This was Mochi's dilemma.
Meton believed that the main reason why mathematics was not widely spread in the Tang dynasty was that it was difficult to understand. Zu Chongzhi's "Fixing Technique" was a typical example.
Fine!
Even the teachers might not understand mathematics. How could they teach it to students? Therefore, it was natural that "Fixing Technique" would be lost in the future.
To avoid repeating the same mistakes, Meton gave Shen Hongcai the idea of compiling mathematics textbooks according to grades. This method of teaching mathematics step by step had been verified by the later generations for hundreds of years. It was indeed the most suitable method for popularizing mathematics.
"The Mo family has its own printing house! As long as the teachers can compile it, it can be published immediately. The Mo family village will be one of the first places to use this new type of mathematics. "Meton patted his chest and promised.
With a goal, Shen Hongcai swept away his previous decadence and left in high spirits.
In the next few days, Meton played the role of a good student in the Imperial College. The whole Imperial College returned to peace as if the Indian number dispute had never happened.
It was another weekend.
Spring returned to the earth and everything came back to life. The big willow tree in the backyard of the Mo family had already sprouted tender shoots and hung down like thousands of silk ribbons. When the breeze blew, the green willows swayed. It was very comfortable.
Once again, Morton played dead under the willow tree, but this time, he wasn't lying there. The wound on his buttocks had already healed, and he was lying there comfortably. The reclining chair that Old Zhang had made for Morton was exceptionally fitting. It supported Morton's body from all angles, so he didn't need to use any strength.
The warm sun shone on Meton's body. It was so warm that he wanted to sleep. If it were not for the strange sound from time to time, Meton would have fallen asleep.
"Mochi!" Meton shouted angrily.
Mochi, who had been wandering in the backyard for more than ten times, quickly ran over and bowed, "Hello, young master!"
"What's wrong? She heard from Zi Yi? Aren't you busy with your bookstore? How come you have the time to come here? "Meton asked as he caught a glimpse of a purple figure behind the flowers.
It was obvious that Zi Yi had been behind Mochi's arrival.
After the exhibition ended, Meton separated Mochi from the Mo clan. Mochi was a great general personally appointed by His Majesty. He had a pair of deft hands, and his carving skills were extremely exquisite. Moreover, His Majesty had rewarded him with a thousand taels of silver. Meton had given all of it to Mochi as starting capital, so he no longer cared about him. Coupled with the fact that Meton had been busy recently, he completely ignored Mochi.
"Something happened to the bookstore? Young Master, please give me some pointers! "Mochi said with a red face.
"Something went wrong?" Meton looked at Mochi suspiciously. Logically speaking, Mochi had a noble title, technology, and capital. The printing company shouldn't have encountered any trouble!
"There are no books to be printed!" Mochi stuttered as he explained the entire situation. Only then did Meton understand the principle behind it.
It turned out that Mochi was ambitious at the beginning and wanted to do something big. However, he discovered that the technology of engraving printing was quickly spread in Chang 'an City. In this era, there were no intellectual property rights protection. Many of the court officials saw the business opportunity of engraving printing, and many of them rushed to get their hands on it. Moreover, it wasn't hard to find carpenters with engraving skills. In just a short month, more than ten bookstores opened in Chang' an City, and the price of books plummeted by three times.
"These sanctimonious fellows?" Meton gritted his teeth. These people's engraving printing technology was just a window paper that could be broken with a single poke.
"However, they didn't gain any advantage. Now, the Imperial College has revised various Confucian classics and added punctuation. Coupled with the Imperial College's signboard, the books are selling very well. As for the large bookstores in Chang 'an City, there is a large backlog. "Mochi said with lingering fear.
Meton was shocked. He thought that the Imperial College was full of pedantic scholars who were inflexible. He didn't expect them to have such brains. The Imperial College's move was similar to a famous school's version of the teaching materials of the future. As long as the name of the Imperial College existed, there was no need to worry about the printed books not being able to sell, and they were extremely authoritative.
"You also printed a lot?" Meton asked.
Mochi shook his head and suddenly said loudly, "Young Master, I am Mo Jiazi's younger brother. How can I print Confucian classics?"
Meton originally wanted to persuade Mochi, as a businessman, not to care about these sectarian views. However, when he thought that the Confucian classics printed in Chang 'an City were overflowing, he didn't try to persuade him anymore.
After listening to Mochi's explanation, Meton finally understood the predicament of the bookstore. Mochi specialized in printing Mo Jing and Dao Jing, but they didn't sell many copies. Their business was extremely miserable. Now, Mochi's biggest business was helping Hua Lao to print all kinds of medical contracts for Mo Hospital. Otherwise, they would have gone bankrupt long ago.
Meton looked at Mochi sympathetically. This kid was really too unlucky. He had a lot of skills, but there was no place for him to use them.
Meton had Shen Hongcai's mathematics textbook business that he could give him, but he didn't know how long it would take for Shen Hongcai to finish compiling it. Meton thought about it and decided not to tell Mochi. It would be better to give him a surprise when the time came.
"What do you think?" Meton asked with a thoughtful tone.
He saw that Mochi had been hesitating to speak. Obviously, he had his own ideas.
"I think …" Mochi's eyes involuntarily glanced at the flowers at the side as he spoke.
"Come here!" Meton said angrily.
Zi Yi didn't feel ashamed at being exposed at all. She ran over excitedly and said, "Young master, Mochi wants to print my paintings!"
"Your paintings?"
Meton's contemptuous gaze severely hurt Zi Yi's self-esteem. Zi Yi pouted and took out a large stack of rice paper from behind her.
"Bao Man?"
Meton looked at the matchstick figures in front of him and some exaggerated lines in surprise. It had to be said that under the current conditions in the future, the extremely simple lines of Bao Man were the most suitable for printing.
If you took out some sketches or landscape paintings, no matter how skillful the carving skills were, it wouldn't be able to be carved. This wasn't like the laser scanning in the future.
Meton narrowed his eyes and looked at Mochi and Zi Yi. It had to be said that their cooperation was indeed flawless. Meton could imagine that in this era where entertainment was extremely scarce, after Bao Man's books with pictures and words appeared, Meton could imagine how big of a sensation it would cause.
"Young master? What do you think? "Zi Yi asked hopefully.
"Interesting!" Meton smiled slightly and said, "Other than that?"
"Other than that?" Zi Yi was a bit dumbfounded. She didn't think so much. As long as her paintings could be printed, nothing else mattered.
"Young master, I think that now the children of the Mo Family Village can travel all over Guanzhong and bring back a lot of information. If we can sort out this information and publish it, together with Zi Yi's paintings, I believe there will be a way out," Mochi said.
This idea had been in his mind for a long time. Since there was no advantage in printing traditional books, he would find another way and open a new path.
Meton looked at Mochi in surprise. He didn't expect Mochi's mind to be so advanced that he could vaguely touch the concept of newspapers in the future.
"Oh, it takes three days to come and go from Guanzhong. Some information needs to be carefully verified. I'm going to print a book every half a month. This way, I can guarantee the timeliness of the information and ensure the accuracy of the information," Mochi said frankly and confidently.
"Half a month!" Meton nodded in his heart.
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