CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 0340: ENTERING THE COUNTY TOWN WITH CHAI EYING (2)

Li Xing’an turned around, puzzled, and muttered, "What’s the matter, Third Sister?"

"I want to talk to Mu Yuanxiu! Do I need your permission?" Li Yuzhu said with a sullen face, glaring at Li Xing’an.

Li Xing’an was afraid of Li Yuzhu getting angry, so he immediately said, "Ah, no, if you want to talk, just talk."

He watched the two of them.

This look of guarding against a thief made Li Yuzhu both angry and amused.

She directly ignored it and pulled Mu Yuanxiu aside, saying, "Alright, my third brother says you can talk."

Mu Yuanxiu glanced at Li Xing’an and said, "I’ve noted down the printing process, Yuzhu."

Li Yuzhu laughed, "Great, as long as one person remembers it, we don’t have to keep bothering Brother Tian. Brother Tian has a lot going on at home; it’s not good to delay his work."

Tian Dawang, while using a brush to apply ink to the mold, laughed and said, "I’m not busy every day; on rainy days, I can take a break."

"You work hard regularly, you should rest on rainy days," Li Yuzhu said.

Although Tian Dawang said he would come to help print the books, Li Yuzhu didn’t want Tian Dawang to keep coming; she was grateful enough that he could help mix the ink.

Tian Dawang still owed the Chen family two hundred taels of silver, and it had to be repaid within two years, so she couldn’t take up too much of his time.

The affairs of her family were to be handled by her own family members.

There were plenty of idlers at home anyway.

For example, Li Lixing or Li Xing’an.

After returning home, Mu Yuanxiu, who had already memorized the printing process, taught the Li family how to print the booklets.

Li Xing’an sighed, wondering why he hadn’t learned it.

Printing involves arranging the type and illustration molds according to the book’s layout in a fixed wooden frame, applying ink on the raised areas, then laying a piece of white paper on top and brushing it evenly with a soft brush.

If brushed too lightly, the print will be unclear, but if too heavy, the paper can tear, so the pressure must be just right.

Then, the paper is peeled off and dried on the side, and once the ink is completely dried, it can be bound into a booklet.

The typeface of the molds is proofread before printing, and after printing, only the clarity of the ink needs to be checked.

Molds that are too blurry or too faint are discarded.

Mu Yuanxiu was meticulous in brushing, with almost no waste.

When Li Lixing started, out of ten attempts, three were discarded.

Li Xing’an scolded him as useless.

But when Li Xing’an had his turn, he wasn’t much better.

Li Lixing was delighted and laughed, "We’re the same!"

Chai Eying, hearing that they started printing, came over to watch the process.

She exclaimed, "It’s hard to tell from the sketches if they’re good, but once printed into booklets, they look stunning."

Li Lixing was most enthusiastic, "Of course, sister-in-law’s drawings are excellent!"

Chai Eying laughed, "It’s the story that’s captivating."

Actually, she hadn’t drawn much.

On each page, there were only two or three small beasts illustrated; the story was the highlight.

Told from the perspective of animals, narrating human stories, it was indeed interesting; even Chai Eying found herself captivated.

With the strength of many, Li Yuzhu and the others printed a hundred and fifty pages in half a day.

Li Lixing was responsible for locating the molds, Li Yuzhu for checking them, Government Official Qin Hu for assembling the frame, Li Xing’an for applying the ink, and Mu Yuanxiu solely for brushing the paper; he would finish one page while Li Yuzhu took another one to dry.

With five people working, it was hard not to work quickly.

By evening, the Great Princess, the Second Princess, and Second Young Master Li returned home, and Li Yuzhu showed them the printed sheets.

They also praised enthusiastically, saying it was just like the booklets sold in the capital.

This made everyone excited about the sales of the booklets.

Li Yuzhu’s plan was to print five hundred copies, the more printed, the less the cost when averaged out.

At this time, a hundred sheets of bamboo paper cost about thirty wen. A booklet, including the cover and the back page, required twenty-two sheets, totaling six wen and six. The cost of typesetting was fifty wen per hundred characters, and the painting board was carved for free by Xiao Chengzi, without charging any fee.

Under normal pricing, a set of painting boards cost about ten wen, but the type and painting molds can be reused.

They would not be damaged for at least half a year, and if they were, it would be due to extensive use.

After calculations, the production cost of a booklet would not exceed twenty wen, and she set the selling price at one hundred wen per booklet.

By printing five hundred copies, they could earn a net income of forty taels of silver.

To print five hundred books, using eleven thousand pages, would only take them five people thirty days.

Further calculated, each person could earn eight taels of silver per month.

As they become more familiar with the process in the future, their income would only increase, and the time spent would be shorter.

This business venture was worthwhile.

For a full thirty days, working from morning till evening, the team collaborated and finally finished printing and binding the five hundred booklets.

Li Yuzhu presented the booklets to Prince Luling and Li Xingmao.

Both of them praised them endlessly.

They remarked that their printed booklets were no worse than those printed by some regular book societies.

Li Xingmao, flipping through the booklets, said, "Third Sister, these contents and the illustrations Big Sister-in-law created for Jingjing and Guoguo aren’t the same. Such young children can’t recognize so many characters and there aren’t enough pictures in these booklets; they’re not suitable for children of their age to read."

Li Yuzhu smiled and said, "These aren’t meant for such young children; they’re for children aged five to ten."

At that age, children are naturally curious; as long as the story is continuous and has some suspense, they will patiently read on.

Li Xingmao laughed, "I see." After a while, he worriedly mentioned, "Third Sister, you should still take these booklets to the county town, right? But with so many copies, where do you plan to place them for consignment?"

Li Yuzhu replied, "Part of it will still go to the Sang family; let them help with promotion. For the other part, I’ll contact a person who used to help us carve the painting molds. His father knew many book sellers in his lifetime, and they’ll help with the sales."

Prince Luling mentioned an important point, "My dear daughter, have you registered your books with the county government? If someone else copies them, you won’t be able to sell your future prints."

Amazing, her ancient father had a sense of copyright!

Li Yuzhu laughed, "Look, it’s printed here." She pointed to a line of small text on the cover, "I’ve already stated it clearly—anyone who dares to pirate will face a lawsuit."

The booklet’s title was still "Hundred Beasts Paradise," and next to the title, she printed: "Published by Niu Tou Mountain Scholar, reported to the authorities, no reprints allowed, violators will be prosecuted." And "Qingyang County Publication 108," which is the publication number.

When she left the county last time, she had already inquired with the County Magistrate about the registration of book printing.

The County Magistrate explained that if others wanted to print books, they should submit the manuscript for his review before printing. Once he confirmed it was not a prohibited book, he would issue a number for publication.

However, knowing she was printing children’s books, the County Magistrate offered a backdoor and gave her a number in advance, instructing her to send two copies to the government office for supplementary registration afterward.

Prince Luling laughed, "I didn’t expect you to have thought of everything, very good."

Li Xingmao added, "Third Sister, wait a couple of days before heading to the county town. Your sister-in-law’s grandaunt, who lives in the county town, is celebrating her birthday in three days. She plans to take Guoguo and Jingjing to the county town the day after tomorrow; you can go together."

Li Yuzhu was delighted, "That would be wonderful."

.

Soon it was the day after tomorrow.

At dawn, Li Yuzhu got out of bed early.

She wrote down the items the Great Princess and Second Princess entrusted her to buy and went to find Chai Eying.

Chai Eying had also risen and was dressing the two children.

Li Jing, upon hearing they were visiting relatives, happily hopped around the room like a monkey.

As for Guoguo, she stood quietly on the bed, allowing Chai Eying to dress her.

The little one could now walk awkwardly without support.

Seeing Li Yuzhu approaching, she grinned, "Auntie."

"Guoguo looks so lovely today." Li Yuzhu pinched her little cheeks.

The two children, brought here with their family to do hard labor, hadn’t gone further than Chai Eying’s old house in the village.

The younger Guoguo didn’t feel the monotony of the days, but the older Li Jing had long been clamoring to play outside.

When he heard they were going to the county town to visit relatives, he happily shouted, "Off to the county town, off to the county town to see the excitement."

Li Yuzhu held down the monkey-like Li Jing and said sternly, "Li Jing! Auntie is solemnly telling you, while the county town is bustling, there are also many bad people. If you run around carelessly, you could be taken away by bad people!"

Li Jing blinked, "What do bad people look like? Tell me, so I can avoid them."

Li Yuzhu, "..." How would she know? "Bad people look like everyone else, but they do bad things, so they are called bad people."

"Then, what are bad things?" Li Jing began his relentless questioning again.

Li Yuzhu nodded, "Good question, Auntie will tell you now."

The child’s question reminded her that it was necessary to explain to Li Jing how tricksters abduct children.