Chapter 68: Bulletin Board

The next day, when he went to pay his respects to his aunt, Tietou still thought they were going back.

Wen Gu said, "Don't rush, let's sponge another meal."

He had someone ask about his cousin's free time in advance; it happened to be lunchtime, so they might as well eat and discuss matters together.

Zhao Clan Young Master already knew about the Honeycomb Coal Stove, and besides that, his father had also expressed his stance, wanting to add an extra layer of protection for Wen Gu.

"You have performed another meritorious service this time; my father will make your identity known to more people."

He would let more people in Xinzhou City know Wen Gu's identity and know that this young cousin was valued by the Zhao Family, so they shouldn't be blind enough to make things difficult for him.

In the future, if Wen Gu wanted to go to the market to do or buy anything, those snobbish petty people would also have some misgivings.

"I trouble my uncle to worry on my behalf," Wen Gu sighed.

"Within two days, everyone with any status in Xinzhou City will know your identity. You are about to become famous!" Zhao Clan Young Master laughed.

What did it matter if he was just a small Ward Chief?

Who would dare to make things difficult for someone under the protection of their Zhao Family?

Zhao Shaozhu thought Wen Gu would be embarrassed, but instead heard Wen Gu ask, "Only Xinzhou City?"

"Yo, you kid are quite greedy," Zhao Shaozhu was just about to tease him a few times.

Wen Gu leaned in and said, "Actually, I had originally prepared a gift for you, Cousin, but I lack the corresponding talent by my side, so I couldn't make it or produce the physical object for the time being. I can only offer an idea, which can also be seen as a suggestion. I hope you won't mind, Cousin."

He spoke as if it were difficult, but the look in his eyes said, "Trust me, it's a very good suggestion!"

Zhao Clan Young Master was curious.

As the Zhao Clan Young Master, he truly did not lack good things by his side. And useful suggestions were even more important to him.

"Tell me."

"Cousin, I know you have many scholars and craftsmen under your command; why not try running a newspaper?" Wen Gu said.

Nowadays, the Six Great Clans cannot start a war, logistics cannot keep up, the battle lines cannot be stretched, and there are too many restrictions from the outside; everyone is seizing the time to strengthen themselves, snatching up people and talent, and expanding their own fame.

However, information is not flowing well; wealthy families have their own news channels, but the other, more massive population remains in a state of information blockage.

The current strategy of the major forces is to demonstrate their strength to the outside world to attract more wealthy families and talent.

"As long as you don't leak core secrets, just letting more people know how good it is here and what kind of preferential treatment there is, why worry about talent not coming?

"Besides these, you can also inform everyone how to prevent epidemics, points of attention in daily life, what kind of talent has emerged here, what kind of preferential treatment they have received...

"Good things must be widely publicized!" Wen Gu said.

It would also be convenient for recruitment!

He wanted to recruit a few civilian technicians, but the news couldn't even get out.

Newspapers were not a new thing.

Before the world fell into chaos, the government had official gazettes, and the common people also had small tabloids.

The current dynasty had the Memorial Transmission Office; this institution for legally collecting intelligence and transmitting documents was merged under the Privy Council after the expansion and contraction of its power.

Official gazettes, government newspapers—reviewed by the Privy Council and copied and transmitted by the Memorial Transmission Office.

Civilian tabloids—illegal publications not vetted by official institutions.

Although there were bans from above, they only made these illegal publications less arrogant; they still persisted despite repeated prohibitions.

It wasn't until the chaotic times that everything came to a standstill.

Now, Wen Gu brought it up again.

The world is chaotic, but the public's demand for information will only be greater! This concerns survival!

Zhao Shaozhu pondered.

In their Xinzhou towns and cities, there were actually places to post notices to convey important information.

Therefore, he had never thought about putting in the effort to start a small tabloid.

But Wen Gu's suggestion came at a very good time and truly tempted him.

Nowadays, more and more people are heading north; it is far from the situation last year.

Their Zhao Family will also continue to take over surrounding towns and cities, their area of control will become larger and larger, and they will have more and more people under them; they truly need a form like a newspaper to convey information.

If it is done successfully, it can also expand the prestige of the Zhao Family.

Zhao Shaozhu raised his hand.

A scholar nearby handed over a roster.

It recorded the original identities and current positions of some people.

Zhao Shaozhu searched through a few pages specifically.

Hmm, if he wanted to run a newspaper, there were indeed candidates, and it could be set up quickly.

Pointing his finger at a name on the roster, Zhao Shaozhu said, "The son of a former high-ranking official of the Privy Council, he has experience running a small tabloid; he is suitable."

Wen Gu was stunned.

Wait!

This sentence had quite a few points to pick at!

"The father is a high-ranking official of a government institution, and the son runs illegal publications?"

Cousin: "Mm."

He gave him a look to figure it out for himself.

Wen Gu: "... Oh, never mind."

He just understood why the imperial court's previous bans had been a complete waste of effort.

As he thought, those widely circulated tabloids—if there had been real determination to ban them, how could they not have been banned?

Thinking that Xinzhou's official newspaper would certainly be strictly reviewed and managed, it might not come out very quickly.

Wen Gu added, "You can also set up a few bulletin boards in suitable places, just like those notices, hung and posted in fixed locations."

Xinzhou City also has them, but they are limited to certain wall surfaces and city gates in the core areas.

"If there were newspapers, there would be no need for bulletin boards," Zhao Shaozhu said.

"Can I set up a bulletin board in our Fang?" This was Wen Gu's true purpose.

Zhao Shaozhu looked at Wen Gu: "Why do you want to set that up?"

Wen Gu said: "When a newspaper is produced, the information conveyed is limited to those few categories. I want to find a place to post recruitment notices."

"I want to recruit a few craftsmen who know manual labor; they don't need to be very good, just passable will do, for things like carving seals or doing small odd jobs."

Zhao Shaozhu originally wanted to say he would lend the Zhao Family's craftsmen, but upon hearing Wen Gu mention carving seals and doing odd jobs, he stopped.

It was indeed using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

As for the bulletin board Wen Gu mentioned...

Jingxing Fang and Qingyun Fang are not close to the main central axis road, so the impact is not significant. As long as it does not involve sensitive political matters, other things do not really matter.

The current state of the world is different, many things are more relaxed, and this small matter Wen Gu mentioned can be permitted.

He still reminded Wen Gu: "Do not post certain matters with major implications on it."

"I know, it's just to provide a place to look for lost items, recruit craftsmen, and the like," Wen Gu said.

"That's good."

Cousin Zhao looked Wen Gu over several more times: "Where do you get so many peculiar ideas?"

"They aren't my ideas; I saw them during my Study Tour and remembered them because I was interested."

So that was it. Zhao Shaozhu did not probe further and continued to discuss the newspaper matter with Wen Gu.

The state of the world is different, and the newspapers issued by the authorities will also be different.

Although the scholars under his command would provide many suggestions, Zhao Shaozhu wanted to hear Wen Gu's perspective more.

This cousin indeed has many ingenious ideas, and according to his cousin, his Study Tour experiences are rich.

Others go on Study Tours to indulge in landscapes, make new friends, and visit famous teachers; this cousin is indeed somewhat unusual, his methods are quite wild.

Wen Gu was suggesting very earnestly, not perfunctorily; if the newspaper matter was handled well, he would also benefit, as it would be more convenient for him to obtain information and adjust his strategies.

Even if he wanted to run a small newspaper himself in the future, he would have to wait for the Zhao Family's official newspaper to come out first, and then he would run his small newspaper afterward.

This kind of limelight cannot be stolen.

Besides, he currently has no energy to handle these things; the construction of the two Fangs is already enough to keep him busy, and he wants to recruit more talent to share the workload.

After various suggestions were made, let the talented people under his cousin handle the work; as long as the newspaper can be seen as soon as possible, that is all that matters.

They talked from the study to the dining table. Tietou ate very happily.

Lady Shen learned that Wen Gu had not yet returned and thought about having him come over to dine with her; the maid beside her went out for a while and returned, saying that the cousin was discussing important matters with the Young Master and would dine there.

This sounded somewhat familiar; it seemed there was the same sentence structure yesterday.

Lady Shen laughed in spite of herself. It is rare for a younger generation member from her maiden family to get along well with her own son and be valued by her husband, so she was happy.

But once she thought about how there were more younger generation members in her maiden family who were idle and loafing about, she felt troubled again.

It was not that she was biased, it was just that this group of people really could not be helped!

Thinking again that the situation in the Zhao Family clan was similar, her mood became even more complicated.

Sometimes she thought that the reason the Zhao Clan's power was so concentrated, besides the fact that the father and son had methods, was also because there were too many useless people in the clan.

After finishing his business, Wen Gu took Tietou back to Jingxing Fang and called He Da over.

"Are you literate?" he asked.

"I only know a few," He Da replied cautiously.

He had learned some characters from his younger brother before, but later, while traveling north and wandering around here, he had been somewhat slack in his literacy. Not daring to deceive, he told the truth.

Wen Gu did not blame him, only saying: "Spend more time learning characters with your younger brother during this period."

He did not state the reason, but some information had already been revealed.

He Da was pleasantly surprised!

"Yes, yes, yes! I will definitely learn more!"

This meant there were other tasks to be handed to him, meaning he was useful!

After reminding He Da, Wen Gu went to the small alley separating the two Fangs, found a suitable location near the alley entrance, drew a frame, and had people smooth out that section of the wall.

He did not use wood to nail a frame, as it would be easily pried off by people to use as firewood.

When the wall was smoothed, he carved a few large characters on the top and painted them, making them more eye-catching—Jingqing Lane Bulletin Board.

(End of chapter)