"Mr. Lang, it's my concubine who is causing this trouble."
After seeing Mr. Hou leave, Zhongniang slowly lowered her head.
"Just some little things."
Xu Hanliang didn't take this matter to heart.
The only thing he was curious about was why Mr. Hou had the ability to participate in the Nine Academy Poetry Association.
Mr. Hou should be studying in Tianyi Academy. This academy is ranked among the top among the Nine Academy.
If it weren't for the relationship entrusted by Magistrate Hou, Mr. Hou would never have been able to enter the academy.
Who would have known that he not only entered, but also participated in this poetry meeting, which really puzzled Xu Hanliang.
Looking at his arrogant look, he didn't seem to be worried at all about making a fool of himself in the poetry gathering.
But this was not what Xu Hanliang should have thought about. Instead, he picked up the manuscript paper on the table and handed it to Zhongniang.
Xu Hanliang smiled slightly: "Mother, these are some things I wrote in my spare time. If you are bored at home, you can take a look."
"The Romance of the West Chamber."
Looking at the title of the book on the cover, Zhi Niang slowly read it out.
"Sir, you should focus on fame. I can chat with the sisters I met in Huanyi on weekdays. It won't be boring."
When the young lady heard this, she frowned, with a bit of complaint in her words.
Her expression was too upright. Holding the copy of "The Romance of the West Chamber", her face showed an unconcealable smile.
A few days passed by in a blink of an eye, and the day of Xiaosui arrived in the blink of an eye.
The Ninth Academy Poetry Club was held in the evening. After Xu Hanliang finished his habitual exercise, he ran towards the academy.
After more than half a month of exercise, Xu Hanliang's body has finally become much stronger.
Compared with the weak scholar's physique before, it is already much better.
In this era of approaching chaos, the body is often even more important than the brain.
If he accidentally encounters a bandit who is robbing his house when he goes out, an ordinary scholar will die immediately if he cannot resist.
If you are physically stronger, you can resist and then die.
After arriving at the academy, Xu Hanliang learned that Mr. Fan did not come here to play chess because an old friend came to visit.
Xu Hanliang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the news.
On the Qinchuan River, several painted boats have been decorated with lights and colors, temporarily spliced together to welcome the evening poetry meeting.
The Nine-Yuan Poetry Festival is held in different cities every year. The last time the Nine-Yuan Poetry Festival was held was nine years ago.
Therefore, Changshu paid great attention to this Nine-Yuan Poetry Conference, and the Yamen took the lead, making it a grand event.
Along the way, there were many brothel girls who greeted Xu Hanliang enthusiastically, which made Xu Hanliang feel embarrassed.
The reason why these brothel girls frequently glanced at Xu Hanliang was not because Xu Hanliang was obsessed with having fun in the Qinlou Chu Pavilion these days, but because of his young mother.
A few days ago, after giving the copy of "The Romance of the West Chamber" to Zhiniang, Zhiniang had to carry it with her even when she went out to wash clothes by the river.
She was laughed at in good faith by her little sisters.
The young mother also told the story in the book while washing her clothes.
There isn't much entertainment in this era, but "The Romance of the West Chamber" really fascinated those women.
The story of Cui Yingying and Zhang Sheng sounds like science fiction in this feudal era.
In just a few days, many women knew about it, and some even wanted to buy Zhong Niang's copy of "The Romance of the West Chamber".
Naturally, the young mother didn't want to hand over her husband's things, so she just borrowed a copy from someone else.
The moonlight is melting in the night, and the flowers are still in the shadows of spring. How can I face the bright soul without seeing the man in the moon?
There will be no separation forever, and we will play together forever. May all sentient beings in the world become dependents!
These charming words in the book became common words in the mouths of the brothel girls after they heard them.
Within a few days, Xu Hanliang became a talented man in the eyes of prostitutes.
But the talent in the eyes of a prostitute is not necessarily a good thing for the author himself.
The last person to be so praised by a romantic woman was Liu Sanbian, who was commissioned to write lyrics during the reign of Renzong.
But Liu Sanbian finally ended up having to be helped by Fengchennv.
He barely passed the Jinshi list, but his name was deliberately crossed out by Renzong with the saying "I tolerate the false reputation and sing in a low voice instead of pouring it lightly".
Of course, the current emperor was different from Renzong.
Zhao Ji, the Hunde Gong who could be called the "Emperor of Brothel", might actually appreciate these sentences.
Xu Hanliang was just shy of the teasing of these prostitutes, but he had no prejudice against them.
Nor do they think that their profession is an insult to elegance.
These days, Xu Hanliang wrote a book in his spare time at home, but it has not spread yet.
As soon as he returned home, Xu Hanliang saw several men waiting for money at the gate of the small courtyard.
Xu Hanliang didn't understand, could he find gold at his door? Why was everyone waiting outside the door?
"Mr. Xu, I am a bookseller from Ruiyun Bookstore."
"Sir, I am a bookseller from Xiangfeng Bookstore."
"Sir, I am a bookseller from Jinbang Bookstore."
…
Before he even entered the house, the men surrounded him one after another.
Upon hearing the identities of their booksellers, Xu Hanliang immediately understood their intentions.
As early as the Song Dynasty, there was already a sense of copyright.
Coupled with the emergence of capitalism, the emergence of copyright awareness led to the emergence of bookstores.
Although there is no copyright protection law, there are industry regulations among these bookstores.
However, it is certainly impossible to stop rampant piracy simply by relying on regulations between industries.
Only a few people can afford genuine books.
And women who can read and write are definitely an army of untapped purchasing power.
Because of this, these booksellers saw opportunities.
Seeing the people gathered around him, Xu Hanliang immediately distanced himself.
He smiled helplessly: "What do you want to do?"
"Sir, if your book "The Romance of the West Chamber" cooperates with our bookstore, I will give you 30% of the profit."
"Thirty percent? I think you are sending a beggar away. Our Jinbang Bookstore can give you 50% of the profit."
"How can you two small bookstores compete with our Ruiyun Bookstore? If the young master is willing, you will sell "The Romance of the West Chamber" to me for fifty taels of silver."
…
After hearing their words, Xu Hanliang naturally understood their purpose.
I didn’t expect that a novel I wrote casually could actually make a small amount of money.
The young lady standing at the door couldn't help but feel a little confused when she saw this scene.
In his impression, only those with great talents can win the favor of bookstores.
Now that these booksellers are coming here in droves, doesn’t it mean that my husband is already a great talent?
Thinking of this, the young mother couldn't help but feel happy, even happier than making a small amount of money.
Xu Hanliang was also a little annoyed by the harassment from these booksellers.
But now we really need money, and my father is still in jail.
No matter what happens during the Chinese New Year, you still have to go in and take a look.
If you want to enter the prison, you need at least dozens of taels of silver.
Although he was a little irritable, Xu Hanliang still patiently signed a contract with one of the bookstores.
It was a one-time contract, and the price was raised to eighty taels by Xu Hanliang.
In the end, I negotiated the price because I was degrading and didn't want to be contaminated by the smell of copper.