Chapter 11: Sale

The ink is ready-made and there is no need to grind it. Li Jianbo helped cut the paper. Li Wei just picked up his pen to write, anyway, the Spring Festival couplets are those ready-made auspicious words, you can write as many as you want.
Li Wei's writing is magnificent and graceful, and fast, but he writes one in five minutes.
There were more and more onlookers, and one of the old men shook his head and said, "This time, it looks good. I'm afraid that I won't be able to practice for decades."
A young man next to him said: "This little girl is not too old, right? Where can I go to practice for decades?"
Everyone laughed. Someone started asking the price. Li Jianbo said, "Five cents a pair."
"Five cents? Only the ready-made ones over there sell for three cents."
Before Li Jianbo spoke, Li Jianping rushed to say: "Others do it now and sell it now? Doesn't my sister need hard money? You all said she is good, isn't it worth the price?"
The old man shook his head again and said, "The writing is really good, it's worth all the money. I'll buy four pairs."
Li Jianbo is still hesitating, if the price is too high, it will open without knowing it. The old man picked the Spring Festival couplets, Li Jianping helped to roll them up, tied them with straw ropes, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your patronage.
However, many people still think that the selling is too expensive. After writing all morning, Li Wei's eyes hurt and his wrist hurts.
"How many pairs do you sell?"
Li Jianbo makes a mark every time he sells a pair. He glanced at the straight characters drawn on the slate, nodded and smiled: "Ten in all."
Li Jianping said, "I have only ten mates, yes. Except for the money for buying paper and ink, I didn't make much." He didn't have much interest when he saw that the business was too small. No longer helping to watch the stalls, I left it to my younger siblings.
However, the interest of the brothers and sisters remained undiminished, and they were sold until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when there were fewer pedestrians on the street before they returned.
I have been busy for most of the day and sold a total of 6 yuan and 5 cents.
"Will you continue to go tomorrow?" Li Jianbo asked Li Wei.
"Of course, there are a lot of red paper. In addition to selling Spring Festival couplets, we can also write some lucky characters to sell."
Li Jianbo thought it was okay, so he agreed.
A pair of spring couplets is 40 cents, and the word fortune is two cents.
Li Wei can write cursive as well as bird seals, not to mention the body of the stele.
Li Jianbo was dumbfounded again. When did this younger sister learn seal script? Even he doesn't recognize those seal scripts. Only then did Li Wei react, it seemed that the noise was a bit loud, he smiled awkwardly, and quickly changed the subject.
After setting up the stall for two days in a row, I got a few yuan in income every day. Although not much, it was enough for the brothers and sisters. So the two decided to set up a stall during the day to sell Spring Festival couplets, and when they returned at night, Li Jianbo helped Li Wei with his homework.
Soon, it was the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. The siblings went out early in the morning and still went to the stall selling Spring Festival couplets.
Business was pretty good today. Although I was a little tired, Li Wei also felt it was worth seeing the money he made.
"Li Wei, it turns out that your handwriting is so good?" In the crowd, I don't know who has recognized her.
Li Wei looked up for a week, and finally fixed his eyes on a teenager. Isn't that Zhou Bin?
"You want to take care of my business, you go, I won't sell it to you." Li Wei hated the boy.
Zhou Bin stood there awkwardly, seeing Li Wei lowered his head to write, writing such wonderful words. He thought of the love letter again, the words on it seemed like chicken feet crawling over. After a short time, she has become so powerful?
"Will you still come to study?"
Li Wei did not answer his words, Li Jianbo helped him back: "Go, of course I will."
Zhou Bin didn't buy it, so he stood by the stall and stared blankly. After a while, he said, "Li Wei, what happened last time was my fault. Don't take it to your heart."
Don't worry about it? Let a little girl lose her face in school, don't go to your heart, it's not him, can that little girl finally go to the end?
Li Wei gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "Go away, don't dirty my land, it will delay my business."
Seeing Li Wei's anger on his face, Zhou Bin was very different from before. He knew that he would not provoke him anymore, so he ran away with interest.
Soon after Zhou Bin left, Li Wei's former head teacher Song came.
Teacher Song saw that it was written by Li Wei, and she couldn't believe her eyes. He was still very enthusiastic to support the students. He bought five spring couplets and five blessings at once. When he left, he said, "You still have your student status. If you want to come back to study, it's not impossible."
After setting up the stall that day, the two did not come to sell again the next day. These days they have made less than 15 yuan in total. Li Wei said that they split equally, but Li Jianbo gave his sister ten yuan.
"Why give me so much if it's a good split?" Li Wei looked at her second brother in surprise.
Li Jianbo was very generous and said: "It's all written by you, and the extra is hard work."
"Then you still have the capital."
"It's okay, it's already back to back. We will wait until next year to set up the stall."
As long as it can make money, there is nothing bad, Li Wei readily agreed.
At this time, Li Jianbo took out a piece of white paper and said to his sister: "You can write me a picture of Spring Snow in the Garden."
Li Jianbo took out the language document, turned to that page and pointed.
Li Wei looked down and praised: "This poem is really magnificent."
"Of course the things of the old man Taizu are magnificent."
"Which word do you like, in lower case, or cursive?"
Li Jianbo thought for a while and said, "Pick what you are best at."
Li Wei thought about it for a while, and said that the word was magnificent, and the smell of powder in the lower case of hairpin was not suitable. After much deliberation, I still think it's better to behave. Later, he imitated the handwriting of Cao Sheng and wrote slowly.
Li Wei wrote intently, and the radio on the table broke the tranquility of the house with festive music during the New Year.
Li Jianbo stared blankly at the side, this younger sister seemed to be a little different from before.
Many years later, Li Jianbo often recalled today's scene and still felt that this moment was their best time.
It didn't take long for Li Wei to write: "Second brother, what do you think, is it okay?"
It's more than good, it's great. Li Jianbo looked at it several times as if he was a treasure, and said with a smile: "I must mount it properly and keep it for a lifetime."
Seeing that his brother liked it, Li Wei was relieved.
The Chinese New Year is about to start right away. These days, Li Wei followed Li Jianbo to run outside, but he didn't take care of his home much. Li Minghua is also a shopkeeper. Liu Chunzhi has to clean the house alone, and is busy making tofu, making jelly, fried peanuts, and fried sweet potatoes. Then Li Minghua doesn't even help to burn the fire. She is all alone. Now that everything is ready, it’s time to wait for the New Year.