Hearing Bai Song's title, he felt that Mr. Bai was more familiar with Miss Chen than he was with himself, and a hint of jealousy arose in his heart.
But then I thought again, they are both from Jixian County, Youzhou, and they must be old acquaintances.
But what is the relationship between these two people?
Chen Xirong was in a daze for a while, then came back to her senses, met Bai Song's eyes, raised the corners of her mouth, and smiled.
This kind of smile is not a shy smile, but more like a playful smile between brothers who have not seen each other for a long time.
"Bai Song, when did you return to Chang'an?"
"It's been a month since I came back."
"I've been back for a month, but I haven't come to see my old friend. What I said today is easy to find. I must have something to ask for."
Bai Song was poked at the central point and smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to answer.
Chen Xirong sighed, her expression softened a bit, and she pointed to the table in the center of the corridor: "Sit down and talk about anything."
Everyone looked at the two people.
Bai Song was the only young man present today, so he naturally attracted the attention of the girls.
Everyone was more curious about the relationship between Sister Xirong and Mr. Bai. Everyone gathered around as if they had discovered a new world.
"Tell me, what do you want from me?" Chen Xirong asked with a smile after sitting down.
Bai Song waved his hand and asked Shishi to bring over the manuscript of "A Dream of Red Mansions".
Bai Song put the manuscript on the table: "I have a set of manuscripts on hand, and I want to use the relationship with Chen's Bookstore to sell them."
"A Dream of Red Mansions?"
Chen Xirong frowned slightly, "Did you write it?"
"It was written by a friend of mine. The author's name is Cao Xueqin."
"Cao Xueqin? Who has heard of it?" Chen Xirong turned around and asked a group of girls.
The girls all shook their heads.
"It's not famous yet, but this book is really good."
"Chen's Publishing House naturally has no choice in books that can be recognized by the great talents of the Song Dynasty. This is a trivial matter, just leave it to me."
With that said, Chen Xirong was about to put the manuscript away.
Bai Song pressed the manuscript on the table and said seriously: "This manuscript is no worse than The Romance of the Three Kingdoms!"
After saying this sentence, Chen Xirong's expression became serious.
Not worse than Romance of the Three Kingdoms?
What kind of praise is this?
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms has already become the number one bestseller across the Tang Dynasty. It is unprecedented and unprecedented. This set of books alone supports half of the world of Chen's Publishing House.
Without Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Chen's Publishing House would not be what it is today!
Chen's Bookstore's current traffic all comes from the Three Kingdoms.
The people of Chang'an don't know who wrote The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, how could she, Chen Xirong, not know?
In Chen Xirong's opinion, at this time, no novel can surpass the Three Kingdoms.
But now the author of the Three Kingdoms has personally said that this Dream of Red Mansions is no worse than the Three Kingdoms?
Chen Xirong understood that she had underestimated Bai Song's purpose of coming today. This was not a trivial matter.
Here comes your opportunity, the Chen family’s opportunity, and the book club’s opportunity!
"Mr. Bai, have you ever said this?" A girl said in dissatisfaction, "Who doesn't know that The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the number one story-telling novel in the world? Although our girls don't like reading it very much, we don't know that this book is in the hearts of those men.
status! Even if this Dream of Red Mansions was written by Mr. Bai’s friend, no one would believe that it surpasses Three Kingdoms."
"Yes, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a novel known to everyone in the world. It is unprecedented. Even many teachers are fascinated by it."
"No, this Dream of Red Mansions is really no worse than Three Kingdoms!" Shishi couldn't help but explain seriously, "I've read part of it, and it's really good..."
Bai Song said to the girls: "Don't be impatient. When this book comes out, everyone will have their own opinions after reading it. In Bai's heart, this book is more exciting than the Three Kingdoms!"
Chen Xirong suddenly stood up and said seriously to Miss Hou: "Miss Hou, can I borrow the study room?"
Miss Hou nodded blankly.
Chen Xirong left Taoyuan with Bai Song, went to the study room of the Hou Mansion, closed the door, and left the two of them alone to talk about things.
Chen Xirong looked at the thick pile of manuscripts, frowned and asked, "Is this book really better than the Three Kingdoms?"
"inevitable!"
inevitable?
Two words made Chen Xirong perk up.
She knew who Bai Song was, and the book that received such praise from Bai Song was by no means an ordinary person.
Chen Xirong said nothing and carefully read the first page.
Then turn to the last page.
A few minutes later, Chen Xirong frowned: "Why is there no ending?"
"The number of chapters is a fragment, only the first eighty chapters."
"A fragment? If it's a fragment, I'm afraid the book will have flaws."
"Even if it is a fragment, it is better than the Three Kingdoms. Believe me, once this book is published, the sensation will be no less than that of the Three Kingdoms."
Bai Song said seriously, "To tell you the truth, I am short of money now, very short of money!"
"There are times when you are short of money? Tell me, how much is the shortage?"
Chen Xirong was quite generous. He said this because he wanted to lend money to Bai Song.
But the other party far underestimated Bai Song's appetite. Bai Song smiled and said, "Two hundred thousand taels."
"puff!"
Chen Xirong took a sip of water and stared at Bai Song with wide eyes: "Two hundred thousand taels!"
"Yes! If I hadn't been short of too much money, I wouldn't have used Dream of Red Mansions to make money."
"Do you think you can earn two hundred thousand taels of silver from a copy of Dream of Red Mansions?"
“Not bad at all.”
"You...you are really big-hearted. Tell me, someone like you should have had some ideas before looking for me."
"The book can be sold to Chen's Book Company, but the share ratio must be agreed upon first."
Chen Xirong said straightforwardly: "Chen's Bookstore has had a lot of experience in similar situations. If you want to use Chen's Bookstore's channels to sell books, most people will get a 10% profit. Needless to say, our relationship will give you a 30% profit."
.”
Bai Song smiled and quietly held the manuscript in his hand.
Chen Xirong frowned: "What? You think it's less? Then I'll give you 40%!"
Bai Song still shook his head.
"Hey, we pay for labor, materials, and costs. Can't we give you a 50-50 share?"
"It's still 91 points, I get 90%, you get 10%, otherwise there is no need to talk."
"Bai Song! Are you kidding me here?" Chen Xirong was furious. Ninety-one points? This is impossible for the whole world.
"Do you think I'm joking?" Bai Song said seriously, "91%, I earn 200,000 taels of silver, and you also have more than 20,000 taels of silver. A book sells for 20,000 taels of silver. In your book club,
Is there such a book? Moreover, this is just the beginning. I don’t think Dream of Red Mansions is a one-time deal. This book can be sold by Chen’s Book Company for a lifetime or several lifetimes.”
"Crazy! You are really crazy. You are short of money and you are not so deceptive, right?"
"Anyway, this is my condition. If you don't agree, I will find another bookstore. At worst, I will open my own bookstore. From now on, we will no longer be friends, but competitors."
"You...you threaten me!"
"Chen Xirong, you are willing to close the door and talk to me, which proves that you also realize how important this book is. If such a good book falls into the hands of anyone, it will be profitable, but it is just a question of how much or how little. We are also old friends.
, You don’t need to be so fussy about everything, I’m really short of money, and I won’t give in on this share. At worst, after Dream of Red Mansions, when I have manuscripts in the future, I’ll still let Chen’s Publishing House sell them, what do you think?”