You were taken hostage, why pursue the Enemy's Empress?
Chapter 67 – The bookstore belongs to my little goddess, why are you all so happy?

Gongsun Di and Xun Zhiyin sat firmly, it would take a considerable amount of energy to drive them away.

Ying Wuji was busy discussing business and didn't want to waste time, so he let them stay.

He glanced at the group of booksellers and said with a smile, "It's an honor for our bookstore to have you all visit so early!"

The booksellers quickly exchanged pleasantries.

"It's nothing, nothing!"

"It's our honor to be here, young master is too polite!"

"Young master! Let's not waste time and talk business."

"Yes! Let's talk business!"

These merchants were quite impatient. They couldn't just come in and get straight to the point. They had to drag it out for a while.

But it made sense. The world of commerce had only just begun to flourish. People hadn't evolved enough to be so cunning yet, so it was easier to do business this way.

Ying Wuji had been anxious for so long that he didn't want to waste any more time with them. He nodded to his staff.

The staff held a meeting and each took out a stack of papers, which were distributed to the booksellers present. It was the business contract that Ying Wuji had prepared in advance.

After reading the contract, the booksellers looked hesitant and whispered to each other for a while without expressing any opinions.

Ying Wuji smiled and asked, "Do you have any objections?"

The booksellers glanced at each other, and one of them shook his head and said, "Young master! We are mostly satisfied with the contents of this contract, but there are two points we have some opinions on."

Ying Wuji made a gesture of invitation, "Please speak!"

The bookseller pointed to one of the clauses, "We can accept the minimum purchase quantity per month and the ten-year contract for this order. However, if the price difference between this and other bookstores is not more than fifty wen, Shangmo Bookstore's order must exceed ninety percent of the total order... This is a bit too domineering."

Ying Wuji pursed his lips.

Actually, his idea was simple. He just wanted to cut off the other bookstores' back roads.

Printing technology was complex and simple at the same time. The technological differences between bookstores would gradually narrow, and cost differences would also gradually narrow. By then, Shangmo Bookstore's competitiveness would also be correspondingly reduced.

And the stable source of revenue would definitely be the classics of the Hundred Schools of Thought. This order must be left to Shangmo Bookstore, hence the ten-year term and the requirement for the order to exceed ninety percent.

It was indeed a bit domineering, he had to explain it to them.

He shrugged, "Yeah! I'm domineering, you don't have to sign it if you don't want to!"

The booksellers and Gongsun Di and Xun Zhiyin were speechless for a moment at Ying Wuji's directness.

A representative of the booksellers became anxious, "But what if other bookstores have exclusive access to good books?"

Ying Wuji smiled, "The one percent I left for you is for buying those kinds of books!"

The bookseller rubbed his temples, "But ninety percent is too high! Young master must know about 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'..."

Actually, using 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' as an example was a bit extreme at this point. Before that, there were few books that were limited to only being sold by certain bookstores. But after years of doing business, he had a keen sense that when printing technology became popular, this situation was likely to become the norm.

If other bookstores had another money-making book, but he was limited by the contract...

Ying Wuji interrupted directly, "Does this friend think that our book is not as good as 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'?"

"No!"

The bookseller quickly explained, "We just think that the major bookstores have a deep foundation. Although Shangmo Bookstore is strong, there is only one Kingdom Qian behind it after all..."

The implication was that they were worried that the current glory of Shangmo Bookstore's books would not last long.

Ying Wuji was about to say something, but heard a loud noise next to him.

"Snap!"

Gongsun Di stood up and glared at the bookseller, "Do you think that the culture of our Kingdom Qian is poor and we cannot write good books?"

Ying Wuji was also stunned. This little brother was too direct. The other party was just questioning them normally, why did he have to break the defense directly?

The bookseller was also frightened and didn't know what to do.

But Gongsun Di was not done yet. He raised his hand towards Kingdom Qian and said, "Although our Kingdom Qian originated from a barren and cold land, our people are simple, and our literati are diligent. Although our accumulation is still shallow, surpassing other countries is only a matter of time! We can naturally write the same books as other bookstores. Today we can shine once, why can't we in the future! Your vision is short-sighted, and we are ashamed to be associated with you!"

Ying Wuji thought to himself, "He really loves his country. I'm touched..."

The bookseller was also stunned. They were just having a normal business talk, but suddenly heard a patriotic speech. Who wouldn't be stunned? Moreover, Gongsun Di's words were powerful, and each word could stir up emotions. To be honest, they were all overwhelmed.

Ying Wuji stood up and patted Gongsun Di's back, "Little brother, don't get too excited, sit down and have some tea!"

Gongsun Di snorted and sat down, drank the cold tea in one gulp, and kept patting his chest, "I'm so angry!"

Looking at everyone's stunned expressions, when was a better time to strike while the iron was hot? Ying Wuji immediately waved to the staff, and they brought out trays with books and distributed them to everyone.

The booksellers picked them up and their eyes lit up because the books had a big line and a small line written on them.

The big line was "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," and the small line was "Original Mountain Strange Tales."

There were three books, volumes two to four of "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," and a rough flip through showed that they were of the same quality as the first volume.

These three books could sustain sales for another three years at least.

In an instant, they understood.

Ying Wuji waved his hand, and the staff collected the books again. He smiled and asked, "Have you all made your decision?"

The bookseller representative hesitated for a moment and said, "I still have some opinions on this price. To be honest, the eight major bookstores contacted me today and said that the purchase price of the books could be lowered to one hundred and fifty wen. Although Shangmo Bookstore's two hundred and fifty wen is not expensive, but..."

"Nonsense!"

Gongsun Di stood up again, "You cheap merchants really have short-sightedness. Can't you see that they are just trying to snatch the price? If you really have confidence that they won't raise the price in the future, why bother coming to our Shangmo Bookstore? Two hundred and fifty wen is a great favor we are giving you. You are still trying to bargain, really shameless!"

Although, however, his angry appearance was really heroic.

Damn it! It was inexplicably satisfying.

Ying Wuji patted Gongsun Di's back, "Don't get too excited, sit down and have some tea!"

Gongsun Di drank another sip of tea, "I'm so angry!"Ying Wuji glanced at the crowd and said, "Since some people are dissatisfied with the price, there's no point in discussing it further. If you think other bookstores can sign a long-term contract with you at a price of 150 wen, you can go and sign it now. However, I would like to remind you that this is your only opportunity to sign a commercial contract with Shangmo Bookstore, so choose wisely."

With that, he turned around and entered the backyard.

Gongsun Di snorted coldly and left with a flick of his sleeve, followed closely by Xun Zhiyin.

The trio from the Kingdom Qian seemed extremely united at this moment.

The shopkeepers looked at each other, and in the end, none of them left. They all signed their names on this unequal treaty.

The purpose of the eight major bookstores spending money to grab orders was obvious to everyone. Giving up long-term large orders for false profits was indeed shortsighted.

"Ah!"

Ying Wuji, who had been observing in secret, finally revealed a satisfied smile. At least ten years of stable profits were secured.

"Ah!"

Gongsun Di and Xun Zhiyin also laughed brightly.

Ying Wuji turned his head and asked in confusion, "Why are you so happy about my daughter's bookstore making money?"

Gongsun Di: "Huh?"

Xun Zhiyin: "Huh?"

~~~~~~

There will be another chapter at noon.