The sun sets.
The Fleet River was glowing with light and ruddy.
On Fleet Street, the offices of the only two newspapers were busy, namely The Scotsman and The Manchester Guardian.
In front of the door of the Scotsman office, newsboys surrounded it.
"Out of stock?!"
"It's over. I just took ten copies of The Scotsman today. Damn it! Damn it!"
"Hey! Don't you have any sales estimates?!"
"How do you predict this!?"
…
It's really impossible to predict.
After all, even the editor-in-chief of The Scotsman did not expect that his newspaper could sell so well.
In the office, Cooper was in a state of madness. His hair was pulled up and stranded, forming an afro + dreadlocks.
He gave orders around him:
"You all take action! How is the sealing process over in Edinburgh?"
No one answered.
Cooper slapped the table,
"I'm asking you questions!"
boom--
The table made a loud noise.
Finally, someone timidly spoke: "Editor-in-Chief, the printing factory over at the headquarters is rushing to work. I just received a telegram saying that the printing presses there are dry and smoking, but they can only manage to produce 2,000 yuan in the morning. Multiple copies. You see..."
Cooper's face is dark;
"What are you looking at? If you have something to say, please tell me!"
The man quickly replied: "Is it still necessary to have the newspaper delivered?"
Everyone looked at the sky outside,
Catch the train all the way from Edinburgh to London, and it will probably be almost early in the morning before the newspaper is delivered.
Will it still be sold by then?
this is a problem.
Cooper lowered his head and thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Send a telegram to the headquarters, leave five hundred copies in Edinburgh, and send the rest to London. It should be no problem to sell it in the most prosperous area."
There is no doubt that The Scotsman has its roots in Scotland.
But because of Lu Shi, Cooper became ambitious.
He now wants to focus his business on London,
If the newspaper's headquarters and printing plant can be moved to Fleet Street in the future, printing and transportation costs will be significantly reduced, and it will also attract the attention of the gentlemen in Whitehall, Downing Street, and the Palace of Westminster for advertising and sponsorship. It's all easier.
And it’s not just Cooper who has this idea;
Scott of the Manchester Guardian is preparing to change his registration to the Guardian and move his headquarters to Fleet Street.
Cooper said against all opinions: "I know you are worried that if you bring those newspapers so late, you may not be able to sell them. But, believe me, it's no problem."
Since the editor-in-chief has spoken like this, the people working below will naturally not try to persuade him.
The office is busy again.
Cooper turned around and entered the editor's room.
At this time, Lu Shi was sitting in an armchair, holding "Seaside Magazine" in his hand, reading the secret chapter of "The Dancing Little Man".
He heard the noise and raised his head,
"Mr. Cooper, I see you are very busy."
Cooper laughed,
He closed the door to isolate the hustle and bustle outside, and then said: "I am willing to be busy like this, even if I am too busy to faint."
As he said that, he sat down opposite Lu Shi,
"You are awesome!"
This was the second time Lu Shi heard this compliment today.
He said bluntly: "I just went to visit Mr. Scott, and he said the same thing."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Cooper took a sip of water, and then said: "How did you crack the code of "The Little Dancing Man"? I studied it for several hours, and my eyes were dazzled."
In Cooper's eyes, those villains finally became:
Dance(((((())))))
It was simply torture.
Lu Shi spread his hands,
"I have explained it very clearly in today's Manchester Guardian. In fact, Dr. Doyle only used the simplest replacement code, but because it was in the form of pictures, it looked a bit novel, but in fact it is the same. Zong."
"Tsk..."
Cooper was speechless and said, "Only if you say this can it be convincing."
After saying that, he changed the subject: "I heard that the Manchester Guardian sold out today?"
Lu Shi nodded,
He had just come from Scott's side, so he had the best say: "Yes, Mr. Scott is also facing the same dilemma as you, and he needs to print a lot."
The main reason was the book review page the day before.
At that time, readers did not know that it was Lu Shi's masterpiece, but whoever drew the dancing figures on it was a positive response to Doyle's provocation.
Such explosive and gossipy things naturally attracted the attention of the whole people.
As a result, after the "Seaside Magazine" was released today, people discovered that the content of the book review page turned out to be "I cracked the code. Your loyal friend, Lu." It was difficult for the newspaper not to sell out.
Cooper pinched his fingers and muttered,
After a while, he said: "It feels like the Manchester Guardian may have passed the 100,000 sales mark in London today."
After today, the Manchester Guardian can finally compete with The Times and The Daily Telegraph in a real sense.
Cooper showed a weird smile,
He asked Lu Shi: "Lu, do you know what the last time the single-day sales of The Times in London exceeded 100,000?"
Lu Shi only knew that The Times was popularized from a "quality report" after 1908, and its sales volume was difficult to estimate.
He guessed: "The World Exposition?"
Cooper scratched his head;
"Which class are you talking about? If you mean last year's class, it's not the class."
The 1900 World's Fair was held in Paris, France, and lasted for 210 days, attracting as many as 50 million visitors. The theme was Review of the Century.
Can't this help the newspaper sell more than 100,000 copies?
Lu Shi asked again: "That was 1889? That World Expo had the Eiffel Tower, or was it the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution..."
Cooper shook his head,
"Why do you always like to guess about the World Expo?"
Lu Shi was at his wits end.
"Then I can't say."
Cooper chuckled and whispered: "It was Prince Albert who died of illness."
Lu Shi was completely confused.
"What? Didn't that happen forty years ago?"
Cooper nodded,
"Although The Times and The Daily Telegraph have claimed hundreds of times since then that their single-day sales exceeded 100,000, but those were all for the country combined, not London alone. Moreover, the total for the country It also has moisture.”
Lu Shi understood,
It was probably Cao Cao who wrote to Sun Quan, "Today we have 800,000 naval troops under control, and we will join forces with the generals to hunt Wu."
Of course it is impossible to have an army of 800,000 people.
Bragging.
Cooper lowered his voice and said, "So, Lu, you have created news comparable to the death of Prince Albert."
Lu Shi quickly waved his hand,
"Don't talk nonsense. Besides, I didn't create it alone. Without Dr. Doyle's full cooperation, how could I have created such a big explosion?"
The heat is stirred up little by little:
First of all, Doyle released the "Dancing Little Man" incident chapter on Monday, which felt like challenging the heroes of the world.
The event begins to warm up;
Later, Lu Shi responded with a dancing figure in the Manchester Guardian on Tuesday,
Popularity upgrade;
Finally, on Wednesday, the secret chapter of "The Dancing Little Man" and Lu Shi's book review were released at the same time. Comparing the two with each other allowed people to decipher the content of Lu Shi's book review the day before.
The heat completely exploded.
So Lu Shi was right, it was indeed the result of the cooperation between him and Doyle.
I just don’t know if Doyle will be so angry that he will vomit blood when he hears this.
Cooper glanced at "Seaside Magazine" and said: "Alas, Holmes lost this case in the case and also in reality. I don't know how "Seaside Magazine" will deal with it in the future, whether to use the name of "Lost" Detective' as a selling point."
Lu Shi didn't answer.
In fact, he originally just wanted to respond to Cambridge's bet,
Unexpectedly, Doyle bumped into him directly, so he could only feel embarrassed.
Lu Shi stretched himself.
"I am actually a fan of Sherlock Holmes."
Cooper couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Believe him!
Just as Lu Shi attacked Doyle mercilessly like this, if he is a fan of Holmes, then there are no real fans in the world.
Lu Shi chuckled and said, "Mr. Cooper, don't you believe it?"
Cooper snorted,
"I believe it, of course I believe it."
This statement obviously needs to be heard in reverse.
Lu Shi couldn't help laughing and said, "That's because you don't understand me."
Cooper thought for a while and said, "You seem to be right to say that. I heard that when you were a guest at LSE, you always encouraged students to boldly question your own articles. The more they questioned, the more excited you became. This seems to be the case. Your style?"
What he said was like treating Lu Shi as a masochist.
Lu Shi was slightly embarrassed,
"That...ahem...that is actually the opinion of the school supervisor, Mr. Xiao."
Cooper was confused,
What is the difference between Mr. Xiao's point of view and Lu Shi's point of view?
Puzzled.
Lu Shi became even more embarrassed and changed the topic: "By the way, the main reason I came here to find you is to ask about the sales of The Scotsman. It seems that the sales are very good today?"
As soon as he mentioned this, Cooper's attention was indeed attracted, and he said excitedly: "That's right! I... um..."
As he spoke, he seemed to stutter a little.
Lu Shi was puzzled.
"what happened to you?"
Cooper suddenly stood up, bowed to Lu Shi, and said, "I'm sorry!"
Lu Shi was speechless for a while.
Why is “sensing your private Marseille” contagious?
He quickly said: "You and Mr. Scott have helped me a lot to achieve my current results, so there is no need to say 'I'm sorry'. If you have anything to say, just say it."
Cooper sighed,
"Actually, I was being conservative. Today's Scotsman only distributed 20,000 copies."
Lu Shi tilted his head and thought for a while, then asked: "Before, didn't The Scotsman always issue 20,000 in the London area...ah...I understand."
From a distribution perspective, the number of copies of works by famous authors should be gradually increased.
Just like the Sherlock Holmes series,
Putting aside "A Study in Scarlet," which caused no commotion, Doyle became famous starting with "The Sign of Four."
Subsequently, every issue of "Seaside Magazine" will be appropriately reprinted, ranging from three to five thousand to one or two thousand. As long as the publicity is good, there is no reason why it cannot be sold.
This virtuous cycle is also the reason why Holmes can gradually expand his influence.
In the same way, Lu Shi became famous for "No Survival", so "The Scotsman" should reprint "The Hobbit",
This is in line with the laws of the publishing and newspaper industries.
Cooper whispered: "When I first read The Hobbit, I thought it was a great novel that would lead the trend of fantasy. But when it came time to print it... alas... I'm sorry."
From suspense to fantasy adventure, the span between them is really too big.
No wonder Cooper is worried about sales.
However, the current sales volume has completely slapped Cooper in the face.
Lu Shi waved his hand,
"It's only human nature."
He didn't want the other party to continue to "sensate your private Marseilles", so he continued the topic and said: "This time, I am also taking advantage of Professor James and Dr. Doyle."
Without the exchange of insults in newspapers between the two sides, it would have been impossible to attract so many people's attention.
Cooper chuckled,
"The main thing is that you became famous."
The pen name Lu has too many works under his name.
From poetry to drama, the coverage is as wide as history.
Cooper continued: "And, you may not believe it, but most of the readers of your "The Hobbit" are..."
Before he finished speaking, he heard the noise outside the window suddenly getting louder.
The two looked at each other,
Cooper quickly walked to the window and pushed it open.
I saw that the front door of the office was full of people, surrounding the three floors inside and three floors outside.
But the innermost layer is not the newsboy waiting to get the goods, but a dozen or so young children, and even girls.
Cooper smiled bitterly,
"I just wanted to say that most readers of The Hobbit are teenagers under the age of fifteen."
All I can say is that history is always surprisingly similar.
Tuo Lao's original work was originally a fairy tale. Lu Shi changed the text style, but the result was still the same.
Therefore, what really frames the age of readers is actually the content.
Lu Shi said: "I have actually already had...well...that is..."
Cooper followed Lu Shi's gaze,
I saw a few girls there, dressed in uniforms that seemed to be the uniforms of a girls' school.
He chuckled,
"Lu, it seems that girls also like your works."
Lu Shi did not reply to this flattery;
He locked his eyes on a girl and whispered: "Zena?"
…
Outside the office.
Zena pulled Ba'er's sleeve and whispered: "Is this okay?"
Ba'er nodded firmly,
"It works! The newspaper office will keep some newspapers that are not for sale."
Seeing her best friend like this, Zeena couldn't help but laugh and said, "I don't know who doesn't want to read Lu's works. What's going on? You suddenly became a super fan?"
Ba'er rolled her eyes at the other party,
"Aren't you hiding the Scotsman too closely from me?"
Zena said: "I'm afraid you will follow Miss West's example and never pay back what you borrowed."
Because the newspaper was confiscated, Zena was out of sorts for the whole day. She even felt uneasy during lunch.
This lack of thought aroused Ba'er's curiosity, so after Sister West returned Zena's "The Scotsman", she also went over and read a short paragraph from "The Hobbit".
As a result, it was out of control.
Although she only read about a thousand words, Ba'er was deeply attracted by the story.
She wanted to borrow the newspaper, but of course Zena wouldn't give it to her;
She wanted to buy another copy, but found that all the goods in the hands of the newsboy were sold out.
In the past, according to Ba'er's strict tutoring, she would not pursue anything anymore.
But every time she thought of "The Hobbit", she felt restless and wanted to read the entire story today, so she made a crazy decision——
Come directly to the newspaper office to buy.
Ba'er squeezed Zena's palm,
"What does 'borrowing but not returning' mean? Didn't Miss West return the newspaper to you?"
Zena said: "She returned it after reading the series. If I lent it to you, you would definitely return it after reading it like she did."
This cannot be refuted,
Ba'er said: "I read quickly~ Besides, you can still read your sister's newspaper~"
Zena rolled her eyes at her best friend and said nothing.
She changed the subject: "I always feel that waiting here is unreliable. It is better to go to the London School of Economics to teach Lu. Our school is also in Adelphi, so it is very close. Look at it, there are too many people here. .”
After these words came out, the two of them looked around.
Around them are students trying their luck.
The sound of discussion reached my ears:
"Alas...I only read one chapter."
"Did you borrow it? You're the same as me. However, I've read one and a half chapters, and the beginning of the second chapter is about..."
"Get out! Don't give me spoilers!"
"That's right, the spoiler will be killed on the spot."
"Are you all borrowing newspapers? Then I'm much worse off than you. I like "The Scotsman" so I keep buying "The Scotsman". I didn't expect that today's "The Hobbit" is better than "The Last One" It was exciting, but I was too engrossed in it and the newspaper was confiscated."
…
There are actually people like Zena,
It's a pity that he didn't have Zena's acting skills, so he didn't know that a crying child would have milk, so he couldn't get the newspaper back.
Zena couldn't help but snicker.
At this moment, a familiar voice sounded behind her,
"Zena? Are you here to buy The Scotsman?"
Zena turned around, her eyes widened in surprise,
"Lu...well..."
She was about to say hello, but then she remembered the surrounding environment and quickly covered her mouth.
Lu Shi chuckled, handed a bag to the other party, and said, "Okay, go home quickly and don't join in the fun here."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the door of the office.
Ba'er asked curiously: "Who is he?"
Zena didn't answer, but opened the bag,
Inside were two copies of today's The Scotsman.
Ba'er's face flushed with excitement and said: "Zena, you are quite wild. You can actually...well...that one just now was Asian, could it be!@*#￥%..."
The next words became garbled words because Zena covered her mouth.
She warned: "Don't talk nonsense, or you will be attacked by a group."
As he spoke, he looked around.
I was surrounded by students and newsboys who wanted newspapers.
Ba'er nodded repeatedly. When her best friend released her hand covering her mouth, she cast her eyes on Lu Shi's disappearing back and whispered, "I didn't expect him to be so handsome."
Zena glared at the other party,
"Don't be a nymphomaniac!"
(End of chapter)
