Chapter 122: All Is Ready

At present, Zhou Tian was actually doing quite well. Not only had he become the lord of the capital city, but he had also taken on the role of a bishop within the Church of Light. Yet, while Zhou Tian had achieved such success, Mike remained deeply concerned about his future. As the city lord, Zhou Tian was not an official of the Yanhuang Empire; if he failed to establish absolute authority in the capital, then no matter how well he developed it, the empire could easily seize all his accomplishments with a single decree. And as a bishop, Zhou Tian had made little significant contribution to the Church of Light. For now, under the protection of the pope, he was safe, but if the pope chose to withdraw his support, any cardinal could strip Zhou Tian of his bishopric with ease.

However, all of Mike’s worries vanished after he read the "Journey to the West."

Judging by the quality of the book, Mike believed that once it appeared, it would instantly become wildly popular across the entire continent. At that point, through a single volume of "Journey to the West," Zhou Tian could effectively promote both the Church of Light and the capital city.

Increasing awareness of the Church of Light was also a form of contribution from Zhou Tian. Moreover, enhancing the capital’s reputation meant that once the city was firmly associated with Zhou Tian, no one would be able to wrest it from his hands. Therefore, in Mike’s eyes, the "Journey to the West" was far more than just an ordinary story.

Without hesitation, once Mike understood Zhou Tian’s intentions, he enthusiastically set about the printing task Zhou Tian had assigned him.

Initially, Mike only intended to print a small batch of the "Journey to the West" to fulfill Zhou Tian’s request. But after discovering the treasure within the book, Mike, just as Zhou Tian had hoped, no longer planned to print just a few copies on a small scale.

He delegated all other responsibilities in the capital to others and returned to the Holy City.

When it came to printing, truly the most professional establishments in this world were those run by the church. After all, this world lacked captivating stories; aside from a few extremely bored individuals who occasionally bought a few books, most literature was either knowledge records or various versions of the Bible.

Though some booksellers also controlled their own printing factories, Mike, being a priest of the Church of Light, naturally sought assistance within his own church rather than outsiders.

Unfortunately, upon arriving, Mike not only failed to receive the treatment he expected but was met with considerable frustration.

The church’s printing factories operated like state-owned enterprises in 1980s China. They were official public institutions where workers simply completed their own tasks daily, regardless of the factory’s profitability. Salaries remained fixed. Under such circumstances, they were unwilling to accept external orders like Mike’s. Without even glancing at the story, they outright rejected his cooperation request and asked him to leave the factory.

Excitedly arriving but returning in anger, Mike was thoroughly disappointed by his own church’s printing factory. For the first time, he realized that not all his colleagues in the Church of Light were as virtuous as he had imagined. At least the factory director, in Mike’s eyes, was an obstacle to his mission.

Helpless, Mike turned to the merchants, hoping to find a powerful bookseller to cooperate on printing the "Journey to the West."

Yet after negotiating with several booksellers, Mike found their responses, though different from the church’s factory, were equally unacceptable.

For example, they required the entire manuscript of "Journey to the West" before printing; the profit split heavily favored them, taking nearly ninety percent; and a host of other unfavorable conditions for the capital city.

Angered and unwilling to endure such terms, Mike left those printing factories without even showing them the manuscript.

After yet another setback with the booksellers, Mike realized that Zhou Tian’s seemingly simple task was, in reality, fraught with difficulties.

Unable to find suitable partners, Mike reluctantly decided to establish a new printing factory himself.

But once he embarked on this endeavor, he discovered that even starting a printing factory was far more difficult than he had imagined.

In this world, printing technology was naturally unlike the movable type or woodblock printing of Earth’s past. Under the magical martial civilization, everyday life bore traces of magic, and printing was no exception; it relied on magical forces.

It was not that woodblock printing no longer existed—some had tried using it to print books—but the result was bankruptcy for those who attempted it.

Compared to primitive woodblock printing, books produced by magical printing technology were far superior in quality. Since the poor struggled even to eat, they rarely cared about books. Their focus was on learning qi or magic; scholars were far less esteemed than in ancient Earth.

True book connoisseurs were the nobles, who cared little for the price difference and chose quality without hesitation. Woodblock printing, though cheap, found little market here. Over time, magical printing became the sole method.

Though magical printing was not monopolized by any single factory, the best technology was held by a select few.

With substantial investment, Mike managed to establish a magical printing factory. Yet, both the quality and output of his books were far inferior to the large, established factories.

Mike never reported his progress to Zhou Tian, perhaps out of shame for his failure. Yet Zhou Tian, ever attentive, was fully aware of every difficulty Mike encountered, from finding partners to factory challenges. He simply waited for Mike to approach him.

But Mike’s pride was too great. Though he lacked solutions, he stubbornly endured rather than admitting defeat to Zhou Tian.

At first, Zhou Tian tolerated this, hoping Mike could eventually resolve the issues. But when it became clear Mike was merely struggling without progress, Zhou Tian could no longer remain passive.

He summoned Mike to his office and asked plainly, “How are things going?”

“Not… not done yet.”

“Not done? It seems you’ve barely started.”

“Captain, forgive me. It’s my incompetence.”

“Forget it.” Seeing Mike’s contrite attitude, Zhou Tian did not press further. He beckoned Mike closer and whispered a plan in his ear.

Upon hearing it, the gloom on Mike’s face lifted, and he smiled, admiring Zhou Tian. He pledged, “Captain, rest assured. This time, I will see it through. If anything goes wrong, punish me as you see fit.”

“Good. Go ahead.” Zhou Tian waved dismissively, signaling Mike to proceed with the task.

With Zhou Tian’s plan, Mike’s anger quickly turned into action.

“Serves those printing factory heads right for refusing to cooperate. Let this sting!” he cursed internally as he followed Zhou Tian’s instructions.

First, Mike distributed the initial printed copies of "Journey to the West" to influential figures within the Church of Light. If even Mike recognized its value, those recipients certainly saw how it could aid their church.

After reading, the church’s leaders, including the pope, all granted Mike an audience.

Following Zhou Tian’s instructions, Mike vented his frustrations and, citing the importance of spreading the book, directly requested magical printing technology from them.

Whether or not the church’s higher-ups truly grasped the value of magical printing, they deemed it far less important than promoting the "Journey to the West."

Thus, Mike smoothly obtained the technology and some equipment from the church hierarchy.

But the matter was far from over. After securing the technology and equipment, Mike did not immediately return to the capital. Instead, using the pretext of advancing the church’s mission and offering salaries well above those at the church’s printing factory, he poached most of the skilled workers from that factory.

Then, through financial incentives, he recruited more talent from other printing houses, and soon, a new top-tier printing factory was established under Mike’s leadership.

Upon its founding, Zhou Tian appointed Mike as factory director. For Zhou Tian, this factory was vital, and he trusted only a veteran like Mike to manage it. Moreover, Zhou Tian realized Mike was not suited to govern the city itself. Despite their friendship, Mike lacked the temperament and skills needed for city administration.

Mike did not oppose Zhou Tian’s arrangement. Compared to managing the capital, he seemed to prefer running the new printing factory. Especially after learning that Zhou Tian would send any new stories to be printed there, Mike declared he would firmly root himself at the factory and warned that anyone attempting to challenge his position as director would have to face him.

After quietly recruiting a capable administrator from Wu Zhao to handle the capital’s affairs, Zhou Tian freed himself to work with Mike on their city promotion plan.

Printing books was only the first step. Zhou Tian not only had Mike print a batch of exquisite magical books but also commissioned a batch of cheap woodblock-printed editions.

Beyond this, to amplify the "Journey to the West"’s impact on the capital, Zhou Tian erected statues of popular characters like Sun Wukong throughout the city. He also spent a fortune building special structures resembling Flower-Fruit Mountain within his magical beast forest domain.

Additionally, Zhou Tian opened a toy factory, producing masks, dolls, and other merchandise based on the "Journey to the West" series.

When all preparations were nearly complete, Zhou Tian launched the second phase of his plan.

No matter how excellent the "Journey to the West" was, it would not achieve Zhou Tian’s goals without readers.

Therefore, Zhou Tian secretly visited the Yanhuang Empire’s imperial palace and enlisted Wu Zhao’s considerable help.

Royal artifacts always garnered lavish praise. While the highest nobles might not pay much attention to the court’s actions, lesser nobles prided themselves on connections to the royal family. Naturally, when some nobles noticed Empress Wu Zhao frequently reading a book, curiosity about the title spread.

Seizing the opportunity, Wu Zhao deliberately leaked the name "Journey to the West," sparking widespread demand without any effort from Zhou Tian’s side.

With no concealment from Zhou Tian’s camp, the nobles quickly learned that "Journey to the West" was authored by Zhou Tian, the bishop of the Church of Light in the capital.

Of course, nobles would not directly demand copies from Zhou Tian, but under growing demand, booksellers arrived with piles of gold coins to Mike.

After negotiation, Mike agreed to sell over ten thousand copies of the printed "Journey to the West," retaining eighty percent of the profits.

Mike initially estimated that selling ten thousand copies would still take some time.

Yet in reality, the book’s popularity far exceeded both Mike’s and Zhou Tian’s expectations.

(With deepest thanks to the generous patron “No One” for the 588 reward—your support is sincerely appreciated!)