Chapter 136: Wanbi Bookstore, Continued

The men thought about it and indeed found some similarities between the two. Wu Zhixiang sighed, “When it comes to the various strange goods of the Australians, apart from glass, which one did our China not originally have? But once any object falls into their hands and is tinkered with, it seems to be completely transformed.”

At his words, everyone nodded in agreement. Whether it was Australian paper, wine, books, sanitary ware, or various utensils, apart from glass and the “soft glass” used for “unbreakable bottles,” which of them were not objects that had existed since ancient times?

“Even glass, did our China not have it?” Zhang Dai, who had read widely and had a rich knowledge of “miscellaneous studies,” said, “Glass is just liuli ware. It existed since the Han Dynasty. It’s a pity that it has now been reduced to roofing tiles.”

Wen Huai said with curiosity, “Are liuli and glass the same thing? I don’t think they are similar at all. They seem more like porcelain.”

As they spoke, they strolled around. The walls were lined with bookshelves that reached the ceiling, filled with rows upon rows of books. The way the books were arranged was also different from the Chinese way. They were not placed horizontally in book boxes on the shelves, but stood upright in rows. They had seen an Australian book the day before and knew that Australian books had spines with the title and author, making them easy to identify when arranged upright.

Beside the bookshelves were several ladders—some were like siege ladders with iron wheels underneath, which could be easily pushed around to browse the shelves.

The walls were either lined with bookshelves or windows, but on the vaulted ceiling hung long, rectangular paintings. Zhang Dai knew these were Western oil paintings; he had seen them in the Catholic church in Hangzhou and was not particularly impressed.

Beyond the bookshelves were several huge tables—even larger than the painting tables they used at home—on which various books were displayed. Beside the large tables were smaller tables and chairs for people to read and drink tea. This arrangement was not particularly strange; the larger bookstores they had visited had similar setups. However, the style of the chairs was unique. The tables were very small and round, and the chairs were high-backed chairs that leaned back slightly and were covered with a soft cushion-like material. Sun Chun was the first to sit down. As he leaned back, he felt the chair support his back and waist, even his head. Reading in this chair was indescribably comfortable.

On the small round tables were exquisite tea sets of various kinds. There were Yixing purple clay tea sets, famous products from various porcelain kilns, and also all-glass tea sets made in Australia—Zhang Dai had bought several sets at a high price because he liked to watch the “beautiful colors” when brewing tea.

But this was not the most surprising thing. The most surprising thing was that there were several sets of heavy, bed-like objects in the hall. Each set consisted of one long piece and two short pieces, which seemed to be chairs yet resembled couches. They were covered with fine Western cloth or brocade, and on top were several cushion-like objects. This time, Zhang Dai was not to be outdone and was the first to sit down.

“This thing is wonderful!” He bounced a little as he sat down, and his face broke into a smile. “Gentlemen, please sit down. This thing is really interesting!”

As soon as Wen Huai and Sun Chun sat down, the “give-and-take” feeling from their buttocks immediately gave them an unprecedented experience. But for Wu Zhixiang, this was not new—the Ziming Lounge had them too, and he had even bought a pair of single ones for his own enjoyment. These were so-called “sofa chairs.”

Hearing the men arguing about why the sofa could have such elasticity, he immediately smiled. “Gentlemen, don’t be fooled by its softness. It’s actually full of iron objects inside.”

How could they believe it? Everyone had seen ironware; it was the hardest and strongest of materials. How could it produce such an effect? Wu Zhixiang then explained that when he bribed the yamen runners to enter the Ziming Lounge, he saw several of them dismantling a sofa. The filling was nothing more than kapok and the like, but on the base of the sofa were densely packed circles of iron wire, layer upon layer.

The men listened intently. Zhang Dai couldn’t help but sigh, “In the past, I only thought of the wonders of nature’s creation. I never imagined that human ingenuity could be so masterful!”

The men talked animatedly on the sofa. The shop assistant waiting on them dared not interrupt and quietly reported to Cai Shi. Cai Shi was a local and knew many people. As long as Zhao Yingong was not out or had sent him on an errand, he was the one in charge of the bookstore. Because everyone knew this was a bookstore opened by a scholar, and Zhao Yingong had befriended the local Christian Confucian scholars and gained their support, ordinary street ruffians dared not cause trouble at the bookstore. Cai Shi’s main job was to attend to and build relationships with any local gentry who came in person or sent their servants. If necessary, he would report directly to Zhao Yingong.

He recognized Zhang Dai as soon as he appeared, but he did not immediately go out to greet him. From the rebuff the assistant had received earlier, he knew that these scholars wanted to look around on their own first, so it would be of little use for him to go out and greet them.

Now, seeing them all seated on the sofas, talking animatedly, he immediately called an assistant.

“Go, quickly inform the Master that Master Zhang Dai is in the shop.”

Zhang Dai was a famous figure in Hangzhou, and even Cai Shi knew that the Master should entertain him with great effort. Now that he had come in person, he had to make sure he was well taken care of.

He then instructed the assistant to take out chilled soda water from the “refrigerator” and pour it into glasses.

The so-called “refrigerator” was not a gas refrigerator from Lin’gao, but a wooden cabinet that used natural ice for cooling, which already existed in this time. The harsh winters of the Little Ice Age allowed places like Hangzhou to collect and store ice in the winter.

This soda water was even rarer, transported by boat all the way from Guangdong. When Cai Shi saw that the wooden boxes contained glass bottles, he was so surprised his jaw almost dropped. He fully understood the value of such crystal-clear glass. In his mind, this soda water was like “nectar of the gods.”

Zhang Dai paid no mind to Cai Shi’s attentiveness; it was perfectly normal. He was, however, interested in the tray of drinks he brought over.

The drinks were served in cylindrical, straight-sided glass tumblers. At first glance, the glasses seemed to be filled with plain water, but a stream of fine bubbles continuously rose from the bottom, and the outside of the glasses was covered with condensation. It looked crystal clear and refreshingly cool.

The men present were all from families of some means and could tell at a glance that it was chilled with ice. The sun after the Dragon Boat Festival was already very hot, and they were all a little sweaty even after arriving by sedan chair. A glass of “ice water” like this was just what they needed. After drinking it, they all praised it. This glass of “plain water” was not only thoroughly chilled but also had a light, sweet taste with a hint of fruity sourness. The taste was extremely refreshing.

Wu Zhixiang said with surprise, “This is not kvass!”

Cai Shi was taken aback. He didn’t know Wu Zhixiang was a regular at the Ziming Lounge, but he knew that a drink called kvass had indeed been delivered and was being kept in the back cabinet along with this one. He couldn’t help but ask with curiosity:

“Has this master had kvass before?”

“I have had countless bottles of kvass,” Wu Zhixiang said with a smile. “It’s more sour than this and has a certain aroma. This glass of water of yours, was it also transported from Lin’gao in glass bottles?”

“Master sees a thousand li!” Cai Shi heard his strange accent and knew he was most likely from Guangzhou. He said, “I dare not deceive you masters. This soda water is also an Australian product, specially transported from Guangzhou. Our shop uses it to entertain distinguished guests.”

Wen Huai smiled. “Your master is truly extravagant! This glass of nectar of the gods must be priceless. I’m afraid we’ll have to pawn our robes to get out of here.”

Zhang Dai frowned slightly, feeling that Wen Huai was being a wet blanket—it was simply rude. Given the grandeur of this bookstore, the owner must be a person of great wealth and status. Why would he care about the cost of a glass of “soda water” and demand payment? It was simply judging a gentleman by the standards of a petty man.

These words made Cai Shi uncomfortable. He quickly said, “How could we dare? Our shop is a bookstore; we sell books.”

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Zhang Dai quickly said, “Since you sell books, I wonder if you have any rare and unusual books here?”

Cai Shi smiled. “I wonder what category the master is looking for…”

Zhang Dai snapped his fan shut. “I want something new and interesting. Don’t bring out things like ‘A Correct Interpretation of Mencius’ that speak for the sages.”

Wen Huai, however, said, “I read it yesterday. Not just in our dynasty, but since the Tang and Song dynasties, among all the commentaries on Mencius, none can compare to this Mr. Jiao’s. Especially the exegesis, it can be called a great synthesis.”

The others were not very interested in this exegesis. They all smiled and said nothing. Cai Shi, being of servant origin, was good at reading people’s expressions and knew that Master Zhang was the key figure. He immediately smiled. “Our shop has all kinds of books. Please wait a moment, masters. I will go and fetch them.”

The books in Wanbi Bookstore were partly shipped directly from Lin’gao, partly purchased from Nanjing and Suzhou, and mostly printed locally in Hangzhou from paper molds made in Lin’gao.

To ensure the fame of Australian books, not only were the paper molds sent, but also the ink and paper produced in Lin’gao. The Planning Office’s instructions to Zhao Yingong were to try to produce ink and paper locally in Hangzhou in the future, but there was no rush for now—the upcoming Operation Engine would have a large amount of empty tonnage heading north, making it easy to transport anything.

The first book printed by Zhou Dongtian’s printing press was “Gazetteer of the Four Continents.” This was a book compiled by Lin Zexu’s team, based on a British work called “A Complete Gazetteer of the World.” This work was a relatively comprehensive Chinese introduction to world geography, humanities, and society. However, the Lin’gao version of the “Gazetteer of the Four Continents” had been thoroughly revised by the Grand Library’s history department, removing content that was not in line with the 17th-century situation, correcting some errors and misinformation, and of course, adding a lot of new content.

The book molds sent to Hangzhou were all carefully considered. Classics, history, and the works of various schools of thought were not rare in a place like Jiangnan, where book carving flourished. The Hangzhou printing press was not currently following a marketing path of winning by scale and impacting the market with low costs. To attract people, the Culture Bookstore had to have books that were new and original in content, and also had a certain academic level. The academic works of Qing Dynasty scholars became the first choice.