Chapter 169: Chapter 168 – Piracy
George looked at Jima and sincerely asked, “Don’t you want to have children?”
“Of course not, I’ve said it before, I’m a staunch anti-reproductionist.” Besides this, Jima did not reveal the most important reason.
You can get anesthesia for the pain of laying an egg, but having a child comes with responsibilities, meaning you can’t just pack up and leave whenever you feel like it.
George nodded, indicating that he understood.
Seeing that he wasn’t angry or upset and wasn’t trying to convince her, Jima asked, “So you’ve accepted it?”
George shook his head: “I will try my best.”
“I knew it.” Jima didn’t care; she originally wanted to return to her dream palace and lie on her soft bed.
But looking at George’s face and the surrounding stars and wilderness, she was too lazy to go back to her dream palace, pulled the blanket, and said, “Call me for night watch; I’ll try to adjust my schedule.”
“Okay.”
George stood up and walked into the distance. Jima looked at his reliable back, closed her eyes, and forced herself to fall asleep.
…
…
The next morning, Adolf.
The sky was as clear and bright as glass, without a cloud in sight, and the cold morning wind blew away the smoke from cooking.
A bookstore faced the morning light, setting up a rain cover, with trashy novels displayed on the stall.
The bell of Sigma Church echoed in the streets, and shadows of people began to appear on the otherwise empty street.
The sun slowly climbed into the sky, and when the temperatureless sun reached the center of the sky, the streets became bustling.
It was Saturday, a rare day off for people. Even the lowest-ranking servant could get bathing funds from the owner to wash in public baths on Saturdays.
On this rare relaxing day, it was the best time for entertainment. The stalls outside the bookstore were crowded, and the owner shouted angrily at those trying to read for free, saying, “If you don’t have money, rent it! One book, one copper coin per day!”
A black carriage stopped outside the crowd at the book stall.
Jima, wearing a hat with black lace hanging down, pushed open the window of the carriage, revealing her lotus-like arm, attracting the attention of all the men, including the owner.
After all, a woman without sleeves in this cold winter almost didn’t exist. Moreover, her arm seemed to radiate a white light, pure and flawless, possessing a particularly eye-catching charm.
From behind the black lace, cherry lips opened: “Please, everyone, be quiet.”
The scene immediately quieted down, so quickly that it felt strange to passersby, akin to a homeroom teacher entering a late self-study classroom.
“You, come here.” Jima pointed at the owner.
When the owner came to his senses, he found himself in front of the mysterious and charming girl. He was filled with a desire to win Jima’s favor.
“What is the best-selling book here recently?”
“Of course, it’s ‘The Wonderful Adventures of JoJo.'”
“How many can you sell in a day? I want exact numbers.”
“Okay, right away.” The owner immediately turned around and sped towards the bookstore like a sprinter.
Someone feeling jealous extended a leg to trip the owner. He fell to the ground, quickly got up, turned back to curse but didn’t try to find the culprit who tripped him. Instead, he hurried into the store, grabbed the account book, and limped back toward the carriage.
“Ma’am, the day with the highest sales in the past week was three hundred ** books.”
“Three hundred sixty-four books?”
Adolf had sold books for so long; how could so many be sold?
“That’s right.”
“And the least amount sold?”
“One hundred twenty-seven books.”
Jima moved her gaze from his face to an information system floating in the air, visible only to her, with the text she “personally inputted” appearing above.
“The first store, the best-selling book is my book.”
“The highest sale was three hundred sixty-four books…”
Wait a minute, my income has dropped to one-twentieth of what it was originally, and yet this store is selling so well.
Calculating that I earn five copper coins for each book, the best-selling day could contribute around eighteen gold coins. But the total income from Adolf in the past few weeks has only been one hundred eight gold coins.
Jima glanced at the store, a typical imperial building, with whitewashed rammed earth walls, no glass windows, and the books outside merely placed on the stalls, the paper rough and yellowing, looking like it was simply nailed together.
A very common low-end bookstore.
Could it be that my fans are gathering around here?
Jima asked, “Do you know what books are selling well recently?”
“Of course, it’s ‘The Wonderful Adventures of JoJo.'”
Jima extended her hand: “Give me a copy of ‘The Wonderful Adventures of JoJo.'”
“Sure, I’ll give it to you; it’s very cheap.” The owner picked up a thick illustrated edition from the stall.
It was thicker than a brick, made from coarse paper, with a blurry image printed on the cover. When she opened it, the text was small and barely readable, crammed onto the coarse paper.
Jima’s heart sank; it was a pirated book.
She flipped through it quickly and asked, “Do you have the original?”
“The original?” The owner shook his head, “Who buys original books? Are you stupid? Of course, ladies like you are the exception; it’s good for collection.”
“How much for the pirated version?”
“Eight copper coins a book.”
“And renting?”
“Two silver coins deposit, one copper coin per day.”
“Where do you get your supplies from?”
“From the Big Beard Printing Factory.”
Jima lowered her head and told the maid beside her to get some money. She received two silver coins and five copper coins and directly tossed them to the owner. He quickly reached out to catch the two shiny silver coins, resisting the urge to chase after the rolling copper coins and said:
“Ma’am, the book only costs eight copper coins.”
“My book is priced at two silver and five copper.”
Jima shouted to the coachman: “Move on to the next one.” She then closed the window.
The horse-drawn carriage picked up speed and gradually moved away.
Only then did the quiet crowd begin to stir, guessing the identity of this mysterious lady.
After the carriage had gone about fifty meters, the window opened, and a flaming, smoking pirated book was thrown out, landing in the muddy ground.
Ten minutes later, the carriage stopped at another bookstore, the window opened, and a lotus-like arm extended out.
“Call the owner out; is the best-selling book ‘The Wonderful Adventures of JoJo’?”
Soon, the owner came out: “Yes, beautiful lady.”
“The original? Who has the money to waste on buying originals? No one buys them.”
“I’m getting my supplies from the Big Beard Printing Factory; their books are the cheapest.”
“In our store, the non-illustrated version only costs six copper coins.”
“Everyone likes the cover of ‘The Wonderful Adventures of JoJo,’ so all the books use that cover.”
Visiting one bookstore after another, Jima did not finish visiting almost all the bookstores until evening.
She leaned against the back of the carriage and sighed in exhaustion. She felt drained, both mentally and physically.
“Ma’am, do you want to stop for a moment? Nearby, I know a place where the roasted chicken is the best; you haven’t eaten all day.”
“I don’t want to eat.”
Jima looked at the ceiling of the carriage, feeling like she was really losing her mind, actually thinking of relying on selling books to make money. She knew that piracy was rampant in another world but hadn’t expected it to be so rampant.
“Damn it.”
Jima, who rarely used profanity, cursed a little, releasing some frustration and feeling much better.
Even robbing would be better than selling books; fighting and cursing would be exciting, directly getting money, and nobody could steal her hard-earned money.
“Stop.” Jima suddenly shouted, “Go to the Big Beard Printing Factory.”
“Ma’am, it’s so late.”
“Don’t make noise.” Jima’s mood was extremely bad; she tightly grasped a straight branch beside her, “I’m going to kill his whole family, even his dog.”
“Ah? Please calm down, you might break the law.”
“Who made the laws? Who keeps them?” Jima cursed, “The law has never protected my wallet!”
“But even if you kill one family, there are still others who pirate.”
“I know.” Jima said, “But I’ll kill as many as I can; who told him to steal my money?”
“I want the whole of Adolf to know that whoever dares to pirate my book will die.”
For a moment, Jima forgot that causing trouble in the imperial capital, Adolf, was practically seeking her own death.
…
…
The “logo” of the Big Beard Printing Factory is the fluffy and long beard of a dwarf. However, the owner of the factory is neither a dwarf nor does he have a large beard.
He was broad and fat, with snow-white mustache shaped like an “八.” The tips of his mustache curled up slightly, and his chin was completely smooth without any hair. He liked to laugh, and when he did, it made him appear kind and amiable.
When others called him by his nickname “八字胡,” he would chuckle and laugh, making his mustache shake.
Right now, he was chuckling away, with his mustache swaying left and right, even though the visitor had not called him by his nickname.
The visitor was a woman whose appearance was hard to discern; earlier she had accused: “Why are you selling pirated versions? You’re stealing my money.”
After overcoming the laughter, the Big Beard covered his large belly, straightened up, and said:
“This is not stealing.”
“That ‘The Wonderful Adventures of JoJo’ you just spoke of is a lowbrow novel, yet you dare to sell it at such a high price, filled with garbage writing. I’m just engaging in free competition. Bringing your book down to a suitable price.”
“You should be thankful to me.”
Jima asked, “Thank you for what?”
“Thank me for letting more people see your book and for promoting it.” The Big Beard laughed and said, “Books in Marlin City are being snatched up like mad, shipping one ship after another to Adolf. Half the empire knows about your book; it’s good that I didn’t ask you for promotional fees.”
Jima said, “What is the point of piracy selling well? I don’t make any money.”
“Pirate readers will bring you fame; you will definitely profit.” The Big Beard said, “Now you have no money, when the next book comes out, it will surely be a hit.”
Jima took a deep breath and said, “It feels like you guys understand my income better than I do; should I still thank you?”
“Go ahead and say it.” The Big Beard grinned, “Since ancient times, writing books has not been a way to make money; many people beg me to print their books, including a mathematician asking me to publish their book. If you can earn a good income, you should be grateful.”
“I’m not doing this for preaching.”
Jima was too lazy to talk further, saying, “You can wake up now.”
“What?”
Everything around him became blurry, everything vanished without a trace, a sensation of weightlessness surged through him, and he opened his eyes.
In front of him was his bedroom, and beside him, his wife was sound asleep.
The Big Beard sat up suddenly, wearing his pajamas, his forehead drenched in cold sweat. His brows furrowed as he recalled the nightmare he just had, but he found he couldn’t remember it clearly, only remembering scattered fragments.
A red light shone through the window, falling on him.
Red light?
The Big Beard got up and walked to the window, seeing a fire not far away.
His confused mind began to clear slightly, realizing that it was his own printing factory that was burning.
“Fire!”
He screamed, fully awake, turned around trying to call for help to extinguish the fire.
Suddenly, a foot from the side reached out and tripped him, and then Jima covered his head with a sack, grabbing the straight branch and began to wildly swing and kick.
Screams and sounds of beating continued for a full half hour, while the Big Beard’s wife remained fast asleep.
Jima spat out her resentment, not killing his whole family. It wasn’t that Jima was soft-hearted, but she thought if she killed the entire family on a whim, it would raise red flags for everyone else to warn against piracy.
That would just be looking for trouble; even with the emperor covering her, it wouldn’t work. Of course, the biggest reason was George. He would definitely be very angry.
So she chose to burn the printing factory, and while doing so, she hypnotized the gatekeepers, making them walk out in their sleep to avoid being burned alive.
“Look at what I’ve done for love?”
Jima looked at the burning printing factory in the distance, complaining to herself, turned around, and left, casually chopping off his dog on the way out.
