At first, the people in the capital were a little doubtful and hesitant about novel items like newspapers. They wanted to wait and see before making a decision. Some people would even run away from the newsboys who shouted loudly for sale, fearing that this was The factory guard’s new spy.
Only a few people dared to go up to "eat crabs". These people were also the first customers and readers of "Jingshi Daily". And as far as the subsequent development of things is concerned, customers are not necessarily readers, and readers are not necessarily customers.
The people who started buying newspapers were naturally literate people. They bought them to satisfy their curiosity and to get a lot of information about recent days, especially because they had imperial edicts printed on them and could be bought for ten cents. That's such a great value.
The gate to the west was closed and no one could enter or exit easily. Everyone was worried about this, fearing that disaster would fall from the sky. It would be too late to think of a way out until the disaster was imminent, so there were various unconfirmed rumors circulating in the market.
However, due to the excessive number of versions, many are contradictory and almost none of them can be trusted. This made the gentry and merchants as anxious as ants on a hot pot, worried that they would become the prince's next prey.
As long as there are still people with connections, they will spend hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver to find out the news from the officials' friends. No matter whether the news is true or false, what they buy is a self-comfort, otherwise they will not be able to sleep at night.
There are also many wealthy people who have been deceived during the investigation, but the current situation is so rapidly changing that not spending money to buy information is equivalent to sitting back and waiting for death. No one will be stingy with money anymore.
By noon, as the first batch of readers had already finished the discussion and had a lot of repercussions in their respective tycoon circles, the "Jingshi Daily" began to have a word-of-mouth effect, and the newspapers on the streets were sold out of stock.
The first batch of 5,000 newspapers to be put on the market is aimed at middle- and upper-income people. If each household buys one copy, the number is already quite large.
But the problem is that the front page is printed with an imperial edict. After the target audience is moved by the rumors and realizes the benefits of the imperial edict, almost every family will buy ten, twenty, even fifty, or even a hundred copies.
What's more, they claimed that this newspaper was an "iron coupon" for the common people. If it reached the ears of a certain prince, he would be shocked to the point of petrification.
An "iron coupon for alchemy" worth ten cents each...
Even the wholesale price is not that low?
You dare to lower the price of the royal amulet, are you still shameless? ? ?
Some rich people who were eager to save their families directly gave their servants a few taels of silver to buy all the newspapers carried by the newsboys.
Each newspaper boy can carry fifty to one hundred newspapers, depending on his body and physical strength, as well as a bamboo kettle filled with boiled water and two sesame seed cakes.
Carrying a raincoat and a bamboo hat on his back, he would eat lunch on the street at noon. When all the newspapers were sold out, he would return to the printing factory to pick up newspapers. If it was getting late, he could go straight to get off work and rest.
But what happened on the first day was far beyond the seller's expectation. By noon, 5,000 newspapers had been snatched up.
"When will it be printed?"
"Yes! Give me the right word!"
"The head of the family is still looking forward to it!"
"Whose family isn't?"
"It's been half an hour..."
Hundreds of servants gathered in front of the newspaper office and complained one after another. If everyone hadn't just muttered, the nearby Jin Yiwei responsible for maintaining order would have taken them down on the spot.
Although the newspaper is not an official office, it is only registered with the General Affairs Department in name. It is actually a private media that is responsible for its own profits and losses. However, because the founders are Princess Yongan and the Prince Consort, the factory guards will strictly protect it.
According to the previous division of labor between husband and wife, Princess Yong'an was responsible for counting money and accounting in her own mansion, while Prince Consort Gong Yonggu was stationed at the newspaper office to operate and guide daily work.
At present, the newspaper only has one editor-in-chief and four editors, but even though it is a small newspaper, it is well-organized. Some are responsible for imperial edicts and government decrees, some are responsible for anecdotes, and some are responsible for scientific and technological interpretation.
The editor-in-chief is Fang Yizhi, the son of Fang Kongzhen, the governor of Huguang. Today, he is 8 out of 20. He and Gong Yonggu are considered writing friends. This time he went to Beijing to take the exam, so he was roped in by the prince-in-law to be the editor-in-chief.
Since his father was the governor, Fang Yizhi was very aware of the darkness of officialdom. However, with his father as an example, he still determined to enter an official career to bring peace to the people.
But Gong Yonggu also had his own words. This year's palace examination is different from previous years. If he doesn't understand the secrets, he will inevitably lose his reputation. It is better to stay in the newspaper office for a year and master the relevant skills. Next year's palace examination will definitely be a blockbuster.
When Fang Yizhi was young, he traveled to many places with his father and read many books at home. He thought he had some talent and learning, but he couldn't stand the consort's repeated persuasion, and Gong Yonggu also revealed a top-secret news to him.
The Hanlin Academy colluded with some people from the Imperial College in an attempt to engage in favoritism and cheating in this year's palace examination, so he had better not participate. Otherwise, not only would he not be able to be named on the gold list, but his father-in-law would be harmed.
Fang Yizhi thought about it, and finally had to reluctantly give up. He planned to stay in the capital for a year to see the questions for this year's imperial examination. However, being the editor-in-chief of a newspaper was also a good job.
The prince-in-law paid him a one-time annual salary of 600 taels, and took care of food and housing. He lived in his own mansion. The main reason was that he was afraid that if he gave up the job halfway and suddenly quit, he would have to find someone else.
For this new job, Fang Yizhi did not disappoint his friend who hired him with a lot of money. Every article was reviewed from beginning to end, and he even learned the punctuation marks of the prince's introduction to the fairy world from scratch.
Fang Yizhi also had great enthusiasm for a new thing like newspapers, with all-inclusive content and wide-reaching channels. From then on, corrupt officials did not dare to use clever names, and it was indeed a good article that benefited the common people.
Fang Yizhi fully agreed with many of the measures announced and implemented after the Prince Supervised the Country, and they coincided with the realization of part of his planned vision. Therefore, being the editor-in-chief of the newspaper not only gave him a sense of accomplishment, but also gave him a vague sense of mission. and a sense of responsibility.
He was also very interested in establishing the Academy of Sciences and recruiting relevant personnel because it involved many Western technologies. With the prince's promise, he could be specially approved and transferred in the future to find a suitable job for him in the Academy of Sciences.
Through many communications with the Prince Consort, as well as quiet contemplation at night, Fang Yizhi found that he seemed to be more suitable for editing or scientific research work, either to set the record straight or to benefit the people, but he was not so concerned about the smoky officialdom.
"Quiet! This is a newspaper office, not a printing place!"
One of the gatekeepers couldn't bear it anymore and had no choice but to speak to appease everyone.
"I insist on making trouble, but I am just here to buy newspapers on the order of the master of the family, otherwise I really can't do the job!"
"Yeah yeah!"
"That's all true!"
The guard's words not only had no effect, but instead aroused complaints from everyone.
They didn't dare to make trouble, and they didn't want to make trouble, but if they couldn't buy a newspaper, they would be scolded by the owner when they returned.
All the masters are eagerly looking forward to the "iron coupons of alchemy books" worth ten cents each!
Taking advantage of this once-in-a-century God-given opportunity, I tried my best to hoard...
Both Gong Yonggu and Fang Yizhi heard the noise outside, and the prince-in-law knew the problem as soon as he saw the masthead.
The newspaper has a name, time, date, edition number, sponsor, founder, editor-in-chief, and even explanations of punctuation marks. The location of the newspaper is also listed on it, but there is no location of the printing plant. This makes buying a newspaper difficult. People flocked to the newspaper office.
But finished newspapers could not be printed here, so it was useless to block the door until dark. Gong Yonggu ordered the guard to tell everyone the location of the printing factory and ask them to wait at the printing factory.
Even so, priority must be given to the newsboys, and the printing house will not be allowed to sell them on its own. According to the highest instructions of a certain prince, every link must perform its duties.
Newsboys are the human resources and distribution channel of newspaper offices. Even if some restaurants and teahouses close down, as long as newsboys are still there, there will be no problem of not having sales points or rebuilding sales networks.
If there is heavy rain and it is impossible to sell on the street, the newsboy can also follow the newspaper delivery carriage and act as a porter to deliver newspapers to various fixed outlets.
In addition to selling newspapers, these half-grown children can also sell tobacco and other products in the future. If they are deployed in the streets and alleys of the capital, they will become a good intelligence network with very low operating costs.
"From now on, we accept annual subscriptions from everyone!"
An editor and a cashier came out, accompanied by two clerks, and announced the good news to everyone.
"May I ask what an annual...subscription is?"
The good news confused the servants. They couldn't hear the good news at all and they all looked at each other in shock.
"You just pay the newspaper fee for a year to the newspaper office here. No matter the weather, rain or snow, the newspaper office will send someone to deliver the newspaper to your door. There is no need to wait in line, and there is no need to worry about the newspaper being sold out!"
Gong Yonggu had no intention of jumping into the lasso directly, but when he saw that the sales situation was very good, he remembered the strategy of a certain prince and thought he could give it a try.
"This matter needs to be reported to the head of the family!"
Ten cents a piece is not much, but if you buy it every day, it will be three or four taels of silver for the whole year, which is definitely a lot. If the silver continues to depreciate, it may be as high as five taels.
Most of the people who came were servants, and they had no right to make a decision at all. They had to go back and tell the master the good news, and they could only come back and subscribe after they agreed.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Come and subscribe~!"
Of course, among the crowd, there are also the little wealthy people who have the final say. They have money in their pockets, so they are very imposing. Out of the mentality of showing off their wealth, they walk like crabs.
"May I ask this dear friend, how much does it cost to subscribe to a newspaper for a year?"
You have to ask clearly about the price first, then compare it with the money in your pocket, and then think about how to place an order.
"It's three taels and six denarii of silver!"
Loyal customers who agree to become annual subscriptions can enjoy zero-erasure treatment, and the newspaper will bear the cost of the depreciation of money.
"Then just order five copies. Come on, give this gentleman twenty taels of silver. The newspaper office will deliver the newspaper to your door every day, right?"
Spending money is secondary. What the rich value most is the service of door-to-door newspaper delivery.
Since it costs the same amount of money, instead of sending a servant out to buy it, it is better to wait for it to be delivered to your door.
How convenient this is, and it saves you the trouble of not being able to buy anything. You can know the world's major events every day without leaving home, how comfortable it is.
"That's exactly what you said. This is the two taels of silver that I'm asking for from you. This is the proof. You also need to sign and fingerprint for verification!"
The voucher should be made in triplicate, one copy should be kept by the newspaper office, one copy should be kept by the Prince Consort's residence, and one copy should be kept by the client.
"……good!"
Since the newspaper was founded by the Prince Consort and had extraordinary integrity, the wealthy man did not hesitate.
"You can send your servants to the printing shop to pick up today's five newspapers, or you can wait at home for the newsboy to deliver the newspapers to your door!"
The editor specially issued a voucher that could be used specifically to collect today's newspaper subscription.
If the rich man is too lazy, he can just give the receipt to the newsboy and let him deliver the newspaper to his door.
Newsboys are the most willing to do this kind of thing, because they can pocket five cents without shouting.
"Very kind~! Thank you~!"
The local tycoon immediately understood. The newspaper said it was sold out, but in fact there were still some that were still being sold.
These newspapers are prepared for customers who subscribe. As long as they pay for the subscription, they can receive the newspapers immediately.
But in business, everyone can understand it. This kind of thing happens more or less in all walks of life. It is common.
With the first "crab" on the stage, the remaining "crabs" in the crowd couldn't hold it any longer.
They all went up and took the initiative to pay. It was like this today, and whether they could buy it tomorrow was another matter.
As soon as this happened, within half an hour, a long queue formed in front of the newspaper office, all of them were servants of various rich people who had heard about it.
Their respective owners are waiting in sedan chairs or carriages. When they are photographed, the servants report, and the real owner goes to sign and have his fingerprints pressed.
For annual subscription customers, they can receive cash every day, but they cannot continue to hoard cheap "Alchemy Iron Coupons".
Due to the limited production capacity of the printing factory, they worked overtime and could only produce 10,000 copies in one day and night, leaving some for retail sales to ordinary people. Therefore, each wealthy family could only subscribe to ten newspapers at most.
It is said that it is per household rather than per person because some customers tried to increase the amount of hoarding by queuing up with multiple family members, but other customers found out on the spot.
If you want to buy more, you can only ask the servants to wait for the newsboy on the street in the morning, or wait in a teahouse or restaurant.
Some wealthy people who disobeyed the rules wanted to stab him, but before they could take action, they were sprayed to death by a group of wealthy people around them.
I asked you to buy the newspaper, but everyone still bought it, and it was you, a blind idiot like you, who got rid of it.
The newspaper's doormen and uniformed guards don't care about the crazy comments, as long as they don't beat them up in public.
The local tycoons did not dare to discuss the imperial decree in front of Mr. Chai, so fried locusts and "Flowers in the Mirror" became the main topics of their discussion.
When it came to eating, everyone was money-hungry, and everyone immediately became eager to try it.
There are different opinions on whether grasshoppers, crickets or locusts are more delicious after being fried, and the wealthy people all go home to taste them one by one.
It looks hideous and ugly, but if it's as delicious as the newspaper said, you can't miss it.
As for Hao Jian, who made the bet, everyone believed that given the many prerequisites, it would be difficult to achieve it by spending all 10,000 taels of silver.
So as soon as the second issue of the newspaper is delivered, you must see it as soon as possible.
From now on, I will no longer be idle during the day. After reading the newspaper, I will go out to discuss it with my friends. This life is actually enjoyable.
