You were taken hostage, why pursue the Enemy's Empress?

Chapter 36 – The Shangmo Bookstore in the city of Jang collapsed

The Shangmo Bookstore in the city of Jang collapsed.

The boss, Wu Jige, ran away with his young wife.

All the books in the bookstore, including three thousand copies of "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," were sold for only two or three hundred coins each.

This news spread quickly in Jang City. Anyone who had bought a book from the bookstore became a regular customer.

Books for only three hundred coins were unheard of. Even a regular bookstore would charge three or four hundred coins just to hire a copyist. Since copyists had a steady stream of customers at bookstores, they could charge even more for private work. As a result, almost no one could afford to buy a book for three hundred coins.

The Shangmo Bookstore was suddenly flooded with customers, and some even brought their friends and family to take advantage of the closing sale.

After all, there were only three thousand copies of the book, and once they were gone, there would be no more!

...

At sunset, Ji Su had been lying in the courtyard, basking in the sun and practicing his energy healing since he had persuaded Luo Ming to leave in the morning. However, he had been waiting for Luo Ming's reply and had not received any news.

"What's wrong with this guy?"

He sat up and waved to his subordinate, "Go out and see why Luo Ming hasn't made any moves."

The subordinate nodded quickly and left the Flame Kingdom embassy.

About half an hour later, he hurried back and said, "Master!"

Ji Su sat up and asked, "What's going on?"

The subordinate said quickly, "I went to the bookstore to inquire, but no one saw Luo Ming. Later, I found out that he had gone to a teahouse to argue with some gentlemen."

"Argue?"

Ji Su was a bit puzzled. He knew that Luo Ming had a famous teacher and liked to argue with people who had profound knowledge.

But now... when his sister was about to be eaten up, he ran off to argue with someone?

Was he insane?

The subordinate continued, "Master, there's something else about the Shangmo Bookstore!"

Ji Su was annoyed, "What is it?"

The subordinate said mysteriously, "The Shangmo Bookstore has closed down!"

"Huh?"

Ying Wuji pouted. "Although I was lying down, my heart was always on the front line of the bookstore. I'm not less tired than the others, right, Aqiang?"

Aqiang nodded repeatedly. "Young master is the most hardworking!"

He was a clerk in the paper shop and was borrowed by Ying Wuji along with other clerks. The salary was twice as much as before, and although he was busy, he was going to return to Kingdom Qian on a wounded horse a few days ago. Today, he stayed here to receive double the salary and didn't even have time to laugh secretly under the covers. How could he ruin Ying Wuji's reputation at this time?

Ying Wuji spread his hands. "Look, Sister Hua Chao, the eyes of the masses are sharp."

Hua Chao gave him a white look, but there was an unstoppable smile in her beautiful eyes.

Ying Wuji patted Aqiang's shoulder. "Report, how many books did we sell today?"

Aqiang quickly took out the account book. "Reporting to the young master, we sold a total of 900 books!"

"900 books?"

Bai Zhi frowned, somewhat dissatisfied. "I saw many people today. How come we only sold 900 books, which is less than what we printed today! It's a pity that the young master spent so much effort."

Judging from her appearance, she was really anxious.

Ying Wuji smiled and rubbed her head. "We only opened at noon today, and it's already good to sell 900 books in the afternoon."

He had already expected this number. After all, in this era, he couldn't play the game of live streaming and selling products. Everyone who came to buy now was mostly common people and small households. It would take some time for word of mouth to spread to the ears of big customers.

Of course, he also hoped that his bookstore would become popular overnight. At that time, it would be easier to create momentum, but this was ultimately unrealistic.

In the eyes of the noble people in Kingdom Li, he was like a piece of shit that no one wanted to touch, and they didn't lack money, so there was no need to buy books and save a few hundred wen. It was simply asking for trouble to promote to them.

It was better to let things take their course. The printing technique would eventually be deciphered, and he was just accumulating some funds for the next business. There was no need to go out of his way.

Of course...

It would be great if some kind-hearted nobleman was willing to help him promote. But he shouldn't dream too much. It was already good that they didn't kick him while he was down. Maybe in a few days, there would be some dirty tricks waiting for him. He still needed to be prepared. If he was not careful, he might fail halfway through his business.

Ying Wuji stretched lazily. "Let's all go back and rest. We'll continue working tomorrow!"

"Yes!"

Everyone responded and left through the back door, full of energy and ready to make money tomorrow.

Ying Wuji said goodbye to Hua Chao and then took Bai Zhi back to the Kingdom Qian embassy.

...Translation:

Although it was already night, the doors of the Flame Kingdom's paper store were wide open.

The hall was filled with guests, all of whom were the bosses of major bookstores.