After being expelled from the mansion, I changed the dynasty by writing novels.

Ye Yuwu felt that the signboard "Sihai Bookstore" was not very prominent, and the characters on the signboard at the entrance of the bookstore were old, with only the "one" remaining on the character "four".

She specially found a cheap and reliable carpenter, and asked Uncle Li to make a new signboard. The new bookstore was called "Yu Zhi Bookstore".

The name of the bookstore comes from the idiom "to stop at the highest good." Ye Yuwu hopes that everyone who enters the bookstore can stop at the garden of books. The troubles of the world will stop, but your vision and mind will not be limited to these books.

It can be considered a beautiful wish!

The plaque was already hung up, but Ye Yuwu didn't do anything else, mainly because she didn't have any money for the time being.

However, this did not mean she was idle. On the contrary, she would sit at the desk near the window of the bookstore every day, watching the people coming and going in the bookstore across the street, and would occasionally run to the door of her own bookstore to secretly observe the street.

Finally, after a few days, under the bright sun, Ye Yuwu called Li Bo and Hua Ping together for a "meeting"!

The bookstore didn't have many customers anyway!

"From what I've observed these past few days, besides scholars and writers, the bookstore across the street is frequented mostly by servants from large mansions!"

"How did you figure out those people were servants? Weren't they all dressed in ordinary people's coarse linen clothes?"

“Huaping, think carefully about the shoes on their feet. Although they are not as exquisite as those of wealthy families, they are not the kind that ordinary families can afford either. These maids must be personal maids of young ladies from wealthy families. You can tell from their proper posture.” Ye Yuwu looked Huaping up and down. If she didn’t have a case nearby, she really wouldn’t have noticed.

"Yes, girl, you're so smart!" Huaping looked at Ye Yuwu with admiration.

"I wouldn't call myself smart."

"But why are they going to the bookstore to buy books?" Hua Ping asked, tilting her head to look at Ye Yuwu.

“Bookstores don’t just sell books; they might also buy writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. However, wealthy families usually have stewards who handle these purchases, so they probably wouldn’t need their personal maids to do it, would they?” Uncle Li, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

Ye Yuwu smiled mysteriously, "Uncle Li, our bookstore is still too old-fashioned!"

I've observed what these people carry when they leave the bookstore. There's an academy nearby, and they're usually students, always carrying books, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

The women came out empty-handed. What do you think happened?

Hua Ping and Li Bo were intrigued by her and shook their heads in unison.

"I noticed that when they came out, their hands would unconsciously be placed in their laps, as if protecting something, being careful as if afraid of being seen. I was wondering about this too, but then one day a woman tripped over the threshold as she came out of the bookstore, and something she was carrying fell out of her lap. I have good eyesight, so I saw what was on the ground—it turned out to be a storybook!"

“Storybooks!” Huaping slapped her forehead. “That’s right, you used to love reading storybooks too, and you often sent me out to buy them!”

"What does the young lady mean?" Uncle Li asked.

"The market for storybooks was basically dominated by women. Most women in the lower classes were illiterate, and even those who were literate didn't have the money to buy storybooks. On the other hand, women from wealthy families were literate and had money, so storybooks were used by them to relieve their loneliness while they were confined to the backyard."

However, few people write storybooks; scholars don't bother writing these kinds of things.

Some writers who were short of money did write, but most of the writing was done by men. They were unhappy with their lives and liked to write stories about scholars and young ladies to satisfy their own sorrowful hearts.

"There are few storybooks, the market is big, there is no competition, and it is very profitable. I just don't understand why I can't find a single storybook in the entire bookstore. We don't have any advantages. I think we can do business with women and make money from women first."

"Young lady, that's a feasible idea, but where will we find someone to write the storybook?"

"Uncle Li, are you familiar with these publications?"

Uncle Li opened his eyes wide with doubt and said he had never heard of it.

“I’ve thought about it. I still have enough money to publish a book. There’s an academy nearby. We can write a few brochures and distribute them along the way.”

What should be written on the shop list?

"Naturally, it's writing for the booklets our bookstore accepts short stories for. Whether it's a tale of the strange or a love story, as long as it's good enough, it'll be fifty coins per story, with a word count limit of..." She thought for a moment, resting her chin on her hand, "...500-5000 words."

"Fifty coins, that's so much? I'm tempted to write it myself, young lady." Huaping's eyes widened in disbelief, truly worried that her young lady would be taken advantage of.

Ye Yuwu didn't really know how much silver was worth in ancient times, but she had a general idea.

"At the beginning, it always takes more money to attract people. We'll probably have to tighten our belts for a while, but..."

Ye Yuwu blinked. "If you want to write about painting screens, you can. If you write well, I'll pay you."

Ye Yuwu smiled and looked at the painted screen.

"No, no, Miss, I was just joking. I can't write. I prefer embroidery to writing stories."

Ye Yuwu tapped her head helplessly, "You!"

Huaping innocently covered her head and looked at her daughter, pouting as if she were very aggrieved.

"Oh, right, there's one more very important thing: whatever you do, don't let the bookstore across the street find out what we've done!"

One should always be wary of others, especially since they are competitors. Judging from their deliberate opening across the street from this bookstore and their frequent underhanded tactics, the bookstore across the street is not a good place to mess with them.

The plan was set.

Li Bo quickly took out paper and ink and began writing the ward list. Hua Ping had learned to read and write from the original owner when she was in the mansion, so she wrote the ward list with Li Bo.

Ye Yuwu didn't go with them because she had something else to do—write a novel.

That's right, it's about writing novels. She used to be a fairly well-known online novelist. These ancient stories were all the same, and she had long wanted to show off her skills and really shock these ancient people.

Well, we've strayed a bit from the topic. The main point is that she wants to showcase her strengths. Her plan is to include not only short stories but also serialized novels. Isn't that what modern books and magazines were originally like?

This approach helps retain some readers; some people are willing to pay for the next installment if they want to read the serialized novel.

Given the current limitations of publishing, she can only write serialized novels for now.

But what should the first novel be about? Ye Yuwu sat at her desk, one hand supporting her chin, the other holding a calligraphy brush, but she didn't put pen to paper for a long time.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck her.

Wasn't the earliest popular online novel the domineering CEO novel?

CEO romance novels were popular not only in the past but are still very popular today. They don't require much writing skill; the plots are limited, and as long as they're melodramatic enough, they can win over women's hearts.

Her mind immediately cleared.

Although there were no domineering CEOs in ancient times, there were domineering princes!

The prince and Cinderella are just like a domineering prince and a little maid!

Ye Yuwu's eyes sparkled with excitement as she picked up a brush dipped in ink and wrote the title of the story on the first line of the first sheet of Xuan paper—"The Overbearing Prince Falls in Love with His Little Maid."

She looked at her crooked calligraphy with satisfaction, and then, a sudden inspiration struck her, and she began to write the main text.