Chapter 267: Night-Blooming Jasmine of Black Stone Slope

Arriving at Black Stone Slope, everyone got off the train.

This was Li Banfeng's first time in Black Stone Slope. Not long after getting off, he perceived the different atmosphere of this city.

The atmosphere of Black Stone Slope was different from other places. Li Banfeng had the skill of 'Hundred Flavors Linglong' and could deeply feel this difference.

Pants Belt Ridge had a greasy sweetness, Sea Eating Ridge had the aroma of food, Iron Gate Fort had a unique tranquility, and Green Water City had a pungent luxury.

The taste of Black Stone Slope was thicker. Summarized, there were mainly three kinds: smoke, ash, and machine oil.

The sky here was obviously darker than other places. Walking out of the station and looking up, there were chimneys everywhere, whether high or low.

In an era where electricity couldn't be used on a large scale, steam was used to the extreme, and coal was the most important "grain" for steam engines.

Black Stone Slope had three specialties: iron ore, stone, and coal.

These three specialties were partly transported to various places in Puluo Continent, and partly processed into commodities on the spot.

This determined the special nature of Black Stone Slope. This was a very pure industrial city.

Xiao Chuanzi arrived a step earlier and had already found a place for everyone to stay. Li Banfeng was still looking for a car, but Xiao Chuanzi had already prepared the car.

It wasn't a horse carriage, nor a rickshaw, but a steam car.

A steam engine pulled two carriages, traveling through streets and alleys on narrow tracks.

Isn't this a train?

The only difference from a normal train was that this train was smaller, small enough to drive into an alley.

Black Stone Slope was such a city. Unlike the roads in Green Water City that led in all directions, all roads here had become railways. Although the noise was a bit louder and the air was a bit worse, one could take a train as soon as one went out.

This made Li Banfeng think of the light rail in Yuezhou City, but light rail was an electric train, and he always felt it was a bit worse than a steam train.

Xiao Chuanzi said: "I heard from the workers here that Green Water City originally wanted to build railways in the city, but those rich people didn't agree. They complained about the noise and the dirt. I don't think it's anything. Isn't it just a bit of coal ash? It's all floating soil, how dirty can it be?"

Xiao Chuanzi was a Craft Cultivator. For him, Black Stone Slope was simply a holy land for cultivation. Every time he introduced a location, Xiao Chuanzi was very excited, although from the outside, these buildings looked almost the same: dense, simple, and with rough lines.

The small train walked for more than forty minutes and stopped at a station. Everyone got off one after another and arrived at the mansion Xiao Chuanzi had just bought.

Let's call it a mansion...

This place was very big.

Entering the main gate, there was a courtyard, and in the courtyard was a behemoth more than twenty meters high.

This behemoth was an off-white cube as a whole, with various pipes of different thicknesses distributed on its body, and a chimney taller than it beside it.

Laymen thought this was a building, but experts knew that this thing was one of the core equipment of the steam age, scientifically called a steam generator, commonly known as a boiler.

Passing the boiler and going inside, Li Banfeng saw parts and semi-finished machine tools scattered on the ground.

The parts and machine tools were covered in rust. Li Banfeng looked at Xiao Chuanzi: "This is a mansion?"

This is clearly an abandoned factory.

Xiao Chuanzi scratched his scalp and said, "Brother Qiye, the residence you want is not easy to find in Heishipo.

You said it needs to accommodate over thirty people, be sufficiently hidden, and not be too conspicuous; only this kind of place is suitable."

Li Banfeng frowned and asked, "Live where? In the factory building?"

"That's not it; there are residential buildings behind the factory."

There are three-story buildings in the factory's backyard. The first floor has a canteen, bathrooms, and toilets, while the second and third floors each have over a dozen rooms.

In Heishipo, there are many factories like this, and the residents of Heishipo are basically all workers.

Workers labor in the factory during the day and sleep there at night. After starting a family, they bring their families to live in the factory and rarely leave it.

Apart from working, do they not have their own entertainment?

They do.

Going to the cinema to watch a movie.

Going to a small tavern for a drink.

Buying a newspaper to take a short break.

When they have money, they go to special places to find special people for a session.

When they don't have money, they buy a magazine themselves and can also have a session.

Workers' time is very tight; dance halls, theaters, salons, banquets... these things are not suitable for them.

Entertainment suitable for workers must first save time, and second, be economical and practical. This is also the main reason why the newspaper and magazine industry in Heishipo is particularly developed; these things save money, save trouble, and are easy to use.

Li Banfeng said to the writers Bai Qiusheng and Yuwen Qi, "Both of you have stayed in Heishipo and understand the rules here. Go handle the paperwork tomorrow; first open a newspaper office, then open a magazine agency."

"Paperwork?" Bai Qiusheng shook his head and said, "That's not needed. To open a newspaper office in Heishipo, having a printing press is enough."

Yuwen Qi said, "Opening a magazine agency is slightly more complicated; you need a camera."

Li Banfeng asked in surprise, "A single printing press is enough to open a newspaper office?"

Bai Qiusheng said, "Yes! We'll write the manuscripts tonight, typeset them tomorrow, and you can arrange for someone to buy the printing press back. We should be able to catch tomorrow's evening paper."

Li Banfeng was stunned for a long time and said, "The newspaper office hasn't even opened yet, and you're catching tomorrow's evening paper? Are you joking? What are you using to write the manuscripts? Is there any news?"

Yuwen Qi said, "News is easy; just find a few major newspapers and copy two items. Our newspaper mainly sells commentary and stories. Where can't you see news? The key is that the content must be punchy!"

"Writing nonsense?" Li Banfeng still didn't understand, "Who would buy a newspaper written with nonsense?"

The two writers didn't know how to explain it, so Xiao Chuanzi said, "Brother Qiye, I'll take you to a newspaper cart, and you'll understand."

Xiao Chuanzi took Li Banfeng and the others to the newspaper cart.

A so-called newspaper cart is a small house for selling newspapers and magazines. In Yuezhou, this thing is called a newsstand.

The newsstands in Heishipo are a bit different; the small house has wheels underneath—four wooden wheels and four iron wheels.

Usually, the wooden wheels are on the ground, and the vendor can pull the newsstand along.

When pulled onto the railway, by operating the pulleys inside the stand, the wooden wheels are raised and the iron wheels touch the ground. There is a hook on the front of the newspaper cart that can be attached to the back of a train to follow along.

Li Banfeng entered the stand and glanced at the newspapers.

Li Banfeng recognized the newspapers of the Lu family and the Ling family, but he didn't recognize most of the others.

Like the "Yi Gan Liang" evening paper; this name is quite distinctive.

Li Banfeng glanced at the headline: "Acting Out a False Play, Songstress Xiao Xiufei, How Deep Is Her Immersion?"

The first few sentences of the news recounted what happened when songstress Xiao Xiufei accepted an interview before the release of the first part of "Blood Blade Detective."

How old is this news? Counting it up, it's been four months!

Can this still be in the newspaper?

Li Banfeng was very curious and picked up the newspaper to take a look, but the vendor immediately stopped him: "'Yi Gan Liang' is eighty cents; you can't look if you don't buy."

Li Banfeng pointed to the Lu family and Ling family newspapers: "How much are these newspapers?"

"'Morning Paper' is thirty cents, 'Evening Paper' is fifty cents."

"Then why does your 'Yi Gan Liang' sell for eighty cents?"

"That's the price. Genuine goods at a fair price, effective as soon as it's reported, honest with both young and old!"

What "effective as soon as it's reported," that's called "effective as soon as the medicine is taken"!

Li Banfeng despised this vendor, took out eighty cents, and bought a copy of "Yi Gan Liang."

Don't say, it really was effective as soon as it was reported; just after finishing the front page, Li Banfeng's pole became bright.

The front-page news recounted the process of Xiao Xiufei's immersion from different angles. The wording was simple, but the content was detailed. The feelings of the male lead, the realization of the female lead, the touch of the photographer, and the memories of the cleaning lady were all described very well, even more exciting than the movie itself.

Before he had time to read the remaining pages, Li Banfeng noticed a magazine.

This magazine is called "Blood Gun Detective 5."

My movie is only up to three, and his magazine is up to five?

The woman on the cover is very beautiful, and her posture and attire are very distinctive.

The posture is very graceful.

As for the attire, there is no attire.

"How much is this magazine?"

"Five dollars and sixty cents."

"Isn't that excessive? A movie ticket is only five dollars."

The vendor sneered and said, "You don't understand this. You buy a movie ticket and can only watch it once, and this 'Blood Gun Detective' isn't even allowed to be shown now.

If you buy this magazine, you can watch it as many times as you want, and I'll even give you a poster."

Just as the vendor showed half of the poster, Li Banfeng decided to buy it.

This poster has a conscience.

"I want that one, and that one too..."

In a few minutes, Li Banfeng spent over a hundred dollars. The vendor was so happy that he gave away over twenty posters alone.

If it weren't for Bai Qiusheng stopping him, Li Banfeng would have wanted to buy more.

After returning to the factory, Ma Wu had already ordered people to tidy up a room for Li Banfeng. After studying in the room for an hour, Li Banfeng figured out the newspaper and magazine industry in Heishipo.

Newspapers rely entirely on fabrication.

Magazines are not fabricated; they find a few local girls to be models, take photos, and then add some background introductions about the girls, as well as their insights on life and the future.

Li Banfeng sighed, "Don't say, these girls are quite talented; what they write is quite profound. They are all people with ideals."

Yuwen Qi shook his head and said, "Brother Qiye, these girls don't even know many characters; where would they get so many insights? These are all written by editors, earning money from the pen."

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "In that case, except for the girls' names, everything else is fake."

"That's not it," Yuwen Qi shook his head, "The girls' names aren't real either."

Bai Qiusheng said, "In Heishipo, if you want to earn a living, your pen must be hard enough. This is the same principle as performing on the street.

Regardless of whether you are a contemporary literary giant or a famous master, if what you write is good, people will come back to buy it. If what you write is not good, people will be fooled by you at most once, and they will definitely not buy your second book."

Yuwen Qi said, "Brother Qiye, you might think these things are not serious. There are serious things in Heishipo too, with plenty of good stories. Heishipo has never lacked good books and newspapers."

"I think these things are very serious; they are all serious art. Those who know how to do art are good people, and those who know how to appreciate art are also good people. This matter can't be wrong, and this place can't be wrong either."

Li Banfeng patted the books and newspapers in his hand, "We must do the newspaper, and we must do the magazine too. In two days, when Xiao Chuanzi buys the printing press back, we'll start working."

"Why wait two days," Bai Qiusheng smiled, "Chuanzi has been gone for over an hour; he should be buying it back soon."

"An hour to buy a printing press?"

A printing press is not a printer. Li Banfeng had seen the printing presses in Puluozhou; they were steam-driven and couldn't even fit in two rooms. How could such a large item be bought in the blink of an eye?

Chuanzi really bought it back, and it was already assembled.

This printing press is not big, about the same size as two wicker trunks.

Constantly tossing his wife around, Li Banfeng also had some mechanical common sense: "This is not steam-driven; this is hand-cranked."

Chuanzi said, "The two writers said to buy this one to make do for now."

Bai Qiusheng said, "Brother Qiye, this is Heishipo, not Green Water City.

The printing presses in Green Water City cost thousands of silver dollars; we don't need that.

In Heishipo, you can buy whatever kind of printing press you want. This machine shouldn't exceed...?"

Chuanzi nodded and said, "Fifty-seven."

"Okay, it wasn't bought too expensively. Brother Qiye, listen to us; let's use this one first. If the business goes well, we'll change to a new one. If the business is poor, we won't lose much."

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "I'm a layman, so I'll listen to you both. Then I'll trouble you both to suffer; let's start working immediately, first doing the newspaper, then the magazine."

Yuwen Qi sighed, "We used to rely on this for a living, and now that we have a little fame, I didn't expect to return to our old profession."

Li Banfeng smiled, "That's not the same price. Based on your current worth, I'll give you triple the pay, plus double the bonus. As for money, I will never treat you unfairly."

Bai Qiusheng praised, "Brother Qiye is straightforward in doing things. What do you think we should name our newspaper?"

Li Banfeng thought for a moment and said, "Since it's an evening paper, let's call it 'Night Fragrance'."

Yuwen Qi said, "It's popular and easy to remember; let's settle on that!"

Several writers started working immediately, beginning to write art.

The photographer brought by Ma Wu from the film crew shouldn't be idle either; he started finding girls to take art photos.

As for how to sell the newspapers and magazines, Ma Wu and the two writers were experts; Li Banfeng didn't need to worry about this.

Li Banfeng went directly to the Sanfu Cinema.

The owner was packing up, preparing to move.

The cinema had been smashed, the staff had been beaten, and the Qingshou Society had issued an order to get out of Heishipo within a month and never return for the rest of his life.

Li Banfeng took out twenty silver dollars and stuffed them into the cinema owner's hand: "You tidy up the cinema and show 'Blood Gun Detective' one more time."

"Show it again?" The owner shook his head, "Sir, if I dare to show it one more time, my life will be gone. Please don't make things difficult for me."

Li Banfeng saw that the owner really didn't have the courage, so he didn't make things difficult for him: "How about this, you name a price and sell this cinema to me."

The owner was startled: "May I ask how to address you?"

PS: Night Fragrance is not just the name of a newspaper.

(End of chapter)