Linxia

Chapter 166, Guild

Fan Qingzeng sent a sedan chair to see Fang Lin off. Although this Fan family sedan chair was not as luxurious as those of some court officials in the legend, it had a reception room, toilet, etc. in it, just like a mobile palace, and it was also very spacious, equivalent to an elegant room.

While Fang Lin was thinking, the sedan chair arrived at the West Lane Hutong and he got off the sedan chair.

Under the watchful eyes of the neighbors, he was surrounded and asked questions as soon as he walked down.

"I was wondering, this nice sedan came to our alley, I'm afraid it's a guest from the Fang family? I didn't expect it to be you, Linzi."

"Linzi is very successful, and the people he associates with are all important people!"

"Is this the sedan chair you bought, Linzi?"

……

"Uncle and aunt, I had something to discuss with Master Fan, and they sent me back." Fang Lin explained, thanked the sedan bearers, and asked them to go back.

In front of the Ou family.

Master Ou was boiling medicine. When he saw Fang Lin coming over, he asked, "That sedan looks familiar to me. Is it from the Fan family?"

Fang Lin nodded and was about to explain something.

Master Ou said, "No need to say anything. I trust you. You must have your own reasons for doing this."

At this moment, a groan of pain was heard from inside the house.

"Master, Mrs. Ou's illness has worsened again?" Fang Lin asked.

"No, alas!" Mr. Ou sighed and said, "This afternoon, she fell on flat ground and broke her hip."

Fang Lin finally understood. It must be because of the disease that one side of Mrs. Ou's chest was rotten, like a tumbler that had lost its balance. No wonder it was like this.

"In the afternoon, after she fell, I asked your mother and the others to come and take care of her while I went to ask the doctor to come. When the doctor came, he only prescribed medicine and refused to set the bones. He said he was afraid that at the moment the bones were set, the person would faint from the pain and never wake up again."

Mr. Ou said this and looked into the house.

Mrs. Ou was lying on her back, her bones pressed against the bed, and she kept asking her two daughters to change her position. Every time she moved, she felt pain like a squeaking mouse - a mouse that was caught in a mousetrap and pain, curled up in despair.

Fang Lin followed and took a look, and couldn't help but feel sad at heart. Mrs. Ou, such a good person, had become like this, suffering such torture at this age.

Master Ou brought the medicine bowl in, placed it on the coffee table to cool, and asked his daughter to rest. He took good care of Mrs. Ou, touching her body to relieve the pain, and moving her carefully to avoid bedsores... Mrs. Ou was in so much pain that she looked unhappy, lost her temper, and said some strange things. Master Ou, who used to have a bit of a bad temper, did not show any impatience at all and spoke in a gentle manner.

Finally, perhaps because the pain had numbed her, Mrs. Ou gradually calmed down.

Xin Jiasha Xiaoyun came to see her with a big belly, but in front of outsiders, Mrs. Ou always maintained a strange dignity, not saying a word and not complaining.

Fang Lin also sat for a while and then went back.

The Fang family stewed a hen, fried a plate of young bamboo shoots, and had a small bowl of tofu with green onions for dinner today. After Tian Xuan became pregnant, she sometimes wanted to eat something light, and there was always some at home.

Tian Xuan felt that since she became pregnant, she was not allowed to do any heavy work except picking vegetables and cooking. Her food and drink were taken very well. Whenever she asked for something, Fang's mother would find a way to satisfy her. Fang Lin came back every day to accompany her and took more time to talk.

She knew what other families of that era were like. Chuntao had seen it all. In comparison, she was living in a honey pot. She also heard from the aunts and sisters that giving birth to a child for the first time would be very difficult. She was a little worried, but she also had a sense of responsibility and expectation.

During the meal, Fang's mother said, "In the Man family, Grandma Man wants to find another wife for Man Gensheng, but she keeps trying to find a wife. She's so worried that her hair has turned white. I've seen her sigh more than once. In the Xin family, Xiaoyun is pregnant this time, and unlike the last time when there was no movement, she's really pregnant this time. The doctor came to see her and said she'll be fine. Madam Ou is also pitiful. She fell this afternoon... The Mo family gave birth to a pair of puppies..."

These are all trivial matters between neighbors, they talk about this family and that family. Ever since the open space at Xiaowushan was opened up, this new channel has been added, and the families in the alley can no longer hide their affairs.

After dinner, before it got dark, Fang's mother went to wash the dishes and pots and didn't let Tian Xuan do it.

Outside, Fang Lin and Tian Xuan sat down under the orange tree. There was a breeze, and the leaves above their heads swayed from time to time. Guaiguai, Huahua, a cat and a dog were chasing each other in circles.

In the twilight, Granny Qiu pushed Old Man Qiu, and Father Fang was talking to the latter; Old Man Man and Man Gensheng came back from work in the factory, and Granny Man kept nagging them to look for a daughter-in-law tomorrow; at Xin's house, Sha Xiaoyun was collecting eggs under the eaves with a big belly, and Xin You smiled innocently and carefully fed Xin Yaer rice soup...

Farther away, in the open space of Xiaowu Mountain, there were many families living in the alley, most of them holding bowls, eating and talking at the same time.

Fang Lin held Tian Xuan's hand, enjoying the peace of the moment, thinking in his heart, reviewing today's events: "According to the plan discussed with Xu Kuo Lao, the most important step, persuading the Fan family, has been completed. The next step is to use the Fan family's power to unite the city's booksellers to form an alliance and gain dominance. This will be used as a bargaining chip to gain greater benefits from the sale of the second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and build a distribution system in one fell swoop!"

……

The next day, Fang Lin went to Shuxiang Pavilion to visit the Hong brothers.

The reason is simple. In order to unite the booksellers in the city to form an alliance, if even the brothers of the Hong family, who had a feud with Shuxiang Pavilion, were the first to surrender and join, what would other booksellers have to worry about?

"Normally, we should start with the easy ones and then move on to the difficult ones. However, now that I have conquered the Fan family, many problems have been solved. It can be said that the general trend has been established. The most difficult Book Fragrance Pavilion is actually nothing. We can just show them the benefits... If we do the difficult ones first and then the easy ones, we will be able to conquer other booksellers in the city in the future." Fang Lin thought to himself.

The Hong brothers were naturally enthusiastic about Fang Lin's arrival, and Hong Yingheng personally accompanied him.

Behind this enthusiasm, there was actually more fear. At first, the Hong brothers took the lead in contacting the city's booksellers to pirate the first part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but were defeated by Fang Lin's series of combined punches. Later, the backers were knocked out by Pu Zhifu. After the warning, the Hong brothers personally brought heavy gifts to apologize, and the matter was settled... Later, they spent a lot of effort to find a backer again, but after all this trouble, the business in the store was much quieter. In short, the loss of the rice in the attempt to steal the chicken left a great psychological shadow on the brothers.

"Manager Fang, you are a rare guest, please take a seat! This is the newly arrived Biluochun, try it." Hong Yingheng was alert and fearful in his heart, but he still showed a smile on his face.

"Good tea."

Fang Lin took a sip and went straight to the point without beating around the bush: "To be honest with Shopkeeper Hong, the manuscript of the second volume of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been completed and will be on sale soon..."

"Are you here to protest against me? Not at all!"

Hong Yingheng was puzzled. It wasn't that he looked down on himself, but now he was inferior to Fang Lin in every aspect. What was he? Was it necessary to come here to warn him? Even if Fang Lin didn't come, he would never dare to pirate the second part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms again and fall into the same trap for the second time.

Although he couldn't figure it out, he still kept a smile on his face and complimented, "This is a good thing. To be honest with Shopkeeper Fang, I am still a fan of Shopkeeper Fang's books. When the first volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was released, I was planning to find out the enemy's situation. Who would have thought that I would forget about it after reading it. I have been looking forward to the second volume for a long time... By the way, I asked Zhong Tongsheng to write another popular novel. I learned from the lesson of Popular Romance of the Restoration of the Song Dynasty last time. I must avoid it this time. Thank you Shopkeeper Fang for reminding me."

Yes, he hooked up with Zhong Zongdian again. Of course, it is not quite appropriate to say that he hooked up with Zhong Zongdian. Zhong Zongdian is very shrewd and takes money to do things. If the Hong brothers still want to harm Xuan Mo Zhai, they will most likely go to Fang Lin to inform on him and show their goodwill as they did last time.

Facing Hong Yingheng's flattery, Fang Lin smiled and suddenly asked, "I wonder what Shopkeeper Hong thinks about piracy?"

"Piracy. Nowadays, we booksellers have to commission manuscripts, but we can only enjoy the benefits of a single printing. If sales are hot, pirated copies will soon appear and take away most of the subsequent profits... Let me tell you, piracy of popular novels is a big hazard, but there is nothing we can do about it." Hong Yingheng sighed.

"Yes, that's what I'm here for."

Fang Lin said: "The piracy of the first volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been curbed in Huai'an, but piracy in other places is rampant. Of course, piracy is not without some benefits. It has made Romance of the Three Kingdoms famous."

"Now, the second volume of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is about to be released. I plan to select a bookseller in each prefecture in the Jianghuai area as a distributor... The system has not yet been established, so it is difficult to monitor. It is better to buy it out in one go... Once those distributors have tasted the sweetness, if this happens two or three times, a mature distribution channel will be established."

Hong Yingheng understood this model and was instantly interested, wanting to imitate it, but then he shook his head slightly. There was nothing he could do. He was not like Fang Lin who had the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as his signature brand, so he could not open up channels.

"Nowadays, the social atmosphere in Daxia is free and open. Literati no longer consider writing popular novels as vulgar. Popular novels are emerging in an endless stream, especially in our Huai'an Prefecture City. The number of popular novels is showing a blowout trend. It has become Daxia's first-class popular novel production base, which can be called prosperous..."

This situation is also closely related to Fang Lin. He gained both fame and fortune with his novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and served as a great role model.

"That's true. I heard that booksellers from Yingtian, Fengyang and other places often come to Huai'an to purchase goods. They look at what books are selling well and then go back to pirate them. It's so rampant." Hong Yingheng sighed.

"I want to change this situation. Why should pirates take all the profits that we should be taking?"

Fang Lin said his plan: "I plan to contact the booksellers in the prefecture city and establish an alliance, or a popular fiction booksellers guild, to jointly expand this channel... Shopkeeper Hong, think about the future. A good book in our Huai'an prefecture city can not only be sold in this city, but also sold to various prefectures in Jianghuai through distributors in other prefectures. Isn't it wonderful to maximize development?"

He brought together the city's booksellers to build an alliance, and also to get their endorsement to strengthen his voice. After all, if he were alone, he would be weak and it would be difficult to gain the greatest benefit.

'After this alliance is established, the city's booksellers can use my channels and get benefits, but at the same time, they are also helping me maintain this channel. In addition, I am the one who gets the biggest benefit. This channel is like an amplifier. Even if the amplification is the same, it is obvious that I will earn much more.'

For example, Fang Lin's net profit from selling a novel in Huai'an City alone is one thousand taels. Through this channel, the profit is magnified tenfold, to ten thousand taels. The net profit from selling a novel by other booksellers in the city is one hundred taels, which, magnified tenfold, is only one thousand taels.

The gap between them, after being magnified, increased from nine hundred taels to nine thousand taels!

"That's a great idea." Hong Yingheng agreed immediately. If he could use this channel for free and make more money, why not do it?
He thought about it and raised some more questions. Just like Xu Kuo Lao yesterday, he was worried about some attempts to take advantage of loopholes.

"In addition to strictly screening distributors, I have already obtained the support of Patriarch Fan. If there is anything that breaks the rules, Patriarch Fan will take action. There is also Prefect Pu. Once the alliance is established, it is very likely that he will promote the holding of a popular fiction competition."

Fang Lin paused here, and suddenly his tone became high: "Manager Hong, think about it. One day, Huai'an becomes a popular fiction mecca. Novelists gather here, and our booksellers can easily get manuscripts. Booksellers from other places compete to be distributors and come and go to select books... The local economy will prosper, the people will be proud, the merchants will have a booming business, and the government's tax revenue will increase... It will be a great merit."

Anyone else would probably be fooled by this pie in the sky. Even a smart person like Hong Yingheng was very excited. He slapped his thigh and said, "Manager Fang is very kind. I am very willing to help with this matter."

As a businessman, who doesn't want to make money and have a good reputation at the same time? But in fact, the two are often not achieved at the same time.

Now Fang Lin came to him, promising benefits and talking about ideals. How could he refuse?
……

When the city's booksellers alliance, or the Huai'an Popular Fiction Guild, was established, Fang Lin naturally took on the position of president. He promised Hong Yingheng the position of vice president, which was like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey. Hong Yingheng was like a chicken with its blood pumped up, and took on all the rest of the work. Regardless of his character, his ability to get things done was really good. Under his lobbying, Jiaxuan Bookstore, Moxiang Pavilion, Qianzangwu, Wanjuanlou and others joined one after another.

It was so easy because Fang Lin had built the framework and joining in would only benefit them, not harm them.

Just as the Huai'an Popular Fiction Guild was rapidly taking shape, Fang Lin was also preparing more chips to let the Fan Family Printing House start printing the manuscript of the second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Fan Qingzeng personally gave instructions, and attached such importance to the matter that the subordinates dared not neglect it, and even used some extreme and cruel methods. In order to keep the manuscript confidential, they restricted the workers in the printing workshop from leaving until the printing was completed.

In other words, Fang Lin was kind-hearted and ordered additional subsidies to be given, which made the printing workshop workers flattered.

Also during this period, the news that the second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" would be on sale spread like wildfire in the city, attracting many customers to Xuan Mo Zhai and its two branches to inquire. They were all happy to get a positive answer, and out of this joy, since they had come, they bought more things, which made the business of the three bookstores much better.

Also, because the second part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is about to be released, other bookstores that were planning to sell new books have postponed their plans.

In the huge city of Huai'an, the original Three Kingdoms fever seems to be awakening and accumulating little by little. As long as there is a trigger, that is, the official release of the second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", it will usher in a grand and enthusiastic carnival.

……

(End of this chapter)