Chapter 49
A group of refugees and beggars who came to watch the fun were running around everywhere, but couldn't find anyone. The noble lady was running around among the refugees, and she had lost all her noble demeanor.
Miss Qi took advantage of the chaos and pulled Jian Xinyi out, saying softly, "Be more careful next time. What will you do if you encounter such unreasonable people again?"
Jian Xinyi giggled, took Miss Qi's hand, and said firmly, "Then I'll cry my heart out and see who is right."
That year, I was alone and was bullied by that person. I felt like a dead tree, witnessing my pride being taken away.
The two of them squeezed silently in the crowd. Fortunately, there were many people and the hawking sounds on the street were endless, which made this silence seem particularly precious.
Occasionally, a few young children who were drinking porridge would come out, look at Miss Qi's gorgeous clothes, and circle around her to ask for money.
Seeing this situation, Jian Xinyi quickly stepped forward to drive the children away, "Stop making trouble and go home quickly."
The children found it boring and ran away in all directions.
After returning to the bookstore, Jian Xinyi handed the remaining books to Miss Qi and asked her to take them back.
Before leaving, Miss Qi looked at Jian Xinyi with a somewhat sad look in her eyes, "By the way, I heard from Mu Qing that you haven't been working at the Dali Temple recently."
Jian Xinyi lowered her eyes slightly, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and she said with a half-smile, "I just wanted to focus on finishing the sketchbook, so I didn't continue."
"If there's anything I can do to help, just ask."
Miss Qi held Jian Xinyi's hand reluctantly, but she didn't know how to start, so she could only comfort her like this.
"If there's anything I can do to help, just ask."
When Jian Xinyi heard this comfort, she felt a little sad. She lowered her head and sighed deeply.
"You've helped me so much, I feel embarrassed."
The two of them argued for a while, and it was still Aunt Yan who gave them some advice.
"Miss, we have to go back."
This is the real separation.
It was still warm a few days before the New Year, and Jian Xinyi had nothing to do. Seeing that Lao Lin was also in the shop, she thought of taking a break.
I happened to glance at my room again and felt even more tired.
There was no choice but to wash and dry the quilt under me, which took half an hour.
Just when she was about to take a break, she heard Lao Lin calling her anxiously in the shop.
Jian Xinyi quickly packed up her things and walked into the store.
There were two strange men standing in the shop, talking to Lao Lin. They looked relaxed and laughed heartily.
"Zhuiyu, this is President Zhao of the Calligraphy and Painting Guild."
Lao Lin's face was full of glory. "They came here this time to ask you about the picture book."
President Zhao was still smiling. The manager behind him spoke first, "The young lady's latest sketchbook is very novel. Our president came here this time to ask the young lady, did you draw this sketchbook yourself?"
When Jian Xinyi heard this, she immediately understood who had filed the complaint, and her tone was particularly firm, "Of course it was."
President Zhao still had that same smiling face. "That's perfect. After all, someone previously came to us to complain, claiming their book was plagiarized. Now that we understand the whole story, the guild will definitely inform him. Don't do such mean things."
The words sounded particularly nice, and Jian Xinyi had no choice but to smile along.
"Actually, there's another reason for my visit today."
President Zhao changed the subject and waved his hand, asking the manager behind him to take out a stack of books and papers.
"Here are the drafts of the book contracts with several bookstores in Beijing. If you agree to sell this book to them, they will give you 60% of the profits. They will also guarantee the publication and other matters. You can rest assured."
Jian Xinyi took it and looked at it. It turned out to be the genuine deeds from several bookstores. They were all stamped with seals, which made them more credible.
She handed the item to Lao Lin for review and asked him in a low voice, "Do you recognize all these bookstores?"
Lao Lin took it seriously, looked at it several times, and then slowly spoke.
"Indeed, it is one of the major bookstores in Beijing."
The two of them were suddenly faced with such a big thing, and they were undecided for a moment. It was Jian Xinyi who calmed down and cleared her throat. "Everyone, this happened suddenly. How about I come to your house in person in two days and give you an answer?"
When the manager heard this, he became anxious and was about to step forward, but was stopped by President Zhao.
"In that case, I'll see you at Mingyuan Shusi in two days."
After saying this, the two of them walked away.
Jian Xinyi followed Lao Lin outside and watched the two of them get on the carriage at the door. The mahogany wheels rolled, and the gold edges inlaid in them rolled with them, round like a plate.
As the car passed by, a cloud of dust was raised from the roadside and fell around Jian Xinyi.
"Zhuiyu, what do you think?"
"I don't know." Jian Xinyi shook her head and turned to walk towards the bookstore. "But I don't think they have any reason to lie to us."
After that, the two fell silent again.
A customer in the bookstore asked for water again, so Jian Xinyi quickly took the newly hot water off the stove. Her fingertips touched the pot lightly and she grimaced in burns.
"Let me do it."
Lao Lin took the kettle quietly.
Jian Xinyi looked at her red fingertips and blew gently a few times.
After delivering the water, Old Lin wiped his hands with a linen cloth. Seeing that she was still hesitant, he said, "The bookstore business is not much different from other businesses. There's less competition. I don't know much about business either. Why not ask your Aunt Qiao? She might know more."
"That's fine. I can go ask how the book sold a few days ago."
Jian Xinyi woke up and stopped thinking about anything else. She went straight to Yuanyuan's shop.
Just a few steps out of the door, I happened to see Aunt Ting from Huichuntang, holding medicinal herbs wrapped in paper.
"Zhuiyu, are you going out?"
"Aunt Ting."
Jian Xinyi looked at Aunt Ting with a smile on her face. Even though the previous matter had been resolved, there were still some unresolved knots in her heart.
But you still have to call people.
Aunt Ting may have noticed something and said hurriedly, "The good times are gone, and the shop is busy at the end of the year. I don't have time to visit you."
Jian Xinyi actually believed what he said and nodded, "That's right, my bookstore has become busy as well."
Aunt Ting laughed and handed the bag of herbs to her. "Take this bag of herbs. If you have nothing to do, remember to come and play with Aunt Ting."
"Thank you, Aunt Ting."
Jian Xinyi took the big bag and smiled, "Then I'll go over first."
Aunt Ting sighed twice, and it seemed as if her whole body became lighter.
In fact, Aunt Ting and the others did nothing wrong. They were just led by the Right Prime Minister, which led to her being framed and imprisoned.
There was a faint fragrance coming from the herbs in my hand, which tasted bitter.
Jian Xinyi took the opportunity to stroll down the street. There were already vendors selling Spring Festival couplets, running around with smiles on their faces.
Jian Xinyi went forward to take a look. Most of them came from wealthy families, and even those who were on the list of successful candidates were few.
She picked up a "Guests Like Clouds" at random, took the bag of herbs in her arms, and carried them over.
Aunt Qiao was picking out rouge with a woman who was going out. When she saw her coming, she hurriedly called Yuanyuan over.
"Yuanyuan, hurry up, Zhuiyu is here."
Bai Yuanyuan came out from the inner room and saw that she had taken a lot of things. She asked in surprise, "What did you take?"
"Oh, some medicinal herbs and spring couplets, I'll send them over as they're all used."
Bai Yuanyuan took the package and put it behind the counter, smiling helplessly, "You really are."
“How about the previous book?”
Jian Xinyi asked.
“Well, it’s all gone.”
Bai Yuanyuan pointed at the cabinet and said, "At first, I didn't touch it much. Later, I told my mother that I would give a small box of rouge as a gift when I bought a book."
"There are so many colors of rouge. Buying one box is quite monotonous, and buying two boxes is not cost-effective. As a result, more people buy rouge and more books."
"So powerful?"
Jian Xinyi had to admire Bai Yuanyuan's business acumen.
Bai Yuanyuan picked up a box of brown rouge and explained it to her.
"Rouge is different from gouache. Some colors are hard to sell. This way, we can sell some of the remaining colors."
"But once the stock is cleared, I should wait for the next batch of stock before selling this book."
Jian Xinyi understood what she meant and nodded, "I understand. Next time I come over, I'll give you less."
After the woman who bought the rouge had gone back, Aunt Qiao turned around and said to the two of them, "It's so busy during the New Year. I don't even have time to talk."
Jian Xinyi smiled and said, "It's because business is good that this happens."
"Okay, stop flattering me." Aunt Qiao smiled and waved the fan in her hand. A gust of red flower fragrance blew over. Then she softly asked, "No one comes to visit you for no reason. Tell me, what's the matter?"
"It's just that a bookstore recently came to our shop and wanted to print my book. The contract was already prepared at another big bookstore."
Jian Xinyi spread the contract on the table.
"Is this from Shuhang?"
Aunt Qiao looked at the contract carefully, reading it over and over again several times, which made Jian Xinyi nervous, so she asked hurriedly.
"What's the problem?"
"It's not a problem, but..." Aunt Qiao returned the deed to her and took a deep breath. "Guilds like this never easily hire individual merchants."
After saying that, Aunt Qiao looked at her meaningfully, then suddenly leaned very close. The scent of safflower was particularly strong, and her lips painted with rose-red lipstick opened and closed as she asked.
"You didn't ask anyone to take care of it?"
Jian Xinyi shook her head, "Really not."
"I don't think there's any problem. Agreeing to them will open up more sales channels, and there's no loss for you."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com