Chapter 56 – Who’s There?

Chapter 56 - Who’s There?

The moment the red-traced notebooks branded with the Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard logo came out, many families with young schoolchildren flocked to the store. Most were mothers with their sons—spicy mamas in their early twenties, leading four- or five-year-old boys, followed by either elderly women or maids. These groups of four or five people came in droves just to buy some red-traced notebooks for their little darlings at home—a sight that reminded Xianjin of the Xinhua Bookstore before the start of a new semester in her previous life.

Some spicy mamas went straight for the Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard name, holding the red-traced notebooks and asking Xianjin for confirmation. "Madam, these books are indeed used exclusively at Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard?"

Xianjin smiled. "Look what you’re saying. Chen’s has been in business here in Jing County for nearly three generations. We wouldn’t deceive our neighbors, would we?"

She casually opened a book, pointed to the first line of printed characters, and said with a smile, "These characters were written by a newly admitted scholar from Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard!"

The spicy mama leaned over to look, somewhat excited. "Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard also accepts scholars? I thought only those who could potentially pass the county examination could study there!"

Xianjin nodded with a smile. "It’s true."

Xianjin glanced down at the clueless boy beside the spicy mama and couldn’t help but smile sincerely. "The young scholars accepted by Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard are personally selected by Headmaster Qiao based on their exceptional talent and academic ability. Only the very best can enter Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard ahead of time."

The clueless boy didn’t understand anything and blinked his eyes, grinning at Xianjin like a puppy, showing off his bright smile.

Xianjin resisted the urge to pinch his little cheek, praising him inwardly as an adorable little pup, then turned to his mother and began brainwashing her without hesitation. "If Young Master uses the red-traced notebook approved by Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard, he might be recruited early. With the right wind at his back, he’ll soar to great heights and become the top scholar of Jing County!"

After thinking about it, she added, "Young Master is around four or five years old, right?"

The spicy mama hurriedly nodded. "He’s four and a half! He started his education last month under Scholar Li from the village!"

Xianjin nodded sagely. "He’s not too young. Headmaster Qiao’s son passed the Jie Yuan exam when he was only fifteen—there isn’t much time left for Young Master!"

The spicy mama was stunned by Xianjin’s irresponsible persuasion. She lowered her head and seemed to see her son wearing a big red flower on his head and a golden sash around his waist, returning home in glory. Hearing Xianjin’s words, a sense of urgency arose within her.

With a bite of her lip and a stomp of her foot, she slapped her hand on the counter.

"Buy!"

"I want one hundred copies of the red-traced notebooks!"

Then she turned to the little boy. "We’ll write three hundred characters every day, do you hear me!"

In China’s five thousand years of history, the drive to push children never changes.

The little boy understood this part and his mouth turned downward, breaking into tears instantly.

He Xianjin looked lovingly at him while operating the abacus and comforting him. "Oh, poor thing. When you get older, come to Auntie’s house to buy big paper! At that time, you’ll be studying scriptures and lectures, with articles containing thousands of characters—Auntie will keep the paper for Young Master!"

The little boy cried even louder.

Zhou Ergou had just come out of the workshop to set up the goods and heard his boss’s mischievous behavior. He silently took a step back.

Scary…

Boss, scaring kids like this will bring retribution!

…

There were also those who bought red-traced notebooks without bringing their children along.

For example, Zhang Wenbo, who always sought excitement and had silver jingling in his pocket, was well-known.

He also ordered one hundred red-traced notebooks.

Xianjin couldn’t understand and reminded him repeatedly. "…This is for young children to practice writing."

Bo’er nodded calmly. "I know."

Xianjin continued. "You’re already studying at Qingcheng Mountain Courtyard, so you don’t need to rely on its scholarly aura."

Bo’er remained as calm as an old monk. "I know that."

Xianjin laughed. "Then why are you buying them!"

Bo’er glanced at Xianjin. "Because I want to. Because I’m willing. Because I have money."

Xianjin: "…"

Not knowing what to say, she mercilessly overcharged Bo’er—she also pushed the three or four bundles of paper that had been sitting unsold in the shop since she had Lock take them out when Sun Shun came to cause trouble.

Zhang Wenbo happily accepted everything.

When Chen Jianfang finished school, Xianjin told him about this strange incident while eating jujube and agate cakes.

To her surprise, Chen Jianfang smiled and cleared his throat before telling Xianjin not to worry. "…When he won that six-zhang xuan paper, someone offered twenty taels to buy it, but he was always worried you’d lose money… This is his way of supporting Chen’s…"

Ever since the six-zhang xuan paper appeared, many people had come to Chen’s to inquire about purchasing it. Xianjin had politely declined all offers, saying she would wait for the next time Chen’s released a “blind bag”—if something could be bought by anyone, could it still be considered valuable?

The value of goods needed to be built up.

Who would create the hype?

Of course, it was the seller.

Xianjin was moved by dear Bo’er’s concern, but also angry—heaven and earth could suffer losses, but she wouldn’t!

The sales of the red-traced notebooks were better than expected. Taking advantage of the start of spring and the opening of schools and private academies, they sold around three to four hundred books a day. Xianjin placed an order for three thousand more books with Xiaocao Village. After enjoying Mama Zhang’s lovingly prepared dinner, she took a walk to the printing workshop to encourage the owner, who was working overnight with a crooked nose and squinty eyes.

The owner of the printing workshop was surnamed Shang. He was white, plump, and short, like a short post.

As his surname suggested, he was very considerate.

Every time Xianjin visited, he would give her two copies of the earliest printed cheesy romance novels.

This boss was indeed smart; he only slipped in the first part of the novel, leaving the middle and end for Xianjin to ask for.

When Xianjin, scratching her head out of eagerness, asked for the second half, Boss Shang took the opportunity to lament, "… I can't finish printing! There's just no way to finish it!"

"I printed five hundred copies overnight yesterday! And today, I brought another five hundred! Just look—"

Boss Shang extended his hands, his pudgy fingers stained black like lumps of charcoal, his expression filled with grievance. "I used to take such good care of myself, even secretly applying my wife's Job's tears water every day! Now, just look! See for yourself!"

Think about it, now you're working 996 to atone for using your wife's Job's tears water?

Xianjin smiled with her hands behind her back. "You were anxious when there was no business, and you're still anxious when there is. Now that spring has arrived, private schools and academies have just finished their New Year celebrations and opened for business, enrolling many young children who are just starting their education. In six months, when these children become more proficient and don't need to trace characters anymore, our workload will decrease, and you'll be reaching out to me again—'Look, look! We have no business, and my hands are getting skinny from hunger!'"

Boss Shang threw his head back and laughed heartily.

He genuinely liked this young girl.

She always had a smile on her face, neither hurried nor slow, and she could handle any matter with ease.

During the rush, one of his workers had his hand sliced by a guillotine, his right hand losing a large chunk of flesh, blood spilling onto the printing blocks, causing panic throughout the workshop. Everyone was stunned by the sight of so much blood and feared that the worker would lose his right hand, jeopardizing his livelihood.

It was this young girl who calmly and efficiently tore open her sleeve, twisted her clothing into a rope, tightly wrapped the worker's right hand, then took some silver and instructed two workers to carry him to the Benevolent Medicine Hall—one holding his arm, the other his legs. Afterward, she rushed to the worker's home, immediately handing over ten taels of silver to his mother, wife, and children, saying,

"You can rest assured. Your breadwinner was injured while working, and whether it costs one hundred taels or five hundred taels, Chen's will cover whatever the doctor prescribes."

"If his right hand cannot be saved, Chen's will still hire him. He can do whatever he can—fetch firewood, do odd jobs, or tend the stove. We'll ensure he always has work."

These few words were like a soothing balm to the frightened women.

Thank goodness, the worker's hand recovered after taking medicine and resting for a few days.

It was a minor incident.

But everyone praised how well Chen's handled the situation!

Later, the worker even hinted that he wanted to find a way to work for Chen's.

Boss Shang, whose employee was poached without reason, wasn't angry at all—he wished he could join Chen's himself!

Being this damn boss!

Living in constant fear, begging for business, unable to pay wages without it, and continuing to beg…

Damn it!

It was a vicious cycle!

Working with Chen's was different.

In his entire life, Boss Shang had experienced glory twice: once when his son passed the scholar examination, and he used real gold and silver to help his son secure a position as a scribe in the county office, which sounded prestigious; the second time was now, with endless work and money, without needing to worry about where the business came from.

Business flew into his lap!

Wait?

Son?

His son?

Boss Shang patted his big belly, squinting at the young girl from Chen's.

She had fair skin, dark hair, red lips, and white teeth. Her eyes were not very large but beautiful, with a slight upward tilt at the corners and narrow yet deep double eyelids. Her eyes sparkled, suggesting she had plenty of ideas.

He couldn't insert himself into Chen's, but…

Boss Shang chuckled, patting his belly as if it were a watermelon, asking casually, "I heard that Mr. Chen treats Manager He quite well, like a father and daughter?"

Xianjin was examining a newly printed tracing book, holding it up to the light. The paper was thick, making it impossible to see through, so she nodded in satisfaction. Hearing Boss Shang's question, she smiled and nodded. "Three Grandpa treats me well. If we weren't like father and daughter, I wouldn't be managing the entire Jing County workshop."

Boss Shang narrowed his eyes, reminiscing. "Three Grandpa is an open-minded man, very shrewd and smart. I've always wanted to share a drink with him."

Shrewd?

Smart?

Is this… Chen Fu?

Xianjin looked at Boss Shang strangely, dumbfounded. "Then… should I arrange a meeting for you?"

Boss Shang waved his hand with a smile. "No need to trouble Manager He. Next time, I'll arrange it myself."

Xianjin scratched her head, utterly confused. As she left, she touched the dark crimson bag hanging from her body, feeling the two thin books inside, and grinned happily—Boss Shang was truly kind, remembering to provide her with mental sustenance even while working 996!

Strolling back to the shop, the sky was dark, with a crescent moon and scattered stars in the northeast, arranged like a carefully laid-out oil painting.

After admiring the beauty of the horizon, Xianjin entered the store.

With the increase in customers, Xianjin instructed Zhou Ergou and the others to organize the display cabinets and paper to make room for guests.

Zhou Ergou, carrying a cabinet, straightened up and saw a shadow lurking by the door, and shouted angrily, "Who's there!"