To be honest, these women of the night had been doing sex work in brothels for many years and were already tired of it. If they had other better ways to make a living, they probably wouldn't choose this anymore.
Although the process of making money is mostly enjoyable for them, they can't always guarantee what kind of people they'll encounter. If they meet a young playboy, it's fine, but if they meet a slovenly, unkempt man, even if the lights are off, it's still torture for them.
Therefore, they all longed for a different life, and judging from Jing Zhe's words, there was clearly more to come.
Seeing that they didn't want any money, Jing Zhe smiled and nodded, then went on to explain the rest of the plan.
Since it was a branch office, Jing Zhe did not intend to replicate the Da'an Newspaper Office one-to-one, but rather wanted to do something innovative.
In Jingzhou, for most illiterate people, the storytelling at Wenxiangju could satisfy their need for newspapers. In Ruzhou, Jing Zhe planned to retain some of the storytelling while converting the rest into theaters.
"storytelling?"
"acting?"
"We can't!"
Women had indeed heard of storytelling, and although they had never done it themselves, they were still willing to give it a try for survival. However, as for acting, that was something they had never seen or heard of before, and they were quite apprehensive about such a novel thing.
Jing Zhe laughed and said, "It's okay if you don't know how, you can learn! Of course, you don't have to make a decision so soon. I just happened to bring some old newspapers from Da'an Newspaper, you can take a look."
Storytelling mainly focuses on current events and everyday life, while acting simply involves performing various fictional stories from the entertainment section. Currently, the only relatively complete novel in our newspaper is the story of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, and most of the characters are women, which is perfect for you. Take a look at the story first, and if you think it suits you, then let me know.”
This time, Jing Zhe brought several copies of the previous issues of the Da'an Daily newspaper with him, and then asked Chen Jiannan to take out one for the women to read. Their opinions would naturally be given after they had read it.
While they were reading the story, Jing Zhe had Chen Jiannan arrange for people to move the printing tools inside. The women quickly became engrossed in the Dream of the Red Chamber story and did not object.
Seeing this, Chen Jiannan was filled with admiration for Jing Zhe. What was originally such a difficult situation for them was resolved by Jing Zhe in just a few words. Moreover, as long as all the newspaper's materials were arranged, it would be useless whether these women agreed to his conditions or not. Therefore, he had to admire Jing Zhe's methods.
Before long, the lobby on the first floor of the brothel was fully set up according to the layout of the Da'an Newspaper Office. However, there was a large stage in the middle of the lobby that was still empty. According to Jing Zhe, this was just the right place to be used as a stage for the theater, where the actresses could perform.
After arranging everything, Jing Zhe returned to the main building.
...
Zhang Xiaoyu had already found the plaques, and the writing brush, ink, and inkstone were all prepared. After Jing Zhe arrived, he wrote the plaques three times, and the plaques for Wenxiangju, Da'an Newspaper Office, and Zhang Family Winery were completed.
Before writing "Zhang Family Winery," Zhang Xiaoyu wanted Jing Zhe to change it to "Jing Family Winery" because she had already become a member of the Jing family, and the winery would be hers sooner or later, so "Jing Family Winery" would be better.
However, Jing Zhe rejected him.
With his current high official position, changing Zhang's Winery to Jing's Winery would be too high-profile and would inevitably attract unwanted attention.
Zhang Xiaoyu stopped insisting.
After a busy day, by evening, apart from the Da'an Newspaper Branch Office, Wenxiangju and the winery had taken shape. According to Jing Zhe's plan, once the plaques were mounted and hung up, and prominent figures from Ruzhou City such as Yu Li were invited to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the businesses could then begin normal operations.
Meanwhile, news came from next door that the courtesans were immediately captivated after reading the story of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, and had even formed various factions: the Daiyu faction, the Baochai faction, the Xifeng faction, and even the Jia Lian faction…
Therefore, before the acting even started, these women had already chosen their roles according to their own preferences, and then it was time to rehearse.
Jing Zhe was quite excited after hearing this, and immediately arranged, "Then Editor-in-Chief Chen doesn't need to do anything recently. Just focus on supervising their rehearsals and try to put on a play in one or two days!"
"..."
Chen Jiannan paused for a moment, then awkwardly smiled and said, "President, I've never done any directing or acting before, I have no experience! I'm afraid I won't do it well, so... how about we find someone else?"
Jing Zhe patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "Don't worry, not only have you never directed a play before, but they've never acted in one either, so don't be afraid, just go ahead and rehearse!"
"..."
Seeing that Jing Zhe had no intention of changing his mind, Chen Jiannan could only ask curiously, "President, according to our model in Jingzhou, we can just print and distribute the newspaper directly. Why do we have to put on a show? Isn't that redundant?"
"This is different!"
Jing Zhe shook his head.
"My name was already very well-known in Jingzhou before newspapers were even published, and with the added bonus of my poetry, the newspaper became an instant hit. But it's different in Ruzhou. Few people here have heard of my name, let alone my poetry. If I were to publish a newspaper here, it would be difficult to arouse their curiosity."
Moreover, compared to Jingzhou, the people of Ruzhou have a lower level of education and a lower literacy rate, so the likelihood of them buying newspapers is even lower. If we were to distribute newspapers right away, we probably wouldn't be able to sell many copies.
Ruzhou is our first stop in opening a branch. If we fail to make a good start, it will severely impact our morale and be extremely detrimental to opening branches in other places later. Therefore, we must adapt to local conditions and develop different plans accordingly.
As far as I know, the brothels at Juxianlou are much more upscale than other brothels in Ruzhou City, so not every man in Ruzhou has been there or seen the girls. Now, these girls are suddenly showing themselves, telling stories and performing plays. Guess what their reaction will be?
"I definitely have to come and check it out!"
"Yes! By leveraging their curiosity and attracting them all, if our play is also engaging, it will be even better, and we won't have to worry about making a breakthrough!"
After listening to Jing Zhe's words, Chen Jiannan also put away his previous ulterior motives and his expression became serious.
"Okay, then don't worry, President. I'll keep an eye on them and make sure they finish rehearsing the play, even if they have to work overtime these next few days!"
Jing Zhe patted him on the shoulder to encourage him.
As dusk fell, just like yesterday, Jing Zhe led Zhang Xiaoyu toward Wuxian Pavilion again...
————
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