Chapter 8, Livelihood

A Yun is back?" As soon as Lu Ying saw her younger brother, a warm smile spread across her face. Noticing her brother staring at the blank bamboo slips, she said with a beaming smile, "Of course, they are for you to write on.

When Lu Yun returned in the evening, he immediately saw a pile of blank bamboo slips stacked high as soon as he entered the door. Staring at these items, Lu Yun looked at Lu Ying, who was busy at the stove, and called out: "Sister, what are you doing?"

A Yun furrowed her brows and said irritably, "Sister, just say what you have to say all at once."

Lu Ying turned around and smiled gently, saying: "Aunt Yang is sunbathing? My younger brother wants to practice calligraphy, so I went to buy a cart of bamboo slips."

Lu Ying hurriedly walked over, but at the entrance, there was a commotion. Turning her head to look, she saw seven or eight well-dressed wealthy merchants crowding around her third uncle as they approached.

Upon hearing his sister's explanation, Lu Yun tilted his head in contemplation. However, he had always been accustomed to his sister taking charge of family matters, and after pondering for a while without reaching any conclusion, he ultimately just responded with a simple "Hmm" to indicate his agreement

When it comes to family background, Lu Ying is similar to her neighbors, but perhaps due to her literacy, or perhaps because of her extraordinary lineage, the young men nearby always feel that Lu Ying is exceptionally beautiful, different from the ordinary girls of the same age.

It is unclear how much time has passed, but Lu Ying's mind stirred as she turned and walked out of the room. A quarter of an hour later, when Lu Ying returned, she was followed by a man pulling a donkey cart.

In this situation, the books in Lu Ying's house are truly invaluable; if they were to be exchanged for money, they would be sufficient to provide the two siblings with a lifetime of good living.

Arriving at the Ping residence, Lu Ying turned to look at the tall and deep walls behind her, secretly pondering: the influence of the Ping family must be leveraged, but one cannot get too entangled... ? ... In the blink of an eye, she thought again: why am I thinking about this now? The urgent matter at hand is to make money.

These books, even when the father was driven away by others, and even amidst the chaos of war, were never discarded in the slightest. Therefore, although many people do not believe that they are descendants of a prominent family, it is likely that these books have played an indispensable role in keeping those names on their lips.

At this time, Lu Ying actually underestimated the value of the books in their household. In this era, Cai Lun had not yet been born, and there was no cheap paper in the world. Therefore, most books were still inscribed on bamboo slips, just as in the Qin Dynasty, while a portion was made from hemp fiber paper. This type of paper is coarse in texture, scarce in quantity, high in cost, and not widely used.

Hearing his own mother expose his shortcomings like this, the slender boy standing next to Aunt Yang blushed. He lowered his voice and called out unhappily, "Mother!" His tone was filled with dissatisfaction, but fearing that Lu Ying would notice, he kept his voice very low.

Upon hearing Lu Ying's response, Aunt Yang sighed and said, "Your family is fortunate; if you wish to learn characters, you can simply open a book and see them. Unlike us, although our children have donned the Confucian cap at an early age, they can hardly recognize a few characters."

Seeing Lu Ying coming and going, a short woman living next door smiled and said, "Ah Ying, what are you busy with?" While greeting her, she took a moment to glare fiercely at Lu Ying's son, who was staring at her without blinking.

Upon Lu Yun's agreement, the siblings quickly got to work. Each took a Confucian classic in hand and began with the simplest characters. Writing a single character was quite easy, but the subsequent explanations were not so simple. Typically, it would require referencing several books to complete the task.

After a busy hour, the brother and sister had each written four bamboo slips. Eight characters may not be many, but during the process of reviewing, both Lu Ying and Lu Yun felt that they had gained significantly.

Having merely glanced, Lu Ying no longer paid attention. As she lowered her head and proceeded, she heard a stout man in his forties sigh: "His Majesty has recently acquired the land of Shu and has issued several decrees, stating that the agricultural tax should be reduced to thirty to one. His Majesty is truly a wise ruler." Another middle-aged man nodded in agreement, saying: "Indeed, not only is there encouragement for education, but also a reduction in taxes. The era of rejuvenation has arrived."

There is no need to write so much

"Sell character?" Lu Yun had never heard of such a saying, and for a moment, he was completely bewildered

Do not rush. What I mean is, in the future when you write, there is no need to dip the pen in water and trace it on the table; we can write directly on the bamboo slips. This is what I have in mind: on each bamboo slip, you should write one character, and then below that character, indicate its approximate meaning and usage

However, how should one proceed with this matter

However, the two siblings are not great scholars, and it is acceptable for them not to seek perfection in everything. A rough understanding of the meaning is sufficient.

The hurried conversation of several people reached Lu Ying's ears, but she did not listen closely and left the Ping residence

Lu Ying looked up at her brother, her eyes exceptionally bright, "A Yun, I have made up my mind. Starting tomorrow, we will sell calligraphy!"

Lost in thought, Lu Ying paused for a moment. After a brief daze, she suddenly took a step and hurriedly walked back.

"I want it too," Lu Ying said with a smile as she brought the bone soup to the dining table, "because I also want to write."

When she returned home, her younger brother was still at school and had not yet come back. Lu Ying pushed open her brother's room and gazed up at the densely packed books, stacked all the way to the beams of the ceiling, lost in thought.

At the moment of speaking, the donkey cart also arrived at the door. Lu Ying hurriedly opened the door.

When thinking about making money, Lu Ying felt a bit troubled. Walking down the street with a furrowed brow, she could see young men dressed as scholars everywhere. Looking at them, Lu Ying shook her head and smiled, thinking: The Emperor's preferences are indeed the preferences of the people. These individuals do not even recognize a single character, yet they have the audacity to wear scholar's caps.

Sitting in her room, Lu Ying was still lost in thought. Just a moment ago, while on the road, she had been pondering repeatedly, always feeling that in order to make money, she needed to find a way to capitalize on these books.

It is simply selling characters. We will write out the commonly seen characters on the bamboo slips, and then indicate their meanings and uses in smaller text below. When you go to school, your sister will take them to the market to sell. Upon mentioning the idea she had thought of all day, Lu Ying became invigorated, and her speaking pace quickened a bit, "A Yun, think about it, isn't His Majesty advocating for the establishment of more schools, saying that the world should be filled with learned individuals? Today, I saw many young people wearing Confucian caps on the road. But when you are in the classroom, you merely recite what the teacher says, and when you return home, you have no books to review, so you usually forget more than half of what you just learned, right? If we have these bamboo slips in hand, even when they return home, they can review and learn anew."