The noise outside the window buzzed in Manager Lou’s ears, yet his mind felt as still and blank as if it had been sealed shut.
Fifteen thousand copies, at a profit of one tael each, that would be fifteen thousand taels — enough to buy several hundred bookshops.
He clenched his fists, pressing his nails into his palms to force himself to calm down quickly.
“I’ve only brought fewer than a thousand copies from my stock. Many bookshops have already placed orders. If you want this many, you’ll have to wait a while.”
The woman’s expression remained calm as she pressed, “How many days?”
Manager Lou thought for a moment and replied, “Fifteen days.”
The woman glanced at the man beside her, who immediately shook his head.
“That’s too long. My sister and I are returning to Jiangnan in a few days. Can’t it be shorter?”
Seeing how composed they both were, Manager Lou’s heart began to waver.
Could it be that their determination to order wasn’t strong? If this deal fell through, he would lose a fortune.
With that thought, he slowed his speech and put on a reluctant tone. “How many days would suit you?”
The man raised his hand and made a gesture. “Seven days. If you don’t have enough time, you can find other bookshops to share the printing.”
Manager Lou frowned. The timeframe was even shorter than he had anticipated.
“We only have a few printing blocks. It won’t work to bring in other bookshops. Even shipping the books from Suining City will take at least two days. Seven days simply aren’t enough.”
“Why not take half now and have the other half escorted by a local armed escort?”
The man gave a surprised laugh, and the woman seated beside him subtly curled her lips.
“Suining City seems a bit remote. It looks like your bookshop isn’t very large, Manager Lou.”
A small bookshop in a small town — without strong backing, there were more ways to handle things.
The man slowly picked up his teacup, taking a patient sip.
“Hiring an armed escort would cost a substantial amount of silver. You’d have to lower the wholesale price on the storybooks, or we won’t make any profit.”
Manager Lou said, “I assume you’ve checked the prices at other bookshops before coming. If you order fifteen thousand copies, I can lower the price by a hundred wen per book. That makes it one thousand five hundred wen per book.”
The man shook his head. “You’re not being sincere, Manager Lou.”
“Suining City is over a thousand li from Jiangnan. The transport costs are too high. At the very least, you’ll have to cut the price in half — seven hundred wen per book.”
Manager Lou’s temper flared immediately. His eyes bulged like a cow’s.
“Impossible! Seven hundred wen won’t even cover production costs.”
The man countered, “But shipping really is a huge expense.”
As the two reached an impasse, the woman in the gold hairpin spoke up. “What if you sell us a set of the printing blocks for those two books? We’ll print them ourselves in Jiangnan. That saves you the trouble and us the freight.”
A tense string snapped in Manager Lou’s mind. “How much are you willing to pay for them?”
The man held up two fingers. “Two thousand taels.”
For an instant, the air went still.
He looked at the man and woman sitting before him and felt as though he had been blind.
Two thousand taels? What was the difference between this and outright robbery?
“Impossible. Even ordinary storybooks aren’t that cheap, let alone The Tale of Qin Niang and The Cry for Justice, which sell so well.”
“Selling you the printing blocks means letting you print freely in Jiangnan. The printing and distribution rights alone should be worth at least one hundred thousand taels.”
At that price, the two of them let out a light laugh and leaned back in their seats.
The woman said, “One hundred thousand taels? Manager Lou, you really do have a lion’s mouth.”
The man added, “Storybooks that sell well always see pirated copies on the market soon enough. That’ll hurt sales anyway. All we’re after is a timing advantage.”
“If you think the price is too low, then four thousand taels. If you’re not willing, then let’s forget the whole deal.”
Seeing the scornful smiles on their faces, Manager Lou suddenly understood the meaning behind their words.
If he didn’t sell, they would just buy the books and have them copied. Anyone could carve printing blocks.
Jiangnan was over a thousand li from Suining Prefecture. There was nothing he could do.
He gritted his teeth and said, “Anyone who dares to pirate our books, our boss will take them to court. They’ll pay for every copy sold until they’re bankrupt.”
The warning didn’t frighten them. They remained calm, looking at Manager Lou as if he were some kind of clown.
“There are plenty of pirate printers everywhere. At best, you can sue them in Suining Prefecture. Any farther than that, and everyone has their own backing.”
“To be honest with you, the Lin family has some standing in Jiangnan. We even have marriage ties with the yamen.”
As he spoke, he pulled a one-hundred-tael banknote from his chest and pushed it across the table to Manager Lou.
“Take the deposit and deliver the printing blocks as soon as possible. Or sign a contract so we can carve them ourselves when we get back. Don’t end up losing both the books and the money.”
“A small workshop making a few thousand taels — that’s already a fortune.”
“Creak—”
Manager Lou shoved his chair back and stood up abruptly. His cheeks were tight, his eyes blazing with fury.
“You two shameless scoundrels, daring to bully the Song family bookshop!”
He picked up his teacup and threw the liquid into the young man’s face, then slammed the cup’s base onto the table so hard it shattered.
“Before you came, you should have asked around. Our boss is the younger brother of Prefect Song of Suining, a fifth-rank official.”
“And the young lady of the family is County Princess Linghui, personally conferred by the current emperor — her status is noble as a relative of the imperial family. Even if you wanted to file a complaint at the Golden Throne, it would only take one word. If you dare to pirate our books and sell bootlegs, be careful you don’t lose your heads.”
After delivering that threat, he turned and left without looking back.
As soon as he reached the second floor, he immediately asked the servant, “What kind of faces did they make?”
The servant replied, “Pale as ghosts. They’re probably scared out of their wits.”
Manager Lou took a deep breath, his heart trembling with rage.
“If I’d known such scum would come knocking, I should have revealed our boss’s identity from the start. How dare these vile creatures bully us.”
The servant smiled flatteringly, “You handled it brilliantly, sir. In such a public place, lots of people must have heard.”
“The Lin family may have moved to Jiangnan, but they still have some influence left in Songzhou City. Once word gets out, no one will dare pirate our books anymore.”
