Starting from a thatched cottage, the farmer embarked on the road to wealth through imperial examina

Just after they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Pingwen asked a question that surprised both Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng.

"I heard that a book called "White Snake" popular among students seems to have some connection with Changyan?"

Hearing Li Ping's question, Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng put down their chopsticks. Ye Changyan picked up the teacup and took a sip. Then he gave a general account of the situation regarding "White Snake".

"According to the information I received, the script of White Snake was indeed published by Hongyang Bookstore. Behind Hongyang Bookstore is the business of the Wu family, a prominent family in Shengjing. Wu Hongchang, who was the county magistrate of Wanshou County at the time, and his son Wu Jiaxing were indeed the main participants."

Hearing what Li Ping said, Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng did not seem to be too surprised. When Mr. Cai mentioned the background of several major bookstores in Shengjing, they had more or less guessed the reasons behind it.

Only after they had confirmed it from Li Ping's mouth could Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng still feel a little sad and emotional.

Then Li Ping mentioned Wu Hongchang, who was transferred to Longhe County under Linzhou as the county magistrate. During this flood, floodwaters poured into Longhe County, and the entire Longhe County was severely affected, but Wu Hongchang's performance in earthquake relief was unremarkable.

A branch of the Shengjing Wu family in Linzhou was involved in a case of reselling moldy grain in the Xuyang area. The problem was that this batch of moldy grain that was resold to Xuyang Prefecture happened to come from Longhe County. Wu Hongchang was therefore implicated and dismissed from his post on the spot.

Wu Jiaxing passed the imperial examination in the autumn of last year, but failed in the spring of this year. He was originally preparing for the next spring examination in a academy on Shuyuan Street. Because Wu Hongchang was dismissed from his post, he was ostracized by his classmates and had to drop out of the academy. He was depressed all day long and did not put much effort into his studies.

Upon hearing the news about County Magistrate Wu and Wu Jiaxing, Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng couldn't help but sigh.

"I have also roughly read the script of "White Snake". The story is indeed novel and touching. I wonder if you have other scripts, Changyan. I have some relationship with Zhongzheng Bookstore. If you have other scripts, you might as well take them out and cooperate with Zhongzheng Bookstore."

Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng both looked at Li Ping in surprise. They didn't expect that he would be related to the Zhongzheng Book Bureau. They remembered that Mr. Cai had mentioned that behind Zhongzheng Book Bureau seemed to be the property of the royal family.

Seeing that both of them were looking at him in surprise, Li Ping smiled faintly and spoke.

"You all probably know that there are four major bookstores in Shengjing City, namely Jixian Bookstore, Zhongzheng Bookstore, Hongyang Bookstore and Bowun Bookstore. Jixian Bookstore is owned by the Empress Dowager's family, Hongyang Bookstore is owned by the Wu family, a prominent family in Shengjing, Bowun Bookstore is owned by the Jiangyou Confucian merchant Fan Beishan family, and as for Zhongzheng Bookstore, it is owned by the descendants of the royal family. The King of England, who presented you with awards at the Dragon Boat Festival archery competition and polo match awards ceremony, holds the largest share of Zhongzheng Bookstore."

After hearing what Li Ping said, Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng nodded in understanding.

"You mean you can help me connect with the King of England?"

Li Ping shook his head.

"Although the King of England holds the largest share in Zhongzheng Bookstore, he has not shown up for many years and does not interfere too much in these mundane matters. If you really have other storybooks in your hands, I have a way to have your storybooks published in Zhongzheng Bookstore, and I guarantee that no one dares to reprint Zhongzheng Bookstore's books."

When Ye Changyan thought of the sold-out version of "White Snake" in Shuyuan Street, he couldn't help but feel tempted. However, he was currently studying at the Imperial College and didn't have much time to write the version. If he delayed his studies because of this, it would be a waste of time.

"I don't have any other storybooks in my hands, but I do have a lot in my mind. But right now, the most important thing for me is my studies, so I'm afraid I don't have much time to write storybooks."

Hearing that Ye Changyan had a lot on his mind, Li Ping had an understanding expression on his face. Of course, he also knew that Ye Changyan was in the Imperial College and his studies were indeed heavy, but he could also see that Ye Changyan seemed a little moved. But compared with his studies, he should naturally focus on his studies, so Li Ping threw out tempting conditions.

"If you can spare some time to write it, I can talk to Zhongzheng Bookstore and split the revenue 50-50."

Ye Changyan shook his head. Li Ping's conditions did not seem to impress him.

"Do you know how much the White Snake version was sold for in Shengjing alone?"

Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng both shook their heads, and Li Ping then told them roughly what he knew.

This version of "White Snake" was printed in five volumes, with the price of a single volume ranging from about three hundred to five hundred coins. However, due to its popularity, it was often out of stock. The price of the entire book was hyped up to four or five taels when it was first printed. Even now, almost a year has passed, and the market price is still no less than two taels.

Not only the students from various academies were chasing after the White Snake version, the ladies and young ladies in Shengjing City also couldn't put it down. According to what Li Ping had learned, nearly 10,000 copies of the White Snake version were sold in Shengjing City alone, and if the sales in the surrounding prefectures and cities around the capital were included, the total number of copies printed should be close to 20,000.

Even if calculated at the lowest price of two taels of silver per volume, the revenue from the scripts of White Snake in the capital area alone was at least 40,000 taels. If the profit was split 50-50 as Li Ping had said before, Wu Jiaxing would have made more than 20,000 taels from the scripts of White Snake compiled through his own storytelling. Ye Changyan felt painful just thinking about it.

Li Ping was waiting for his reply with anticipation, Liang Jingcheng also looked at him with sharp eyes. Ye Changyan thought for a while before speaking.

"The conditions you offer are indeed very tempting, but for me, academic studies should come first no matter what."

Hearing Ye Changyan say this, Li Ping nodded in agreement, but he knew that Ye Changyan had not finished speaking, so he waited quietly for Ye Changyan to state his conditions, and sure enough, he heard Ye Changyan continue.

"As you said, Wu Jiaxing was able to compile the story of The White Snake based on the content of my storytelling. I guess Zhongzheng Bookstore must have a large number of ghostwriters with outstanding writing skills, right?"

Li Ping nodded without comment, but Liang Jingcheng seemed to understand Ye Changyan's thoughts and a smile appeared on his face.

"Right now I have in my mind a story about a daughter of an official who risked her life to save her husband for love, but accidentally became a princess consort. After going through all kinds of twists and turns, she finally got what she wanted and achieved a happy marriage."

Li Ping, who had been listening attentively, suddenly widened his eyes after hearing Ye Changyan's summary of the story, with curiosity and excitement flashing in his eyes.