The Farm Girl’s Charismatic Fortune
Chapter 227 - 223 Buying is Equivalent to Earning

Chapter 227: Chapter 223 Buying is Equivalent to Earning

After the paper workshop officially opened, the bookstore could begin selling paper formally.

Ruo Xuan sent Master Liu back to the Academy and then followed her father and second uncle to the bookstore.

She wanted to see the situation with the new paper on the shelves.

In the afternoon, as the slanting sun filtered through the window, she sat on a high stool specially made for her by Ruo He, her head resting on the counter, basking in the sun with her eyes half-closed as she cultivated, all the while waiting for customers to arrive.

At this moment, there wasn’t a single customer in the bookstore, and it was very quiet. Only Shopkeeper Liu was carefully arranging the books on the shelves, checking to see if any had been misplaced by customers.

It wasn’t until the sunset began to fade and the light in the bookstore dimmed, which was the time the Academy let out, that a scholar hurriedly entered.

Upon entering, he didn’t see the Shopkeeper and instead said to Ruo Xuan, "Little girl, may I take a look at the books?"

Ruo Xuan stretched lazily, answering sweetly, "Sure, brother, please feel free to browse."

The scholar bowed gratefully to Ruo Xuan.

Some impoverished scholars could not afford books and would come to read a while every day after school until the bookstore closed for the evening.

Other bookstores did not welcome such scholars, for if they read all the books, what would they buy?

Would the bookstore still do business?

However, Wenyuan Bookstore did not act in this way; they let scholars read freely because they believed that those who truly loved books would always find a way to buy them if they really liked one.

Moreover, the books at Wenyuan Bookstore offered deeper insights with each subsequent reading; casually reading a little every day did not have the same effect as buying a book and reading it thoroughly, then reviewing it repeatedly.

Ruo Xuan was not the least bit worried about not selling the books.

At that time, another scholar entered. He went straight to the shelf, picked up a book he had finished reading in the bookstore but still thought about incessantly at home, and headed to the counter to settle the account.

Ruo Xuan pointed to the paper beside her and asked sweetly, "Brother, would you like to buy some paper as well?"

Upon hearing this, the scholar glanced at the pile of paper, white as snow and soft as silk. He picked it up and felt its texture, which he found to be quite nice. Since he was planning to copy Buddhist scriptures to celebrate his grandmother’s longevity, he said, "This paper is good. Give me a hundred sheets of the three-foot size."

"Okay!"

Ruo Xuan, inexperienced and slow in her movements, tied up the book and paper the scholar had requested with hemp rope, handed them over, and said with a sweet smile, "This book is ten taels of silver, and one hundred sheets of three-foot Lianshi Paper are seventy wen, adding up to ten taels and seventy wen in total."

At her words, the scholar looked at Xuanbao, thinking she was too young and had made a mistake with the price, and reminded her with a smile, "Little girl, you might have priced the paper wrongly? Isn’t it seven hundred wen for fifty sheets, not seventy wen for a stack?"

Even at seven hundred wen, it was a bargain. Such high-quality Lianshi Paper could not be found for less than two taels per stack in other bookstores.

"No mistake! The price of paper in our bookstore is indeed seventy wen per stack for one hundred sheets. High-quality three-foot Lianshi Paper is seventy wen, four-foot is one hundred wen, five-foot is one hundred and thirty wen, six-foot is one hundred and seventy wen...."

Ruo Xuan listed the prices for each size of paper.

The larger the size of the paper, the more difficult it was to make, and the more wastage there was when peeling it off the drying walls, thereby increasing the cost, which is why the price jumped more significantly for the larger sizes.

The scholar only believed that Ruo Xuan had made a mistake, and the paper prices were invented by her; how could paper be so cheap?

If paper sold at such low prices, he could use it to wipe his backside instead of resorting to bamboo shavings!

Although his family was not vastly wealthy, he was a gentleman and would not deliberately take such advantage. "Little girl, where is the Shopkeeper? You better ask an adult how much the paper costs. Otherwise, if you sell it indiscriminately, brother is afraid that you will get spanked by your parents later on."

Ruo Xuan dismissively waved her hand with an air of superiority, "No need to worry, brother! I set the prices for this paper. Whatever I say the price per stack is, that is what it will be. My parents listen to me; they would never spank me."

The scholar was captivated by Xuanbao’s adorable and mature manner, nearly melting at her charm, and teased her, "I don’t believe you, unless you call an adult over."

Shopkeeper Liu had just gone to the back courtyard to fetch some books to restock the shelves, and now as he emerged, he overheard the exchange and understood the situation at hand.

Seeing the shopkeeper come out, the scholar hurriedly pointed to the neatly wrapped Lianshi Paper on the counter and asked, "Shopkeeper, how much is a sheet of this top-quality Lianshi Paper?"

"Seventy wen for a seven-foot sheet of top-quality Lianshi Paper," replied the shopkeeper.

The scholar: "..."

He looked at the shopkeeper’s white hair, wondering if the old man had become muddleheaded, or if there was a problem with his own ears?

Shopkeeper Liu could tell what the scholar was thinking from his expression, and with a smile, explained why the paper was sold so cheaply, "The paper at our bookstore is produced in our own workshop, so we can afford to sell it without making much profit. The purpose is to allow more scholars to buy paper and afford to read books."

"However, since the paper mill is new and doesn’t produce much, we now limit each customer to one sheet per day, on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last."

Not only was it the paper, but also the books in the bookstore would become cheaper in the future. The books currently on the shelves were expensive because they were copied on purchased paper, but the prices would go down in the future. However, the shopkeeper kept this to himself for the moment.

Ruo Xuan nodded her little head, "Grandfather Liu is right, brother, do you believe it now?"

It wasn’t until the scholar had paid the silver and saw the shopkeeper give him thirty wen in change that he truly believed it!

"Wenyuan Bookstore is benevolent! A seven-foot sheet of top-quality Lianshi Paper for seventy wen, now scholars have no worry about running out of paper," he said, giving the shopkeeper and Ruo Xuan a deep bow.

It happened to be the time when the academy let out, and a few more scholars poured in. Upon hearing the news, they eagerly asked, "What’s this about a seven-foot sheet of top-quality Lianshi Paper for seventy wen?"

This time, without waiting for the shopkeeper or Ruo Xuan to say anything, the scholar who had just bought the paper vividly recounted Shopkeeper Liu’s explanation.

After hearing the story, the scholars immediately flocked to the table to check out the paper, and even those from humble backgrounds didn’t hesitate to take out their silver to make a purchase upon seeing the paper’s quality.

Every scholar needed good quality paper at some point, and such cheap top-quality Lianshi Paper was unprecedented.

To buy it was to earn it.

It was just a pity that each person could only buy one sheet.

The ones who came in later and saw everyone buying paper didn’t think twice upon learning that a seven-foot sheet of top-quality Lianshi Paper was seventy wen, and they all pulled out their silver.

Anyone who didn’t buy was a fool!

As a result, the day’s limited stock of paper sold out well before the bookstore was due to close.

The later customers, unable to buy any, could only wait until the next day.

Thus, from the next day on, people started queuing up at the bookstore just after dawn to buy paper.

Word of Wenyuan Bookstore’s righteousness soon spread throughout all the major academies.

Many scholars now said that in the future, when buying books or the Four Treasures of the Study, they would only trust Wenyuan Bookstore.

~

The news that a sheet of top-quality Lianshi Paper at Wenyuan Bookstore cost only seventy wen quickly reached the ears of the patriarchs of the two major paper-producing families.

With a sheet of paper in their hands, they were fuming with rage!

This Lianshi Paper was even better than the top-quality Lianshi Paper produced by their own mills, and Wenyuan Bookstore was selling it for seventy wen per sheet?

Were they trying to crush their paper mills without even making a profit?

It was simply outrageous!