Chapter 274 "How can I make you happy?"...
Some time later, Bernard returned. I was too lazy to talk to him, and he seemed to understand, so he didn't try to talk to me much either. He never mentioned the pretty boy, even though we both knew it.
But he always tries to persuade me to eat more and sleep more, but I completely ignore him.
"How can I make you happy?" he asked me.
I was so engrossed in organizing my documents that I pretended not to hear.
He left with a slight sigh.
A month later, my newspaper was finally finished. I received a sample copy. I placed "The Story That Is Not a Story" in an inconspicuous supplement—it involved other people's privacy, but all the names were changed, and a note was added stating, "This story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental."
I put the headline "The Superpowered Woman Returns, the Royal City Regains Its Glory" on Toutiao. It's not easy to offend powerful figures from various countries; putting their news or gossip on them would definitely cause them to object. On Toutiao, I wrote a heartfelt account of the superpowered woman's excitement at seeing her children, and even attached a comic strip depicting her reunion with them—which I drew myself. While studying fashion design, I learned some drawing techniques.
The next news item I posted was titled "New sea area opened in the eastern border, and in-depth trade cooperation with Achia."
Thirdly, I added, "New crops will be introduced to the western border, and ordinary people will benefit."
Fourthly, I've included the news that "the western border capital will develop a straight road, potentially enabling cooperation with surrounding smaller capitals and tribes." This news is the latest; the powerful figures of various countries are unaware of it yet.
Two weeks ago, I decided to develop the Straight Road and wrote a proposal. Aurora was very excited after reading it because she felt it was a great way to make money. She had heard about my Straight Road plan in the Western Kingdom before, but didn't know much about it—the plan had been shelved after I was driven out of the Western Kingdom's capital. Now that she had seen the complete plan, her intuition told her it would bring amazing changes to her capital.
The following news items are gossip I heard in high-class taverns, merchant guilds, and caravans outside the city. For example, multiple tribes near the southern border united to open a trade route, greatly enriching their coffers; a noble father from a certain family had an affair years ago, and years later, his illegitimate son and daughter came to his door, causing chaos at the reunion; a wealthy merchant was cheated by his business partner, leading to bankruptcy, and he came to his partner's door with a knife, killing him and injuring his family, etc.
The newspaper was short, consisting of only one page, front and back, the same size as modern world newspapers. This was for cost reasons; if it performed well in the future, the page size would be expanded.
I took the sample copy and instructed the printing manager to prepare for mass printing.
"How much do you plan to sell this newspaper for?" the printing manager asked.
"free."
"Free?" The printing manager was astonished.
"Yes, we will publish it every two weeks, but it will be free for the first three months. We will only consider charging after we are on the right track. Even if we do charge, it won't be too high. Ten copper coins per newspaper."
"So low?" That's just enough to make paper money.
"Our priority is to increase sales volume. Once we achieve that volume, we'll consider other things."
Only after the volume increases can we make money through advertising.
I started looking through some cases from the courtroom again. After reading the sample issue, I felt there were relatively few impactful and valuable news stories, so I decided to select some from the cases.
After a week of careful selection, two cases were finally chosen. One was the "husband-murder case," in which a noblewoman from the capital "killed" her noble husband, who was thirty years her senior. The two were arguing over trivial matters on the stairs when the husband, in a fit of rage, accidentally fell and hit his head on a nail in the stair railing, killing him instantly.
Finally, the noblewoman was sentenced to stay at home and be disciplined for ten years, during which time she was not allowed to remarry. She was also fined 20,000 gold coins, and all three of her children were to be given to her husband's family. The noblewoman was forbidden from visiting them for the rest of her life.
Another case is a "murder case involving a loan defaulter." Both the victim and the perpetrator were wealthy businessmen. The victim ran a cotton business, traveled frequently to various countries, was eloquent and adept at dealing with powerful figures, and had made a considerable fortune. The perpetrator was the victim's cousin, whose family was also wealthy, but the cousin was not good at business and relied solely on his family's wealth for lending.
The victim borrowed money from the assailant to buy goods. Because they were relatives, no loan agreement was signed. When the repayment date arrived, the victim claimed to be short of funds and asked for an extension. The assailant agreed. However, this extension lasted for three years. The victim still refused to repay and even denied the loan. The two argued, and the assailant grabbed a fruit knife and stabbed the victim to death. He was eventually sentenced to five years in prison.
This case was clearly a lenient sentence; the perpetrator's family bribed a considerable amount of money. However, I did not express any opinion; I simply wrote about the case as it was, without making any judgment.
After readjusting the layout and content, and receiving the revised sample copy, I felt it looked much better than before. This was due to both the aesthetic appeal of the layout and the impact of the content.
I write each news story according to modern journalistic writing style, following the standard structure of headline, lead, body, background, and conclusion, while also making some visual adjustments to the layout.
I carried professional journalism books in my large travel bag. I consulted these books while taking into account the actual situation here, the standards of journalism, local perspectives, and other factors. I revised the draft multiple times before finalizing it.
I showed the revised sample copy to Bernard, Aurora, Jacob, and Mia. After reading it, Aurora looked at me in disbelief, "Mother, did you really write this? Did you write it all?"
Jacob looked at it repeatedly, his eyes wide with shock.
Mia, meanwhile, was engrossed in "The Story That Isn't a Story," reading it three times in a row. She giggled and exclaimed, "This story is so good! Grandma, what happened to them in the end? Are they still in court?"
I really can't stand hearing people call me "Grandma," because I look much younger than her mother. I live a leisurely life in modern society, with plenty of nutrition, no worries or rush, and no children to take care of; I look no older than twenty-four or twenty-five.
Aurora was always busy and worried about her children, and she was always scheming for power and money. She seemed much more mature and older than me, like my aunt, to put it bluntly. But she was very beautiful, or rather, all the descendants of the Elf King were beautiful. Although she was the least like the Elf King, her delicate facial features and snow-white skin still had the characteristics of the Elf race, and she was clearly an Elf noblewoman.
I replied to Mia, "This matter is still unresolved."
At that moment, Bernard looked up. As soon as he did, everyone fell silent, even though Aurora had been whispering something to Jacob.
"Your newspaper focuses on your capital city. Will it continue like this?" Bernard asked.
“We’ll see,” I said. “I should be able to write about the other kingdoms gradually.”
“Be careful with the scope when you write,” he said, “but it’s not a big problem. The cases you chose this time are very good. They have all been publicly tried and have been concluded. No judgment has been made, so they are relatively fair. Even the most picky nobles in the East cannot find fault with them.”
That should be considered a compliment. He smiled and said, "The newspaper content is very good and novel. I didn't know about these cases either, and they are very interesting to read. Some of the gossip about the nobles is also very interesting. I really wouldn't have known about these things if you hadn't written about them."
I laughed. "These are all minor matters. I'll write about other things once you've become more receptive."
"What should we write about?" he asked.
"For example, some major national events," I said with a smile.
“I have something here that you can write about,” he said. “With my authorization, you can publish it.”
"Oh, tell me about it." I was very interested.
"The Eastern Territory will soon cooperate with the Elven Realm to introduce several kinds of fruits and teas from the Realm to the Eastern Territory, while the Eastern Territory will also introduce gold and silver ornaments to the Realm. This is the first time the Realm has cooperated with the outside world in trade; previously, it had only opened up sea routes."
Bernard laughed and said, "This is still a secret; none of the countries know about it yet."
I just smiled.
I know his intentions. The Eastern Territory has only been restored to its original state for a little over a decade—before it was fragmented into several parts, and it took Bernot over a decade to seize the throne and restore it to its former glory. Its economy has been severely damaged, and he's using this opportunity to declare to the kingdoms of the continent that their economies are steadily recovering.
“There’s another piece of news you can also release: the former Finance Minister of the Eastern Territory has been dismissed for corruption and bribery, and the new Finance Minister is now the eldest son of the second-largest family in the Eastern Territory,” Bernard laughed. “I’m having you release this because I don’t want the former Finance Minister to use his position to swindle people. There was a Procurement Minister who was dismissed before, but he took advantage of the fact that many people didn’t know about this news and swindled some people, then ran away with the money.”
"Okay." I quickly jotted it down in my notebook.
While this news is beneficial to the Eastern Territory, it is also beneficial to my newspaper. The dismissal and appointment of key officials is also an important news story.
I rearranged the layout and content again, reordering them by importance, and designed another sample copy, which I only showed to Bernard and Aurora this time. Bernard nodded, indicating that it was a very good-looking newspaper.
Aurora was astonished. "Mother, how come I've never heard of your talent before? I've only heard that you're incredibly lucky, and that you're a bit reckless and courageous, which is why you've escaped danger time and time again. But I didn't know you were such a good writer. The other day I was telling Jacob that our royal city has some crops that need to be promoted so that some wealthy merchants or farmers can come and buy them. If your newspaper is really good, you should put this in."
I nodded. "Of course."
After making some textual revisions and minor layout adjustments, I received the final sample copy. I reviewed it repeatedly to ensure there were no problems, and then began mass printing. Simultaneously, I contacted the largest postal stations in various countries, paying the station owners to distribute the newspapers for free. I also contacted nobles in various countries who specialized in foreign propaganda, asking them to help distribute the newspapers as well, for which they received extra compensation. In addition, I rented cheap empty houses in several royal cities as liaison stations, hiring one or two dedicated workers to organize and distribute the newspapers.
I started doing these things while I was gathering materials, and now it's the final stage of confirming the process. Aurora was quite surprised by my organizational skills; she used to think I was just a brainless social butterfly. Because I'd always been involved with different men but never managed to become their official partner, I wasn't smart enough or capable, and I only managed to win men's favor through sheer luck and my superpowered status.
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Author's Note: Please check out my other novels too, everyone! [Let me see!]
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