"Young Master Liang San, are you sure you're not joking with us?" several bold commoners couldn't help but ask.
Looking at the disbelieving crowd below, Liang Yun smiled and said, "The Four Books and Five Classics, along with these literacy primers, are priced at this! As for other books sold later, the prices might be a bit higher, but they won't be outrageously so, definitely within an acceptable range for everyone!"
The reason Liang Yun's expression remained unchanged was that his heart had already ached.
These types of books were the most frequently sold by the Ouyang family's bookstore. Liang Xiao was declaring war on them!
Even with movable type printing, 150 wen wouldn't yield much profit, always teetering on the edge of loss, given the significant expenses of ink, binding materials, and the wages of literacy workers! If the price of paper were to surge, then there would truly be no profit at all!
Liang Xiao's objective was quite simple: to destroy the foundation of the Ouyang family's bookstore!
However, the books Liang Xiao's bookstore was printing, these few most common ones, would not be printed with movable type in the future. Liang Xiao was secretly enlisting numerous craftsmen to carve hard wooden printing plates... Since these books were to be printed long-term, the carved plates could be used repeatedly, making the cost lower than movable type. For now, movable type was merely used to assemble temporary layouts for printing.
Everyone still expressed disbelief. It wasn't that they refused to believe, but they simply dared not. The Four Books and Five Classics sold by the Ouyang family's bookstore ranged from 1,200 to 1,500 wen. For less common books that were inconvenient to use with block printing, they would still hire scribes, and the prices were even more exorbitant! This comparison showed a gap of eight to ten times!
Liang Yun immediately had workers push a cart laden with books for public display.
"They really are new books!" Seeing the brand-new books, a clamor erupted from below, and everyone was excited! If the price were truly this low, they would have a chance to buy a few for their children. They could pool money and find a teacher to educate the children collectively... Then, in the future, it wouldn't be only the gentry and nobles who could read, write, and become officials!
"The 'Shi Zhou Pian' and 'Cang Jie' are 120 wen each, and the Four Books and Five Classics are 150 wen each!" Liang Yun announced the prices again to the public.
Excitement surged through the crowd!
"You are maliciously undercutting prices, disrupting the market, and killing the goose that lays the golden eggs!" The Ouyang family members finally became hysterical, shouting in anger.
"Brother Duggu, please weigh in on this matter!" These people did not forget to seek help from the aristocratic youths present, only to receive silence. The book prices were too cheap, and they, as those with the greatest demand for books, were quite pleased about this development... Ordinary aristocratic youths did not realize the impact Liang Xiao's actions would have on them in the future, and they merely expressed their desire to purchase books.
Now, the Ouyang family was truly panicked. They had initially planned to mock and disrupt the event, then announce their patriarch Ouyang Ji's order to temporarily lower book prices by ten percent to win public favor. But Liang Xiao's bookstore had immediately dropped prices to a tenth, a full ninety percent reduction! This move would undoubtedly make the Ouyang family's bookstore a target of public outrage!
Liang Yun glanced at the eager crowd below and said loudly, "Everyone, please don't rush to buy, we have prepared ten thousand copies of each type of book!" The commoners in the capital had money. If it weren't for the law, and with Liang Mansion's guards present, these people might have rushed forward to buy, or even looted the books directly! In just a quarter of an hour, people were incessantly urging Liang Yun to sell the books quickly. Liang Yun remained calm and unhurried, explaining to everyone the bookstore's long-term plan to sell these books.
Just then, an angry roar came from afar: "Presumptuous!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Ouyang Ping leading a group of household guards rushing over from a distance.
"It's Minister Ouyang!" The crowd voluntarily made way. Ouyang Ping, his face grim, arrived at the front of Liang Yun's platform and shouted, "Liang Yun! Have your second brother's books been sold at this price with the approval of our Ministry of Revenue?"
Liang Yun took out two official documents and responded proudly, "With the consent of His Majesty and the Prime Minister's Office, is that not enough? Do you, as a Minister of Revenue, wish to usurp the authority of the current Emperor?" A cheer erupted from the crowd, and Ouyang Ping's face turned ashen! The official documents clearly stated that Xiao Qing and the Prime Minister's Office not only supported this book pricing but also praised Liang Xiao for his intention to enlighten the populace! Ouyang Ping was speechless and retorted sheepishly, "How could I possibly oppose His Majesty and the Prime Minister? I was merely making a routine inquiry..."
At that moment, a clear voice called from afar, "How is it that even Minister Ouyang has personally entered the fray? Have your Ouyang family no shame?" Ouyang Ping looked up angrily and saw Liang Xiao arriving from a distance with his entourage, standing before Liang Yun and looking down at him.
"It's Marquis An Guo!" The crowd was ecstatic. Liang Xiao's personal appearance confirmed that this book price was absolutely genuine! Ouyang Ping said with a mocking smile, "Liang Xiao, you are so aggressively undercutting prices, hurting yourself to injure the enemy, why bother?" Liang Xiao glanced at Ouyang Ping with a gentle smile, "Hurting myself to injure the enemy? Minister Ouyang, are you perhaps worried that I will expose your Ouyang family's lies?" "What makes you say that?" Ouyang Ping's face fell. "I can still make a profit at this price, with low margins and high volume, enlightening the populace, a win-win situation, isn't it?" Liang Xiao said without hesitation. "There's a profit?" Everyone was astonished. Yue Lian and Jian Qin Wan, standing behind Liang Xiao, remained silent, filled with joy. If they hadn't heard Liang Xiao explain the bookstore's operations last night, they too would have worried if Liang Xiao would go bankrupt due to the bookstore. Liang Xiao changed the subject and said coldly, "On the other hand, your Ouyang family monopolizes bookstores nationwide, keeping book prices high, under the guise of high labor and block printing costs. It's utterly shameless!" "Yes! Too expensive!" The crowd below echoed the sentiment. With Liang Xiao's book prices, Ouyang Ji's books, which often cost over a thousand wen, were now exposed. Beads of sweat appeared on Ouyang Ping's forehead. After adopting block printing, including all costs, the cost per book at their bookstore was around five hundred wen. This was because their printing plates were still in the experimental stage, not practical enough, and extremely prone to damage during carving and use, requiring a large number of backups. Moreover, they didn't hold ink well, leading to paper wastage. Even so, they strictly guarded against the leakage of this printing technique and, through various means, could still sell books at three times the cost, making enormous profits! But Liang Xiao's sudden move had exposed the Ouyang family's true colors, leaving them unable to defend themselves! Their printing cost was five hundred wen per book, yet the public now believed the cost was actually less than 150 wen! The crowd's emotions ran high. Instantly, Ouyang Ping felt what it was like to be accused by thousands. The commoners hurled the most vulgar insults, with some even cursing Ouyang Ping's entire ancestry. The sons of other noble families and impoverished scholars also looked displeft. The Ouyang family's high book prices had disproportionately harmed them the most. The impoverished scholars were often former fallen gentry who, unable to afford many books, had their channels for knowledge advancement blocked! If Liang Xiao's book prices were available, they would be willing to spend money on books, rather than clinging to a few old books left by their ancestors, whose text was nearly illegible, as family heirlooms! "Minister Ouyang, give us an explanation!" Someone sent by the Gu family to observe the scene was the first to express their dissatisfaction. Ouyang Ping was terrified: the crowd had blocked the path he had made on his arrival. If he didn't provide an explanation, he feared he wouldn't be able to return to the Ouyang family safely!