Chapter 37: Coarse Paper and Charcoal Sticks (1)
Walking into the building, which had a small courtyard in the front that had the main path branch out into two around a circular koi pond before meeting back up in front of the shop, Di Tou was imminently greeted by a clerk once he stepped into the main building.
"Greetings senior, are you here looking for talisman materials? Or are you interested in looking through our collection of paintings and calligraphy? We got a collection of new pieces from Great master Mu Jin Shan recently if you're interested in perusing."
"Ah… I'm here to browse and get some writing materials."
"Of course, right this way senior."
Bowing slightly, the clerk held out one hand indicating for Di Tou to walk in front of him. Doing his best to put on an unbothered look, Di Tou folded his hands behind his back and preened a little as if he were a peacock looking for a mate.
Making a gesture to another clerk on duty, the worker lead Di Tou through the main hall of the shop, which was more like an exhibition hall than a shop, as it was filled with various pieces of calligraphy and painting that the clerk slowly introduced one by one as they passed by.
After a little while, they reached the end of the hall, where the clerk pulled on a door that while not hidden, blended into the wall to appear inconspicuous, once again gesturing for Di Tou to head into the room first, the clerk closed the door behind them once they had stepped in.
Pouring Di Tou a glass of tea, the clerk asked again, "So what specifically is senior looking for today?"
"I'm looking for some unique writing materials and tools. For the materials, I'm looking for something more disposable than a scroll…" Di Tou fished, hoping that the clerk would offer up something similar to paper.
After all, Di Tou wasn't sure if paper was a thing yet, based off the fact there was none in Mu Di Bai's room, he figured it might be uncommon, if not simply not a thing altogether, but in case it was commonplace and Mu Di Bai just personally didn't like using it, wouldn't he sound rather foolish asking as if he didn't know what paper was?
"If senior is looking for something disposable…" The clerk gave a rather troubled look. "We have a collection of second grade cloths that were rejected from the Academy due to having some sort of defects in the production, as well as coarse beast skin scrolls that are sewed due to improper collection techniques."
Di Tou frowned, could it be that paper wasn't a thing yet? "Do you have anything lighter? It doesn't have to be something presentable, just to take notes on for my own writing. Ideally it would be colorless."
"Ah? Actually, now that you mention it, you might just be in luck. I remember awhile back one of our traders came back with a new material he got from the northern continent, I believe he called it paper? It's lightweight, but not very durable, lets ink seep through and is easily tarnished, so it isn't particularly popular with the majority of cultivators, but I believe it fits the requirements that senior mentioned."
Making a motion with his hands, the clerk continued, "I have sent someone to deliver some to the room, if senior is satisfied we can continue to talk about pricing, is there anything else senior is interested in?"
"Mmm…" Di Tou was feeling rather good right now, it seemed like paper was already a thing! How lucky, he didn't have to learn how to write on a scroll. "I'm also looking for a…" Di Tou hesitated for a moment "tool that will help me write upright."
"Ah, is senior a painter? If you're looking for an easel we have quite a collection."
"Huh? No, no, I'm looking for a tool, like a brush, but more portable, that would let me write while, say, on a mountain or even on the ground if needed."
The shopkeeper's eye twitched. Here he was thinking he had gotten a big spender, after all, even though the man had walked into the shop without any visible cultivation and looking like a beggar, at the very least he was wearing a nascent level robe, ah?
As a shopkeeper he had to have a good eye, he had thought he had gotten a hidden bigshot, but what the h*ll were these requests? "Do you mean, a stamp perhaps? We make customizable jade stamps to match signatures here…"
"No, no, no, not a stamp. Let me think…"
While Di Tou was thinking, and the shopkeeper was calculating in his heart how much of a loss he had made serving high quality tea to this sort of customer, a knock arrived from the back of the office and a small compartment on the wall opened. Walking over, the shopkeeper looked inside and grabbed out a stack of paper, before bringing it back to the table.
"While you are thinking about what you're looking for, why don't you inspect the first product?"
"Ah." Di Tou's eyes shined. While this paper was rather coarse by modern standards, as it was a bit of a yellowish brown as opposed to a pristine white, and there were visible imperfections, it was evidently paper. Picking up a piece and rubbing with his thumb, Di Tou thought of a way to explain what he wanted.
"Look." Di Tou picked up the paper and walked over to the wall, holding the paper against the wall with one hand. "I'm looking for something that would allow me to write on the paper from this angle." Di Tou gestured with his free hand, mimicking writing. "Can you think of anything?"
"If it's something like that, maybe a charcoal stick would work? I know that some of the rogue cultivators in the wild use charcoal sticks to help mark down dates." The shopkeep suggested.
"That should work. Could you bring over a stick?"
"Of course."