Today, many bookstores have added a copy of "Those Ming Dynasty Things" to their shelves.
When new books are put on display, the location is particularly important. For example, a book placed where people can see it as soon as they enter the bookstore will have a completely different impact compared to one that people have to search for a long time to find.
"Those Ming Dynasty Things" was heavily ridiculed by Yan Kangxiao, but due to Shi Chuanfeng's insistence, it still received a relatively good display spot for a new author.
However, such a display spot changes daily. Even with Shi Chuanfeng's influence, "Those Ming Dynasty Things" could only stay in this spot for a maximum of three days. After three days, if sales do not pick up, it would be pushed down by other books.
Therefore, the sales within these three days are crucial!
Today, many people entering the bookstore will go to check out the new books.
The citizens of the Empire, taught from a young age to value reading, still take reading seriously and enjoy looking for new and good books to read.
Jiang Kai'an waited until 5:30 PM to finish work, then gathered a group of colleagues and went to the nearest Penglian Bookstore. They were a group of six, all there to read books.
Actually, they didn't necessarily have to buy books; many of them just came to read for free. However, they would buy three to four books a month. Many bookstores in the Empire are quite generous and do not drive away those who read for free.
The group walked inside and looked at the new books. Jiang Kai'an immediately noticed "Those Ming Dynasty Things," while he was not very interested in other financial books.
"What's this book?"
The others, somewhat interested, gathered around, but seeing that Jiang Kai'an was already reading it, they went to look at other new books.
Jiang Kai'an did not read the preface or any other parts; he went straight to the first chapter.
"Chapter 1, Childhood, let's start with a file!" Jiang Kai'an read with great interest and then saw Li Chencan's amusing evaluation of Zhu Yuanzhang, which made him laugh: "How can history be written like this? I've never seen it before! But it's quite interesting!"
Jiang Kai'an continued to read "Those Ming Dynasty Things" with great interest, and... his eyes couldn't leave the book.
His expression changed richly, sometimes smiling broadly, even hiding his genuine laughter, sometimes frowning, sometimes clenching his fists in tension. Unconsciously, he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder.
"Ah!" Because he was so engrossed in the book, Jiang Kai'an was startled. Turning his head, he saw it was his colleague and immediately snapped, "What are you doing?"
"It's already this late, and you're still not leaving?" Jiang Kai'an's colleague said, "Look at your watch."
Jiang Kai'an looked at his watch and realized that he had already spent two hours without noticing! To be honest, he had forgotten time before when reading tightly-paced novels, sometimes even spending three to four hours... but today... oh my God, he was reading history! And he forgot time?
"What book has you so captivated?" Jiang Kai'an's colleague looked at the cover of the book: "Those Ming Dynasty Things? When did you start paying attention to history?"
"It's not that I'm interested in history... it's just that this book is really interesting..." Jiang Kai'an was about to hand the book to his colleague but then thought better of it and put it away: "Let's go home!"
"What a mystery!" Jiang Kai'an's colleague was speechless. Meanwhile, Jiang Kai'an had already taken "Those Ming Dynasty Things" to the front desk to pay.
The cashier, who happened to know Jiang Kai'an, smiled and said, "Old Jiang, I don't usually see you buy new books."
"This book is really good to read..."
The next day, Jiang Kai'an came to the office. He had read for five hours last night, finishing the first part of "Those Ming Dynasty Things" in one go! In this part, he saw the grand battle to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and the process of Zhu Yuanzhang transforming into a ruthless emperor, only to have his grandson's empire usurped by his son!
The entire process was tightly-paced, with incisive language and a humorous tone, making it easy to read but impossible to put down!
"When will the second part come out?" Jiang Kai'an was already worrying about this.
When he arrived at the office, his colleagues were curious about his panda eyes from reading "Those Ming Dynasty Things" last night and asked him about it. When Jiang Kai'an explained, his colleague Xiong Kun, who had called him yesterday, suddenly understood and took "Those Ming Dynasty Things" from his desk. Since Jiang Kai'an had already finished reading it, he did not stop him.
Xiong Kun's reaction was similar to Jiang Kai'an's. At first, he didn't feel much, just finding it particularly humorous... but as he read on... he was pulled into the world of the book and couldn't get out! The grand war scenes and the insightful interpretation of history, linked together, left him completely hooked.
He couldn't resist going to the bathroom, but when he returned, another curious colleague had taken the book and couldn't put it down, refusing to return it.
"Damn! Bastard!" Xiong Kun angrily flipped the person off, but since there was nothing to do in the office, which was almost like a swivel chair race, he felt even more frustrated that his book had been taken. He stood up and said to Jiang Kai'an, "If the supervisor comes, tell him I'm in the bathroom."
Jiang Kai'an asked weakly, "What are you going to do?"
Xiong Kun said, "I'm going to buy a copy of 'Those Ming Dynasty Things.'"
"You can just read mine... why buy it?" Jiang Kai'an said incredulously. Normally, Xiong Kun would never buy a book he could read for free, so this was truly unbelievable.
"Look..." Xiong Kun nodded angrily at the person who had taken his book: "That guy took my book, so I have to buy one."
"Just wait for it!"
"I can't wait!" Xiong Kun said impatiently, "I want to read it now!" Seeing Xiong Kun's eagerness and remembering his own inability to put the book down, Jiang Kai'an immediately understood.
Xiong Kun continued, "This book isn't like those fast-food novels; it's a historical work, just expressed differently. Buying a copy is also a good investment!"
With that, Xiong Kun quickly ran out to buy the book.
Similar events continued to happen in the office, with this office alone contributing to the sale of four sets of "Those Ming Dynasty Things"! Not to mention the other offices they influenced!
And such events were happening in many places across Rongcheng!
On the second day of "Those Ming Dynasty Things" being on the shelves, sales began to rise.