Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 62 The Little Vanguard of the Capital

The popularity of chivalrous tales was within Chen Qing's expectations.

Because this thing was popular before.

Furthermore, the popularity of vernacular novels in this world indicates that there is fertile ground for their survival, which is why Chen Qing wanted to create this.

However, to Chen Qing's surprise, this thing became popular so quickly that in just one month, it was enough for the local officials to invite him to their homes.

But this is a good thing.

Chen Qing originally created this thing to gain social influence, or to put it more bluntly, to gain a certain degree of political influence.

He didn't come into this world to write novels.

Now that Hong Jing has approached him, it means that this item has gained a certain political influence, and Chen Qing can now use it to obtain some political rewards.

"The county magistrate."

Chen Qing thought for a moment, then held up three fingers and said, "From now on, I will give you three days in advance before each issue is printed. County Magistrate, you can take it and do me a favor."

Magistrate Hong was taken aback, then frowned and said, "Young Master Chen hasn't finished writing?"

"It's more than just not finished."

Chen Qing said helplessly, "What's being printed now is all that I've written. I don't have any drafts left on hand."

"Three days is too short."

Magistrate Hong shook his head and said, "Three days is probably not enough time for it to be delivered, and you've already printed it."

Chen Qing said with a smile, "Your Excellency, if it takes three days to send it out, then won't it also take three days to send out the newly printed ones?"

"The newly printed ones can be seen in Deqing on the same day."

Magistrate Hong looked at Chen Qing and shook his head slightly, saying, "Young Master Chen, you probably don't understand what those people are thinking. What they want is not necessarily to see this chivalrous record in advance, but to have something that no one else has."

"Only in this way can their abilities be demonstrated."

Chen Qing lowered his head and drank his tea, without replying.

Upon seeing this, Magistrate Hong first glanced at Chen Qing, then sighed inwardly.

He knew that his influence with Chen Qing was only worth three days; if he wanted it to be earlier, he would need to negotiate the terms carefully.

After pondering for a long time, Magistrate Hong finally let out a long sigh.

“Young Master Chen is not short of money, and I, Hong, have no money to give Young Master Chen. As for other things…”

He looked at Chen Qing and asked, "Is there anything you'd like, Young Master Chen?"

Chen Qing thought for a moment and said, "Once this item becomes popular, there will definitely be people who imitate it. If anything happens, we locals in Deqing can get the Xia Ji right away, but it's not impossible that someone will steal or copy it."

“Even the bookstore clerks would steal manuscripts and sell them to others for mass reprinting.”

At this point, Chen Qing looked at Magistrate Hong and said with a smile, "At that time, we would appreciate it if Your Excellency would uphold justice for our Deqing Bookstore."

"It's natural."

Magistrate Hong patted his chest and agreed without hesitation. He said with a smile, "As the magistrate, this is what I should do. Young Master Chen, rest assured, now that we know the origin of this chivalrous book, from now on, apart from Deqing Bookstore, the county government will come to the door of any other bookstores that print it and severely investigate them."

"That's good."

Chen Qing thought for a moment and then said, "Then I will send you ten copies of the manuscript seven days in advance as a favor."

Magistrate Hong said with a smile, "Printing manuscripts is too much trouble. Young Master Chen, just give me a few copies of the Chronicles of Heroes."

A collection of chivalrous tales includes not only The Legend of the Condor Heroes, but also Romance of the Western Chamber. Romance of the Western Chamber was also printed from beginning to end. Although it was not as popular as martial arts novels, it still had a considerable number of readers.

Because of The Romance of the Western Chamber, this kind of chivalrous story can be considered appealing to both men and women.

Chen Qing shook his head and said, "The Chronicle of Heroes won't be printed so quickly. We can only give the county magistrate the manuscript, and even then, it might still be handwritten."

"The manuscript is fine."

Magistrate Hong picked up his teacup, offered a toast to Chen Qing, and said with a smile, "Come, let me toast Young Master Chen."

After the deal was finalized, Chen Qing raised his cup and drank the tea. Then, Magistrate Hong pulled Chen Qing aside and talked about many things related to martial arts until people from the county government came looking for him. Only then did he reluctantly let Chen Qing leave.

This kind of subject matter, especially a newly emerging one, is still very attractive to young men in their thirties like Hong Jing.

Having finally shaken off Magistrate Hong, Chen Qing got up to leave. Just as he stepped out of the county government office, he saw Master Gu's carriage already waiting at the gate. Chen Qing approached and said with a wry smile, "Uncle knew Magistrate Hong was looking for me, but he didn't even give me a heads-up."

Master Gu ushered him into the carriage, then said with a smile, "Whether you greet him or not makes little difference. How did you talk to him?"

Chen Qing gave a brief explanation, then quietly added, "Magistrate Hong is still very young and has a bright future. This matter is mostly about doing him a favor."

"If he can use these pages to pave a fast road for himself, then he might be useful in the future."

Mr. Gu nodded and said, "That makes sense."

As he spoke, he looked at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "However, he is not a Hanlin scholar. Even if he can enter the capital in the future, no matter how great the opportunity, at most he will only be a vice minister of one of the six ministries."

"Going any higher is basically impossible."

Chen Qing smiled wryly and said, "Is the Vice Minister of the Six Ministries still too young?"

"The position of Vice Minister of the Six Ministries is certainly not low, but the chances of Hong Jing actually reaching that position are very small."

Mr. Gu said quietly, "He is already very fortunate to have been able to get to the provincial level."

The county government office was very close to the Gu family's residence. The two quickly got off the carriage at the Gu family's gate. Master Gu led the way and guided Chen Qing into the house. After arriving at the main hall, the two sat down one after the other.

Master Gu poured tea for Chen Qing and then said, "In just one month, the popularity of this 'Heroic Tale' has far exceeded my expectations."

At this point, he looked at Chen Qing and asked, "When will the next episode be released?"

"It was handed over to the bookstore yesterday, and it should take about four or five days to type it out."

"After it's printed, don't distribute it yet."

Master Gu lowered his head and drank his tea.

"I want to take some money and some of the first four issues of the 'Legend of the Swordsman' to the capital to scout things out first."

Chen Qing looked up at him: "Isn't it supposed to be at the end of the year?"

Mr. Gu shook his head: "The original plan was for six months to wait until after you got married, but now I don't know when your wedding date will be."

“During this period, Pan’er has already taken over Anrentang, and your bookstore is doing very well. In addition, today you have also brought the bookstore under the protection of Magistrate Hong.”

"There's nothing left for me to worry about in Deqing."

He looked at Chen Qing calmly and said, "I'll go to the capital first and spread your manuscript around there so that it will be easier for you to go there in the future."

"If everything goes well in the capital in three months, and you have settled things in Deqing, you can come to the capital to find me."

"By the time…"

He glanced at Chen Qing and sighed, "Whether to take Pan'er or not depends on how you two discuss it. If you can persuade her, it's better to let her stay in Deqing. The Gu family has a strong foothold in Deqing and can protect her without too much risk."

Chen Qing poured tea for Master Gu and sighed, "Uncle Gu really trusts me."

Master Gu stroked his beard and said with a smile, "You've fallen out with Chen Zhaoming and have nowhere else to go. After spending these two months together, I can tell that you're not an evil person."

Overall, I'm still at ease.

At this point, Mr. Gu paused, then continued, "Besides, I don't have any other choice."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing nodded silently.

The imperial prison was not an easy place to endure; three years were up, and the person could die at any moment.

Chen Qing looked at Master Gu, thought for a moment, and said, "Since Uncle Gu trusts me, I can make a guarantee to him."

"I will definitely protect Miss Pan'er."

"it is good."

Master Gu stood up and bowed to Chen Qing.

"If all goes well, I'll be waiting for my nephew in Beijing at the end of the year."

Chen Qing quickly returned the greeting.

"I will definitely go to find my uncle when the time comes."

(End of this chapter)