How to Build a Mega-Franchise in Ancient Times

[After transmigrating as the daughter of a down-and-out scholar, I decide to build a cultural industry in ancient times] When Han Che opened her eyes, she had become the burden her gravely ill father had to support. The family’s most valuable asset was half a shelf of old books. A shameless bookseller wanted to buy the rights to Jinling in Mist and Rain, the work her father had spent two years writing and revising seven times, for just three taels of silver. Faced with her dying father and a crooked merchant sneering that the manuscript was only good for kindling, Han Che smiled. She opened her homemade business plan, revealing the sharpness of a top publishing director from the 28th century: Step one: In court, use modern copyright law to teach the ancients what “every word is worth its weight in gold” means. Step two: Found the Exquisite Pavilion, where contracted authors earn royalties and win acclaim, overturning the industry’s exploitative buyout rules. Step three: Develop the IP across the board: storybooks, storytelling, merchandise, magazines… I’ll be the one who makes the rules. When the bookseller who once sneered at her came crawling to beg for a partnership, and the cold-faced young noble offered her a “lifetime partner” contract, Han Che stood atop the cultural empire she had built, remembering the vow she had made on that snowy night: “I never wanted silver alone. I want every creator to be able to live with dignity.”