"Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! 'Da Zhou Life Show' for two cents a copy."
"Which brothel girl is prettier? It's all on 'Da Zhou Life Show'!"
"The hottest and freshest ranking of Beijing's brothels, come and take a look!"
"Exclusive report on Princess Huyang's secrets."
"Kid, give me that. How much is it?"
"Two cents. Please take it, sir."
Sell a copy of "Da Zhou Life Show" and get two copper coins.
The newsboy grinned and shouted even louder.
"Selling newspapers, selling newspapers..."
"Child, come here."
By the window on the second floor of the brothel, several girls were waving colorful handkerchiefs and giggling.
It was rare today that the girls in the brothel did not sleep in, but waited for the newsboy to pass by.
I spent two copper coins to buy a copy of "Da Zhou Life Show" and a few sisters gathered together to watch it.
It would have been fine if I hadn't looked at it, but once I did, my face turned green with anger.
"What kind of nonsense is this? It's all nonsense. Why is our Red Moon Tower not as good as the Blue Moon Tower?"
"Exactly. They praised Blue Moon Tower to the skies and belittled our Red Moon Tower to the point of being worthless. Perhaps they accepted money from Blue Moon Tower."
"Bitch! I'm going to tear those bitches from Blue Moon Tower apart. They agreed to a fair competition, but they secretly gave me money."
"We can't just let this go. We have to find that ridiculous 'Da Zhou Life Show' and have them write a new article."
"We also secretly slipped money in. If Blue Moon Tower can do it, why can't we do it?"
"Forget about the Great Zhou Life Show for now, let's go tear those bitches in the Blue Moon Building apart first."
"Yeah, yeah, let's go tear those bitches apart first."
…
"Oh my! All those visits to brothels before were in vain! I didn't know there was such a thing as drinking, eating, and listening to music."
"Forgive my ignorance, I didn't know there was such a wonderful place in the Blue Moon Tower. I must go and see it today."
"The above content is unfair. In my heart, Red Moon Tower is better than Blue Moon Tower."
"The Blue Moon Tower is even better, appearing and disappearing..."
…
"Oh, my rouge and powder were too expensive. 'Life Show' said that the same rouge at Mingjingfang is a full eight cents cheaper than what we usually buy."
"And the pearl flowers are two cents cheaper too."
"The price of hair ties is about the same."
"I didn't expect there was a time-honored silver jewelry shop hidden in the back alley of West Market. It says it's been passed down for four or five generations. They make beautiful silver jewelry, the prices are fair, and the most important thing is the craftsmanship."
"You silly girl, you're only looking at the price of rouge and powder, but you don't even check the price of grain and oil."
Several women put their hands on their hips and glared at the older girls.
The girls quickly checked the prices of grain and oil.
"Mom, the vegetable oil you bought yesterday was one penny more expensive per pound than at Xu's shop."
"God damn it, I'll go find him. How dare he be more expensive than others."
"What about rice? Where can I find the cheapest rice?"
"The cheapest place is still the Xinmin County Coarse Grain Store. They sell it the cheapest there. But you have to go there early. If you go too late, you won't be able to buy it."
"Apart from Xinmin County, is there any place with cheaper pork?"
"In the south city, near the city gate, at Zhu's butcher shop, you can get it for two cents cheaper."
“These places are too far away.”
"What else is written on it? Read it to us. It's useful for you children to know a few words. It seems that attending the girls' school in Xinmin County is beneficial after all."
The girls giggled. "Of course, being able to read and write is beneficial. Let me read to you. The first chapter is about the beauty regimen of Princess Huyang..."
…
Princess Huyang's Mansion.
Princess Huyang slept until noon before getting up.
After washing up and getting dressed, he asked, "Have you bought the 'Da Zhou Life Show'?"
The maid said, "Reporting to the Majesty, it has been bought back."
"Show it to me quickly. I want to see how they write about me."
Princess Huyang didn't have time to eat breakfast. She picked up the newspaper and saw "Princess Huyang's Beauty Tips" on the front page.
She was a little proud. The title was pretty good, quite standard and not sensational.
She read the content carefully, wanting to crush every word and analyze them one by one.
By the end, she was very angry and dissatisfied.
"Reading this sentence really makes me furious. What do you mean by 'I've taken good care of myself, my appearance remains the same, I look like I'm thirty-five or thirty-six?' I clearly look like I'm in my early thirties, yet how could it be written as thirty-five or thirty-six? Ridiculous! Adding five or six years to my age is a huge slander."
"Am I really that old? Most of the time, I look like someone in their twenties."
"What kind of newspaper is this that Huang Qubing publishes? He openly slanders my age."
…
Princess Huyang was dissatisfied with the newspaper saying that she looked like she was thirty-five or thirty-six years old, and she disliked the newspaper describing her as old.
Princess Fuya was also dissatisfied.
Princess Fuya sneered twice after reading "Princess Huyang's Beauty Method".
"Hu Yang clearly looks to be in her forties or fifties, yet Qu Bing actually wrote in the newspaper that she looked to be in her mid-thirties, effectively reducing Hu Yang's age by ten years. Ridiculous!"
"Huyang hasn't taken better care of herself than I have, yet she has the nerve to boast about her own good looks. What a joke! It's all sensationalism. Go get the patient, call him over. I want to talk about him, but when writing, I try to be factual, not exaggerate. Just shave three or five years off Huyang's age, just consider it a kinship. Shaving ten years off in one go is a lie."
"This article praises Hu Yang like a flower. How shameless! Did Hu Yang bribe Qu Bing? No, I must get to the bottom of this."
…
Princess Fuming was also dissatisfied with the "Da Zhou Life Show"'s praise of Huyang.
"Huyang bitch, she's so shameless that she actually paid someone to write an article praising her. How shameless!"
"You're so old, your face is covered in wrinkles, and you still have the nerve to say you look like you're in your thirties. Do you have any shame?"
"From what I can see, Hu Yang looks to be at least fifty or sixty years old."
"These scholars are truly shameless. Whoever gives you milk is your mother. They can even praise a woman like Huyang."
"How about I also publish an article here, exposing Hu Yang's true colors and letting everyone know Hu Yang's true face."
“Hey, there really is a contact method for soliciting submissions.”
"Find two pen-wielding men. I will definitely expose Hu Yang's true face."
…
Huang Qubing didn't sleep all night.
He was too nervous.
More nervous than ever.
Success or failure depends on this one move.
He didn't dare take any risks, and felt that the first print run of 10,000 copies was too many.
"It's definitely not going to sell. Five thousand copies is the best we can sell."
"Sir, please be optimistic. Even if we print 20,000 copies, it won't cost much. And the more you print, the lower the cost." The servant Sanshun advised him.
Huang Qubing didn't even take his standard fan, obviously he was extremely worried.
He snorted. "What do you know? Two cents a newspaper is cheap for us. But for ordinary people, two cents is still money, hard-earned. And most ordinary people can't read. Do you really think it's easy to sell 10,000 copies?"
Samsoon was speechless.
yes!
So few people can read!
There are many people in the capital, but few of them are literate.
Sanshun was influenced by Huang Qubing and became uneasy.
Ten thousand copies of "Da Zhou Life Show" were shipped from the printing workshop to Wenqing Bookstore.
Wenqing Bookstore undertook to sell 3,000 copies, and the remaining 7,000 copies depended entirely on newsboys and teahouses and taverns.
Early in the morning, as soon as Wenqing Bookstore opened for business, Huang Qubing sat at the counter, staring intently at the prime position at the door, where neatly stacked copies of "The Great Zhou Life Show" were placed.
Can the "Da Zhou Life Show", which writes about food, drink, entertainment, and some gossip about wealthy people and lifestyle information, be recognized by the market?
If the Shanhe Academy Newspaper was distributed throughout the capital, Huang Qubing wouldn't have to be so nervous. He could have printed 50,000 copies at once without worrying about it not selling.
Scholars’ desire for the "Shanhe Academy Newspaper" is no less than their desire for "Mr. Yang's Lectures on the Analects".
"Shanhe Academy Newspaper" criticizes current social ills, discusses the past and the present, and various schools of thought confront each other, which is very much to the taste of readers.
It is a newspaper tailor-made for readers.
"Da Zhou Life Show" does not have such a foundation.
"Da Zhou Life Show" is too vulgar, so vulgar that it is a bit unbearable to watch.
As Wenqing Bookstore opened for business, Huang Qubing's heart beat faster and his breathing became rapid.
This is the first time I feel so nervous in my decades of life.
What a loser.
The person who was as nervous and uneasy as he was was not the servant Samsoon, but Yan Ci.
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