I am the villain in the book

“Yutong” Pawnshop.

Behind the high counter, an old man was looking at Xu Qingwan with an indifferent expression.

Most women dressed like this couldn't bring out any good items, probably just broken jewelry.

But coming was business, no matter how small the mosquito's legs were, it was still meat, he still asked politely.

“This girl, what do you want to pawn?”

“This knife.”

Xu Qingwan hesitated for a moment and handed the Sparrow Cry into the window, her face a little uneasy.

“Oh, let me see.”

The old man took the Sparrow Cry, and his pupils suddenly contracted after just a glance at the hilt.

Centennial Huanghuali!

Although only a small piece of the hilt was not very valuable, being able to use this wood for the handle meant that the knife must be extraordinary!

After looking at the scabbard, he slowly pulled out a section of the blade.

“Swoosh~”

The sound of unsheathing, like a oriole's cry, was clearly audible, without a trace of noise.

Some dry fingers brushed over the cold blade, and the old man's face changed drastically in the next second, looking at Xu Qingwan with his mouth open.

“This knife… How did you get it, girl?”

“What are you asking this for?”

Xu Qingwan looked alert: “How much can you pawn it for? If you can't tell, I'll go to another shop.”

“Don't, don't, don't!”

The old man hurriedly waved his hand and stood up: “Girl, please wait a moment, I can't make the decision on this matter alone, I need to discuss it with the shopkeeper.”

After he finished speaking, he didn't wait for Xu Qingwan to answer, and immediately took the knife into the inner room, and only came out after a quarter of an hour.

“Girl, you've been waiting for a long time.”

The old man carefully placed the Sparrow Cry on the table, and then directly ordered the shop assistant to close the door and refuse customers.

After all the doors and windows of the pawnshop were closed, he looked at Xu Qingwan and slowly stretched out three fingers: “Girl, if you want to pawn this knife, we can give you this number.”

“Three hundred taels?”

Xu Qingwan was greatly surprised.

Ordinary weapons on the market usually only sell for a few coins of silver, even the “official weapons” made of fine steel like the Willow Leaf Blade only cost a few taels.

And this Sparrow Cry is directly worth a hundred Willow Leaf Blades, no wonder she was so shocked.

Xu Qingwan didn't understand what kind of precious knife could be worth this price, but before she could figure it out, she saw the old man shake his head with a complicated expression and gently corrected:

“Girl, it's three thousand taels.”

“Three, three thousand taels?”

Xu Qingwan suddenly widened her eyes: “This, this knife is worth three thousand taels?”

“It's not worth three thousand taels, it can be pawned for three thousand taels.”

The old man took a deep breath, looking at the Sparrow Cry as if he was looking at a stunning beauty who had just emerged from the bath.

“A knife is worth a thousand gold, this knife is at least worth ten thousand taels of silver.”

“Ten thousand taels…”

Hearing this record-breaking price, Xu Qingwan seemed to have become a repeater, unable to say anything, only repeating the words “ten thousand taels” blankly.

The old man wasn't in a hurry either, and after waiting for a while and seeing that Xu Qingwan's emotions had calmed down a little, he asked:

“I don't know if the girl is satisfied with this price?”

“If you want to sell it, that's even better, our Yutong Pawnshop can offer the silver notes immediately.”

“…I won't pawn it, and I won't sell it.”

Xu Qingwan shook her head bitterly: “I just wanted to ask how much it was worth…”

“What?”

The old man's face flushed red as if he was choked, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a smile: “So it's an adult from the Hanging Mirror Division, I was very offensive just now, please don't take it to heart…”

Soon, Xu Qingwan walked out of the pawnshop with the Sparrow Cry in her arms.

Not only did she not have the joy of making a fortune on her face, but she looked worried.

Ten thousand taels, so expensive…

She only has more than a thousand taels now, and she doesn't know when she will be able to save enough money to pay him back…

Looking down at the words “Sparrow Cry” on the scabbard, her small hand clenched tightly.

Xu Qingwan suddenly showed a firm expression and waved her small fist, as if she was cheering herself up.

Keep making money! I can do it!

…

Just as Xu Qingwan took the initiative to shoulder the “huge debt” of ten thousand taels of silver, Wei Changtian, as the “creditor,” had returned to the Wei Mansion and was listening to Li Yang and Wang Er's work reports.

The preparations for Chun Shen Bookstore have been basically completed. Li Yang bought a courtyard with a storefront and warehouse. The front can be used as a bookstore, and the back can be used as a printing factory.

The shop assistants have been recruited, the printing equipment has been put in place, and Lu Jingyao has also given “Journey to the West (Part 1)” to Li Yang.

Everything is ready, tentatively scheduled to open on August 28th.

“…That's about it. I have also arranged the brothers of the Gongji Association properly. They are mixed with the normal shop assistants, and ordinary people can't see anything unusual.”

Li Yang hesitated for a moment, then said: “Brother Wei, I have an idea about selling books, and I want you to make the decision.”

“What idea?”

Wei Changtian nodded in satisfaction: “Brother Li, just say it directly, why be so polite.”

“Okay, then I'll just say it.”

Li Yang scratched his head a little embarrassedly: “I want to sell 'Journey to the West' together with the playing cards you invented, Brother Wei.”

“Playing cards are a new item that has never existed before. I think as long as they are promoted properly, they will definitely be very popular.”

“Now that we have our own printing workshop, we can reduce the production cost of playing cards to a very low level. If we can sell them together with 'Journey to the West', not only can we greatly increase sales, but also…”

Li Yang tentatively explained his “new idea,” while Wei Changtian was increasingly surprised as he listened.

Good fellow, isn't this a bundled sale?

You've figured out such a modern concept?

“Brother Li, I think it's feasible!”

Wei Changtian quickly affirmed: “Just go ahead and do it, this move will definitely be a great success!”

“Really? Then will Brother Wei listen to my other ideas?”

Li Yang, who was affirmed, was very excited, so he told everything he had been thinking about these days.

In the following time, Wei Changtian successively heard shadows of many modern marketing methods such as “hunger marketing,” “celebrity endorsements,” and “brand packaging,” some of which were already very similar.

Damn, could you also be a time-traveler?!

“Brother Li, you are truly a business genius!”

Looking at Li Yang like he was looking at an alien, Wei Changtian sincerely praised: “If you had been born a few decades earlier, what would have happened to the Xu family? The richest man in Da'ning would definitely be you!”

Li Yang was surprised and happy when he heard this: “Brother Wei, you're making me embarrassed.”

“There's nothing to be embarrassed about. You don't have to ask me about the bookstore's business in the future, just make your own decisions!”

Wei Changtian patted Li Yang on the shoulder, and then suddenly said: “Odd changes, even doesn't change!”

???

Li Yang looked blank: “Brother Wei, what are you talking about?”

“Hahaha, it's nothing…”

Wei Changtian laughed twice and raised his teacup as if he was going to drink tea.

But just as the rim of the cup touched his mouth, he blurted out again unexpectedly: “Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron!”

Li Yang: “…”

Wang Er: “…”