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

Ye Yuwu read these manuscripts by lamplight.

Well, Ye Yuwu wasn't a pure ancient person. It's undeniable that these people were talented, but their writing was too literary.

She was completely baffled; they were used to quoting extensively from various sources, and she didn't understand the meaning of many of the allusions.

Now I understand why readers prefer simple and straightforward content.

Ye Yuwu's delicate brows were almost furrowed in worry. She could only grit her teeth and select a few articles to see if these people would be willing to revise them.

Time flies, and three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Within three days, many people couldn't wait to come to the bookstore to inquire about the news, just wanting to know if their manuscripts had been accepted.

On the morning of the third day, before the bookstore even opened, some people had already arrived to wait.

They gathered together and chatted, with one of them even boasting, "With my talent, writing some short stories would be a piece of cake for me!"

These people laughed and joked, clearly thinking they had written something good.

A short while later, they saw a thin, middle-aged man in a long gown walk to the entrance of the bookstore, just as the bookstore opened its door from the inside.

Hua Ping was clearly taken aback when she saw a group of people standing at the door.

After the group entered, Li Bo, following Ye Yuwu's instructions, wrote down the names of those who had left the manuscript last time on a large notice board and posted it on a wooden panel propped up at the entrance of the bookstore.

"The names written above are those whose manuscripts were approved in the first round. Those whose manuscripts weren't approved, stay with me. Quickly take your manuscripts away!" Uncle Li said, standing in front of the high desk and looking at the throng of people pouring into the bookstore.

"How is this possible? My name isn't on it!" The man who had been spouting nonsense at the door snapped, shouting, "Impossible!"

Even so, they had no choice but to accept their fate and retrieve their manuscript.

Some people, carrying their manuscripts, spit in the direction of the bookstore with resentment as they left.

"Bah! My writing is so good, and this little bookstore has no appreciation skills at all. It'll go out of business sooner or later!"

However, some people, even though their manuscripts weren't accepted, still bought some books from the bookstore since they were already there, and the bookstore unexpectedly earned more money than before.

Ye Yuwu had no idea what these people were thinking; at that moment, she was still in one of the rooms on the second floor.

There are three rooms on the second floor. One room has only one bed, and Ye Yuwu and Huaping are currently sleeping in this room.

The other room is a storage room, filled with too many odds and ends, which they haven't tidied up yet.

The last room was cleaned out by Ye Yuwu and used as a private room for business discussions and other purposes.

The room is quite well-sealed, but there's only a tea table and a wooden chair inside, mainly because we don't have the money to buy anything else.

She wore a white veil, and even though she only partially concealed her beautiful face, it could not hide her extraordinary beauty.

Just as tea was being brewed in the private room, Huaping brought a man up from downstairs.

The first man to enter happened to be Guan Yan.

Guan Yuan walked up to Ye Yuwu, only to find the woman inside looking somewhat embarrassed, unsure of what to do with her hands and feet.

Ye Yuwu gestured for Guan Yan to sit down, and Ye Yuwu made him a cup of tea and placed it in front of him.

“I have read your article, young master, and it is quite good, but…” Ye Yuwu looked up at him.

"But if you want it to pass, you'll have to revise it, young master. This article is too obscure and difficult to understand. Would you be willing to change it to be more colloquial?"

Hearing what the woman in front of him said, Guan Yan clenched his hands, which were hidden in his sleeves. Scholars have always been proud, and as expected, he would never have agreed to it. Vernacular language was an insult to him, but he desperately needed the money.

"Naturally."

So they set a time for the next revision of the manuscript.

After Guan Yan left, Ye Yuwu met with several men who wrote good stories. Some of them righteously refused, while others were willing to accept. This was all something she had expected, and she expressed respect for their personal wishes.

After a busy day, Ye Yuwu finally had time to stretch and yawn before she was about to receive the last person.

She had just finished stretching when Huaping led a woman in. This woman was wearing a veil, and she clearly hadn't expected that the owner of Zhiyu Bookstore was a woman, let alone a woman with an extraordinary air about her.

Ye Yuwu wasn't too surprised, so she asked the woman to sit down. Although they were already inside and there were no men inside, the woman didn't take off her veil.

After a brief explanation to the woman, she hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed.

"How rare!" Ye Yuwu couldn't help but exclaim as soon as the woman left.

"Girl, what's so rare?" Hua Ping, who was standing next to Ye Yuwu massaging her back, asked in confusion.

"Today, all the people who came to Huaping were men, but there was one woman who also came to submit her work. Moreover, after reading her manuscript, I found that it was no less impressive than the other men's, and her story was even better. Isn't that remarkable?"

However, in ancient times, a literate and talented woman could only be cultivated by a wealthy and powerful family, right? But today, the woman had no maids by her side and was dressed simply, not like someone who had come to join in the fun with those men.

Ye Yuwu didn't know her story, nor did she think about it, because she had more important things to do next.

She first learned that in ancient times, there were only two ways to publish a book: hand-copying or woodblock printing. It seems that the Jin Dynasty already had printing technology.

However, when she saw the price, she immediately gave up. It would be worthwhile to produce in large quantities, such as the books of great Confucian scholars, which all students would be willing to buy and read, so there would be no shortage of sales.

However, the book and magazine format is currently just an idea of ​​hers, and it is still unknown how the sales will be after publication.

Weighing the pros and cons, hand-copied books are a cost-effective option, which is why most bookstores use them.

Ye Yuwu made a plan and decided to copy twenty books first to test the waters.

Therefore, she had to first compile all the revised manuscripts together, then design an antique-style cover, and compile a complete book before she had a template to copy and donate.

Ye Yuwu only arranged a day with these writers to revise the work.

A day later, she received stories that had been revised in vernacular Chinese. Overall, they were quite good, especially the stories written by the man named Guan Yan, which had a touch of the style of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

It's so captivating that you can't help but get completely absorbed in it.

After reading their revised story, she accepted most of it and readily paid them in copper coins.

Only then did the proofreading and writing begin.

Guan Yan, holding the fifty coins in his hand, looked somewhat incredulous.

Did he really make money from his manuscript?

In that instant, he felt as if he were walking on clouds; those fifty coins would last him for half a month.

Upon hearing that Zhiyu Bookstore needed someone to copy books, Guan Yan volunteered to Ye Yuwu.

Ye Yuwu was short of people, so naturally she wouldn't refuse.

Soon, a book was completed, and she asked Uncle Li to help her copy several more copies. Her handwriting was too ugly; even Hua Ping's handwriting was much better than hers, so she stopped trying to attract attention.

However, when Li Bohe copied books, she paid them copper coins at the normal market price for copying books, so as not to let them work for nothing.

Early in the morning, Guan Yan, who was on leave, came to the bookstore as promised to copy books.

As soon as they entered, Ye Yuwu led them to the backyard of the bookstore. Several wooden tables were set up in the backyard, and several people were already sitting around them.

To his surprise, there were both men and women among them. He counted them and found that there were eight people in total, including himself, two of whom were women.