The Little Lucky Girl

Although the first snow of this winter has fallen, Yuqing County in the mountains does not seem very cold.

Many people went out to enjoy the snow, especially the literati, who loved to sit around the fire and chat on such days. As a result, all kinds of invitations flew to Pei Shanzhang's desk like snowflakes.

After some careful selection, Principal Pei chose a few lively guests, then went to the banquet with Zheng Huan and the others' manuscripts.

A few days later, Ming Youyou and the other three were surprised to find that although their book had not yet been published, the first batch of 200 copies had already been sold out.

As for why only so few copies were printed, it was not because they had no confidence in themselves, but because this was already the limit of the printing shop of the cousin of the nephew of Guo Ren's second uncle's mother-in-law's family.

Mrs. Xu knew the news of the hot book sales earlier than the other four. She felt very regretful because it was obvious that these children were the first to find her, and she kept appearing in front of them afterwards. Why didn't they take the initiative?

Thinking of the value of the book, she couldn't wait for the holiday to come, so she simply ran to the gate of the academy and waited for everyone to finish school.

Seeing the four people coming out, Madam Xu's eyes swept across Zheng Huan and Feng Xu's faces, looked at Lu Tai twice more, and then walked straight to Ming Youyou, took her hand and said with a smile: "Child, if you want to change the way to publish the book, just say it directly. How can I let you suffer a loss?"

Ming Youyou said embarrassedly: "It's all coincidence, this time it was an accident, an accident hehe."

It’s really... Principal Pei gave too much and I couldn’t refuse.

She patted her chest and said, "Next time we have a chance, we will definitely seek cooperation with you first."

Madam Xu doesn't think there is still a chance. If this first book sells well, it will be a success. Only a fool would go back to the old ways for the subsequent series.

"So what are your plans next?" she asked.

"Ah, do we still need a plan?" Ming Youyou was a little confused. "Isn't it just waiting for the book to be printed and then selling it?"

"It's not that simple," Madam Xu couldn't help but pat her on the head, but thinking that she was now eager to ask for cooperation, she raised her hand and pressed it down again.

"You are in a good momentum now. If you don't seize the opportunity to grab the market, be careful that pirated or counterfeit products will appear in the long run, and you may end up making things easier for others."

She gave a few examples to tell the four innocent teenagers how deep the waters of the book market are.

"I heard that the printing shop you found can only produce 200 copies in a month. This is too slow. Hurry up and go back to that shop. I will introduce you to a larger workshop."

"But we have already promised my cousin to let them keep printing." Ming Youyou said with a frown.

Because of their book, their cousin's printing shop, which had not been able to pay workers for several months and was about to close, finally got a chance to breathe again. They cherished this opportunity very much, and everyone from the boss to the apprentice worked day and night. If Ming Youyou and the others proposed to terminate the cooperation at this time, even though they paid enough money, it would inevitably make people discouraged.

Moreover, because they helped their relatives' relatives' relatives, Guo Renniang was so happy that she sent them chickens in various ways for several days in a row. Even for the sake of the chickens that went into their stomachs, they couldn't go back on their word.

"Well then," Madam Xu glared at them in frustration, "We'll keep the original printing shop, and I'll find a few more to start working at the same time. We'll try to have all the printings available in the major cities nearby in a month."

"And look at the book, the paper is so low quality," Madam Xu took out a book and shook it with disdain, "It's even more like a pirated copy, and it lowers your quality a lot. This won't do."

Ming Youyou and the others looked at them in surprise. The printing shop had just delivered five sample books to the academy yesterday. After reading them, President Pei gave them to several friends. Unexpectedly, Madam Xu had the magical power to get a copy today.

"That kind of small shop probably doesn't have any way to get good paper," Madam Xu sighed, "Fortunately, the quality of their woodblocks is acceptable. Well, for your sake, I'll introduce them to a shop that's famous for making paper."

Ming Youyou smiled happily, "Then I will thank you on their behalf. Don't worry, we appreciate this favor. We will definitely give you priority in supplying goods. You are the only one we sell to in the county."

Madam Xu laughed angrily, "I am the only bookstore in our county. You are so generous."

She finally patted Ming Youyou on the head. "I don't believe you can't see the problem with this paper. Did you become soft-hearted just because someone complained? Where's the smartness you usually have when selling your rouge?"

"Don't think that printing a book is a simple matter. The grade of paper used, the style of the cover, and the font used for engraving all have an impact on how readers feel when reading the book, and also affect the image of the author in their minds. There is a lot of knowledge involved. You are also considered to be people who are on this path, so you can't be so casual in the future."

Ming Youyou nodded vigorously to show that she accepted the teaching. Zheng Huan saw that she was so moved that her head was hot. She seemed to be mumbling that she wanted to give the exclusive rights of Pingyang City to Madam Xu as well. He hurriedly stopped her and said, "We are now publishing a book together with the academy. We need to discuss any decisions together."

Madam Xu stopped with a slight regret and went with them to see President Pei.

As soon as they entered the academy, a few people exchanged glances with each other, made the excuse of going to the classroom to get textbooks, and slipped away to a corner to have a small meeting.

Feng Xu asked Zheng Huan in confusion: "Did you see anything?"

Zheng Huan shook his head. "That's not the case, but I vaguely felt something was wrong. Didn't you notice that when Madam Xu was talking just now, she was avoiding looking into Lu Tai's eyes?"

The other three people had blank expressions. They felt nothing at all, including Lu Tai himself.

Ming Youyou didn't understand, "It's nothing, Sister Yuxiang doesn't dare to look at Lu Tai."

"She is shy, but is Madam Xu a shy person?" Zheng Huan paused, "I think she is just feeling guilty."

Ming Youyou opened her mouth and whispered, "But I think what she said makes sense. She really cares about me."

Zheng Huan said: "This is her brilliance. Even if she has ulterior motives, she doesn't make people feel disgusted. Instead, people admire her methods."

"As expected, the older you are, the wiser you are," Ming Youyou said suddenly, "I used to think my father was the best, but now I think every store in the county is not simple. But Madam Xu really helped us a lot this time..."

Zheng Huan said: "We can repay you with priority supply. From a business perspective, we don't have to give Pingyang exclusive sales."

He found that Ming Youyou was the most sophisticated only when selling facial cream. At other times, she was easily swayed by her emotions and her heart was not as hard as theirs.

"We will find the problems that Madam Xu mentioned sooner or later, and we can find any bookseller to solve them. So she is helping us as well as herself. In this way, hasn't she also successfully tied herself to us?"

Ming Youyou calmed down and said, "Well, except for our county, let the bookstores in other places bid, and the highest bidder will win."