"They won't come knocking on your door, will they? After all, you only spent 14 yuan."

How did buying scrap become an antique? Shu Hui was worried that the elderly couple's son would cause trouble. If he ever found out that his parents' belongings were priceless and regretted selling them, he might come to Chu Yu to reclaim the antiques.

Grandpa Luo didn't take it seriously and made his purchase immediately. The antique business isn't like buying clothes at a department store where you can return or exchange items if they don't fit. Why did he even refuse his parents' heirlooms and sell them all to a scrap collector?

Chu Yu was able to buy it because she was kind-hearted; there was no other reason.

"What's there to worry about? These antiques belong to Yu'er now, no one can take them away. Girl, listen to Grandpa Luo, don't tell anyone about these calligraphy books and rubbings. Keep your good things to yourself discreetly. Otherwise, you'll end up like Grandpa Luo, whose family heirlooms are either handed over or used as errand boys. Discreetness brings wealth!"

Chu Yu nodded. Shu Hui kept the old man's words in mind, bought Chu Yu a lock, and locked the cultural relics in the cabinet.

Shulan was in charge of overseeing the renovation of the new store. With the college entrance examination less than three months away, Chu Yu was spending more time at school.

She has no choice but to study. From her classmates and teachers to the principal and education bureau leaders, everyone has high hopes for her. The college entrance examination is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Even if Chu Yu is confused, she can't be so clueless as to not know what's important.

In the next few months, she plans to focus all her time and energy on the exam and strive for outstanding results.

Luo Changgeng was sent on a business trip to Suzhou, which lasted for almost a month. He didn't return until April.

As the weather warms up and everything comes back to life, Luo Changgeng has learned a lot about operating a publishing house. Full of confidence, he plans to single-handedly promote the transformation of the publishing house.

"President Luo, the novel you reviewed has been printed and will be delivered to Xinhua Bookstore and booksellers in a few days."

Luo Changgeng was slightly taken aback. He had been too busy with his business trip and had almost forgotten about this matter. Around the time after the Lunar New Year, his daughter Luo Yue brought her classmate Chu Xiang to the publishing house to see him. After he had roughly reviewed the manuscript, he handed it over to Party Secretary Zhao.

Later, when he went on a business trip to Suzhou, Secretary Zhao thought the manuscript was good and asked Xiao Xu from the publishing house to review and finalize it. The publishing house submits its performance reports on a quarterly basis. In the first half of this year, the publishing house did not have any outstanding results, so it wanted to make "The Businesswoman" a major selling point.

Luo Changgeng originally had reservations about popular novels, but after visiting Suzhou, he discovered that the market for popular novels was huge. A popular novel published in Suzhou could sell 100,000 copies. Luo Changgeng said it would be a lie to say he wasn't envious.

"Oh, it's 'The Businesswoman', right? The manuscript that Secretary Zhao reviewed should be fine. Just do what you need to do."

Xiao Xu nodded. He was usually responsible for reviewing technical school textbooks and government documents, but this was the first time he had reviewed a popular novel, so he read the manuscript first.

The young woman has such talent at such a young age. If "The Businesswoman" sells well, she has unlimited potential. He thought the publisher should approach her in advance to prevent her from being poached by other publishers.

"I heard from Secretary Zhao that this girl is a top student from Dezhong High School?"

"I don't know if he's a top student or not, but he's my daughter's deskmate. My daughter likes this book and insisted that I take a look at it for her. So, I handed it to Secretary Zhao to take a look."

The publishing house had just undergone a transformation, and Luo Changgeng's decisions alone were no longer valid. He had to involve Secretary Zhao in the review process so that if the book didn't sell, he wouldn't have to take the blame alone.

Xiao Xu chuckled: "Aren't the top students in senior year high school also high achievers?"

"What do you mean by top-ranked seniors? My daughter is only a junior! Alright, since the printing is done, get the book out of print as soon as possible, otherwise we'll be out of stock in the first quarter."

Xiao Xu readily agreed and took the manuscript to be printed.

To be on the safe side, the publisher only printed 10,000 copies. The market for popular novels is large, and 10,000 copies should be enough to sell. After all, they have the Xinhua Bookstore channel, and once it's distributed in Xinhua Bookstores across the country, even the worst books can be sold.

"Have you confirmed the royalties with her?" Luo Changgeng glanced at the author's name, thinking to himself, when did this girl start using a pen name? Why did she change her real name? But using her real name is indeed not very appropriate. For example, Lu Xun and Zhou Shuren, pen names are always more impressive than real names.

The royalties weren't much, but for an ordinary person, it was still a considerable income.

"It was Secretary Zhao who made the contact, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

Luo Changgeng didn't ask any further questions.

Chu Xiang hadn't received any notification and thought it was hopeless. When Luo Yue told her that her father was away on a business trip, she assumed that Luo Changgeng had forgotten to return the manuscript to her.

"Don't worry, my dad's back today. I'll ask him for you later."

Luo Yue skipped evening self-study and ran home.

Luo Changgeng disliked his daughter's unruly nature and said with obvious disdain, "You're already in your second year of high school, and you still dare to skip class. If there's a next time, I'll break your legs."

"Dad, you've been away on business for so long, and you still haven't told me whether Chu Xiang's manuscript has been approved or not," Luo Yue said. She was a book lover and was eagerly waiting for the book to be published. She was even more anxious than Chu Xiang. "Just give me an answer, whether it's approved or not. If it can't be published, then give Chu Xiang's manuscript back to her."

Luo Changgeng rolled up his sweater sleeves, frowned, and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Wasn't the manuscript approved? It was approved more than a month ago. We were rushing to meet our first-quarter performance targets, and since we had an ISBN, we rushed to print it. The book is already in print and will be on the market soon. And you're still asking me if it's been approved?"

Luo Yue was also a little confused. She was inseparable from Chu Xiang, so it was impossible for her not to know this news.

"Secretary Zhao contacted her personally and paid her the royalties, how could he be wrong? Did her family collect the royalties on her behalf without informing her? Does she have a younger brother, and did her parents favor sons and misappropriate her money?"

Luo Changgeng is knowledgeable and has a different perspective from Luo Yue. Secretary Zhao doesn't lie; once the money is given, it's given. The royalties of over two hundred yuan are equivalent to a year's income for an average family.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!