“Hey, have you heard the news?”
Rumors spread faster than lightning.
“All the bookstores in Yichang have returned The Rise of the Tang Family? I heard that too.”
“I heard that the Tea Bookstore even compensated for the losses!”
“They say they compensated with a ship. The boycott must have hit them hard.”
“I heard that the president of the Yichang Merchants Association even stepped in to resolve the Tang Family incident. Probably.”
“So, does that mean Volume 2 of The Rise of the Tang Family is coming out now?”
“If Ho Pil hears this, he’ll probably buckle down and start writing. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
[It’s Ho Pil.]
I promptly sent my thanks too.
“A thank-you note from Ho Pil has been posted at the Tea Bookstore!”
“Hey, did you hear? Ho Pil is finally going to write!”
“Our Tea and Book Club did something amazing.”
“Ha ha ha! We’re finally going to see The Rise of the Tang Family, Volume 2!”
The only bookstore in Yichang selling The Rise of the Tang Family was experiences a rush of customers eager to buy Volume 1 upon hearing that Volume 2 was in the works.
“Is it out yet?”
“It said it would announce a week before release. Why do we have to come here every day?”
“I came to see the news.”
From customers glancing at the shelves where The Rise of the Tang Family was displayed to the Tea and Book Club members waiting at the printing house for Volume 2. More and more customers came daily, anticipating Volume 2.
“Have you finished reading?”
I asked Hwa Rin, who was reading the last page of the rough draft of The Rise of the Tang Family.
“Yo, yo! Yoon Ho!”
Hwa Rin’s voice trembled with shock.
“Yeah?”
“How can you, a non-Sichuan Tang Family person, think like this?!”
Hwa Rin looked at me from head to toe with a shocked face, as if doubting whether washing me might reveal purple hair and green eyes.
“Well…”
Well, I’ve read enough martial arts novels with protagonists from Sichuan Tang Family to fill a small room. Shouldn’t I be able to think like this? But what should I say? I can’t talk about the reality, and that’s a bit tricky.
“Ah… your friend is a bookworm. Sorry.”
Seeing my awkward expression, Hwa Rin realized something and apologized with a sorry face.
“Ha ha, it’s fine. I just suddenly remembered old times, and it caught me off guard.”
“Yeah, it happens. But here and here! And here! The battle scenes are a bit weird. Creative ideas are good, but the explanations and descriptions seem lacking.”
Hwa Rin hurriedly started pointing out the shortcomings of The Rise of the Tang Family, Volume 2.
She detailed the missing aspects during poison technique usage and explained what went wrong with memory usage one by one.
It feels a bit like being told you excel at soccer but can’t handle attack and defense.
“I’ll fix it.”
If this much editing is all there is to it, I can print the book in a few days.
“And this… well, no.”
Hwa Rin pointed out some problems on the paper with her finger, then withdrew her hand.
Is there an ambiguous issue? It’s better to listen to the editor’s opinions and make my own judgment.
“Why? If it’s ambiguous, just tell me. I’ll listen and decide.”
“Well…”
Hwa Rin could not look at me, staring at the ground while dragging out her words.
“Yeah?”
Is it because of a lewd scene? She really doesn’t need to point that out.
“The character ‘Hubei’s First Courtesan’… the one you met at that place… no, right?”
Hwa Rin, seemingly so embarrassed, lowered her head and peeked up at me.
“Pffhahaha!”
Is that what it was?
“Stop! You can leave it be!”
Realizing from my amusement that I wasn’t making a big deal about the courtesan’s name, Hwa Rin’s ears turned red, and she sprang up.
“Pffhahaha! Where are you going?”
“None of your business!”
As I clutched my stomach laughing, Hwa Rin stormed out, seemingly frustrated.
“Hwa Rin! Don’t go! There’s a great Sichuan restaurant nearby. Let’s go eat together.”
No response. Did she leave? I don’t think I heard the door close. Should I finish the edits and have a solo meal?
Just then, the attic door cautiously opened.
“Is it, is it tasty there?”
Hwa Rin’s face peeked through the door, her voice shy.
“Yeah, they say it’s delicious. Let’s go together.”
“Uh huh.”
I set down my brush and headed with Hwa Rin toward the Sichuan restaurant.
————————
Release day for Volume 2 of The Rise of the Tang Family.
While editing and printing certainly take time, it never felt like the wait was long enough for readers to reach their limit.
“Wow.”
When I opened the morning door, I was left speechless at the long line of people waiting.
“We have snacks for sale!”
“Give me some snacks! And water!”
“Over here too!”
“We have puffed rice for sale!”
“Popcorn too! Caramel popcorn and onion-flavored ones!”
It seems like, since the line was long, vendors had popped up selling food.
Are all these people really here to buy my book? Or is there some other event at the Tea Bookstore? For a moment, reality felt distant.
“Can we go in now?”
A familiar face from the Tea and Book Club, looking haggard, asked me. Now that I look closely, it seems the first people in line are from the Tea and Book Club.
“No. Why are you folding your sleeping bag?”
“As soon as the Tea Bookstore closed yesterday, I laid out my sleeping bag and slept here.”
“Us too.”
“Hahaha! I just need to pop over momentarily to confirm that, and then we’ll start.”
I wondered if we can control this many people in line.
“Make way! A cart needs to come through!”
Someone was pushing a cart filled with large luggage through the crowd toward the Tea Bookstore.
“Come on in.”
The person pulling the cart was the representative of the bookstore who had broken the rules.
“As promised, I brought all the stock for The Rise of the Tang Family, Volume 2. Not a single copy has been hidden away, so don’t worry.”
Even if the old printing press at the Tea Bookstore works all day to print books, there are limits. The bookstore representative decided to take the costs upon himself and produced a large quantity of Volume 2 of The Rise of the Tang Family.
“Thank you. I’ll put them in the inner warehouse.”
“This line is massive. Can the Tea Bookstore staff control all these people?”
“We’ll do what we can.”
“Don’t do that; I’ll help you.”
“Really?”
“When people from the same industry are in trouble, shouldn’t we help each other out? Hahaha! I’ll send my bookstore staff and guards to help you manage the line.”
It didn’t sound like something said by a guy who had recently had the morality shoved down his throat, but I might as well accept any help offered.
“I’ll count on you.”
“Just trust me.”
——————–
The first buyers of The Rise of the Tang Family Volume 2 were, of course, the members of the Tea and Book Club.
“This is the second volume we fought so hard to achieve.”
The first person from the Tea and Book Club to enter held up Volume 2 of The Rise of the Tang Family reverently, like drawing a sword from its sheath.
“Yes! This volume is proof that righteousness can overcome injustice and that virtue and alliances can defeat evil.”
“Right! Didn’t we act like the Tang Jung, forming alliances?”
“While we couldn’t acquire Sichuan’s top delicacies, we secured Volume 2 of The Rise of the Tang Family.”
“That’s right! Now we just have to watch the alliance’s actions unfold.”
I get the sentiment, but declaring it while holding a colored heroic story feels a bit bittersweet. Still, thank you, Tea and Book Club folks.
I’d love to take a commemorative photo together if we had one.
“I’m looking forward to more than just alliances.”
“Hmm, do I need to say more?”
“Make way, quickly!”
Aside from the Tea and Book Club members, many others rushed in to buy The Rise of the Tang Family.
“Each person can only buy two copies. Please follow the line! Anyone cutting in will be sent to the back!”
“This one! I’ve been waiting for this one!”
“I can’t wait to see the night with Hubei’s First Courtesan!”
“It’ll probably be another elixir plot, so what’s the excitement about?”
“Let’s go! Losing faith means death!”
“Calm down! I was actually waiting for Volume 2 too, standing in line since dawn. That comment wasn’t from the heart.”
On the day of the Volume 2 sales launch of The Rise of the Tang Family.
That day’s sales reached the highest record in its 50-year history, including the major bookstores.
*
Hwang Seong rushed home with Volume 2 of The Rise of the Tang Family in hand.
“Master, did you take care of everything?”
“Of course! No matter who comes today, it’s an emphasis on exclusion!”
Hwang Seong showed the servant the second volume of The Rise of the Tang Family he bought, demanding that no guests disturb him, come what may.
“Ha ha! If it’s not too much trouble, could I also read Volume 2 of The Rise of the Tang Family?”
“I’ll read it first and lend you a second one for reference.”
“Thank you. But if you’re giving it to me, could it be…”
“Ah! No one can read Volume 2 of The Rise of the Tang Family before I do!”
Hwang Seong held the book tightly to his chest, just like a father protecting his child.
“Ha ha! Then I’ll wait a bit.”
“Sure. It’s a good thing for more people to know about The Rise of the Tang Family. Just give me a day.”
“A whole day?”
“I want to indulge myself a bit to fully enjoy The Rise of the Tang Family. Now, excuse me.”
With that, Hwang Seong went into his room, holding Volume 2 of The Rise of the Tang Family close.
The thrill of turning the first cover was overwhelming. Hwang Seong, with pounding excitement, sat at his desk, carefully turning the pages to avoid damaging them.
The contents of Volume 2 of The Rise of the Tang Family exceeded Hwang Seong’s expectations.
