Huang Shixing really didn't understand why Mr. Chen and Mr. He went to Changning Guard.
Huang Shixing can be said to be very proud these days. With the gift of "Wenyuan New Rhythm", Huang Shixing can be said to have become famous in Nanping County.
And after calculation, all 200 copies of "Wenyuan Xinyun" were sold out, and Huang Shixing "only" lost fifty taels of silver!
Although we lost money, the printing and binding of "Wenyuan Xinyun" cost almost two taels of silver per copy.
Huang Shixing also gave away a lot of money, so in the end, he only lost fifty taels of silver, which was quite impressive.
Fifty taels of silver won the discussion and praise of scholars in the county and even the whole government. Huang Shixing felt that he had made a lot of money!
Huang Shixing came to see He Liangjun today just to test He Liangjun's tone of voice.
Now that everyone in Nanping County knows about Huang Shixing's plays, He Liangjun should be "discerning" and rate his plays first.
But he never expected that Huang Shixing would come up short today.
Then we can only come back tomorrow.
After Chen Moqun and He Liangjun stayed in Changning Guard for half a day, He Liangjun began to stay in seclusion after returning to Nanping County, thinking about adapting "Du Shiniang's Furious Sinking of the Treasure Box" into a drama.
Su Ze received the news from Lin Xianliang and heard that fifty copies of "Surprise" were sold out, so he immediately ordered Yao Chun and Xiong Wu to continue printing. This time Su Ze simply printed two hundred copies at once and asked the clerk to bring them to the store.
In the bookstore.
Two hundred copies of the printed newspaper were delivered to the bookstore, which immediately caused a sensation in Nanping County. The sales were so hot that neither Lin Xianliang nor the bookstore clerk expected. There was a long queue at the door of Yu's bookstore.
Some people are happy, while others are sad. Huang Shixing visited Mr. Tuohu every day these days, but He Liangjun just closed the door and didn't see any visitors.
Huang Shixing spent money to bribe his disciples, but no matter how his disciples informed him, Mr. Tuohu refused to see him.
What went wrong?
When Huang Shixing returned to his home from He Liangjun's house, he suddenly saw a long queue at Yu's Bookstore.
Huang Shixing was also a frequent visitor to the bookstore, but he had never seen such a long queue. He called the boy who came to read with him and asked:
"What's going on today? There's a queue at the bookstore. Have any new books arrived?"
"I'll go and inquire about it, little man."
The book boy squeezed into the crowd and asked for a long time before he found out the situation and replied to Huang Shixing:
"Back to you, sir, these are all people queuing up to buy newspapers."
"Buy a newspaper?" Huang Shixing felt something was wrong and asked:
"What newspaper?"
The book boy said: "It is said to be a newspaper produced by scholars in the county."
Huang Shixing was a little confused. Apart from his own "Wenyuan Xinyun", he had never heard of any scholar in Nanping County running a newspaper?
Huang Shixing said to the book boy: "Go and buy a newspaper."
The book boy spent a lot of effort and added a couple of silver dollars to buy a copy of "The Surprise" from a customer.
When Huang Shixing saw the yellowed paper and the large page without binding, that's it. Can this be called a newspaper? Is this kind of garbage worth queuing up to buy?
Seeing the poor quality of this newspaper, Huang Shixing became even more contemptuous.
He opened the book and was surprised. The first thing he saw was Su Ze's novel.
Seeing Su Ze's name, Huang Shixing almost finished reading the novel with a frown.
It was indeed a good story, Huang Shixing's brows furrowed even more.
Huang Shixing was a little panicked now. If this novel was changed into a play, wouldn't it kill his own play?
Fortunately, Su Ze wrote a novel, Huang Shixing comforted himself.
Then scrolling down, Huang Shixing's blood pressure went up again.
Versions three and four are plays written by Chen Chaoyuan and Lin Qingcai. Huang Shixing clearly remembers that he rejected their scripts, and now they have been published in "The Surprise".
Is this Su Ze's newspaper just to compete with him?
Are you a newspaper worthy of competing with me?
Huang Shixing's face was livid, and he quickly returned to the printing shop with the boy and the boy. He called the printing master and asked:
"If we print more now, how long will it take to print another hundred copies?"
The printing master immediately said: "If you go back to me, printing is not difficult, but it will take at least seven days to wait for the ink to dry before binding."
Huang Shixing's printing shop uses engraving printing, which means that each page of the entire newspaper is engraved with engravings and can be taken out and reprinted.
Huang Shixing immediately said: "Print another hundred copies!"
The popularity of "The Surprise" also exceeded Su Ze's expectations. It only took half a day for the 200 printed copies to be sold out. Su Ze's "literary" skills were also reflected in "Du Shiniang's Fury".
Due to the crazy spread of "Sink the Treasure Chest", it quickly rose to Level 3,160/300.
After selling out, many people still asked Lin Xianliang whether "The Surprise" should be reprinted or not. Lin Xianliang once again sent a man to Changningwei to ask Su Ze to print more.
Although "The Surprise" only sells for three cents, such a popular hit has also attracted a lot of popularity. Those who did not buy the newspaper will also buy one or two books, driving the sales of the entire bookstore.
Crazy rise.
During this period, Yu Zongyuan also sent people to buy newspapers and saw the vigorous sales scene of the bookstore. The second master Yu was very satisfied with Lin Xianliang, the new shopkeeper, and rewarded Lin Xianliang and the clerk two taels of silver on the spot.
The second young master here has been in a happy mood recently. The shopkeepers recommended by Su Ze are all very reliable. The sales and profits of the four stores have increased.
The bookstore even sold half a year's worth of books in half a month, and Second Young Master Yu has spent a lot of money these days.
After buying a newspaper and going back, it was naturally impossible to read Su Ze's articles. Lin Qingcai and Chen Chaoyuan's articles were gradually talked about.
Although the plays they wrote are vulgar, they are all royal plots, and they are quite interesting as after-dinner reading.
At this time, I don't know who compared Chen and Lin's plays with those in "Wenyuan Xinyun". Perhaps it was the addition of "Surprise". Many people felt that Chen and Lin's articles were better than those in "Wenyuan Xinyun".
All the dramas and texts in "Wenyuan Xinyun" are good.
Huang Shixing was even more furious after receiving the critical review. While he urged the printing house to print out "New Rhythm of Wenyuan" as soon as possible, he was constantly anxious for gatherings of scholars to promote his "New Rhythm of Wenyuan".
By the end of the month, a total of 500 copies of "The Surprise" had been sold, and all 100 copies of "Wenyuan Xinyun" newly printed by Huang Shixing were smashed into his hands.
Huang Shixing gritted his teeth and summarized the problem. It must be because his "Wenyuan Xinyun" was too expensive. Huang Shixing tearfully lowered the price to one tael of silver, but still no one bought it.
Looking back at "The Surprise", someone in the county has already offered a reward of one tael of silver to buy a second-hand newspaper. It can be said that it is still hard to get a reward.
Lin Xianliang once again sent a man to find Su Ze for sealing, but this time Su Ze did not agree to seal it.
His "Literature" skill has risen to Level 4, but the growth has slowed down in the past few days, which shows that the spread of "Du Shiniang Sinks the Treasure Box in Anger" has reached its limit.
Considering how many literate people there are in Nanping County, the sales volume of five hundred newspapers is already quite terrifying.
If you continue to print more, you will definitely not be able to sell it.
Moreover, "The Surprise" is a newspaper. Since it is a newspaper, you can't just focus on one print. Su Ze is already preparing the content of the second issue.
From the perspective of transmission speed, two issues a month should be the most efficient.
Naturally, it is impossible for Su Ze to write all the contents of the fourth page, and there is no shortage of content such as Lin Qingcai and Chen Chaoyuan to fill the page.
It looks like we still need to set up an editorial department.
It’s almost the end of the month, so we’ll discuss matters regarding the editorial department in the county seat.
Su Ze asked the clerk to go back and tell Lin Xianliang that from now on, the fifth and twentieth of every month would be the days when a new issue of "Surprise" would be published, so regular customers should wait for the second issue before buying it.
I heard that there is a second edition of "Surprise", and the guy was very excited.
If there are two surprise issues every month in the future, won’t the bookstore’s business explode?
It’s no wonder that Second Young Master Yu values Mr. Su so much. He is simply the God of Wealth descending to earth!
The man left Changning Guard with great respect, and another person came from Changning Guard.
Su Ze was a little depressed. What happened to Chang Ning Wei these days? Why do you guys come here one after another?
Su Ze put down his writing brush and followed the messenger to the ancestral hall.
I saw a short, fat old man in ordinary clothes sitting in the ancestral hall with a gift in his hand. Next to the old man was Lin Xianyang, who had gone to the county government as an errand.
"Why are brothers Xianyang back?"
Lin Xianyang immediately stood up and said: "Brother Aze, this is Sun Dianshi from our county government office. Today I came back with Sun Dianshi."
Sun Dianshi?
Su Ze then remembered that this was the county government official who captured the farmstead by the Black Mountain bandits?
Thinking about this name again, wasn't it Sun Dianshi who recommended Lin Qingcai brother to join the county government office as a scribe?
It turns out that the county is so small.
Sun Dianshi stood up politely, saluted Su Ze and said:
"Thank you so much to Chang Ning Wei and Xianggong Su for wiping out the Black Mountain bandits and avenging the lives of thirteen people in my farm!"
Su Ze now understood the purpose of Sun Dianshi's visit. It turned out that he came to express his gratitude.
The news of the Changning Guard's suppression of the Black Mountain bandits has spread. As a county official, Dianshi must be well-informed. This can be regarded as indirectly avenging Sun Dianshi, so it is natural for him to come and express his gratitude.
Changning Wei frankly handed over the gift, and Sun Dianshi continued:
"Nowadays, the southeast is not at peace. My village has suffered two disasters in the past few years."
After saying that, the shrewd Sun Dianshi looked at Su Ze's face. He already knew from Lin Xianyang that Su Ze, the Changning Guard, could take the majority of the responsibility now, and it was Su Ze who gave the order to rescue Beishan Village.
Seeing Su Ze's expressionless expression, Sun Dianshi continued: "But with Changning Guards to protect our safety, I feel relieved from now on."
Seeing that Su Ze still had no expression, Sun Dianshi said:
"I came here this time not only for my own village. The owners of the other two villages that were harmed by the Black Mountain Bandit this time asked me to come to Changning Guard, hoping that Lin Baihu could take care of them."
Su Ze suddenly understood the purpose of Sun Dianshi's visit. It turned out that he was paying protection money.
Sure enough, Sun Dianshi took out another brocade bag and opened it to find two twenty-taels of silver.
Sun Dianshi held up his hands and said:
"This is our donation to support Ningwei's military training. From now on, it can be made an annual practice. Anyone who relies on the army to dispatch troops will naturally donate money!"
Su Ze understood what Sun Dianshi meant. The three farms near them paid forty taels of silver a year to the Changning Guard as protection fees. If the guards troops were really dispatched, they would pay more.
Su Ze was a little dumbfounded. He didn't expect that even when Chang Ning Wei was accepting donations, someone still came to donate.
However, this deal is also very cost-effective, with a protection fee of forty taels a year, and if you really do it, there will be additional money.
Su Ze thought for a while and said: "I, Chang Ningwei, only deal with suppressing bandits and fighting against Japanese invaders. We don't care about the other disputes between your three farms."
"That's natural!"
Su Ze thought for a while and then said: "I also talked with the Chen family chief of Beishan Village a few days ago. During the slack season, the Chen family sent ten young men to our Changning Guard for training. You three Zhuangzi can also send people.
Get a joint defense team."
"We don't expect the joint defense team to kill the enemy. We just need daily patrols to prevent the Black Mountain thieves from leaving the mountain without any news."
Sun Dianshi immediately said: "Sir, you must have thought carefully! Sun, the two villagers, cannot guarantee that our Sun family farm will definitely have someone!"
As expected of the Master of Lifang Dianshi, Sun Dianshi’s words make people feel comfortable listening to them.
But this guy can fight with Xu Shisheng in the county government and still have the upper hand. He is also an old fox.
Now the interests of this guy and Changning Guard are the same. King Lu wants to land and unite the surrounding forces. This is Su Ze's anti-Japanese plan.
After the main things have been discussed, the next step is naturally for the guests and the host to enjoy themselves.
Sun Dianshi also heard that Chen Moqun and He Liangjun had come to Changningwei a few days ago. He was even more respectful to Su Ze and said on the spot that he would donate some paper and brushes.
After sending Sun Dianshi away, Su Ze took Lin Xianyang and asked him what happened after he went to the county government to report.
Lin Xianyang was appointed as a clerk in the county government. He was a military guard, and Baizhi County assigned him to the military depot.
The military depot in Nanping County is rather awkward. Apart from Lin Xianyang, there are only two clerks and four assistant clerks.
The reason is also very simple. There are no soldiers and horses to control in Nanping County.
The affairs of the Yanping Guard are under the jurisdiction of the Dusi Yamen and the Magistrate Yamen in the provincial capital, while the Haiwei such as Changning Guard are under the jurisdiction of the Fujian Haidao Yamen and the Japanese-controlled General Si Yamen.
The soldiers and horses that Nanping County can manage, apart from Li Hu's minzhuang, are only the military and horse stations that convey military information, and the rest are the Chengdan who guard the city gates.
However, the power of the barracks was small, and the powerful people did not want to be assigned to the barracks. The two old clerks were also simple people, which is the same as the marginal departments of the yamen today.
The barracks is good. The city defense map and pass map of Nanping County are all stored in the barracks. When there is a rebellion in the future, Lin Xianyang will be in the barracks to provide internal support. Nanping County can be easily conquered.
I just had a few words with Lin Xianyang, and another official came over to send a message, saying that Lin Mojun had something to ask him to go to Baihu Station.
Su Ze helplessly said to Lin Xianyang:
"I'll go see Baihu first."
"Brother Aze is busy with work. I went to see my father and nephew and then returned to the county town."
Why did Lin Mojun call him to go to Baihu Station? Could it be that the sea is not peaceful again?