Chapter 167

Originally, the title of Shen Cui’s book was “The Chronicles of Cultivation,” and the protagonist’s name was Yan Zhi.

Later, upon Cui Wu Niang’s suggestion, the title was changed to “Yan Zhi’s Chronicles of Cultivation.”

The title directly indicates that this is a story of a woman’s cultivation.

If one doesn’t like this story, there’s no need to buy the book, and if one does, but then dislikes it, they’ll have to return it to the bookstore.

Cui Wu Niang had been running the bookstore for many years and had encountered all sorts of eccentric customers.

It was not uncommon for someone to return a book because they didn’t like it after buying it.

It’s no wonder Cui Wu Niang didn’t want Shen Cui to worry about the publication.

She immediately went for engraved hard-brush printing, which was definitely a big move.

Combining the knowledge Cui Wu Niang taught Sun Ruowei last time, Shen Cui roughly calculated in his mind.

With only a hundred copies printed for now, even if they all sold out, they would at most break even.

Only when this batch sold out, and they had to reprint, diluting the cost, would there be any profit.

In just a few days, “Yan Zhi’s Chronicles of Cultivation” officially went on sale at the Cui family bookstore!

There was no special ceremony for the sale of new books nowadays.

They simply posted notices on the bookstore’s door, announcing the arrival of new books.

When Cui Wu Niang discussed publishing matters, she had agreed not to mention it to the young people in the academy for the time being.

If they were told, they would surely be concerned and might even take on tasks such as proofreading, illustration, and publicity.

After all, it would be the provincial exam in a year, and Shen Cui didn’t want them to be distracted at this time.

So, although she was worried, she didn’t show it in front of the young people.

She took the opportunity of having nothing to do during the day to personally visit the Cui family bookstore.

The layout of the Cui family bookstore was somewhat similar to the libraries of later generations, with various areas divided and several display cabinets in each area.

However, books were precious items in this era, so each area had several assistants to prevent theft or damage to the books.

As soon as Shen Cui entered the bookstore, an assistant came forward to greet her, “Madam, what would you like to see? You look young, and it seems your children are not very old yet. Children’s books are on the left.”

No wonder Cui Wu Niang was so skilled; even an ordinary assistant in the bookstore could make people feel comfortable.

Shen Cui couldn’t help but smile, “My children are already grown up, far beyond the age of enlightenment. I’m here to look at the books.”

The assistant nodded and led her to the right.

Because the book’s cover was a very eye-catching pomegranate red, and Cui Wu Niang had placed it in a prominent position, Shen Cui saw it as soon as she turned.

Unfortunately, “Yan Zhi’s Chronicles of Cultivation” was stacked full on the display case, and there were no people stopping in front of it.

In contrast, at least three to five people were stopping in front of the other displays.

This was a bit difficult.

Shen Cui stopped for a while, thinking, why not buy a few copies to take back? It would also save Cui Wu Niang from losing too much.

She could keep them as souvenirs and even send a set to her maternal family.

Although Mrs. Zheng and Mr. Shen didn’t know many characters, if they knew she had written it, they would treasure it as if it were something precious and would keep it safe.

As she was thinking, the assistant had already enthusiastically introduced, “Madam has a good eye. ‘Yan Zhi’s Chronicles of Cultivation’ is exclusive to our bookstore and can’t be found elsewhere…”

Before the assistant finished speaking, someone nearby laughed and said, “This book specifically published for women is truly laughable. Are there no other jokes to be found, except for this one?”

Shen Cui looked over and saw a young man in his twenties speaking, with several similarly aged companions beside him.

As soon as he spoke, some of his companions laughed along, saying, “Exactly. Women don’t need talents, just virtues. For young ladies from wealthy families, being able to recognize characters and read the ‘Four Books for Women’ is enough.”

“I’ve been thinking that letting women run the Cui family was not a good idea, but in recent years, the Cui family’s business has indeed been getting better. I was wondering why… Now, look, it’s because women are in charge! How much silver has been lost because of this!”

As they spoke, another man who was not acquainted with them agreed, “Do you gentlemen not know? This is nothing new. I heard about what our current Governor’s wife is doing, now that’s outrageous… She actually wants to establish a female school in Linnan Prefecture!”

Since the Governor’s wife was an official’s wife, the men didn’t continue discussing, but they all laughed.

Their words and laughter reached Shen Cui’s ears, making her somewhat unhappy.

Just as she was about to refute the others, someone preemptively chuckled and said, “When someone opens a business and has male customers, does that mean they can’t have female customers? If the owner is willing to cater to female customers, you gentlemen shouldn’t worry so much.”

Shen Cui followed the voice and saw a very elegantly dressed woman, a few years older than her, accompanied by servants.

The assistant serving her was holding several sets of “Three Hundred Thousand,” seemingly purchasing books for the young members of her family who had just started their studies.

These men, being rebutted by a woman, felt somewhat embarrassed.

“What does this woman know? We are old customers of this bookstore. What’s wrong with having a chat? We’re just concerned about their business.”

“Yeah, besides, where did we go wrong? No one was buying this book anyway.”

“Who said no one was buying?” The woman glanced at the assistant beside her. “I’ll take ten sets. Wrap them up for me.”

The assistant happily agreed and called other assistants to help, holding ten sets in their hands.

Compared to her generous gesture, these men, who had been talking big and claiming to be dedicated to the Cui family bookstore, had not spent a single coin until now.

“We can’t control the affairs of wealthy families. Besides, even if they buy it back, the treatment of this book hasn’t changed. It’s just going to another place to gather dust.”

“Yeah, I don’t believe anyone else besides this petty woman would buy such a thing…”

Shen Cui spoke up, “What do you mean no one else? I’m also planning to buy three sets.”

The assistant beside her was pulled away by the other woman’s assistant to help, so Shen Cui took three sets herself and went to the counter to pay.

After paying, Shen Cui ignored the gossiping men and left the bookstore.

At the bookstore’s entrance, she ran into the same woman again.

The woman admired her with a glance and smiled at her before nodding, probably a kind of appreciation for meeting someone with similar tastes.

Shen Cui smiled back, and then the woman’s carriage arrived, and the two parted ways.

The next day, Cui Wu Niang wrote a letter to Shen Cui, telling her not to worry about the sales issue.

If the sales were poor, it was her lack of ability, and it had nothing to do with Shen Cui, the author.

And she also had confidence that she could sell well; it was just that as someone who was trying something new for the first time, she needed some time to figure things out.

The letter came so quickly that Shen Cui connected the dots and guessed that the assistant must have reported the events of the previous day to Cui Wu Niang.

Once her appearance was described, Cui Wu Niang would know that she had visited.

Since Cui Wu Niang had said that, Shen Cui started to worry as well, as if she didn’t believe her.

……

In August, Cui Fei and Sun Ruowei got married.

The people from Cuiwei Academy were, of course, among the guests, as well as some close classmates from the prefectural school and relatives from both the Cui and Sun families.

This was the first young man in the academy to get married.

Mu Er Pang and Mei Ruochu had been preparing for half a year and had jointly prepared a gift—they each wrote a couplet and painted a picture, with blessings such as ‘a hundred years of harmony’ and ‘harmony between qin and se’ written on them.

For this reason, they had been practicing calligraphy and painting extra seriously for the past half year.

Their calligraphy and painting skills far exceeded their usual level, and they were also carefully designed by Mei Ruochu.

So, when their calligraphy and paintings were hung together, they could be connected from front to back, which was especially harmonious.

It was a light gift with deep meaning.

Shen Cui couldn’t come up with such elegance, so she gave a more practical gift of twenty taels of red envelopes.

On the day of their wedding, the Cuiwei group went to the Cui family early in the morning to drink the wedding wine.

Cui Fei had now completely slimmed down, weighing around 75kg, just slightly more muscular than the average person.

He wore a big red wedding gown, looking especially spirited, standing at the gate welcoming guests with Mr. Cui.

When Shen Cui and the others arrived, Cui Fei smiled even more brightly and personally led them inside to take their seats.

Shen Cui waved her hand, “Your sister specially asked Yao to come along to take care of us. You, as the groom, focus on welcoming guests. We’ll go find our seats ourselves.”

As she was speaking, Cui Wu Niang’s personal maid came out from the house to greet them, also specially sent by Cui Wu Niang.

With the guidance of the maid and Yao, Shen Cui and the others entered the Cui residence.

The Cui residence was much larger than the three-section house of Cuiwei Academy.

It took the group almost a quarter of an hour to reach the guest hall.

The guest hall was divided into two sections, one for male guests and one for female guests.

Shen Cui and Mu Er Pang were separated. Mu Er Pang deliberately lagged behind Mei Ruochu and the others.

Before he could speak, Shen Cui understood, “Yao is here, Cui Wu Niang’s maid is also here. I’ll eat more and drink less to take care of myself.”

Mu Er Pang chuckled, “I didn’t say anything. Why does what mom say make me sound like a steward?”

Shen Cui smiled and glanced at him, and the two of them temporarily parted ways.

The maid led Shen Cui to the hall where the female guests were, and she was seated at the main table.

The main table was reserved for the closest relatives of the Cui and Sun families.

However, Shen Cui had only interacted with Cui Wu Niang before, so she didn’t recognize anyone and quietly picked up some melon seeds and snacks from the table to eat.

In the hall, many people claimed to be relatives, but in reality, they only met a few times a year.

After exchanging pleasantries and praising each other’s clothes, jewelry, or the accomplishments of their children, they began to chat casually.

As Shen Cui nibbled on melon seeds and listened to people chat, she even heard others discussing her own book.

“Have you read that ‘Yanzhi’s Cultivation Journey’ recently?”

“It sounds like a novel. I don’t read those. They’re all about scholar ladies, courtesans, and scholar fox fairies… It’s like all the men in the world are only interested in this type of people.”

Shen Cui silently agreed in her heart. Those indeed weren’t interesting.

Although she herself was nurturing scholars, true scholars who focused on studying diligently wouldn’t spend their days entangled with courtesans or ladies.

“This one is different! It’s about a girl named Yanzhi. Her family fell on hard times, and her fiancé betrayed her to marry someone else.”

“Oh, so it’s like Wang Baochuan enduring eighteen years in the cold dungeon?”

“No, it’s not! I already said it’s different. After Yanzhi found out about her fiancé’s betrayal, she agreed to cancel the engagement and, by chance, started on the path of cultivation. She then met many people, including extraordinary cultivators, chivalrous women, and even a seriously injured demon… but all of them became her comrades and allies. She pursued immortality, without any romantic descriptions. It’s because of this that my grandmother confiscated the novel. You all know her, she’s very traditional. I thought I was going to be scolded, but she didn’t punish me. Instead, she praised me and gave the novel to my fourth sister…”

At the main table, everyone was close relatives, and they all more or less knew each other’s stories, except for Shen Cui, who was a new face.

However, she simply ate quietly without looking around or talking nonsense, so the Cui family treated her as a close relative of the Sun family, and vice versa.

Therefore, no one avoided speaking in front of her.

As a result, Shen Cui quickly learned that the round-faced woman who promoted “Yanzhi’s Cultivation Journey” had a fourth sister who had been abandoned by her husband for many years without having any children.

The rumors hadn’t spread yet, and her family hadn’t mistreated her, but she couldn’t bear it and stopped eating and drinking after returning to her parents’ home.

“Yanzhi’s Cultivation Journey” was a novel that uplifted the spirits, focusing on one main theme: women can live without men, and perhaps even better!

The power of books is subtle. Sometimes, it can have a more profound impact than any direct teaching.

After her fourth sister read it, her condition improved significantly.

She was no longer worried about being abandoned, but rather when the next installment would be released.

“Is it really that good? Where can I buy it?”

“It’s sold at Cui’s Bookstore. Ruowei gave it to me not long ago.”

With the enthusiastic promotion by the round-faced woman, many female guests were tempted.

However, the round-faced woman also looked worried as she spoke, “I haven’t heard of this Fangcao Client before, so I don’t know much about it. But it says on the spine of the book, ‘Sharpening a Sword Takes Three Years.’ I’m afraid we’ll have to wait another three years for the sequel.”

The pain of being a fan waiting for updates is universal, throughout history.