That afternoon, Ouyang Ji and Ouyang Ping, accompanied by several clan elders, sought out Liang Xiao. The contract was signed publicly on the street, and its contents were announced to the populace.
The Ouyang family would purchase all of Liang Xiao's Four Books and Five Classics and literacy primers. If the Ouyang family refused to purchase them, Liang Xiao would sell them at their original price. This news spread rapidly!
All the common folk eagerly awaited the plummeting book prices, yet they couldn't help but worry for Liang Xiao.
Despite the rumors spread about Liang Xiao by members of the Ouyang family, the populace generally believed that the Marquis of Anguo had succumbed to the Ouyang family's might!
"Patriarch, is this really alright? Liang Xiao's calm demeanor suggests a trap!"
Upon returning home, an Ouyang clan elder wore a distressed expression.
Ouyang Ji said solemnly, "The books are all up to standard, no different from the ones we print! At this price, even if we printed them ourselves, each would cost four to five hundred wen. Buying his books saves us time and cost, isn't that good? Even if Liang Xiao's 'movable type printing' is incredibly ingenious, it couldn't possibly save this much on costs, could it?"
The others nodded in agreement.
On this point, they could not refute him!
"His two million mu of land in Yanzhou are also money pits, and the emperor's treasury doesn't have much saved. He can't possibly support this! I refuse to believe he can persist until each title sells one hundred thousand copies!" Ouyang Ji sneered.
He was certain that no matter what, the Ouyang family would profit and even have the chance to drive Liang Xiao's bookshop out of business!
Ouyang Ping sighed, "Father, according to the lists collected from those paper mills, Liang Xiao has hoarded enough paper and materials to print hundreds of thousands of books. He has practically cleared out the stock of all the paper mills in the capital for several years! Those materials were originally for us!"
An elder sneered, "So what? He's just doing all the work for us to benefit from! Now we don't have to waste time and effort; we can just bleed him dry. It's Ping'er who is clever, able to trick him into signing the contract. Otherwise, we might truly not be able to deal with him!"
The others laughed heartily.
As long as Liang Xiao went bankrupt, they would still make a fortune, and the saved costs represented a significant sum!
Liang Xiao's bookshop continued its operations daily, rushing to produce these books, not even prioritizing the printing of newspapers.
In fact, Liang Xiao wished the Ouyang family would empty their coffers to buy his books!
To promote the popularization of education and enhance the bookshop's reputation, as well as build momentum for his own newspaper, he had been operating at a loss, essentially shouting to attract customers. Now, the Ouyang family was bringing money to his doorstep, allowing him to double his profits!
In the main hall, Liang Xiao and his three grandsons gathered.
At this moment, Liang Yun and the others were also overjoyed, praising Liang Xiao's shrewdness.
"The Ouyang family must be racking their brains, never imagining that they will eventually lose everything! Brother is truly impressive; an ordinary person wouldn't be able to outwit them!" Liang Yun chuckled.
Liang Xiao smiled and said, "Third brother, you should have learned enough by now. You can lead the Liang family to establish bookshops in the Southwest and Sichuan regions. You can slightly increase the price by twenty to thirty wen, as those areas are not as convenient as the capital."
Liang Yun had supervised the winery for Liang Xiao and earned a ten percent profit, accumulating tens of thousands of taels of silver, making him a wealthy man in the Great Qian dynasty.
Now, his elder sister-in-law, Yang Xuejing, supervised the winery in place of Liang Feng. Occasionally, Liang Feng would also come when he had free time. The couple had taken over Liang Yun's duties.
"I was just thinking the same thing. Big Brother, please give me the capital as well, so we can open bookshops together and also boost my second brother's reputation there, letting the people know that such a Marquis of Anguo cares for them!" Liang Yun said with a beaming face.
Seeing his descendants living in harmony, Liang Qing couldn't help but be overjoyed, his eyes moist with tears.
Liang Yun departed with some of the Liang family's guards and household staff.
Liang Xiao continued to arrange matters for the bookshop and winery, striving to finalize everything before his departure for Jiangnan.
One day, Lin Xiu visited, expressing his gratitude for Liang Xiao's recommendation. He then mentioned the Master of Yunxiu Studio.
"My Lord, this Master of Yunxiu Studio seems to understand your land reclamation policy better than the Prime Minister and has offered many suggestions. What do you think?"
"Master of Yunxiu Studio?" Liang Xiao took the document and, upon seeing its detailed contents, nodded. "Indeed, it's excellent!"
To ensure the Master of Yunxiu Studio's safety, Liang Xiao did not disclose the matter of the Returning Spring Cult to Lin Xiu. He merely asked, "Where is this person now?"
"He declined our offer of recruitment and does not wish to serve in the imperial court. He has already left the capital! The Prime Minister and I both suspect that he merely respects the Marquis of Anguo's talent and magnanimity, which is why he is willing to contribute to the nation!" Lin Xiu replied.
Liang Xiao mused, "Then we shall meet again by fate. Such recluses are rare."
"This person's talent far surpasses mine tenfold. Does the Marquis of Anguo not wish to seek out the Master of Yunxiu Studio?" Lin Xiu asked, puzzled.
Liang Xiao shook his head. "If he wishes to live as a carefree hermit, why should we force him? If he intends to see me, we will meet sooner or later."
Liang Xiao harbored some lingering doubts, and furthermore, it was currently inconvenient for him to associate with people of unknown identity.
He had offended the barbarians and the powerful aristocratic families. The remnants of the Great Heng Kingdom were also a troublesome issue. Now, he had also provoked the Returning Spring Cult. He had to be cautious and avoid implicating innocent people.
Lin Xiu found his reasoning sound and no longer insisted. He then said, "My Lord, the Ouyang family's calculations are very astute. The Prime Minister has reminded you to be careful. Recently, strange rumors about you have suddenly appeared in Jiangnan. Some people are even saying you are a man-eating beast. You must be vigilant..."
Liang Xiao smiled gently and nodded.
He had actually heard about it. However, it was rather peculiar that Zhuo Zifang still urged him to come to Jiangnan soon.
Normally, Zhuo Zifang would not wish for Liang Xiao to suffer in Jiangnan, fearing that he might be assassinated!
Liang Qing had also verified the handwriting and seals, confirming that they were Zhuo Zifang's personal correspondence, which could not be forged.
Liang Xiao's bookshop had recruited five hundred literacy workers. Including guards and ordinary laborers, the total number of employees exceeded two thousand!
The monthly payroll alone amounted to over three thousand taels.
However, the thirty thousand taels provided by the Ouyang family, offering Liang Xiao a profit of over fifteen thousand taels, had easily covered his temporary deficit.
Now, Liang Xiao even felt a pang of sympathy for the Ouyang family.
Xiao Qing, upon learning about the contract from the palace, laughed heartily in her West Palace villa.
"Someone is actually bringing money to my door?"
Beside her, Ning Xuejun sighed, "Perhaps it is a case of the cunning overreaching themselves. The printing cost for the Ouyang family must be greater than three hundred wen. They thought they were guaranteed to profit..."
Xiao Qing nodded with a smile. "Regardless, I will definitely support my elder brother's bookshop!"
The gold was transported back to the capital in three installments. Ding Wuyi had also returned to the capital. Now, Xiao Qing possessed over forty million taels of gold and was indeed the "little rich woman" Liang Xiao had spoken of!
As soon as the time was right, Xiao Qing would repurchase the annexed lands and promote new crops to bring blessings to the people!
With the funds, Ding Wuyi could train more Shadow Guards and loyal secret agents for her, while also improving the treatment of soldiers nationwide and increasing the troop strength in the northern territories, making the barbarians even more hesitant to invade!
"However, based on the current situation, my elder brother could defeat the Ouyang family even without anyone's assistance!" Xiao Qing said proudly.
Ding Wuyi, standing beside her, was also in high spirits and praised, "I never expected even the old commander to be convinced by the second young master Liang! This is excellent. I presume our General of Cavalry and the Prime Minister will also trust the second young master Liang, and then His Majesty can... with the second young master Liang..."
"Eunuch Ding..." Xiao Qing blushed, casting a glance at Ding Wuyi.
He had to bring up such a sensitive topic!
Ning Xuejun quickly relayed Xiao Qing and Liang Xiao's intentions to Ding Wuyi, who then realized, "Very well!"
Xiao Qing felt both embarrassed and annoyed. "You dare make me blush! I shall punish Eunuch Ding!"
Ding Wuyi chuckled and nodded, "Your Majesty's punishment is my pleasure!"
"My elder brother will be going to Jiangnan in a few days. Eunuch Ding, you will lead a portion of the Shadow Guard, under the guise of inspecting Jiangnan, to secretly protect my elder brother and Zhuo Lingjun, and to monitor the Grand Tutor and the King of Nan. This would not violate the ironclad rules of the Shadow Guards!"