Chapter 2514 Negotiated
The three of them rarely went shopping on days other than holidays. The main reason was that they didn't live in the palace before, so there was no such thing as after school. Even after school and leaving the government office, there were still many things to do, and they were still working overtime, so they had no time to go out.
Imperial Physicians Lu and Liu were still imprisoned in the imperial farm, so Manbao didn't have much to do. She usually handled official business at the Imperial Hospital in the morning, and occasionally took orders to see patients. In the afternoon, she went to the Chongwenguan to repair books, so she could now play after leaving the government office.
Bai Shan’s time is more flexible. He can be busy or not busy at the Hanlin Academy.
The three of them had dinner outside, looked around and decided to stroll slowly to the bookstore.
Bai Erlang and his companions were particularly familiar with a shop. As soon as they arrived at the door, the owner of the bookstore recognized them and immediately greeted them with a smile, "So it's Mr. Bai Erlang. Oh, and Bai Hanlin and Mr. Zhou. Please come in."
The host asked with a smile, "What would you three like to buy? We have some new Duan inkstones."
Bai Shan smiled and said, "Are there any new books recently?"
The host asked with a smile, "I don't know what book Bai Hanlin is talking about. He has published a travelogue and two collections of essays, but they are not published by the officials in the court. As you know, the collections of essays of the officials in the court are first published by the government's bookstores. It's good for bookstores like us to be able to get some. He does have quite a few storybooks, but..."
He looked at Bai Erlang and sighed, "But it's still very different from what Second Young Master Bai wrote. Right now, the best-selling book in my bookstore is still Second Young Master Bai's biography of Mr. Xiang."
After so many years, Bai Erlang's book is still the best-selling one, which shows how popular it is.
Of course, there are reasons why it has always been on the bestseller list. First of all, the person who wrote it was not uneducated. Bai Erlang was a student at the Imperial College at the time. He had studied for more than ten years and his education level was sufficient. Moreover, he had Bai Shan and Zhou Man to offer advice.
Secondly, this is a biographical novel based on a true story. Xiang Mingxue was a real person, and the King of Yizhou was nationally famous. It not only involves the humble rebelling against the powerful, but also involves elements such as rebellion, family feuds, and national hatred. Not only these scholars, but even the common people in the market cannot resist such a story.
Finally, it also artistically processed the true story, otherwise Xiang Mingxue would not have read the book as someone else's story. It was because his story was mixed with 50% falsehood, half true and half false, and the false part was particularly exciting.
The capital is a big city, and new people come here every year, a considerable number of whom are students studying abroad or taking the imperial examinations. Therefore, this book sells particularly well, and no matter how new the vernacular book is, it cannot catch up with it.
Some people even had a sudden idea and invented a character based on Xiang Mingxue, who also had a blood feud, various strange things, and finally took revenge.
The sales were good, but not as good as this biography.
The bookstore owner felt that the fundamental reasons were the first and second reasons: the book was written by a cultured person like Bai Erlang, and the story was real.
He really wanted Bai Erlang to continue writing. "I heard that Mr. Xiang is now successful in business. Why don't you write about Mr. Xiang's business success?"
Bai Jilang: "...You can't always take advantage of one person, right? No, no."
Bai Shan asked him, "Do you have time to write a storybook now?"
Bai Erlang was still a little itchy, and said, "I have already passed the Jinshi exam. I just need to pass the Ministry of Personnel exam next year. I think it shouldn't be difficult for me to pass it given my status."
At that time, he had already married Mingda. After all, he was the emperor's son-in-law. Even if he didn't take the examination of the Ministry of Personnel, it would not be difficult for him to become an official.
Bai Shan said, "If you do too poorly on the test, wouldn't that be a disgrace to the Emperor and Mingda?"
Bai Erlang's heart couldn't help but tighten, "That makes sense. I'll just have to continue reading recently."
After passing the imperial examination, he became much more relaxed. He would never do his homework if he could write, and would never write if he could read. He was very perfunctory. But it was strange that the teacher hadn't hit him recently. I wonder if he was secretly collecting his mistakes and then coming up with a big move for them all at once.
Bai Erlang shuddered and immediately said, "When I get back, I'll take out the books you used to study for the Ministry of Personnel exam, but I'm still itching to write a storybook."
He asked, "If I were to join the Hanlin Academy, do you think I could edit history books, annotate classics, or edit calendars and agricultural books?"
Bai Shan was silent.
Bai Erlang said, "Look, look, you also think I can't do these things, right? I will definitely be helping the Hanlin scholars find information. Just thinking about it is boring, so why not write a storybook to kill time when I'm bored."
The owner's eyes sparkled as he nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, this storybook is for killing time. The writer is killing time, and the reader is killing time too. Don't you think it's more convenient now than when you were studying a few years ago? Even back then, you were so busy, yet you could still write quite a few in ten days."
Bai Erlang became excited and more confident. He discussed with Bai Shanzhou, "Do you think I should make up a story or write something else?"
Manbao said, "Our lives are peaceful. What is there to write about? Well, how about the story of our journey west last year?"
Manbao cheered up and said, "Isn't this the most exciting business? After all, we fought in the war and brought back the recipe for cowpox."
Bai Shan also nodded. "That's a good idea. You can start by writing about the smallpox outbreak in Xiazhou. Well, we were ordered to go to Xiazhou to treat smallpox, and then go to the Western Regions to look for a prescription."
The boss's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, write this, write this."
When the time comes, he will put up a sign to tell how the world-famous female doctor found the cowpox prescription; how the scholar Bai fought off the enemy and captured the city, and how he was finally granted the title of Viscount by the emperor's grace...
The boss excitedly said to Bai Erlang, "If Mr. Bai Er can write it, I will still split the profits with you 50-50."
"That won't work," Bai Shan said before Bai Erlang could say anything. "The Bai Er of today is no longer the Bai Er of the past. His writing style and identity are different. Moreover, this time the article is about us, so we can't divide it according to the previous division."
So the three people who originally came to the bookstore bargained with the owner of the bookstore, and finally took back a contract signed by both parties.
Bai Shan and the other two felt refreshed and happy. It was another source of income. It was great to have money coming in.
Zhou Lixue and the other two who had brought the copied books to hand in the task witnessed the whole process at the door and were stunned.
Manbao turned around and saw them, and casually greeted them, "Come and hand in your books, go ahead, hand them in, we'll be waiting for you, and we'll go home together later."
The three of them stepped forward silently and handed the copied book to the host.
The owner flipped through it casually and found no obvious mistakes or omissions, so he took out sixty cents and distributed them to them, twenty cents per person, which was the price for copying a book.
The host said to them with a smile: "What book are you going to choose next?"
The three of them said sadly, "Let's go with 'Strategies of the Warring States. Strategies of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty'."
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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