Chapter 25
Under the dim yellow light, Jian Xinyi quickly calculated the recent income and expenditure.
"Eighteen minus thirteen equals five."
She had never touched mathematics since she graduated from college, and now she was lost in the ocean of mathematics again.
“That shouldn’t be the case.”
Based on the paperbacks sold these days, if you deduct the possible expenses for a day, how can you not save money?
What's more, Qian Yuan had already paid back one or two taels of silver before, and the debt had not been fully repaid.
Jian Xinyi looked at the drawing that was put away in the distance and knew that she only had one way to go.
Work to pay off debts.
She carefully reread the previous gentle male subplot, trying to find some new inspiration.
At the dragon boat banquet, the ninth princess fell in love with the gentle man and forced the heroine to choose to give in and become his concubine. If the heroine chooses to agree, the game will enter the BE ending. The ninth princess and the heroine enter the mansion on the same day. The heroine stares at the candles going out bit by bit. Rumors spread in the mansion, and the princess also bosses the heroine around. The gentle man does not want to offend both sides, so he has to ask for a divorce from the gentle man. The gentle man tries to make peace with her, but the two are no longer the same as before.
The heroine refused to become a concubine of the gentle man, expressing her unwillingness to be sacrificed. The gentle man understood the heroine's insistence and declined the Ninth Princess's offer of marriage. The emperor, impressed by his character, promoted him to the position of Zhongshu Shelang, further angering the Ninth Princess. The gentle man encountered setbacks in the officialdom, plagued by jealousy and frequent backstabbing, leaving the emperor deeply disappointed. Then, the Ninth Princess reappeared, offering to help him in exchange for the heroine's divorce. The heroine, naturally indignant, used her connections among the wives of officials to gather evidence of the Ninth Princess's manipulation of the court, leaving her devastated.
After hurriedly finishing the painting, Jian Xinyi flattened the drawing with a piece of wood and arranged it neatly, then fell asleep peacefully.
However, early in the morning, she handed the chapters she had finished drawing to Lao Lin and had them printed out immediately to pay off her debt.
Having nothing to do in the afternoon, she leaned against the counter of the bookstore, feeling a little lazy. Seeing that there were not many people in the bookstore, she quietly dozed off.
The winter sun was exceptionally warm. Jian Xinyi closed her eyes softly and was about to fall into a deep sleep when she was awakened by a knock on the door.
She was a little annoyed and slowly raised her head.
Everywhere the eyes can see is a sea of orange and yellow, and in the midst of the orange and yellow stands a person as pure as jade, with a gentle halo scattered around him like colorful broken glass.
"Excuse me, can I sit at that table directly?"
Jian Xinyi nodded dazedly, but she still remembered to collect the money. "One cent a day, with a pot of tea, and you can renew it."
"Okay, then I want to drink Yunwu Shanqing."
"We don't have anything like that here."
Jian Xinyi sighed, picked up the coarse tea leaves on the table, turned around and went to the back of the house to make tea.
"Sorry, I thought I could choose."
The scholar didn't care. He chose a place with the best sunlight and sat down, then took out the pen and ink he usually used.
Jian Xinyi brought the brewed tea over. Seeing the large amount of things on his desk, she was still a little puzzled: "Young Master, you are preparing for the Spring Examination. Why don't you study in the guest house?"
The scholar looked embarrassed and forced himself to drink a cup of coarse tea. "The guest house is crowded and noisy, and there are even quite a few men and women... Forget it. I was originally looking for some information, and I saw a place here, so I thought of asking."
"I see."
Jian Xinyi was about to add more water for him, but was ruthlessly rejected by the scholar, "Miss, you don't need the tea. I'll just drink water directly."
"Okay, tea and water are the same price."
The black-hearted proprietress didn't even look back and walked straight to the counter.
He didn't notice the scholar's almost trembling pupils at all.
The sun gradually moved westward. Jian Xinyi occasionally looked outside at the people coming and going on the street, and occasionally looked inside at the scholars working hard. She was a little reminded of her own study time.
At least they all seem to be working just as hard.
Several more scholars came one after another, and Jian Xinyi arranged for them to sit down as usual. It was not until it got dark that they returned to the guesthouse.
It turned out that the scholar had not left yet. He waited until Lao Lin came back and was still sitting there studying hard.
Lao Lin held up an oil-paper bag, his cuffs soaked through. "Hey, is this the bound volume you mentioned? I printed it for you."
Jian Xinyi took the bag and found it was wet. "Oh, it's raining! Wasn't it sunny just now?"
"Let's check if there are any problems with the book first."
Lao Lin casually hung his coat on the edge of the counter and took the copper coins on the table.
"It's okay, everything is fine inside."
Jian Xinyi counted and found a total of ten new books, all of which were bound volumes containing the complete endings of "Sunny Man" and "Gentle Man", and they were all placed on the shelf opposite.
Old Lin went back to the house and got an oil lamp. He carefully looked at the money again and said, "There are quite a few guests here today."
Jian Xinyi nodded and went to clean up the other empty tables.
The scholar was still writing furiously and showed no sign of going back.
She had no choice but to urge: "Sir, we are about to close here."
"Proofing?"
The scholar glanced at the sky outside and said, "But closing at twilight is a bit early."
Jian Xinyi didn't see through his thoughts and blinked quickly, "If you want to continue studying, you can add another penny for the night tuition."
The scholar sighed deeply, packed up his things and prepared to go back, "I finally understand what it means to be dishonest in business."
"Nothing is better than profit." Jian Xinyi wiped the table briskly. "Take care, sir."
The scholar thought about it again and again, and seemed to feel unsatisfied. He turned back to Jian Xinyi and said, "A shady shop like yours should be severely punished by the Jinwu Guards."
"How can it be called a shady shop? It's late at night, and they won't even take a penny of your hard-earned money?"
Jian Xinyi was puzzled. How could this be the big Buddha that couldn't be driven away even if she invited him?
Old Lin heard the quarrel inside and quickly put down the copper coins and came over to persuade them, "Young Master, it's not easy to keep this shop. It's not easy to eat at this hour. It's better to cook something after closing the shop."
"This bookstore isn't a busy place. Cooking a meal is just a side job. Why do you have to do it after closing?"
The scholar was obviously a little angry, and his tone was a little higher.
Old Lin smiled and explained, "We're cooking in the backyard to avoid disturbing the guests in front. Please go back, young master."
"You guys just closed the shop because I can't afford the night fee." The scholar put on his bag and pointed at Jian Xinyi behind him, "Just wait, I'll call the authorities to deal with you."
"Sir, take care." Old Lin walked him all the way to the alley entrance. As he came back, he was still muttering, "Oh, why are we talking about the government again?"
Jian Xinyi curled her lips, "Isn't it just a nighttime fee? Is that so serious?"
"Okay, don't ask for money next time. Let him go." Lao Lin sighed and went to the backyard to cook.
"Sir, this is it."
Before anything was done, the scholar brought his men over.
Old Lin fanned himself vigorously to light the fire and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Zhuiyu, help Daddy check it out and compensate him for whatever he needs."
Jian Xinyi went forward after receiving the order, but she still felt a little aggrieved. "Why..."
"Sir, it's her. How can a bookshop charge late-night fees? How can it be justified?" The scholar looked at Jian Xinyi indignantly, but Jian Xinyi had no time to argue with him.
Because that adult was none other than Qian Yuan, whom she was very familiar with.
"Oh, her." Qian Yuan smiled coldly, a beautiful curve on his lips, looking at her jokingly, "Shopkeeper, she has already paid, and you are charging her for the nighttime service. Isn't that inappropriate?"
Jian Xinyi put her hands on her hips, her expression not looking good. "The prices during the day and at night are different, and he didn't ask. How can this be considered a scam?"
"I've already paid once, and you're still asking me for nighttime fees. Isn't this a secret transaction that's strictly prohibited by law?"
The scholar was also very angry and couldn't help but take a few steps forward.
Qian Yuan grabbed him and said, "Mr. Wu, it's not appropriate to use this bookstore for secret transactions. If anything, it can only be said that this shop owner is making money without restraint."
Jian Xinyi looked at the two people singing the same tune, snorted coldly, and turned her face away.
Qian Yuan appeased Mr. Wu for a while, then came back to negotiate with her, "Anyway, I won't charge you for late-night hours anymore. I still have the Yudu Lane case to deal with, that's all."
"Did something happen in Yudu Lane?"
Jian Xinyi had some doubts, as Yudu Lane was not far from here.
"Yeah, it's a murder case, but it should be solved soon. Be careful recently."
Qian Yuan nodded at her, indicating that he was fine, but Jian Xinyi was still a little worried, but she didn't say anything. She could only watch the two of them walk out together.
Lao Lin just brought out the meal, and the two of them ate listlessly.
As soon as it got dark, Jian Xinyi went into the bedroom and looked through the old manuscripts of the cold-hearted man and the sinister man.
She had no idea what the plot would be like later. If she had written an outline earlier, she wouldn't be in this situation now.
Jian Xinyi felt a little regretful about what she had done. If she couldn't make any money this way, it would be better to work at Huichuntang.
Tomorrow during the day, I will go to Huichuntang to ask Doctor Zhang, and then come back to paint when I have free time in the evening.
The night was dark and she slowly fell asleep.
However, early in the morning, she washed up and rushed directly to Huichuntang, where she discussed the purpose of her visit with Doctor Zhang and arranged the task of boiling medicine as before.
After tying her hair and putting on a headscarf, Jian Xinyi went straight to the pharmacy in the backyard.
When the little girl Danggui in the backyard saw her, her eyes lit up and she said, "You haven't been here for a long time. There's no one to talk to me."
"I'm not here."
Jian Xinyi sat in the back seat, feeling a warmth in the scorching heat. It was quite enjoyable to do this job in winter.
Angelica fanned herself absentmindedly, then tilted her head and asked her, "Hey, how's your sketchbook?"
Jian Xinyi paused for a moment before answering, "There are still some unfinished plots. It's almost over."
"Not finished yet?" Danggui seemed shocked. He quickly dropped his fan on the ground and turned to look at her. "Then what was I looking at before?"
"Before?"
Jian Xinyi was confused. She really didn't understand what Danggui was saying.
Before Jian Xinyi could react, Danggui ran to the side, took out a notebook and showed it to her.
The three big words "Legend of the South Wind" on the book still shocked Jian Xinyi's family, and they were even more shocked when they turned to the character profile.
A sunny scholar, a gentle and considerate policeman, a cold and domineering prince, and a dark and sickly prince.
This this this?
Was she copied?
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