Chapter 45 I Wonder How Much It Can Be Sold For

After Wang Ping took her books and left, Lu Anzhi saw off Zhang Suxin and Qianqian.

As he stood with them outside waiting for a taxi, a thought suddenly struck him, and he sighed, "I almost forgot to save a set of books for you..."

Zhang Suxin replied, "It doesn't matter. You can just let me read the original manuscript later."

Lu Anzhi asked, "Didn't you say before that you didn't want to read the manuscript?"

Zhang Suxin explained, "That was because you hadn't finished writing it yet, and the book hadn't been published either. I didn't plan to read it in advance. Now that your book is officially out on shelves, there's no problem for me to read it."

Lu Anzhi nodded and said, "Alright, I'll send the manuscript to your Qiuqiu email later then."

Zhang Suxin nodded as well, saying, "Mhm."

While Zhang Suxin and Lu Anzhi were talking, Qianqian turned her little head around, her big, innocent eyes looking left and right. Hearing this part of the conversation, she asked, "What is Mommy going to look at? Qianqian wants to look too!"

This little one was getting smarter by the day and could understand almost everything now.

Lu Anzhi rubbed Qianqian's little cheek and asked, "Mommy is going to read a book. Do you want to read it too?"

Qianqian answered without any hesitation, "Yes!"

Lu Anzhi said, "Then how about Daddy gives you a few nice fairy tale books in the future?"

Qianqian nodded and said, "Okay!"

Standing to the side, Zhang Suxin quietly watched the interaction between father and daughter. This heartwarming scene brought an involuntary smile to her lips.

She thought to herself that Qianqian probably didn't realize yet what kind of gift Lu Anzhi was offering her, but truly, only her father could ever give such a present.

How many fathers could so casually pull out their own masterpiece to use as a gift for their child?

And such an exceptional masterpiece at that.

Once Lu Anzhi and Qianqian finished talking, Zhang Suxin said to him, "Your bookstore is already open and running on track. I won't come over for the next few days. I'll call you when Zhou Bo arrives."

Lu Anzhi replied, "Alright, you don't have to run over here every day either. Once things settle down here, Sister Wang can keep an eye on the shop routinely, and I'll make time to visit you and Qianqian."

Zhang Suxin uttered a soft "Mhm."

A taxi pulled over and stopped. Zhang Suxin and Qianqian got in and left. Watching the car drive away, Lu Anzhi couldn't help thinking about the matter of buying a car once again.

With the bookstore business settled, the next thing to consider was indeed a means of transportation.

***

When Wang Ping returned home, she saw that her son, Ji Shun'an, had already returned. Both he and her daughter-in-law, Liu Xiuting, were busy in the kitchen preparing dinner.

She kept *Dragon Clan III* tucked inside her bag. At that moment, she instinctively tightened her grip over the opening of the cheaply bought large tote bag and called out, "Xiuting, come here for a moment."

"What is it, Mom?"

Liu Xiuting handed over the task at hand to Ji Shun'an and walked over to the doorway with a puzzled look.

Wang Ping glanced toward the kitchen and saw that Ji Shun'an was lowering his head to toss the wok without looking their way. Only then did she hurriedly take the three thick books out of her bag, shoved them into Liu Xiuting's hands, and lowered her voice, "Here, don't let Shun'an see. Just tell him you bought them."

Liu Xiuting smiled and said, "What's the big deal? Aren't things bought by you and me the same? They're for Shun'an to read anyway."

Wang Ping shook her head and said, "This is different. This is your thoughtfulness, not mine. Open the first page and take a look."

Not knowing what to make of it, Liu Xiuting clutched the books with one arm and opened the first page of the top book with the other. Then, she caught sight of the four handwritten characters reading "Doraemon", causing her to exclaim in surprise, "This is?!"

Wang Ping said, "It's a signed edition. All three books have signatures. The boss gave them as a gift."

"Even a signed edition?!"

Liu Xiuting was pleasantly surprised. "I heard this author has never held a book signing event, so his signed books are really hard to get. We must properly thank that boss later!"

Wang Ping urged, "Quickly take the books inside. Give them to Shun'an later and say they're from you. The two of you having a good relationship matters more than anything else. As for thanking the boss, you don't need to worry about that—he's my boss, so I'll properly thank him myself."

Seeing her mother-in-law's firm attitude, Liu Xiuting didn't press the matter further. She simply took the books to the bedroom to put them away safely before returning to finish cooking.

After the meal was cooked and eaten, Wang Ping wanted to wash the dishes. But since the young couple was at home and knew their elder had been working hard all day, how could they let her lift a finger? They insisted she get some good rest, competing with each other to clean up the pots and pans in the kitchen.

Once everything was tidied up, the two of them came out and saw that Wang Ping had already returned to her own room.

"Come here."

Liu Xiuting called Ji Shun'an into the bedroom.

Following behind her, Ji Shun'an asked with a puzzled expression, "What is it?"

Once inside the bedroom, Liu Xiuting took out the set of books given by her mother-in-law Wang Ping, placed them in front of Ji Shun'an, and said, "Here."

Ji Shun'an's eyes widened instantly: "*Dragon Clan III*?!"

As a fantasy novel fan, he naturally knew that today was the release date for *Dragon Clan III*. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time. After getting off work today, he had rushed over to the bookstore near his company hoping to buy a set, only to visit two or three bookstores in a row and discover that this newly arrived set was already completely sold out everywhere.

He had been utterly disappointed and originally planned to check again after some time, never expecting that upon returning home, Liu Xiuting would suddenly pull out a complete set of books.

What could possibly be more surprising than this?!

"That's not all, open them up and look."

Liu Xiuting said.

Seeing the expectant look on Liu Xiuting's face, Ji Shun'an was filled with curiosity. He opened the book and spotted the four handwritten characters "Doraemon". He opened the second book, and those same four characters were still there. He opened the third, and they were there too.

"A signed edition?! For real?!"

Utterly astonished, he looked up at Liu Xiuting.

Liu Xiuting nodded.

Ji Shun'an asked, "How did you manage to get these?"

Liu Xiuting explained, "It was Mom who got them. She said they were given by the bookstore where she works. I heard Mom had found a job at a bookstore, so I asked her to help me pick up a set of *Dragon Clan III*. Who would have thought she'd actually bring back a signed edition, and even forbade me from telling you she was the one who got them?"

Ji Shun'an swallowed hard, and after a long moment, he said, "Thank you both."

Liu Xiuting couldn't help but laugh. She nudged Ji Shun'an with her elbow and smiled, "Tell me, how are you feeling? What are you thinking right now?"

Ji Shun'an remained silent for another moment before breaking into a smile. "I'm thinking that since these are signed editions, who knows how much money they could fetch if I sold them!"

Liu Xiuting rolled her eyes immediately, gave Ji Shun'an a shove, and scolded angrily, "Get lost, get lost, get lost! Day in and day out, it's always money, money, money! You're always thinking about money! This is Mom's heartfelt gesture—just you dare try selling them!"

Ji Shun'an just stood there with a silly grin, clutching the books without saying a word. Judging by his expression, he was only joking; how could he ever bear to sell them?

That night, lying in bed, he picked up the first book and began to read.

Liu Xiuting had no interest in reading and simply reminded him, "Get to sleep early. Mom specifically instructed me to keep an eye on you. If you stay up late reading, I'm confiscating your books!" With that, she lay down and went to sleep first.