Compared to Xiaolian's excitement, Xinyou was much calmer.
Two thousand taels was a lot, but compared to how little Kou Qingqing's family wealth was, it was still far from the 60% she promised Xiaolian.
Not long after Xiaolian was excited, she became worried again: "Two thousand taels is a lot, but for such a big bookstore, it won't be able to sustain it for long if it keeps losing money, right?"
"Then work hard to make a profit." Xin You patted Xiaolian's arm and told her not to worry.
"Then there must be a good story. It's all that poor scholar's fault. He writes nonsense and speaks ill of our bookstore everywhere. Girl, why don't you let someone stop him?"
"It's okay. He said it everywhere, and others will remember our bookstore." Xin You took out a manuscript from the hidden compartment on the car wall and handed it to Xiaolian.
"This is-" Xiaolian took it curiously.
"You take a look first."
Xiaolian's first glance fell on the title of the book. There were only two words: "Painted Skin".
This name is so weird, what does it mean?
Xiaolian read on with curiosity, and soon forgot to even blink.
"Xiaolian——"
When they arrived at Qingsong Bookstore, Xinyou called out to the enchanted little maid, but there was no response from the other party.
She had no choice but to tug on Xiaolian's sleeves: "Xiaolian, get off the car."
Xiaolian woke up from a dream, staring at Xinyou with burning eyes, her voice trembling with excitement: "Girl, where did this story come from?"
"Does it look good?" Xin You asked.
"It's beautiful! It's so beautiful!" Xiaolian completely forgot about getting out of the car, "Ah ah ah, what happened next? Why didn't you finish the story?"
Xiaolian's incoherent words made Xinyou feel more at ease.
It seems that the stories she likes are indeed popular.
"The story is divided into upper and lower parts, and now there is only the upper part."
"Only the upper part?" Xiaolian looked in disbelief, "Then, when will there be a lower part?"
Xin You smiled: "Wait until the upper part is released. If it sells well, then the lower part will be released."
Xiaolian burst into tears: "It will take a long time to know what Wang Sheng saw from the window..."
"Others have to wait a long time, Xiaolian, you don't have to wait."
Xiaolian looked confused.
Xin You smiled: "I know what the lower part said."
"Ah, girl, tell your servant quickly!"
"Wang Sheng peeked in from the window and found that the stunning woman he rescued turned out to be a green-skinned evil ghost who was carefully drawing on human skin with a colored pen..."
"Hiss - ah -" Xiaolian listened intently, her emotions fluctuating as the story progressed, covering her mouth from time to time and exclaiming.
When Xin You finished telling the story of "Painted Skin", Xiaolian was stunned for a long time and grabbed Xin You's sleeve: "Girl, this story is so attractive. Although it is a bit scary, it is more romantic than those flower demons, fox fairies and scholars. The story is much more interesting!”
"This story should be popular, right?"
"Definitely!" Xiaolian's face turned red with excitement, "It will definitely be more popular than Mr. Ping An's story!"
"hope so."
Xiaolian suddenly reacted: "Girl, where did this story come from? Ah, you couldn't have written it yourself, right?"
Looking down at the elegant font, the little maid's eyes sparkled: "Girl, you can actually write a book!"
Xin You shook his head: "I didn't write it."
"It's not you?" Xiaolian was stunned, "Who is that?"
She spends all day with the girl, how come she doesn’t know where this manuscript came from!
"The person who wrote this story is Mr. Song Ling. I grew up listening to his stories. I happened to open a bookstore, so I wrote the stories he told so that everyone can see them."
"So that's it." Xiaolian wanted to ask where Mr. Songling was, but thinking of the girl's mystery, she suppressed the question.
No matter where Mr. Songling is, it is enough for her to have stories to listen to.
Xin You whispered: "I will hand the manuscript to Shopkeeper Hu later, and then..."
Xiaolian nodded from time to time.
The two got off the carriage and went straight to the bookstore in front of them without rushing back to the east courtyard.
Shopkeeper Hu was staring at each other with his waiter.
In just a few days, those who were selling stories and those who were just joining in the fun disappeared, as fast as a dream.
"Shopkeeper, how about I put a sack on that poor scholar and beat him up."
"Don't mess around, the boss has his own opinions."
"What does the boss have to say? So far, there's not even a trace of a good story."
"I don't know. Anyway, my boss has his own opinions. Let me tell you, my boss is not an ordinary person."
The waiter immediately became energetic: "Why is my boss no longer an ordinary person? Tell me quickly."
"Oh, that can't be said."
Guy: "..." Why don't you beat the shopkeeper's sack?
"My boss." Upon seeing Xin You, shopkeeper Hu rushed to greet her.
"Shopkeeper, come inside and talk."
After entering the room on one side, Xin You handed over the manuscript: "The shopkeeper, take a look."
"This is -" Shopkeeper Hu had a guess in his mind and took the manuscript and couldn't wait to read it.
Time passed little by little, and Xin You waited patiently.
I don’t know how much time passed, but Shopkeeper Hu suddenly woke up. His hands were shaking so much that he could hardly hold the manuscript: “Master, where did you get this?”
"On the way back to Shaoqing's Mansion, I met a gentleman. He knew that I was the owner of Qingsong Bookstore, so he showed it to me. I thought the story was good, so I bought it. What did the shopkeeper think?"
"This story will definitely be a hit!" Shopkeeper Hu excitedly slapped the table.
Xin You curled her lips: "It's good that I didn't lose sight."
"But the story isn't over yet, what about the rest?" Shopkeeper Hu asked impatiently.
"The gentleman said he hasn't finished writing the rest yet and will come find me when he finishes."
"What do you call that gentleman?"
"He calls himself Mr. Songling."
Shopkeeper Hu sighed: "I have never heard of such a talented book writer in the capital."
"Maybe he just came to the capital."
"Why don't Mr. Songling come directly to the bookstore?"
Xin You shook his head: "Mr. Songling didn't want anyone to know his identity. I promised him not to reveal it, so he handed the manuscript to me. The shopkeeper doesn't need to think too much. The most important thing is that the bookstore has good stories for sale. .”
"My boss is right." Shopkeeper Hu was so excited that he turned around and suddenly stopped, "My boss, what did Mr. Wang see from the window?"
The first half of "Painted Skin" stops when Wang Sheng becomes suspicious after hearing what the Taoist priest said about him being surrounded by evil spirits. He quietly returns to his study and peeks in from the window. It stops at a heart-wrenching place.
"Then we'll have to wait until the second half of Mr. Songling's book comes out to find out."
When Shopkeeper Hu heard this, he felt like he was struck by lightning: "How can anyone sleep like this!"
Xinyou: "..."
Xiaolian patted her chest quietly.
Fortunately, fortunately, she is the girl's maid!
Thinking of Shopkeeper Hu's heart-wrenching mood, Xiaolian felt deep sympathy.
But Shopkeeper Hu didn't care about being curious about the plot behind it, hid the manuscript in his arms, and handed it to Xin You: "I will go to the printing shop now and arrange for the printing!"
The clerk Liu Zhou was almost asleep alone in the lobby when he saw shopkeeper Hu come out of the side room and go back because the wind was blowing on his feet.
What are you doing, shopkeeper? Why are you flying?
(End of chapter)
