If conditions allowed, it would be best for the printing house to produce two to three thousand copies at once and ship them to major cities for simultaneous sales. However, in this ancient environment, such an idea could only remain a thought. Or perhaps, in the future, when he became famous and readers were willing to buy his stories just by seeing his name, he could give it a try.

At this moment, Fu Wenyu’s gaze fell on the deluxe edition he had just signed. These deluxe editions had taken a lot of effort. Not only were the paper and ink of high quality, but they also included colored illustrations. Even the boxes used to store the books were carefully selected, each engraved with intricate patterns.

The contents were also rich.

In addition to the story, there were bookmarks of important characters, large illustrations, and the author’s autograph, among other things. In short, the quality absolutely matched its price.

A set cost ten taels of silver.

Because the production was time-consuming and labor-intensive, with the illustrations entirely hand-colored, the cost was not low. After discussion, only twenty sets were made, with the idea of making a huge profit once they were sold.

Currently, five sets of these deluxe editions had already been pre-ordered, not only covering the costs but also netting a profit of thirty taels of silver. The remaining fifteen sets would be pure profit.

As Fu Wenyu looked at them, a sudden idea struck him.

He stopped Shopkeeper Zhang, who was about to leave, and said, “Uncle Zhang, there’s something I want to discuss with you.”

“There are still fifteen sets of these deluxe editions left, right?”

Shopkeeper Zhang nodded, “Yes, five sets have been pre-ordered, and fifteen are left.” He thought Fu Wenyu was worried about not being able to sell them, so he reassured him, “Don’t worry.”

“The boss said that if they don’t sell, he’ll give them away as gifts.”

“The incident of the child being switched isn’t seen as a family scandal by the boss. On the contrary, he sees it as a warning from heaven, reminding him to pay more attention to those around him. After this incident, the boss not only replaced a group of servants at home but also thoroughly investigated the Shopkeepers and staff in all the shops. Those who performed well were rewarded, and those who made mistakes were punished.”

“A few who were disloyal were indeed uncovered.”

Fu Wenyu was stunned, then sighed, “Mr. Tang is truly a remarkable man.”

Most people who encountered such a situation would want to keep it tightly under wraps, as ‘family scandals should not be aired in public.’ But not only did he openly send gifts to himself, he also didn’t suppress the spread of the story.

Now he even plans to give away this storybooks, which closely mirrors the real events, as gifts. Such broad-mindedness and vision. No wonder he could hand over more than fifty acres of land without batting an eye, and no wonder the Tang family has become one of the top merchants in Liuzhou, earning long-standing praise from the people.

However, Fu Wenyu wasn’t asking because he was worried about not being able to sell them. He had thought of a way to sell them.

“Uncle Zhang, I’m not worried about not being able to sell them.”

“I just thought that if we tell the customers who are pre-ordering the story that there are now two versions. One is the regular version, which will go on sale in ten days. The other is for distinguished guests. Although it’s more expensive, there’s a reason for the price—because nine days, or even eight or seven days later, we will deliver it to their doors.”

“They can read the ending in advance!”

“This way, the remaining fifteen copies might sell out, or perhaps even more. After all, we all know that in the eyes of the wealthy, ten taels really isn’t much money.”

Although this approach would inevitably lead to a small number of people learning the ending in advance, and even spreading it within a small circle, considering that the friends of the wealthy mostly wouldn’t come to demand refunds for the regular edition deposits or read the story aloud in public, Fu Wenyu thought it was still feasible.

And so, the matter was settled.

Having solved the biggest worry and potentially selling out the most profitable deluxe editions, or even selling more, Shopkeeper Zhang happily said, “Wenyu, you always have a way.”

“By the way, have you thought of a new story recently?”

He smiled, “Since your story became popular in the tabloid, I’ve received a few new ones. Some even specifically requested to be printed in the Liuzhou Tabloid, willing to accept lower pay, but none of them are as good as yours.”

“If you can write one within a day, it can make it into the next issue. After all, the Liuzhou Tabloid three days from now can only print three thousand words of The True and False Young Masters.”

“We still need two more stories.”

“A new story, huh…”

Fu Wenyu understood what he hadn’t finished saying.

The Liuzhou Tabloid had caused such a big mess, and now was the best time to demand compensation from them. If he could write a new story in a day, even just one chapter, they could offer a spot as an apology. As time went on, it would become harder to demand such compensation.

Coincidentally, Fu Wenyu had also been feeling that he had spent too much money recently and urgently needed to recoup some funds.

So he replied without hesitation, “No problem, I’ll definitely have it written by tomorrow.”

It was time to bring out his speed of writing ten thousand words a day!

…

That same day, Fu Wenyu started writing.

Because time was tight, he took a shortcut by adapting a concept he had thought of in modern times, one that could also work in an ancient setting.

That concept was—gambling on jade.

Once upon a time, gambling on jade was a very popular theme, often paired with supernatural abilities, allowing the protagonist to see through the surface of a stone to discover whether it contained jade.

Stones without jade were, of course, worthless. But if they contained jade, the protagonist would often buy them at a low price and then uncover priceless jade. For example, ‘glass-type imperial jade,’ ‘high-ice-type red jade,’ ‘glutinous-ice-type three-colored jade,’ and so on. This kind of behavior was commonly known as ‘finding a hidden treasure.’

When Fu Wenyu used to read stories about gambling on jade, he really wanted to ‘find a hidden treasure’ himself!

But unfortunately, he knew it was all fake.

Even more unfortunately, by the time he started writing, the popularity of gambling on jade stories had already faded, so he didn’t dare to write something similar just for fun. Fortunately, he had traveled back in time, and in ancient times, there were no gambling on jade stories, so he could still write one.

However, gambling on jade was still a form of gambling, and gambling was a bad behavior.

Especially since ancient people had less access to information and weaker judgment compared to modern people. If someone read the story and actually went down the path of gambling, it would be very bad. Fu Wenyu felt that as an author, he shouldn’t instill the idea that one could get rich through gambling in his readers, so he made some adjustments.

The protagonist of The Legend of the Divine Eye was named Li Lei.

He was the son of a jade merchant, an ancient rich second generation.

One day, while Li Lei was wandering the streets, a ragged, disheveled old beggar suddenly stopped him. The beggar said he was one of the twenty-eight constellations of the heavens and had a connection with Li Lei, so he had come to give him a great opportunity.

…

“You want to give me an opportunity?”

The eighteen-year-old Li Lei, with the curiosity of a young man, looked the old beggar up and down and asked strangely, “You say you’re one of the twenty-eight constellations of the heavens, but how come you look like a beggar?”

“What kind of opportunity can you possibly give me?”

“If you’re hungry, I can buy you a couple of steamed buns, but don’t try to trick me.”

The old beggar wasn’t angered. Instead, he grinned, revealing three missing teeth, “Your father, Li Jin, must have taught you not to underestimate others, right?”

Li Lei instantly became alert, “Who are you?!”

It was no wonder he was so surprised, because at this time, Li Lei wasn’t in the city where he usually lived. He was here to perform ancestral rites on behalf of his busy father, and he had only arrived last night, not yet having had the chance to visit his relatives. In other words, aside from a few people, no one else should have known his identity.

And those who had accompanied him on this trip were all trusted servants of the family.

Although they weren’t with him at the moment, Li Lei believed they wouldn’t play such a joke on him. So the old beggar’s words immediately put him on guard, and his expression turned serious.

But the old beggar didn’t answer him. Instead, he said, “Remember, you must give in order to receive. For everything you gain through this opportunity, you must give away ninety percent to charity.”

“Otherwise…”

He smiled mysteriously, then raised his hand and patted Li Lei on the head. Immediately, Li Lei felt dizzy and couldn’t hold on, fainting.

When he woke up again, he found himself lying in bed.

The old steward, seeing him awake, burst into tears, “Young master, young master, you’re finally awake!”

“When we woke up this morning, you were nowhere to be found, and we were frantic. If it weren’t for a kind soul who brought you back, how would I have explained this to the master?”

“Young master, who was it that knocked you out?”

But Li Lei didn’t answer the old steward, because his eyes and mind were already firmly fixed on something in the room. It was oddly shaped and emitted a faint, glowing light.

…What was that?