"It is a blessing for our country to have such a bookstore."
Gongsun Di nodded slightly. In recent times, Ying Wuji had been making quite a stir in the State of Li, and the business of the bookstore had long reached Ying Yue's ears, but he did not make any comments on the matter.
Ying Wuque naturally did not mention this matter on his own initiative, but he contacted Gongsun Di privately and asked him to recommend himself as the envoy of the State of Gan to attend the Hundred Schools Gathering. It was already a tacit agreement that he would take over the commercial seal of the embassy.
After all, the bookstore business will be quite big in the future, and it would be a waste to leave it in the hands of Ying Wuji, a hostage with a bleak future.
In addition, there are two princes in Gan Kingdom now. Although Ying Wuque has shown his overwhelming strength, there are still some controversies in the court.
These controversial voices are not conducive to the development of the country and should be suppressed as soon as possible. Moreover, the agricultural and military strategy of the State of Gan has been proven to be correct. The efforts of just a few generations have given this once barbaric country hope to move eastward. As long as it continues to move forward firmly, the State of Gan will surely become the strongest vassal state and even replace the Zhou emperor.
The bookstore did a good job, but it was nothing compared to the country's policy for generations.
Therefore, there is absolutely no reason to leave the bookstore in Ying Wuji's hands.
Gongsun Di looked at Xun Zhiyin and asked, "How is the bookstore doing now? How much profit can it expect to make in a year?"
Xun Zhiyin quickly pulled out an account book from his bosom and said, "Your Excellency! This is the account book I ordered someone to copy down. The average price of a book in the bookstore is 300 wen. After deducting the cost and the tax paid to the Kingdom of Li, it should be able to make 150 wen. Half of it should be kept by the store owner, and the other half should be handed over to the embassy. It's just the end of the month, and I calculated that the bookstore will have to hand over at least 3,000 taels tomorrow."
"so much!"
Gongsun Di was a little surprised. He knew that the bookstore was doing good business, but he didn't expect that it could hand over so much money.
How can a book that costs only 300 wen have such a huge profit margin?
However, he still frowned slightly: "Why is this account book a transcript? Could it be that the bookstore is not under your control?"
Xun Zhiyin said quickly, "Young Master Wuji is too stubborn and unwilling to be controlled by me, so he is very reluctant to let me intervene. But don't worry, Your Excellency. I will go to the government office tomorrow to complete the handover, and then go to the bookstore with the business seal in hand. I believe Young Master Wuji will not be able to say much."
Gongsun Di frowned slightly: "Are you sure the bookstore is in Ying Wuji's hands?"
Xun Zhiyin smiled and said, "How else? There is no reason for Master Wuji to entrust his life and property to others."
"That's right!"
Gongsun Di nodded, feeling that his idea was indeed a bit bizarre. Ying Wuji even guarded against the embassy, so how could he not guard against the Hua Dynasty?
He couldn't help but smile: "It's not easy for a mere bookstore to bring 40,000 taels of profit to the country in a year!"
“More than that!”
Gongsun Di raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"
Xun Zhiyin's face was full of red. He added: "This humble official knows the bookstore very well. It is true that this month's profit is only 6,000 taels, but in fact it is because the channel is not open. The envoy should have also seen that countless people have rushed to the Hundred Book Fair in recent days, including many booksellers. Judging from today's situation, we should be able to sign a lot of orders. When the printing scale is expanded, our income can at least increase fivefold."
“Five times!”
Gongsun Di's eyes lit up. Five times! That would bring the country two hundred thousand taels of profit.
Two hundred thousand taels is not a negligible amount even for a country.
Xun Zhiyin lowered his voice and said, "Besides, this is from the country. As the boss, Master Wuji can also get a considerable amount of money. Wouldn't the envoy feel that it is a bit too much..."
Gongsun Di heard his slightly bewitching tone and immediately understood his thoughts.
Two hundred thousand taels is indeed a bit too much for one person.
but……
He smiled and shook his head: "After all, this bookstore is the hard work of Master Wuji. No matter how much he gets, it is what he deserves! Master Wuque sent me here just to take over the business seal. There is no need to dig up Master Wuji's back road.
Although the two princes had never met, they were half brothers. Moreover, Prince Wuji had a talent for business, and with him assisting Prince Wuque, the two brothers worked together for the country, which was a good story.
"Master Xun is sincere, I will let Master Wuque know when I return. However, although Master Xun's actions were well-intentioned, they did hurt the feelings of brothers. It is better to think more before doing things in the future!"
"The envoy is right!"
Xun Zhiyin was a little disappointed, but he still smiled and said, "Young Master Wuque is kind and benevolent. If Young Master Wuji knew about this, he would definitely be touched!"
Gongsun Di glanced at the food on the table and smiled slightly, "Since Master Wuji is not coming back, let's eat!"
"good!"
Xun Zhiyin smiled and said, "Tomorrow, I will hand over the seal to the envoy and take over the bookstore!"
Gongsun Di nodded slightly: "Okay!"
For a while, the embassy was filled with laughter and conversation.
…
The next day.
"True·Strange Stories of Mountains and Seas" published by Zhen Lanlingsheng has been published, and the eight major bookstores have spared no effort to publicize it. Although it is still a bit far from being known to everyone in Jiangcheng, the areas where wealthy families live have been bombarded several times.
Especially booksellers from other places received this news.
Moreover, the bookstore had contacted them privately, saying that each copy of the book would only sell for 250 wen, and also stated all kinds of pros and cons, saying that China was a cultural desert and had nothing to offer except plagiarism, and even if it did plagiarize, it would only be a flash in the pan.
In the long run, the Kingdom of Li will definitely be more lasting.
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