Jia Yujing of Red Mansion

Chapter 11
Wang Hun didn't expect Jia Qiong to make this request. He looked at Jia Qiong's clothes and didn't look like someone who was short of money.

He said proudly: "My little friend is so talented, you should focus on poetry and articles, how can you work on documents.

If money is scarce, Wang is willing to give a thousand taels of silver to help students. "

Jia Qiong was shocked by Wang Hun's arrogance. A thousand taels of silver was really a huge sum of money.

Even in Shenjing, you can buy a large courtyard. The house Jia Qiong lives in now is estimated to be worth 5000 to [-] taels.

I have to say that these big businessmen in ancient times were so rich. In the previous life, this was equivalent to a certain king and young master saying to Jia Qiong: "Little brother, I am optimistic about you. Are you short of money? I will give you 100 million, you can take it first." Go spend it.”

But Jia Qiong refused without hesitation because he wanted more.

"Sir, you love your juniors so much that you don't get rewarded for your merits.

A gentleman loves money and gets it wisely, but I still want to make money by my own ability. "

Seeing his firm attitude, Wang Hun pondered for a moment and said, "Young friend, you are very ambitious, but it is not easy to do this with Tao Zhu.

It's noisy here, let's find a teahouse to talk in detail. "

The three of them then left Wenhua Zhai and entered Huiquan Bureau across the street. They found a clean cubicle on the second floor and sat down.

Wang Hun said: "Wang admires my little friend for his self-improvement, but the cost of printing this book is quite high.

If the management is not good, it is easy to lose money, so you should be cautious. "

"What layman Wang said is true. The old Taoist wanted to print a few copies of "The Book of Savior", but the government-run printing office actually asked for 800 taels of silver. This is no different from bandits.

Thanks to Xiao Tan Yue for helping me win the chess game just now, layman Wang agreed to help me print the book and only charged me the cost price, but it still cost 300 taels of silver. "

The old Taoist shook his head and said, and glanced sideways at Wang Hun, as if he was saying that you should be spared the 300 taels.

"Hey, printing books is so expensive?"

Jia Qiong was shocked. If printing a book cost so much, he really couldn't do this business.

Wang Hun glared at the old Taoist and said: "Your "Explanation of the Book of Saviors" has more than 250 words, and the engraving alone costs [-] taels of silver.

And if you print it and you can't sell it, it's just a waste of effort. If I weren't familiar with you, I wouldn't be too lazy to take your business. "

The old Taoist knew that he was wrong, so he smiled and said: "Publishing the Taoist Canon is a great meritorious deed. Isn't the blessing of layman Wang coming now?"

When Wang Hun heard this, he immediately turned from anger to joy, stroking his beard and laughing, looking quite contented.

Jia Qiong was relieved. It would be reasonable to spend a few hundred taels of silver on a book with 50 words. He asked: "Sir, I wonder how much a book with [-] words would cost.

What is the general price and how many copies can be sold? "

Wang Hun said: "The printing and engraving of books is quite expensive, about five taels of silver for [-] words.

Excluding engraving, the printing cost of a regular edition of 200 words is about 400 words, and the hardcover version costs [-] words.

When it was first published, it was an exclusive book with the highest price. The ordinary book could be priced at 3 taels, and the hardcover version could be priced at 6 taels.

If a low-quality pirated book appears, it will have to be sold at a reduced price, otherwise it will not sell.

For long-term sales, ordinary books can be sold for [-] to [-] yuan, and hardcover books can be sold for [-] to [-] taels, so that the flow can be sustained.

My store, Wenhua Zhai, is the largest book store in the city. Generally, the sales volume of newly launched novels can reach two to three hundred before pirated copies enter the market, and best-selling books can reach thousands. "

Jia Qiong's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she thought that selling books was indeed a huge profit.

Even if you don't look at the follow-up, just from the previous sales, a book can earn thousands of taels of silver, let alone a best-seller.

Wang Hun saw Jia Qiong's intention and thought that he was still a young man after all, so he would inevitably be impetuous.

"Jia Xiaoyou, do you know how many bookstores there are in the capital?"

"I don't know, please ask senior for advice."

"Nowadays, apart from my Wenhua Zhai, there is only one Hanmoxuan in the big bookstores.

There are only four medium-sized bookstores and no small bookstores. All pirated books are sold by small vendors. "

Jia Qiong asked strangely: "Why are there so few bookstores?"

"The basis for maintaining the business of bookstores is not those story novels, but Shi Wen and Cheng Wen. Those story books may be popular for a while, but scholars who want to test for merit may not read the story novels, but they will not let go of any A new collection of Cheng's essays.

The best typographers in the capital are either in the printing office of the Imperial College or in the hands of a few of us booksellers.

In order to save costs and produce books as quickly as possible, pirated books on the market are all rushed out of some small workshops, and there are many mistakes and omissions.

In order to make books affordable for students, the prices sold in our store are not high. Scholars will naturally not buy pirated books because of the small price difference.

It doesn't hurt that these story-telling novels have some errors and omissions, so they attract people who are short of money to buy them.

Small bookstores have no way to obtain the latest contemporary texts, and there are not many repeat customers. They dare not buy and publish the novels themselves, and they make little profit from selling pirated books.

Moreover, there are actually very few excellent story-telling novels on the market. Bookstores cannot continue to operate based on this alone.

Moreover, opening a bookshop requires a lot of capital, as well as renting a shop and hoarding a large number of books.

Therefore, those who sell pirated books just set up a bookstall, which saves them money on store rent. "

Wang Hun explained to Jia Qiong very carefully, just to dispel his idea of ​​opening a bookstore. He felt that it was a pity for such a talented young man to devote himself to the business world.

Although the status of merchants in this dynasty has improved and is no longer a lowly profession, there is still a big gap compared to scholars.

Wang Hun felt that Jia Qiong should focus on starting a business and get a name on the gold list as soon as possible, and should not be distracted by opening a bookstore that was destined to lose money.

"Thank you sir for your advice, I understand." Jia Qiong thanked her sincerely.

Wang Hun smiled and said: "As long as you understand, you don't have to worry about money. If you give me the poem "Mo Mei", there's nothing wrong with me giving you some yellow and white common things to help your education."

Jia Qiong cupped his hands and said, "To be honest, I am a descendant of Ning Guogong, and he lives in Guihua Lane, Ningrong Street.

Just because my parents died early, my aunt dismissed the servants in the family to save money, and it was already hard to raise the three of us brothers and sisters by herself.

We also have to plan for our various future expenses, and it is very hard to live frugally and frugally.

A few days ago, a lot of money was spent on my medical treatment, and the family's financial resources were already running low.

I often think of some stories in my spare time, and write them down when I am practicing calligraphy. I have saved many manuscripts over the years.

That's why the younger generation wanted to open a bookstore as a source of income, so as not to sit back and have nothing in the future.

I also want to buy a few maids and servants after making money to share some housework with my aunt. "

Jia Qiong didn't know if Wang Hun would have any opinions on her noble background, so she revealed her identity to see his reaction.

"Unexpectedly, Jia Xiaoyou is the queen of Ningguo. I wonder how you and Jia Zhen should be called."

Wang Hun was indeed a little surprised, and the smile on his face faded slightly, but he did not show contempt or disgust.

Jia Qiong said: "Jia Zhen is a younger clan brother."

Wang Hun asked strangely: "That being the case, why don't you go to Jia Zhen to discuss the matter of opening a bookstore?"

"The family has been separated for many years, but it's hard to disturb them any more. Besides, I'm afraid Jia Zhen doesn't have access to the book store either."

Jia Qiong's words implicitly expressed a meaning. Jia Zhen and I are not the same people. As expected, Wang Hun's smile grew even more when he heard this.

"It is very rare that you have the will to be independent and self-reliant. I can help you by selling your manuscripts in Wenhua Zhai, and all the profits will be yours."

Jia Qiong bowed his hands and said, "This is not a gentleman's way. I don't dare to accept it shamelessly."

Wang Hun said helplessly: "Then what do you want?"

Jia Qiong solemnly said: "This junior will bear the cost of printing and selling the book in Wenhua Zhai, and the profit will be divided equally between the junior and senior."

Wang Hun reluctantly agreed: "That's fine, just follow your words. When you come to my house tomorrow, bring the manuscript with you."

"Junior still needs to tidy up and will visit senior at his house in a few days."

Then the three of them chatted for a while, and Jia Qiong also learned about their backgrounds.

As he expected, Wang Hun was indeed no ordinary businessman. His background was not even expected by Jia Qiong to be so great.

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(End of this chapter)