Volume One: River City Chapter 12: A Clear Stand

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Looking at Yue’er’s radiant smile, Li Ling suddenly gave a bitter laugh and reached out to gently pinch her dainty nose. “Yue’er, you may have caused a bit of trouble this time.”

Li Yue’er hated it when her brother pinched her nose and was about to resist, but she stopped when she heard his words and stared at him in bewilderment.

Only then did Li Ling explain, “Didn’t you realize that I was merely humoring him? I was trying to coax more information out of that fellow so I could help Old Gu deal with them. But the moment you came in, you threw the whole plan into disarray.”

“Ah... I didn’t realize...” Once Yue’er understood, she lowered her head guiltily, all the joy draining from her face.

Seeing this, Li Ling ruffled her hair again. “All right, don’t blame yourself too much. At least I managed to learn a few useful things from him. I’m going to see Old Gu now. You just wait here at home.”

“Mm. Brother, we definitely won’t lose, will we?” Yue’er asked, tilting her head up to him expectantly.

Li Ling nodded solemnly. “Of course not. Your brother is here, isn’t he?”

...

When Li Ling entered the Gu Family Bookshop, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. The shopkeeper and several assistants all wore troubled expressions. It was not until Li Ling came right up to him that the shopkeeper seemed to snap out of his thoughts. He forced a professional smile and greeted him.

“Master Li, you’ve come. Are you here to deliver a manuscript?”

“No. I need to speak with Old Gu. Is he in the back?”

“He... he is, but...” Before the shopkeeper could say anything more, Li Ling had already set off toward the courtyard behind the shop.

Over the past few months, his friendship with Gu Yuezi had grown steadily closer, and he had become quite casual around him. By the time the shopkeeper thought to stop him, Li Ling had already pushed open the door to the rear courtyard and was striding along the path toward the accounting room he had visited many times before.

He had not yet reached it when he heard a threatening voice from within.

“Master Gu, I advise you to recognize reality and sell the bookshop to the Wan family. The price we’re offering is already very generous. As long as you agree, two thousand taels of silver can be delivered tomorrow, with not a penny delayed.”

Gu Yuezi’s voice followed immediately.

“I’ve already told you. This is a business my ancestors built through the toil of several generations. I will never sell it to you! Stop wasting your breath! Let alone two thousand taels—even if you placed twenty thousand, or two hundred thousand, before me, if I so much as hesitated, I would no longer be a man!”

The conversation ground to a halt.

The shopkeeper had also come up beside Li Ling. With a bitter smile, he gestured toward the accounting room and lowered his voice.

“Master Li, you’ve come at an unfortunate time. The proprietor is entertaining a guest.”

A troublesome guest, more like. Li Ling had not expected the Wan family to come here seeking to buy the entire Gu Family Bookshop. No wonder Wan Rong had spoken to him so threateningly before. Still, judging by Gu Yuezi’s attitude, he clearly had no intention of yielding.

After a brief silence, the other man spoke again.

“Master Gu, one should never speak too absolutely. There are no certainties in business. If you’re dissatisfied with the price, we can negotiate further. And if you’re reluctant to part with a business handed down by your ancestors, our Wan family has no wish to make things difficult for you. You may continue managing the daily affairs of this shop, provided you obey the orders of our headquarters. How does that sound? Master Gu, we’re showing you our sincerity this time. Don’t force us to offer you a punishment cup after you refuse our toast.”

“A toast? Then I suppose there’s punishment wine waiting as well? I’d like to see what methods you have at your disposal!”

Seeing that Gu Yuezi still refused to compromise, the man grew angry and issued a threat.

“If you truly refuse to cooperate with us, then you will become an enemy of the Wan family. When that happens, we will hold nothing back. To speak plainly, our Wan Family Bookshops will next flood Jiangcheng County with books from our Ten-Thousand Characters House at cut-rate prices—eighty percent of your current prices, perhaps even seventy percent.

“We have also contacted every author in Jiangcheng County who supplies manuscripts to you. We will offer them better terms and have them write and submit their works to us instead. When that happens, your Gu Family Bookshop will have little hope of recovering.”

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“So I advise you to sell all your shops to us now. That way, you may still come away with a respectable outcome. Don’t wait until you are abandoned by everyone around you. That would be terribly undignified.”

The words that followed were nothing short of an open threat. Even from outside, Li Ling could hear Gu Yuezi’s furious, heavy breathing. Clearly, the man had been provoked beyond endurance.

It was not only Gu Yuezi inside who was red with anger. The old shopkeeper outside was flushed as well, his face filled with outrage. He even cast a suspicious glance at Li Ling, thinking that he had come to confront the proprietor.

Li Ling paused only briefly before striding forward and lifting a hand. With a single push, he opened the unlocked door and entered in broad steps.

“You’re mistaken. Who says those of us who write books are fickle opportunists? I, Li Ling, am telling you here and now: I will not write so much as a single word for the Wan family!”

“Master Li...” Gu Yuezi had been consumed by rage and chilled to the bone by the situation, with no outlet for either emotion. When Li Ling suddenly appeared, he was like a drowning man who had caught sight of a great log drifting toward him. He immediately threw his arms around Li Ling.

“With those words from you, Old Gu can die without regret!”

The other man in the room changed expression and stared at Li Ling.

“And who are you?”

Li Ling looked him over in turn. He bore a three- or four-tenths resemblance to Wan Rong, though he was older and appeared considerably more composed. Before he could introduce himself, Gu Yuezi spoke first.

“This is Master Li, the foremost novelist in Jiangcheng County, the author of The Investiture of the Gods, written under the pen name Wanderer.”

Then he pointed at the other man.

“And this is Wan Ai of the Wan family.”

At the sound of that name, a strange smile appeared on Li Ling’s face. What, did the fellow’s parents not think to name him Viagra?

The other man seemed to detect the contempt in Li Ling’s eyes and gave a cold snort.

“So you’re Wanderer? You’ve merely written a few volumes of The Investiture of the Gods. Don’t tell me you actually think that makes you impressive?”

He immediately understood that his good-for-nothing younger brother had failed to persuade the hottest author in Jiangcheng County to change sides.

“Whether I’m impressive is not for the Wan family to decide,” Li Ling replied sharply. “Just as you have no right to use the fate of writers like us as leverage against Master Gu.”

Gu Yuezi had never expected Li Ling’s words to be so cutting. The anger on his face finally gave way to delight, and he nodded.

“Exactly. I may have little else, but I do have some backbone. So stop wasting your efforts!”

After a pause, he issued a direct dismissal.

“Take your leave. I won’t see you out.”

Wan Ai looked from one man to the other. His expression shifted several times, but in the end he merely snorted coldly, rose, and walked toward the door.

Only when he reached it did he suddenly turn around.

“Don’t celebrate too soon. Since we cannot reach an agreement, do not blame the Wan family for taking action. Then you’ll learn that my words were no empty threat. And one more thing...”

He fixed Li Ling with a deep stare.

“One trifling book of The Investiture of the Gods is hardly worth my notice. Do you think you’re the only one capable of writing it?”

With that, he flicked his sleeve and strode away.

Only after he had left the courtyard did Gu Yuezi release a long breath. Clearly, he had been under immense pressure throughout the confrontation.

Then he cupped his fists toward Li Ling.

“My younger brother Li, I truly owe you for stepping in this time. Otherwise...”

“Please don’t say that, Master Gu. We’re friends, and you’ve helped me greatly in the past. I’ve merely done what little I can in return.”

Gu Yuezi laughed and waved his hand.

“Since you say we’re friends, stop addressing me so formally. No more ‘Master Gu’ and ‘Master Li.’ From now on, I’ll call you my younger brother, and you can call me your elder brother.”

“That... may not be appropriate. You’re considerably older than I am, after all. You’re my senior.”

Li Ling looked at the other man’s weathered face, his expression somewhat troubled.

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At those words, not only Gu Yuezi but also the old shopkeeper wore strange expressions. A moment later, both of them burst out laughing.

Gu Yuezi knitted his brows.

“How old do you think I am?”

“Er... nearly forty?” Li Ling ventured, looking at the man’s full beard and deeply lined face. Even that estimate was somewhat conservative.

“You... younger brother, I’m only twenty-five this year! Do I really look that old?”

Gu Yuezi was nearly on the verge of collapse as he shouted the question.

This time, it was Li Ling’s turn to stare blankly. That man was only twenty-five? How could someone look so prematurely aged? He appeared to be well over forty. If the two of them went out together, no one would doubt that they were uncle and nephew—or even father and son.

“I only look a little mature, and I happen to wear a full beard. I grew it so I would appear more seasoned and could run the bookshop properly.”

Gu Yuezi looked utterly aggrieved. In response, Li Ling and the old shopkeeper broke into another round of laughter. They had never imagined that the usually grave and steady proprietor could behave like this.

After laughing for a while, Li Ling finally said, “All right, Elder Brother Gu. Surely I can call you that?”

After their joking around, the tense atmosphere among the three men finally relaxed. Now that their relationship had grown closer, Li Ling no longer had many reservations and immediately got to the point.

“Elder Brother Gu, it seems the Wan Family Bookshops have truly set their sights high. They intend to swallow up the entire book market of Jiangcheng County.”

“Exactly. That has always been the Wan family’s way of doing business—domineering, and unwilling to share anything. In fact, two years ago, the Wan Family Bookshops had already swallowed up the book markets of several other counties within Hengzhou Prefecture. Now they’ve turned their attention to Jiangcheng County.”

Li Ling nodded.

“Is the Wan family really that powerful? They actually managed to monopolize the entire book market of a prefecture?”

Gu Yuezi’s expression grew solemn.

“The Wan Family Bookshops are not what you should be worried about. It is the Wan family itself. What, have you never heard of the renowned Wan family of Hengzhou?”

Li Ling shook his head blankly. Before his transmigration, the original owner had been ignorant and uninformed; afterward, Li Ling himself had been too busy making a living to spend much time learning about such matters.

“I would be grateful to hear more.”