How can someone travel through time and space and become a beggar?

"How is the book rental fee charged?" Mo Qingmei continued to ask.

"I only make a few cents a day, which isn't much money. But think about how many books you have in your shop. And since you happen to own a bookshop, this is a great opportunity to gain a good reputation." Xia Chu thought not only of his reputation, but also of another thing. "This can be considered a good deed. If a scholar who rents books from your shop passes the imperial examination one day, they might remember your shop. The most important thing is, even if it's just a few cents a day, it actually adds up. As long as the books are still there, you won't lose money."

Mo Qingmei thought carefully about her words, "If they all rent books to read, won't my books be unsellable?"

"How could that be?" Xia Chu smiled and shook her head. "Those rich people don't have time to borrow or return books. They'll buy them anyway. Renting books is for those who want to read but can't afford them. They can't afford to buy books, so they're just reading books in your shop for nothing. It's better to rent them. Not only can you make some money, but they'll also be grateful to you."

"That seems to make sense." Mo Qingmei thought it made sense. Although free reading would help these people remember the benefits of her bookstore, scholars were not so thick-skinned after all. If they came to read for free frequently, they would not be able to get over it themselves. It was precisely because of this that Mo Qingmei told the shopkeeper to ignore it.

Xia Chu had said everything she needed to say. It was up to Mo Qingmei to decide whether to do it or not. She stopped talking and asked about the confined Li Yun, "Think about it. Is Sister Yun still writing her storybooks? How's her reputation?"

"I'm still writing it. It's quite famous. Many people have written to us and asked us to pass it on." Mo Qingmei said with a smile.

Xia Chu suddenly thought of a way to advertise and asked, "Is Sister Yun able to go out recently? I want to talk to her about something."

Speaking of Li Yun, Mo Qingmei sighed, "She can go out now, but Madam Li has assigned a nanny to watch over her whenever she goes out. Sister Yun is a little irritated and doesn't want to go out. She's been locked up in her room writing storybooks all day, and she just finished a story recently. What do you want from her? It's best not to come over recently. Madam Li knows that we have a good relationship, and I heard from Lin Lang that she's been pissed off about this incident."

Xia Chu nodded. Madam Li was strict with Sister Yun. This time, Sister Yun had made a splash, but it was by writing a poem cursing people, which had touched Madam Li's nerves. It was understandable that she would take her anger out on them. "I want Yin Ge Yuan to appear in Sister Yun's next storybook."

"The Yin Ge Garden appeared? What does this mean?" Mo Qingmei didn't understand.

"Advertising." Xia Chu smiled and explained to her the celebrity effect and the role of advertising.

Mo Qingmei was stunned when she heard this, "Is this possible?"

"Of course." People at this time have not experienced the overwhelming bombardment of advertisements, so they probably won't be very resistant.

"Write a letter and I'll have someone secretly deliver it to the Li family." Mo Qingmei nodded. "If you want to let more people know about other shops, can you use this method as well?"

"Okay, let Sister Yun write about a woman living in Lin'an. Write about the shop this woman often goes to, and then write a few words to introduce it. If you write it well, people who read the storybook will be interested and remember the place. Maybe they will remember it the next time they go out." Xia Chu said.

"What a great idea." Mo Qingmei looked at Xia Chu and jokingly said, "You have a head full of business tips. Did you come up with them all on your own?"

"I was just daydreaming." Xia Chu felt a little embarrassed as he was just repeating what others had said.

In today's information-explosion society, even if you have never eaten pork, you have seen pigs run.

After having lunch at Mo Qingmei's place, Xia Chu was worried about Yin Geyuan, so he said goodbye directly.

Back at Yin Ge Garden, Xia Chu first walked around the garden to see how the visitors were. Then she went to the Listening Books Building, which was usually full every day.

Xia Chu also put a lot of thought into the reading room on the second floor. The floor is covered with a rabbit-skin rug, so you can lie down or sit down as you please.

However, most people are not used to sitting on the ground outside, even if it is covered with clean white rabbit fur.

Xia Chu liked this place very much, but unfortunately she didn't have much time to sit around.

"Miss, five membership cards have been sold!" Qiu Niang learned that Xia Chu had returned and hurried over to tell her the good news.

Five cards, three hundred taels each, that's fifteen hundred taels. Xia Chu was delighted. With these five cards as a foundation, she didn't have to worry about this month's sales. "Have you registered the information of the new customers? Take note of their preferences and habits. Next time, be sure to recognize them the moment they come in. Make sure they feel treated differently from others, so they'll feel the money is worth it."

Qiu Niang has always been meticulous in her work, so she naturally wouldn't forget. "Just as the young lady said, I've specially nailed a book to record it."

"Send a pot of good tea to these five guests, and explain that it's a gift only for signing up for a membership card."

"Yes, I'll go right away."

After a walk around, Xia Chu saw that he was not busy today, so he slowly walked to the second floor.

There are not many people here, everyone is sitting downstairs listening to books.

Xia Chu picked up a book, found a seat by the window, and sat down on the floor. Feeling uncomfortable, she grabbed a pillow and placed it against the wall.

Now I feel comfortable, Xia Chu sighed.

But maybe it was too comfortable, Xia Chu actually fell asleep.

Lin Lang came over to look for someone and saw this scene.

The sleeping beauty leaned against the wall, the sunlight pouring in from the window like fine gold dust, covering half of her cheek. The tiny hairs on her face were clearly visible in the sunlight, as if they were spirits that had strayed into the mortal world.

Cuihua was about to go forward and call for help when Lin Lang pulled her back. She raised a finger to her lips and said, "No, don't wake her. Xiaoguang, hurry."

Xiaoguang knew what the lady meant as soon as she saw her expression. When she saw beautiful people or things, she couldn't help herself and her urge to paint came.

As the noise downstairs slowly died down, Xia Chu woke up. She blinked, having slept so comfortably that she almost lost track of time. She looked up and saw an easel. Lin Lang had just turned his head to observe it. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before both regained consciousness.

"Lin Lang? When did you get here?" Xia Chu's body was a little stiff from sleeping. After stretching a bit, Cuihua helped her stand up. "Drawing?"

"I've been here for a long time. My mother asked the other ladies to come over today. I thought I'd come to play with you, but I saw you were asleep." Lin Lang looked down at his work. "The sun was so bright, and you looked so beautiful sleeping. I couldn't help but paint it."

Xia Chu looked down. It hadn't been painted yet, so you couldn't see the sunlight or anything. But the rough sketch looked pretty good. "Is this me? Is it really that good-looking?"

"It will look better when it's colored! I'll send it to you when I finish it!" Lin Lang said confidently.

"Miss, Madam said she wants to go back." Xiaoguang came in from outside and said.

"So soon?" Lin Lang glanced at his sketch. Fortunately, it was almost done. He just needed to go back and add some details and color. "Then I'll be leaving first."

"Okay, I'll give it to you."