Ye Yuwu stayed up late reading these manuscripts.
How should she put it? Ye Yuwu wasn’t a pure ancient person. She couldn’t deny that these people had talent and knowledge, but their writing was too flowery and ornate.
Reading them gave her a splitting headache. They were accustomed to citing extensively, and many of the allusions she didn’t even understand.
She finally understood why readers preferred straightforward and simple writing.
Ye Yuwu’s delicate brows were almost knitted into a knot. She could only grit her teeth and select a few pieces, wondering whether these people would be willing to make revisions.
Time flew by, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these three days, many couldn’t resist coming to the bookstore to inquire, eager to know whether their manuscripts had been accepted.
Early on the third morning, before the bookstore had even opened, some had already arrived to wait.
They gathered together chatting idly, and among them, someone even began boasting, “With my talent, writing these little stories should be a piece of cake to get accepted, right?!”
They all laughed heartily, clearly thinking their own writing was quite good.
Not long after, they saw a thin, middle-aged man wearing a long gown walk up to the bookstore entrance. Coincidentally, the door opened from the inside at that moment.
Huaping was clearly taken aback by the crowd standing at the door.
Once the group entered, Uncle Li, following Ye Yuwu’s instructions, wrote a large notice listing the names of those whose manuscripts had been retained from the previous round and posted it on a wooden Panel propped up near the entrance inside the bookstore.
“The names listed here are those who passed the first round. Those who didn’t pass can collect their manuscripts from me right away!” Uncle Li stood behind the high counter, looking at the crowd surging into the bookstore.
“How is this possible? My name isn’t on the list?” The man who had been bragging at the door earlier broke down, shouting, “Impossible!”
Even so, they had no choice but to accept their fate and retrieve their manuscripts.
Some, after taking their manuscripts and leaving Zhiyu Bookstore, resentfully spat in the direction of the bookstore.
“Pah! My writing is so good, yet this little bookstore has no appreciation for it. It’ll shut down sooner or later!”
However, although some didn’t pass, they figured since they were already there, they might as well buy some books from the bookstore. Unexpectedly, the bookstore earned more silver today than before.
Ye Yuwu had no idea what these people were thinking. At that moment, she was still in one of the rooms on the second floor.
There were three rooms on the second floor. One had only a bed, where Ye Yuwu and Huaping currently slept.
Another was a storage room, still cluttered with too many items they hadn’t yet sorted out.
The last room had been cleaned out by Ye Yuwu to serve as an elegant chamber, used for discussions and other purposes.
Its privacy was quite good, though it only contained a tea table and wooden chairs—mainly because there wasn’t enough money to furnish it properly.
She wore a white veil. Even with half her lovely face concealed, it couldn’t hide her exceptional grace.
Just as tea had been brewed in the elegant chamber, Huaping brought a man upstairs from below.
The first man to enter happened to be Guan Yan.
Guan Yan walked up to Ye Yuwu but, upon seeing the woman in the room, felt slightly awkward, unsure where to place his hands and feet.
Seeing Ye Yuwu gesture for him to take a seat, Guan Yan sat down accordingly. Ye Yuwu poured him a cup of tea and placed it before him.
“I’ve read your article, and it’s quite good, but…” Ye Yuwu looked up at him.
“To have it accepted, young master, you’ll need to make some changes. This writing is too obscure and difficult to understand. Would you be willing to revise it into more vernacular language?”
Upon hearing the woman’s words, Guan Yan clenched his hands hidden in his sleeves. Scholars always had their pride; in the past, he would have flatly refused, considering vernacular an insult to his craft. But he desperately needed the money.
“Of course, I can.”
Thus, they agreed on a time for the next revision of the manuscript.
After Guan Yan left, Ye Yuwu met with several other men whose stories showed promise. Some righteously refused, while others were more accepting. This was all within her expectations, and she respected each individual’s choice.
After a busy day, Ye Yuwu was finally about to receive the last visitor, finally finding a moment to stretch her back.
Just as she finished stretching, Huaping led a woman inside. This woman wore a veil hat and was clearly surprised to find that the owner of Zhiyu Bookstore was a woman—and one with such extraordinary grace.
Ye Yuwu, however, showed little surprise and invited the woman to sit. Although they were indoors and no men were present, the woman did not remove her veil hat.
After a brief explanation, the woman hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed.
“How rare!” Ye Yuwu couldn’t help but exclaim as soon as the woman left.
“Miss, what’s so rare?” Huaping, who was standing beside Ye Yuwu massaging her waist, asked in confusion.
“Huaping, all the visitors today were men, yet one woman actually came to submit a manuscript. Moreover, I read her work, and it’s no less impressive than the men’s—in fact, her story is even better. Isn’t that rare?”
However, in ancient times, a woman who was literate and talented must have come from a wealthy and influential family to have received such an education. Yet, today’s woman had no maidservant accompanying her and dressed simply and elegantly, unlike the men who seemed to be there just for the spectacle.
Ye Yuwu didn’t know the woman’s story, nor did she dwell on it, because she had more important matters to attend to.
First, she learned that in ancient times, there were only two ways to publish a book: handwritten copies or woodblock printing. It seemed the Jin Dynasty already had printing technology.
But when she saw the prices, she was immediately deterred. Mass production would be cost-effective, such as for the works of great scholars, which all students would be willing to purchase and study, ensuring no shortage of sales.
However, the book publication model was still just an idea for her, and she had no idea how sales would fare after publication.
After weighing the pros and cons, handwritten copies seemed more economical, which was what most bookstores adopted.
Ye Yuwu made a plan, deciding to start with twenty handwritten copies to test the waters.
So, she first needed to compile the revised manuscripts, design a cover with an antique charm, and assemble one complete book as a template for copying.
Ye Yuwu had only given the writers one day to make revisions.
A day later, she received the stories revised into vernacular language. Overall, they were acceptable, especially the work of the man named Guan Yan. His supernatural tales had a certain Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio flavor to them.
They were captivating enough to draw readers in.
After reviewing their revised stories, she accepted most of them and promptly paid them in copper coins.
Only then did she begin proofreading and compiling.
Guan Yan, holding the fifty copper coins in his hand, felt a sense of disbelief.
He actually earned money from his own manuscript?
In that moment, he felt as if he were walking on clouds. These fifty copper coins would be enough for him to spend for half a month.
Upon hearing that Zhiyu Bookstore was looking for people to copy books, Guan Yan volunteered and recommended himself to Ye Yuwu.
Ye Yuwu was short on hands, so naturally she didn’t refuse.
Soon, one volume of the book was compiled. She then asked Uncle Li to help copy several more volumes. Her handwriting was too ugly—even Huaping’s handwriting was far better than hers—so she didn’t rush to make a spectacle of herself.
However, when Uncle Li and Huaping copied books, she paid them the standard market rate for copying, not letting them toil for nothing.
Early in the morning, on his day off, Guan Yan came to Zhiyu Bookstore as agreed to copy books.
As soon as he entered, Ye Yuwu led him to the backyard of the bookstore. Several wooden tables were arranged there, with a number of people already seated beside them.
To his surprise, there were both men and women among them. He counted and found that, including himself, there were eight people in total, two of whom were women.