Chapter 175 3/3

These stories, Li Qingzhi started writing them a long time ago, continuously writing a hundred thousand words. And what he received was the original manuscript written by Li Qingzhi—those teachers at Chongcheng Elementary School really liked these stories, so they copied them down once, and Li Qingzhi gave them the original manuscript to read for leisure.

Governor Zhang wanted to take this book to the Shen family and show it to the head of the Shen family to see if they were willing to print the book.

If the Shen family was willing to pay a fee to buy the rights to print this book… then he could send some silver back to Li Qingzhi!

Li Qingzhi was short of money for building schools!

Governor Zhang used to think Li Qingzhi was a bit money-minded, but since he learned about the situation at Chongcheng Elementary School… he wished he could send all his salary to Li Qingzhi.

Now, he was very willing to help Li Qingzhi raise money.

After resting for a night, Shen Zhilan felt even more tired.

People were like this. When they had a goal or something to do, they wouldn’t feel tired when they were all tense, but once they relaxed, the accumulated fatigue would rush over.

However, even so, upon learning that Governor Zhang had come, Shen Zhilan hurriedly went out to greet him.

After the pleasantries, Shen Zhilan asked, “Your Excellency, what brings you here?”

Governor Zhang said, “I have some manuscripts here…”

Shen Zhilan’s face lit up with joy.

Governor Zhang continued, “These manuscripts were not written by Qiongdu Sanren but by Li Qingzhi. He wrote a book for children to read, and the Guo Tongzhi of Hexing Prefecture liked it and sent it to me… If the Shen family’s bookstore is willing to print it, I’m sure many people will like it.”

Upon learning that it wasn’t a book written by Qiongdu Sanren, Shen Zhilan felt a bit disappointed, but Li Qingzhi… he knew about this person too!

His wife liked Li Qingzhi’s handwriting!

“Your Excellency, may I have a look?” Shen Zhilan asked.

Governor Zhang handed the manuscript to Shen Zhilan.

Shen Zhilan only glanced at it and was amazed.

What Governor Zhang brought was the original manuscript written by Li Qingzhi, and the handwriting… it was excellent!

Although it was in the formal script style, it still had a distinctive personal style!

And the first story on it… “The Magic Brush of Ma Liang”?

Shen Zhilan read it carefully.

When Li Qingzhi wrote using the pen name Qiongdu Sanren, he was very bold, but when he wrote using his real name, he was more cautious.

So for this story, he made some small changes to ensure it didn’t offend any taboos.

But the core of the story remained unchanged, and this story… was really enjoyable!

Shen Zhilan became engrossed in reading it, and when she finished, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “This story is so well-written!” Compared to “The Record of Fleeing from Calamity,” this story made people feel happier.

“Is the Shen family’s bookstore willing to print this book?” Governor Zhang asked.

Shen Zhilan didn’t hesitate: “Of course!”

Li Qingzhi had written some stories about Guo Tongzhi and Governor Zhang before, and Shen Zhilan knew about it. He also knew that the books Li Qingzhi wrote were adapted into dramas and widely circulated in Hexing Prefecture.

Now that Li Qingzhi had written another book… printing it would surely attract buyers.

“What about the fee…” Governor Zhang looked at Shen Zhilan.

Li Qingzhi’s fee certainly couldn’t compare to that of Qiongdu Sanren.

But Li Qingzhi’s handwriting was so good, would it be appropriate to give too little?

Just this original manuscript was probably worth a lot of money!

Shen Zhilan said, “Your Excellency, how about five taels of silver per thousand characters?”

“Agreed!” Governor Zhang readily accepted.

Shen Zhilan continued, “Your Excellency, when this book is printed and sold, it should be under Li Xiucai’s name. I want to publicly say that this is a book written by Li Xiucai for his children. Is that okay?”

Li Qingzhi had gained quite a reputation in Jiang’an Province, and if a book came out at this time, claiming to be written by Li Qingzhi for his children, it would surely attract many buyers!

The stories in this book were quite philosophical.

For example, “The Crow Drinking Water,” he thought it was very suitable for children to read.

“Sure,” Governor Zhang agreed.

This book was originally written by Li Qingzhi for his children.

Shen Zhilan was very happy to hear that and then saw Governor Zhang take out many more manuscripts: “This book is a bit long…”

Some of these stories were written by Li Qingzhi during this period, and some were written before… he had already written a hundred thousand words, but he still hadn’t finished his inventory.

You know, there were still stories like “The Fox and the Crow” and “Sour Grapes” that could be written, there were

just too many possibilities!

Shen Zhilan took out five hundred taels of silver all at once, feeling a bit distressed.

But after learning that Governor Zhang was willing to give him the original manuscript, he immediately stopped feeling distressed: “Your Excellency, the value of this original manuscript is a hundred taels of patterned silver, I’ll add another hundred taels of silver for you!”

“Good,” Governor Zhang said happily.

Shen Zhilan was also very happy. After seeing off Governor Zhang, he took Li Qingzhi’s manuscript to his wife: “Madam, look at what I brought you!”

Madam Shen was still lying in bed lazily and asked, “What did you bring me?”

Shen Zhilan handed over the original manuscript written by Li Qingzhi, and Madam Shen liked it at first sight: “This is Li Xiucai’s manuscript? His handwriting is really good! It’s truly a pleasure to look at!”

“The story is also very good,” Shen Zhilan said.

Finally, he could enjoy works together with his wife. His wife would look at the handwriting, and he would read the stories.

The stories Li Qingzhi wrote, some of which he had heard before, but after Li Qingzhi wrote them down… they became much more enjoyable.

The original stories were too formal and boring to read!

As for “The Fox and the Crow” and “Sour Grapes,” he had never seen them before, so they were even more enjoyable!

The stories Li Qingzhi wrote were really interesting.

They must be printed. However, this book shouldn’t be sold at a high price; it’s better to make a small profit on each sale.

For families with literate children, they should all buy a copy for their children, right?

Not to mention others, he really wanted to collect a few copies himself so that he could tell stories to his grandchildren in the future…