Easy to Deal With

Leaving aside male readers, at least female readers would be willing to read this book.

Because of the establishment of the Women's Academy, many well-off families were willing to let their daughters learn to read and write, thinking that they might be able to enter the Women's Academy in the future, improve their social standing, marry into a wealthy family, and bring greater benefits to their natal family. Therefore, the literacy rate of girls has gradually increased in recent years.

These girls were literate but had no pressure to take the imperial examinations. Bored at home, they would buy storybooks to relieve their boredom. Their well-off families also meant they had money to buy storybooks.

This is the market positioning Zhao Ruxi chose for this storybook. She believes that as long as Xu Xue is moved by the story and can write it well, as long as she can write the story fluently, the storybook has a chance of selling.

As for how much it could sell for, that was not Zhao Ruxi's concern.

Furthermore, Zhao Ruxi's intention in writing this story was to convey a message to all girls: don't be love-struck; love isn't everything in life. It's unacceptable to disregard your parents' grief and attempt suicide for a man who may not bring you happiness.

Xu Xue revised her storybook several times, making the writing more fluent and concise, and correcting several of its original flaws. Zhao Ruxi felt that it was no worse than the storybooks Xu Chongwen had brought back.

However, Xu Xue still asked Xu Chongwen to polish and revise it again, making the language more mature and elegant, so that it looked like a story written by a scholar, rather than by a young girl.

The shopkeeper's original intention was to casually flip through it and then tell Xu Xue that they wouldn't accept this kind of storybook. So he neither asked the waiter to bring Xu Xue a seat and tea, nor did he find a place to sit down himself.

But once he started reading, he became completely engrossed. When he finally turned to the last page and finished reading, he smacked his lips, still savoring the story, wanting to discuss the plot with the author and marvel at how well-written it was, only to realize that his legs had gone numb from standing.

The little girl who had been standing in front of him had long since run off to another place, where she was huddled up with another little girl, reading a book.

He quickly coughed lightly.

Xu Xue was initially quite nervous, feeling embarrassed to stand there staring at the shopkeeper reading, so she pretended to move closer to Zhao Ruxi, seemingly reading a book with her, but actually secretly observing the shopkeeper. However, she was later drawn to the travelogue in Zhao Ruxi's hands and didn't hear the shopkeeper's light cough at all.

The waiter quickly ran over and said to Xu Xue, "Miss, our manager would like to invite you in."

Xu Xue snapped out of her travelogue and quickly turned around, only to see the shopkeeper waving at her.

She blinked and quickly ran over. "Shopkeeper, have you finished reading the storybook?"

The shopkeeper nodded, looked Xu Xue up and down, and asked, "Did you write this storybook?"

"Yes." Xu Xue nodded.

"Then can you still write?"

"Of course," Xu Xue said, somewhat displeased.

She could tell that the shopkeeper didn't believe she had written the storybook herself. He probably even thought she had stolen storybooks written by her father and brothers and sold them.

She glanced at Zhao Ruxi Zhao Ruxi, who was still engrossed in her book and seemed not to have heard their conversation. Thinking of her sister's usual teachings, she didn't ask for help but turned to look directly at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper saw that the child's gaze was clear and honest, and her eyes held a hurt and resentment at being distrusted, but without any guilt or evasion. He finally believed that the words had come from this little girl.

He thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Are you a student at the Women's Academy?"

Xu Xue's eyes widened in surprise as she asked, "How did you know?"

The shopkeeper knew he hadn't guessed wrong when he saw her like this.

He stroked his beard and chuckled, "Only a girl from the Women's Academy could be so talented as to write such a fine story."

Xu Xue blushed slightly after being praised by him, but her heart was filled with joy.

The shopkeeper said her storybooks are well-written, so will they sell?

Seeing this, the shopkeeper felt more at ease.

This is just a naive young girl. It seems I can get a good book today for a decent price. And if I say a few nice words, we might even have a long-term partnership.

Although he was an honest businessman and conducted business fairly, he was still a merchant at heart. If he could lower the price for storybooks, he naturally wouldn't buy them at a high price.

Having made up his mind, his smile became even warmer.

"Come, come, young lady, please sit here." He came out from behind the counter, pointed to the table and chairs in the corner, and then instructed the waiter, "Brew a pot of good tea and bring a plate of snacks."

He led Xu Xue to a seat, glanced at Zhao Ruxi, and smiled at Xu Xue, saying, "That young lady is reading, so we won't disturb her."

Xu Xue was unaware that the shopkeeper thought it was better to deal with one of her than two. Seeing that Zhao Ruxi was still engrossed in her book, she nodded and did not call out to Zhao Ruxi again.

As for Qingfeng, Xu Xue had spent some time with Zhao Ruxi and Qingfeng during this period. She knew that with Zhao Ruxi as her master, she didn't need to be too polite to Qingfeng. Whether or not to invite Qingfeng to sit down for tea and snacks should be decided by Zhao Ruxi, not by Xu Xue bypassing Zhao Ruxi to offer Qingfeng various pleasantries and concern.

Furthermore, there's no reason for Zhao Ruxi to stand there while Qingfeng sits down to drink tea.

So she ignored Qingfeng.

"Shopkeeper, you don't need to be so polite. Our lunch break is very short; we have to go back to the academy soon."

Hearing her say that, the shopkeeper didn't waste any more time and began discussing business. "May I ask what price you'd like to offer, young lady?"

To give Xu Xue some experience, Zhao Ruxi remained silent, pretending to be engrossed in her book. However, she couldn't ignore the price negotiation.

Given Xu Xue's situation, it would be best for her to collaborate with the same bookstore when writing her stories. This would allow her to better establish her brand, similar to how she managed an IP on the internet in her previous life.

If the first book is sold at too low a price, it will be detrimental to cooperation on the second and third books. Because the purchase cost is low, the shopkeeper may not be willing to spend time and energy to promote it.

If the cost of buying the storybooks is high, he has to work hard to promote them if he wants to make money. The more copies he sells, the greater Xu Xue's fame will be, and the more valuable the IP will become. Only then will the storybooks fetch a higher price in the future.

So she kept her ears perked up, listening to their conversation.

Upon hearing the shopkeeper say this, she immediately went over and asked Xu Xue, "Has the shopkeeper taken a liking to your storybook?"

Xu Xue was Gao Xing to see that Zhao Ruxi had finally paid attention to her, and called out to her, "Sister." Her worries were finally put to rest.

She had witnessed her sister's shrewdness in selling jewelry illustrations. With her involved, her storybook sales wouldn't be a loss.

Although Xu Yongyi made several more silk clothes for Xu Xue after he made Xu Yongyi, the fabric was naturally not comparable to Zhao Ruxi's. Although Zhao Ruxi didn't have many ornaments, each piece was exquisite and valuable. The experienced shopkeeper could tell from the beginning that the two women were of different social statuses.

He was quite surprised to hear Xu Xue call Zhao Ruxi "sister," and couldn't help but glance at Qingfeng standing at the door.