Chapter 206: First Volume_Chapter 206: Official Release

First Volume_Chapter 206: Official Release

Just then, the sound of footsteps came from outside the door.

Shen Qingci had no time to bother with Qin Feng, hurriedly tidied her slightly disheveled hair, and pretended nothing had happened.

Lin Quqi also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking this farce had finally come to an end.

The four Young Masters meeting today were somewhat famous in Jingdu.

There were even busybodies who called them the "Four Great Talents of Chen, Li, Zhao, and Wang."

These four often came and went from Qingya Pavilion, and were already well acquainted with Shen Qingci. The moment they met, they began chatting enthusiastically.

Discovering Qin Feng was also there, the Young Master surnamed Chen could not help but be surprised, and chuckled lightly: "Isn't this Young Master Qin? I heard you've fenced off a plot of land outside the city? Have you started researching some big business again?"

Although Qin Feng didn't recognize any of the Four Great Talents at all, since it concerned business with the Book Bureau, he piled on a smile: "Not at all, not at all, my family can barely keep the pot boiling."

The moment these words came out, all four of the Great Talents burst into snickers.

Young Master Li shook his head and sighed: "Young Master Qin really knows how to joke. Who in all of Jingdu doesn't know how masterful your money-grubbing skills are? If even you can't keep the pot boiling, wouldn't we fellows have starved to death long ago? Heh heh, Young Master Qin is a busy man, let's get straight to the point. I heard Young Master Qin plans to sell books—may I ask what book?"

As he said this, a clear hint of contempt flashed in Young Master Li's eyes.

After all, Book Bureaus in Jingzhong were hardly few, and the books they sold were much the same. The Profit Margin on a single book was indeed considerable, but the customer base was very limited. Add to that the fierce competition, and running a Book Bureau was actually no easy business.

If he was merely selling books that could be found anywhere, then Qin Feng was bound to hit an Iron Plate this time!

Qin Feng naturally saw their contempt, and without dawdling, he directly took out four sample books, handed them to the four respectively, and said with a beaming smile: "Please have a look, the four Young Masters."

For ease of printing, most books had blue covers with black text.

Yet the books Qin Feng took out had a cover painted with the likenesses of a man and a woman.

Not only that!

The three characters "Mingyue Zhuan" had also been embellished, the typeface appearing exceedingly elegant.

Even the hemp cord binding the book had been specially treated and processed.

Judging by the cover alone, this book could already be called unprecedented.

The Four Great Talents, who had been wearing looks of contempt just moments ago, suddenly had their eyes light up.

But once they flipped open the pages and began reading the contents within, the Four Great Talents fell silent, sitting down directly at the desk and reading with rapt concentration.

It was only after One Envoy, when the entire book had been read through, that Young Master Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. Like someone who had downed a whole jar of fine wine in one gulp, he cried out in exhilaration, yet at the same time felt a touch of unsatisfied longing.

When his gaze fell upon the colophon at the end of the page.

Author: Qin Feng.

Transcriber: Lin Quqi.

The way Young Master Li looked at Qin Feng had already undergone an earth-shaking change—from contempt to amazement, finally settling on admiration: "I have read countless novels in my day, and have dabbled in every novel with a name to be reckoned with in Jingzhong. But not a single novel can hold a candle to this 'Mingyue Zhuan'! The diction is gorgeous, the style bold, the emotions delicate—it is truly a rare masterpiece."

At this moment, Young Master Chen also set down his 'Mingyue Zhuan', folded his hands across his knees, and after a long silence, finally slowly raised his head to look at Qin Feng, speaking word by word: "Where is the next volume?"

Young Master Zhao immediately chimed in: "Young Master Qin, you're being terribly unfair. Who ever writes a book only halfway? You're clearly doing it on purpose to whet people's appetites!"

Young Master Wang held the book in his hands and never put it down. Though he too was amazed by this unique style, what occupied his thoughts was something more practical: "Books throughout Heaven are valued for the imagery of their text. No one has ever specially decorated the cover, for fear of being accused of being superficial. Yet this book takes an unconventional approach, insisting on making the cover so exquisite, and the story within is even more captivating. May I ask how much one copy of this book sells for?"

The moment money was mentioned, Qin Feng became interested. Putting on a show of bold generosity while in his heart his abacus clicked away: "The four Young Masters are all famous figures in Jingzhong—talking about money would be vulgar. These four books, take them as gifts. As for the pricing of this book, since Brother Wang has asked, it wouldn't do for me to be mysterious."

"This 'Mingyue Zhuan' comes in two grades. The first grade is the Fine Edition, which is what the four Young Masters hold in your hands, priced at fifty taels of silver per copy. The second grade is the Regular Edition, priced at Five taels of silver."

In these times, books themselves were a kind of luxury.

Poor scholars had always valued books above all else, simply because for ordinary households, buying a single book was no easy matter.

Taking the Four Books and Five Classics as an example, each was priced at Three Hundred wen.

While books from the hands of famous authors often cost more than One Liang Silver.

The novels transcribed by Qin Feng cost five taels of silver even for the Regular Edition—seeming like someone crazy for money—but in reality it was the result of careful deliberation after surveying the market.

After all, poor scholars would never buy it; with that spare money, they'd rather buy more practical books.

From the very start, the target audience Qin Feng had in mind was the "idle folk" who had some money in hand.

Just as Qin Feng expected, the Four Great Talents had no objections whatsoever to his pricing, but instead showed keen interest in the Fine Edition in their hands.

After all, such books were truly far too rare.

Young Master Li rocked his head back and forth, taking the advantage and still acting coy: "As the saying goes, one cannot accept rewards without merit. How could such a fine book be taken for free?"

Heh heh! Those were the very words he'd been waiting for!

Qin Feng quickly took the cue and said with an accommodating smile: "If the four of you feel bad about it, you could spread the word among your friends and relatives."

Such a trivial favor, the four naturally would not refuse.

Seeing the four agree wholeheartedly, Qin Feng simply took out another twenty Fine Editions, distributed them among the four, and told them to give them away to whomever they pleased.

Seeing the Four Great Talents leave in high spirits, Shen Qingci instead furrowed her brows slightly and said irritably: "You spendthrift! This Fine Edition 'Mingyue Zhuan' is priced at fifty taels—twenty copies is two thousand taels! With that spare money, you might as well supplement the household!"

Shen Qingci was not skilled at commerce and could not understand Qin Feng's intentions, but one couldn't blame her for that.

Qin Feng directly picked up a Fine Edition 'Mingyue Zhuan', and without the slightest hesitation, casually tore it to shreds.

Not to mention Shen Qingci, even Lin Quqi was startled.

Lin Quqi grabbed Qin Feng and cried out in shock: "Are you mad? Fifty taels of silver just destroyed like that?!"

Seeing Shen Qingci pick up the paperweight again, Qin Feng, to avoid a beating, dared not hesitate and hurriedly explained: "What fifty taels? Isn't it just a few sheets of paper? Labor and materials together, it's worth at most twenty wen. Before this book is sold, it's not worth money! Only once it's sold is it worth fifty taels. So in the early stage, to build fame, let alone giving away a few dozen copies, even a few hundred would be fine."

Only then did Shen Qingci and Lin Quqi suddenly realize, their faces involuntarily flushing red—at least in terms of business acumen, they felt ashamed of their inferiority.

But to maximize profit, Qin Feng still offered a few words of advice: "The Regular Edition can be given away, but the Fine Edition is best not given away. As the saying goes, rarity makes things valuable. If even the Fine Edition becomes commonplace, then it won't be worth fifty taels of silver anymore."

"Oh right!"

Qin Feng suddenly thought of something, grabbed Shen Qingci's slender fingers, and said with an ingratiating face: "Elder Sister, how about you just become my salesperson from now on?"