Chapter Two: The Editor Is Unable to Put Down the Manuscript
Gou Ye gazed at the now finally quiet straw hut and began to plan, picking up the tattered brush from the desk. Fortunately, he had attended calligraphy classes as a child; otherwise, he would have been embarrassed not even knowing how to use a brush. And writing books—so long as you have hands, you can do it, and it doesn’t cost much.
He started constructing outlines for martial arts novels, like The Eight Dragons and The Legend of the Eagle Shooting Hero. Yes, he was stealing the inspiration of Master Jin from another universe ahead of time.
Every classic work by Master Jin was well-known to his people. Gou Ye planned to make it a long-running serial.
With the villagers’ “enthusiastic support,” Gou Ye was not lacking for food for the time being, so he could focus on his writing for a while. Perhaps it was the aftereffects of recovering from illness, or maybe the joy of being reborn, but that night Gou Ye wrote continuously past midnight without a trace of fatigue.
Looking at the ten thousand words he’d penned, Gou Ye felt a sense of fulfillment. In his previous life, ten thousand words was enough to submit for publication. Though this was ancient times, a ten-thousand-word opening would be enough to astonish anyone.
Early the next morning, Yun Niang arrived carrying a large basket of vegetables. Morning dew mingled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers as Gou Ye slowly opened his eyes, seeing Yun Niang sitting quietly at his bedside, watching him.
“Gou Ye, Gou Ye, you’re finally awake!”
Yun Niang, seeing him open his eyes, became lively like a startled little bird.
“Yun Niang, why are you here so early?”
“Oh, mother asked me to check if you needed anything from town. She’s going in soon.”
“Going to town?” Gou Ye finally came to his senses. Yun Niang’s mother made a living by weaving and sewing clothes, which she naturally had to take to town to sell.
“Yun Niang, I want to go to town with your mother this time. Hurry and take me to her!”
“No way! You’ve only just recovered—stay in bed and don’t go anywhere!” Yun Niang pouted, hands on her hips, blocking Gou Ye’s way.
Looking at Yun Niang, standing there like a mother hen guarding her chick, Gou Ye smiled and placed his hand gently on her head, stroking her hair.
“Be good. I have something important to do in town.”
Feeling his touch, Yun Niang froze for a moment, then her cheeks flushed bright red.
“You’re terrible! ... No, I’m coming with you too.”
“All right, all right, you can come with me,” Gou Ye said, lowering his hands. He intended to take his ten-thousand-word manuscript of The Legend of the Eagle Shooting Hero to earn his first bucket of gold.
No matter the time or place, without money, one cannot move forward. Gou Ye understood this deeply, so his first step after crossing into this world was to change his current predicament.
...
Considering the amount of goods and the fact that Gou Ye had just recovered from illness, Yun Niang’s mother hired an ox cart. The three of them rumbled toward town together.
For some reason, the ox cart always jolted Gou Ye toward Yun Niang’s side, making the young girl blush all the way to town.
At last, they reached the city. Yun Niang’s mother unloaded the clothes, paid the driver, then found a stall in the marketplace to lay out her wares. As if remembering something, she took out some coins, handed them to Yun Niang, and told her to take Gou Ye around town and buy something to eat.
Yun Niang bounced over to Gou Ye, took his hand like leading a child, and dragged him toward the market.
Gou Ye had rarely visited the city before; at most, he’d gone to Mr. Zhang’s house in the east to copy texts.
“Yun Niang, do you know where there’s a bookstore?”
“A bookstore? What’s that?” She tilted her head in confusion.
“A place where they print and sell books,” Gou Ye explained.
“Oh, you mean a bookseller? There’s one not far from the market,” Yun Niang said, pointing ahead. Sure enough, a bookshop stood nearby.
Running a bookseller’s shop was a lucrative business in ancient times. Any wealthy family would purchase books to add to their collection.
The owner, Mr. Hu, had a wild and uninhibited appearance, long hair and a bristling beard. Seeing Gou Ye and Yun Niang enter, he greeted them warmly.
“Boss, I’d like to sell you these manuscripts,” Gou Ye said, handing over his night’s work, but the shop assistant rudely shoved him aside.
“What are you doing?” Yun Niang snapped, stepping protectively in front of Gou Ye.
The manuscripts scattered across the floor. Yun Niang’s heart ached—this was Gou Ye’s hard work all night!
Gou Ye stood and carefully picked up the sheets.
“Wait, let me see those!” Mr. Hu’s eyes caught a few lines on the manuscript, and he was instantly intrigued.
“And why should I?” Yun Niang glared at him. After all, his servant had just pushed Gou Ye.
Mr. Hu awkwardly fished out a few coins and handed them to Yun Niang. “Little miss, let me look at the manuscript—these coins are yours, all right?”
“We don’t care for your money!” Yun Niang refused to budge.
Mr. Hu was embarrassed—this clever girl wasn’t easily fooled. With no other option, he turned to Gou Ye.
“My young friend, let me read your manuscript. If it’s good, I’ll buy it all.” He gritted his teeth and pulled out a silver ingot, pressing it into Gou Ye’s hand.
“All right, but these are original manuscripts—only I can write them. No one else has anything like this.”
“Good, good, good!” At that moment, Mr. Hu was every bit the rabid fan, completely absorbed in reading as soon as he got his hands on the manuscript.
Immersed in the joy of reading a novel, Mr. Hu lost all sense of time. Gou Ye wasn’t worried; only he could produce this kind of martial arts fiction. If Mr. Hu wanted more, he’d have to pay for it.
After reading all ten thousand words, Mr. Hu sighed in satisfaction but then gritted his teeth fiercely.
“My young friend, ten taels—I’ll buy it all! And all your future manuscripts, I want those too!”
...
With his purse now heavy at his waist, Gou Ye nodded in satisfaction. With money in his pocket, he walked with swagger, humming a tune.
“We common folk, today we must be happy—”
“We common folk, today we must be happy—”
“We, the common folk, today we must be happy—!”
...
Bang!
“Ow!”
Suddenly, a burly, broad-shouldered man with a dark face appeared before Gou Ye like a wall, knocking him flat on his backside.
“Ouch, that hurts!” Gou Ye clutched his head, crying out in pain.
“Sorry, sorry,” the big man muttered before hurrying away. Yun Niang rushed up behind.
“Gou Ye, are you all right?” she asked, gently rubbing his head.
“I’m fine, I’m fine—wait, my money’s gone!”
Gou Ye jumped up in alarm, chasing after the direction the man had gone.
“You thief, return my money at once, or I’ll smash your lair and see you dead!”
His shouts grew more and more incoherent, as if not only had he lost his money, but his mind as well...