Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
One bright, sunny morning, stalls lined both sides of the San Chi Bookstore, displaying an array of new books. Upon closer inspection, bold lettering on the blue covers declared:
LIANG SHANBO AND ZHU YINGTAI
In the bottom right corner of the cover, a few small characters read: Qing Lian Jushi.
A banner above the bookstore's entrance proclaimed: San Chi Bookstore Strongly Promotes New Book.
Two young girls and two young boys stood on either side, loudly reciting words from the preface written by Nian Jiaojiao:
"He was a scion of a noble family, yet he mingled in the academy. What were his intentions?
She was a commoner, yet possessed great talent and a kind heart.
When they met and shared a room, what sparks would fly between them?
Her, her, and him, where would their affections lead?"
Many passersby, filled with curiosity, gathered around.
"Is there a new book out?"
"Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai? What strange names!"
"They must be the names of the female protagonist and her husband."
"San Chi Bookstore is making such a fuss, this book must be good, otherwise wouldn't they be damaging their own reputation!"
"Indeed, I agree. Listening to their description, it leaves so many questions, it's making me eager!"
"Hey! Isn't this for boys to read? You, a grown woman, won't buy it, will you?"
"I, I certainly won't read this book myself... But, if I don't read it, can't I buy it for my little brother? Hey! Boss, give me one!"
Once one person started buying, the onlookers who were still hesitant also joined the buying queue, men and women alike, making for a lively scene.
The owner of Shan Shui Bookstore, having received the news early, also arrived.
A young woman in her early thirties, with thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, and a wheatish complexion, swaggered up to San Chi Niang and cupped her hands in greeting:
"Congratulations, congratulations! I didn't expect Boss San Chi to bring new surprises to the readers of Shan Shui Town so close to the end of the year!"
San Chi Niang narrowed her eyes.
Despite the cordial smile and straightforward demeanor of the person before her, she had suffered losses at their hands several times.
It seemed they had come with ill intentions...
As she thought this, her face immediately broke into a warm smile, and she said:
"Oh my! I was wondering what magpie was chirping at my window so early this morning. So, it turns out some wind blew Boss Xiong here!"
Boss Xiong continued to smile as if basking in the spring sun:
"Hahaha, it wasn't any wind. It's just that customers from my own bookstore have come over to Boss San Chi's place, so I followed to take a look."
San Chi Niang did not pick up on the bait:
"Then Boss Xiong, please take a look around. I'm going to attend to other guests. Please excuse any neglect."
With that, she quickly left before the other party could stop her.
As soon as San Chi Niang left, the woman known as Boss Xiong's expression changed. She casually walked near the book stall, picked up a book, and was about to open it.
"You can't open it!" a young girl exclaimed indignantly, hands on her hips, yelling at Boss Xiong upon noticing her action.
Boss Xiong wasn't angered. She closed the book again and crouched down to address the girl:
"One book is one liang and twenty wen. I have two liang here."
Boss Xiong dangled the silver in front of the girl and handed it over.
"Here, take it. The extra money is for you to buy candy!"
The young girl was overjoyed. She started counting on her fingers, calculating how much money she would have for candy after deducting the cost of the book.
Boss Xiong watched the girl endlessly counting and twitched her mouth. She fumbled in her clothes and produced another twenty wen. This time, however, she didn't hand it over immediately. Instead, she tempted:
"I have twenty more wen here. If you answer my question, you can have an extra liang of silver to buy candy."
Unexpectedly, this only made the girl wary. The girl looked up at the strange aunt with her childish voice and said:
"My mother said, never take things from strangers. If someone gives it to you, that person is bad!"
Boss Xiong felt powerless once again.
If you say that, she could still believe it if you slightly loosened your grip on the money...
So, her eyes darted, and she extended her hand, saying:
"Is that so? Then, please return the extra money I gave you earlier!"
The girl's face reddened. After a moment's hesitation, she quickly took the remaining twenty wen from Boss Xiong's hand and, with an air of reliability, said:
"Then tell me, what do you want to ask me?"
Boss Xiong was speechless for a moment.
This little brat truly has the style of that cunning merchant, San Chi Niang!
To learn such bad habits at such a young age, the rotten beam supports a crooked house!
Despite her thoughts, she put on a kind smile and said:
"Do you know who this Qing Lian Jushi written on the book is?"
The young girl tilted her head, pondered for a moment, then shook her head and shouted:
"I don't know!"
Boss Xiong's smile faded slightly:
"You don't know? You are often by your mother's side. There are only a few people in Shan Shui Town who can write good books, how can you not know?"
"I really don't know. I wasn't at the bookstore when Qing Lian Jushi came, so I didn't see!" the girl replied truthfully.
Boss Xiong completely lost her smile. She looked at the girl and impatiently said:
"You don't know, will your younger brothers and sisters know? Go and ask them for me! Do you think my money is that easy to take? Or should you give it back to me?!"
Seeing Boss Xiong about to take back the money, the girl, startled, quickly clutched the money to her chest and said repeatedly:
"I'll go ask now, I'll go ask now..."
With that, she quickly ran off to find her siblings.
Boss Xiong waited idly. She casually flipped through the book. When she saw the preface, she sighed:
"Talented! Truly talented! To write such fine poetry, they must be at least a Xiu Cai!"
As she spoke, a doubt arose in her mind.
Was there a talented scholar in Shan Shui Town who was good at poetry and writing novels that she didn't know about?
Qing Lian Jushi...
This was the first time she had heard this pen name.
Could it be a scholar's wife playing around...
Boss Xiong shook her head. Then she reconsidered, thinking it impossible!
How many scholars were there in Shan Shui Town? It couldn't be that the county magistrate himself was writing novels.
Boss Xiong stopped dwelling on it, turned past the preface, and continued reading.
A quarter of an hour later...
Just as she was immersed in the world of Liang Zhu, she heard the girl's call:
"Auntie! Auntie! Auntie!"
Boss Xiong looked at her unhappily.
"What? Any news?"
The girl's twin braids still swung from her earlier running. She looked up at Boss Xiong with wide eyes and said:
"My younger brothers and sisters didn't see either, they've gone out to play too..."
Boss Xiong pondered, musing for a moment, then silently turned and left with the book in her hand.
The girl, who had been looking down, worried that Boss Xiong would ask for the money back, was surprised when the ground felt empty as the other person simply left.
She was stunned at first, then her face broke into a look of ecstasy. She turned and dashed off to find her siblings, wanting to tell them:
They had enough money to buy lots of candy!