Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting with winning over Daiyu's favorability

It was an extremely chaotic night. Deng Zechen watched as Feng Ziming alternated between moments of boundless pride, sobbing, and incoherent cursing.

It was only after Feng Ziming had exhausted all his strength that Deng Zechen helped him back to his home.

Xiangling was also surprised to see Deng Zechen bring back a man who was completely drunk. She busied herself making a hangover soup and boiling water for the two of them.

Looking at Feng Ziming, who had already fallen into a deep sleep, Deng Zechen couldn't help but sigh:

"You've had it tough too. It's just a pity that Master Li doesn't take on any more apprentices. Otherwise, even though it would cost more money to come here, at least you wouldn't have so many troubles."

……

Lin Daiyu, along with Granny Wang and Xueyan, went to the Deng family today. She had just returned to the Rongguo Mansion, washed up, and lay down, holding a book in her hand, but couldn't concentrate on a single word. Her mind was filled with what Xiangling had said:

"Yes! Brother Deng is so good to me. He promised that he would definitely help me find my family if he had the chance in the future. He also put all the money with me and told me to make my own arrangements."

Xueyan was so surprised that the half-eaten pastry in her hand rolled to the ground, but she didn't care.

"Huh? Isn't it the proper wife who manages the household affairs? He gave you all the money before you were even married?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Xueyan! Don't talk nonsense!"

After being stopped by Lin Daiyu and Xiangling, Xueyan stopped talking and just ate her food.

"There's no one else at home. Brother Deng is mostly away studying, and he doesn't come back until almost dark every day. He eats whatever I cook, and he doesn't need me to serve him..."

As the memories in her mind became clearer, Lin Daiyu found it strange that although she and Deng Zechen had not spent much time together, she was always unwilling to miss any of the things Xiangling said about Deng Zechen.

Even today, Lin Daiyu can still clearly recall every detail of her time with Deng Zechen on the street in Shangsha County.

Then he thought that he was living in the Rongguo Mansion, where there were no rules. It was one thing for the servants to take bribes, shirk their duties, and cheat each other, but it was none of his business.

But the masters aren't acting like masters; they only care about their own happiness...

Unable to figure it out, he simply wrote a letter, telling Lin Ruhai everything he had seen there.

On the table, Lin Daiyu's delicate eyebrows gradually disappeared into the candlelight.

As dawn broke, Deng Zechen had already completed his morning exercises as usual.

The guest room door opened, and Feng Ziming, dressed neatly, came out from the inner room. Seeing Deng Zechen, she looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Zechen, I drank too much yesterday and caused you trouble."

"Yes, so how much compensation are you planning to pay me?" Deng Zechen knew exactly what Feng Ziming meant, but he didn't want to go along with what Feng Ziming said.

Feng Ziming felt much relieved after hearing Deng Zechen's words, half joking and half serious:

"If I succeed, I will repay you with ten thousand taels of gold!"

Deng Zechen tossed a bundle to Feng Ziming. Before Feng Ziming could even look at it, she heard Deng Zechen's voice:

"Take it, consider it a loan from me, brother. Pay me back once you get through this hurdle. Anyway, I don't have any urgent need for money right now."

Upon hearing this, Feng Ziming gripped the bundle tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. He took a deep breath and solemnly bowed to Deng Zechen, who was a few years younger than him.

"Zi Mo will remember this kindness and will never forget it!"

This time, Deng Zechen didn't interrupt as before. Not letting him perform the greeting would definitely make him feel worse. Helping others should also take into account the personality of the person involved, otherwise it will only backfire.

"Alright, alright, let's go get something to eat now that we're done. After we eat, we can all go back to our own business. I don't keep idle people here."

After a quick breakfast, the group left, watching Feng Ziming walk towards the academy. Deng Zechen, as usual, went to the Li residence to begin his studies for the day.

In the study, Du Feng used a vermilion pen to review Guo Wenshao and Deng Zechen's assignments and then offered his comments:

"Zechen has made progress again. I've never been worried about your studies. Just take it one step at a time."

As for Guo Wenshao, Du Feng showed absolutely none of the gentleness and kindness he displayed towards Deng Zechen; his face remained cold and indifferent.

"You'll stay here today and can only leave when I'm satisfied with the changes."

Deng Zechen ignored Guo Wenshao's pleading look and continued writing his article, making revisions according to Du Feng's suggestions.

When school ended in the evening, Deng Zechen was packing up to go home when Guo Wenshao stopped him:

"Hey, junior brother, wait a minute, I have something to tell you."

"There's nothing I can do to help you. My senior brother said you have to stay, and there's nothing I can do about it."

Upon hearing this, Guo Wenshao hurriedly said, "No, it's not that. It's the imperial examination guide that you put for sale at my elder brother's bookstore! Didn't you later write a second volume and sell it? This book is quite popular among the candidates, but it has attracted some ill-intentioned people."

Deng Zechen stopped what he was doing, lost in thought:

"Jealousy among peers is common; what did they do?"

"Some bookstores bought a second volume from us, printed a batch with the worst paper and ink, and sold it for more than half the price of ours. Now our bookstore has a lot of second volumes in stock, and some of them are not selling."

Piracy exists in every era, as expected.

Deng Zechen was also quite troubled, so he had no choice but to ask Guo Wenshao:

"Your older brother specializes in this business, what can he do?"

"My elder brother said that you only have the title of county top scholar, and you have no real power base in the capital. It is probably not good to use this to create momentum, and it may even cause you more trouble."

They asked if you could write some other books to sell? Something that people currently enjoy reading, preferably something new and up-to-date.

During this period, Deng Zechen had some spare money, and in addition to studying, he often went to bookstores to buy various books about the times to read.

The bad news: You can't plagiarize at all, because the popular poems and lyrics you want to write have already been passed down through the ages.

Good news: The works of Feng Menglong, the most famous novelist of the Ming Dynasty, have not yet appeared. However, I happen to love Feng Menglong's revised and expanded version of "The Tale of the Demon Slayer" and am very familiar with his other works, so I can try to retell them.

After all, this is a work that has stood the test of time. The animated series "The Legend of the Demon Slayer" adapted from "The Legend of the Demon Slayer" was a well-known classic during my childhood.

Having made up his mind, Deng Zechen looked at Guo Wenshao calmly:

"I heard some strange tales from the elders when I was young, and I could adapt them slightly and write them down. But what if someone copies them after I write them down? Does your older brother have any ideas on how to deal with that?"

Guo Wenshao scratched his head:

"I don't know anything about business matters. My older brother has been busy at the bookstore lately. Why don't you go and ask him? I can't go with you today."

Deng Zechen was quite familiar with the Guo family's bookstore, and immediately agreed:

"Alright, thank you, senior brother. I have to go now."

Guo Wenshao nodded and returned to his desk, biting his pen as he revised his homework.

After leaving the Li residence, Deng Zechen followed the route he had walked countless times in his memory to the Guo family's bookstore, where he indeed saw Guo Wenmo, the eldest brother of the Guo family, busy inside.