Chapter 13

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"Master, please say something when you stop, my nose is about to be flattened!" Butler Xu covered his nose, wiping away tears as he complained. The nose is rich in nerves, and a single collision can cause a flood of snot and tears, taking a long time to recover. No wonder Butler Xu was complaining.

However, Zhou Chong seemed to completely ignore Butler Xu's complaints and stood there in a daze, quickly thinking about the feasibility of the inspiration that had just flashed through his mind.

In his previous life, although Zhou Chong was forced to become part of the gray fringe group, he had still received over ten years of education. He also enjoyed reading books when he was in school. Although his environment limited his exposure to classical literature, such as the Analects of Confucius, which he still couldn't recite in full, he had read quite a few of the Four Great Classical Novels and other famous classical novels.

For example, among the Four Great Classical Novels, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin were written over a hundred years ago, but Journey to the West and Dream of the Red Chamber had not yet been published. Wu Cheng'en and Cao Xueqin, who wrote these books, had not even been born yet. More coincidentally, his memory of these two books was very clear, and he had read them multiple times. He could say that every word of these two books was in his mind. If Zhou Chong were to write these two books now, it would certainly cause a significant stir.

Thinking about this, Zhou Chong couldn't help but feel excited. However, he then thought calmly that ancient writers generally lived very poorly, and it was rare to hear of anyone becoming wealthy by writing novels. Now, what he needed most was money. If writing books couldn't bring him wealth, wouldn't he be wasting his time?

"Butler Xu, do you know how to publish a book?" At this moment, Zhou Chong finally thought of Butler Xu. For matters related to publishing books in ancient times, it was better to ask a native of this era.

"Publish a book?" Butler Xu clearly couldn't keep up with Zhou Chong's thoughts and took a while to respond, "Master, publishing a book can be easy or difficult."

"Huh, what do you mean?" Zhou Chong didn't quite understand Butler Xu's words.

"Master, you may not know, but there are two types of people who publish books. The first type is those who are famous and whose books are in high demand. These people naturally have publishers come to them with silver, begging them to hand over their completed books for printing and publication. The second type is wealthy scholars who pay to have their books printed and then give them to friends and family to gain fame."

Fortunately, Butler Xu was a former scholar and was quite familiar with the publishing process. Otherwise, if it were an ordinary person, they wouldn't understand the intricacies.

After hearing this, Zhou Chong was extremely disappointed. It seemed that the profession of a writer was similar to that of a prostitute, with little change in the way they worked over the centuries. The conditions for publishing books were almost the same as in the modern world. Unfortunately, he had neither fame nor money, and although he had a wealth of good stories in his mind, he had no way to turn them into money.

Seeing Zhou Chong's disappointed look, Butler Xu asked in confusion, "Master, are you asking this because you want to publish a book?"

"That's right. I have a novel that is even more exciting than the Journey to the West, telling the story of the monk Xuanzang's journey to the West. I wanted to publish it to make some money, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult!" Zhou Chong had already given up on the idea of publishing a book. Given his current situation, it would be better to save some money and invent things like soap, which could truly make money.

Butler Xu naturally didn't believe that Zhou Chong had a more exciting novel, but as a servant and elder, he wouldn't discourage Zhou Chong. Instead, he offered a suggestion, "Master, if you really have a more exciting novel, there are still ways to make money!"

Butler Xu's words immediately rekindled Zhou Chong's hope, and he eagerly asked, "Butler Xu, please tell me, what are the ways to make money?"

Seeing Zhou Chong's confidence, Butler Xu also felt hopeful and said, "Master, there are only two ways to publish a book. We don't have money, but we can gain fame. If your novel is truly exciting, you can write a part of it and have storytellers in the streets and alleys tell it. When it reaches the most exciting part, we stop spreading it. Then, people who enjoy the story will come to you for the book, and even book publishers might come to buy it!"

Hearing Butler Xu's suggestion, Zhou Chong slapped his forehead, feeling regretful. Butler Xu's method was almost identical to the pay-per-chapter model used by online literature websites in the modern world, where a part of the story is released for free to attract readers, and then the story is monetized at its climax. Despite being a frequent internet user in his previous life, he had never thought of this method, which was a real failure!

"Great! This is a good idea!" Zhou Chong's face was full of excitement, but he then thought of a problem and said with some distress, "But we don't know any storytellers. How can we get them to tell my novel?"

"That's easy. As long as the first storyteller is willing to tell the story and it becomes popular, other storytellers will follow. Master, how about me? Do you think I can do it?" Butler Xu said confidently, especially when he mentioned the last part.

"You?" Zhou Chong looked at Butler Xu up and down, "Butler Xu, can you do it? Storytelling is a skill, not just about being able to speak well."

Butler Xu, however, patted his chest and assured Zhou Chong, "Master, don't worry. I've been listening to stories for decades and am very familiar with the techniques. I've also told stories to friends at gatherings, and they all praised me. Most importantly, the owner of Fengyou Teahouse is Mr. Bai, and his butler, Bai Fu, is an old friend of mine. We often drank tea and listened to stories together. If I ask him for a chance to tell stories at Fengyou Teahouse, I can build a reputation there, and other storytellers will follow!"

Hearing Butler Xu list his advantages, Zhou Chong immediately decided, "Alright, let's do it. I'll start writing the novel and finish the first few chapters as soon as possible. Then, you can practice. If everything goes well, the rest will depend on you!"

"Master, rest assured, I won't let you down!" Butler Xu was also excited. For the past ten years, since he lost faith in the imperial examinations, his life had been focused on repaying the Zhou family. Apart from that, his only pursuit was eating, drinking, and playing. Among his hobbies, listening to stories was his main pastime. Over time, he had even performed stories for friends and enjoyed the attention. Unfortunately, he had to manage the Zhou household, and the income and status of storytellers were low, so he never became a professional storyteller.

Now, with the opportunity to help Zhou Chong publish a book, Butler Xu could finally fulfill his dream of turning his hobby into a career, and most importantly, support his family. This was what excited him the most. As for the exciting book Zhou Chong mentioned, Butler Xu still had some doubts, but it didn't matter. Even if the story wasn't exciting, he could tell some classic segments and still make a living.

Zhou Chong and Butler Xu had 1.2 taels of silver from Wu Butcher for rent, which would be enough for a common family to live on for several months. However, Zhou Chong, coming from the modern world, couldn't stand the coarse food of the Ming Dynasty, especially as a meat lover, he couldn't bear to go without meat. In his previous life, even in the most difficult times, he never went without meat. Moreover, Zhuo'er and Duo'er were also pampered from a young age, and he couldn't let them suffer. Therefore, Zhou Chong had high standards for the quality of life, especially in terms of food and drink, and he wouldn't let his family or himself be shortchanged.

For this reason, when they went to the market, Zhou Chong bought some vegetables, eggs, tofu, and other items, as well as several dozen pounds of rice and various seasonings like oil, salt, and vinegar. By this time, it was well past lunchtime and close to dinner. Although Zhou Chong and Butler Xu hadn't had lunch, they had eaten many pastries at the teahouse, so they weren't hungry.

Zhou Chong carried the rice and pastries into the house, followed by Butler Xu, who carried the lighter vegetables and tofu. Just then, Zhuo'er was playing with Duo'er in the front yard. Seeing the large amount of food they brought, they were all surprised. Duo'er, seeing the pastries in Zhou Chong's hands, jumped up and exclaimed, "Great! All these pastries are my favorite!"

Duo'er ran to Zhou Chong and started eating the pastries. Watching his little sister eat greedily, Zhou Chong felt a pang of sadness. In the past, their family was wealthy and had enjoyed all kinds of delicacies, but now, just a few ordinary pastries could make Duo'er so happy. This showed how hard they had been living recently. This made Zhou Chong even more determined to improve their situation by any means necessary.

Zhuo'er, being more sensible, initially scolded Zhou Chong for buying so much, but when she learned that the front yard had been rented out, she was very happy and no longer blamed him for spending money. She helped them carry the food to the kitchen and then kicked Zhou Chong and Butler Xu out, saying that cooking was a woman's job and that from today on, she would take on more responsibility in the household!

As Zhuo'er prepared a sumptuous dinner to celebrate the successful rental of the front yard, a dramatic scene was unfolding at Fengyou Teahouse!