, dressed like a woodcutter, he was a good-looking man, nine feet tall, with a face like a silver basin, eyebrows reaching his temples, and a pair of beautiful eyes. Standing next to Jiao Ting and Bao Xu, he looked very elegant.

Seeing Zhao Zhen, Shi Xiu fell to his knees and said, "My surname is Shi, my given name is Xiu, and my ancestors are from Jiankang Prefecture in Jinling. I have learned some spears and sticks since elementary school. I have always been determined to help those who are injustice. People call me "Desperate Sanlang"." "I followed my uncle to a foreign land to sell sheep and horses, but my uncle died halfway. I lost my capital and could not return home. I am now living in Jizhou selling firewood to make a living. I heard that the senior official was recruiting talents a few days ago, so I came here to join him. I hope the senior official will not abandon me and help me."

The body is like a tiger in the mountains, and the nature is like adding fuel to the fire.

Ambitious, bold and resourceful, he meets people everywhere to help him.

world log
Name: Shi Xiu (Hero, Heavenly Wisdom Star)
Nickname: Desperate

Race: Terran

Reputation: 50 (Jizhou City is famous for its injustice)
Occupation: Knight

Secondary occupations: Private businessman, woodcutter, butcher

Level: Level 4 and Level 6 (Strength 45, Commander 15)

Attributes: Strength 51, Constitution 51, Agility 40, Spirit 20
Skills: Fighting for Justice Level 4 (If the road is uneven, someone will shovel it; if things are unfair, someone will take care of it; Force +4), Shouting Level 3 (Shouting loudly, Force +3), Self-sacrifice Level 5 (Fearless, Force +5), Scouting Level 2 (Finding information, Agility +2), Slaughtering Level 2 (Slaughtering cattle and sheep easily, Strength +2), Gathering Firewood Level 1 (Going up the mountain to collect firewood, Constitution +1)

Commander Skills: Bravery Level 3 (Leading the troops, morale +3), Charge Level 2 (Leading the troops, morale +2)

Martial arts: Fists and kicks (minor success, using fists and kicks increases force +5, 5-position chopping and hanging punches) Sword (minor success, using sword-like weapons increases force +, -way Shaolin single sword)

Equipment: Jujube wood shoulder pole (blunt attack +1)

Monthly salary: 14 dollars

It was the first time that Zhao Zhen saw a person with so many professions. He quickly helped Shi Xiu up and said, "I need a brave man like you to help me..."

Bao Xu said, "Your Excellency may not know, I just had a fistfight with Brother Jiao Ting, and Brother Shi Xiu saw the outcome and challenged me. His martial arts were really strong, and I was no match for him. I lost one move in forty rounds."

Zhao Zhen was surprised when he heard this. Bao Xu had now broken through to Level 2 of the Fourth Stage. Although his level was not as good as Shi Xiu's, his fighting power was much better than Shi Xiu's. He did not expect that he would be defeated by Shi Xiu.

Zhao Zhen naturally knew that the one with greater martial arts skills would not necessarily win. Shi Xiu had many professions and skills, especially the skill of self-sacrifice, which greatly improved his martial arts skills during battle. In addition, Bao Xu's fists and feet were not as good as Shi Xiu's.

Zhao Zhen said, "It seems that my Liangshan County will have another general." Having said this, he took Shi Xiu to the hall and sat down.

First, a fruit plate and wine were served, and Zhao Zhen held three cups. Then, Bao Xu and Jiao Ting came to accompany them, and the four of them talked in the hall. Bursts of laughter could be heard from time to time in the hall.

(End of this chapter)