Chapter 69: The Proposal

“Sir, I’m innocent! This is the manager’s decision! I was just following orders!”
The shopkeeper Wei suddenly appeared, frowning as he gazed at his assistant. He turned to Zhao the jailer with a polite inquiry, “May I ask what the young man did to provoke your anger?”
Zhao examined the shopkeeper with indignation, replying, “Yesterday, a scholar’s father presented a manuscript here, but you guys mistreated it! How despicable! What a wonderful story! You are truly blind!”
Shopkeeper Wei: ???
He turned to glare at his assistant and demanded, “What is going on?”
The assistant sighed, feeling unlucky, and could only explain to Shopkeeper Wei what had transpired yesterday, finishing with a defense, “Shopkeeper, you know my literacy is limited. I thought the story was dull, so I just tossed the manuscript aside.”
Zhao coldly scoffed, “You weren’t saying that earlier. You claimed tossing the manuscript was the shopkeeper’s order!”
Shopkeeper Wei’s expression darkened slightly; after glaring at the assistant, he smiled apologetically at Zhao, “There must be a misunderstanding. Please, sir, come inside for some tea, and let him clarify this situation.”
With a cold snort directed at the assistant, Zhao entered the bookstore, following Shopkeeper Wei.
Upon reaching his office, Wei instructed the assistant to honestly disclose the events of the previous day. He then scolded him harshly and ordered him to retrieve the manuscript.
The assistant hurried off to rummage through the trash bin, relieved he hadn’t taken it out for three days; this allowed him to find the manuscript.
Bringing back the wrinkled manuscript, the assistant nervously handed it to Zhao, mumbling an apology.
Zhao didn’t even glance at the manuscript; after all, he didn’t recognize many characters. He tossed it to Shopkeeper Wei, allowing him to assess the content.
Wei, filled with regret, accepted the manuscript and casually glanced at it, intending to find a reason to refuse. To his surprise, he became engrossed in the content, reading intently.
Seeing Shopkeeper Wei’s focused demeanor made the assistant even more anxious.
After finishing the content, Wei frowned; clearly, a section was missing! He immediately questioned the assistant, “Are you sure you have all the pages?”
The assistant awkwardly nodded, his face stiff.
Wei angrily slammed the table and lectured the assistant again, personally searching the trash bin. Ultimately, he managed to find the missing page.
“May I ask which scholar authored this story?” Wei’s tone was more courteous toward Zhao than before. He genuinely wished to befriend the author and persuade him to complete the narrative.
Upon Zhao revealing Zhang Fang’s identity, Wei displayed a complex expression, lingering in silence for a moment before deciding to accompany Zhao to meet Zhang Fang in jail.
The content of the textbook was not something Zhang Fang had intentionally memorized; he absorbed it easily, realizing it was the result of the original character’s hard work. The original character had indeed studied diligently, but due to the corruption in exams, he became despondent, leading to his current predicament.
“Brother Zhang! Shopkeeper Wei has read the story and specifically came to talk to you!” Zhao exclaimed cheerfully as he brought Wei to Zhang Fang’s cell.
Shopkeeper Wei had seen Zhang Silang several times before since Zhang often borrowed books from the shop and had previously submitted manuscripts. However, none passed the review because Zhang Silang’s writing was too rigid and failed to capture the essence of romance. Unexpectedly, this time, Zhang Silang had changed his writing style. Although unrelated to romance, this subject was intriguing! Wei felt it had great market potential! If it were published, it would definitely sell well!
“It’s you, Scholar Zhang. This manuscript is excellent!” Shopkeeper Wei greeted Zhang Fang with a smile.
Zhang Fang found the man familiar and, searching through the original character’s memories, recalled that the character had also written a novel but faced repeated rejections. He suddenly understood why the original character frequented brothels; it was because Wei had once given him sharp critiques of his novels, mockingly labeling him as a fledgling who couldn’t capture true romance. The original character had struggled fiercely to produce a novel!
Seeing Zhang Fang in silence, Wei took a look around the cell and concernedly asked, “I heard Scholar Zhang was imprisoned for damage to property. May I know how much you need to pay to be released?”
“Twenty taels of silver,” Zhang Fang replied.
Wei smiled brightly, saying, “Scholar Zhang, this story you’ve written is remarkable, and our bookstore would like to publish it. Though the profits from publishing may take time to realize, I can lend you twenty taels of silver to clear your debt. Please quickly finish this story. When the book sells, we’ll deduct the amount from the profits to repay me.”
Smiling faintly, Zhang Fang inquired, “I’ve heard your bookstore shares profits with authors sixty-forty. The bookstore takes sixty percent, and the author receives forty.”
“Indeed, but that’s after deducting the bookstore’s costs. From the review to publication, it will take at least twenty days. The profit-sharing will only occur three to five months later. Do you really intend to remain in prison forever?” Shopkeeper Wei confidently believed that Zhang Fang needed his help and felt in control.
“How many copies must I sell to earn back twenty taels of silver?” Zhang Fang pressed.
Wei casually mentioned, “You need to sell at least ten thousand copies. So far, no book has achieved such sales. Our most popular book has only sold five thousand copies.”
Zhang Fang nodded and said to Wei, “Thank you for the information, Shopkeeper Wei. I will consider it thoroughly.”
Wei: ???
He expected Zhang Fang to eagerly accept, but to his surprise, the man put on airs. Wasn’t Zhang Fang imprisoned? Didn’t he want out?
Looking perplexed, Wei said to Zhang Fang, “As long as you sign the contract and finish the rest of the story, I’ll lend you twenty taels of silver to repay your debt. You could get out of jail right away.”
Zhang Fang casually glanced around his cell, then slowly remarked, “This place is quite suitable for creativity.”