Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 70 Gratitude!

Born into royalty, they were bound to be precocious in many things compared to ordinary families.

This Prince Jiang is only sixteen or seventeen years old this year. If he were a child from an ordinary family, he might not know anything yet. But although he is mischievous, he already understands a lot of things.

For example, regarding Chen Qing joining the Yiluan Division, although he said he had already made arrangements with the commander, everyone knew that as long as he couldn't stay in Yingtian for a long time, the things he had agreed to would be null and void.

Therefore, he was actually just acting as an intermediary for Chen Qing, introducing the two of them. As for whether the matter could be accomplished, it ultimately depended on whether Chen Qing had the ability to offer conditions that satisfied the commander.

Of course, not all royal children have the same level of understanding as this Prince Zhou. Ultimately, this chubby boy is still quite clever.

After listening to his words, Chen Qing only needed a moment to think before he understood what he meant. His eyes flickered, and then he smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

“In the coming months, I will supply the young master with the books of chivalry, and I don’t want the young master to split the profits 50/50. I just want the young master to provide the capital for my bookstore.”

The chubby boy turned around and looked at Chen Qing, grinning as he said, "You're really sensible, kid."

"Never mind."

He waved his hand: "If I agree, it will seem like I'm bullying you. I came to Deqing because I wanted to see your manuscript, not to make money."

Chen Qing said solemnly, "The young prince is sincere, and even if we sell this in Yingtian ourselves, we might not make much money. Let's just consider it a gift for the young prince."

At that time, an ordinary novel, if it was a long one and well-bound, would cost less than two taels of silver. If it was a collector's edition with illustrations, it might be even more expensive.

For books like "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," which are sold separately, even with the added bonus of new themes and stories, a normal copy can only fetch two qian of silver, which is considered quite good.

However, if the novel is released in Deqing, and can also be released in Yingtian at the same time, it will be much earlier. In addition, with the influence of this Prince Zhou, it might fetch a good price.

However, the literate population in this era was not large. Even in a big city like Yingtian, it was possible to sell a thousand or two copies in a short period of time, which was the best they could do.

I estimate that the income would be around 1,800 taels of silver.

After deducting costs, this money would be enough to give the Prince of Zhou pocket money.

Rather than settling accounts openly, it's better to do this favor and give it to this Prince Jiang.

After all, in this era, some people want to do favors but can't find a way, so there's no need to calculate the costs in detail.

The chubby boy turned to look at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "Chen Qing, with your personality, you're suited to hanging out in the capital. I'll take you there at the end of the year, and you might just thrive there."

Seeing that the chubby boy had tacitly agreed, Chen Qing simply smiled and didn't reply. The two quickly arrived at the courtyard gate, where a dozen or so Imperial Guards bowed and saluted the Prince of Zhou as soon as they came out.

"Sir!"

The chubby boy waved his hand, then pulled Chen Qing to the front of a man in his thirties, introducing him to Chen Qing: "This is Commander Shen Long."

This Commander Shen was dressed in ordinary clothes, with no trace of "brocade robes". He had a bronze complexion and was tall and strong, but he already had a small belly. However, it was precisely because of this physique that he looked quite dignified when he stood still.

Chen Qing bowed and greeted Commander Shen.

The chubby boy then pointed to Chen Qing and introduced him, "Commander Shen, this is Chen Qing..."

At this point, he scratched his head and looked at Chen Qing.

As the person in a superior position, he always addressed Chen Qing by his given name and didn't know his courtesy name.

Chen Qing silently added, "Chen Zizheng."

"Oh yes."

The heir apparent of the Zhou king smiled and said, "Chen Qing, Chen Zizheng."

Commander Shen glanced at Chen Qing, then quickly looked at Prince Jiang, and immediately smiled, saying, "So it's Young Master Chen. I've heard so much about you."

Chen Qing cupped his hands and smiled, "Just now in the courtyard, I heard the young master mention Commander Shen. I heard that Commander Shen is also interested in this chivalrous tale. From now on, I will have the bookstore print more copies and send several hundred copies to Commander Shen each time, so that he can distribute them to his brothers."

Upon hearing this, Commander Shen looked at Chen Qing with some surprise, but quickly returned to normal, even showing a hint of joy on his face.

"Then... thank you very much, Young Master Chen."

As a hereditary commander of a thousand households, he was far less wealthy than the prince of a vassal state. He had witnessed the popularity of the novel in Yingtian. If he could get a few hundred copies of each issue and resell them, it would be a considerable income for him.

The important thing is that this income doesn't come from the blood and sweat of soldiers, so you can eat it with a clear conscience.

Commander Shen was not an ignorant person. After saying this word of thanks, he looked at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "I have also heard about Young Master Chen from the young master. If Young Master Chen has any problems in the future, please come to the Yiluan Division in Yingtian to find me. If I can help, I will definitely help."

After saying that, he took out an iron plaque from his pocket and handed it to Chen Qing. "Young Master Chen, take this, and you can enter the Yi Luan Division of Yingtian."

Chen Qing took it with both hands, examined it for a moment, and asked, "This...isn't it inappropriate?"

"It's just the lowest-ranking waist token of the Yingtian Yiluan Division."

Commander Shen smiled and said, "It will be convenient for Young Master Shen to take it to the Yi Luan Division to find me. It's not of much use otherwise, so Young Master Shen can rest assured to take it."

Chen Qing then took it, put it in his pocket, and thanked Commander Shen.

Commander Shen looked at Chen Qing carefully, as if he had memorized Chen Qing's appearance, and then turned to Prince Jiang and clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Prince, the court has ordered you to study hard in Yingtian and not to leave Yingtian. Before the court finds out, and the prince probably doesn't know yet, let's set off for Yingtian as soon as possible."

The chubby boy nodded, waved to Chen Qing, and said, "Chen Qing, remember to write your book well these next few months."

He sighed, "I'll come to Deqing to find you again at the end of the year."

Chen Qing bowed to him and said with a smile, "Alright, I'll wait for you in Deqing, Your Highness."

The chubby boy grunted in response, clearly not in a good mood. He turned his back and walked toward the carriage that Yi Luan Si had prepared for him, saying, "I'm leaving now. If you have time in the next few months, you can come to Yingtian to find me."

He stopped, looked back at Chen Qing, and smiled again: "I'll take you to the Qinhuai River for a stroll later."

Chen Qing smiled and said, "Alright, I will definitely visit the Crown Prince in Yingtian when I have time."

The chubby boy reluctantly boarded the carriage, repeatedly reminding Chen Qing to write the book well before leaving.

Commander Shen also mounted his horse. After mounting, he specially clasped his hands in a fist salute to Chen Qing and said, "Young Master Chen, we will meet again if fate allows."

Chen Qing cupped his hands and said, "May we meet again someday."

Soon, the group escorted the chubby boy's carriage and left Mud Snail Alley.

After everyone had left, Chen Qing returned to the courtyard, took out the cold iron plate from his pocket, and played with it in his hand for a while.

Looking at the sign, he knew that the exchange of benefits between him and Commander Shen had been basically completed. In other words, after a few months in this world, he finally had a way out.

Although this escape route is not particularly glorious, at least... even if he takes this path in the future, he will no longer have to fear the Chen family of Huzhou.

Thinking of this, Chen Qing thought of his cheap father, who was determined to go to the capital to become an official.

He tucked the waist token into his pocket and looked up to the north.

"Perhaps we'll meet again in the capital soon."

…………

The Gu Family Compound.

Inside the main hall, there were five or six boxes, all of which had been opened, revealing their golden contents.

A middle-aged man bowed to Gu Pan and said, "Miss Gu, this is what my master asked us to deliver. It's two thousand taels of gold in total. Please count it."

"At the current price of one tael of gold to eight taels of silver, that's sixteen thousand taels of silver."

The middle-aged man bowed to Gu Pan and said, "My master said that this is the first debt, and my family will repay the debt owed to the Gu family within two years."

Gu Pan glanced at the gold displayed in the main hall, then at the middle-aged man who had come from Huzhou.

"Master Chen is indeed a man of his word."

Miss Gu's face was expressionless.

"They raised the money so quickly."

The middle-aged man bowed slightly: "This is what my master obtained from selling the Chen family's property."

At this point, he gave Miss Gu a deep look, then lowered his head, his voice low and somber.

"My husband also said that the Gu family had shown us kindness..."

"He wrote it down."

(End of this chapter)