Ye Yuwu felt that the signboard “Four Seas Bookstore” was not very distinctive, and the characters on the sign at the entrance of the bookstore were worn out, with only a single stroke of the character “four” remaining.
She deliberately sought out an affordable and practical carpenter and had Uncle Li write the calligraphy for a new signboard. The new bookstore was named “Zhizhi Bookstore”.
The name of the bookstore was derived from the idiom “striving for perfection”. Ye Yuwu hoped that everyone who entered the bookstore could find solace within its walls, where worldly worries would cease, but their horizons and minds would not be limited to the books within.
It was also a kind of beautiful wish!
With the signboard hung, Ye Yuwu found herself without any further actions to take, mainly because she had no money for the time being.
However, this did not mean she was idle. Instead, she sat daily at the desk near the window in the bookstore, watching the comings and goings of people at the bookstore across the street. Occasionally, she would even sneak to the entrance of her own bookstore to observe the street.
Finally, after several days like this, under the bright daylight, Ye Yuwu called Uncle Li and Huaping together for a “meeting”!
After all, the bookstore didn’t have many customers!
“Based on my observations these past few days, aside from scholars and literati, the most frequent visitors to the bookstore across the street are the maidservants from large estates!”
“How did you recognize them as maidservants, Miss? Aren’t they all dressed in coarse clothing like ordinary people?”
“Huaping, think carefully about the shoes on their feet. Although they are not as exquisite and delicate as those worn by wealthy families, they are also not something ordinary people can afford. These maidservants are likely the personal attendants of young ladies from wealthy households. You can tell by their upright posture.” Ye Yuwu gave Huaping a once-over. If it weren’t for the example right beside her, she might not have noticed.
“Oh, you’re right! Miss, you’re so clever!” Huaping looked at Ye Yuwu with admiration.
“I wouldn’t call it clever.”
“But why are they going to the bookstore to buy books?” Huaping asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“The bookstore isn’t just for buying books. They might be going to buy brushes, ink, paper, or inkstones. However, wealthy households usually have dedicated stewards for such purchases, so there shouldn’t be a need for their personal maidservants to buy them, right?” Uncle Li, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
Ye Yuwu smiled mysteriously. “Uncle Li, our bookstore is still too old-fashioned!
I’ve observed what these people carry when they leave the bookstore. There’s an academy nearby, so most of the visitors are students, and they often carry books or writing supplies.
But when those women come out, they don’t have anything in their hands. What do you think is going on?”
Huaping and Uncle Li were successfully piqued by her question and shook their heads in unison.
“I noticed that when they come out, they instinctively place their hands over their chests, as if protecting something, carefully trying not to be seen. At first, I found it strange too. Then, one day, a woman tripped over the threshold as she was leaving the bookstore, and the thing she was hiding in her chest happened to fall out. My eyesight is good, so I saw what fell to the ground—it was actually a Huaben (storybook)!”
“A Huaben!” Huaping slapped her own forehead. “That’s right! In the past, Miss, you also loved reading Huaben, and I was often sent out to buy them for you!”
“What do you mean, Miss?” Uncle Li asked.
“The market for Huaben (story-books) is primarily women. Most lower-class women are illiterate, and even those who can read lack the money to buy Huaben. Meanwhile, women from wealthy families are both literate and affluent. For them, confined to the inner courtyards, Huaben serve as a means to alleviate loneliness.”
However, few people actually write Huaben. Scholars with literary talent often disdain such works.
Some impoverished scholars do take up writing them, but most authors are men. Dissatisfied with their own lives, they enjoy crafting tales of scholars and young ladies to soothe their own troubled hearts.
“The supply of Huaben is limited, the market is large, and there’s little competition—it’s quite profitable. What I don’t understand is, after searching through the entire bookstore, I haven’t found a single Huaben. Since we have no particular advantages, I think we should focus on women’s business and earn money from them first.”
“Miss, that idea seems feasible, but where can we find people to write Huaben?”
“Uncle Li, have you ever heard of periodicals?”
Uncle Li widened his eyes in confusion, indicating he hadn’t.
“I’ve thought it over. I still have some money, enough to produce one issue of a periodical. There’s an academy nearby. We can write a few street-flyers ourselves and distribute them along the way.”
“What should we write on the street-flyers?”
“Naturally, we’ll advertise that our bookstore is soliciting short stories for a booklet. Whether they’re tales of the supernatural or love stories, as long as they pass muster, we’ll pay fifty wen per piece. The word count should be limited to…” She rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment. “Between 500 and 5,000 characters.”
“Fifty wen? That’s so much! Miss, even I feel like writing one.” Huaping widened her eyes in disbelief, worried her young mistress might be at a disadvantage.
Ye Yuwu wasn’t entirely familiar with the value of money in ancient times, but she had a rough idea.
“At the beginning, we need to offer more money to attract people. Huaping, we might have to tighten our belts for a while, but…” Ye Yuwu blinked. “If you want to write, you can too. If it’s good, I’ll pay you.”
Ye Yuwu smiled as she looked at Huaping.
“No, no, Miss, I was just joking. I don’t know how to write. Compared to writing Huaben, I’d rather do embroidery work.”
Ye Yuwu helplessly tapped her head. “You!”
Huaping innocently covered her head and looked at her young mistress, pouting in grievance.
“Oh, and one more very important thing: we must not let the bookstore across the street know what we’re doing!”
It was wise to be cautious, especially since they were competitors. Judging by how they had deliberately opened their store opposite theirs and frequently engaged in underhanded tactics, the bookstore across the street was not easy to deal with.
The plan was thus settled.
Uncle Li quickly brought out paper and ink to write the street-flyers. Huaping had learned to read while in the mansion with her former mistress, so she joined Uncle Li in writing the flyers.
Ye Yuwu didn’t join them because she had something else to do—write a novel.
Yes, write a novel. She had once been a moderately famous online writer. The stories in this ancient era were all monotonous and repetitive, and she had long wanted to showcase her skills and astonish these ancient people.
Ahem, she was getting a bit off-topic. The main point was to make use of her strengths. Her planned periodical wouldn’t just include short stories; it would also feature serialized novels. Wasn’t that how periodicals started in modern society too?
Doing this could retain a portion of readers—some would only be willing to spend money on the next issue if they wanted to read the serialized story.
Given the current publishing conditions, she had no choice but to start by writing some serialized novels first.
But what should the first novel be about? Ye Yuwu sat at her desk, one hand propping up her chin, the other holding a brush, unable to put pen to paper for a long while.
Suddenly, inspiration struck her.
Weren’t domineering CEO novels the ones that first became popular in online literature?
Domineering CEO novels weren’t just popular back then—they remained highly sought after even now. Moreover, they didn’t require much literary skill; the tropes were limited, and as long as they were dramatic enough, they could capture the hearts of women.
Her mind instantly cleared.
Although there were no domineering CEOs in ancient times, there were overbearing princes!
Prince and Cinderella were the equivalent of the overbearing prince and the little maidservant!
Ye Yuwu’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She picked up the ink-dipped brush and wrote the title of the Huaben on the first line of the first sheet of rice paper—The Overbearing Prince Falls for the Little Maidservant.
Satisfied with her own crooked calligraphy, inspiration surged within her, and she began writing the main text.