Shopkeeper Peng set the price of a volume of "The Romance of the West Chamber" at five hundred words. This price is a bit more expensive than other novels on the market, but it is not much more expensive.
Movable type printing has been around for more than a hundred years, and papermaking has also made great progress. This has resulted in Chen Guo's book printing industry being very developed, but it is only compared to a hundred years ago. In general, the cost of printing books is still
Not bad. Things like books are still not affordable for ordinary people.
Five hundred coins is a huge sum of money for poor people, but most of those who can read and digit are not poor people. In this capital, there are a lot of people who are willing to spend five hundred coins to buy a volume of novels.
Shopkeeper Peng looked at him and said: "The price of five hundred coins can only last for five days. The bookstores on this street have all set their sights on our "West Chamber". In five days, they will be able to print it themselves.
Once it is produced, our prices will drop by then..."
There is no awareness of copyright in this world. If you want to make money by printing books, you have to seize the opportunity. Once piracy comes out, you won't be able to make much money.
Here, most of the people who make a living by writing books are failed scholars who make ends meet.
Therefore, Tang Ning did not even think about printing "The Romance of the West Chamber" at once. By the time other bookshops printed the first and second volumes of "The Romance of the West Chamber", the third volume of Songzhuzhai had already been printed, and others got the third volume.
After three volumes, it took another five days to type, print, and sell it, and five days later, the fourth volume of Songzhuzhai was just released.
As long as Songzhuzhai can maintain a lead of one volume, it can seize most of the market in the capital. By the time others print it, it will already be a plot that most people have seen.
Although there are still some losses and regrets, when they eat meat, they have to leave some soup for others to drink, otherwise, those jealous guys don't know what kind of trouble will happen.
"Young master is really foresighted." A lot of money came into his account in the past two days. The fat on Shopkeeper Peng's face was trembling. He smiled and said: "I will soon have someone put up a sign at the door with the opening of the third volume written on it."
Sales time, and then let people seize the time to publish..."
Shopkeeper Peng's attitude towards him had already undergone a 180-degree turn. Tang Ning handed him the manuscript for the third volume, and he immediately took it and arranged it.
Soon he came back and said, "Do you want to settle the profits for the past two days with the young master first?"
Tangning shook her head and said, "From now on, we'll just settle by roll."
Shopkeeper Peng nodded and said, "Then we will do as the master said, once every five days."
Tang Ning walked out of Songzhu Zhai and looked back at the long queue at the door of the bookstore. She was still satisfied.
It is indeed much more convenient to leave this kind of thing to a dedicated person. On the second day of the sale of "The West Chamber", there was such a grand event. I think shopkeeper Peng also did a lot of publicity.
Tang Yaoyao stood beside him, holding an illustrated copy of "The Romance of the West Chamber" printed by Songzhufang. She looked at Tang Ning and said, "Miss Li Qing, let me see how you explain it to Xiaoyi then."
"If you don't tell me, if I don't tell you, how could Xiaoyi know?" Tangning glanced at her and said, "Maybe she has forgotten Li Qing."
Although there was an exchange of letters with Xiaoyi once as Li Qing, there has been no contact since then. Maybe she has long forgotten Tang Yaojing's distant cousin.
Tang Yaoyao looked at him and said: "Uncle Xu received a letter from Lingzhou this morning. It was from my father. He said in the letter that Uncle Zhong and Xiao Yi had already left for Beijing.
.”
Although it will be slower for those bringing their families with them to Beijing, in terms of time, they will arrive in the capital in mid-February at the latest.
By that time, he can no longer live in Hongxiu Pavilion.
He still needs to seize the time to make money. Judging from the current situation, by the time "The West Chamber" is finished, he will probably be able to save enough money to buy a big house in the capital.
In addition, Tangning also thought of something.
When he moves out of Hongxiu Pavilion, if that room is occupied, Su Hu will have no place to sleep. There are extra rooms in Hongxiu Pavilion anyway, so why not let Shopkeeper Xu free up the room so that she can have a place to rest.
After saying Su Huxu, Su Huxu arrived. Tangning returned to the room and saw her sitting at the table. Tang Yaoying was still down there and had not come up. Tangning closed the door. Su Mei looked at him and smiled: "You are quite afraid of that little girl."
It’s a fairy…”
Tangning did not continue the topic, walked up and asked, "Why didn't you sleep today?"
"I can't sleep." Su Mei looked at the bed in the corner and said with some nostalgia: "I'm leaving Beijing soon. I came here to tell you."
"Leaving Beijing?" Tangning looked at her in surprise and asked, "Where are you going and will you come back?"
Su Mei smiled at him, her voice suddenly softened, and asked: "Why, are you reluctant to leave me?"
Tangning glanced at her and asked, "Who is this person?"
"What a charming guy..." Su Mei looked at him and said, "Don't worry, I'm just going out to Beijing to do some things. It can take at least a month or at most a few months. I hope that by the time I come back, I'll be fine."
I called you Number One Scholar..."
Tang Ning didn't have many friends in the capital. The only one who could play cards with him was Su Mei. She was suddenly away from the capital for such a long time. He was a little surprised. After thinking about it, he looked at her and said, "You are a girl outside."
be safe."
Having said that, Su Huhu cannot be treated as a woman at all. On the contrary, he should be more careful when meeting his men. If he is not careful, he will fall under her pomegranate skirt and cannot distinguish between east and west.
"Girl?" Su Mei couldn't help laughing: "Sister is no longer a girl..."
Tang Ning still remembered the last time she fell asleep holding her arms and looked like she was going to kill him when she woke up - she was obviously an inexperienced little girl, but she still had to pretend to have experienced the world.
Since she couldn't beat her, Tangning didn't bother to expose him.
Su Mei looked at him and said, "You have to take the exam well. I wonder if the No. 1 Scholar's bed will be different when you sleep on it..."
Tang Yaoyao knocked on the door outside and asked, "Who are you talking to?"
Su Mei waved to him one last time and disappeared from the window.
Tang Ning opened the door, and Tang Yaoyao peeked inside and asked, "I thought I heard a woman's voice inside just now."
"You heard me wrong..." Tangning shook her head, looked at her, and said, "You are just too idle and you are hearing hallucinations. If it's okay, I'll teach you how to play mahjong. You can kill time when you get bored in the future...
"
…
In the blink of an eye, another ten days have passed, and five volumes of the book "The West Chamber" have been published. The plot is getting better and better, and a "West Chamber" craze has gradually started in the capital.
The story of Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying touches the heartstrings of countless people. Many young men and women in Beijing regard it as a classic. Several volumes of "The West Chamber" have also become the pillow books of countless women in the boudoir.
Which girl has not fantasized about having a husband who is right for her? It may be a handsome young man who comes to them on a white horse, or it may be a talented man who is full of knowledge and recites poems across the wall. This is the dream they weave for themselves.
, although after waking up from the dream, I still have to accept the orders of my parents, the words of the matchmaker, and spend the rest of my life with a person who does not know his appearance or his conduct.
Now, this talented man named Li Qing writes their dreams on paper. What they read is Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying, but what they think of is themselves.
For a time, no matter whether they were ladies from famous families or ordinary women in the capital, they all talked about the West Chamber whenever they got together...
There are praises and criticisms, and many people think that women should read books such as "The Precepts of Women" and "The Training of Women". The book "The West Chamber" describes a scholar climbing a wall to have a secret meeting with a lady, and the lady sneaks into the scholar's room.
Spending the night in the middle of the night is a bad behavior that corrupts morals and disregards etiquette. There are also increasing numbers of people treating "The West Chamber" as a cancer.
However, regardless of praise or criticism, the sales of the book "The West Chamber" have become even more popular.
Tangning was in the Red Sleeve Pavilion and couldn't hear the sound outside. When everyone had mixed opinions about "The Romance of the West Chamber", he was calculating the ledger in the room. After finishing the calculation, he sat on the bed and counted the money.
Putting down the account book, he pushed a pile of banknotes aside and murmured: "That's not right, there are two taels of silver missing..."
