The newspaper needed to publish the first issue as soon as possible, so Jing Zhe had to work overtime. Although he still needed to think about the content of other sections, he could just put a novel in the entertainment section.
He pondered for a moment, but ultimately decided to tell the story of Journey to the West. Su Mochen had warned him before that the spirit promoted in Journey to the West was contrary to that of those in power, and that it would be difficult to deal with if it were used as a weapon by those with ulterior motives.
But for the first issue of the newspaper, he needed a story that could grab the public's attention, and the mythical monkey was undoubtedly the best choice. As for Emperor An, he had already come up with a way to explain it.
So they began to talk.
At first, the people in the entertainment department took notes diligently, just like when they were studying, but they got hooked as they listened and soon forgot to take notes.
Jing Zhe wasn't writing a novel, but telling a story, so his writing was concise and fast-paced, and he soon arrived at the scene of the havoc in Heaven.
When they heard that the monkey had been bitten by the Celestial Hound, everyone gasped in shock, except for Wu Pin, who questioned the incident.
"The Great Sage Equal to Heaven possesses seventy-two transformations and extraordinary abilities, how could he possibly be bitten by a dog? Ha, nonsense!"
Jing Zhe ignored him and continued, saying that the monkey had been locked in the Eight Trigrams Alchemy Furnace by Laozi.
"Can a broken furnace really hold the Great Sage Equal to Heaven? The Ruyi Jingu Bang can change size at will; just pull it out and it'll grow bigger. Wouldn't it smash this broken furnace to pieces? Ha, nonsense!"
When he heard that the monkey had been suppressed under the Five Finger Mountain, Wu Pin curled his lip again.
"The Great Sage Equaling Heaven is invincible, how could he be so easily suppressed? Ha, nonsense!"
"..."
Jing Zhe was truly furious, thinking to himself, "This guy thinks he can become a knight-errant just by being given a keyboard! It's such a waste that he doesn't go to construction sites to argue."
He simply stopped talking and said, "Come on, you're so clever! Here's the space, you talk!"
"..."
Wu Pin is good at arguing, but not at talking.
But still unconvinced, he raised his head and muttered, "If you can't explain it, I'll just keep talking!"
"Okay, I won't talk anymore, or you can go and guard the door!"
"If they don't go out, I won't go out either."
Although he was being argumentative, Wu Pin still really wanted to hear it. After all, he had never heard such an interesting story before, and it seemed even more enjoyable than listening to a tune at Wuxian Garden!
"Fine, if you don't leave, I won't talk anymore!"
Jing Zhe simply said.
"..."
The room was quiet for a moment, and then those idle scholars who used to hang out with Wu Pin began to persuade him.
"Young Master Wu, you can leave now!"
"Yes, we can't let our own actions prevent all of us from hearing the story, can we?"
"Young Master Wu, we'll tell you the story after we finish listening!"
But Wu Pin remained unmoved and refused to go out.
Zhao Wei, the temporary head of the interview department, came out and gave the burly man a wink. The two of them then approached Wu Pin.
"What...do you two want to do?"
Wu Pin said warily.
"Young Master Wu, show some style and do something for everyone!"
Zhao Wei advised.
"Young Master Wu, I'd like to hear what happened to Monkey next, but don't worry, I'll tell you later!"
The burly man also offered advice.
"Pah! You two traitors!"
Wu Pin spat, "It hasn't been that long and they've all betrayed us? And you, you're still telling me? You can't even speak properly, what the hell are you talking about?"
"..."
The burly man, who had been hesitant, immediately grabbed Wu Pin and lifted him up without a word. Zhao Wei also grabbed his other arm, and amidst Wu Pin's wailing and howling, they carried him outside the door.
Fearing he might come in again, Jing Zhe sent Hanhan to keep watch outside the door.
Hanhan had already heard this story before and knew that the following plot wouldn't be very interesting, so he nodded and said, "Young chieftain, please tell me quickly, I want to hear what happens next!"
Upon hearing this, everyone cast envious glances at Hanhan.
It's great to listen to stories anytime, anywhere, by following President Jing!
Just as Hanhan had predicted, the story then revolved around Tang Sanzang. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the monkey, but instead a monk appeared, making them incredibly impatient.
Someone kept reminding Jing Zhe of the word "monkey, monkey," so Jing Zhe stopped, looked at them, and said, "Although I'm telling you stories, this is your job! Don't act like an audience member. You have to extract the essence of the story and make sure it grabs people's attention when you write it down, understand?"
Everyone nodded, seemingly understanding, "But we still want to hear what happened to the monkey next..."
"..."
"Hey, you still don't understand. Storytelling is just like life; there have to be highs and lows. If you're always in high spirits, can your bodies handle it? Also, this episode's entertainment segment ends here. What do you think the general public will think if they see this and the story ends here?"
Jing Zhe asked again.
"They might swear."
One person said this, then thought about it.
"No, he'll definitely curse."
"They might also try to find out who wrote it."
"Hey, President Jing said that the newspaper will print the authors' names, so they'll know it at a glance."
"Oh no, that's terrible. They'll probably throw eggs at our house, right?"
"Eggs? Who would be willing to throw them? At most, we'd throw stones!"
"Hmm, it could also be razor blades and feces..."
"..."
Upon hearing this, the members of the entertainment department suddenly felt immense pressure.
Jing Zhe smiled, but said with satisfaction, "If that's really the case, then we've achieved our goal! What are your feelings after hearing this?"
"I want to hear more!"
"That's right, that's what the people think too. They want to keep reading, eagerly waiting for us to publish the newspaper every day. That way, our newspaper will become more and more successful. That's called 'breaking the chapter,' understand?"
Everyone nodded. "We think we understand."
"I don't want you to just pretend you understand; I want you to truly understand! There will be many more stories like this in the future, and I will tell them all. You must carefully study how many stories are included in each issue of the newspaper and where they end, understand?"
"knew!"
Everyone was thrilled to hear Jing Zhe say there were many more stories to tell.
Jing Zhe deliberately stopped the story here because he knew that Wu Pin outside would definitely ask someone what was wrong with the monkey. If the people inside told him that they didn't know either, Wu Pin would definitely go crazy and not believe it, thinking that everyone was lying to him.
Hehe, that'll drive him crazy!
"Alright, the entertainment department, quickly produce an article based on this story. It doesn't need to be too long, keep it concise, otherwise we won't have enough paper."
"Yes, President Jing!"
"That's what the entertainment department said."
"People from the General Affairs Department and the Printing Department, go to the Imperial Academy and ask them to help move the three sets of movable type printing equipment over. Once the Entertainment Department has finished writing the story and shown it to Editor-in-Chief Chen, we can start printing."
"Yes, President Jing!"
————
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