There is a god in the sky

Chapter 164 Jifeng Study 7

"Shopkeeper! Shopkeeper, come out quickly!"

Early in the morning, Xiao Ding ran to the backyard and banged on the door.

Xuan'er went to open the door and said in a low voice, "Brother Ding, my sister went to bed late last night. Is there something you need?"

"Something happened!"

Shen Lan opened the door, yawning as she asked, "Did the bookstore catch fire or was it burglarized?"

Xiao Ding was so anxious he was jumping up and down. "Manager Shen, please stop joking! You need to go and see, a big business opportunity has come your way."

Shen Lan wondered how big it could be.

When they got to the front, good heavens, there were three handcarts parked at the entrance.

A well-dressed middle-aged man was looking around the shop, showing great interest in the book list.

"What would you like to buy, sir?" Shen Lan asked as she walked in.

The man turned around and asked in surprise, "Are you the shopkeeper?"

"Yes, my surname is Shen."

"My surname is Zhou, and I am the owner of Fuyuan Trading Company. I heard that Jifeng Bookstore has published a new storybook. The story is novel and everyone is talking about it. I plan to take some back with me."

Shen Lan thought his accent sounded like it came from the Jiangnan region.

She took a copy from the display shelf and gave it to him. "This is the first volume. Manager Zhou can take a look first. If you like it, I can expedite the printing of the second volume."

Shopkeeper Zhou nodded with a smile: "The cover of this book alone is attractive enough. Scholars from Jiangnan appreciate beautiful women. Miss Shen is truly good at business."

"You flatter me."

"I wonder how many sets can be printed in three days? I need five thousand sets of books."

That's quite a lot.

She asked in confusion, "Manager Zhou, are you taking these heavy books back with you? Why don't you go back and find a bookstore to print them?"

Given current transportation conditions, the probability of damage during the long-distance transport of 5,000 sets of books is extremely high.

“How should we calculate the money? Mr. Zhou is an honest man and would never steal and print other people’s books.”

Shen Lan smiled and said, "I can sell you the copyright. With the official authorization from our Jifeng Study, you can print as many copies as you want."

The meaning of the word "copyright?" is easy to understand.

Manager Zhou suddenly realized that this was also possible.

He only needs to take one set of books back with him, and he can print as many as he wants. The more he sells, the more he earns.

Similarly, if he sells few copies, he'll lose a lot of money buying the copyrights.

This is definitely a risky business.

"How much is the price, Manager Shen?" If it's too expensive, he'd rather spend more on shipping costs to get it back.

This was also Shen Lan's first time selling copyrights. She calculated the profit of a book and estimated a figure: "1,200 taels."

The price wasn't expensive, but it wasn't cheap either. It was her first time doing business, so she didn't dare to ask for too much.

Manager Zhou borrowed an abacus and started calculating rapidly, his brows furrowing and relaxing intermittently. In the end, he bargained the price down to one thousand taels for Shen Lan.

"However, I need to see the complete set of books before signing the contract with Manager Shen."

"Of course, Manager Zhou can come again in three days."

Xiao Ding listened in stunned silence.

The bookstore's business has always been lukewarm. When the previous manager was in charge, the business mainly relied on selling stationery.

Books have a high profit margin, but low sales volume; they are usually sold one book at a time.

He had never heard of copyrights selling for a thousand taels of silver at once, and they didn't even need to print the book. Wasn't that pure profit?

Shen Lan handed him the book list, "Brother Ding, could you please find all the books in our bookstore that belong to us?"

Each bookstore has its own writers, and the storybooks and travelogues are basically sold exclusively, with writers earning a one-time fee.

Scholars like Qiu Yi not only copy books for bookstores, but also write storybooks when they are really short of money, although his skill level is average.

Xiao Ding seemed to see a bright future ahead and quickly took the book list to organize it.

Shen Lan gave Xuan'er a string of copper coins and told her to go to the street to buy food.

She checked yesterday's accounts and then wrote a notice and posted it at the entrance of the bookstore.

"A call for submissions?" Passersby stopped to watch.

As more and more people gathered, Shen Lan went out and said, "Jifeng Bookstore is accepting manuscripts of any kind. Payment is based on the quality of the manuscript, ranging from one tael to one hundred taels per thousand words."

Earning money by writing just a few words is the simplest form of income for students from impoverished backgrounds.

However, many students are unwilling to give up the integrity of scholars and do not want to write romance novels.

"In addition to book manuscripts, our bookstore also accepts illustrations. If you are willing to accept commissioned illustrations, you can come to our bookstore to work as an illustrator."

Given the printing technology of the Da Xi Dynasty, it wouldn't have been difficult to print a few color illustrations in a book; it would just have increased costs.

Bianjing (Kaifeng) has no shortage of scholars, and even more so, no shortage of wealthy scholars.

To make money, you have to find a different way and print books that no other company has.

Xuan'er returned quickly, bringing not only food but also a message.

"I just ran into Young Master Fu on the street. He was riding a horse and following a very imposing general toward the palace."

I heard people on the street say that he was the Marquis of Pingyang, the father of Young Master Fu.

Shen Lan recalled the case from the previous night and wondered what Marquis Pingyang was up to in the palace at this hour.

Fu Qingyan stopped the Marquis of Pingyang at the palace gate.

"Father, are you really sure?"

"Get out of the way!" Marquis Pingyang raised his whip and sneered, "It seems that I have been too honest all these years, which is why those people have started plotting against me."

After hearing Xiao Ji's words last night, Marquis Pingyang returned home and ordered his servants to increase patrols to ensure that no one could take advantage of the situation.

Before the message was even finished, the guards seized a man in black at the side gate.

The man was wounded, and blood was everywhere.

When the man was brought before the Marquis of Pingyang, he was barely alive.

Before he could ask, Fu Qingyan ran over with his men and said that the servants of the Lai family were looking for someone nearby.

After making some inquiries, they learned that another thief had broken into the Lai residence, but had escaped after being shot by the guards, and they had chased him all the way here.

Marquis Pingyang acted decisively, slashing the man in black with a single stroke, and then ordered his men to clean up the bloodstains he had left behind.

Even so, the Lai family still came knocking on their door.

He had already disposed of the body, so the other party couldn't find him and therefore couldn't frame him.

Although the trouble was temporarily resolved, the Marquis of Pingyang became increasingly angry, which led to this incident.

At this time, the court officials were still in court.

It is easy to imagine that the Marquis of Pingyang entered the palace at this time to cause a disturbance at the court assembly.

Fu Qingyan dared not let him do anything reckless.

“Father, you have no evidence, and you don’t even know who is behind this. What can you say to the Emperor?”

Marquis Pingyang scoffed, "You think I went there to cause trouble? Bullshit! I went there to apologize!"

Fu Qingyan didn't understand at first.

"Get out of the way! Stay out of the way!"

Marquis Pingyang pushed his son aside, straightened his armor, and handed over his waist token, saying, "Your subject, Fu Jingkun, requests an audience with Your Majesty!"

Shen Lan was reviewing manuscripts in the shop when Xuan'er ran in and out, telling Shen Lan the latest news she had found out.

"Sister, Young Master Fu has arrived."

Shen Lan looked up and saw Fu Qingyan walking in with Guan Shu, head held high and chest puffed out.