Afterwards, Henry Clark bargained and managed to rent a stall in front of a bow shop for ten days at the price of one copper coin. Even the tables, chairs, and banners were included as a bonus.

"This time, I'm truly penniless."

Henry Clark felt his pouch, which was completely flat, and couldn't help but give a bitter smile.

It was his first time selling calligraphy on the street, and Henry Clark couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Once the bow is drawn, there's no turning back. No matter what, I must raise enough money."

Henry Clark steadied himself, took off his quiver, spread out a sheet of xuan paper, carefully ground some ink, and prepared to write his first couplet. This was called a "door header," meant to showcase one's calligraphy skills to the people around, with no strict rules, so there was plenty of room for creativity.

Seeing a fifteen-year-old boy about to write a couplet in the crowd, people around clicked their tongues in amazement, and soon he attracted quite a bit of attention.

Henry Clark was not impatient. Once the ink was evenly mixed, he picked up the brush, pondered for a moment, and immediately felt confident.

"Clouds spray brush blossoms, tigers and leopards leap."

Henry Clark's brush moved like a dragon or snake, with hooks and strokes, and he quickly finished the first line. After a brief pause, the second line followed just as swiftly:

"Rain stirs ink waves, dragons and serpents surge."

"What a pity for two sheets of xuan paper."

Henry Clark secretly regretted it in his heart. This door header couldn't be sold, and since Henry Clark was currently very poor, wasting two sheets of xuan paper at once naturally made him feel a bit distressed.

After finishing the couplet, Henry Clark blew on the ink and quickly hung it on the banner behind him. As soon as the calligraphy appeared, it immediately drew a round of applause from those nearby:

"Great handwriting! This brushwork is almost on par with some of the old masters. Impressive!"

"I've never heard this couplet before! He must have come up with it himself? Amazing, amazing!"

"This young man has a bright future, much better than my own kid!"

...

The crowd was full of praise. Although they were laymen, they could still see that Henry Clark's calligraphy was powerful, full of character and beauty.

"This piece... has some real skill."

A few old calligraphers selling their own works couldn't help but take a closer look. Unlike the common folk, they saw things on a deeper level. Henry Clark's calligraphy was indeed outstanding, but only compared to his peers. What truly caught their attention was the couplet itself.

"Clouds spray brush blossoms, tigers and leopards leap; rain stirs ink waves, dragons and serpents surge"—this perfectly reflected the lives of these calligraphy sellers.

"Not bad, the response is pretty good."

Henry Clark's face remained calm, but inside he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as everyone recognizes my skill, things will get much easier from here."

Selling calligraphy also had its thresholds. If your writing wasn't good, no one would buy it, or even look at it. At least for this first hurdle, Henry Clark had passed.

But what happened next was something Henry Clark had not anticipated.

Although there were plenty of compliments, not a single person actually came to Henry Clark's stall to inquire or buy anything, and the crowd that had gathered around him quickly dispersed one by one.

"What's going on? Why isn't there a single buyer?"

At first, Henry Clark thought it was just a coincidence, but an hour passed, then two... Until the sun was high in the sky, Henry Clark stood until his back and legs were numb, yet his stall remained deserted, and he hadn't sold a single couplet.

"If this keeps up, not only will I not make any money, but even the five copper coins Uncle Harris gave me will be wasted for nothing."

Henry Clark's heart sank, and he grew increasingly anxious.

"This doesn't make sense... Even if my calligraphy isn't the best, it's definitely not bad. It's normal for the first day to have few customers, but there's no reason I shouldn't have sold even a single piece after all this time!"

Henry Clark began to ponder deeply.

"I'm young, not as steady as those old masters, but among so many old calligraphers, I'm the only young one—that should actually be my advantage. And with so many people praising me just now, why did no one come? There must be something here that I've overlooked..."

Henry Clark looked up and carefully observed his surroundings...

Chapter 3: A Sudden Revelation

At first, Henry Clark was completely clueless, but after scanning the area several times, he gradually began to notice something.

"Those who come to buy couplets mostly go to the well-known tutors of the big clans and a few other old masters. Aside from that, not many people buy from anyone else."

This discovery surprised Henry Clark.

Clearly, he wasn't the only one in this situation. Although he looked the youngest and most down-and-out, the others weren't doing much better—many had their hands tucked into their sleeves, their stalls just as deserted, and it took ages to sell even one or two pieces.

Henry Clark especially noticed that a few old masters with obviously superior brushwork and calligraphy actually sold fewer couplets than another old man nearby whose calligraphy was mediocre.

Henry Clark vaguely recognized him—the mediocre calligrapher's surname was Zhou, and he'd been selling calligraphy here for seven or eight years.

"That's it! I get it now!"

This realization hit Henry Clark like a sudden enlightenment, and he immediately understood.

"The people who come here to buy couplets can't really tell the subtle differences in calligraphy. In their eyes, maybe all the couplets are about the same, so they just stick to their habit of buying from Mr. Turner."

Henry Clark finally understood why he hadn't sold a single couplet after all this time.