Chapter Twenty-One: "The Ming Dynasty" Nationwide Release

When Wei Lian heard what Zhou Xuan said and then looked at the various functions displayed on the internet café management system, he chuckled, “Is it just this one computer? With only one, there are a lot of features we won’t be able to test.”

“Oh, look at me, I even forgot about that. Let’s hold off on testing for now. Tomorrow, once the other five computers are hooked up, we’ll test everything together.” Zhou Xuan remembered the phone call he’d received from Wu Qing that morning— the computers had been assembled and shipped and should arrive in town by tomorrow morning.

Wei Lian hadn’t expected Zhou Xuan to have bought five more computers; his eyes lit up. “Once the internet café management system has been tested, are you planning to start promoting it?”

“Of course. I expect the number of internet cafés to explode this year, which means there will be a huge demand for management systems. That’s why we’re getting ahead of the curve— I want to capture the majority of internet cafés nationwide in 1998. And then, on every computer in every café, there’ll be our hao123 navigation site icon, so we’ll dominate the navigation market as well.” Zhou Xuan spoke with total confidence, full of faith in the forthcoming promotion.

At this point, no one else could have predicted the market for internet café management systems. With Zhou Xuan’s head start and technical edge, there was no doubt he would take it. To capture the management market for internet cafés nationwide— even if each software license sold for just a thousand yuan, and only ten thousand cafés used his system, that would still be ten million in revenue.

Sensing the vast prospects of the café management software, Wei Lian also felt a surge of confidence in Zhou Xuan.

However, Wei Lian didn’t really understand Zhou Xuan’s determination to promote the navigation site. To him, hao123’s potential seemed far less than that of the management software, and for now, there was no sign of any income. But he trusted Zhou Xuan’s judgment— if Zhou Xuan placed such importance on it, there must be a reason. He would simply follow instructions.

So Wei Lian nodded, “Understood. I’ll start gathering information on computer rooms and internet cafés across the country, so we’ll be ready for promotion.”

Zhou Xuan nodded as well. “Good, we’ll need to prepare staff in advance.”

According to Zhou Xuan’s plan, after the Spring Festival, they would officially launch the promotion of the internet café management system. They’d start with the big cities, then gradually expand to smaller cities and towns, aiming to cover all the main counties within half a year.

After chatting a while with Wei Lian, Zhou Xuan rode his bike to his parents’ clothing store.

He hadn’t visited in a few days and wanted to check on sales, as well as hear his parents’ plans for the New Year— when they would close up and head home for the holiday.

But before Zhou Xuan even reached the shop entrance, he received a call from Wei Xiyue at Xiling Publishing House.

“Zhou Xuan, ‘Those Ming Dynasty Things’ is officially launching nationwide tomorrow. The first print run of a hundred thousand copies has already been shipped to bookstores across the country.” After updating Zhou Xuan on the book’s national release, Wei Xiyue paused, then laughed, “Are you really that confident?”

Hearing that his book was about to hit the shelves nationwide, Zhou Xuan couldn’t help feeling a surge of excitement. He could foresee that with the publication of “Ming Dynasty,” both his fame and fortune would rise dramatically.

For a ninth grader like him— and for his family too— this would be a tremendous test.

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Xuan replied with certainty, “Absolutely, Chief Editor Wei. Just wait and see. You’ll be amazed!”

“Haha, your confidence is something else! I hope your novel sells like hotcakes. When you come to Chengdu, I’ll buy you a drink.” Wei Xiyue’s hearty laughter came through the phone.

“No problem,” Zhou Xuan answered with a laugh.

At the same time, Zhou Xuan thought of the publishers who had rejected “Ming Dynasty,” and couldn’t help but find it amusing. Just wait— after tomorrow, they’d realize what they’d missed.

This time, Xiling Publishing House had put considerable effort into promoting “Those Ming Dynasty Things.” They saw great potential in the novel and didn’t want it to underperform like before.

It might not become the annual bestseller, but selling two or three hundred thousand copies shouldn’t be a problem. If it could surpass half a million, so much the better.

Many publishers were paying attention to this book, curious to see how many copies Xiling could sell with such heavy promotion. A few publishers were even waiting to see Xiling make a fool of themselves, since “Ming Dynasty” had been submitted to them before and they’d rejected it.

Many veteran editors doubted this unconventional approach to historical fiction would succeed. They suspected historians would come out in droves to criticize it, ruining its reputation.

On January 25, 1998, just three days before New Year’s Eve, Zhou Xuan’s first physical book went on sale.

All over the country— in Xinhua Bookstores, book malls, and around schools— “Ming Dynasty” was everywhere.

At the Xinhua Bookstore in Chengdu, “Ming Dynasty” was displayed prominently near the entrance, immediately catching the eye. This showed just how much influence Xiling Publishing House had in the southwest.

Although there wasn’t a “Ming Dynasty” poster at the entrance, the book’s thick, historical cover drew many people to pick it up and read.

And once they started, many couldn’t bear to put it down— soon, the new releases stand was surrounded by readers.

Later, more customers arrived, seeing everyone so engrossed in “Ming Dynasty” and unwilling to let go. They grew curious— what kind of book could have a dozen people so absorbed? But when they went to look for a copy, they found all the available books were gone.

This only heightened everyone’s interest. Many asked the staff why “Ming Dynasty” was sold out.

When the staff member came over and saw a group of customers clutching the book, she said, “Are you buying these or not? If not, let others have a look.”

Her words annoyed the group, and some glared at her in irritation. But as they noticed the crowd around them eyeing the book in their hands, their annoyance faded.

“Of course I’m buying it! I’m paying right now!”

“This is such a great book! I’ll buy it too!”

“I’ve never read such a captivating historical novel before— it’s wonderful!”

“Yes! I’ll take it home and savor it! This book is going to be a hit!”

The group at the new releases display quickly dispersed to the registers, leaving everyone else stunned. Seeing so many people buying the book, other customers rushed to get their hands on “Ming Dynasty” as well.

In response, the staff hurried to the storeroom and brought out more than thirty additional copies. As soon as they were set down, they were snatched up and people began reading right there.

Seeing this, the staff realized that “Ming Dynasty” was about to become a sensation and hurried off to the manager’s office.

Scenes like this unfolded at bookstores across the country. As time went on, word-of-mouth about “Ming Dynasty” began to spread.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xuan was at home, busily setting up his five new computers, hardly able to catch his breath.