You were taken hostage, why pursue the Enemy's Empress?
Chapter 66 – Picking Peaches

"It's fortunate for Kingdom Qian to have this bookstore," said Gongsun Di, nodding slightly. Recently, Ying Wuji had caused quite a stir in Kingdom Li, and the business of the bookstore had already reached the ears of Ying Yue. However, he had not commented on the matter.

Ying Wuque naturally did not mention this matter either, only privately contacting Gongsun Di to recommend himself as an envoy to attend the Hundred Schools of Thought feast on behalf of Kingdom Qian. It was already an unspoken agreement that he would take over the commercial seal of the embassy.

After all, the bookstore business would not be small in the future, and it would be a waste to leave it in the hands of Wuji, who had an uncertain future as a hostage for exchange.

Moreover, Kingdom Qian now had two princes, and although Ying Wuque had already shown his dominance, there were still some voices of dissent in the court.

These voices of dissent were not conducive to the development of the country and should be suppressed as soon as possible. Moreover, Kingdom Qian's strategy of agriculture and warfare had been proven correct. With only a few generations of efforts, this once barren country had seen the hope of going east. As long as they continued to firmly follow this path, Kingdom Qian would definitely become the strongest feudal state, even replacing Zhou Tianzi.

The bookstore was doing well, but it was not worth mentioning in the face of Kingdom Qian's long-term national strategy.

Therefore, there was no reason to leave the bookstore in the hands of Ying Wuji.

Gongsun Di looked at Xun Zhiyin and asked, "What is the situation of the bookstore now? How much income is expected in a year?"

Xun Zhiyin quickly took out a book from his arms and said, "My lord, this is the account book that I had someone copy. The average price of the books in the bookstore is 300 wen. After deducting the cost and the tax paid to Kingdom Li, we should be able to earn 150 wen, of which half will be kept by the shopkeeper and the other half will be handed over to the embassy. I calculated that the bookstore needs to hand over at least 3,000 liang tomorrow, which is the end of the month."

"So much!" Gongsun Di was somewhat surprised. He knew that the bookstore business was good, but he didn't expect it to be able to hand over so much money.

How could a book that cost 300 wen have such a large profit margin?

However, he still frowned slightly and asked, "Why is this account book a copy? Is the bookstore not under your control?"

Xun Zhiyin hurriedly explained, "Lord Wuji is too stubborn and doesn't want me to interfere. But you don't have to worry, my lord. After I finish the handover at the government office tomorrow, I will go to the bookstore with the commercial seal. I believe Lord Wuji won't say much then."

Gongsun Di furrowed his brows slightly and asked, "Are you sure the bookstore is in Ying Wuji's hands?"

Xun Zhiyin smiled and said, "Otherwise, where else would it be? Lord Wuji would never entrust his life and wealth to others."

"That's true!" Gongsun Di nodded, feeling that his idea was indeed somewhat bizarre. How could Ying Wuji not guard against Hua Chao when he was even wary of the embassy?

He couldn't help but smile and said, "A mere bookstore can bring Kingdom Qian a profit of 40,000 liang in a year. It's really not easy!"

"Not just that!" Gongsun Di raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"Xun Zhiyin's face was flushed as he added, "I know a lot about the book industry. This month we only made six thousand taels of silver in profit, but it's because our distribution channels haven't been opened yet. As you can see, countless people are flocking to the Hundred Families Gathering, including many book merchants. We should be able to sign a lot of orders today. When we expand our printing scale, our profits will increase at least fivefold."

"Fivefold!"

Gongsun Di's eyes lit up. Five times the profit would bring Kingdom Qian two hundred thousand taels of silver, which was not a small amount even for a country.

Xun Zhiyin lowered his voice and said, "And that's just what the country will get. As the owner, Wuji can also earn a considerable amount of money. The envoy may feel that it's too much..."

Gongsun Di understood Xun Zhiyin's intention from his slightly persuasive tone.

Two hundred thousand taels of silver was indeed a lot for one person.

However...

He smiled and shook his head. "This bookshop is Wuji's hard work, and he deserves to earn as much as he can. Wuji asked me to take over the Shangyin business, but there's no need to ruin his future. Although the two young masters have never met, they are still half-brothers. Besides, Wuji has a talent for business. With him helping the young master, it's a good story for the two brothers to work together for the country."

Xun Zhiyin was sincere, but Gongsun Di felt that his actions would hurt the brotherly relationship. He advised Xun Zhiyin to think twice before doing anything in the future.

Xun Zhiyin was a little disappointed, but he still smiled and said, "Wuji is kind-hearted, and when he knows about this, he will be moved."

Gongsun Di glanced at the food on the table and smiled, "Since Wuji won't be coming back, let's eat!"

"Okay!"

Xun Zhiyin smiled, "Tomorrow, I will hand over the Shangyin business to the envoy and take over the bookshop!"

Gongsun Di nodded slightly, "Okay!"

For a while, there was laughter and conversation in the embassy.

...

The next day, the "True Tales of Mountains and Seas" published by Zhen Lanling was released. The eight major bookshops spared no effort in promoting it. Although it was not as well-known as in Jiangcheng, it had already been bombarded in the wealthy residential areas several times.

Especially for book merchants from other places, they received the news and were contacted by the bookshops privately. They were told that each book only cost 250 wen, and various statements were made about the advantages and disadvantages. They said that Kingdom Qian was a cultural desert, and there was nothing but plagiarism. Even if they did plagiarize, it would only be short-lived. In the long run, Kingdom Li would be more sustainable.

Their words were so moving that they almost believed it.

But unfortunately, they were book merchants, and they knew the basic market situation. Everyone had a copy of Shangmo Bookshop's "Strange Tales of Mountains and Seas," which was of higher quality than the original version.Moreover, the saying "ephemeral as a daylily"… If Shang Mo Bookstore only had one copy of "Shanhui Ghost Talks," it would be barely acceptable, but they also had "The Beauty-cutting Case." This statement seemed less persuasive, after all, it was only banned, not as if it had never existed.

So the various booksellers decided to wait and see first. They each entered the major bookstores and bought a copy of "True·Shanhui Ghost Talks."

A quarter of an hour later, they threw the books on the ground and spat on them.

"What the hell is this crap?!"

It was simply a hastily made product, not on the same level as the previous two volumes.

And they said that Shang Mo Bookstore was passing off inferior products as good ones?

Were they even worthy?

As a result, a large wave of booksellers flooded into the backyard of Shang Mo Bookstore. Unless they couldn't get a satisfactory order here, they would never consider the Eight Great Bookstores again.

Ying Wuji saw so many people rushing over, and the corners of his mouth almost split from laughing. After working so hard for so long, it was finally time to reap the rewards.

In the blink of an eye, the backyard was fully arranged, filled with booksellers from out of town.

Just as they were about to start the meeting, they heard a rather high-profile voice coming from the store.

"Envoy, this is our bookstore!"

"Look at this business, how good it is…"

"Young Master Wuji should be discussing matters in the backyard, I'll take you to meet him!"

Immediately afterward, they saw Xun Zhiyin leading Gongsun Di over.

Xun Zhiyin bowed respectfully, "Young Master!"

Gongsun Di also smiled faintly and cupped his hands, "Gongsun Di has seen the Young Master."

Ying Wuji looked them up and down, revealing a strange smile, "Welcome to the two of you as guests, but I have important matters to discuss, so why not wait a little later!"

Gongsun Di laughed and waved his hand, "Young Master, this 'guest' is a joke! Since we're talking about important matters, let's discuss them together. After all, it's a major issue for our Kingdom Qian, and we can't let the Young Master shoulder it alone."

With that, he sat down generously next to Ying Wuji.

Ying Wuji: "…"

This little brother, he really didn't treat himself as an outsider.