You are unlucky and I am tough

The family did not tell anyone that their house had been robbed, because it would be useless as they would not catch the thieves and would only cause more gossip in the village.

However, Wei Qinglang also realized the safety issue. He went to find Cheng Daming early in the morning and asked him to find a few more people so that the house could be completed in five days.

After giving the instructions, he went back and drove the donkey cart to take Cheng Shuang to the county town. The cart stopped at the gate of Baicaotang. Cheng Shuang jumped out and asked him, "Where are you going? Are you going back first? Wouldn't it be too much trouble to pick me up in the afternoon?"

"not going back."

Wei Qinglang also got off the cart and lowered his voice, "The last time I came to see you, I made an agreement with a medicine boy to pay him two cents to help me look after the donkey cart. I will find a deserted place to enter the space and write the story book later."

Just as Zhuzi finished speaking, he saw them running out, with a smile on his face, "Brother Qing, you are here, give me the donkey."

Wei Qinglang gave him two cents, and Zhuzi happily pulled the donkey cart around the back door to the stable in the backyard.

As soon as Zhuzi left, Cheng Shuang asked, "What are you going to write for the first book? How much can you write in a day? Remember to show it to me when you finish it."

"Writing Water Margin, I've watched a lot of film and television adaptations from childhood to adulthood, so it's easier to get started." Wei Qinglang said as he quickly clasped his hands together and bowed, "I hope Mr. Shi Naian won't blame me. When I make money, I will place your tablet in the temple for worship."

Cheng Shuang was amused by his words. "You said before that you wanted to write a history of China's 5,000 years of changes. Then you have to worship a lot of people."

Wei Qinglang coughed lightly, "Then I feel guilty."

Cheng Shuang smiled even more happily. "Okay, okay, go ahead. Master Shi Naian will forgive you."

"Then I'll be leaving." Before Wei Qinglang turned around, he saw Cheng Shuang's hand wrapped in gauze and added, "Your hand is still injured, so take care of yourself."

Cheng Shuang turned and walked into the shop, raised her injured hand and waved it behind her.

Some preparations needed to be made before starting. Wei Qinglang found a bookstore and bought a set of four treasures of the study. He also spent one or two taels of silver to buy a large amount of jute paper.

After everything was prepared, he returned to Baicaotang, found an empty alley, and entered the space.

He turned on his computer to search for relevant information and decided to remove the prologue and start writing from the first chapter where Coach Wang secretly left Yan'an Prefecture and Jiu Wenlong caused trouble in Shijia Village. He would use the style of a modern novel and try to make it as easy to understand as possible.

Before starting to write, Wei Qinglang thought about it carefully and finally named the book "Liangshan".

For the next few days, the two of them did this. Cheng Shuang went to Baicaotang to see patients, and Wei Qinglang went into the space to write books. They had lunch together at noon, and then went home together in the afternoon.

On the fifth day, Wei Qinglang finished writing the fifth chapter. When Cheng Shuang came out of Baicaotang after work in the afternoon, they went to Moxiang Bookstore together with a thick stack of manuscript paper.

When Wei Qinglang entered the room, he didn't see the shopkeeper at the counter. He turned around and saw the clerk from last time wiping the bookshelf, so he walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Brother, do you still remember me?"

The guy turned around and when he saw the two people behind him, four words automatically popped up in his mind: a talented man and a beautiful woman.

Then he felt that the man looked familiar, and when he suddenly remembered, he immediately smiled and said, "I remember, sir, you are here again. What would you like to buy this time?"

He remembered that although this guest was dressed poorly, he was a wealthy man, and this time he brought a beautiful girl with him.

He is rich and has beautiful women by his side, but he dresses so poorly. Does he have some special fetish?

Wei Qinglang said, "I want to find the shopkeeper."

"Okay, you two, wait a moment while I go call from the back."

After a while, the waiter went to the back and called the shopkeeper out. The shopkeeper still remembered Wei Qinglang, especially his words "I'll come again in a few days."

I didn't expect that he would really come, and brought a beautiful young lady with him.

Wei Qinglang introduced his name, where he lived, and Cheng Shuang's identity, then stated his purpose directly. The shopkeeper then invited him to the tea room for tea.

After sitting down, Cheng Shuang quietly drank tea attentively. Wei Qinglang took out the manuscript of the first chapter and handed it to the shopkeeper.

"Take a look first, and then we can talk about other things."

The shopkeeper took it and thought the calligraphy was really good at first glance. Then he looked at the words on the first page and read, "Liangshan, an unknown author. Preface: The content of this book is purely fictional. The relevant dynasties, characters, place names and legal systems mentioned in the book are all compiled by the author. Any similarity is purely coincidental.

The shopkeeper found the preface quite fresh and thought that he could add one to the other storybooks in the store in the future, and then he started to read the content.

As the papers turned page by page, the shopkeeper's expression gradually became serious, and after finishing the first chapter, his face was full of satisfaction.

"Is that all? Brother Wei, how much have you written? I'll buy this storybook."

"I've written up to the fifth chapter so far, and the shopkeeper just read the first chapter." Wei Qinglang took out the other manuscript papers in the backpack and handed him the second chapter.

The shopkeeper continued watching, looking very absorbed in it, nodding his head in praise.

Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang drank their tea calmly, waiting for him to finish reading.

Wei Qinglang said, "My Liangshan is a long storybook, with a total of 120 chapters. It may exceed one million words when it is finished."

The shopkeeper was shocked by the number of words for a whole day, and then he was overjoyed, "Okay, okay, I'll take them all. How about this, I'll give you one ounce of silver each time."

He had never seen a storybook with nearly a million words. He heard that the most popular storybook in the imperial city recently had nearly 100,000 words and was selling like hotcakes.

After hearing the shopkeeper's offer, Wei Qinglang turned to look at Cheng Shuang, and then saw the word "swindler" in Cheng Shuang's eyes.

Cheng Shuang gave him a look that said "leave it to me" and smiled faintly at the shopkeeper, holding up two fingers. "Five times here, two hundred taels."

"That one cost forty taels." The shopkeeper's eyes almost popped out of his head, and he waved his hands in fear. "No, no, that's too expensive. Normally, a book can be bought for a few to more than ten taels of silver."

Cheng Shuang was very calm, "You said it was an ordinary storybook. Those storybooks have more than 20,000 words at most, and some even have only a few thousand words. Customers just follow the trend and buy something new.

My husband wrote a long novel. The five chapters here have over 40,000 words. You can print and sell it directly. If you sell one copy for 400 wen, you can make a profit in less than a month."

"And we can specify in the contract that the volume is 120 chapters, guaranteed quality and quantity. A long novel will definitely become popular, and many people will follow suit and collect it. Liangshan can publish a total of 24 volumes, and you can just sit back and count your money."

After hearing Cheng Shuang's analysis, the shopkeeper was actually persuaded, but he still had a bitter face. "But it's too high. What if it doesn't sell well? Let's make it less, ten taels per time."

Cheng Shuang shook her head. "Maybe there's a market owner who knows better than us. We won't give up on this price."

Wei Qinglang also said, "Boss, I've already made inquiries. This Moxiang Bookstore is a branch. The main store is in the provincial capital, and there is also a branch in the prefectural capital. The books you sell are all interoperable. As long as there is a market in Liangshan, you will sell them to the prefectural and provincial capitals. We will sell them to you for five times, two hundred taels, which is not too much."

Not only was the price not high, but it was also a huge loss. However, after all, it was not a work he wrote himself, so he didn't feel comfortable asking for too high a price.

The shopkeeper felt a pang of pain on his face, but seeing that the two men looked calm and acted as if there was nothing more to talk about unless they agreed, he was also afraid that the two men would go out and look for cooperation with other bookstores.

Gritting his teeth, the shopkeeper nodded heavily, "Okay, then we'll sign the contract now based on the price you mentioned."

He asked the clerk to bring paper and pen, and the shopkeeper wrote two contracts in front of him. After both parties signed, he gave two silver notes of one hundred taels each.

Wei Qinglang also handed the remaining three manuscripts to the shopkeeper, and after the payment and goods were settled, he said goodbye to Cheng Shuang and left.

When the clerk saw the shopkeeper holding the manuscript papers like treasures, he was very impressed with Wei Qinglang. He thought to himself, "Last time I bought something in their store, I spent more than ten taels, and this time I made a profit of two hundred taels from their store."