Becoming a Saint by Leisure Reading - Chapter 64

“Young Master, I’ve already figured it out.” Ji Zhong wiped his mouth full of oil and said, “The most difficult part of running a new newspaper is in the copying!”

Chen Luo tasted the “cold spring brew” which was a secret brew of the Moon House and burped. It tasted exactly like the happy obesity water from his previous life, no wonder it was so expensive. A cup actually costs a coin or two.

　　However, he is also a lord with a monthly income of 100,000. This small change amounts to nothing. In life, the most important things you can’t lack are food and drink.

　　Let them deliver two more tanks tomorrow!

　　”Copying? Why do you say that?” Chen Luo asked.

　　”If it’s a street newspaper, the whole newspaper is written in plain text, it’s easy, just find some lettering workshops for typesetting and printing. But sir, your story is written in Yawen.”

　　Chen Luo nodded. Although the stories he wrote did not limit the reader’s ability to read through, he still needed Yawen as a bridge to communicate with Heaven’s Path.

　　Ji Zhong took a bite of the elbow and continued: “Yawen has no way to print, and needs to be handwritten. Confucian scholars master the technique of ‘writing a thousand words’, which can be used in copying and can write millions of words a day. But the consumption of qi in exchange for using the ability is high!”

　　”There is a department in the Wenchang Pavilion, called the Transcription Division, which is dedicated to the copying of newspapers. The Transcription Division in Zhongjing is mainly responsible for the newspapers of the Zhongjing and Zhili generations.”

　　”We don’t have a copywriter!”

　　Chen Luo squinted his eyes and asked, “Does the transcription department accept outsourcing?”

　　”Outsourcing?”

　　”I’ll hire them to copy it for me!”

　　Ji Zhong bit down the flesh inside his mouth, and after drinking a large mouthful of cold spring brew, he recovered, and said with a wry smile: “Sir, the people in the copywriting company usually have other jobs, they will only allot time to transcribe three days before the publication of the paper.”

　　Chen Luo put down his chopsticks and calculated in his heart. In his thoughts, he planned to issue a weekly newspaper once a week. Each update of martial arts novels is about 15,000 words. If a Confucian scholar can write one million words a day, that means one person can be responsible for sixty-six new newspapers every day, excluding the rest on the issue day, that is four hundred.

　　Of course, we can’t exhaust people to death like this. Considering that, let’s just halve the amount, that’s 200 copies.

　　At present, the city of Zhongjing can be considered first. Relatively speaking, the literacy rate of Yawen in Zhongjing is also the highest in Daxuan, which is a very important market.

　　He had asked Xiao Shiyuan before and found out that the Central Capital City, together with the inner and outer cities, had a total of more than 8 million people. Their newspaper will only circulate in Zhongjing, with more than 300,000 copies being issued every month, and yet the supply is still short. Wenchang Pavilion is planning to increase its output to more than 500,000 copies.

　　Taking into account the unlimited market for reading, his new newspaper audience is definitely several times higher than that of the official newspaper. Thus, it is estimated that millions of copies will be needed to fully spread it.

　　But at the beginning stage, of course, they shouldn’t bite more than they can chew. It is only right to test the waters first with 10,000 copies.

　　That is to say, fifty full-time Confucian scholars are required to transcribe.

　　Fifty? That’s an easy task…

　　Chen Luo was sure, poured himself another glass of cold spring brew, and asked, “How much is the monthly salary of a full-time Confucian scholar?”

　　”Eight hundred taels!”

　　Chen Luo choked: “How much?”

　　”Eight hundred taels!” Ji Zhong blinked to confirm.

　　”That’s not right!” Chen Luo waved his hand, “Look, Nan Yuanxi, for example, I heard that his monthly salary in Beifeng Building is only 30 taels of silver for a month. He is also a Confucian scholar. If he transcribes and can easily get eight hundred taels, then why else is he still doing a narration job? Also, I see that there are many poor Confucian scholars in the capital who can’t afford cheap food, so why don’t they take up the job of transcribing?” ”

　　Ji Zhong shook his head: “Young master, you’re wrong. ‘Writing a thousand words’ is not something that everyone can master. At least calligraphy has to be at the level of ‘handwriting penetrates the board three-tenths of an inch deep’ to comprehend it. For example, I haven’t mastered it yet. The reason why it was so fast when you wrote “Laughing in the Wind” is because you are the original author, that’s how you can finish it overnight. Otherwise, if you try to transcribe other books, ten thousand words a day is already the sky limit. “

　　”Ordinary Confucian students are worthless. As long as you have the talent to read the classics, after a few decades, you will naturally be a Confucian scholar. Even in the realm of writing or poetry, the power of True Noble Qi depends on their mastery of it, many People are not even qualified to be caravan escorts! Naturally, they will be poor.”

　　”It’s different for Confucian scholars who can enter the realm of ‘handwriting penetrates the board three-tenths of an inch deep’ writing technique. That is to say that the writing realm has reached a very deep level. Even if someone writes a plaque, nothing is too expensive even if you meet someone who is highly sought after!”

　　”Uh…” Chen Luo understood, he thought that this job could be done by a college student, and thought that the whole street was overflowing with them but it turned out that he needed a professional!

　　Just professionals.

　　”One person is 800 taels per month, 50 people, 40,000 taels per month. If we consider incentives, marketing, and the salary of other personnel, then let’s count it as 50,000 taels! I can issue four issues a month, and a total of 40,000 copies are issued. A copy of the report will take at least one, two, or three cents of silver to recover the cost.”

　　”My psychological price for the new newspaper is about one-third of silver. There is a deficit of one or two silver in the middle.”

　　”It’s only 10,000 copies now. If I want to spread all over the world, I will lose money…”

　　”But the more people who read it, the higher the rate of generating red dust qi, and the more feedback I can receive, the smoother my cultivation will be!”

　　Think about it well, how did the capitalists in the previous life control their costs?

　　Professional talents, but the cost of their services should be lower than the market price, so the laborer will not have any complaints. The key is stability.

　　Chen Luo thought about it carefully.

　　volunteer?

　　No, the liquidity is too strong and not very stable.

　　Then……

　　Chen Luo’s eyes suddenly lit up, he thought of the famous salacious operations of those companies in his previous life——

　　Collaborate with a school!

　　Chen Luo suddenly looked at Ji Zhong: “Xiao Ji, I remember you were going to study at Zheliu Academy in Zhongjing, right?”

　　Ji Zhong nodded: “Yes, it is the recommendation made by Master Wang Qifeng of Zheliu Academy. I originally planned to ask the young master for a leave tomorrow and go to Teacher Wang. When the period of my promise to protect the young master is over, then I’ll enter Zheliu Academy.”

　　”Wang Qifeng?” Chen Luo’s eyes rolled around, this matter had to be carefully planned.

　　…

　　Zheliu Academy.

　　”Head of the academy, the statistics have come out.” Wang Qifeng gave Kong Tianfang a proper salute, then glanced at the heads of other colleges, and didn’t say anything further.

　　”It’s okay, just say it and I’ll listen.” Kong Tianfang knew Wang Qifeng’s concerns and said directly.

　　”Yes!” Wang Qifeng then continued, “Today there are 963 students in Shengwen Square, of which 153 can already condense qi outside their body; 96 students progressed from the realm of self-revelation to the realm of writing, 63 people advanced from the realm of writing to the realm of poetry creation. Almost all the students’ qi reserves have increased by at least 10%.”

　　”In addition, Yang Ziting, who is in the Enlightenment level of the Fuzi realm, has been promoted to Fuzi Realm Progression Level! Other masters have also increased their qi levels, but none had improvements as obvious as my student’s.”

　　After Wang Qifeng finished talking about the statistical results, he stood aside with his hands in his hands, and the lobby was silent for a while.

　　After a long while, a middle-aged woman said slowly, “Is it all because of that piece of “Lady Du Angrily Sinks Her Treasure Chest”?”

　　Wang Qifeng nodded.

　　It was quiet again.

　　After a while, a dignified head of the academy said, “Nan Yuanxi should go visit my academy!”

　　”This statement makes sense!” The House Leaders echoed.

　　Kong Tianfang calmly took a sip of tea and glanced at the heads of the House of Representatives.

　　”Everyone, don’t worry about it… Let’s put aside the matter of Nan Yuanxi, let’s open our doors widely, and look at the whole situation in good light. It’s time to take a good look at the Lord of Wan An’s affairs.”

　　”He is now a celebrity in the eyes of the Minister of Literature and the Minister of War. For his sake, His Majesty did not even give face to the Ministry of Rites, and he is even a disciple of the Bamboo Sage. My Zheliu Academy on its own can’t aspire to talk to him, and neither can you individually, we need everyone to work together!”

　　”Writing about Zhong Kui and then writing about Du Shiniang, who knows what he can write next?”

　　”That’s the real treasure chest!”

　　When the thoughts of the heads of the House of Representatives were told by Kong Tianfang, they couldn’t help but smile embarrassedly and said–

“Yeah, we need to plan this matter carefully!”