章節 17: Chapter 17: Deployment
The next morning, Xia Yu hurried to the newspaper office, buying a stack of newspapers at a newsstand along the way and reading them as he walked.
Xia Yu mainly focused on the financial and commercial sections and the political news. He skipped over entertainment, gossip, and other mundane news, as he didn't have time for these distractions.
As he read, Xia Yu's attention was suddenly caught by a headline, and he stopped to read it closely.
"Did a Teenager Buy the Famous New Newspaper as a Toy?"
"Yesterday morning, the 42-year-old 'Famous New Newspaper' abruptly announced its closure. The new newspaper, named 'Jiu Ding Daily,' has drawn industry attention. Our investigation reveals a shocking fact: the buyer of the 'Famous New Newspaper' is a mere 16-year-old boy. Ignoring where the funds came from, the mere age of this buyer fills the editor with pessimism about the 'Famous New Newspaper'... The once struggling newspaper is expected to close down soon…"
After reading the report, Xia Yu sneered coldly. "Am I being looked down upon? It seems like 'Oriental Daily' really has an axe to grind, even noticing this 'minor character' in the 'Famous New Newspaper.'"
"Heh, since they've extended their face, how could I not slap it?"
"My newspaper will go bankrupt?"
"Heh..."
Xia Yu scoffed, crumpling up the "Oriental Daily" and tossing it into the nearby trash can.
Soon after, Xia Yu arrived at the office. After a brief busy period, all employees had arrived.
Xia Yu called in Liu Zhong and the other seven to report on the progress of yesterday's work.
After the seven had finished their reports, Xia Yu furrowed his brow in dissatisfaction.
The newspaper had run normally throughout the day, and internal reforms were proceeding smoothly, without disappointing Xia Yu.
However, the task of recruiting new staff had hit a snag. The seven had only managed to recruit a few new employees, while most of the contacts they reached out to indicated they needed to think it over.
Although Xia Yu had anticipated this situation—external parties were unaware of the newspaper's specifics and viewed it through an old lens, weighing pros and cons and unwilling to work for a company that seemed to have no prospects—his dissatisfaction was understandable.
"Alright, I know your difficulties. Continue recruiting over the next few days. Just get the recruitment news out there, and things should improve in a few days!" Seeing the apprehension on the seven faces, Xia Yu smiled to reassure them, not wanting to dampen their enthusiasm. This kind of uncontrollable factor wasn't their fault.
Hearing Xia Yu's words, the seven breathed a sigh of relief, though they were puzzled about what Xia Yu meant by things improving in a few days. They could only guess that Xia Yu might have some solution.
"Now, I will outline today's and tomorrow's tasks. Whether the 'Jiu Ding Daily' can make a splash depends on how well you execute these tasks," Xia Yu said seriously.
"Zhao Cheng, you need to have the first issue of the 'Jiu Ding Daily' ready by 4 PM today for my review. Sun Xin, your news department needs to cooperate actively."
Upon hearing Xia Yu's orders, Sun Xin and Zhao Cheng nodded heavily, accepting their tasks.
"Zhang Lei, given that we might be short-staffed, your printing department has a heavy workload. My only requirement is that you must print 100,000 copies before tomorrow's distribution!" Xia Yu fixed his gaze on Zhang Lei, the printing department head.
"100,000 copies?"
The number startled the seven present, their eyes wide as they stared at Xia Yu. A few even swallowed nervously, suspecting that Xia Yu might have misspoken or added an extra zero.
This was 100,000 copies! Just two days ago, the daily print volume was only 3,000 copies. This was a more than thirty-fold increase, which was quite daunting.
They couldn't fathom how they could sell such a large quantity of newspapers!
"Alright, boss!" Seeing Xia Yu's serious expression and confirming he was not joking, Zhang Lei opened his mouth but eventually swallowed his doubts and nodded in agreement.
"I understand you have doubts. If you have any questions, you can ask now. After clarifying, execute the tasks diligently," Xia Yu said, scanning the seven of them and thinking for a moment before speaking again.
"Boss, printing 100,000 copies seems a bit excessive. It might be hard to sell them all…" Sun Changfa, the head of the distribution department, said cautiously, as he sensed Xia Yu was serious, not joking.
But 100,000 copies! As the distribution department head, he felt immense pressure and didn't know how to distribute so many newspapers.
In his view, even if he worked tirelessly, distributing 5,000 copies would be impressive. Distributing 100,000 copies seemed impossible.
Hearing Sun Changfa's question, Xia Yu nodded but did not answer. He then looked at the others and asked, "What about the rest of you? Any other questions? To save time, ask them all now, and I will answer them together."
The group exchanged glances, and finally, Huang Wen Shan, the 37-year-old head of the advertising department, spoke up. "Boss, if we're printing 100,000 copies as you said, should the ads we previously placed in the newspaper still be included?"
Xia Yu nodded, acknowledging the point, and then looked at the others, asking, "Any other questions?"
The seven shook their heads, some feeling apprehensive, fearing Xia Yu might lose his temper.
Even though Xia Yu was only 16 and younger than some of them, through these past days of observation and interaction, he had already built a certain level of authority in their minds. Thus, they were somewhat intimidated.
Seeing their reactions, Xia Yu smiled and said, "Huang Wen Shan, don't worry about the ads for now. During this period, the 'Jiu Ding Daily' will not carry any ads. The agreements signed earlier are void. Any compensation due to advertisers should be paid. Liu Zhong, assist with the documentation."
"Okay, boss!" Liu Zhong and Huang Wen Shan quickly agreed.
"As for the printing quantity, there is no room for negotiation. It must be at least 100,000 copies, and it could be more but not less!" Xia Yu firmly stated.
Hearing Xia Yu's words, Sun Changfa felt a chill run through him, his mouth tasting bitter, but he dared not refute Xia Yu. He could only reply, "Understood, boss."
"Don't be so pessimistic. I didn't say you need to sell these 100,000 copies. Of course, selling them all is impossible. But what if they are given away for free?" Seeing Sun Changfa and the others' shocked reactions and their confidence shaken, Xia Yu chuckled.
"Given away for free?!"
Sun Changfa and the others looked bewildered. This was the first time they had heard of giving away newspapers for free, and especially not 100,000 copies. In their view, this was completely unprecedented.
In Hong Kong's newspaper industry history, there had never been such a large-scale free distribution. Occasionally, newspapers tried to attract attention with free distribution but had to retract after a few days.
Thus, in the industry's view, free distribution was considered a failure and could provoke collective backlash from peers, as it undermined everyone's interests.
They couldn't understand how the boss could have such an idea!
The sudden turn of events left them completely confused, unable to figure out Xia Yu's plan.
Thus, the seven stared blankly at Xia Yu, waiting for his explanation.
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