First update

On the first day of that month, the inaugural issue of Time Life Monthly was published.

It was April, and there were lush trees on both sides of the road. There was a green-roofed newsstand in front of the post office. The warm sun shone on the cover, making it glow brightly.

A young man stood in front of the newsstand for a long time. He was wearing a snow-white shirt, army green trousers, a brown leather belt around his waist, and a pair of black men's leather shoes. He looked like a literary young man with a strong bookish air.

The only slightly discordant thing was his too short hair, which made him look three points more refreshing than that of ordinary young men.

He held the magazine in his hand and read it for a long time. During this time, more than dozens of young girls glanced at him and tried to strike up a conversation with him in various ways.

"Comrade, what are you looking at?"

"Time Life Monthly"

"What kind of lifestyle monthly is this? They copied the Southern Life Magazine and followed the trend. No other lifestyle monthly magazine can compare to the Southern Life Magazine."

The man didn't even raise his eyelids: "The editor-in-chief has changed."

"What?"

"The former editor-in-chief of Southern is now the editor-in-chief of Time Life Monthly."

"What's wrong with that? Could it be that the content has changed?"

"It has changed. My grandfather wanted to read the serialized version of the special volume of 'Glorious Years', but now it is published in Time Monthly."

The girl was incredulous and asked, "It really changed!?"

The newsstand salesperson said, "Which one do you want to buy? You can decide for yourself. No returns or exchanges after you open the package."

"More than one person has come to return books this morning. Please read carefully before buying."

"Then give me a copy of this Time Life Monthly."

After getting the journal, the girl swallowed her saliva and said softly, "Comrade, can I have your contact information so that we can exchange our thoughts through letters."

The young man refused: "No."

The young girl left with the book in her hand.

There is a long and narrow alley diagonally opposite the post office. Various breakfast shops are scattered in the alley, selling steamed buns, rice rolls, mung bean porridge... In addition to breakfast, there are also old people selling their own agricultural products with fertilizer bags spread on the ground.

There are still no large private restaurants on the street, but in these alleys, all kinds of small stalls and vendors have sprung up like mushrooms after rain in recent months. Some people from government agencies even set up stalls during their free time.

"Mom, I want to eat some more dumplings!" Two short-legged babies, as delicate as jade, stood beside the young woman's legs, and one of them tugged at her trouser leg.

Qin Yao half squatted down and pinched Mingming's little face: "You're still eating!"

They had just come out of the rice noodle roll shop an hour ago, and were wandering around in the alleys. Alleys like these in Guangzhou are like capillaries under the human skin, invisible on the surface, but actually spread all over the body.

In the alleys between residential buildings, there are people selling clothes, shoes, handbags... everything you can think of. There are also people mending pots and pans and clothes, selling gold and silver jewelry, setting up stalls to tell fortunes, teaching people qigong, selling cockroach poison, rat poison, and other miracle drugs that claim to cure all diseases.

It has the scale of a small market.

Qin Yao took the two children for a long walk, bought a balloon for each of them and tied it to their hands. After finally walking back to the starting point, the youngest son said he was hungry again.

I went to a cake shop not long ago and ate a lot.

"I see that you are either hungry or greedy. You have big eyes but a small stomach." Qin Yao poked her son's forehead, "Boss, I want a basket of dumplings."

"If you can't eat it, give it to your father later."

Little Mingming said loudly: "I am giving this to my father as a filial gift!"

Ruirui circled around her mother and brother and said, "Mom, I want to eat water chestnut cake."

"Are you hungry too?"

"If you can't finish it, give it to dad!"

Qin Yao bought some water chestnut cakes: "They are two filial sons."

"Aunt Qiao, do you want some cakes?"

When she heard the child calling her, Qiao Jie retracted her gaze, trotted from the alley to Qin Yao, and whispered, "The beauty trap really works!"

"In just a few minutes, two more girls bought it!"

Qin Yao bit the bun in her hand viciously when she heard this: "Something is better than nothing."

The first issue has been published, and everyone in the new editorial department is nervous and uneasy. They have no intention of going to work today, so Qin Yao simply gave everyone a day off. Now they are all waiting at various newsstands to see what is going on.

It’s true, Gu Cheng’s presence at that station had a very good effect, and he even cooperated with the newsstand clerk.

Seeing this, Qin Yao said that she would also go down to attract a few artistic young men. Gu Cheng's handsome face darkened when he heard this, and he ordered the two kids to drag their mother away, "Follow your mother and watch."

"Okay, Chief, I'll make sure to complete the mission!"

Qiao Jie chewed the water chestnut cake, and then her eyes lit up: "Here he comes again, here he comes again, to chat up with me again."

Qin Yao: “…”

She snorted, gritted her teeth, turned around, looked at the hustle and bustle in the alley, and wished she could quickly forget what she had just seen.

The water chestnut cake in my mouth turned sour, and my stomach was full of sourness. I was the entrepreneurial queen when I woke up in the morning, but now I became a "selling husband for fame and fortune", so miserable.

"Do you want to use your old Gu's photo on the cover of the next issue?"

"No need to discuss this."

Qiao Jie could tell something was wrong with her tone and held back her laughter: "Your old Gu really loves you."

Gu Cheng's family background is even better than hers. Compared with herself who is uneducated, Gu Cheng is the real child of destiny and a child from another family in the compound.

A man like him should have lofty ambitions, but who would have thought that he would be willing to help his wife sell books on the street.

By noon, Qin Yao didn't care whether the sales were good or not, she decisively took the man back and disinfected his whole body.

"Isn't it embarrassing? When you become a general in the future, I will write your autobiography and add this paragraph in it. It will say that General Gu not only pretended to be an employee of a fishing company when he was young, but also pretended to be an artistic young man in a newsstand in his middle age to trick young girls into buying books."

Gu Cheng unbuttoned all the buttons of his shirt, letting the collar hang loosely open, revealing a large area of ​​honey-colored chest and muscular abdominal muscles. He pulled down the hem of his shirt to cover his belly button, and the armor-like muscle outline could be vaguely seen.

Qin Yao took a bottle of 75% alcohol and sprayed it over, and the wet hem of her clothes mixed with sweat stuck to her skin. The shirt was transparent, revealing the texture of the muscles faintly. The smell of alcohol was pungent, but it made people feel slightly tipsy.

She couldn't look him in the eyes, her heartbeat quickened and she sprayed even harder.

Gu Cheng simply took off his shirt, grabbed her wrist, and warned: "That's enough!"

Qin Yao ignored him and raised her hand to spray him twice in the face.

Gu Cheng raised his hand to block it. He held his breath, hugged her waist, and dragged her to the bathroom. The green wooden door blocked the ambiguous sounds.

Mingming squatted on the ground holding the car, worried: "Will Mom and Dad quarrel?"

Ruirui glanced at him and said nothing.

Stupid brother, even if all the couples in the building get divorced, their parents won’t get divorced.

Mingming was worried: "If you get divorced, who will you live with? I want to live with my mom!"

"Me and Mom!" Ruirui emphasized, "I look like Mom, me and Mom!"

"No, I want to go with my mom!"

…

Qin Yao came out with a flushed face. She splashed cold water on her face. The two children outside were arguing with each other, their faces were even redder than hers!

Gu Cheng had a cold and handsome face. Even though there were red marks under his shirt, his eyes were as cold as stars and as sharp as knives: "Stand at the door. I'll count to three, two, one."

The two children stood at the door as punishment, looking back at their mother.

Qin Yao didn't understand what was going on and thought that these two little bad guys had caused trouble again.

When Gu Cheng was disciplining his children, she usually wouldn't interfere, but chose to turn a deaf ear and dumb, because a loving mother wouldn't spoil her child. Although she does not agree with beating children, she also believes in the truth that "if jade is not polished, it will not become a useful thing."

Gu Cheng never beats children. At most, he would give them minor punishments such as standing in the corner or doing push-ups.

"What happened to them?"

Gu Cheng changed the subject: "Change your clothes. What do you want to eat for lunch? I'll make it."

These two brats actually dared to fantasize about who their parents were with after their divorce. How dare they!

*

The journal sales were average on the first day, but on the second and third days, they increased exponentially like a stock that hit the daily limit. The editorial department celebrated and everyone had a smile on their face.

Qin Yao said calmly: "We will win if we sell 100,000 copies."

This is her personal journal. Even if it only sells 100,000 copies, she can make tens of thousands in profit, all of which goes into her pocket.

"General Manager, be modest."

"We can probably sell at least 300,000 or 400,000 copies."

Mao Lina gloated a little: "I heard that readers of 'that side' returned the book."

"Those are all in the past." Qin Yao didn't care about anything else. She only knew that her wallet was fatter. Now she had the final say in the editorial department. She could pay everyone whatever salary she wanted without having to worry about anything else.

She used to be a general manager and had to get her salary according to the grade of the enterprise at that time.

Now she sets a salary of one thousand or even ten thousand yuan a month for herself, and no one objects.

Of course, she would not set such a high salary. Currently, it is only set at one thousand. She may not necessarily take up the position of editor-in-chief and general manager in the future.

"Manager Qin, do you accept the investment?"

"No."

Qiao Jie first wanted to buy shares, and later Lao Li also wanted to buy shares. After that, many people wanted to buy shares, but Qin Yao rejected them all.

She knows how things will develop over the next few decades, but others don't. Therefore, she has all the power and is able to grasp the correct direction of development.

Qin Yao: "Now I will re-set the basic salary for everyone. The salary will be divided into ten levels. Level one is the highest and level ten is the lowest. Level one salary is one thousand, level two is eight hundred...level nine is one hundred and fifty, level ten is seventy-five, and the monthly salary for interns and apprentices is fifty."

Mao Lina can get a second-level salary of 800 yuan, and Qiao Jie, Jiang Meiye and others' salaries have also risen. Even Jiang Meiye earns more than 200 yuan a month.

"In addition to the basic salary, there are also full attendance bonuses, quarterly bonuses, high temperature subsidies, and commuting subsidies..."

Qin Yao awarded several salary and benefits in succession, causing everyone to cheer.

"Let's go to the hotel for team building today!"

*

The sales of Southern Living Magazine plummeted, readers complained bitterly, the entire editorial department was shrouded in a cloud of gloom, and the telephone room was filled with calls from all kinds of readers like thunderbolts from the sky, and not a single good word was said.

"Why has the magazine changed? The content has completely changed."

"The quality of this issue is so poor! What kind of nonsense is this? It's totally different!"

"There are so many ads. It's a mess."

"I suspect I bought a pirated book."

…

He Jia slumped in the armchair. Zhang Feng hurriedly answered the phone again. After answering the phone, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "Let's discuss it again. No, let's discuss it carefully. The next issue will definitely be better."

"Another company broke the contract, saying that our magazine had a bad influence on them."

"They said we eat in an ugly way!"

"The advertising effect is too poor. Now readers are upset! They blame us for the poor quality of our content and our focus on advertising."

"The watch advertisement has been terminated, and Xiangsheng Washing Machine has asked for the advertising fee to be reduced by half. If the situation remains the same in the next issue, we will not advertise..."

Zhang Feng squatted on the ground dejectedly, took out a pack of cigarettes from his trouser pocket, lit one, and felt extremely regretful.

If I had known earlier, I would have followed Qin Yao like Mao Lina did. Now without Qin Yao at the helm, the editorial department is a mess.

In the past, Zhang Feng regarded himself as a housekeeper and managed everything in an orderly manner. He believed that the high sales of the journal were due to his efforts. Now that Qin Yao is gone, everything is in chaos. There is no content, no direction, no innovation... He Jia and others have made a mess of the editorial department.

Only then did he realize that he had not played much of a role.

"What do we do now? How do we do the next issue?"

"What theme are you going to choose? Is it a new theme, or the one that Manager Qin had planned before?"

"What about the other content? Two authors refused to contribute."

…

He Jia was panicked, and so were everyone else. Half of the people no longer supported He Jia and others in carrying out content reform, but they wanted to restore it to the way it was when Qin Yao was still around - but how could they restore it when Qin Yao was no longer around?

“Now they all say our magazine is pirated.”

"Qin Yao has published a new journal, saying that hers is the genuine one, and she also advises people not to buy pirated copies."

"It's over, it's over."

*

Qin Yao received calls from several old acquaintances.

"Xiao Qin, that's your hard work. You can't just watch it go to waste. You should go back and take charge of the situation. That's your home. Everyone wants you to come back."

"When you go back, you will still be the general manager or the editor-in-chief."

Qin Yao refused without hesitation: "I have a new career now, I can't just abandon it. I can't take care of things over there anymore."

"Besides, I am still the general manager and editor-in-chief."

Qin Yao hung up the phone and didn't answer it again. From now on, the sea is wide enough for fish to leap and the sky is high enough for birds to fly.

"Manager Qin, someone has taken the initiative to advertise with us!"

*

At the Yangcheng Wharf, there are so many ships coming and going that it is almost impossible to tell whether it is the sea or a narrow inland river. There were boats parked everywhere within sight, people were getting off the passenger ships, and workers could be seen carrying goods not far away.

Xie Hongni was holding her little daughter, while Qin San Ge was carrying the luggage. The couple were both stunned by the cargo throughput in front of them.

Especially Xie Hongni, she made a simple estimate of the cargo at the dock, her eyes shining, this is where she is about to show her strength.

Before that, she had to go to Hong Kong Island to see her biological sister first.