Empress Dowager Xiang stared at the "talented woman" on the picture for a while, and did not express her position, but just asked: "This picture is also good, who painted it?" ”

"It's Wu Haogu." Xiang Zongliang said, "In two days, there will be Cao family, Shi family, Mi family, Yang family, Han family, Li family, Liu family and other nobles to send paintings into the palace, all of which are ancient paintings of the martial arts." ”

"He painted it?" Xiang raised her eyebrows and said with a smile: "Then he is so busy, when will it be the turn of the mourning family?" ”

"Eldest sister, how can there be any reason for you to wait?" Xiang Zong smiled back, "If you say a word, he still can't obediently come for you to send?" ”

waved his hand to the queen mother and pointed to the "picture of the talented woman of the king", "Choosing a concubine for the kings is the right thing, mourning an old woman, what is the hurry?" Just wait. ”

"You're not old," Xiang Zongliang said, "You're only fifty, how can you say you're old?" Now there are many seventy or eighty old ladies in Kaifeng City. I see that your body is very strong, and you can live to be 90 years old. ”

"Ninety? Isn't that an old goblin? ”

What did the Queen Mother say, she was still quite happy in her heart. Her body has always been "tough", and there is nothing wrong with her - the Hanlin medical officers all said so, and they all agreed that the Empress Dowager Xiang would live to be at least eighty years old......

The doctors all say that, and they must not be wrong!

Empress Dowager Xiang smiled at this time and asked: "By the way, what are the interesting things on the market in Kaifeng Mansion these days?" ”

The old lady is the queen mother and is extremely honored, but she can't enjoy the freedom of ordinary people. In the Northern Song Dynasty, even the women of noble bureaucrats could often go out to play. But the concubine in the palace can only be confined to the cage of wealth all day long, and she can't go anywhere. I can only listen to the eunuchs and their relatives say some interesting things outside the palace.

"Eldest sister, during this time, there are two most interesting things in the market of Kaifeng Mansion," Xiang Zong replied, "One is that Wang Lou, Pan Lou, Fengle Lou, Yuxian Lou, Qingfeng Lou and Eight Immortal Lou and Cai Fang Lou are holding an Oiran Contest together, and the seven Oiran and one Oiran leader are to be selected, and the method of selecting the Oiran is still to draw the selection." ”

"Selected paintings? How to choose? ”

"It is to draw the appearance of the seven great oirans on paper, put them together, and let the scholars and commoners of Kaifeng Mansion throw the copper plates, and whoever gets the most copper plates will be the head of the Oiran."

"Throwing copper plates?" Empress Dowager Xiang laughed, "This is really interesting...... Are you not afraid that someone will cheat and take care of some people to invest in copper plates? ”

Xiang Zongliang interjected, "It's just to choose an Oiran lady and have fun, why be so serious?" ”

"What about the other fun thing?" Xiang asked the Queen Mother again.

"Another interesting thing is to ......" Xiang Zong replied halfway through, when he suddenly saw his brother looking at him, and then he remembered that the second thing was related to Duanwang, so he stopped talking.

"What's wrong?" Xiang asked the Queen Mother, "Why don't you keep talking?" ”

"Eldest sister, this second thing is ......"

"Say it, say it."

"It's King Duan and Na Wu Hao's ancient fighting skills."

"What?" Xiang was stunned for a moment, "King Duan? He fights with Wu Haogu? The old lady frowned, "This is a little too frivolous, isn't it?" ”

Xiang Zongliang immediately added: "Eldest sister, King Duan didn't reveal his name, but went to compete with Wu Haogu in the name of Zhao Xiaoyi, and that Wu Haogu probably didn't know that Zhao Xiaoyi was King Duan. ”

"That's pretty much it." Empress Dowager Xiang's brows loosened slightly, and then twisted up again, "But that martial arts ancient painting skills are so clever, how can Ji'er be his opponent?" What should I do if I lose? ”

This old lady just said that Zhao Ji was frivolous, and for a while she was worried that Zhao Ji would be unhappy if she lost in the fight...... Obviously, she treats Zhao Ji as her own son!

And she doesn't think there's anything wrong with being frivolous, today's official Zhao Xu is not frivolous at all, and she is very serious!

"You can't lose." Xiang Zong smiled back, "Eldest sister, do you know how they want to use to divide the winners and losers?" ”

The Queen Mother asked, "Tell me quickly, what is the method?" ”

"It's also a copper coin to decide the winner, and it's a big competition with the Oiran." Xiang Zongliang said, "In the fourteen Oiran paintings painted by the two of them, divided into seven groups, and put a basket under the painting, they thought that whoever painted well would throw a copper plate into it, and if there were not many votes, they would vote one."

In the end, you only need to count the number of copper plates, and you can distinguish the top and bottom of the two paintings. And the winning side will take all the copper plates, and when the seven groups of paintings are compared, they will know who loses and who wins. ”

Xiang Xiang smiled at the Queen Mother: "Is there still this way?" That can't let Ji'er lose. ”

Xiang Zongliang said again: "I heard that after the competition, I will take out these paintings and sell them...... I think Duanwang is going to make a lot of money this time. ”

……

The method of putting the singing and selling after the competition was conceived by Su Lida and Su Dalang, the chief treasurer of Christie's joint stock firm. Compared with Wu Haogu, he is the real profiteer, and his head is full of how to cheat the money out of the guest officer's recruitment bag.

So as soon as I saw Zhao Xiaoyi hanging "Master Li's Photo Picture" in Fengle Building, I immediately had the idea of singing and selling while the iron was hot.

Singing and selling is the main business of Christie's in the Wuhao Ancient Plan!

And it is not easy to make this main business a hit. Because the trading method of the calligraphy and painting shop has long been a convention, there is basically nothing to do with singing.

Without a sufficiently eye-catching sales to build Christie's popularity and fame, it would be impossible for the sales to become one of the main ways to become a calligraphy, painting, and cultural play trade in the short term.

And the fight between Wu Haogu and Zhao Xiaoyi ...... On the surface, it seems to be a farce, but the wealthy and noble families of Kaifeng who know the inside story will inevitably go to the show.

Moreover, "Master Li's Photo" and "Mo Lady's Dance Picture" can be regarded as masterpieces.

Needless to say, "The Dance of the Ink Lady" is needless to say, and although the "Li Shishi Photo" is far inferior to the "Mo Lady Dance" in terms of painting skills, the object of the painting is the Oiran Lady Li Shishi, who was famous in Kaifeng Mansion in the past!

This title does not have much appeal to Kaifengzi at Su Dalang's age, but for Kaifengzi who are now over thirty years old, everyone wants to see its style.

"You can't let go of this opportunity, you must take advantage of it."

At Christie's shareholders' meeting, Su Dalang, who had just been officially elected as the chief treasurer, was talking about his plans with flying eyebrows.

"The news has been released, but this singing sale can't be carried out immediately, so we have to ...... it well"

"Publicity, you have to publicize it well."

When Su Fatzi was pondering what words to use, Wu Haogu mentioned the word "propaganda".

"Preach and preach...... Well used! Ji Yi also attended the shareholders' meeting in the teahouse that originally belonged to Su Dalang and is now the head office of Christie's, and he said with a smile, "Chongdao, how do you want to publicize it?" ”

"Printed moves." Wu Haogu said, "Brother Yizhi, Yuan Hui, do you know which one in Kaifeng Mansion is better to engrave books?" ”

The so-called tricks are not tricks, but the meaning of advertising paper or advertising leaflets. The degree of social commercialization in the Song Dynasty was very high, and advertising naturally appeared and became popular.

However, at this time, most of the "tricks" are not printed, but drawn, anyway, there are third-rate small painters in Kaifeng Mansion, and it doesn't cost much to let them draw dozens of papers, which is much more convenient than stereotypes.

But Wu Haogu asked for a lot of "tricks" this time, and it was more cost-effective to be stereotypical.

"Engrave a book?" Mi Youren said with a smile, "Of course it's the Guozi Prison, and the official carving prison book is naturally the best." The second is the carved book of the family school, all the big families must have a family school, and all the family school must have an engraved book, which is also a good thing at the expense of work. The uneven quality is the workshop carving, the Dongrong Rokuro bookstore and the Jixiantang bookstore of Daxiangguo Temple are not bad. ”

Ji Yi said: "The workshop carved book is still better in Zhejiang and Fujian...... In fact, there is a carving workshop in my house, which is opened in Mingzhou, called Jijia Writing Shop. ”

Wu Haogu nodded, and the book engraving, or printing industry, must be the industry that Wu Haogu was preparing to enter - this is the foundation of the news and publishing industry, and the importance of these two industries is beyond doubt.

However, the food has to be eaten in one bite, and the business has to be done one by one.

"Are the people of the Guozijian willing to take private work?"

"Ken." Mi Youren smiled, "In these years, even the forbidden army is doing private work, not to mention the craftsmen of the country?" ”

Also, the house in Kaifeng Mansion is so expensive, if you don't take some private work, just a few dead wages opened by the Guozi Prison, and the craftsmen who engraving and engraving must be extinct.

"Then I'll ask someone from the country to get it," Wu Haogu paused, "I'll get the picture on the flyer, the words...... Yuanhui, you can write it. ”

This "trick" Wu Haogu also put his mind into it - this is an advertisement! The merchants of Kaifeng Mansion in the Northern Song Dynasty would have advertised, and there were also advertisements printed on paper. But the quality of the ads is poor, not well-made, and there are no professional advertising agencies.

Therefore, the advertising line is also a blue ocean!

In addition, printing on tricks can also be seen as the origin of comic books or comics, which is the business of Wu Hao's ancient life.

So he is ready to take action himself, draw the "comic images" of Mo Niangzi and Li Shishi on tricks, and then ask a calligrapher like Mi Youren to shoot (Mi Youren's calligraphy is not to start a sect, but to imitate the famous penmanship to the chaos), with a poem.

It is no exaggeration to say that if this trick is printed, it will be a collectible collection in itself.

"Okay, the students will take care of this." Mi Youren took over the task.

He is the son of the country, and the son of Mi Fu, who is too familiar with the head in the country. And their Mi family school carved books also to ask the Guozijian for help, this matter is familiar.

"When the tricks are printed," Wu Haogu said to Su Lida, "pick out some of the exquisite ones and send them to the famous families, and the poorly printed ones will go to Guozijian, Taixue, Kaifeng Fuxue, Panlou Street, Jieshen Lane, Daxiangguo Temple and various tiles to distribute." ”

"We're going to have to do a lot of people," Sulida frowned, "we don't have a lot of manpower." ”

Now Christie's shareholders' meeting has just been established, and Su Lida has been appointed as the big treasurer, Zhang Xizai as the big account, and more than a dozen guys who were originally from the Su family teahouse as errands. If they go to deliver leaflets to the big families in Kaifeng Prefecture, they will probably be tired and break their legs, and if they have to go to the street to distribute leaflets, they will not be busy at all.

"Find Liu Ergou's people to do it." Wu Haogu thought for a while and said to Liu Wuji, who was wearing a Taoist uniform, "Doesn't he want to be the boss on Panlou Street?" Then help me do something. ”

The so-called "boss" is actually the boss of the ruffians. This seat used to belong to Zhao Tieniu, but Tieniu is now forced to Liangshan, so the gangsters on Panlou Street have no head.

And Wu Haogu, as the head of the calligraphy and painting line and the chief of the edict, has the right to dominate the calligraphy, painting and literary play and the ruffians on Panlou Street - unlike the situation in the martial arts of later generations, most of the Jianghu characters in the Great Song Dynasty in reality want to be the eagle dog of the imperial court and can't, and they can be driven by a "big official" like Wu Haogu can be regarded as having a backstage.

Liu Wuji smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go and say it, and ask him to come and see him tomorrow." ”

"There's no need to be in such a hurry," Mi Youren interjected, "Teacher has had a lot of things lately, so let's wait a while." ”

Wu Haogu actually took a little time, but his good students said it, so he didn't refute it, nodded and said, "Tell him to take care of Panlou Street first, and you can wait for the meeting." ”8)