Chapter 317 Bookstore Opening
After the bank run on Ji's Money House stopped for a while, it resumed.
As the silver and money in the treasury gradually dwindled, Ji Wuyin became unusually anxious.
The silver and money placed in the middle of the bank's lobby cannot be moved, as moving them may trigger a bigger bank run crisis.
Damn, Ji's Money House, he lent out nearly 2.8 million silver coins in total, thinking it was enough to deal with all kinds of bank runs, big or small.
This amount of cash is almost equivalent to the total assets of either the Liu or Zhang family.
Little did he know that the South was in chaos, and five of the six major families came to withdraw money, leaving him exhausted from dealing with them.
Now, the Ji family can't afford to spend even a tael of silver, so he has to think carefully about what to do.
"Don't panic, stay calm, it's our turn to take action." Xue Xu comforted him.
Ji Wuyin held on for such a long time, tying up Xie Zhan's energy and buying them time to develop.
Zhou Jing was a scholar in the south and came from a middle-class family.
The South has been in chaos recently because of the fighting among the six great families.
He was completely confused as to how the incident unfolded. He only knew that it all started when a flash flood broke out on the Pilgrim Street of Puxian Temple. Lu Xihua, the eldest son of the Lu family, had locked both the front and back doors of the Pilgrim Street, which ultimately resulted in the deaths of nearly thirty members of the Chen family, including the head of the Chen family and many other members of the family.
Mrs. Chen went to the yamen to beat the drum to appeal for justice, and tearfully accused Lu Xihua of his crimes.
Killing someone means paying with one's life, not to mention that so many people from the Chen family died. At this time, if the Lu family handed over Lu Xihua, nothing would happen.
The Lu family's patriarch's actions were truly infuriating. He actually openly shielded his eldest son! This caused an uproar in public opinion. He claimed his son was going to catch an adulterer and that locking the door wasn't his plan to target the Chen family.
When asked who he caught committing adultery, the Lu family remained silent. How could this not make bystanders angry?
Even if Lu Xihua went to catch the adulterer, it was not him who put the lock on. Was it because of his action that the twenty or thirty people of the Chen family were trapped in the house when the flash flood came, with no way to escape?
Lu Xihua deserves to die!
Now the Lu family won’t allow Lu Xihua to pay with his life alone.
The Lu family's blatant disregard for human life and the law really makes scholars feel uncomfortable.
So these scholars united to boycott the Lu family's businesses, especially the Lu family's bookstore. They refused to buy books from the Lu family's bookstore, and refused to buy their writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones...
Instead, they started supporting the Chen family's business. The Chen family was so pitiful.
Scholars like Zhou Jing didn't know that it was precisely because of their support that the Chen family and the Lu family were able to fight on equal terms.
As a result, the Chen family became arrogant, lost their minds, and were led astray.
At this point, the Chen family was already in a difficult situation, unless they could defeat the Lu family and take over its resources.
The Lu family was the same at this time.
Back to the topic, Zhou Jing had been keeping an eye on the movements of the government office. But now, after a while, Lu Xihua was still in jail, having not received the punishment he deserved.
It's so infuriating!
However, they were quite dependent on the Lu family's bookstore. For example, now he had run out of pens, ink, paper and inkstone.
Moreover, for readers, books are their spiritual food. It is okay to lack them for a short period of time, but it is not okay to lack them for a long time.
To be honest, the Lu family’s books, pens, ink, paper and inkstone are of guaranteed quality.
There are other bookstores in the south, but those with similar quality have higher prices than Lu's bookstore, and those with similar prices are not as good as Lu's.
Moreover, as a scholarly family in the south, the Lu family would occasionally release some rare copies and rubbings, which were deeply loved by scholars.
It can be said that many scholars in the south were once loyal fans of Lu Family Bookstore.
"What should we do now?" Zhou Jing muttered to himself. Are they just going to have to accept it? That's too spineless!
You know, when this boycott first started, a brother once heard the owner of Lu's Bookstore say in a contemptuous tone, "Don't bother with them. What can these scholars accomplish? They can't live without Lu's Bookstore."
If he stepped into Lu's bookstore again in a dejected manner, wouldn't that just prove what others said?
The scholars sighed.
The Liaodong Chamber of Commerce Bookstore opened at this time.
In Panyu, the central city of the South, there is a Liaodong Chamber of Commerce bookstore in the four urban districts of the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest, next to or opposite each mainland Chinese bookstore.
On the opening day, the sound of firecrackers and the lion dance team made the place very lively.
Such a lively scene also attracted everyone's attention. In the current situation in the South, there are still new shops opening. One can't help but sigh that they are really brave.
Zhou Jing also noticed this newly opened shop. After taking a closer look, he found that it was actually a bookstore.
There are inscriptions on both sides of the gate. The one on the right reads: "Want to become a superior person? Come and study! Knowledge will allow you to transcend social classes!"
What a big mouth!
Before Zhou Jing stepped into the bookstore, he glanced to the left and saw the six words "Liaodong Chamber of Commerce Bookstore" written from top to bottom on the left lintel, and a line of small words next to it: Nandi Panyu Dongcheng Store.
In fact, the other three stores also have such eye-catching slogans.
For example, the Xicheng store has a slogan: Want to change your destiny? Come and read! Knowledge can change your destiny!
As the saying goes, "Learn the arts of literature and martial arts, and trade them for the imperial family." Scholars may appear aloof, but it's undeniable that deep down, everyone harbors this same goal. It's just that the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce's bookstore's promotional slogans are rather blunt.
Do you think the promotional slogans of Dongcheng and Xicheng bookstores are too utilitarian?
The Liaodong Chamber of Commerce has also considered this issue, so let’s give you a more elegant solution!
Let’s look at Nancheng’s saying: Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. The body and the mind must be on the road.
Finally, it’s Beicheng’s turn: The greatest benefit of reading is to escape from mediocrity. One day earlier means one more wonderful day in life, and one day later means one more day of mediocre troubles.
Anyway, the layout of the four bookstores is roughly the same, the books inside are the same, and the four treasures of the study they sell are basically the same. You can go to the bookstore you like.
After Zhou Jing walked through the door, he discovered that the bookshop was quite large, decorated in a uniform, light, wooden, and bookish style. Bookshelves lined three walls, each filled with books. In the center stood three tables, one large and two small. The large table held the four treasures of the study—brush, inkstone, paper, and inkstone. There were also two stacks of paper, each labeled "Jute Paper" and "Xueguang Paper" on the sides.
The other two tables were each equipped with a chair, occupying half of the entire bookstore's space.
"What's this for?"
On the first day of opening, Wu Ren happened to be watching the shop. When he heard his question, he replied with a smile, "These tables and chairs are prepared for you. You can rest and read in the shop."
So good? "Do you charge for it?" Zhou Jing asked.
"No."
"Any requests?" Zhou Jing looked around and saw that the two tables could accommodate twenty people sitting around and reading.
"There is indeed a request."
Zhou Jing understood, "Please speak."
"If you are reading in a bookstore, please keep quiet and don't make any noise or disturb others."
Zhou Jing was stunned when he heard this answer.
Wu Ren nodded at him and went about his business.
Zhou Jing picked up a book that interested him and opened it. He found that the paper was snow-white and the handwriting was neat, but it seemed that they were not handwritten copies like the ones sold in Lu's bookstore.
Suddenly, the brother next to him exclaimed, "The handwriting in these two books is exactly the same!"
How did the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce Bookstore do this? You know, even if the same person copied the same book twice, the handwriting would be slightly different.
Zhou Jing wanted to ask the price of the book in his hand, but he looked around and didn't see the guy who had just spoken to him, so he took the book to the counter.
Zhou Jing discovered that the man standing in front of him was a classmate from the same academy, but they didn't know each other, just that they looked familiar.
I saw his classmate ask the guy at the counter, "How much is this book?"
Wu Ren went to the warehouse at this time. The person guarding the counter was Yang Tao, who was from Tianshui New Village and was the nephew of Yang Wei, the chief escort.
Yang Tao took a look at the book cover and quoted a price, "Two hundred coins per copy."
"Tell me again, how much?" The scholar who asked the price couldn't believe the price he heard.
Zhou Jing also stuck his head out and took a look at the cover of the book. He recognized it. The price of this book in Lu’s Bookstore was five hundred coins!
Yang Tao frowned. "No matter how many times I say it, the price is the same! This book is quite thick and requires a lot of time, labor, and materials! No bargaining!"
Zhou Jing was silent. Where did this fool come from? Never mind, this price is right. It's right not to bargain.
He asked, "Waiter, where is this one?"
"Three hundred coins!"
As soon as Zhou Jing spoke, the classmate in front of him turned around.
He and his classmate looked at each other in tacit understanding, and began to go to the bookshelf to choose books.
Look, what good stuff did he find? He actually found several rare manuscripts in this bookstore! Even though they're just manuscripts, not originals, they're still worth buying and reading carefully, okay?
Because of this rare copy, the Lu family has a treasured collection, but it is difficult for them to borrow it to read.
When I asked about the price, it was so cheap it was like I got it for free!
So, these people started to grab it like crazy!
Wu Ren stood aside to maintain order. "Don't rush, don't rush. We have sufficient stock and we won't let you miss out on buying the books you want!"
Zhou Jing noticed that this seemed to be true. Every time they sold out a book, the waiter in the bookstore would immediately replace it.
So he felt relieved and stopped fighting. He walked to the counter with the six books he had chosen, waiting to pay and go home.
Wu Ren helped him calculate the price.
While waiting, Zhou Jing happened to see the paper on the side.
So he asked, "Boss, this paper isn't silver paper, right?"
Wu Ren smiled and said, "The paper in our store is called Snow Gloss Paper. It's of very good quality, on par with Silver Gloss Paper. If you don't believe me, try touching it."
Zhou Jing touched it and felt that the quality of the paper was indeed good, so he asked, "How much is this paper?"
"Twenty cents for one knife."
Zhou Jing's eyes widened upon hearing this. What? Paper is so cheap? This paper is obviously as good as silver paper, yet the price is only half of it!
"Can you make money like this?" Zhou Jing couldn't help but wonder, will they really lose a lot of money?
When they were buying books and paper at Lu's Bookstore before, some people from poor families wanted to ask the shopkeeper to give them a lower price. However, the shopkeeper turned around and cried poor to them, saying that Lu's silver-colored paper was not profitable at that price.
Wu Ren smiled and said, "You won't lose money, you'll just earn less. Want a knife?"
"Come, I have to come!" Zhou Jing couldn't help but ask, "Why is everything so cheap in your bookstore?"
Wu Ren handed him the paper without looking up, saying, "Knowledge should be free. Only when it is free can knowledge be disseminated and exchanged to the greatest extent possible, and only then can it be improved. Only then will more talents emerge in this world."
This was what his master had said, and he remembered it immediately.
"Unfortunately, we can't make it free at the moment, we can only make it cheaper. I hope more people can access more knowledge through this."
This sentence is very shocking in this era.
Zhou Jing was stunned for a long time.
Similar situations also occurred frequently in the other three bookstores.
It can be said that the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce Bookstore became an instant hit as soon as it opened, attracting the favor of many scholars in the south.
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