Chapter 737 Everything about the Wu-zijuan is inseparable from Dalang of the Feng family.
Seeing that his brother was actually wearing the reading glasses he bought from the Xiyi people and reading the tabloid in his hand, looking very excited and stroking his beard, Jia Zheng couldn't help but secretly sigh that this Feng family man is indeed an outstanding person, casually A thing that comes up can quickly become popular throughout the capital city, and even his own brother is obsessed with such tabloids.
Until now, except for Jia Zheng, no one in the government knows that the legendary story "Thirteen Stick Monks Save the King of Tang" currently serialized in "Today's News" was written by Baoyu, and the "Stubborn Nod" is Baoyu's. The so-called pen name.
This is also the agreement between Feng Ziying and Jia Zheng. At present, the position of the legendary storybook is not that high. It is more like the people of lower Liba. Maybe after another year and a half, this "Thirteen Stick Monks Save the King of Tang" After the serialization was completed, Baoyu's "The New West Chamber", which he had painstakingly prepared to write, was released. If it can become the basis for several major theaters in the capital city, then the reputation of this "nodding stone" will be raised to a higher level, and it will be famous among scholars. .
“Brother, are you also reading this “Today’s News”?”
Seeing Jia Zheng's arrival, Jia She also put down the newspaper in his hand, with a lingering lingering look on his face, "Well, the second brother is here? Is this "Today's News" really run by the Feng family? I heard that this is a Huizhou newspaper A wealthy businessman surnamed Wang and a scholar surnamed Cao from Yangzhou teamed up to do it."
The editorial office of "Today's News" and the Chinese Press are both located in Xinlianzi Hutong, Yongfang, Dashi, not far from the Huizhou Guild Hall. It is also a prosperous place, and it is even more prosperous now than in the past.
At first, Feng Ziying and Wang Wenyan had the idea of placing it in a more remote place, but then they thought about it. "Today's News" itself wants to build a reputation and expand its influence, so why not place it in a bustling urban area but go to a remote place? Neighborhood? So the plan was later adjusted and the press and editorial department were placed in Xinliangzi Hutong.
On the day of Feng Ziying's wedding, "Today's News" was officially launched. Five hundred copies were printed on that day and distributed for free to major halls, academies, theaters, and brothels. Naturally, every yamen in Beijing must be comprehensive, including those in Beijing. All the officials, gentry and high-ranking families in the country were also delivered one by one.
According to Wang Wenyan and his colleagues' idea, it is to publish nine issues per month on the 147th, so that three consecutive issues will be distributed for free to various places on this scale, and then starting from the fourth issue, the printing capacity will be reduced to 300 copies to save costs. , and observe the situation by the way.
Who would have thought that in the fourth issue, in addition to the major academies giving away dozens of copies for free, many other government offices, guild halls, gentry, merchants, and high-ranking households would be unable to sit still.
This newspaper provides them with an unprecedented novel world, including eye-catching and novel stories such as legendary stories, as well as all-encompassing market gossip. This section is also the most popular among yamen officials, minor officials and idle people in high-ranking families. I like it, and the transaction price information is published in a special section, which is especially popular with clubs, business gangs and shops along the street. In addition, in order to improve the taste of "Today's News", a small section is also dedicated and named "Liu Fang Eternal" , used to publish recent poems and songs written by scholars of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
From the fourth issue onwards, the newspaper office specially recruited more than ten newsboys to sell these newspapers along the streets of various cities in the capital.
It didn’t take long for the 300 copies of the fourth issue to be sold out. This type of newspaper itself is not prepared for the general public. When it is targeted to the gentry, businessmen, officials and idlers, these newsboys have already The targets arranged by the newspaper have been visited one by one. The cost of a few copper coins is not difficult for these gentry and officials to accept. What Feng Ziying needs is for them to accept such a sense of payment so that they can feel accepted. This kind of consumption makes them higher than those who do not have this kind of consumption.
In fact, a few hundred newspapers and periodicals are really not worth mentioning in a huge capital city with a population of millions, especially in this time and space where information and entertainment are extremely closed and stagnant.
So starting from the fifth issue, the number of printed copies of "Today's News" increased back to 500, and it was still sold out. By the sixth issue, it increased to 600 copies, and the seventh issue jumped directly to 800 copies. It is expected that by The first issue of the Eighth Year of Wing Long will be printed and distributed in 1,000 copies.
The emergence of such a new thing will naturally attract the attention of all parties in the capital city, but Feng Ziying has been prepared for it early.
Not only did he report it to Qi Yongtai, but Qi Yongtai also mentioned it in the cabinet intentionally or unintentionally. Feng Ziying also specifically explained it to Qiao Yingjia. After all, this kind of newspaper was actually very obscure in Hedu Procuratorate, Shuntian Prefecture, etc. The government is competing for some influence and voice, but it seems that people like the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Shuntian Prefecture are not aware of it now.
The serialization of legendary stories and the publication of poems and songs in this section are a very good cover. What makes people more aware is that this should be specifically for scholars, including those who read books - scholars, scholars, Jinshi and even scholars. The bottom line is that it is a recreational item provided by officials and does not involve current affairs. Feng Ziying knows very well that if she wants to be like "Internal Reference", she is afraid that it is impossible even if she has great abilities.
At the same time, the business information section directly refers to the group of merchants from all over the world, so the profound significance and influence of the market gossip section hidden behind it are diluted.
Of course, this sector does not have much influence at the moment. This requires long-term and sustained penetration in order to truly have the kind of influence Feng Ziying hopes for in the future.
Jia Zheng was a little envious when he talked about this. His sister-in-law, who died of illness, really thought highly of Feng Ziying. Not only did he hand over part of his family assets to Feng Ziying, he even handed over his own personal network resources to Feng Ziying.
Of course Feng Ziying also deserves this trust. These two people invested in Feng Ziying's name and actually started such a newspaper under Feng Ziying's guidance.
"Second brother, is this newspaper profitable? The cost of printing ink and paper alone is not a small amount, right? In addition, the wages of these craftsmen are not low. I heard that they are in Yongfang, Dashi. The rent for renting a shop is not low."
Jia She seems to be much more experienced than before after handling the gardening work this year, and he is not as ignorant about these business matters as before.
"Brother, didn't Lian'er come back and tell you? I guess this newspaper office doesn't seem to be relying on this profit for the time being. Didn't their Haitong Bank also leave their name in this newspaper? They also boasted about themselves. Isn't this necessary? Pay money to the newspaper?"
Jia Lian came back and mentioned this matter, but neither Jia She nor Jia Zheng understood it at first. Until later when they saw the "Today's News", it seemed that the name of Haitong Yinzhuang could be seen on the masthead in every issue. And it's very conspicuous. Think about it, how can you not pay for helping to build a reputation like this?
"This is a big business like Haitong Bank. If we can make a name for ourselves through this newspaper, we can do a lot of business." Jia She was envious.
Haitong Yinzhuang no longer accepts equity, which makes him very disappointed. He has made a lot from building gardens in the past six months. He has been able to scrape together 30,000 to 50,000 taels of silver. He originally expected to invest in Haitong Yinzhuang, but Unexpectedly, the news I got was that Haitong Yinzhuang no longer accepts shares, it only accepts deposits, but the interest rate is not only not high, but the conditions are also somewhat harsh.
While the two were talking, they saw Jia Lian coming back.
It is rare to see Jia Lian come back so early. In the past, Jia Lian mostly came back after having dinner out at night, but today it is rare.
“I’ve met the two gentlemen.”
"Why did Lian'er come back so early today? Could it be that Yinzhuang is free?" Jia She was also very concerned about Yinzhuang's affairs. The news Jia Lian told him was that although Yinzhuang no longer accepts shares, it will not accept shares next year. Maybe there would be an opportunity, so he never forgot it.
"I heard that the imperial concubine is coming back to visit her relatives during the Lantern Festival? I heard that the imperial concubine will stay in the garden for two nights?" Jia Lian glanced at his father and uncle and asked.
Jia Zheng was surprised, "Where did you know about Lian'er?"
Although he got the news that Yuanchun was coming back to visit relatives, he never knew that Yuanchun was going to stay in the garden for one night. This matter of a concubine staying out, even if it was her own family, was unusual and had to be taken seriously. However, the Emperor Rewards are not impossible.
"Today, Concubine Mei's brother came to the Silver Manor to borrow a sum of money. It is said that the emperor was very happy this year and graciously allowed each bride to go back to her parents' home to enjoy family happiness. She could stay for one or two nights. All she had to do was ask the Sixth Palace in advance. Just report it to the **** Xia Bingzhong, who is in charge of the capital,..." Jia Lian said casually: "This Concubine Mei's younger brother is a wonderful man. In order to pay Concubine Mei a visit, he came to the bank to borrow 50,000 taels of silver to purchase items..."
Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng and Jia She both looked bitter.
In order to build this garden, the house has gone to great lengths to build the old foundation. Especially the garden has been built, but the furnishings inside are very big. Many old things in the house have been carried in. Then I bought a lot more from some pawns, so the money from the public in the mansion was basically spent.
Fortunately, the money from the Zhen family in Jiangnan was finally delivered, and an additional thirty thousand taels were lent to the Jia family to cover the various holes. Even so, they still owe tens of thousands of taels of silver from outside for flowers, trees, materials, etc. We can only postpone it until later in the year and find a way to make up for it.
Now I heard that even Concubine Mei, who has a prince, attaches great importance to style. How can these concubines without princes be descendants?
Fifth update, please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)