These books can only be produced in small batches—say, thirty copies at most. Such volumes don’t command high prices in scholarly circles, fetching just three cash per copy. Li Feng sells them for two cash each, meaning thirty books could bring in six taels of silver. One round of work nets over four taels.
With this silver, he could make more woodblocks for thicker and thinner books.
Once the woodblocks were ready, the costs wouldn’t fluctuate much. He’d sell the twenty-page books for three cash and the ten-page ones for two cash, raising the prices a bit.
After covering nearly all four villages west of the county seat, once they’d saved up enough silver, they could set up the workshop.
The illustrated books will circulate within the villages. Since few villagers have much money, the price will stay fixed—it can’t be raised.
Go to the county seat, walk the streets and alleys asking around, and you can sell a few here and there.
Long-term, doing business in villages means that once one household has it, every household will have it. They can borrow from each other. Only a few young people with spare cash will keep one or two copies for themselves.
Once that money was gone, it all depended on whether there was anything new. So we wouldn’t print much more; first, we had to get the workshop up and running. The workshop was the crucial thing.
Then we could slowly accumulate woodblocks, print them out, bind them haphazardly, and go wandering around the villages east of the county seat.
Lu Liu was stunned: “Good heavens, that’s how you make money!”
You can actually make money from a workshop!
Li Feng touched his cheek and asked, “Want to earn this kind of money?”
Lu Liu nodded eagerly.
Since he did, they could discuss other matters.
Li Feng was someone who remembered favors. He knew exactly how Lu Yang treated Lu Liu—like a true older brother, practically chasing him around to feed him.
Printing books could bring in quick cash. He planned to use this silver to set up a mountain mushroom workshop first. He explained the reasoning thoroughly to Lu Liu.
Lu Yang had previously mentioned to Li Feng his desire to centralize the sale of premium mushrooms.
Li Feng had relayed this to the village chief, who agreed. But since Lu Yang had been ill lately and lacked energy, he hadn’t contacted any traveling merchants yet. With neither price nor quantity set, it was difficult to proceed further.
Now that they had a way to make quick money, he wanted to push this forward first. Only through mutual support and exchange could both families move forward more steadily.
”My thinking is this: they provide the books, and we earn money through them—it’s a win-win. The sauce workshop isn’t urgent. We haven’t secured labor yet, and spring brings farming duties. Most people won’t be available. We’ll establish the workshop in autumn or winter once we’re up and running. With silver in hand, we’ll start by collecting mountain mushrooms within the village to get this deal done. With quality goods in hand, Lu Yang can negotiate prices and quantities with other merchants more effectively. Otherwise, he’d be wasting his efforts—what kind of business is that?”
Lu Liu nodded repeatedly, deeply moved.
At home, he had little say. Others made decisions everywhere. Da Feng treated him well, and his mother was always kind, willing to teach him. She often said he could make his own decisions, but in reality, he felt anxious whenever he took anything out of the house.
Especially now that the family had just started their business, expenses were high. He knew the initial investment hadn’t even been recouped yet, so he dared not use money carelessly.
Last time he’d finally mustered the courage to ask his mother for the rabbit money, his brother had returned it by giving him a pig’s stomach instead. He craved silver desperately.
Tonight, as they discussed making money, Li Feng mentioned mutual support. Only then did Lu Liu see clearly—the exchanges between the two families weren’t just about giving food and silver to supplement each other’s needs. They could also build a thriving business together.
Looking back, the mountain goods, mushrooms, and stir-fried sauces his family sold now were also joint ventures. But since his brother offered good prices and took a small cut, Lu Liu always felt they were taking advantage.
He kept talking about what he’d do once he earned money, sounding like he was painting a pie in the sky, but that was truly how he felt. With money, he could give some away, and no one would mind. Then he could be kinder to his brother.
The path had been right before his eyes all along, but he hadn’t seen it clearly before.
Li Feng wiped the tears from his face. “Why are you so tearful?”
Lu Liu kept saying he was touched. “You’re so kind. I’m so happy. You and Mother are both so good to me, and my brother is too.”
Li Feng comforted him for a moment before saying, “We’re all good people, so we should work hard to earn big money together. Stop crying. Let’s go tell Mother about our plans. You tell her about the book printing, and I’ll handle the mountain mushroom business.”
As her son, Li Feng simply couldn’t bring himself to mention the picture book project to his own mother.
Living under the same roof, sneaking around constantly wasn’t sustainable.
Moreover, bookbinding was a task best completed quickly to earn money sooner—it couldn’t be done slowly and half-heartedly. Telling their mother was essential.
Once they obtained the silver, they’d begin mass-collecting mountain mushrooms. They’d need their mother to oversee the process and hire two more hands to help.
Mushrooms meant money, and soon every idle soul in the village would be foraging. The household would be overwhelmed.
Lu Liu felt awkward, but he weighed the benefits. Taking the abacus from Li Feng, he ran through the accounts to get a handle on things before rising to speak with his mother.
Li Feng wouldn’t accompany him; he’d wait until Lu Liu finished discussing the printing matter before joining him.
The doors in the house were made of long wooden planks joined together, leaving gaps in the middle.
Chen Guizhi hadn’t latched the door, letting him in.
She had expected this couple to come find her.
She glanced behind Lu Liu but didn’t see Li Feng. She didn’t ask, simply motioning for Lu Liu to sit.
The advantage of Shunge’er having his own room became apparent—it made private conversations much easier.
Lu Liu closed the door, his eyes still red, clearly having cried.
Chen Guizhi paused, her gaze lingering. “Did Dafeng bully you?”
Lu Liu shook his head hastily. “No, Da Feng hasn’t bullied me. He’s been very kind to me. I came to talk about making money by printing books.”
He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts before continuing, “Da Feng asked around. We can also make money by printing books. We’ve got a few picture books here—you know, that kind of picture book. We crunched the numbers earlier; the profit margin’s pretty high. But Da Feng said there aren’t many places to sell them. So we’ll start by saving up some silver, not getting greedy, just making some quick cash to set up the workshop. Once we have some spare time, we’ll buy new printing blocks. He’ll find time to sell them in the county town and in the villages east of the county.”
He laid out the plan, calculating costs and profits with crystal clarity.
For their first run, they’d print thirty to fifty books. They’d bind them themselves, cutting paper, printing images, and assembling volumes at home.
Since it was their own work, they wouldn’t charge labor fees.
Chen Guizhi asked him, “Where did you get the books?”
Lu Liu answered honestly, “My brother-in-law earned them. He gave them to me later.”
Lu Liu’s brother-in-law was Xie Yan. Originally, Lu Liu had been betrothed to Xie Yan.
Had the betrothal not been exchanged, Lu Liu might have lived a different life.
She stared at Lu Liu for a moment. Lu Liu waited nervously for her approval.
Chen Guizhi was momentarily speechless. This child was truly naive.
Lu Liu didn’t seem to mind this, and Li Feng hadn’t mentioned it either. It appeared the four of them got along quite well. Chen Guizhi didn’t stir up trouble either. She skipped over this complicated web of relationships and asked him, “Doesn’t your brother earn money from this?”
Lu Liu shook his head. “They sell other books. Da Feng asked about it. In a few months, my brother-in-law is going to the provincial capital. He’ll buy new ones for us and bring them back. Then we can buy more woodblocks and earn some silver again.”
Chen Guizhi lowered her eyes in thought. This venture was feasible and genuinely profitable.
Lu Yang had nothing but praise for this younger brother—he was thoughtful in every way, practically chasing after them to feed them and hand out money. Since Lu Liu had married into their family, they too reaped the benefits.
Chen Guizhi couldn’t just accept favors without giving something back. Though she and Lu Yang weren’t bound by blood as mother and son, they were now family by marriage. After pondering, she asked Lu Liu to fetch Li Feng.
Lu Liu obediently agreed and went to call him.
The three gathered together, and Chen Guizhi wanted to discuss the mountain produce again.
But as soon as she began, both Lu Liu and Li Feng broke into smiles.
Li Feng chimed in, “Mother, I was thinking the same thing. Now that we have silver, we should start collecting mountain mushrooms. Since Lu Yang only wants the most valuable ones, we can selectively gather them. If we can offer a good price and pay in silver, the village chief can spread the word and have people deliver mushrooms to our shop.”
Their small shop relied heavily on connections with Lu Yang.
The stir-fried sauce business came through Lu Yang, while the mountain produce venture was a partnership between the two families. Lu Yang offered exceptionally favorable prices.
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