Chapter 382: Favorable Winds, Swift Fortune

Hong Fu was of course displeased about the sudden emergence of Headline Daily and the way it swindled them out of a sum of money.

We give you this food so you can eat it; if we don't give it, you can't claim it.

Yang Qing is a troublemaker.

But as Lan Xiang and Lu Liang announced that they would adopt Headline Daily's suggestions, they began renovating the roads in the island area and Kowloon.

(Xianggang's police are different from ours; they handle traffic and can be said to manage everything, but internally they are also divided into departments.)

Once the matter got out, Headline Daily's hype grew even higher.

On the fifth day, sales had already reached ten thousand copies.

To know, at that time the total newspaper circulation on Gangdao was only about two hundred thousand, split among forty to fifty outlets.

The famed Mingbao was only at fifty thousand then, the result of many years of operation.

Headline Daily, after only a few days, had ten thousand sales, and its hype didn't wane.

Continuous backing from clubs and police stations for Headline gave readers a strong sense of curiosity—who is the boss of this Headline, so impressive.

On the sixth day, Headline Daily began publicly recruiting freelance writers.

As long as the news content you provide is excerpted, you receive a twenty‑yuan fee.

If the article is well written, you get a Level‑1 contract: ten yuan per thousand characters.

If you can continuously produce premium pieces, you upgrade to a Level‑2 contract: twenty yuan per thousand characters.

If you have authoritative influence in the relevant field, it's thirty yuan per thousand characters.

Finally there is a special‑grade contract for top players: fifty yuan per thousand characters.

For example, Hongshou, or world‑class award winners.

Such generous terms caused a stir on Gangdao.

Twenty yuan per thousand characters is what concept? For editors at their newspaper, they can easily earn over a thousand yuan a month.

In this era, that counts as top‑tier compensation.

Ordinary talent gets two hundred, middle class only three to four hundred.

That doesn't even include the royalties from their articles.

Jin Daxia looked at the aggressive Headline Daily and promptly called a meeting.

"This Headline is coming on strong, and it bears many similarities to us,"

"Especially this front‑page Headline, it has a clever parallel with us,"

"The most impressive thing is that they can create news themselves,"

"I think we should take it seriously,"

Shen Baoxin agreed with Jin Daxia's assessment.

"The editor‑in‑chief is right; I also think this is a very threatening newspaper,"

"Especially, their Gangdao Survival Guide was clearly meant for advertising, yet they turned it into a guide; the idea is great, astonishing, and I think we need to follow up,"

Pan Yueming sensed the sharp turn of events.

"This requires a lot of manpower, and the current advertised products are hard to penetrate,"

"If we do it for free, what about others' ads?"

"If we don't do it for free, how can we achieve credibility?"

"Unless we copy Headline outright, but how would we cash it out?"

"Headline must have its own money‑making method for doing this,"

Following up isn't a simple follow‑up; we must decipher their model and acquire their hardware conditions.

That means increasing the number of trend‑gathering staff.

Pan Yueming's words struck Jin Daxia.

"It seems their model isn't something we can simply learn,"

"Especially since it's mixed with many club affairs,"

"Opening this connection will likely be very difficult,"

Only then did he notice the difficulty inside.

At this moment, Pan Yueming said again.

"I think we should place even more emphasis on their recruitment plan,"

"The freelance writers they recruit are paid very well,"

"The later contract fees are even a notch above ours,"

"If this system of theirs can continue,"

"Then outstanding civilian writers in the future will be drawn to them,"

"That would be a huge blow to us,"

"I fear their aim is social commentary,"

"Headline has already shown that they are bolder than us,"

"Thus their encroaching on our social‑commentary position is inevitable,"

"The key is that they have a huge background,"

Shen Baoxin felt a sense of urgency.

"We should also raise our offers and be bolder; regarding some Hong Fu matters, we can be more daring,"

"We could even discuss the war with Yingjiang,"

Jin Daxia raised his hand and cut him off.

"That won't do; Yingjiang's methods are too dirty."

"We can't afford to play."

"I think we should still work on the novel, making plans."

"I'm preparing to launch a monthly; what do you think?"

"Reading the novel like this feels much more comfortable."

Shen Baoxin.

"You aren't going to surrender, are you?"

Jin Daxia disagreed.

"How can that be called surrender? I'm using my strengths to attack his weaknesses."

"With the monthly's revenue, we have more ammunition."

"He wants to start a royalty competition, and we'll join."

"Our newspaper's circulation and income are stronger than theirs; I wonder how long they can hold out."

"I'll bankrupt them."

Shen Baoxin felt it was doable; they indeed have a far greater advantage over Tou Tiao.

"We can only say Tou Tiao chose the wrong target."

Yang Qing still doesn't realize that his appearance is affecting others; not only Ming Bao, but other newspapers have sensed it—unusual, just not as quick to react.

On the eighth day, after finishing newspaper delivery, Tou Tiao Daily's circulation had reached twelve thousand.

In Gangdao this is no longer a tabloid; it has entered the mid‑tier newspaper ranks.

Yang Rong didn't expect his son to be so capable; his logistics are only just taking shape, and Yang Qing has already stood up.

Zhao Man Ting saw a glimmer in her son's eyes.

"Son, you're truly great."

Yang Qing lay on the sofa, his whole body aching, pulled out a cigarette and took a hard drag.

"Great? It's all earned through hard work; these past days I haven't slept more than two hours a day."

"The newspaper's current revenue will keep it running."

"Old man, how are things on your end?"

Yang Rong sat on the sofa, touching a jade ring on his finger.

"It's okay; I took over a few transport jobs they ignored, arranged a few ships and vehicles."

"I don't know when that express‑delivery model you mentioned will happen."

Yang Qing had been prepared.

"Take it slow; starting the day after tomorrow, Tou Tiao Daily will start advertising for you."

"Business will increase."

"By the way, what's the name of your company again?"

Yang Rong said irritably.

"Shunfeng, Shunfeng Express."

Yang Qing gave an awkward smile; he truly had never cared about that cheap old man.

"Don't be upset; once the newspaper starts advertising for you, you'll see its power."

"Tomorrow have Ah Hui give me the Shunfeng Express base information."

"The day after tomorrow we can publish it."

"Likewise, old man, you need to pay attention to newspaper distribution and information gathering."

"I promote you, you promote me; we look out for each other, and only then can we go far."