Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 60 Offensive and defensive changes
Chen Qing is only twenty years old this year, and Chen Huan is not even forty. At this age, they are still considered young and promising in officialdom.

At Chen Huan's age, if he can really go to the capital next year, he might be able to marry the daughter of a high-ranking official in the capital, which would be a great help to his career.

As for whether the person he remarried was a first or second marriage, it shouldn't be a big deal for Chen Huan.

Under these circumstances, Madam Li's desire to be "promoted" to the position of official wife was extremely slim, and it was probably just a pipe dream in her heart.

While the Chen family in Huzhou were arguing and shedding tears, Chen Qing had already arrived at the bookstore that the Gu family had bought in Deqing.

In this era, the book printing industry was quite developed. There were probably four or five hundred book printing workshops in the entire Great Qi Dynasty. Of course, there were legitimate ones that mainly printed serious books to serve the vast number of "examinees".

There were also some relatively simple bookstores that made a living by pirating other people's books.

Half of all the bookstores in the world are in Jiangnan. Huzhou is roughly in Jiangnan. It's hard to say how many bookstores there are in the whole of Huzhou, but there are two or three bookstores in Deqing County alone.

One of them has already been bought by the Gu family with their own money.

At this moment, walking with Chen Qing in this bookstore was not Miss Gu, but Master Gu.

Master Gu led Chen Qing on a tour of the entire bookstore, giving them a general understanding of its operations.

As the two were touring the study, a young man with blackened hands bowed to Chen Qing, who was passing by, and said, "Greetings, Young Master Chen, Master Gu."

It was Li Shiyi.

Of the eight people rescued by Chen Qing during the flood, some didn't want to leave after arriving at Anrentang, and Chen Qing didn't force them.

A few people, including Li Shiyi, were willing to follow Chen Qing and Miss Gu's arrangements and came to work in this bookstore.

Currently, he is still learning from the experienced craftsmen in the bookstore how to work there.

Chen Qing looked at him and asked, "Are you getting used to it here?"

Li Shiyi took a deep breath and said seriously, "Don't worry, young master, I will adapt to the bookstore soon."

Chen Qing nodded and was about to speak when Master Gu stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Once you've learned how to print books, I'll have Young Master Chen give you a raise."

Li Shiyi looked at Chen Qing and shook his head, saying, "I'm already very satisfied with having food and shelter now."

Chen Qing patted him on the shoulder, said a few words to him, and then left with Master Gu. After walking a dozen steps, Master Gu looked at Chen Qing and said, "This little guy is quite good. He's smart, hardworking, and knows how to be grateful."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Old Lu has come to me twice, saying he wants me to go back to Anrentang, and he'll put in the effort to train an apprentice for me."

Chen Qing clicked his tongue: "Manager Lu wants to take Little Eleven as his apprentice?"

"That's pretty much what it means."

With his hands behind his back, Master Gu turned to look at the bookstore and then said, "However, this bookstore will be your business from now on. I still want your own people to manage it. The people you saved during the flood don't recognize you, they don't recognize me."

"It's still more appropriate for him to stay in the bookstore."

Chen Qing nodded first, then asked, "What does Uncle think of this profession?"

After a moment of silence, Mr. Gu said seriously, "I have read your manuscript. I don't know about others, but I still want to continue reading it."

"I estimate that this thing should work."

There is a discrepancy in this world, so there is no Song Dynasty, let alone Liao, Jin, Mongol and other states. The patriotism and national sentiments written in The Legend of the Condor Heroes have become a completely fictional background.

In this way, although some sense of immersion is lost, publishing in this world avoids a lot of political risks.

At least, they wouldn't be so easily targeted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

With his hands behind his back, Master Gu looked up at the sky and said softly, "If this thing gains more and more momentum in the next few months, it will be of some help to our trip to the capital."

No matter the era, fame will always be useful.

Popularity represents influence.

Even if Gu Shao from Deqing died in the capital, it would go unnoticed. However, if someone who is currently very popular enters the capital, their every move, as well as their life or death, will attract a lot of discussion.

Even important figures have to consider public opinion. Moreover, if this "serialized" format can really be implemented, it might be used for many things in the future. If multiple books are serialized simultaneously in one issue, some columns can be freed up to fully leverage its influence.

Master Gu stroked his beard, then looked at Chen Qing and said, "But this matter is still somewhat dangerous. You and Pan'er should not get involved in it in the end."

Chen Qing looked at him and shook his head, saying, "We started this whole thing, so how can we not get involved?"

"this is very simple."

Master Gu remained calm and said, "If a lot of people read this book and it's needed to be used to send messages in the capital, give me the latest manuscript, and I'll find another way to print it."

"That way, when the government investigates, they won't be able to trace it back to you."

Chen Qing frowned: "The manuscript is also related to us."

"I've already thought about it."

Master Gu said calmly, "When the time comes, just say the manuscript was stolen."

"This kind of thing is not unusual, it is even quite common. It is common for writers of vernacular novels to have their manuscripts stolen."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing was about to ask a few more questions when the manager of Deqing Bookstore presented Master Gu with several freshly printed sheets of paper still smelling of ink.

"Boss, this is what we printed out according to your requirements. Please take a look."

Master Gu has a good reputation in Deqing; at least most people recognize him. Otherwise, people wouldn't have sold the bookstore to him so readily in just one day.

Master Gu turned to look at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "Nephew, take a look."

Chen Qing took it, glanced at it, and saw that it had already printed the chapter on the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan. He turned two pages, and from the fourth page onwards, it was the chapter title of The Romance of the Western Chamber.

Chen Qing examined it carefully and did not see any misprinted characters. He looked up at Master Gu and said with a smile, "The craftsmanship of our Deqing bookstore is really good. In such a short time, they were able to produce a typeface without a single mistake."

"This was made using movable copper type."

Master Gu looked at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "The most valuable things in this bookstore are these sets of copper movable type and a few master typewriters."

Chen Qing nodded, handed the printed first edition to Master Gu, and said seriously, "Then we can start distributing it in the next few days, first to the major bookstores in Deqing, and then to the various branches of Anrentang."

"This episode."

Chen Qing pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "We could consider giving it away for free."

Upon hearing this, Master Gu was slightly taken aback, then clapped his hands and laughed, "My dear nephew is quite adept at doing business as well."

"These are just common methods."

While the two were talking, they had already left Deqing Bookstore. Master Gu walked ahead with his hands behind his back and suddenly said something.

"Your father has already left Huzhou."

He turned to look at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "I guess he doesn't plan to come looking for you anytime soon."

Young Master Chen asked with some curiosity, "I didn't expect that my uncle also has spies in Huzhou."

“Anrentang in Huzhou City is quite large, and it has more manpower than in Deqing. They can’t be called spies, but they can keep an eye on the Chen family.”

Master Gu remained calm.

"I'll take you to Anrentang in Huzhou another day."

Chen Qing thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I won't be returning to Huzhou anytime soon."

"Wait until I return to Huzhou."

Chen Qing's gaze was intense, but his tone was quite firm.

"It's time for the balance of power to shift."

(End of this chapter)