"You don't need to worry about the shopkeeper. Just tell him you can get me ten today!"
When Jiang Segu said this, it was as if he were asking a servant in the mansion when they could have lunch today.
The shopkeeper pondered for a moment, "Miss, I mean well. I wanted to remind you that this is Yuehua Street. Replenishing more than 10,000 books is not a difficult task for our bookstore!"
Our bookstore always adheres to the principle of payment before delivery. If you truly want 100,000 books, you must pay for them first.
"Then I also need to have a proper discussion with the shopkeeper about the cost of the books."
"Please speak, young lady!"
"Look, I need 100,000 books, not just ten or a hundred. Shouldn't you give me a discount, shopkeeper?"
"Of course! The more you order, the lower the price will be! If you're not in a hurry, young lady, let's sit down and talk!"
When Grandma Jiang saw that Jiang Segu had actually sat down and looked like he was going to bargain with the shopkeeper, she felt a little uneasy.
Ah Zi, what's wrong?
Why do you look like you really want to buy a book?
One hundred thousand copies! That's no small number!
Grandma Jiang wasn't unable to afford the money; she just didn't understand why Jiang Segu was buying so many books!
Jiang Segu seemed to understand Grandma Jiang's worries, and turned to greet her, saying, "Mother, please sit down. I'm not good at bargaining in business, so I need you to help me negotiate a fair price."
Grandma Jiang always doted on her children and didn't worry about why her daughter wanted to buy so many books. She was preoccupied with figuring out how to buy the books at the lowest possible price.
As soon as Grandma Jiang sat down, her aura changed completely, radiating the imposing presence of a businessman during negotiations.
"Shopkeeper, let's be frank. These books that you put on the bookshelf for people to read are probably not rare items. The average price of these ordinary items is no more than three taels."
This is the first time my daughter has bought so many books. She doesn't know how many kinds of books there are, and your bookstore doesn't even have 100,000 books right now. Why don't you let me discuss it with my daughter first and see if we should reduce the number of books or buy them in multiple installments?
This is good for your bookstore, wouldn't you say?
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper knew that Granny Jiang was a capable person.
On the surface, it seems like a great thing that their bookstore sold 100,000 books at once. But once they sell out all the books, the bookstore won't be able to open its doors to customers for a while!
Not to mention that printing these books takes time, even transferring books from branch stores takes time, and it would take at least three months to gather enough books to fill the entire bookstore.
Not being able to open for three months can be a significant blow to a shop!
Not to mention income, the monthly rent of two hundred taels is already unbearable!
The owner will naturally not give up on Jigu Bookstore, but will also never let go of those who caused this situation!
Therefore, the shopkeeper had no doubts and personally led Grandma Jiang and her daughter to the private room before respectfully withdrawing.
"Azi, tell your mother the truth, do you really want to buy 100,000 books?"
Jiang Segu nodded.
"Can you tell your mother why?"
"Mother, I learned from Deputy Commander Gu that the Grand Princess will be returning to the capital soon."
"How does this relate to your book purchase?"
"The Grand Princess has returned from her training in Southern Zhou and is eager to establish a girls' school similar to Southern Zhou. I wish to lend the Grand Princess a hand so that girls in Northern Wei can all receive an education and no longer be looked down upon. However, I am foolish and can only think of one other way besides donating books."
Grandma Jiang thought her daughter was just acting on impulse and wanted to teach the arrogant waiter at Jigu Bookstore a lesson, but she never expected her daughter to have such a thought!
She looked at Jiang Segu with great satisfaction and said in a gentle voice, "This is a good thing that benefits women. Why didn't you mention it before?"
Jiang Segu lowered his head, feigning embarrassment, and dared not look directly at Grandma Jiang.
Actually, she suddenly remembered this after entering the bookstore.
In her previous life, she hadn't paid much attention to the Grand Princess's return to the capital to establish a girls' school.
Because the girls' school was opened when her mother was murdered, by the time she recovered from her grief, the Grand Princess's girls' school had already been open for more than a year.
Because of the title of Grand Princess, many noble families sent their daughters to girls' schools.
However, I heard that the girls' school did not go smoothly at first.
Because the Northern Wei was under attack by pirates and Tartars, the court was focused on the war, and the Ministry of Revenue's funds were also tied up in the war effort, so there wasn't much money left for the Grand Princess to run a girls' school.
The Grand Princess then appealed to the concubines in the harem to contribute funds, but the concubines were not optimistic about girls' education, so not many people contributed money, and some even mocked the Grand Princess.
If I help the Grand Princess when she is in the most difficult time, will the Grand Princess help me when I need it in the future?
"I only heard about this from Deputy Commander Gu today. I already had some ideas in mind, but when I saw that the bookstore waiter was too arrogant, I decided to punish him."
Grandma Jiang believed Jiang Segu's story. "You really are unpredictable! You really scared your mother half to death!"
After scolding her, Grandma Jiang San got back to business.
"After the Grand Princess returns to the capital, she will likely have many social obligations and will not be able to attend to the girls' school for a while."
Furthermore, even if the Grand Princess were in a hurry, she would still need to choose a site and build it, which would take at least a year, and possibly three or four years. There's no need to rush your book anytime soon!
Jiang Segu knew that the Grand Princess was very keen on opening a girls' school after her return, but the timing was not right, which was why it had not been able to open it until now.
To attract the attention of the Grand Princess, one must purchase 100,000 books to even make her take notice.
Thinking of this, Jiang Segu said, "Mother, I need these 100,000 books to attract the attention of the Grand Princess. Otherwise, how could the Grand Princess take the initiative to approach us, given our family's social standing as the Marquis of Changping?"
"Why should the Grand Princess take the initiative to contact us? Azi can simply approach the Grand Princess to donate books!"
"Before the Grand Princess returned, I bought the books and then donated them when she came back, so that the Grand Princess wouldn't think I had bribed the people around her, and I didn't want to cause trouble for Deputy Commander Gu!"
"Mother, you haven't thought this through. In that case, Azi must take 100,000 books with her today?"
Jiang Segu thought for a moment, "It's not necessarily the case that I have to take them away today, but I must make sure that Jigu Bookstore spreads the word that I bought 100,000 books!"
Grandma Jiang smiled gently, "Are you afraid that your domineering behavior won't be known by others? Just now, because you wanted to choose books, didn't you have the waiter kick the students who were choosing books out of the bookstore!"
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