Chapter 13 Part 2

Ji Shuangyu: "That's one of the three great illusions of life: someone else's tools are better. No, it's just that my hand is better."

Zhou Siyin: "..."

Zhou Siyin: "...You were very respectful to me just two days ago." 'He praised me as the bravest person. So, respect can just disappear, can it?'

Ji Shuangyu: "That's why I'm reminding you now, it's time to renew your subscription."

Zhou Siyin: "..." ?? 'So soon!'

'No, no, impossible.'

Zhou Siyin picked up Ji Shuangyu's pen, wrote a few strokes on a nearby piece of paper, and then murmured, "It's not an illusion. I really do think this one is better to use..."

"Haha, I can't fool you. It's because I've ground this one myself," Ji Shuangyu said. He had a habit of grinding his own pen nibs.

The fountain pen was originally an import, invented to be better suited for writing Western scripts. But in later times, some fountain pen brands began developing models specifically for writing Chinese characters, grinding the nib into a shape that made it more suitable.

This included some calligraphy pens, which had bent nibs that could easily produce brush-like strokes with variations in thickness.

A craftsman must first sharpen his tools to do his work well. Although a skilled calligrapher could write well with any tool, showcasing the beauty of structure and stroke momentum, Ji Shuangyu always had the habit of grinding his own fountain pen nibs to suit his preferences when creating a formal piece.

It was like how some calligraphers loved using worn-out brushes—a personal preference.

Leishen fountain pens were also modeled after Western ones, which meant they were originally better suited for writing Western scripts.

But after being ground, this pen was better suited for Ji Shuangyu's writing, and also better for writing Chinese characters. Although its price wasn't as high as an imported pen's, when it came to writing Chinese characters, it was superior!

Zhou Siyin held the Leishen fountain pen, unable to put it down. With a businessman's intuition, he even immediately began to consider the possibility of mass-producing it.

"Can you give it back to me now?" Ji Shuangyu saw the look in his eyes, as if he wouldn't let go. Under the current conditions, grinding it had not been easy.

Zhou Siyin: "Can you grind one for me too? ...I'll renew my subscription."

......

The Zhou family's old residence.

Zhou Siyin said to the butler, "Prepare a Leishen fountain pen for me, with the broadest nib."

The butler hesitated for a moment. "Leishen brand?"

'Isn't that the fountain pen brand established in Hushang two years ago? Huaxia merchants have a keen sense of business; seeing that the fountain pen market was taking off, they opened a local factory to seize the market. However, it hasn't been established for long, and its brand isn't as solid as the foreign ones.'

The butler found it very strange that the young master would specifically ask for a Leishen fountain pen.

Zhou Siyin nodded. "Yes, the Leishen brand."

Ji Shuangyu had already agreed to grind a fountain pen for him too, so he had to have one ready.

Just as he said this, Zhou Siyin's second maternal uncle also returned to the old residence.

Zhou Siyin's second maternal uncle was named Zhou Ruojuan. When he saw Zhou Siyin, he couldn't help but smile, looking especially pleased.

They all had their own residences outside the old family home but would return out of propriety. Bumping into Zhou Siyin today truly delighted him. "Baoduo is back? How is it going? Have you found a calligrapher to write the masthead? I hear Department Head Zou is returning to Jingcheng before the new year."

Zhou Siyin glanced at him but said nothing.

This was the uncle from the second branch whom he had once berated in the newspaper for three consecutive days. Recently, he had been traveling frequently to Hushang, supposedly to get involved in the film business and invest in movies, hoping to regain some face from Zhou Siyin.

Ji Shuangyu didn't know that before him, Zhou Siyin had originally commissioned the great Jiangnan calligrapher Mr. Tan You'an for the Calligraphy Education masthead. For other publications it wouldn't matter, but for a calligraphy journal that invited all the famous masters, only Mr. Tan could command the respect needed for the masthead.

Mr. Tan You'an hadn't accepted commissions for a long time, but he had agreed because Zhou Siyin's late mother had been an acquaintance. Unexpectedly, he backed out at the last minute, claiming illness, which had troubled Zhou Siyin for several days. Finding a replacement was a tricky matter that could easily offend people; there were many skilled calligraphers, so who to choose and who to pass over?

Zhou Siyin had always suspected that someone was pulling strings behind the scenes. It wasn't that he was overly suspicious, but Shu Wangyan had already given the people at Kunlun a complex with his tricks of feigning illness and death...

Before, it was just a suspicion, but now, seeing Zhou Ruojuan's eager expression, he was eighty to ninety percent sure it was this old scoundrel. Even if it wasn't, cursing him as an old scoundrel would certainly not be unjust!

Seeing that he was being ignored, Zhou Ruojuan put on a one-man show, saying earnestly, "Department Head Zou exclusively admires Mr. You'an's style. If you knew you couldn't secure him, you shouldn't have announced the good news so early. Department Head Zou thinks highly of you and allowed the bookstore to compile and print textbooks, but you're still too young, too impatient. Wouldn't it be better to print the textbooks first, secure the calligraphy, and then announce the new periodical? Why were you in such a rush to show off?"

Calligraphy Education was started at the initiative of the calligraphy society to promote Huaxia calligraphy and education. Department Head Zou of the Ministry of Education was a proponent of calligraphy studies and paid special attention to it, requiring every school to subscribe.

Zhou Siyin: "Are you telling me how to do my job?"

Zhou Ruojuan: "..."

Zhou Ruojuan's face flushed with anger. "I'm your elder. What's wrong with showing some concern?"

Zhou Siyin: "If you want to know what's wrong, go buy last year's issues one hundred twenty-seven, one hundred twenty-eight, and one hundred twenty-nine of the Capital Daily. It's written in great detail."

Zhou Ruojuan: "..."

Those were the three issues of the newspaper in which Zhou Siyin had consecutively berated him.

Zhou Siyin said slowly, "And there's no need for concern. The commission has already been arranged."

He was holding Ji Shuangyu's original manuscript in his hand.

Zhou Ruojuan grew wary. This young brat was very decisive, just like his third sister. He stared at the manuscript in Zhou Siyin's hand.

'Tsk, don't tell me he actually found a good replacement. Tan You'an is known for his regular script, but there are other masters of semi-cursive and cursive scripts. Or perhaps he directly invited a literary celebrity? Could it be...' He couldn't help but crane his neck to look.

Zhou Siyin hid the manuscript behind his back.

Zhou Ruojuan walked behind him to see.

Zhou Siyin turned halfway, and he followed.

Zhou Siyin: "..."

"Ahem." Zhou Ruojuan noticed Zhou Siyin looking at him as if he were an idiot and felt a bit embarrassed to keep circling. He straightened up.

He had only caught a fleeting glimpse, but he could vaguely see that the strokes had clear variations in thickness. He thought it was brush calligraphy and focused on making out the signature—Gourd Elder. He ran it through his mind; there were no famous regular script masters or socialites whose art names matched this information. Reassured, his smile returned.

"Hahaha, Baoduo, let your second uncle give you a piece of advice: don't act rashly out of desperation. I heard you originally prepared five thousand silver dollars for the commission. I wonder how much this piece cost?" Zhou Ruojuan asked.

—The top-tier market had always been different. Mr. Tan You'an had long since refused all calligraphy commissions. If he had to write, he would follow an extremely high pay scale. Top calligraphers who had too many commission requests and no longer wanted to produce in volume would set their fees very high.

It was like some skilled calligraphers who originally didn't sell their work but had to set a fee schedule because too many people came asking for it. The purpose was more or less the same: to avoid some hassle.

Zhou Siyin: "Fifty."

Zhou Ruojuan laughed out loud. At that price, one could commission a decent piece, but it was inconceivable that it could be from a master famous enough to replace Tan You'an. He praised him sarcastically, "Well, that's a bargain!"

Author has something to say:

Ji Shuangyu: Boss, renew subscription, praise me, got it?

Zhou Siyin (taking out money): Still so formal? Don't call me Boss, call me Hubby.