The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

Outside the gate of the temporary office of Jingshi Academy in the south of Hangzhou.

As dawn broke, the streets were already packed with people. Most of them were dressed in long gowns and wore square headscarves, clearly scholars preparing to take the autumn imperial examinations. However, at this moment, they had all lost their usual refinement, craning their necks to peer into the academy gates, stamping their feet in impatience.

"What time is it? Why isn't the door open yet!" A fat scholar in a silk robe wiped his sweat with his sleeve, his face full of anxiety.

"What's the rush? The notice says the 'Collection of True Questions on Statecraft' only goes on sale at Chenshi (7-9 AM)." A tall, thin man next to him sneered. "Ten strings of cash a copy! This Statecraft Academy is robbing us scholars! It's a disgrace to scholarship!"

"Don't buy it, it's an insult to scholarship!" The fat scholar glared at him. "Lord Su has increased the weight of the policy essay by 70%, and the exam is entirely on agriculture, sericulture, and water conservancy. If you don't look at this collection of past exam questions, you won't even understand the questions on the exam day! Do you still want to pass the imperial examination?"

The tall, thin man choked, his face turning red as he struggled for a long time before finally muttering under his breath, "Buy...of course I have to buy it. I just want to curse this heartless academy."

Inside the academy, Jiang Lin was lying on a rattan chair in the courtyard, holding a cup of freshly brewed pre-Qingming Longjing tea, slowly blowing on the steam.

Zhao Lingjun, dressed in men's clothing, sat on a stone bench nearby, listening to the noisy commotion outside the door, and chuckled: "Headmaster, those people outside are all cursing you for being heartless. Ten strings of cash for a book, that price is enough for an ordinary family to live on for two years."

Jiang Lin took a sip of tea, not even lifting his eyelids: "Let them curse. The harsher they curse, the more readily they'll hand over their money. These scions of wealthy families usually spend more than ten strings of cash on a single night of drinking and carousing on the Qinhuai River. Now they're buying a stepping stone to officialdom, and they think it's too expensive? They're spoiled."

"The headmaster is right!" Qian Duoduo ran over from the front yard, carrying an abacus, his chubby face trembling with laughter. "These pedantic scholars are just spineless bastards. Shall we open the door now?"

"Open." Jiang Lin put down his teacup. "Remember what I told you yesterday: only one hundred copies to sell today. Not one more."

Qian Duoduo nodded vigorously: "Don't worry! I'm absolutely reliable. Today, I'll show them what it means to have something that money can't buy!"

The academy gate creaked open.

The scholars outside the door instantly erupted into a frenzy, swarming forward in a chaotic rush.

Qian Duoduo, accompanied by several burly guards, stood at the door, placed a table across the middle, and shouted through a tin megaphone, "Don't push! Line up! Anyone who causes trouble will have their purchase cancelled!"

That shout really worked; the scholars, who had been in complete chaos, quickly formed a long line.

Qian Duoduo put down the megaphone and cleared his throat: "Everyone, our academy went to great lengths to print this 'Collection of True Questions on Statecraft'. It's full of practical cases personally annotated by Lord Su, as well as real accounting analyses of the West Lake project. If you understand this book, you're guaranteed to get high scores on the provincial examination's policy essay section!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Sell it now! I'll offer ten strings of cash!" The fat scholar was the first to rush to the table and slam a bag of copper coins onto it with a "bang".

Qian Duoduo accepted the money with a smile and handed over a booklet that smelled of ink.

The fat scholar was overjoyed and quickly opened it for a look. After just one glance, his eyes widened in astonishment.

The first page contains a question: If there is a severe drought in Jiangnan and the price of rice rises from 100 wen to 300 wen, how should the county magistrate stabilize the price? Below is Su Shi's detailed answer, from the proportion of grain to be released from the granaries, to how to mobilize merchants to transport grain, and even how to prevent large households from hoarding and speculating.

"Incredible! This is truly incredible!" The fat scholar slapped his thigh excitedly. "This isn't just a collection of past exam questions; it's practically a secret manual for becoming an official!"

"The books are all gone." Qian Duoduo turned the empty box over and shook it. "We've sold out all 100 copies for today. Please come back early tomorrow."

"What?!" the tall, thin man exclaimed, furious. "How is this possible! Your entire academy only printed a hundred copies? I've already prepared the money!"

"Printing books takes time, doesn't it? It's meticulous work." Qian Duoduo spread her hands. "The headmaster said that to ensure quality, only one hundred copies will be printed each day. That's really all for today."

The hundreds of people outside who hadn't been able to buy the books immediately protested loudly.

"This isn't fair! Why should they be able to buy it!"

"That's right! You're deliberately making things difficult for us scholars!"

Qian Duoduo rolled her eyes, completely ignoring them, and directly ordered the guards to close the door.

Once the gate closed, the scholars outside were completely dumbfounded.

Those who couldn't buy the book were extremely anxious, and some people even targeted those who did manage to buy it.

"Brother, sell this book to me! I'll offer fifteen strings of cash!"

"I'll offer twenty strings of cash!"

In just half an hour, the entrance to the academy turned into an auction. A collection of past exam questions, originally priced at ten strings of cash, was driven up to fifty strings of cash, and some people were even willing to trade an acre of fertile land outside the city for it.

Jiang Lin listened to the commotion outside in the courtyard and twitched the corner of his mouth.

"See that?" Jiang Lin looked at Zhao Lingjun. "That's called scarcity marketing. The harder something is to buy, the more precious it becomes to them. Tomorrow, the price will double again."

Zhao Lingjun was dumbfounded, and he admired Jiang Lin immensely. This method was even more ruthless than outright robbery.

"So, shall we just keep selling local products at a rate of one hundred per day?" Zhao Lingjun asked.

Jiang Lin shook his head and stretched: "How could that be? These powerful families aren't fools. If they didn't buy it today, they'll definitely come up with another plan tomorrow. The big bookstores in Jiangnan will probably have to start working tonight."

"You mean they'll steal the prints?" Zhao Lingjun realized.

"Definitely," Jiang Lin sneered. "However, that's exactly what I'm waiting for. If I don't dig a big pit for them, how will they know who made these rules?"