Volume One: River City Songs Chapter Three: The Way of Wealth Creation (Part One)

At the turn of the early morning, just as dawn was breaking, the main streets of Jiangcheng County had already come alive with activity. Various stalls were set up along both sides of the street, awaiting customers, and a few noodle and bun shops already had patrons.

At that moment, a young man dressed in a traditional robe and snug trousers came running steadily from the far end of the street. Sweat glistened on his forehead and neck, and his breathing was slightly labored, yet there was no sign of him giving up. Only when he reached a stall frying dough sticks did he smile and say to the owner, “Uncle Sun, could I have two dough sticks today?”

“Ah, Dalang, why are you out near the city gate so early again?” Sun Dewang, the stall owner who had just served a customer, looked at the sweat-drenched Li Ling with concern. “Don’t overexert yourself. You’re getting up earlier than those of us who do business here.”

Hearing the nickname “Dalang” still felt a bit awkward to Li Ling, as it always reminded him of a certain famous person named Wu, but he smiled and replied, “Exercise never hurts. I used to be sickly because I was too weak and didn’t exercise. That just won’t do.”

“That’s true. Here you go, two dough sticks, that’ll be ten wen.” Uncle Sun said as he deftly wrapped two thick golden dough sticks in greaseproof paper and handed them over. Li Ling thanked him, greeted others nearby, and then ran off again toward his own alley.

Watching him leave, Uncle Sun sighed to the other stall owners, “I never expected this Dalang to change so much. He’s completely different from two months ago. If it weren’t for his face, I wouldn’t have recognized him.”

“Well, what choice did he have? Blame his father... But I heard he’s running that little bookstore now and business is going well. Looks like the ancestral blessings of the Li family are still with him.”

Their comments stirred more reflections among the other stall owners, but Li Ling, already far away, couldn’t hear them. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have taken it too much to heart. After all, life is lived for oneself. As long as he and Yue’er lived well, what others said mattered little.

In the blink of an eye, it had been over ten days since the bookstore reopened. Thanks to the new rental system and Li Ling’s enticing advertisements, quite a few scholars had come by. Over fifty or sixty hefty volumes of the Four Books and Five Classics had been rented out, plus some popular novels and storybooks. Although the profit was slim, it helped the Li family temporarily escape the predicament of money flowing out faster than in.

Of course, the income from book rentals alone was far from enough to clear the enormous debt of two hundred taels within a few months, so Li Ling needed to find other ways to earn money. But the most important thing now was to ensure his younger sister had enough to eat and could live better days.

When Li Ling pushed open the courtyard gate and entered the house, he saw Li Yue’er carefully pouring a small pot of rice gruel into two bowls. The larger bowl clearly held several times more rice than the smaller one. Judging by her cautious manner, she clearly didn’t want to spill a single grain. Hearing the noise, Yue’er quickly looked up and smiled sweetly upon seeing her brother. “Brother, it’s time to eat.”

“Perfect timing—I bought dough sticks just now, so we’ll have them with the rice gruel. A good meal,” Li Ling said, not mentioning Yue’er’s small act of saving more for him, just smiling as he held up the two golden, thick dough sticks. Upon seeing them, Yue’er’s eyes lit up with joy. “Dough sticks! We haven’t had these in so long. You’re the best, brother.”

Li Ling placed the dough sticks on the table, pulled Yue’er to sit beside him, and grinned, “So, which is better—the dough sticks or your brother?”

“Of course you’re better,” Yue’er replied, unable to resist the tempting aroma. She grabbed a dough stick and took a big bite, showing no ladylike restraint, then sipped from the smaller bowl of rice gruel, sighing with satisfaction. “Brother, it’s so delicious. I wish we could eat dough sticks every day.”

Then, as if remembering something, she quickly waved her hand. “Brother, I’m just saying. Dough sticks are expensive. Having them once in a while is enough.”

Li Ling’s heart skipped a beat. This little girl’s wishes were so modest, and she was so considerate and sensible. Having such a sister, he really should work harder—at least to give her a better life. With that thought, he reached out to gently ruffle her sparse, yellowed hair and promised, “Yue’er, don’t worry. I promise, soon we won’t have to worry about food or drink anymore.”

Mouth full of dough stick, Yue’er nodded quickly, mumbling, “Mm, I believe you, brother…”

After breakfast and a change of clothes, Li Ling left for the bookstore. By then, the county town was fully awake and bustling, and business soon followed. As expected, shortly after opening, customers arrived one after another, mostly scholars interested in the Four Books and Five Classics and their annotations. By late morning, seven or eight books had been rented out.

Near noon, two more scholars arrived. Their attire was different from the usual clientele—well-dressed, each carrying a folding fan, exuding an air of elegance and charm, though the weather was still a bit chilly.

“Gentlemen, is there any book you’d like to rent or buy?” Li Ling greeted them with a smile. After a few days in business, he had learned that addressing young scholars as “gentlemen” made them happy regardless of their rank.

Sure enough, both smiled. One suddenly opened his fan with a swoosh, fanned a few times, then closed it, complaining of the cold. “Why does your bookstore only have half-new, half-old books? Do you have any brand new ones?”

“You misunderstand, gentlemen. The value of a book lies not in whether it’s new or old, but in its content and the reader’s understanding. For talented men like yourselves, even reading old books can lead to great success,” Li Ling deftly replied, skillfully avoiding the weakness of his stock.

“Your shopkeeper sure knows how to talk,” the other scholar chuckled. “But we’ve already bought and read most of your classics. Today, we’re looking for some we haven’t seen before. For example, the ‘Ji Zi Explains the Spring and Autumn Annals,’ which is quite popular lately in Hengzhou Prefecture. Do you have it?”

Li Ling raised an eyebrow. He had never heard of that book, so naturally, the bookstore didn’t have it. Still, he didn’t give up. “Such a fine book? I must visit a bookshop soon to look for it. But besides the classics, I believe storybook novels are also excellent. Are you interested in a few? After all, we must balance study with relaxation.”

“Ha, you’re quite the businessman. You don’t have the books we want, so you recommend others. Fine, you seem interesting, so recommend two for us. But listen carefully—we are well-read men. Don’t try to fool us with ordinary, common storybooks.”

“That’s right. I’ve read at least eighty or a hundred storybooks over the years. My family has two cabinets full. We have as many as you’d find in your shop.”

Hearing this, Li Ling could only smile wryly; he had underestimated them. But he didn’t give up. His eyes quickly scanned the shelves and finally pulled out the oldest-looking book from a corner. “This one, I’m sure you haven’t seen before.”

They took the book and glanced at the title, visibly surprised. “‘Shadows Stir Behind the Curtain’? I’ve never heard of this one. Is it similar to the popular romantic storybooks about scholars and beauties?”

Together, they flipped through the first few pages and soon their faces flushed. Though it was indeed about scholars and beauties, it contained action scenes as well—a fresh new take they had never encountered before. Seeing their reactions, Li Ling quietly grinned. Looks like I’ve got you now.

But when they glanced at him furtively, he quickly resumed his warm smile. “What do you think of this book?”

“Not… bad. Do you have more like it? Give us a few.”

Li Ling had to admire them again—he had indeed underestimated these two. But that posed no problem. He retrieved several similar volumes from nooks and crannies. These books had been popular some fifteen or twenty years ago but were later banned by the authorities. Only a small, long-closed bookstore like his still had a few copies left.

What happened next was simple: the two novices didn’t bother haggling and immediately paid a high price of five taels of silver for five “interesting and lively” storybooks, then left excitedly.

Just this one sale earned Li Ling more silver than he had in the previous ten days combined. He couldn’t help but reflect that taking an unconventional approach was more profitable. Yet he also knew such deals were rare, and his stock of such books was limited. To truly succeed, he needed to increase his bookstore’s collection.

After some consideration, Li Ling decided to visit the Gu family’s bookshop in town in a couple of days to replenish popular titles. After all, the bookstore was attracting customers, so he needed to keep up with the times and offer better service.

“Ji Zi Explains the Spring and Autumn Annals, huh? I wonder if I can order the popular books from the prefecture in Jiangcheng County. And as for other storybooks, what else should I buy?” Li Ling immediately began to plan.