Chapter Ten: The Genius Attracts Wealth

  Qin Kan's intentions towards Tang Yin are not to be spoken of to outsiders.

  It can be confirmed that as long as no one provokes him, Qin Kan will not take the initiative to harm others. At most, he might play a small trick or two, but it won't hurt anyone's feelings.

  No matter what others think, Qin Kan always thought of himself as a kind person, and he always had been.

  Du Yan obviously didn't think so, she thought Qin Kan was very bad, extremely bad, and what's more, such a bad person actually had the appearance of a gentleman, it was really a cultured villain hiding among scholars, she wanted to help scholars clean up their ranks...

  Whether it was a direct threat or a veiled warning, Qin Kan refused to reveal his intentions towards Tang Da. After all, the Ming dynasty was a society governed by law, and Du Yan didn't dare to actually beat him to death. So she left in a huff, throwing in a few harmless threatening glances for free as she departed.

  From her eyes, Qin Kan suddenly felt that the idea of never seeing each other again after this might be too simple. This woman seemed to have an unspoken intention...

  Relying on the dozens of taels of silver swindled from the lottery, after paying twenty taels of penalty silver to the government office, there are now about fifteen or sixteen taels left in his possession. This is Qin Kan's entire fortune.

  Fifteen sixteen is not a small number, it carries hope.

  Alone, he came to this strange era, with no one to rely on and no branches to depend on. In the future days, Qin Kan had to eat, wear clothes, live in a house, and even marry and have children... All his life plans had to be realized with these fifteen or sixteen taels of silver, which was all he had.

  What is the first thing people should do when they have money?

  Of course it costs money.

  Two things are pressing, and must be solved immediately: one is eating, and two is living.

  Qin Kan found a stall at the west city market in Shaoxing, and casually drank a bowl of noodles soup, then ate a pancake. Honestly, it was very hard to eat, there was no chili, no chicken essence, just a pot of noodle soup with a few pinches of salt sprinkled inside, that's what they called noodles.

  Forcing himself to finish it, Qin Kan got up and walked towards Mashishi Street. After searching for a long time on Mashishi Street, he finally chose an inn to stay in. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he happened to be staying in the same inn as Tang Yin.

  This means that Tang Dazai's unlucky days have begun.

  "Ah! Isn't this Brother Tang? What a coincidence, what a pleasure to meet you!" Qin Kan exclaimed with surprise and delight, his face filled with the unexpected joy of "people meeting in unexpected places".

  "Cough...cough...cough..."

  Standing right under the eaves of the inn, dazedly looking at the rain-soaked streets, Tang's great poet, who was deeply inhaling and brewing poetic lines, was startled and choked, coughing until his face turned bright red.

  Qin Kan's eyes sparkled brightly, what he saw was not a talented scholar, but silver...

  A big chunk of silver is coughing in front of him... Coughing so adorably.

  Qin Kan enthusiastically stepped forward and patted Tang Da's back.

  "If I had known earlier that Brother Tang would be so delighted to see me, then last night your foolish younger brother should have gone to his door to discuss our aspirations with him..."

  Tang Yin coughed and smiled wryly, clasping his hands together in a gesture of resignation.

  Obviously, there is no surprise on this genius's face, but rather more fright.

  It wasn't until after a while that Tang Yin finally recognized him as the strange friend he had met during yesterday's lottery drawing.

  "My dear brother is too polite..." Tang Yin hastily returned the courtesy.

  It is said that Tang Yin was arrogant and had a flamboyant personality, but his arrogance also depended on the object. To officials, famous courtesans, and common people, his arrogance was an attitude, showing himself to be noble and unique. His talent and demeanor were his capital in life.

  But to the bookworms, Tang Yin didn't dare show off, after all he was also a bookworm, they all belonged to the same class, if he dared to show half a bit of arrogance in front of the bookworms, what awaited him would be being drowned by the spittle of Jiangnan scholars.

  Fortunately, Qin Kan had an identity as a bookworm, which made him gain the favor of Tang Da Cai Zi.

  Qin Kan had long since stopped seeing Tang Yin as an outsider, and as long as he was willing, anyone could experience the wonderful feeling of "leaning on each other like old times" from him.

  Interpersonal relationships are a kind of knowledge. To be honest, the gold content of this subject is not high. As long as you have thick skin, there are no friends you can't make.

  Qin Kan, who came from a business background, was well-versed in this field of study.

  "My foolish younger brother observes Brother Tang gazing at the spring rain, his energy sinking into his dan Tian, as if he has feelings in his heart. Could it be that Brother Tang has another excellent work to share with the world?"

  Tang Yin sighed with a bitter smile: "I originally came up with two lines of poetry, but unfortunately, they were interrupted by my younger brother's shout and are now gone..."

  Qin Kan was instantly filled with regret, as if he saw two silver ingots jumping out of his pocket and disappearing into the distance without looking back.

  Qin Kan's eyes blinked, and a trademark sly smile appeared on his face.

  "Good poetry should have a spiritual quality, perhaps if I think about it some more, it will come back to me. Come on, Tang brother, let's meet like old times and go to your room to discuss and refine our poetry..."

  Tang Yin's listless expression suddenly lifted, apparently Qin Kan's proposal had struck a chord with him.

  "Excellent, excellent!"

  Qin Kan quietly curled his lip.

  A genius is still a genius, even if he's a bit foolish...

  Entering Tang Yin's room, Qin Kan saw a simple desk piled high with poetry manuscripts and paintings, his eyes shining brighter.

  Next is the time for sharpening poetry and literature.

  "Brother Tang, how can you write poetry without wine? This is unscientific!"

  "Huh? So early......"

  "Shopkeeper, bring wine quickly!"

  …………

  …………

  "Tang brother, let's drink up this cup... how about writing another poem?"

  "Haha, good! Listen to me recite... Three cups of turbid wine, a few words from the heart. When will I return to my hometown, and laugh with her once more? Qin Xian-di, what do you think of this poem?"

  "It's very ordinary, not as good as the one you wrote earlier."

  "Did I just compose a poem?"

  "Of course it's a great poem! 'Human life is but a first encounter, why the sorrow of autumn wind and painting fan?' This is what makes good poetry!"

  "What? This... did I do this?"

  "Of course it was you who did it!" Qin Kan looked at Tang Yin, who was in a daze, for a long time: "Brother Tang, ... why are you crying?"

  Tang Yin gazed up at the beam of his house at a 45-degree angle, tears silently rolling down his cheeks: "I'm actually moved by my own poem..."

  "Come, Brother Tang, let's have another full cup..."

  "'The fallen red is not an inanimate object, transformed into spring mud to protect the flowers.' Ah! Brother Tang's great talent makes me feel ashamed a million times over. I admire you!"

  "What? Did I do this too?"

  "Of course it was you who did it!"

  …………

  …………

  Tang Dynasty's great talent fell drunk, he was deeply intoxicated.

  Qin Kan sat at his desk, but there was no sign of intoxication. He was staring at the piles of poetry manuscripts and paintings on his desk.

  A genius is a genius and one cannot help but admire him. The talent of Tang Yin has been passed down for 500 years, it's not a reputation gained in vain.

  Qin Kan looked through the poem draft page by page, his eyes becoming brighter and brighter.

  Racking one's brains, after a bright idea, what other great lines can be plagiarized?

  "...nine pieces, ten pieces, eleven pieces, flew into a cluster of flowers and disappeared."

  Wow, what a great poem! Who wrote it? Of course, it's Tang Bohu.

  "Bite on the green mountain and don't let go, stand rooted in the broken rocks."

  Another great poem, who wrote it? Zheng Banqiao? No! Tang Bohu! How could such a great poem be written by the Qing dynasty's big braids?

  Tang Yin was lying on the table snoring loudly, while Qin Kan sat at his desk writing quickly with his brush.

  After a long time...

  Drunk Tang Yin was shaken awake by Qin Kan, and Tang Yin grumbled in annoyance, "I'm drunk and want to sleep, you can go."

  Qin Kan stubbornly shook his shoulders and refused to go.

  "Tang brother, you wrote many great poems today, each one can be called a famous phrase for thousands of years..."

  "Is... is it?" Tang Yin's drunken eyes were blurry.

  "My foolish younger brother has an idea: why not print all your excellent works into a book, title it 'Bo Hu's Poetry Collection', and sell it to the scholars in Jiangnan, so that readers from all over the world can appreciate your talent?"

  "Alright... don't stop me from sleeping..." Tang Yin said drowsily, very impatiently.

  "Shall we sign an agreement and split the earnings from selling the book 50/50?"

  "Good..."

  "Great, here... right, here, press a handprint..."

  …………

  …………

  "Brother Tang, I'm 16 and you're 14, how's that?"

  "Good..."

  "Wait, I'll go change it right away..."