Episode 8 recap: Gukawa Gang's Xie Quan Jia repaid the loan.
Gukawa told everyone some good news and bad news. He discovered during his chat with Zhou Shangshu that Fan Zhong Ju's article was the worst. This disappointed Fan Zhong Ju, who had hoped to win. Gukawa then shared another piece of good news: his article caught the attention of a respected figure who wants to read it. The deadline for submission is tomorrow afternoon.
Later, Yu Huan discovered that Li Tu's letter was fake, which left her heartbroken in bed. Fan Zhong Ju nervously promoted his book, "Ardent Rivers and Mountains," but only a few fans showed up. After three days, he only sold two copies, and the remaining promotional items were in short supply. Gukawa changed his strategy and suggested that everyone create character dolls based on the book's characters. However, they only managed to sell a few countryside dog dolls.
The group no longer had enough funds to continue renting the Wanli Tower. At that moment, Guo Dong Li arrived with Ye Zhanggui. He brought multiple dishes as a gift and proposed to buy all the books. Xie Quan Jia expressed gratitude, and his admiration for Xie Quan Jia was evident in his expression. However, Gukawa felt inexplicably angry.
Since Ye Zhanggui bought all the books, people started praising him and even compared him to Xie Quan Jia, saying they were a perfect match. Not only did he bring gifts to help Xie Quan Jia, but he also proposed a scarcity strategy. This was all because he couldn't forget the sticky rice cake she made, which improved his restaurant business.
Xie Quan Jia didn't realize the importance of scarcity until Ye Zhanggui suggested intermittent publishing, creating a sense of urgency and driving up sales. Xie Quan Jia initially wanted to make red sugar sticky rice cakes for Ye Zhanggui, but Gukawa stopped her. The next day, "Ardent Rivers and Mountains" sold well, and everyone admired Ye Zhanggui. When Gukawa heard everyone praising Ye Zhanggui, he became jealous and held Xie Quan Jia's hand, suggesting they form a real-life duo for sales. Fan Zhong Ju sensed Gukawa's ulterior motives and saw Xie Quan Jia's rejection, so he reminded her using her debt as an excuse.
To repay the loan as soon as possible, Xie Quan Jia reluctantly agreed to do a live reading with Gukawa. As they read the scene of unconventional love, everyone was captivated, and even the dolls were quickly sold out. That night, Xie Quan Jia tallied up the day's earnings and fantasized about paying off the loan in the near future.
Ye Zhanggui found Guo Dong Li under the pretense of wanting to eat red sugar sticky rice cakes and asked for his help. Guo Dong Li agreed immediately upon hearing this.
When Guo Dong Li arrived at the restaurant, he found it in chaos. It turned out that during the book signing event, there was a fight between the fans of the two authors, Fan Zhong Ju and Xie Quan Jia. After an investigation, it was revealed that Ye Zhanggui had leaked some chapters in advance, causing dissatisfaction among the fans. This incident changed everyone's opinion of Ye Zhanggui. Liu Lang made a new set of dolls that were even better than before, boosting everyone's confidence.
That night, Guo Dong Li confronted Ye Zhanggui about the situation and was disappointed to realize that the fans were not supporting the event but causing trouble instead. He realized that he had been used as a pawn and decided not to help Ye Zhanggui anymore. The next day, Fan Zhong Ju and Yu Huan resumed promoting their books. In order to sell the dolls, they created limited editions of the characters Shangguan Buqun and Xie Xieni, which were sold in blind boxes. The fans bought multiple boxes in hopes of getting the limited edition dolls. Guo Dong Li opened ten boxes, but all of them contained countryside dog dolls. Xie Quan Jia learned that there was only one pair of Shangguan Buqun and Xie Xieni dolls in the world, which were still in their possession. She realized that their actions were fraudulent, but Gukawa didn't see it that way.
The next day, Gukawa read the next chapter and generously announced that they would read two extra chapters as a gesture of gratitude to the fans. However, the fans arrived and accused them of fraud, stating that they didn't receive the limited edition dolls. Ye Zhanggui appeared with all the boxes and exposed their fraudulent behavior. To calm the situation, Gukawa offered a refund to any dissatisfied fans who could present proof of purchase, which helped salvage their reputation.
To refund the fans, Gukawa pawned his own jade pendant. Ye Zhanggui later learned about this and proposed marriage to Xie Quan Jia as a way to help her. However, Xie Quan Jia had no interest in him. This angered Ye Zhanggui, who insulted Xie Quan Jia. In response, Gukawa punched Ye Zhanggui and revealed his true identity as Shangguan. He vowed to redeem the jade pendant from Ye Zhanggui.
The next day, Xie Quan Jia's high-interest loan from Ye Zhanggui was due, and he came with his men to collect the debt. At a critical moment, Gukawa returned with silver bills and directly refused Xie Quan Jia's proposal. Ye Zhanggui immediately changed his attitude upon receiving the debt payment and gave Xie Quan Jia a down payment of 500 guan, expressing his intention to cooperate with her in the long term and purchase her red sugar sticky rice cakes in the future.
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