Today happens to be the day for marking papers, and the exams for the three subjects have already been completed.
Because of this, Xu Hanliang came to Hangzhou Bookstore with the manuscript of "Journey to the West".
The bookstores in Hangzhou are much larger than those in Changshu.
The bookseller looked at the young man in front of him and didn't care.
"The article is a good one, so how much do you want it for?"
The bookseller from Hangzhou Bookstore looked at the "Journey to the West" in his hand and spoke slowly.
Booksellers didn't pay much attention to such young people.
As a bookseller in a large bookstore, I receive many young people who come to publish books every day.
He also knows that most of these young people are very ambitious, and the price they want to pay will naturally not be too low.
"Thirty-seven points."
Xu Hanliang thought for a moment before giving the price.
"Young man, it's not a good thing to be too ambitious. Your book may not be able to sell for a good price, are you sure that's the case?"
After hearing this price, the bookseller was obviously not very satisfied with Xu Hanliang's price.
"Your Majesty, you misunderstood. When I said 37%, I got 70% and you got 30%."
Xu Hanliang smiled faintly.
…
"A little scholar, who is not even a qualified scholar, dares to ask for such a high price. It is really wishful thinking."
After the bookseller sent Xu Hanliang out, he muttered.
Xu Hanliang naturally heard these words in the book.
But after coming out of Hangzhou Bookstore, he didn't feel angry.
As the saying goes, business cannot be done without justice, and next to the Hangzhou Bookstore, there is a smaller bookstore.
After Xu Hanliang thought for a few seconds, he walked into this smaller bookstore.
Compared with the huge Hangzhou Bookstore, the bookstore in front of you is only about one-tenth of its size.
Rather than saying it is a bookstore, it is better to say it is a study room.
And at the door, a middle-aged man was sitting there dejectedly.
"Brother, I wonder if the bookstore here can accept manuscripts?"
Looking at the middle-aged man in front of him, Xu Hanliang asked politely.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man looked up.
After discovering that he was just a young man, there was a bit of sadness between his eyebrows.
"Scholar, our bookstore is just a small bookstore, and it is about to close now. You'd better go to the Hangzhou Bookstore next door and have a look."
The middle-aged man sighed softly and continued.
"Closing business?"
Xu Hanliang was a little confused.
"We are a small business. After Hangzhou Bookstore opened here two years ago, our bookstore's business has become worse and worse."
The middle-aged man has a good temper. Even though he is irritable now, he explains patiently.
"Then have you ever thought about selling this bookstore?"
Xu Hanliang suddenly asked.
In fact, this was also a sudden idea of Xu Hanliang.
Instead of selling these manuscripts to booksellers, I might as well open my own bookstore.
You can tell at first glance that the bookstore in front of you is a small bookstore, and it shouldn’t cost much to acquire it.
Xu Hanliang already has some capital now. Under this premise, he can buy a bookstore by himself.
The royalties from those two books, plus the money provided to me by the MSG manufacturing company, were enough to buy a bookstore.
The boss, who was still frowning at first, slowly raised his head after hearing this sentence: "What? You want to acquire our bookstore?"
"It just so happens that I have a book that I want to publish. If you have this intention, just set a price."
Xu Hanliang thought for a moment and then said.
"One hundred and fifty taels."
After thinking for a while, the boss gave a price that he knew from the bottom of his heart.
"No problem, but I don't have that much money with me. I'll give you fifty taels first, and you can engrave part of my book."
Xu Hanliang handed the manuscript to the bookseller and said immediately.
The bookseller still looked confused and had no idea what was going on.
At the same time, Xu Hanliang took out fifty taels of silver from his luggage and placed it in front of the bookseller.
"Your Excellency, what is your surname?"
The bookseller asked blankly.
"Xu Hanliang."
Xu Hanliang replied casually.
"Xu Hanliang?"
After hearing the name, the bookseller's face showed a hint of ecstasy.
Because he has heard this name too many times recently.
Among these bookstores, Xu Hanliang's name is like a money tree.
Not to mention the hot-selling book "The West Chamber", even the "Palace of Eternal Life" he wrote later is also very popular now.
These two books have become very popular among bookstalls and bookstores.
Thinking of this, he quickly glanced at the manuscript in his hand.
"'Journey to the West'? Is this the sequel to 'The West Chamber'?"
He looked at the "Journey to the West" in his hand and spoke slowly.
Xu Hanliang showed a wry smile on his face: "This book cannot be said to be exactly the same as "The Romance of the West Chamber", or it can be said to have nothing to do with it."
"How do you feel about the kind of cooperation I just mentioned?"
If the bookseller didn't know Xu Hanliang's identity, he would most likely doubt whether he was here to cause trouble.
But after knowing his identity, he agreed instantly.
He has also seen the original manuscript of "The West Chamber", and the notes in the original manuscript are exactly the same as this "Journey to the West".
And he also flipped through the "Journey to the West" and found that the story in the entire "Journey to the West" was also extremely exciting.
Just the first few chapters are already fascinating and have a lot of foreshadowing.
And Xu Hanliang also put forward his own ideas, and the novel was serialized.
As soon as he said this idea, it immediately aroused the bookseller's doubts.
This era itself was dominated by short stories, and most of them were submitted in one go only after they were written.
He has never heard of any serial novels. This must be the first time he has heard of them.
Regarding Xu Hanliang's idea, he actually had some objections in his heart.
But looking at Xu Hanliang's confident look, he still did not voice his objections.
According to the bookseller, if the novel wants to be completely printed, it will probably take three or two days.
If you want to sell it on a large scale, it will take about a week.
Regarding this point, Xu Hanliang was completely indifferent.
A week later, he must have returned to Changshu.
He wanted to go to Wu County again with Zhimiang.
His father will be sent to the capital soon, and Xu Hanliang must go to see him again.
Xu Youdao's lackluster words before also left Xu Hanliang confused. This time he also wanted to ask more questions.
He firmly believes that the sales volume of his "Journey to the West" should not be too bad.
After finishing this matter, Xu Hanliang returned home.