On the other side, Song Anhao returned to the bookshop and shared his ideas with Manager Lou.
On the desk, the ink on a half-written application was still wet. Manager Lou pondered for a moment, but did not agree with this move.
"Boss, there are tens of thousands of characters in this world. Even if we carved every single one, looking for them when needed would be like finding a needle in a haystack."
"Very few workers in our bookshop are literate. As long as the woodblocks remain unchanged, anyone can work on them. But if we change them, things will only get more troublesome."
Then, he explained the technical difficulties to Song Anhao one by one.
"Wood deforms easily when exposed to water. If each piece is different, the surface won’t be level, and the printing will either fail or result in blurred and missing strokes. Repeated disassembly will also damage the blocks."
"For classics like the Four Books and Five Classics, which haven’t changed in a thousand years, a single set of woodblocks can last decades or even centuries. Reprinting costs next to nothing. If we follow your idea of repeatedly disassembling and reassembling the blocks, costs will actually go up—it’s simply not worth the effort."
Song Anhao pressed his lips together, his brows knitting into two little knots.
What the other person said made sense, but difficulty didn’t mean it shouldn’t be done.
"Books like the Four Books and Five Classics, which stay the same for millennia, can still use our current printing method. The woodblocks are already there."
"But if more and more storybooks keep popping up like grass, carving new blocks each time will be expensive, and printing them in small runs wouldn’t be cost-effective either."
"A book with a hundred thousand words contains many repeated characters. Printing one page and then breaking down those blocks to reuse them could save costs."
"Besides, we wouldn’t just print books. We could take on poetry collections, government notices—anything. With just a bit of reordering, we could handle jobs of any size."
Song Anhao paced around the room, thinking as he moved.
Finally, he pointed to the wooden blocks on the desk and said, "If wood is prone to deformation, we can use other materials instead."
He tilted his head in thought. "We could use clay to carve, then fire it—just like making porcelain."
"Or, we could use iron or copper. Hmm—iron rusts, so copper is better. First, carve a negative impression in wood, then pour in molten copper. It wouldn’t deform for thousands of years."
"And as for the trouble of finding characters, that’s easy to solve. Organize them by stroke order and group them in different areas. We won’t need many literate workers. Just divide the work and assign people to specialize in that."
Song Anhao shot down each objection one by one, leaving Manager Lou speechless.
He stammered, "What you’re describing demands incredibly high skills from the craftsmen. Not only carvers, but also woodworkers and metalworkers would need to oversee everything to ensure success. It’s likely far more complicated than it sounds, and the costs won’t be small."
Song Anhao lifted his chin with a serious expression.
"The more we spend now, the less we’ll spend later. In the long run, it’s pure profit. Just send someone to Songzhou City to find the best craftsmen. If we can create a new printing method, our bookshop will be the very forefront of the entire industry."
Manager Lou’s lips opened and closed like a goldfish spitting bubbles.
Where on earth had these novel terms come from? They sounded grand, but he only half understood them.
If he said he didn’t understand, he could almost guess the general meaning—but if he said he understood, he truly had never heard such words before.
"Since you’ve made up your mind, Boss, I’ll follow your orders."
Song Anhao nodded with satisfaction. "Send someone out tomorrow. I’ll have the banknotes delivered later today."
Manager Lou lowered his head, sighing inwardly.
Developing a new printing technique—how could that be so easy? Who knew how many failures lay ahead? Was County Princess Linghui really on board with this?
He suppressed his reluctance and tried to change his way of thinking.
If the boss was willing to put up the money, he’d just do the work. If it succeeded, it would be a good thing after all.
By evening, Yao Ying delivered the banknotes. The next day, Manager Lou dispatched his most capable subordinate to set off.
