"Your Highness, I have already placed the Officialdom figures on the campaign stage as you instructed. Please do not embarrass me again."
Huang Qubing pulled Liu Yu to a corner and whispered to him.
Liu Yu smiled and said, "Thank you, uncle!"
"No, please don't call me uncle. I can't bear it. Just call me Boss Huang."
When Huang Qubing heard the word "uncle", his heart trembled.
Whenever the eldest prince Liu Yu treats his juniors with respect, something bad is bound to happen.
Liu Yu readily accepted the advice, "Boss Huang has been in charge of Wenqing Bookstore. Has he never thought about innovation? We can't just keep going down the same old path."
Huang Qubing was hesitant and unsure, "Is this what His Highness meant, or what the Empress meant?"
Liu Yu said, "Si Hai Huan Yu needs to be split up and merged. There are so many things to deal with. My mother is so busy every day that she has no time to pay attention to the management of Wen Qing Bookstore. Wen Qing Bookstore has been running for so many years, it's time for a change. This is my personal opinion."
Huang Qubing asked, "Your Highness, please advise me, how should Wenqing Bookstore change, and in which direction?"
Liu Yu pondered and said, "The market in the capital has been developed to a great extent. Has Mr. Huang ever thought about expanding the scale and opening Wenqing Bookstore all over the country? Many students in the world are eager to study at Shanhe Academy, but their families are poor and they can't afford to leave the mountains and hometown, nor can they afford to buy exercise books.
You, Wenqing Bookstore, could think about this and develop some systems to help these students who come from poor families and work hard to study. Also, it's time for the newspaper industry to make some progress and stop focusing on the small piece of land in Beijing. These are just my humble opinions. If Mr. Huang disagrees, just pretend I never said anything."
Huang Qubing lowered his head and pondered for a moment. "The plan for Wenqing Bookstore to open branches in various prefectures was proposed several years ago. However, due to various reasons, it has never been implemented. Now that Your Highness has mentioned this, I will think about it carefully after returning home. I will mobilize everyone at Wenqing Bookstore and test the waters in a few major prefectures first. If the results are good, we will then roll it out one by one."
Liu Yu nodded approvingly. "If we're short on manpower, Mr. Huang can go to the Shanhe Academy or the Imperial College to recruit people. Although the students may be sceptical of commerce, they've never considered bookstores to be anything more than merchants, and they identify with Wenqing Bookstore. I think recruiting will go smoothly. We can recruit a group of assistants from the Hundred Workers Academy who are good at writing and calculating. With a few months to a month of training, they'll basically be able to handle things on their own."
"Thank you for your suggestion, Your Highness. I will consider it. I heard that Your Highness will return to the court to gain experience after the wedding?" Huang Qubing asked curiously.
Liu Yu raised his eyebrows and smiled, "The news spreads so fast. Father and Mother did make this arrangement. As for me, I'm still considering it."
"Your Highness, don't you want to enter the court for training?" Huang Qubing asked curiously.
Liu Yu casually asked, "How about going to the local area for training?"
Huang Qubing's heart trembled and he was scared to death.
"Your Highness, please don't scare me! It's not customary for princes to go to the countryside for training since ancient times. Besides, training in the countryside is nothing compared to being in the imperial court. As the saying goes, the higher you stand, the farther you can see. Your Highness should take a longer-term view."
“I just want to get a deeper understanding of people’s livelihood.”
“This, this, this…”
Huang Qubing was at a loss for words. After thinking for a while, he said, "To understand people's livelihood, you don't have to go to the countryside to gain experience."
Liu Yu smiled and said, "I understand Mr. Huang's concerns. I just said it casually."
Huang Qubing covered his chest with his hands, he was scared to death.
Luckily it was just a casual remark. Don't do that.
Things that have no precedent in the court are easy to guess with one's toes. Anyone who dares to set a precedent will be scolded to death by the court officials.
In fact, most people in the court are very conservative and want to stick to the rules.
Only when the emperor insisted on doing something would some court officials become a little more enterprising and open.
Continue to stick to the old ways afterwards.
Following the old rules saves time and effort, and there is no risk.
Perfect!
Liu Yu didn't mention the training, but instead asked, "How does Mr. Huang plan to support poor students? And how do you prevent people from falsely claiming the funding?"
Huang Qubing was stunned for a long moment before he smiled wryly and said, "Your Highness, please don't embarrass me, okay? I'm old, and my mind isn't as quick as yours. You haven't even thought through the expansion plan for Wenqing Bookstore yet, and you're asking me how to support poor children. This, this, this, I can't answer that!"
He wanted to cry.
He felt that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must have set his sights on him.
Otherwise why would you always pick on him?
Liu Yu was amused. "Boss Huang, there's no need to be so modest. You have unique skills in running a bookstore, and this is universally acknowledged. Whether it's expansion plans or funding for poor students, I believe Boss Huang will be able to come up with a good solution. I hope that in a few years, Shanhe Academy will attract more poor students from other places to study, and provide more talented people for the court."
"I sincerely thank Your Highness on behalf of the vast number of poor students across the world."
Huang Qubing is serious.
Liu Yu smiled.
Facing Liu Yu's smile, Huang Qubing felt guilty. He chuckled and said, "I will definitely work hard and live up to your majesty."
Liu Yu said, "Boss Huang doesn't have to be responsible to me, but to my father and the court."
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Ancestor, whatever you say is right.
Could you please stop talking!
The pressure is so great!
Liu Yu smiled and said, "The Hundred Flowers Garden is so big, I haven't even finished walking through half of it. Boss Huang, please be busy. I should also go around and take a look."
"Your Highness, take care."
After seeing Liu Yu off, Huang Qubing felt refreshed all over.
He called Sam-soon and instructed him, "Keep an eye on the voting for me and make sure that Mr. Xu, the character in 'Officialdom,' makes it into the top three."
"Young Master, you were talking about bringing out the characters from 'Officialdom' a few days ago for selection. That was pure nonsense! Why are you demanding to make sure we get into the top three again today? Young Master, you're so fickle."
Sanshun’s complaints about Huang Qubing are always direct and sharp.
Huang Qubing looked irritable, "Bullshit! This is not called fickleness, this is called judging the situation."
Sanshun said weakly: "It's clearly a secret operation."
"You're talking too much nonsense. Just go when I tell you to."
"Oh!" Samsoon left reluctantly.
Huang Qubing wiped his face and found that it was covered with sweat.
Is it easy for him?
Can the fictional character that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince likes be ranked last?
Of course not!
That was a slap in the face of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and even more so a slap in his face.
How can it be acceptable that the head of Wenqing Bookstore can't even do the behind-the-scenes operations?
Therefore, you passionate men can only be ranked fourth, fifth, sixth... and have to be ranked behind a greasy middle-aged uncle.
Oh, oh, oh!
There's nothing he can do!
The collapse of middle-aged people usually comes from a sentence that is as heavy as a mountain above their heads.
When it gets dark, the lanterns are lit and the entire night sky is illuminated.
It's breathtakingly beautiful.
With only one stick of incense left before the deadline, men and women all rushed in.
There was a crowd of people in front of the voting booth.
Everyone is doing their best for their favorite fictional characters.
Boom boom boom…
Three crisp bells rang, and it was time to vote.
The clerk from Wenqing Bookstore came on stage to count the votes.
"The leader must be Miss Sanniang."
"It's Meng Niang!"
"It's Shichiro!"
Everyone was talking at once, cheering for the fictional characters they supported.
You must strive to be the best and win the championship.
Knock over someone next door...
Liu Yu quietly asked the guard, "Did you vote according to my instructions?"
The guard also whispered, "Don't worry, sir. As you instructed, we submitted five thousand bookmarks at the last moment."
Liu Heng took credit for himself, "Brother, I voted for a thousand bookmarks for you, using my own private money."
Liu Yu smiled with satisfaction, "I'll have someone send you some pocket money tomorrow."
Liu Heng was secretly excited. He was so smart that he could exchange a thousand bookmarks for some pocket money.
Liu Zheng also said: "I voted for you with a thousand bookmarks."
Liu Yu smiled and said, "This is a sure thing. We'll definitely be in the top five. Good brother, I'll treat you to a drink tomorrow."
"No need to change it to tomorrow, how about tonight?"
"Okay! I won't leave until I'm drunk."
"Don't go home until you're drunk!"
…
Yan Ci's hands and feet were out of control and he was shaking.
Wang Xuecheng pressed his arm, "Brother Yan, don't shake!"
"Can I stop shaking?"
In the first selection of novel characters, two of his characters were selected, competing against other popular novel characters.
He did nothing the whole day but hid among the flowers and stared at the people voting.
I silently calculated how many votes the characters I wrote had received.
"Brother Yan, stay calm!"
Wang Xuecheng really tried his best. He stayed with Yan Ci for the entire day, and he was shaking all the time.
Yan Ci grabbed Wang Xuecheng's arm and said, "Brother Wang, can I do this?"
"Surely it will work?"
“My book sales are so-so.”
"Brother Yan is too modest."
Such a huge fee is not an ordinary treatment.
“It’s not as good as some of the popular books.”
That's it!
These popular legendary novels still appear on the bestseller lists from time to time after so many years. That’s amazing.
Wang Xuecheng comforted him, "Brother Yan, you must have confidence in yourself. Even if you can't win the championship, you will definitely be in the top ten."
"I don't need to be in the top ten, I'll be satisfied if I can be in the top fifteen." Yan Ci didn't have high requirements.
Begin announcing the rankings.
The drums sounded and the atmosphere became tense.
Boss Huang came on stage and announced the rankings in person.
"The most popular female fiction character is Meng Niang!"
boom!
The whole audience exploded and everyone was excited.
This result is what everyone expected.
The scholars howled and wailed, venting their excess energy.
Boss Huang continued to announce the results.
"The most popular male fictional character is Zhang Sheng, from the novel 'Past Life, Present Life, Human-Demon Love'."
Huang Qubing grinned and laughed.
"The Love between Humans and Demons in Past and Present Life" was the outline he came up with and the characters he conceived.
It was the last book he edited and published before he took up his post in the Ministry of Rites.
It is also his favorite book, in which he has invested all his effort and love.
Very honorable!
Very proud!
He was smiling so hard that his teeth were showing.
Unexpectedly, the fictional characters he conceived would be loved by everyone for many years and were selected as the most popular fictional characters.
After laughing, he continued, "The winner of this time's vote count is Zhang Sheng, who received a total of 21,721 bookmarks! The second place goes to Meng Niang, who received a total of..."
Voting for the top twenty most popular fictional characters, regardless of gender, was a free-for-all.
When Liu Yu heard that the number of bookmarks for the winner of the vote started at 20,000, he knew that he had underestimated the spending power of the ladies and gentlemen present.
Underestimating the money they are willing to pay for their love for the characters in the novel.
Perhaps some people were semi-forced into buying bookmarks to vote for a fictional character amidst the booing.
But he still believes that most people who buy bookmarks to vote do so out of their love for the characters in the novel.
It’s over. His favorite Lord Xu might not even make it into the top five.
If I had known earlier, I should have bought 10,000 bookmarks at once.
The guards secretly took a step back, fearing that they would become cannon fodder.
Liu Heng muttered, "If I had known earlier, I would have cast a few thousand more votes."
"...Fifth place, Mr. Xu from 'Officialdom', with a total of 15,000 bookmarks..."
Huh?
Liu Zheng, Liu Heng, and the guards all looked at Liu Yu.
Liu Heng spoke quickly, "Brother, did you secretly buy tickets again?"
Liu Yu was also confused, "I thought you bought the tickets without telling me."
Liu Heng and Liu Zheng both shook their heads. They didn't really like the character of Lord Xu in "Officialdom", so how could they spend so much money to vote?
Liu Yu looked at the guards again.
The guards even shook their heads like rattles.
He bought 5,000 tickets and cast them before the voting deadline.
"Dark secrets!"
Someone in the crowd shouted loudly about the conspiracy, which instantly touched a sensitive nerve in everyone's heart.
“There’s something fishy going on in the selection process!”
"A fictional character I've never even heard of was voted fifth. Do you think we're all fools?"
"Dark secrets!"
"Wenqing Bookstore operates in secret, and the bookmarks are fake."
"It's fake. It's all fake."
"Wenqing Bookstore go to hell!"
"Boss Huang eats shit."
Liu Yu sighed softly at this scene, "It really caused public outrage! Simply because no one likes Lord Xu."
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