Time flies so fast, and it's only been three or four days in a blink of an eye.
Cai Xiao has been making a lot of money these days. Newspapers are a new thing for Xiangzhou.
Anyone with some spare money is willing to buy a piece of entertainment.
Seeing that Cao Bin didn't do anything, Cai Xiao couldn't help but feel a little complacent. Newspapers can both make money and influence the court to a certain extent.
He thought it would be good to be a behind-the-scenes controller in the future.
At this time, he and Prince Wang were enjoying breakfast in the teahouse, listening contentedly to others discussing the contents of their newspapers.
"We are selling newspapers. The Xiangzhou edition of Da Song Daily. The news is more authoritative and the stories are more novel! It only costs a penny."
At this time, a crisp and urgent shout came from downstairs.
Cai Xiao's face changed drastically, and he quickly walked to the window and shouted down: "The newsboy, give me a copy."
The newsboy's face lit up with joy, he ran upstairs quickly, took out a newspaper and said: "Sir, one penny."
Other diners in the teahouse saw this and quickly said: "It's so cheap? Come and have one for me."
Cai Xiao looked at the thick newspaper with some disbelief: "One penny? Can he get his money back?"
With that said, he quickly opened the newspaper and started reading...
The newsboy sold dozens of newspapers at once. His face was full of surprise. Hearing these words, he quickly shook his head and said, "I don't know."
With that said, he ran out. If he sold ten newspapers, he would benefit from one copper coin, so he was very anxious.
At this time, some tea guests were already talking:
""The Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", well, it is worthy of being a Song Dynasty Daily. The story is good and serious, unlike that Yunxiao Daily, which is vulgar!"
"For six cents, it's enough for me to buy several sesame seed cakes. I'll never buy that newspaper again."
Cai Xiao felt a little uncomfortable when he heard this. He didn't understand why Cao Bin sold the newspaper so cheaply.
Is it just to suppress your own newspaper and make money at a loss?
Others also said:
"I heard that the Song Daily was the first daily newspaper in the entire Song Dynasty and was extremely popular in Bianjing."
"The news here is also the most authoritative, almost always the most practical news?"
At this time, one person suddenly said in surprise:
"Look at the second side. The state government wants to build the largest port on the Han River."
"We also invite Xiangzhou merchants to contribute money to build the port. According to the amount of money they contribute, the port land will be donated and they will have priority in trading."
"Uncle Zhongjing himself has already spent three hundred thousand dollars..."
Someone sneered:
"I think Uncle Zhongjing is just having a whim. The wharves are all managed by the government and collect taxes. What can we do with the little money to moor the boats?"
"Furthermore, Xiangyang already has two docks, one for official use and one for civilian use, which is enough."
Someone in the corner said with a foreign accent:
"What do you know? Uncle Zhongjing is known as the Little God of Wealth in Bianjing. He has never suffered a loss since he took charge of the family business and is extremely rich."
"Will he make a loss-making business? There are many distinguished merchants who want to cooperate with him, but they have no chance."
"I don't have the capital, otherwise I would definitely take a share."
Hearing this, Cai Xiao was thoughtful. Could it be that the purpose of Cao Bin's newspaper was to get businessmen to spend money to help him build a port?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sneer.
Xiangyang's commerce is only to this extent, and it has been like this since ancient times.
No matter how good a port you build, it will be useless if there are not enough merchants to come!
Also, I don’t know if you, the governor of Xiangzhou, can last long. I want to see how you build this dock.
At this time, someone else said:
"This newspaper is so big, and there is something at the back that introduces the hotels, restaurants and food in the city."
"It's very interesting. I have lived in Xiangyang for decades, and there are still restaurants that I don't know about. I must try it in the future."
While Cai Xiao was deep in thought, Prince Wang asked in a low voice:
"Brother Cai, Cao Bin sells newspapers so cheaply, will anyone buy our newspapers in the future?"
Cai Xiao thought for a while and said:
"Brother Wang is too short-sighted. He wants to use prices to suppress our newspapers, so let's fight him and we will lower our prices too."
"Isn't it just to lose some money? As long as we hold on, he will eventually raise the price."
"My purpose is not just to make money, but to disgrace Cao Bin, destroy him, and remove him from power."
"When the time comes, if he fails to succeed, the port will only become a bad debt. I don't believe he will still lose money selling newspapers."
The entire newspaper is divided into four pages, and the last page is the recruitment notice.
Building manors and repairing ports are big projects that require a lot of manpower.
When Prince Wang saw this announcement, he smiled with enlightenment and said:
"Wang understood what Brother Cai said. All industries in Xiangzhou are already in ruins, but Cao Bin still enjoys himself and builds these big projects."
"What's the difference between this and Emperor Yang's behavior? It's just a waste of people's energy. It seems that he is really not suitable to be an official."
Cai Xiao shook his head and said: "Brother Wang is naive. He did not force labor. Maybe he wanted to work for relief."
Prince Wang was stunned for a moment and said, "Does the state government have that much money?"
Cai Xiao said: "Don't he want the merchants to pay for it?"
As he spoke, something moved in his mind:
"But it is indeed a whim. This time I will not only make him suffer to the end, but also let him make the public resentment boil."
Prince Wang hurriedly said: "What's the plan?"
Cai Xiao laughed heartily and said: "Tomorrow our newspaper will analyze how to lose money when building a dock..."
Unlike these people who drank tea for fun, ordinary people who were unemployed at home became excited.
The government's large-scale recruitment of workers gave them a job to support their families.
Ten cents a day.
The salary is higher than the previous salary when Xiangyang was stable, and it is enough for a family to live.
I don’t even know where the gossip came from, but it spread among the local people.
He said that this dock was actually of no use. Uncle Cao spent his own money to lure the rich.
Just to give local people a livelihood...
"Uncle Cao, what a good official!"
This moved the local people beyond measure...
Xiangzhou government office.
Bao Mian took a document and asked:
"Uncle, now all the shops owned by King Xiangyang have been returned to the state government."
"Should we sell at a lower price? Let the local area stabilize as soon as possible."
Cao Bin was leaning on the couch, watching Bao Mian handle official duties, and almost fell asleep out of boredom.
Listening to his question, he said casually:
"Don't be anxious. Don't worry, these shops can't sell them at high prices now, and you won't be able to buy them in the future."
As he spoke, he laughed and said:
"Don't blame me for not reminding you. When the store goes on sale, you will definitely be the first to know."
"When the time comes, I will seize the opportunity, use my family wealth, and buy more properties."
When Bao Mian heard this, his eyes lit up at first, and then he said with a grimace, "But my family doesn't have that much money."
Cao Bin said speechlessly: "Don't you know how to borrow? Even if you can't borrow, you can still mortgage the house first."
Bao Mian looked at Cao Bin and said with some expectation: "If not, uncle, can you lend me a few thousand taels?"
Cao Bin snorted coldly and said: "I never do business at a loss."
As he spoke, he took out an IOU and said, "Did you see that I haven't paid back the money you paid for visiting the brothel last time..."
When Bao Mian saw this, he almost fell to the ground and said in horror: "Uncle, isn't this a treat? When did I write the IOU?"
At that time, he could see clearly that the two of them spent at least one or two thousand guan on that visit to the brothel.
Cao Bin smiled and said:
"I never borrow gambling debts when borrowing, and I never treat prostitutes when entertaining!"
"Don't worry about where the IOU came from. Anyway, if you don't pay it back, I will ask Mr. Bao for payment!"
When Bao Mian heard this, he felt that there was something difficult to say, and he couldn't guard against it. It's a good thing that I regarded you as my teacher...
