Clang! Clang! Clang!
As the gongs and drums sounded for the opening of the markets in the East and West Markets, countless commoners who had been waiting outside the gates filed in. Unlike the past, the commoners today were especially anxious and seemed to be fighting to be the first. Even the officials who had just sounded the gongs and drums were pushed to the side!
"Hey hey hey, don't push, don't push. What's there to push?"
The official stretched out his hand and shouted at the crowd. However, he was alone. Before his shout could spread, it was drowned out by the sea of people.
A quarter of an hour later, when the first wave of people had all entered the eastern market, the official wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to his companion with lingering fear:
"Phew, why are these people so anxious today? Is there something new going on in East City today? "
Another official curled his lip and said carelessly, "Who cares. Wang Da, you stay here for a while. I'll go check out the latest 'Legend of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality'. Hey, I just bought it this morning!"
"Hey, why are you slacking off again!"
"You call this slacking off? If worst comes to worst, I'll explain it to you after reading it. You won't be able to read it anyway! "
"Hehe, that's great!"
…
"Dear friends, today is the official opening of Strange Culture. Today, all the books in the store will be 5% off for a limited time. Because the store has just opened, there are only 15 types of books. After a few days, there will be more and more books. I hope everyone can support us! The price of each book has been posted here. If there's anything you're not clear about, feel free to take a look! "
In the East Market, in front of a small vermilion building next to the Strange Interest Pavilion, Sun Huaiyuan said loudly to the crowd who had come because of his reputation.
Since there was no suitable candidate for the time being, Li Zexuan sent Sun Huaiyuan over to act as the shopkeeper of the Strange Culture. Anyway, there was only an aisle between the Strange Culture Pavilion and the Strange Culture Pavilion. If anything happened there, Sun Huaiyuan would have enough time to deal with it.
As soon as Sun Huaiyuan's voice fell, someone below went to look at the price list in front of the door. Then, there was a buzz of discussion in the crowd.
"Hey, the price is exactly the same as the one in the newspaper. The newspaper didn't lie!"
"Yeah, it's incredible!"
"Hey, isn't this Shopkeeper Sun? Why aren't you staying at Strange Interest Pavilion? Why are you here? "
"That's right, Shopkeeper Sun. What brings you here?"
…
Sun Huaiyuan gestured with his hands. After the crowd quieted down, he smiled and said, "I'm indebted to the owner for thinking so highly of me. That's why I'm able to serve as the shopkeeper of two shops at the same time. As everyone can see, the price of the books in the Quirk Culture Shop is less than ten percent of the price of similar books in other bookstores. Our Quirk Culture Shop's original intention is to allow all scholars in Great Tang to be able to read books.
Therefore, all the books in the shop are limited to one book per person within three months, and all the books must be signed and stamped. Please abide by the rules and don't buy too many books under false names. We will check regularly. Once we find a customer who violates the rules, you will forever be blacklisted by Qiqu Culture. You will never be able to buy any books published by Qiqu Culture! "
Sun Huaiyuan's words made everyone's blood boil. In this era, there weren't many people who could afford to buy books. A single book could even buy a pretty maid. Books were truly more precious than life. Thus, no matter how dynasties changed, books were always the most valuable items. They were a kind of inheritance, and also a kind of faith. It was somewhat similar to houses in modern society. No matter how quickly the value of the yuan depreciated, houses were still the most valuable and fastest appreciating commodity. In modern society, it was hard to find a house, and similarly, in ancient times, it was hard to find a book!
Thus, when they heard Sun Huaiyuan say 'allow all scholars in Great Tang to be able to read books', many scholars who were usually refined and cultured began to shout the loudest.
"Well said, Shopkeeper Sun!"
"Good job, Shopkeeper Sun!"
"Support Strange Interest Culture!"
"Allow all scholars in Great Tang to be able to read books!"
… …
"Good! Thank you for your support. Strange Interest Culture is now officially open for business. Due to the limited space in the store, please follow your order in the queue and enter in batches to choose the books you want. Remember, each person can only buy one book of each type! "
Sun Huaiyuan clapped his hands and announced the official opening of Strange Interest Culture. The crowd below couldn't help but cheer loudly. The ten or so 'lucky' people at the front of the queue hurriedly 'rushed' into the store in excitement. Among these ten or so people were the scholars who had first discovered the advertisement in the newspaper in the morning.
"Wow, this book is actually made of high-quality Xuan paper. Calculating it, how much is Strange Interest Culture going to lose with each book?"
After entering the store, these people hurriedly went to the bookshelves to find the books they wanted. One of the scholars picked up a book and flipped through it. When he touched the paper, he immediately exclaimed in disbelief.
"That's right. They actually used such high-quality paper. Just how high is the cost of this book? Isn't Strange Interest Culture going to lose money?"
"That's indeed the case. No matter how rich the owner of Strange Interest Culture is, they can't possibly continue losing money like this, right?"
"Sss ~! Quickly look at the words in this book! The horizontal and vertical lines are neat and tidy. It's even clearer and neater than the books in other bookstores. This printing quality requires a lot of engraving skills from the carving craftsmen! "
"Damn, I thought the reason why Strange Interest Culture's books were sold so cheaply was because they were crudely made. I didn't expect that whether it was the paper or the printing quality, it was so much better than other books. Moreover, it was sold so cheaply! Crazy! "
"Crazy, this Strange Interest Culture is really crazy! Such good books at such a price, I really want to buy all of them! "
"Unfortunately, I can only buy one of each!"
"Shopkeeper, give me one of each of these fifteen books!"
"Shopkeeper, I also want one of each. Here, I'll give you the money!"
Sun Huaiyuan replied with a smile, "Okay, a total of one thousand seven hundred wen!"
"Hey, hey, hey, Brother Hua, I didn't bring enough money when I went out today. Can you lend me some? Don't worry, I'll return it as soon as I get back!"
A scholar touched his shriveled pockets and suddenly looked dejected. It was not easy to get to the front of the queue, but he did not bring any money. What a painful realization!
He looked at his classmate and friend and quickly asked for help. No one could bear to give up such a good opportunity! If he could buy it, it would be a profit.
"Okay, here, for you!"
The scholar surnamed Hua thought for a moment, and then handed a golden bean to that person.
"Hey, hey, Brother Hua, lend me some money too. I still need five hundred wen. If I don't buy such a good book today, I'm afraid I'll regret it for the rest of my life!"
"Yeah, Brother Hua, you can't leave us in the lurch!"
The other two scholars saw the situation and quickly went up to him! Such a good book, even if you have to borrow money, you have to buy it. If you miss this village, there won't be another shop like this!
…
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