Hearing this, the waiter looked confused and puzzled.
"Get ready to copy books!"
Li Mo said.
Time waits for no one. Not only do you have no money in your books, but you still have to pay the rent. You don't have that much time to be pretentious and entangled. Moreover, you have to make enough money in the shortest possible time to expand your power and manpower.
The early appearance of "The Story of Liu Yi" made the time when the Anshi Rebellion appeared full of uncertainty.
Who knows when An Lushan will lead his troops into the Central Plains.
"Copying books? Our book club currently does not have a book writer..."
Guys have a meal.
"I write it myself!"
While he was talking, Li Mo was already sitting at the desk.
"The Biography of Liu Yi" compiles stories from the Yifeng period. If I remember correctly, the later famous "Journey to the West" tells stories from the Zhenguan period, which fits perfectly and gives a stronger sense of immersion.
As long as the scenes involving Emperor Zhenguan are blurred or flattered, there will be no problem.
"Ah? You want to write a book again?"
When he heard that Li Mo wanted to write it himself, the clerk couldn't help but stare.
It's now time. In his opinion, what Moran Publishing House needs to do most now is to find a way to sell these manuscripts at normal prices.
Besides, my boss used to write a lot, but as a result... no matter whether it was poetry, music, or romance, he couldn't sell a single one, which shows his ability.
Just now I saw the boss happily agreeing to Xu Shan's agreement, and I thought he had a good idea for selling books.
Unexpectedly... I actually have to write it myself.
"Well! Hurry up and get ready."
Li Mo has already started grinding.
With my current memory, there is no problem in writing down the entire "Journey to the West". I have to give it a try and say nothing if it doesn't work. But what if it works?
"But...but...Lang Jun, we don't have any extra paper now. Even if you write it out..."
Come back to your senses,
When the waiter saw that Li Mo had already relaxed his posture, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Huh? Don't have any extra paper? You can buy it! The book club also has a hundred copper coins, so I should be able to buy some."
Li Mo waved his hand and began to recall the opening chapter of "Journey to the West" in his mind.
"Lang Jun, it's not that I don't want to buy it, but Yunyi Book Company's "The Legend of Liu Yi" is so popular that they are currently hand-copying it. They have already reserved the goods for Xuanyang Paper Factory one month in advance, and the price is not low!"
The boy sighed.
In the past, a roll of white linen paper only cost fifty cents, but now, because of Yunyi Bookstore, a roll has to sell for at least a hundred cents.
The manuscript is extremely paper-consuming, and the story is slightly longer, not even one volume is enough.
"This...what should we do?"
Li Mo paused, and the hand he was grinding stopped.
It's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. Without paper, stories alone won't do.
In my memory, the boss of Xuanyang Paper Shop was a snob. When the bookstore first opened, business was very easy to do, and he would even come to visit him every now and then. However, later he saw that the business of Moran Bookstore was not good, and he would always go to pick up paper later.
Settlement is done on site and there is no possibility of credit.
Since the Emperor moved to Chang'an, the Western Capital, many large paper mills have followed. Currently, Xuanyang Paper Mill is the only one selling white linen paper in the Eastern Capital. The others are all small paper mills, selling only cowhide and miscellaneous paper.
If you don’t find Xuanyang Paper Mill, you can only go to Xidu to buy paper.
"Lang Jun, please be careful... You can slow down the writing of the book for a while... Why don't you sell the existing manuscripts first?"
The man whispered his suggestion again.
"Sell existing codex?"
Li Mo shook his head.
These manuscripts could not be sold before, not to mention that now that "The Legend of Liu Yi" is so popular, it is almost impossible to sell them in a short period of time.
what to do?
For a time, Li Mo also fell into a dilemma, he could not learn "Dream of Red Mansions" and write it on the stone.
"Cooking cakes! Freshly baked cooking cakes...one piece is worth a penny..."
Just when the master and the servant were silent for a while, a traveling merchant on the street passed by the door of the bookstore and heard the sound of hawking.
"Cooking cake?"
Li Mo suddenly had a thought. It wasn't the pancakes that attracted him, but the cries.
Since we don’t have money to buy paper now, can we change the way and tell the story of "Journey to the West" in the form of storyteller first? It would not be too late to make handwritten copies after earning some reward money.
The more he thought about it, the more Li Mo thought it was feasible.
There are many street performers in the Tang Dynasty, and there are also many people who give rewards. As long as the speech is exciting, there will definitely be people who will support them.
Turning around and looking at the book club that had almost nowhere to stay, Li Mo had an idea in his mind and said: "Xiao Hai, go prepare a gong and move the book case to the door of the book club!"
"Bring the book case to the door? Sir, do you want to sell books? Great!"
Upon hearing this, the man was overjoyed.
This was how it used to be when selling manuscripts. The clerk would bang the gong and shout, and the boss would recommend the manuscripts to passing scholars and passers-by.
"It's not about selling books, it's about telling books! I just happened to have a big story in mind called "The Legend of Journey to the West". Since I don't have any paper, I might as well tell it first and see if I can earn some reward money."
After thinking about it, Li Mo got up and started packing his things.
In my impression, those gentlemen who give lectures also need a piece of wood in addition to their writing desks. As for robes? What I wear is a robe.
"Ah? Teaching books? Is this okay?"
The guy stared.
He had never seen this method before and didn't dare to think about it.
Normally, a writer would have to revise the manuscript several times before letting the clerks copy it. Now, if he just expresses an idea directly, he is afraid that it will be full of loopholes and no one will hear it.
"How will you know if you don't try? If it doesn't work, then find a way to sell the original copies!"
"Then...okay! Go get ready now, little one."
The waiter sighed,
No matter whether my boss's idea comes to fruition or not, he can only treat it like a dead horse. At worst, he will also move out those manuscripts when moving the desk.
........
As time passed, the sun was almost turning to the west, and the East Capital and West Market became increasingly lively. It was still an hour before the market closed in the evening drum, and the people and literati were all thinking about buying the necessary items before the market closed.
Boom boom boom!
At this time, a rapid sound of gongs on the edge of the West Market attracted the attention of many people and literati.
"Everyone, take a look, take a look, the owner of Moran Book Club is opening the door to give a lecture on "Journey to the West", don't miss it if you pass by..."
At the same time, the waiter's voice sounded and spread far away.
"Moran Book Club?"
"It's the bookstore next to the West Market. I heard that the owner is a concubine of the Li family in the Western Capital. Since the bookstore has never had any good-looking manuscripts, it can hardly continue to operate."
"That's it!"
"That's boring! You can't get anything good out of handwritten manuscripts, let alone lectures! It's better to spend more time and borrow "The Biography of Liu Yi". I heard that this "The Biography of Liu Yi" is very good. The daughter of Yuan Wang cried after reading it.
It was so messed up that I even gave Mr. Chaowei from Yunyi Publishing House a reward of 20 taels of silver."
"No, I've only heard of them selling manuscripts before. This is the first time I've seen this lecture. Anyway, if it doesn't sound good, just leave without spending any money. Besides, it's hard to find the book "Liu Yi Biography" right now, so there's no place to borrow it.
.”
"That's right, you can go and watch the fun without spending any money!"
"That's right, let's see what he can talk about?"
then,
After half a stick of incense, under the sound of gongs and the shouts of waiters, it didn't take long for the common people, literati, and scholars passing by to surround the door of Moran Bookstore.
