Chapter 83

It had been many years since Qi Xiang last came to Nanxun. Walking through the ancient town again, he admired the familiar yet strange buildings, feeling particularly relaxed and experiencing a long-lost sense of intimacy.

After a long while, Qi Xiang finally came to his senses, realizing the purpose of his visit. He steadied himself, quickened his pace, and soon arrived at a river dock.

At the dock, a dozen small boats were lined up, ready to receive tourists. Qi Xiang glanced around and, following the principle of proximity, directly boarded the nearest boat.

The boat owner was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, with a weathered face and strong arms, but his smile was warm and welcoming. "Young man, do you want to take a short water route, or do you want to hire the boat for a set time?"

"Are you going to Shanzhuan?" Qi Xiang asked directly.

"Of course." The man nodded eagerly, even more delighted. Going to Shanzhuan was farther and more profitable than just circling around the town.

They agreed on a price, and the man immediately started rowing. The small boat slowly left the riverbank and glided along the green waves.

With the favorable wind and current, the boat moved quickly.

Qi Xiang leaned back in the boat, enjoying the scenery on both sides, feeling very relaxed and comfortable. However, the good times didn't last long. When the boat left the ancient town, the scenery changed abruptly.

On both sides of the river, there were all kinds of modern buildings.

Smooth cement roads, uniform buildings, and a constant flow of vehicles all indicated that the world outside the town was completely different from the inside.

The air outside the ancient town seemed more restless, but the situation improved when the boat arrived at Shanzhuan.

Shanzhuan was also a town, with small bridges and flowing water, and stone riverbanks, showcasing the charm of a Jiangnan water town.

In ancient times, the people here, generation after generation, engaged in the ancient traditional craft of making Hu pens. Almost every household had pen makers, and everyone knew how to make pens, with exquisite skills and a reputation that spread far and wide.

According to historical records, the production of each Hu pen involved twelve major processes: selecting materials, shaping, soaking, tying, fitting, inlaying, selecting, and engraving.

Each major process included several minor steps, with the entire production process involving over 120 steps. Thus, it was said that the skill of making Hu pens was the best in the world, and Shanzhuan was known as the capital of Hu pens.

However, the grand scene of every household making pens in the past no longer exists.

After all, times have changed. In ancient times, the brush pen was the most important writing tool, indispensable, and the market was vast, with endless business opportunities, forming a huge industry chain that sustained the livelihood of the people of Shanzhuan for generations.

But today, the brush pen is no longer the main writing tool, having been replaced by fountain pens, ballpoint pens, and pencils. Without a market, the pen-making industry in Shanzhuan was destined to decline, no longer as prosperous as before.

Fortunately, with the continuous development of China, modern people have become more aware of traditional culture. Especially in the field of calligraphy, the unique aesthetic appeal cannot be separated from the brush pen.

The Four Treasures of the Study have been rediscovered and protected.

Qi Xiang felt that the protection and inheritance of traditional culture had both positive and negative aspects.

Positively, the protection of the craft means it is less likely to disappear, which is a good thing. However, the problem is that protected things often become niche, making it difficult to popularize, which seems to be a negative aspect.

After all, anything that is popular among the masses never needs protection.

If someone had said a hundred years ago that brush pens needed protection, it would have been a joke. But a hundred years later, not only brush pens, but even handwriting is a concern for some.

With the widespread use of mobile phones and computers, modern people's ability to write by hand has weakened, often leading to the problem of forgetting how to write characters, a form of degeneration that is worrying.

Writing is the foundation of cultural and civilizational inheritance. Not being able to write characters is a great irony.

Influenced by the ancient charm of the town, Qi Xiang also became concerned about the country and the people. Essentially, he was a scholar, and intellectuals often have the habit of discussing national affairs, earning a worker's salary but worrying about the country's affairs.

Qi Xiang smiled at himself, paid the boatman, and walked toward a street in the town.

The street, though not large, was very lively. On both sides, shops lined up, with flags fluttering in the wind. Tourists and travelers moved in and out of the shops, buying various exquisite handicrafts.

The handicrafts in the shops were mostly brush pens.

In each shop, shelves and walls were filled with brush pens of various sizes and materials, from large brushes to small eyebrow brushes.

The sizes and lengths of the brush handles varied.

Nowadays, when people buy brush pens, they no longer value their practical function.

On the contrary, many people see brush pens as gifts or souvenirs. Traveling here and buying a few brush pens to keep as souvenirs or to give to friends and family is a good choice, very elegant.

Of course, some people have a more long-term perspective and view high-quality brush pens as collectibles.

Qi Xiang, who had a background in antiques, was quite familiar with this phenomenon.

Actually, the collection of brush pens only became popular in the past ten or so years. Many years ago, there was a saying in the industry: "Old ink is a treasure, old pens are like grass."

In the industry, both in ancient and modern times, people cherished and valued the Four Treasures of the Study. However, there was one exception: the brush pen.

As everyone knows, the tip of a brush pen wears out over time, and a worn-out brush pen is considered useless.

For a worn-out brush pen, it is usually thrown away. Some literati would dig a hole and bury the brush pen, leaving a story of a pen cemetery.

However, in recent years, with the popularity of collecting, in an era of nationwide collecting, ceramics, paintings, and jade antiques could no longer satisfy people's growing interest in collecting.

In this situation, adding more collecting items was inevitable. Some previously undervalued items gradually gained popularity and increased in value.

Brush pens were one of them. Originally not very valuable ancient brush pens became highly sought after.

In the past ten years, brush pens from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which were originally worth only a few hundred or thousands, have increased in value by a hundred times, breaking many auction records, even reaching prices of millions.

A small brush pen, made of ordinary bamboo, even with a worn-out tip, could sell for hundreds of thousands, which was truly unexpected and astonishing.

The main reason for this was that bamboo brushes were seen as symbols of elegance and virtue in ancient times, widely loved by people.

Additionally, with the development of bamboo carving art during the Ming and Qing dynasties, bamboo brush pens became an important field of bamboo carving. Carving landscapes, flowers, and figures on the outer surface of the brush handle, which is less than an inch in circumference, demonstrated the skills of bamboo carving masters.

Another important factor was that bamboo brush pens were easily damaged and difficult to preserve, so well-preserved ancient bamboo pens were rare.

Rarity, combined with cultural significance and aesthetic appeal, made bamboo pens highly sought after by collectors.

With more attention, prices naturally soared. Some rare imperial brush pens from the Ming and Qing dynasties selling for millions was not an unusual occurrence.

Anyway, in Qi Xiang's view, those brush pens worth millions were beyond his reach, and he didn't need to care about them...

Qi Xiang was very relaxed. After arriving at the street in the town, he turned a corner and skillfully entered a relatively secluded small shop.

There were no customers in the shop, only a middle-aged shopkeeper comfortably lying on a bamboo rocking chair, facing a fan, and dozing off with his eyes closed.

"Cough, cough!"

Seeing this, Qi Xiang immediately coughed to get his attention.

The shopkeeper, hearing the sound, immediately stood up without opening his eyes, smiling and saying, "Boss, welcome! What are you interested in?"

"Mr. Wu, it's been years. Don't you recognize me?" Qi Xiang said with a friendly smile.

"Hmm?" The shopkeeper was taken aback, blinked, and carefully looked at Qi Xiang. At first glance, he found him somewhat familiar and hesitated, "You... you're not... Oh, Xiao Qi!"

The shopkeeper slapped his leg and said happily, "Xiao Qi, you're Xiao Qi..."

"It's me, indeed." Qi Xiang nodded with a smile, "Mr. Wu, it's rare that you still remember me."

"You've helped me a lot, how could I forget?" The shopkeeper smiled, "Didn't you go to Jinling to develop? Since you left, my business has become much quieter."

"Mr. Wu, you're joking." Qi Xiang waved his hand, "Who knows, your shop isn't really a business, so even if it's quiet, it doesn't affect your income."

"Ha ha, that's true..." The shopkeeper didn't deny it and then said, "Xiao Qi, come and sit down. It's rare for you to visit. How are you doing in Jinling?"

"Fine, fine." Qi Xiang sat down obediently.

"Let me tell you, Jinling is a big city, but the pressure is also great." The shopkeeper's expression was very serious, "If you're not happy there, why don't you come back and help me?"

"Mr. Wu, I appreciate your offer." Qi Xiang was moved and said with a smile, "If I ever reach a dead end, I won't hesitate to ask you."

"You, kid..." The shopkeeper patted Qi Xiang's shoulder and laughed, "You won't be that bad."

"Who knows?"

Qi Xiang never made absolute statements and skillfully chatted with the shopkeeper.

After a few words, the shopkeeper asked directly, "Xiao Qi, besides visiting me, do you have any other business?"

"Mr. Wu, you have a keen eye." Qi Xiang smiled and then explained his purpose...

During the strong recommendation, I ask for your support, please collect and recommend. Thank you very much.

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