Quick Transmigration: I Actually Became a System Bug

Shi Shaoheng rushed to the town at the end of April, and together with Ji Han, they secretly arrived. After some consideration, he finally chose a bookstore that he was not very familiar with.

The bookstore is small and named Wuyi Bookstore, meaning you can come and go as you please. When you walk in, the books are arranged in a messy way. Looking around, most of them are just random books, and the few books related to the college entrance exam are squeezed into the corner of the bookshelf.

The bookstore owner was a thin, white-bearded old man. He didn't even get up to greet anyone who came in. Surprisingly, there were quite a few people in the bookstore, and even though no one was maintaining order, everyone tacitly kept quiet.

Ji Han also noticed with his sharp eyes that on the outermost and most conspicuous bookshelf, many books only had one or two copies left, and some were even completely empty. Although he wasn't very tall, his eyesight was excellent, and he could spot the titles of the few remaining books on the shelf from afar: "The Tale of the Demon Fox," "The Mountain Spirit," "Adding Fragrance," etc.

Even without looking, Ji Han knew it was nothing more than a love story between a spirit and a scholar. The book Shi Shaoyu brought to Shi Shaoheng this time was "The Legend of the Immortals," which he and Ji Han had chosen in advance. It contained both grand principles and personal emotions. Most importantly, among all the books with happy endings, this book was full of sadness. It was thought that once it was sold, it would earn a lot of tears from talented men and beautiful women.

The three of them had no intention of buying books, mainly because even if they bought them and took them back, they would be confiscated immediately. Seeing that the shopkeeper ignored him, Shi Shaoheng could only step forward and promote the books himself.

"Shopkeeper, excuse me, do you accept storybooks?"

The shopkeeper frowned. He slowly finished reading the page in his hand before standing up and carefully examining Ji Han and the others.

"Where are your parents? Why would they let you three children sell books?"

The shopkeeper noticed that Shi Shaoheng and his two companions were dressed fairly well, and he assumed that the three children had secretly taken books from the study to exchange for money to play with, since he had encountered this kind of thing before.

Fortunately, Shi Shaoheng and the other two had anticipated this situation.

“My father has to take care of my mother at home, so he can only send us to bring his books to the bookstore to sell. Shopkeeper, please take a look. If you don’t want them, I’ll go to another bookstore. My father sent us here because he said this bookstore offers the fairest prices.”

Amused by Shi Shaoheng's cleverness, the shopkeeper chuckled and stroked his beard.

"If I don't accept your book, wouldn't you be going against your father's wishes if you went to another house? Aren't you afraid your father will blame you?"

Shi Shaoheng gave the shopkeeper a look that said, "How could you be so stupid?"

“If you’re not going to accept it, why would I foolishly insist? That’s why my father scolded me, right? A gentleman doesn’t force others to do things against their will; one should know when to advance and when to retreat.”

The shopkeeper laughed heartily twice.

"Alright, alright, then young sir, would you please take out the book your father wrote so I can have a look?"

Shi Shaoyu handed over the book in his hand. To be honest, he was really nervous at the moment. After all, Shi Xiucai had told him before that his handwriting was not strong enough and he was far from being a master. He didn't know if the shopkeeper would refuse to accept his book because of this.

The shopkeeper had managed to run a bookstore for so many years, and aside from anything else, he certainly had the ability to read books and read words. The moment he opened the book, he knew that it was definitely not written by the "father" the child was talking about.

The shopkeeper frowned slightly and continued reading page by page, eventually becoming quite engrossed in the text.

"Ahem, um, shopkeeper, would you like to buy this book?"

The innkeeper, engrossed in his book, was about to get angry when he was suddenly disturbed, but then he remembered that someone had brought him this story. He coughed twice to cover his embarrassment and gave what he thought was a rather "amiable" smile.

"We'll take it! Such a wonderful story, of course we'll accept it!"

"I wonder how much this young gentleman's father wants to sell this book for?"

Shi Shaoyu genuinely didn't know this, since all the books he had bought before were bought by Shi Xiucai; he had never bought any himself. Just as he was about to tell the shopkeeper to give him whatever he thought was appropriate, Shi Shaoyu suddenly spoke up.

"I wonder what methods are available for purchasing books here, shopkeeper? Is it a one-time purchase or a commission based on the number of books sold?"

The shopkeeper glanced at the tiny child, who wasn't even as tall as the counter, in surprise.

"Oh my, young man, you're truly remarkable! At such a young age, you already know about commissions? Which method do you intend to use, young man?"

Given the high probability that the book would be a hit, Shi Shaoyu naturally chose to take a cut.

"I wonder what percentage of the commission the shopkeeper receives?"

The shopkeeper stroked his beard, didn't give a direct answer, but instead called out to the people behind him.

"Ercai, tidy up the reception room on the second floor and serve the best tea and pastries."

"Young gentlemen, please, let's go to the reception room on the second floor to discuss this further."

To be honest, the stairs in the bookstore weren't very friendly to Ji Han and Shi Shaoyu. It was really difficult for the two little ones to walk up, but they insisted on not being carried. After all, they still wanted to save face when they were out in public!

The reception room on the second floor was quickly tidied up. When Ji Han and the others went up, tea was already prepared. Not long after, the second-in-command brought in a food box and took out plates of very delicate-looking pastries.

"Come, gentlemen, have some tea and pastries!"

"I, Lao Zhou, have been doing business in Linshui Town for so many years. Putting aside everything else, my character is very trustworthy. I don't mean to cheat you young gentlemen. Our Wuyi Bookstore does have a commission system for purchases, but this is usually reserved for those talented scholars who are somewhat famous."

"However, I am willing to make an exception for the three young men today, mainly because the story they brought is just too captivating."

"Currently, the majority of the revenue sharing between our bookstores and the literati is 80% for the bookstores and 20% for the literati. After all, once the books arrive at the bookstores, the bookstores not only have to bear the cost of copying the books, but also the costs of sales."

"I just don't know if the three young gentlemen are satisfied with this profit-sharing ratio?"

"Of course, if the three of you are not satisfied, you can also choose to buy it outright. I will buy the book at the highest price in the bookstore."

Ji Han and the others discussed it in hushed tones and finally signed the profit-sharing agreement. The contents of the agreement were written by the shopkeeper on the spot, and when signing, Shi Shaoheng used the seal that Shi Xiucai had just made for him.

Both parties were very satisfied with the cooperation reached. When the shopkeeper saw the three of them off, he specially asked Er Cai to pack up the unfinished pastries for them to take back.