"The exam is coming up at the end of the month, and the exercise books are selling extremely well lately."
Huang Qubing looked very happy.
He is an aspiring shareholder who seeks huge profits.
When Shanhe Academy organized an entrance exam every month, and the exam content was unique, he scoffed and said, "Ridiculous!"
Later, when the bookstore was about to publish a collection of exam prep exercises, he exclaimed again, "Absurd!"
Now, he was slapped in the face.
The left side of my face is swollen, so I hit the right side.
Both cheeks were slapped with loud slapping sounds.
After finishing the work, he enthusiastically took on the task of publishing the exercise book, supervising his subordinates to collect exercises and answers, and also to find ways to increase sales, calculate the fees of the gentlemen who wrote the exercises, etc.
From the first edition to the fourth edition, the exercise book has been selling better and better.
As print runs increase, costs decrease and profits increase.
It’s so delicious.
He smiled and asked, "When will the fifth and sixth editions be published?"
Gu Jiu put away the manuscript and said to him, "Rather than a collection of exercises, I would like to publish a collection of essays written by the top three candidates in the imperial examinations and a collection of essays written by the provincial and prefectural examination winners.
In addition, there are "Experiences of the Imperial Examinations and Palace Examinations Taught by the Number One Scholar," "A Collection of Learning Experiences of the Number One Scholar," "Famous Teachers of the Hanlin Academy Teaches You How to Favor the Imperial Examinations and Palace Examinations," "Secrets to Success in the Imperial Examinations," "One Hundred and Eight Things You Must Know Before Taking the Imperial Examinations in Beijing," and "Common Attributes of Previous Number One, Second, and Third Place Scholars"..."
Huang Qubing didn't take it seriously at first, but after hearing what he heard, he was left with shock and admiration.
What did Gu Jiu say?
It’s a hit!
It's money!
It's fame!
His voice rose with excitement, and he said in a high-pitched tone, "Speak slowly, I'll write it down first. Just by hearing the name, I dare to conclude that these books will sell out. Not only will they be sold in the Gyeonggi area, but also in the north and south of the Yangtze River, wherever there is an imperial examination, there must be a copy of Wenqing Bookstore's Imperial Examination Collection. Never mind the content, just based on the title, we have already won, hahahaha..."
Gu Jiu smiled at Huang Qubing and said, "This is a plan for future publications. I think we can start with 'Collection of Imperial Examination Essays of Previous Number One, Second, and Third Place Scholars' and 'The Commonalities of Previous Number One, Second, and Third Place Scholars'. Once these two books become popular, we can then publish books like 'One Hundred and Eight Things You Must Know Before Coming to Beijing for the Imperial Examination'."
Huang Qubing stared at Gu Jiu, "Can't these books be published together?"
"Of course not." Gu Jiu said solemnly: "We are in the long-term business. If we publish all the books at once, how can we make money in the future? We have to publish and sell them bit by bit, one by one. Do you remember the hunger marketing I told you about?"
Huang Qubing nodded. "We used hunger marketing on the hardcover edition of 'Qi Lang's Ten Battles with the Flower Thief' to great effect. But we're publishing a book about the imperial examinations now. Is hunger marketing appropriate?"
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Of course it is suitable, and it is especially suitable."
Huang Qubing was not convinced. He frowned slightly and said, "I'm worried that after we publish books on the imperial examination, other bookstores will follow suit and publish similar books."
Gu Jiu chuckled softly, "I've said before that for any product, in any market, there's no need to worry about others following suit. Wenqing Bookstore alone can't expand this market. Only when other bookstores across the country follow suit can this market grow bigger and stronger."
Once the market becomes bigger and stronger, we only need to do one thing: lead the trend and be the leader. Other bookstores can only follow us but cannot innovate.
Don't forget, we have advantages that other bookstores don't have. We have connections in the court, and we have ways to get the exam papers of all the previous top-ranking, second-ranking, and third-ranking scholars. Other bookstores don't have this ability."
Huang Qubing's eyes lit up, "Yes, why didn't I think of that?"
Bang!
He opened his folding fan and waved it gently.
Gu Jiu looked at him with disdain. "It's winter, can you please stop fanning yourself? Don't you feel cold?"
Huang Qubing chuckled and closed his folding fan. "Tell me what to do. I'll do as you say."
Gu Jiu said, "Your contribution is needed for this matter. If I remember correctly, the Minister of Rites is from the Huang clan, and is a relative of yours."
Huang Qubing shook his head repeatedly. "They are relatives who are already five generations apart. To avoid suspicion, we rarely interact with each other on weekdays. We only send someone to deliver a gift during festivals."
"Anyway, you will be responsible for contacting Minister Huang and convincing him to hand over the examination papers from previous years so that we can publish a book and benefit scholars all over the world. Remember our position, we publish books not to make money, but to benefit scholars all over the world, so that scholars can have the opportunity to learn from the learning achievements of their predecessors and avoid detours. We can cultivate more and better talents for the court."
Gu Jiu repeatedly reminded Huang Qubing to pay attention to his stance.
How can we talk about money when it comes to matters concerning scholars? How vulgar!
Be careful or the officials from the Ministry of Rites will scold you to death!
Officials of the Ministry of Rites may not have other abilities, but they are bound to have literary and artistic problems.
Huang Qubing nodded repeatedly, "I know, I understand. We can't talk money with those scholars. But if we don't talk about money, will they be willing to give us the test papers for free?"
Gu Jiu smiled softly, "Every article, once accepted, will be given a fee. The fee depends on the number of words.
At the same time, we solemnly invite the Minister of Rites, the two other ministers, several professors from the Imperial College, and senior officials from the Hanlin Academy to write a preface for this book, "Collection of Examination Essays of Successive Top and Second Place Winners." They can use a pen name and will also receive a fee.
Huang Qubing laughed heartily after hearing this and gave a thumbs-up. "Brilliant! This is truly a brilliant move. Asking these gentlemen to write a preface for a best-selling book is absolutely what I want. Forget about the writing fee, even if they were to pay me out of pocket, they would be happy to do it. This is prestige! A grand event in the literary world, a recognition of one's status and talent."
If we were to publish a legendary novel and invite these masters to write a preface, they would definitely not approve. Even if they agreed, they would only agree to use a pseudonym. But for a book about the imperial examination, I guarantee that no one would be able to resist such an invitation, and they would have to use their real names.
I'm completely impressed. Madam truly understands the temperaments of these readers and hits the nail on the head. "In the next five years, no, in the next ten, twenty years, Wenqing Bookstore guarantees that every book it publishes will be a hit. Haha..."
Huang Qubing laughed out loud, it was so refreshing.
The most difficult thing in his opinion was solved so easily.
Now it seems that the problems mentioned above are not problems at all.
Gu Jiu's hand pressed lightly, and Huang Qubing stopped laughing. "Madam, if you have any other instructions, just tell me. I promise to complete the task."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "I plan to publish this collection of essays in separate volumes. Each volume will be based on the twenty years of the imperial examinations. So you need to collect all the top-ranking, second-ranking, and third-ranking examination papers from the founding of the country by Emperor Taizu to the present."
Huang Qubing opened his mouth wide, a look of shock on his face. "Since the first imperial examination during the reign of Emperor Taizu, all of them?"
Gu Jiu nodded, "Yes, all of them."
This is a big project.
Huang Qubing was groping in the dark.
Gu Jiu said solemnly, "The imperial examination is held only once every three years. There have only been nearly twenty years of collected works by the top two and third place winners. At most, there have only been seven. If each person writes one article, there are only twenty-one articles. Even if each person writes three articles, there are only sixty-three articles.
Moreover, under normal circumstances, there are only six examinations in twenty years, and each candidate has three essays, which only makes forty-eight essays. A book like this, destined to be a bestseller, is it true that you only want to publish one copy? Wouldn't it be a pity to earn the money from just one book?"
“It hurts!”
Huang Qubing's heart was in pain.
He could imagine that once this book was published, it would become a must-read for readers, and everyone would have a copy.
There are generations of scholars, and the generations to come are endless.
This means that this book can have the first, second, and third editions... and our descendants can continue to reap the benefits of this book.
It would be a huge loss if only one volume was published.
Gu Jiu added, "There's one more thing we must consider. Twenty years ago, many of the top three scholars were still alive, some even holding high positions in the imperial court. Aren't we afraid of offending people by only publishing the works of the top three scholars from the last twenty years, and not those from twenty years ago?"
"Afraid!" Huang Qubing admitted his mistake.
Gu Jiu said solemnly, "So this book must be published, and it must be a complete set. We should try to publish eight or ten volumes, covering all the top three scholars in the history of this dynasty.
By the way, we can establish good relations with the families of these top three candidates in the imperial examinations, and let people know that our Wenqing Bookstore can not only publish popular legendary novels, but also publish popular must-read books for the imperial examinations, which will benefit readers all over the world. We are the best friends of readers and the only choice for publishing books in the literary world.
We can take this opportunity to announce that the Wenqing Book Bureau is collecting poetry manuscripts from all over the world and preparing to publish a collection of the most beautiful poems of this dynasty. Anyone can submit a work. We will also actively invite contributions from all the important officials in the court."
Huang Qubing was stunned when he heard this. "Publishing a collection of poems? It will definitely be a loss."
Gu Jiu smiled mysteriously, "We want to lose money. And we want all the readers in the world to know about it. Wenqing Bookstore needs to establish a positive image. I even thought of a slogan: Wenqing Bookstore, a dedicated study for readers. How do you think it is?"
Huang Qubing immediately understood Gu Jiu's intention of publishing the poetry collection.
Publishing a collection of poetry at a loss is actually buying fame. Not only will you not be accused of being mercenary, but you will also attract constant praise from the literary world.
This is a noble thing!
The mercenary image that Wenqing Bookstore has left on people in the past will be completely washed away with this book.
Huang Qubing was completely convinced.
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