The noisy and lively Lantern Festival has passed, and the New Year, which has been working hard for ten years, is over.

The government office opens the yamen, and all industries open the boxes.

Both officials and the people have begun the busyness of the new year.

And the strange things that happened on Drum Tower Street on the Lantern Festival were spreading along with the word of mouth.

Many people in the city heard about this bookstore that "those who don't wear Confucian shirts and green collars" for the first time, and thought it was a strange thing.

But this kind of thing is just a pastime to ordinary people and I don’t care about it.

In an era when twenty taels can make a family eat and drink for a year, no ordinary person would spend half a year on silver to buy a set of "flasty" books.

But this incident caused a huge storm in the ears of scholars.

Some people who have not changed their ambitions and adhered to the ancestral system for decades, while others have scolded them for being sensational and unrestrained.

What's more, some people linked the practices of Shihantang with the increasingly fierce reforms in the court today, deciding the right and wrong, and adding fuel to the fire...

This made the Shihantang Lantern Festival spread throughout the court and the country more and more intense.

It is also famous for its reputation. Whether it is a praise or a scolding person, as long as the bag is a little more abundant, most people will send people to Gulou Street to buy a set of books that "those who don't wear Confucian shirts and green collars will not be sold" to see what it is.

For a time, Shihantang's books were vaguely linked to the "those who wear Confucian shirts and green collars" even fought with the Chaozhou.

Become more famous.

In the Imperial College, even if some people who have insufficient wealth in their families would rather save money and save money and buy a set of books from Shihantang, which would also indicate their identity while being a scholar.

After a hundred years of founding the country, the world's style has gradually become luxurious. The books of Shihantang have become symbols of mutual comparison.

Many people who are ignorant but rich are willing to spend three times the price to buy a set of Shihantang books to decorate the storefront in order to make up their identity.

In this way, since the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, Shihantang has sold more books than in the past few years.

If it weren't for the fact that Jia Cong had asked Lin Cheng and Ni Er to increase his investment and invest all his old friends in it, stereotyped it, and with the stocks from previous years, Shihantang's books would be in short supply.

As for someone who was in Shihantang, he discovered "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" without any intention.

After reading it for the first time, I was shocked by the gods and caused various crazes again, which made Shihantang's books look as expensive as Luoyang paper, so there was no need to say more.

However, all this prosperity and trouble has nothing to do with Jia Cong for the time being.

After leading the Lantern Festival, Jia Cong once again lies dormant.

He also solemnly warned Lin Cheng and Ni Er and the others: Don’t be so proud when you are proud.

Now their foundation is too shallow, and any swagger may cause a devastating blow.

Especially after getting involved in the reform of the court, this was a huge wave that even Jia Cong didn't expect and could not control.

At this time, it is the king to make money in silence and slowly accumulate strength.

If you are not satisfied and do small things, it is a blessing, not a blessing.

With the great success of the Lantern Festival, Lin Cheng and Ni Er, who were originally convinced by Jia Cong, are now even more obedient.

Naturally, they all followed Jia Cong's instructions.

A series of famous "strange things" originally planned with my friend Qiu San was pressed to avoid adding anything to the point.

In this way, Shihantang, which was faintly pushed to the forefront, fell back and landed smoothly, and disappeared...

...

Rongfu, Mozhuyuan.

The main hall.

The light beam of dawn shines in through the window paper.

Silver frost and charcoal are lit in the smoke cage in the hall, and the fragrance is radiated in the warmth.

Jia Cong, wearing a white shirt, sat on the table next to the window on the east side, and read quietly and focusedly.

For him, Shihantang's success seemed to have failed to bring about any turmoil.

Life has not changed much, and I still read and write every day.

However, he felt that there was not much change. In the eyes of others, his changes were better than those of a day...

On the table table on the west side, Jia Huan was lying on the table with an inconsistent figure, looking listless, his eyes did not fall on the pages. Instead, he occasionally hung his eyes and looked towards the big table in the middle of the red sandalwood table, with a bad look...

Baoyu, who was sitting behind the table, usually regarded Conghuan and the others as transparent people, but recently, his eyes swept over Jia Cong from time to time, and his eyes were regretful.

He finally discovered Jia Cong's outstanding changes inadvertently.

The once sunken eye sockets and cheeks are now gradually moisturizing.

In my memory, the timid, cowardly, and stingy demeanor has also become a free and unrestrained attitude.

Jia Baoyu never expected that Jia Cong, who once described the humble, would become the son of Ruyu.

He is not a jealous person. Seeing this, he not only has no jealousy, but he appreciates it very much.

After appreciating, it is regret.

A pure and white person who is as precious as a girl, has also learned to attract fame and reputation, and has become a traitor and ghost!

No matter how well a person is born, he will only be as innocent as a good person.

Moreover, looking at his deadly book look, he doesn't seem to be a person who can feel lost and know how to return.

well.

I sighed a lot in my heart.

The whole world is turbid and I am alone...

"snort!"

Seeing Jia Baoyu looking at Jia Cong again, Jia Huan hummed quietly unhappily.

Of course, I dare not let Baoyu hear it...

But he was really unhappy. Baoyu played with the sisters at home all day long, which was not enough, and he wanted to snatch Jia Cong from the crowd.

He was also worried that if even Jia Cong betrayed him like him, who would be stubborn?

I had no intention of studying, and I was worried at this moment, and Jia Huan couldn't read a word more and more.

Just as he looked at this and that, he was bored and lay on the table to practice magic techniques before school, he suddenly felt that the atmosphere was a little wrong.

The eyes subconsciously swept towards the door, facing a pair of tight eyes...

At this moment, Jia Huan's heart trembled, his face turned pale in an instant, and his little body trembled...

"snort!"

Jia Zheng stood at the door, watching his concubine lying on the desk in a twist, but pushed the book aside, and was playing with a rope in his hand. He looked good, with his eyes hanging down, describing his despicable eyes, and he immediately became angry.

When he saw him goodbye, he was frightened as if he was struck by lightning, and became more and more annoyed.

However, this cold snorted, and finally woke Jia Huan, who was so scared that he was about to wet his pants, hurriedly got up and walked out of the desk and came over to salute.

The same is true for Jia Baoyu in front and Jia Cong opposite.

After arriving at him, Jia Zheng first taught Jia Huan and Baoyu hard, and praised Jia Cong: "Cong'er's mind is focused on studying and is not confused by external things. She will definitely be able to hear and understand the way of doing business."

After Jia Cong gave in, Jia Zheng's eyes became more and more kind when he looked at him.

Jia Zheng had not seen Jia Cong for more than half a month. At this moment, he looked at him again and suddenly discovered Jia Cong's outstanding changes, and he was immediately surprised.

He was originally optimistic about Jia Cong's demeanor, but unfortunately Jia Cong was ordinary.

But I didn't expect that after a while, Jia Cong grew up better and better.

Don’t think that this is Jia Zheng’s superficiality. From the Tang Dynasty to the 700 years of the Song Dynasty, and to the present day, the requirements for appearance among literati have reached its peak.

It is useless to rely on learning to be an official.

After the imperial examination, the Ministry of Personnel has four review criteria for selecting officials, namely:

Body, words, books, judgment.

Let’s not talk about the last three, this head-on body refers to appearance.

The former prime minister Cai Que once recommended a man named Wang Jiong to Shenzong as the supervisor, and Song Shenzong readily agreed.

It’s not because Wang Jiong has great abilities. On the contrary, Wang Jiong is a person with a poor character, has never studied any books, and makes jokes from time to time.

However, Song Shenzong agreed to Cai Que's recommendation entirely because of Wang Jiong's good looks.

The description of Wang Jiong's appearance in historical books is "the appearance is bright and cold, the spirit is condensed in autumn water, and the posture is very beautiful."

Later, Cai Que recommended another person to Emperor Zhezong, named Yuan Yingzhong.

This person is not like Wang Jiong, who is talented and knowledgeable.

But this brother's face was covered in pockmarks, his shoulder blades were a little crooked, and his shoulders were always oblique.

Emperor Zhezong just took a look and let him stay wherever he was cool...

This shows the importance of appearance in this era.
To be continued...