Since it was already time to get off work, he might as well leave.
Wei Changtian didn’t have the intention to work overtime, and besides, there was nothing to do even if he did.
He had originally planned to follow others to complete a few tasks, then slowly use the Liu Ye Division’s resources to kill the monsters that should have died at Xiao Feng’s sword.
But now it seemed like he still didn’t know when his first mission would be.
Oh well, he’d just go with the flow.
After returning to the Wei estate by horse-drawn carriage, he had dinner, and Li Yang arrived on time.
And as soon as he arrived, he started setting up the card game.
With great difficulty, Wei Changtian persuaded him to enter the study, then looked at Lu Jingyao, who was about to return to her room, and suddenly said:
“You come too.”
“Huh?”
Lu Jingyao turned her head around, seemingly searching for a non-existent third person.
This woman used to be quite smart, but recently, she had become more and more silly.
Wei Changtian rolled his eyes and spoke again: “Don’t look around, I’m talking to you.”
“Oh, okay.”
Lu Jingyao’s face turned red as she quickly followed him into the study.
Wei Changtian turned around to close the door, while Li Yang, seeing Lu Jingyao enter, casually greeted her.
“Little sister-in-law.”
He treated Wei Changtian as his elder brother, and since Lu Jingyao was younger and a concubine, this greeting was not a problem.
However, Lu Jingyao’s face turned even redder.
“Li, Li Gongzi.”
The two of them exchanged a glance, but neither spoke again.
Li Yang thought to himself: Lu Jingyao is beautiful, but she’s a stutterer, and it’s a bit of a stretch for her to be a concubine for the elder brother.
Lu Jingyao: Oh no, someone’s calling me “auntie”! What am I supposed to do?
“Li brother, what are you doing standing there? Sit down.”
Wei Changtian, who had just walked over, looked at the two of them with a hint of confusion.
“Okay.”
Li Yang agreed and sat down across from Wei Changtian, while Lu Jingyao stood hesitantly, unsure whether to sit or stand.
“What are you doing again?”
Wei Changtian reminded him gruffly: “Pour the tea!”
“Oh, oh, oh.”
Lu Jingyao suddenly came to and hastily picked up the teapot to pour tea for the two of them. However, possibly due to her nervousness, her hand trembled and she accidentally spilled a few drops of tea.
Li Yang shook his head secretly, while Wei Changtian looked at Lu Jingyao, who was still standing foolishly, and could only instruct her again with a sigh:
“You can sit down now.”
“…”
Fortunately, Lu Jingyao hadn’t panicked to the point of forgetting how to sit, and she finally managed to sit down beside Wei Changtian, biting her lip.
“Well, Li brother, I came to discuss something with you today.”
Wei Changtian didn’t have the mood to bother with formalities at this point and got straight to the point: “I’m planning to open a bookstore.”
“A bookstore?”
Li Yang was very surprised.
He wasn’t surprised that Wei Changtian suddenly wanted to do business, but rather that he chose to open a bookstore.
This should be the most difficult industry to make a profit in.
The Ministry of Rites had a publishing agency that basically monopolized 80% of the market.
As for privately-owned bookstores… they couldn’t print officially protected books, and even if they managed to find a few good books, they would often be pirated as soon as they were published.
Pirated books were cheaper because they didn’t need to pay royalties to the authors, and since there was no awareness of copyright protection back then, it led to a situation where bad money drove out good.
“Brother Wei, how can a bookstore make money these days?”
Li Yang thought Wei Changtian didn’t understand the process and hastened to use a counterexample to advise him: “Didn’t the Poet Saint Su also open a bookstore a few years ago? In the end, it still didn’t work out.”
“If you really want to do business, I think it’s better to open a security agency…”
Li Yang may not be good at other things, but when it came to business, he was very knowledgeable.
This was also the reason why Wei Changtian had come to find him today.
After patiently listening to Li Yang’s words, Wei Changtian took a sip of tea before slowly speaking: “Li brother, I understand what you’re saying, but I have my own plans, which I’ll discuss with you later.”
“As for whether a bookstore can make money, it depends on who’s running it.”
“Some people might be able to make it work… like you, for example, Li brother.”
“Me?” Li Yang was taken aback.
“That’s right.”
Wei Changtian nodded: “Your father is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice…”
“My father is the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice,” Li Yang corrected.
“Ah, the ‘assistant’ will soon be gone.”
Wei Changtian realized his mistake and coughed to cover it up, continuing to speak under Li Yang’s puzzled gaze: “Even if your father is still the Assistant Minister, it’s enough to intimidate most book pirates.”
“Plus, with the Mirror Agency taking action to kill off a few unscrupulous ones… do you think anyone would still dare to pirate our books?”
“Th-this…”
Li Yang wasn’t stupid and quickly understood Wei Changtian’s intentions.
“Brother Wei, are you asking me to open this bookstore on your behalf? But wouldn’t it be better if you took the lead yourself? The Mirror Agency is more intimidating than the Ministry of Justice, after all.”
Wei Changtian shook his head: “Most people who buy books are self-righteous readers, and my reputation…”
“Ah, I see!”
Li Yang quickly understood, but still had a question: “But even if no one dares to pirate our books, we still need to have books to sell, right?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. You just focus on printing and selling books.”
Wei Changtian glanced at Lu Jingyao, who hadn’t said a word from the beginning, and smiled: “As for where the books come from, Jingyao will help you with that.”
“Ah?”
Lu Jingyao was taken aback when she was suddenly mentioned, but she knew Wei Changtian was referring to “Journey to the West”.
She took a deep breath, determined not to be embarrassed by Wei Changtian again.
“Li Gongzi.”
“Lord Wei is right, I can handle this. You can rest assured.”
“Is that so…”
Why was his niece suddenly not stuttering?
Li Yang was a bit puzzled, but didn’t think much of it. After a moment of consideration, he nodded.
“Brother Wei, since that’s the case, then opening a bookstore is feasible!”
“Great!”
Wei Changtian clapped his hands in satisfaction, then toasted Li Yang with tea, downing the tea in one gulp.
Lu Jingyao, who was standing aside, also raised her teacup in celebration, although she didn’t clink cups with the two.
But before she could take a sip, she heard Wei Changtian say: “That’s enough, you’re not needed here. You can leave.”
“Oh, right. Go call Wang Er over.”
Lu Jingyao: “……”
…
In the end, she didn’t get to drink her tea.
Lu Jingyao stormed off, but at least she didn’t forget Wei Changtian’s instructions. Before long, she brought Wang Er in.
“Lord, Li Lord.”
“Yes, sit down.”
Wei Changtian pointed to an empty seat, and after Wang Er sat down, he turned to Li Yang, who was looking puzzled: “Brother Li, I’m going to tell you the truth now.”
“Opening a bookstore isn’t that important to me, or rather, it’s just a cover.”
“What I really want to do is something else.”
“If you’re still willing to help me, then stay. If not, it’s okay. I won’t blame you.”
“But I need to make it clear to you in advance… this might cost us our heads.”