Chapter 91: Opening a Bookstore with the Help of Imperial Merchants
Lin Xiaoyue whispered in Liang Jingyao's ear, "My writing on that piece of paper isn't very useful. If you could take it to the Yangming Town County Magistrate and get him to stamp it, then no one in Yangming Town would dare to make money from my Journey to the West story. Is that okay?"
Liang Jingyao frowned, feeling that Lin Xiaoyue's method was unworkable. "You want to monopolize the market for this book, but it's useless to just have the seal of the Yangmingzhen County Magistrate! If it spreads to other places, like the capital, do you think you'll ask Emperor Liang to give you a seal?"
Lin Xiaoyue couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Oh, I was just overthinking it! What should I do?
"Does our Dongsui country have any department that manages publishing houses?"
Liang Jingyao suddenly thought of something, his voice stretching with excitement. "No, but someone tried to file a lawsuit with the authorities before the book was published, deliberately claiming that the new book was stolen during transportation. Later, although some people were tempted to do so, they didn't want to provoke the authorities, so no one applied for government management."
Lin Xiaoyue slapped her thigh excitedly. This was a great idea! She could try it herself. "Brother Liang, why did you wait so long to tell me this? We can just ask the Yangming Town County Magistrate for a lawsuit certificate and hang it up at the door. Let's see who dares to secretly write it down and tell the story back home! The person who looks after the lawsuit certificate must be reliable. Brother Liang, do you have anyone you can choose?"
Liang Jingyao smiled. He had been making plans to guard against Emperor Liang for many years. How could he not have anyone?
He nodded and said, "Ah, that was many years ago. I just thought of it. As for the people, let's choose from my Silver Slash Guards! I've already planned to recall all my men. Emperor Liang's actions in Yangming Town this time show that he still doesn't want to kill us! Since a battle will come sooner or later, I'd better prepare in advance! Being too passive will only lead to being beaten!"
Lin Xiaoyue completely agreed with Liang Jingyao's words. Emperor Liang, this bastard emperor, was too selfish. Where did he have the people in his eyes? Where did he have the country? It was all about his own selfish desires!
"Brother Liang, you're right. It's always better to win by surprise than to passively take a beating!"
As he spoke, the shopkeeper, Ge Baoquan, came over with a grin, holding a large pile of silver and banknotes in his hands. It was all his earnings from today's storytelling. "Boss, look, these are all tips from outsiders! They knew there would be a limit on the number of places tomorrow, so they wanted to put down a deposit to reserve a spot. I'm undecided, so I came to ask you."
Lin Xiaoyue didn't specify the amount, but nodded and said, "Put it on the table! We can't reserve spots, otherwise the price will be driven up, and it won't be conducive to spreading this story. Only by word of mouth can this story be sold when my book club publishes it. Otherwise, it will always be the same few rich people coming, so what's the point? Tomorrow, we'll calculate it based on first-come, first-served order. We have to be fair!"
Ge Baoquan instinctively knew these two men were no ordinary people. How could they just start a bookshop? He hadn't expected to run into such a powerful person. He had to seize the opportunity to cling to these two people. If they just gave him some help, like buying a teahouse, his family would never have to worry about anything!
"Okay, okay, I'll tell them right away! Then the boss should go to bed early today. I will wait until the store closes before I go to bed." Ge Baoquan's mouth was almost grinning to his eyebrows, and he ran away happily after saying that.
Lin Xiaoyue stretched and walked towards the backyard.
I was nervous all day today. Not only was I physically exhausted, but I was also mentally exhausted. Fortunately, I got rid of those running dogs of Emperor Liang.
"Let's go. Tomorrow you go file the lawsuit. I'll wait here for Shopkeeper Wang to come over and discuss with him where to open the bookstore."
Liang Jingyao saw the tired look on Lin Xiaoyue's face and felt very distressed. "Don't worry about the book club. I have my own way. You just need to collect the money."
Lin Xiaoyue returned to the west wing and asked curiously, "What's your plan? Is it safe? Where is it?"
Liang Jingyao didn't answer immediately. He went outside and fetched a bucket of hot water and a bucket of cold water. He placed them in front of Lin Xiaoyue and said, "Wash up first. You're tired today. Soak your feet in more hot water. I'll tell you what you want to know after you lie down."
Lin Xiaoyue felt warm in her heart when someone cared about her, but she couldn't let Liang Jingyao see her washing her face, so she said, "Then go out and wait for a while. I'll call you after I lie down."
Liang Jingyao always respected Lin Xiaoyue's words. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go get a bowl of water. You can sleep well tonight."
"Um!"
Lin Xiaoyue waited until Liang Jingyao left the room before taking off the mask on her face. She took some water from the basin to remove her makeup and wash her face, then put the mask back on so that she could get up directly the next day.
She took a deeper empty basin and filled it with water to wash her feet. The water covered her calves. Under the stimulation of the warm water, she felt her whole body relax, and even her back was slightly sweaty. "Huh, so comfortable!"
Lin Xiaoyue didn't dry her legs until the water temperature dropped a bit. She lay down on the bed and called out, "Brother Liang, I'm fine!"
Liang Jingyao walked in, scooped a bowl of water from the wooden barrel and placed it next to Lin Xiaoyue's quilt, "Yue'er, is this okay?"
Lin Xiaoming raised his head and looked to his side. The bowl was about a fist's distance away from his quilt, so he wouldn't touch it if he turned over. "Okay, thank you, Brother Liang. Now, can you tell me?"
Liang Jingyao scratched her nose lovingly and said, "Don't keep saying thank you. I'm willing to do anything for you! As for the book club, I know there's one in Beijing that's been abandoned for years. The owner is a friend of mine. Besides having a wealthy family, he has no business acumen. He always acts on impulse and ends up failing. If I pay him to buy it, he'll definitely give me the book club and his connections."
A brainless young man from a wealthy family in the capital, always failing at the same thing? Lin Xiaoyue searched through the original owner's memories and finally found the person Liang Jingyao had described, "Gu Mian, the legitimate son of the imperial merchant Gu Yunzhi?"
Liang Jingyao was very surprised and asked curiously, "How did you know?"
Lin Xiaoyue smiled and said, "Who doesn't know about his prodigal nature? If he wasn't lucky enough to have a father as wealthy as a country to back him up, he would have become a pauper long ago! I also heard that this guy is not bad, but he has no business acumen. That's why Master Gu doesn't let him go out to work anymore. He only gives him a fixed living allowance every month, but how can he spend enough for someone who is used to spending lavishly? So we can cooperate with him, push him to the front, and we will operate behind the scenes."
Liang Jingyao nodded and said in agreement: "Your idea is very good! But what I do is extremely risky. He also knew that our family was driven out of the capital, so it's hard to say whether he is willing to cooperate. Let's talk about it after I meet him!"
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