The two exchanged pleasantries, and Lin Zheyu got straight to the point.
"Leaving Bidan Tea House to come to Yixiang Tea House to tell stories is impossible. After all, Supervisor Wu was kind to me," Lin Zheyu said.
Upon hearing this, Jia Yanming's expression slightly stiffened, and his face turned cold.
"Don't worry. Although I won't leave Bidan Tea House, I can provide you with stories," Lin Zheyu continued. "The city of Songyi doesn't lack talented storytellers. My storytelling skills are nothing special compared to those seasoned veterans. What they lack is simply a fresh, good story. And coincidentally, I have one."
"Oh?" Jia Yanming became interested. "Is it as exciting as the stories you tell at Bidan Tea House?"
Lin Zheyu's assessment was accurate; his storytelling skills were indeed not as polished as those of many seasoned veterans. However, he excelled in delivering fresh and thrilling stories.
"Absolutely thrilling!" Lin Zheyu affirmed. "Do you have any written drafts?"
"Yes, this is the first installment of the new story. Take a look," Lin Zheyu handed over the prepared manuscript, which was similar to the story he gave to the three storytellers yesterday.
Jia Yanming took the manuscript and quickly skimmed through it. Being literate was a requirement for his position as a manager.
A few minutes later, Jia Yanming finished reading the first installment and smiled with satisfaction. The story's quality was good.
"Alright, it's settled! I'll pay 200 coins for each installment. How does that sound to you?" Jia Yanming proposed, as one installment would fill a storyteller's day.
"No need for 200 coins; I'll only charge you 80 coins," Lin Zheyu countered. "But if you want exclusive rights, it will be more expensive. You'll need to pay 400 coins."
Lin Zheyu made a bold move, leaving no room for negotiation.
"You also sold it to others?" Jia Yanming frowned; that wouldn't do. The reason why Bidan Tea House was popular was because Lin Zheyu's stories were new and exclusive to the establishment.
If his stories were available elsewhere, the audience would have more options, and they might not necessarily come to their tea house.
"That won't do. Do you have exclusive ones? Let me take a look," Jia Yanming demanded.
He was secretly amazed by Lin Zheyu's creative ability. Not only did he tell new stories at Bidan Tea House, but he could also provided different story content to other storytellers, and it was of good quality.
If he could produce another story exclusively for them, it would have be even more remarkable.
"Already prepared."
"I originally planned to make this story a series, but Master Liang said he liked to hear stories about warriors, so I rewrote one. There's no place for this story anymore."
"Since I can't use it, I'll sell it to you guys."
Lin Zheyu smiled and mentioned Master Liang, hoping to intimidate Jia Yanming a bit. He wasn't sure if Master Liang's reputation would work.
"Master Liang? Which Master Liang?" Jia Yanming asked casually as he took the manuscript.
"Liang Song, Master Liang. I've already apprenticed myself to him," Lin Zheyu replied.
"Liang Song?" Jia Yanming pondered for a moment, recalling the image of the limping old man. He had heard his brother mention this person before; apparently, he was quite skilled but rarely made a move, keeping a low profile.
Jia Yanming made a mental note of the name and planned to ask Jia Yanyong about it in detail later.
He quickly glanced through the manuscript provided by Lin Zheyu. It was a story about a scholar, part of the same series as the stories he told at Bidan Tea House.
"Great!"
"As expected of Mr. Lin, able to write so many exciting stories. Your literary talent is truly remarkable."
"I'll take both this story and the previous one. Can you offer a discount?" Jia Yanming made a quick decision.
Both of these stories were extremely exciting, and with Jia Yanming's decades of experience and insight, they were sure to be popular.
"Let's round it down to 500 coins," Lin Zheyu proposed.
Jia Yanming: "..."
Jia Yanming squinted his eyes, his brows slightly furrowed, wearing a look that said, "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Haha, just kidding. Let's settle for a bit cheaper, 450 coins, final price," Lin Zheyu chuckled.
"Alright, 450 coins it is," Jia Yanming agreed readily.
The quality of these two stories was very high. With these stories, Yixiang Tea House's business would become even more prosperous.
"Manager Jia is straightforward. Here's a toast to you!" Lin Zheyu raised his glass, in a good mood.
Not only did he resolve a troublesome matter, but he also gained an additional income of 450 coins every day.
Adding the income from the three other storytellers, that's an extra 690 coins per day.
...
Baishan District.
Gao Yu looked at the skinny monkey lying on the sickbed, his brows furrowed tightly.
The doctor had just come and said that he had been poisoned. Even if he recovered, he would likely be disabled and unable to do heavy work in the future.
"Brother Yu, please help me seek revenge!" The skinny monkey looked at Gao Yu, struggling to speak.
"Brother, what should we do about this? Should we report it to the authorities?" another person asked.
"Report? Report your head!"
"Stealing and then getting poisoned? If we report it, will the government come and arrest us!" Gao Yu cursed angrily, feeling extremely annoyed.
He had been stealing and committing crimes for many years, but this was the first time he had encountered someone so ruthless as to poison the sharp objects on the wall.
"This matter can't just end like this," Gao Yu gritted his teeth with hatred.
This was the first time he had suffered a loss from an outsider like Lin Zheyu, who had no family background. Gao Yu refused to believe that he couldn't deal with a weak scholar.
"Yanling, Wenbiao, you two keep an eye on Lin Zheyu,observe his daily movements, and find out about the situation near his residence," Gao Yu ordered. This matter absolutely couldn't be left unresolved.
That kid Lin Zheyu was just a refugee who fled to Nine South City. Even if he earned some money now, without any background, he was still someone they could easily handle, right?
It's just a bit troublesome to deal with him inside the city, where security is tighter. It's not easy to make a move.
"Brother Yu, are we going to take action inside the city?" Wenbiao asked, feeling apprehensive.
If they were caught making a move inside the city, the punishment would be severe.
"Don't worry, it's fine."
"As long as we find a place with no one around and don't get caught," Gao Yu reassured. "That kind of refugee, without any family or support, even if he disappears, no one will stand up for him."
"Do we really have to kill him?" Yanling asked, feeling a bit hesitant.
Although he had committed many crimes like stealing and robbing, he had never killed anyone.
"It depends on whether this kid behaves himself. If he does, and offers enough compensation, we might spare his life," Gao Yu said coldly.
After some discussion, they formulated a simple plan.
...
After reaching a cooperation agreement with Jia Yanming, Lin Zheyu felt relieved.
He no longer had to worry about the Flying Rainbow Gang's brothers coming to cause trouble or being ambushed by someone.
However, Lin Zheyu did not remove the mechanisms in the courtyard. The world was not peaceful, and living alone in Songyi City, it was better to be cautious.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, six days went by.
Lin Zheyu's life was going well.
With his team of storytellers grew stronger, now consisting of nine people, although the price had dropped a bit to 50 coins per person per day.the total income contributed by the nine storytellers, along with the income from providing stories to Yixiang Tea House, and his own storytelling earnings, reached around 1,500 coins per day.
That was equivalent to about one or two taels of silver.