There is a god in the sky

Chapter 159 Jifeng Study 2

Shen Lan retreated in terror, forcefully covering her eyes.

"It's fake, it's all fake!"

She suddenly woke up from her dream, sat up, and gasped for breath.

"Hah...hah..." She clutched her chest, looked up at the unfamiliar room, threw off the covers and got out of bed.

As soon as I opened the door, a gust of cold wind rushed in.

She was completely unaware as she looked up at the sky.

When the third watchman's drum sounded, she went back inside to get dressed, wearing a black robe over her head and tying her hair up high. Then she climbed over the wall.

There are soldiers patrolling at night in Bianjing (Kaifeng).

Shen Lan avoided people and moved forward quickly, her destination very clear.

Liu Mansion, Dongcheng District.

She learned from Sister Gong that Liu Engui, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, had a small residence on the edge of the East District, with few servants.

Liu Engui was an official who had just been promoted from Jianzhou Prefecture. He did not have a deep foundation, and it was already difficult for him to buy a house in Dongcheng District.

Shen Lan walked around the Liu residence, roughly measuring its size, and then climbed over a dark corner of the wall to enter.

A lamp was left lit in various parts of the Liu residence, and occasionally a servant on night watch would pass by on patrol.

Shen Lan did not rush to the main courtyard, but first explored the outer perimeter.

As she passed by the servants' quarters, she heard screams coming from one of the rooms.

Driven by curiosity, she jumped onto the roof, pressed her ear to the tiles, and listened to the sounds below.

"Ah... Brother Shen, please stop hitting me... I know I was wrong... Ah..."

Shen Qing struck hard, knocking out two of the other man's teeth and leaving his face covered in blood.

He withdrew his fist and looked down at the man.

From the moment he entered the Liu family mansion, he shared a room with Liu Quan and initially suffered a lot of harassment from him.

Now that he is the young master's attendant, he no longer has to be subservient to him.

"If you dare to pee in my bed again, I'll chop off your manhood!"

The man was so frightened that he covered his groin and begged for mercy repeatedly.

"Brother Shen, I'll never do it again... You can sleep in my bed tonight, I... I'll sleep on the floor!"

"Hmph! Don't bother me, Shen Qing means what she says!"

Shen Qing kicked him and lay down on the other person's bed fully clothed.

He looked at the roof, his anger subsiding, but he felt no satisfaction at having achieved his revenge.

A slight noise came from the roof.

Shen Qing blinked, stared at that spot for a long time, and listened intently to the sounds outside.

But apart from the sound of the wind, he didn't hear any other sound.

Shen Lan left the servants' quarters and only left the Liu residence after hearing the rooster crow.

Back at her residence, she drew a map of the area surrounding the Liu residence overnight and also memorized a name: Shen Qing.

The next morning, Shen Lan opened the bookstore door, and several customers arrived one after another.

Apart from one middle-aged man who bought a ream of paper, everyone else came to read books.

Many people were so frightened by the sight of a female shopkeeper standing behind the counter that they fled in panic.

Xiao Ding arrived at work on time and selected ten scholars he had dealings with from among the customers, bringing them to Shen Lan.

"Manager, everyone has arrived."

Shen Lan asked with a smile, "Would you like to earn some money?"

Qiu Yi had already met her yesterday, but he never expected that she would be the female manager of this bookstore.

"Please speak frankly, shopkeeper."

After he spoke, Shen Lan pointed to the bookshelves behind them and said, "The books here are too messy. I would like to ask a few people to help organize them. The wages will be settled daily, but they must be rearranged as I say."

A scholar dressed in plain clothes shook his head and refused, saying, "My time is precious, and I cannot afford to neglect my studies."

Some people asked curiously, "How much is the pay?"

"Five hundred coins a day, four hours of work, and one meal included."

Even the scholar in plain clothes was tempted. "The New Year is almost here, and I can relax a bit. When shall we begin?"

There are still ten days until the New Year. If they can work for ten days, they can earn five strings of cash, enough to have a good New Year.

Shen Lan divided them into five groups, with one person in each group registering and another person picking up the books.

"This bookshelf is extremely tall, making it very inconvenient to retrieve books. I have divided the bookshelf into eight sections. Please reorganize and shelve the books according to the categories I have marked."

She showed them the layout she had drawn.

The most commonly used primers were placed on the bottom shelf, while the most profound and difficult ancient books were all piled up on the top shelf.

Exam preparation books are kept together, while storybooks and travelogues are on a separate bookshelf. There's even a dedicated shelf for erotic pictures and obscene songs.

Each row and group of bookshelves is numbered, and the book lists are compiled into booklets and placed at the entrance of the study.

When guests come in looking for books, they can easily find where the books are stored simply by looking at the book list.

Although Jifeng Study is large, it doesn't have a large number of customers in a day.

Most of the people on the street were ordinary folks trying to make a living; it was lucky if one in ten were scholars.

The sons and young masters of wealthy families would either come to buy books or send a page to buy writing implements, and they would not stay long.

Those who stay here to read are almost all from poor families.

Many guests secretly inquired about Xiao Ji, but Shen Lan dismissed them all by saying she didn't know.

Given Xiao Ji's extensive injuries, he definitely won't be able to take up his post at the government office before the new year, so she won't be able to do her old job for a while either.

Shen Lan spent three days reorganizing the bookshelves and unearthed many good books.

In addition to rearranging the bookshelves, she also placed several rows of tables and chairs in the hall for guests to sit while reading.

There was a large kettle in the corner, which provided free hot water.

At first, everyone was embarrassed to drink, but after sitting for a long time, they felt cold all over, so hot water became a necessity.

Gradually, more and more people came to the study to read.

Even if they can't afford books, they'll occasionally buy a pen or a stick of ink; they rarely leave empty-handed.

Shen Lan continued to hire the ten scholars as part-time workers, doing odd jobs and cleaning every day, but the daily wage was reduced to one hundred coins.

But this is already quite good.

They are paid daily, and once they receive their money, they can buy their favorite books or take some pens and ink home.

In this way, the business can be considered to have started.

Did it make a profit? Of course not.

Xiao Ding was getting a little anxious.

"Shopkeeper, shouldn't we make some changes? We can't make any money by letting them read books for free every day."

"No rush, didn't Lord Xiao say not to send them away?"

Shen Lan knew very well that for a bookstore to be profitable, it first needed to have best-selling books.

She had looked at the book list; the books there were neither particularly good nor bad, attractive to students from poor families, but not to a large number of people.

The storybook that Xiao Ji wrote on the way was also published.

Shen Lan made some adjustments, adding a few pages of illustrations to the book, and the cover was no longer a plain blue cover, but a complete, colorful painting.

"What is the title of the book, 'The Serial Murderer Was Her'?" Qiu Yi arrived earliest today and saw the book displayed on the central shelf as soon as he entered.

The cover featured a picture of a beautiful woman taking a nap, which immediately caught his eye.

The book title is even more direct, making one wonder if this "she" is the beautiful woman on the cover.

Qiu Yi usually doesn't read such stories; he thinks it's a waste of time.

But when he opened the first page and saw the introduction, which read: "Driven mad by love, a married woman kills several people for her lover. Is this a distortion of human nature or a decline in morality?"