Fortunately, the villagers were thin-skinned because Zhao Jing was a scholar.
He didn't probe further.
Otherwise, Zhao Jing would be so embarrassed that he didn't know how to speak.
Soon, the ox cart arrived.
Under everyone's rejection, Zhao Jing helped everyone move their things into the car before sitting at the back of the car.
Third Uncle, who was driving, saw Zhao Jing and asked,""Little Jing is going to town?"
Zhao Jing didn't mention that he was going to sell the manuscript. He smiled and said,""Yes, Third Granduncle."
"I'm going back to the Academy to study next month. I want to go to the library.”
"I don't want you to ask and not know anything.”
When Zhao Jing got married, the villagers had helped him gather a lot of things.
He had always had a good relationship with the villagers, and the people in the village had to pay for his education.
Therefore, Zhao Jing was very gentle to everyone.
Zhao Jing found a copper coin and handed it to his third granduncle.
Third Great Uncle did not say anything else and accepted it directly.
The ox cart quickly moved.
Everyone discussed on the ox cart again and the topic turned to yesterday's banquet.
As Zhao Jing listened to everyone's conversation, he had unknowingly arrived in the city.
At this moment, the sun had just risen, and there was already an endless stream of people at the city gate.
The ox-cart stopped at the city gate and everyone got off.
Zhao Jing carried his things and followed the route in his memory toward a relatively large library.
"Zhuo Ying Pavilion."
The original owner had come to this book room several times when she was studying in the Academy.
This was one of the largest bookstores in the city, and the shopkeeper was quite a good person.
After all, as a child of a poor family, Zhao Jing could not afford to buy books often.
Occasionally, he would come to visit with his classmates, and the shopkeeper would not chase him away.
Zhao Jing walked in.
There were already many students in the library.
The shopkeeper was writing something at the counter.
Zhao Jing thought for a moment and observed the few people in the book room. They were all standing in front of the bookshelf of imperial examination books on the other side, reading books.
No one noticed him.
This was just right.
He first walked to the bookshelves that sold different interests and took a look.
"Young master, do you need anything?”
A waiter came up to him.
Zhao Jing turned his head, smiled, and said in a low voice,""Thank you, little brother.”
The waiter glanced at him.
The young man in front of him was wearing an old robe. Although he was a little thin, he had a handsome face.
He was quite tall and carried a basket on his back.
Her clothes were a little old, but they were very clean.
He didn't say anything. He nodded and quickly walked away.
Zhao Jing lowered his head, picked up a book, and started flipping through it.
In his hand was a travel book about mountains and rivers, placed in a conspicuous position.
Obviously, they sold better.
There were many more books on the bookshelves, such as village tales or romance novels.
Many of the books had exquisite illustrations.
There were even quite a few books that were colored.
Zhao Jing flipped through a few books and couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder.
"Oh my, the ancient people sure know how to play.”
"This illustration is quite artistic!”
It was still the early Ming Dynasty, so the rules for publishing weren't very strict.
As a result, many books were written in a bold and straightforward manner.
Zhao Jing looked at it for a while and felt that the things he wrote should have a certain market.
So he put the book back in its original position and walked straight to the high platform where the shopkeeper was.
"Please."
The shopkeeper raised his head and saw a young man standing in front of him.
He put down the brush in his hand and asked Zhao Jing if there was anything he needed to buy.
Zhao Jing turned to the side and took out the paper from his arms. He said in a low voice,"Shopkeeper, let's talk in private."?”
When the shopkeeper saw this, he immediately understood.
This is to provide them with a manuscript
After all, many scholars who could not afford to lose face but came from poor families would hide their manuscripts when they came.
The shopkeeper was very familiar with dealing with such situations.
He walked out and said,"Young Master, please follow me to the inner room for a talk."”
Zhao Jing followed the shopkeeper into the inner room.
He took out the manuscript from his arms and handed it to the shopkeeper.
"Wilderness!"
When the shopkeeper saw the title, he thought it was about some local interest or something.
He continued reading with interest.
"The first volume, Primal Chaos Era, Heaven-Opening Calamity.”
......
The more he looked, the more he felt attracted.
This was no ordinary local legend.
He had never seen the contents inside before.
The three thin pages were quickly flipped through.
He watched until the end.
" Pangu opened the world to the righteous path, and 3,000 Demon Gods fought against Pangu."
"Written by Scholar Jingyang."
The shopkeeper put down the paper in his hand and could not help but ask,"What was the final outcome of the battle between the three thousand fiendcelestials and Pangu?”
Zhao Jing smiled and asked,""Shopkeeper, what do you think of this manuscript?”
When the shopkeeper heard this, he quickly retracted his excited expression and coughed lightly."It's alright."
"Does Young Master want to sell this manuscript to our library?”
Zhao Jing thought to himself," As expected of a businessman. His attitude changed so quickly."
"Since you think it's average, then forget it."”
The shopkeeper saw that the young man was not fooled by him and quickly smiled apologetically.”
"Let's not talk about the draft first. We haven't even started discussing the rest of the matter. It's not too late to leave after we're done.”
"Xiaowu, serve this young master some tea!”
Zhao Jing sat back down.
The shopkeeper was relieved.
What a joke. How could he push the manuscript to someone else?
One had to know that all the major bookstores were currently lacking good manuscripts.
No matter where he went, the bookstore would definitely accept such a novel manuscript!
After the two of them drank some tea, the shopkeeper smiled and said,"Young Master's manuscript is indeed not bad. This old man is willing to represent our library and bid 10 taels to buy Young Master's manuscript.”
After the shopkeeper finished speaking, he confidently waited for Zhao Jing to nod and agree.
He felt that the ten taels of silver was fair.
Ordinary books really weren't that high.
It was because the draft in his hand was indeed attractive to him.
The young man in front of him looked very young, but he did not expect his literary attainments to be so high.
"Ten taels!"
Zhao Jing pondered for a moment. He didn't seem to want to sell it.
Seeing his hesitation, the shopkeeper thought for a moment and said,""Young Master, twelve taels at most."
"This is already the highest price our bookstore has ever offered. No other bookstore will be able to offer a higher price than us!”
"Shopkeeper, how about this?" Zhao Jing raised his eyebrows and said,"One price, twenty taels."”
"When the time comes for the second volume, or even the third or fourth volume, I will also prioritize cooperating with your library.”
Upon hearing that there were still a few more scrolls, the shopkeeper could not sit still.
However, twenty silver taels was indeed a little high.
An ordinary teacher in a private school would only earn about 20 taels of silver a year.
Moreover, Zhao Jing was just a nameless scholar, so their bookstore had to bear a certain risk.
Finally, the shopkeeper gritted his teeth and said,""Alright!"
"Twenty taels then."
"When Young Master has a new manuscript, you must first discuss it with our library.”
Zhao Jing smiled and agreed.
Twenty taels of silver, just like that!
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。