Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Baoyan Zhai was a long-established local shop specializing in the Four Treasures of the Study. Its owner, Qian Shijie, had a lifelong passion for collecting all kinds of writing implements.

Inkstones, in particular—he wished he could see and collect every famous inkstone in the world. But doing so required money, and thus Baoyan Zhai came to be.

Baoyan Zhai was older than Gu Shenhan himself. The Qian family originally didn’t deal in this trade; they ran a grain and oil production and trading business. Qian Shijie was the only son of his generation, so the family business would naturally pass to him. However, his heart wasn’t in grain and oil. In the end, he sold the factory and set up this place instead.

When Rong Yuan got out of the car, he found that Baoyan Zhai had a modest storefront with a casually hung signboard. The area in front of the shop was neat and clean, but there were not many people. Maybe they came too early. The surrounding shops mostly sold art supplies, and they too seemed quiet.

As Gu Shenhan pushed the door open, the bell above the door jingled.

Qian Shijie came downstairs, rolling two walnut balls in his hands. Seeing Gu Shenhan, he smiled and said, "Oh, Second Young Master, what brings you here? Is there a problem with what Liang Zheng bought last time?"

Then he looked at Rong Yuan and asked, "And this young man is?"

Gu Shenhan replied, "I'm bringing you a customer."

Qian Shijie chuckled. "That's wonderful. What does the young man need?"

Rong Yuan said, "I'd like some long xuan paper suitable for copying scriptures."

Gu Shenhan added, "Lao Qian, show him around and let him pick for himself."

Qian Shijie had never seen Gu Shenhan bring anyone besides Liang Zheng here, let alone such a pretty young man. He was quite surprised. Then he recalled some rumors: Old Madam Gu wanted Gu Shenhan to take a husband. Could this be the one?

He looked quite young.

Qian Shijie smiled and said, "Alright, young man, come this way."

He lifted a cloth curtain and invited Rong Yuan into the next room. Inside, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were neatly arranged by category, with signs reading "No Smoking" and "Watch Your Drinks" posted everywhere.

"These are all the long xuan papers. If you need a longer length for copying scriptures, we can also take custom orders in your desired size."

"There's no time for custom orders. Do you have any older paper?" Rong Yuan touched a few samples and found them unsatisfactory.

"Yes, come this way." Qian Shijie led Rong Yuan upstairs, unlocked a glass cabinet, and said, "See if any of these work."

"May I touch them?"

"Of course. For others, no, but for Second Young Master's friend, absolutely."

Rong Yuan gently touched them, compared a few, and pointed at one. "Mr. Qian, how much for one dao (a hundred-sheet bundle) of this paper?"

Qian Shijie: "..."

Rong Yuan looked at Gu Shenhan in confusion. "Did I say something wrong again?"

Gu Shenhan said, "It's not about the money—it's that this paper you pointed at may not even have a full dao."

Anything Qian Shijie kept locked up was collector-grade. If he had an entire dao, he usually wouldn't sell it easily. He only had loose sheets that didn't make a full dao, so he kept a few for himself and sold the rest to recoup costs.

Rong Yuan asked, "Then can I buy five sheets?"

Gu Shenhan said, "No problem."

He came here often too—because Old Madam Gu liked these things. He was familiar with most of the paper here, but he didn't expect Rong Yuan to pick a top-quality one by touch alone.

Good xuan paper requires one hundred percent Qingtan bark and Shatian rice straw. The bark provides "bone structure," while the straw gives a "muscle feel." The paper Rong Yuan chose not only met these criteria but also had aged well—excellent in longevity, moisture retention, stability, and purity, with superb ink absorbency. Old Madam also used some like it.

"Sure. Five sheets? I'll wrap them up." Qian Shijie said, "This paper sells for two thousand two hundred per sheet now. Five sheets, let's make it ten thousand. This young man is a connoisseur. Did Second Young Master teach him?"

"Not from me." Gu Shenhan said, "Make it ten sheets. In case he makes a mistake, he'll have spares."

Qian Shijie choked. Make a mistake? And on this paper?

"What about ink and brushes?"

"Let him pick."

But Rong Yuan said, "I won't need new ink or brushes—the ones I have will suffice."

Though there were definitely better ones, the ones he used last night were perfectly sufficient for what he needed to do. If the difference were huge, he'd buy new ones. But if the difference was so minor that only a perfectionist could tell, there was no need to spend extra.

Qian Shijie said, "A master doesn't need to pick his weapons. The two ink sticks Liang Zheng got yesterday were really top-notch. Could the young man leave a piece of calligraphy?"

He was curious about what kind of person Gu Shenhan had brought.

In appearance, flawless. He wanted to see his character, and his handwriting would reveal a lot.

Rong Yuan nodded. "Sure."

Seeing that Gu Shenhan had no objection, Qian Shijie fetched brush and ink. "Write whatever you like."

Rong Yuan saw that the paper was small, so he wrote: "Here, clouds abound; a good time to play with ink."

Qian Shijie paused, looked outside—it was a clear day with not a cloud in sight. What did he mean by "here"? He looked around and suddenly understood: he was referring to the abundance of paper here! He liked that!

He found it amusing and said with a smile, "Nice handwriting, good attitude. Your friend has great taste. Young man, wait a moment while I wrap the paper."

Gu Shenhan, who had been following along, naturally saw Rong Yuan's calligraphy. He was sure Qian Shijie would keep the piece and have it framed for the shop.

Someone who could calm his mind yet had a playful side.

Little Antique.

Gu Shenhan paid and took the paper. "Let's go."

Qian Shijie saw them to the door. After a moment's hesitation, he quietly asked Gu Shenhan, "Do you think I could make a batch of invitation cards to sell?"

Gu Shenhan shot him a "Give it a rest!" look and got into the car to leave.

On the way back, Rong Yuan grew curious but didn't know the value of money here. He asked Gu Shenhan, "Han Ge, Mr. Qian said two thousand two hundred per sheet. How many steamed buns can two thousand two hundred buy?"

Gu Shenhan said, "Cheap steamed buns could buy two thousand two hundred. Expensive ones, maybe six or seven hundred."

The most expensive plain steamed bun he'd ever seen was three yuan. Anything pricier wasn't about the bun itself but added value—like on a luxury cruise or in a five-star hotel—pure brand premium.

Rong Yuan was dumbfounded. That expensive?!

He knew old paper was expensive, but this was too much! Two thousand two hundred steamed buns! How many people could that feed?

Rong Yuan felt that the paper in his arms wasn't paper, but gold. He said, "I should've just bought three sheets."

"What? You're not copying scriptures anymore?"

"No, I'll just write the characters smaller."

Then he remembered the paper was for Old Madam, so he quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.

Gu Shenhan turned his head to look at him. "So thrifty?"

Rong Yuan looked at the buildings outside the window, pretending not to understand, and pointed at a large birthday cake on a billboard. "Han Ge, what's that?"

"A birthday cake. It's a type of pastry that looks quite big, eaten on birthdays."

After saying that, he simply turned the car around and headed to the electronics market.

He took Rong Yuan into a store. The salesperson asked warmly, "What can I help you with? I can give you an introduction."

Gu Shenhan: "Looking for a tablet."

The salesperson asked, "Is it for a child? How old?"

Gu Shenhan glanced at Rong Yuan. "About two or three."

Rong Yuan didn't realize he was being talked about. He was staring at the watches and learning machines in the display case, completely amazed. Under them was a small rotating tray, transparent, spinning all on its own with no one pushing it. On top, there were little rabbits and wolves chatting.

Incredible.

The salesperson brought out a few models and said to Gu Shenhan, "These models are all good. Take a look—they support learning pinyin, Chinese characters, classical poetry, and English. This one in particular has the most eye-friendly screen in our current series, and it can also cover middle and high school courses. It's packed with content, all paired with famous teachers' lessons."

Gu Shenhan didn't hesitate. "I'll take this one."

After buying, he asked Rong Yuan, "What are you looking at?"

Rong Yuan pointed at a smartwatch with calling feature. "It says it can prevent getting lost. Can I buy one?"

Just then, a crisp children's voice from the ad chimed in: "With the smartwatch, Mom and Dad never have to worry about finding me!"

Gu Shenhan: "..."

That was way too childish. An adult wearing that out would look ridiculous to anyone.

Gu Shenhan's mind wrestled with it for a bit. But Rong Yuan really seemed to want it, and it might actually be safer for him—after all, he was a clueless little fool who didn't even know the roads.

In the end, Gu Shenhan bought it anyway, without letting Rong Yuan spend his own money. But he asked Rong Yuan not to wear it on his wrist—he could keep it in his pocket and "carry" it.

Rong Yuan felt a bit disappointed but understood the reason and agreed. He just slumped a little in the car afterward.

Gu Shenhan felt like a little bird that had been fluttering its wings suddenly folded them in. He wanted to say something, but his phone rang.

It was a WeChat voice call from his cousin, Gu Chengfeng.

Gu Shenhan's phone was connected to the car's speakers via Bluetooth, so he answered directly. "Talk."

Gu Chengfeng said, "Second Brother, I heard your people have already picked up Rong Yuan. So? Are you satisfied? I saw his photo online—he looks pretty good. Sure, he's a guy, but with that long hair, if you ask him to cover his chest a bit, you could almost pretend he's a girl."

Gu Shenhan: "Did you eat shit for breakfast? If you've got nothing else, hang up."

Gu Chengfeng: "What's the rush? Grandma said she'll be back the day after tomorrow, and there's a family dinner that night. She wants you to bring him to the old house. The old man will be there this time. Don't let my little sister-in-law lose face. Oh, and I heard he's forgotten a lot and isn't very sharp."

Gu Shenhan hung up directly, then turned to see Rong Yuan frowning.

"What?"

"That person talks so rudely." Rong Yuan was unhappy, feeling offended. "And why does he have to relay it? Can't someone inform you directly?" This wasn't like his old world, where you had to send someone far away to deliver a notice.

"Grandma already texted me. What she actually said to the third one might not be that either. That guy just likes to embellish things. He's the second son of the eldest branch, Gu Chengfeng. You're right, he's rude."

"Rude? He's shameless!"

"Do you know why he sent a WeChat voice call instead of calling me directly?"

"No. Is there a difference? He only knows how to use voice calls."

"Calls can be recorded. Everything said can be saved. He's afraid I'll record him and play it for Grandma, so he only dares to use voice calls now."

"Isn't that petty behavior?" Mean-hearted and afraid to own up to it—if that's not petty, what is?

"Exactly. He's petty. And so am I. So you'd better watch out—one day I might sell you out too."

"You're lying. Selling people is illegal here."

"Oh, you know that? And here I was about to tell you not to be afraid of them—just hide behind Grandma when things come up."

"Ridiculous. Why should I be afraid of them? I'm not eating their food or drinking their water."

"So you mean you're eating my food and drinking my water, so you're afraid of me?"

"Well... not really."

Rong Yuan looked out the window.

Okay, maybe he was a little afraid. All those shops, and not one was his. He wasn't earning money now, and he had no family backing him up, so naturally he lacked confidence.

Rong Yuan pointed at a row of buildings outside. "Han Ge, if I wanted to buy all these buildings, how much would it cost?"

Gu Shenhan followed his gaze—new provincial procuratorate, public security bureau...

"You might as well just send me straight to jail. It'd be faster."

"Jail? What's that?"

"The police station, where they catch bad people."

"Is buying a few buildings illegal?"

"Buying buildings isn't illegal. But you're trying to buy the censorate and the supreme court!"

Rong Yuan shrank back into his seat in fright. "I-I'm not! You misheard. I didn't say that."

Gu Shenhan snorted, watching him huddle there with his arms crossed. "Cold?"

Rong Yuan: "Mm, a little."

Gu Shenhan pulled a gray velvet pouch from the glove box and tossed it to him. "Open it. It's a blanket."

Rong Yuan unwrapped it and draped it over himself. It was light as down and very warm. After a moment, he murmured, "Thanks, Han Ge."

At a red light, Gu Shenhan glanced over. He was about to cry again. "Rong Yuan, were you a bottle of