Volume 2 Chapter 44: Pawned Life

  That night, Chen Jianchen received another paper crane message from Qingyun Daozhang, which said that he had left Jiangzhou with Guanghan Shishu and was heading north to the capital to attend a Dharma Assembly.

  When Chen Jian heard about the Buddhist Dharma Assembly, he felt a bit puzzled: The Tian Tong dynasty had abolished the Hundred Schools of Thought and only respected Confucianism, managing Buddhism and Taoism very strictly. Fifty years ago, the imperial court had even carried out a sweeping purge of Buddhism, destroying many prosperous temples and sending monks back to their hometowns to return to secular life.

  After this cleaning, all parties left behind a large number of dilapidated temples everywhere, becoming a place where snakes, insects, tigers and leopards gather, and there are often rumors of ghosts.

  Monks and temples produce ghosts and demons, which is quite strange.

  However, the "Dharma Convention" that Qingyun is talking about now is actually a Buddhist term. Listening to its meaning, it seems that the scale of the Dharma Convention is not small, and it's still being held in the capital city under the emperor's feet, which makes it even more eerie.

  Could it be that the imperial court's atmosphere has changed and they have begun to revere Buddhism and Taoism?

  Chen Jianchen immediately thought of this possibility. When the emperor changes, there will always be some new policies and measures issued.

  The current Holy Emperor Zhengming is actually the one who ascended to the throne three years ago.

  However, due to the lack of information, Chen Jianchen pondered for a long time and still couldn't figure out a clue, unable to know the truth of the matter, and finally had to give up.

  Not in his position, not planning for his affairs, the temple hall is too far away, after all, it's not something that a small person like him can see clearly now. Better to solve his own problems first.

  At present, Chen Jianchen's top priority is to fight for a truly own career in Jiangzhou and bring his mother and Abao into the city as soon as possible.

  Starting a business requires capital and skills.

  Chen Jianchen thought for a while and had a rough idea. He wanted to open a bookstore in Jiangzhou City - the literary style of the Tianyun Dynasty was very popular, and bookstores were very welcome. Almost every major state had more than a dozen bookstores, and if business went well, they could make a lot of money in a year.

  The bookstore sells various books, calligraphy and paintings. In addition to the unified source of goods for books, the source of calligraphy and paintings is very diversified. It can be self-written and self-sold, or it can be sold on behalf of others, and some famous works can also be collected and resold at a high price...

  Highly operable.

  Moreover, the prices of calligraphy and painting are not standardized. If you're lucky enough to have the blessing of Caishen (the god of wealth), a ordinary piece of calligraphy or painting can be sold for several taels of silver. It's really "three years without opening, open for three years". As for some bookstores and art shops that use despicable tactics such as selling fake goods, it's not uncommon to see them making even more profits.

  However, opening a decent bookstore requires at least ten silver ingots as capital. Rent is one aspect, hiring people is another, but the most important thing is the cost of the first batch of goods.

  In addition, we must also make good ideological preparations for the initial losses that are basically not profitable. We need to know that a bookstore is doing brand business, and most of the customers who come and go are regulars, so the newly opened store is basically deserted in the early stage, and it takes time to slowly boil before it can emerge.

  So, the money is the first obstacle in front of Chen Jianchen.

  First of all, it's impossible for him to ask his family for money. As for borrowing from Wang Fu, that's not a good idea either. In the end, he still has to rely on his own abilities to earn money.

  In the Tianyi dynasty, using a scholar's identity to make money is still relatively easy. One can be a gatekeeper, a teacher, sell calligraphy and paintings, write poetry, etc.

  It's just that this kind of behavior consumes too much energy, and there won't be time to prepare for the imperial examination. Therefore, unless they are forced to, scholars will not stoop to making money. Some poor scholars would rather stay in their study rooms reciting "zhi hu zhe ye" than go out to find a way to make a living - and generally, families of scholars have relatively stable households with fixed assets, so they don't need to rush out to worry about making a living.

  But Chen Jianchen was different, he had no intention of taking the imperial examination and did not have the main concern; moreover, from his point of view, being unable to make a living on one's own and starving to death with one's whole family would be the most shameful thing.

  Of course, for him at present, being a teacher or an official is unrealistic, it's still more stable to sell calligraphy and paintings.

  This is one of the main reasons why Chen Jianchen has been practicing calligraphy and painting with great effort. Once he has practiced well, he can select some of his better works and send them to a bookstore in the city to be sold on consignment - many scholars have taken this path, first, they don't need to show their face; second, it can also verify one's level, whether it can be recognized by others; third, money can make ghosts grind mills, who will not refuse.

  Consignment sales have rules, requiring the author to set a price, and after selling, the store takes a certain percentage of commission. If it cannot be sold within the agreed time, the author must take it back; otherwise, it will be considered abandoned, and the store owner can handle it freely.

  With a plan to make money, Chen Jianchen spent more energy on calligraphy, often writing for several hours at a time, consuming countless pens and ink.

  All this is the skill of practicing calligraphy, which is indispensable. When I feel that it's about right, I can formally buy blank scrolls to write on, so that they can be sold at a good price. If you just use some rough-edged paper, no matter how well you write, it won't have any sales value. The specifications are not enough, and the bookstore will not accept them either.

  Wang Fu knew about Chen Jianchen's consignment plan and immediately patted his chest, saying he knew the owner of "Xue Ni Zhai" and could introduce him. Chen Jianchen did not refuse this favor.

  Human feelings and emotions are what make an article, so there's no need to be overly rigid.

  Xue Ni Zhai is a large-scale bookstore and painting shop in Jiangzhou, with a considerable reputation. They have certain requirements for collecting and selling calligraphy and paintings, first of all, they must pass the scrutiny of the owner. If not, they will not be accepted. Although Wang Fu has recommended him, if his own level of calligraphy is not good enough, others will not accept it either.

  This is an opportunity that cannot be missed, and it can be used as a verification summary of the previous writing exercises.

  Chen Jianchen immediately bought two blank scrolls, spending thirty cents, which was a bit heart-wrenching. What's more heart-wrenching is that one of the characters was wasted due to insufficient grasp; in the end, only one character was written: One umbrella smoke rain all life!

  Seven characters, font between regular script and running script, upright but not severe, flowing but not scattered, strokes round and elegant, like clouds and water flowing, giving people a comfortable and not scattered feeling.

  Chen Jianchen pressed down on the seal, blew the ink dry, and then carefully rolled it up, tying it with a length of twine.

  With the work done, Chen Jian didn't want to delay any further. He and Wang Fu asked for leave from the hospital and went to Xueni Zhai on North Street to prepare for consignment sales. As for whether his calligraphy would be approved by the owner of Xueni Zhai and put up for sale in the store, Chen Jian was not entirely confident. After all, there were too many personal opinions about calligraphy and painting, and there was no uniform standard.

  I hope this will be a successful start...