A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 126: Newspaper
Late May.

On this day, Chen Guangliang came to the office building of "Business Daily", and Hong Yanbin and Huang Chunsun met him in the office.

At this time, Hong Yanbin had to admire Chen Guangliang's vision.

The Business Daily has been operating at a loss for more than three months, and its sales volume continues to decline.

Newspapers generally rely entirely on advertising fees for profit, and even advertising fees need to be treated as costs; if it relies solely on the sales of newspapers themselves, basically no newspaper can make a profit.

The cost of a newspaper was just one cent, but for newspapers like the "Xinwen Bao" and "Shen Bao", the page size was as large as 1 to 8 pages. Adding the costs of ink, plate making, labor, etc., the cost of each newspaper was more than 10 cents, while the price of each newspaper was only 1 cents. When it was sold to newspaper vendors at a 3% discount, the actual price was only a little over 6 cents, which not only did not cover the cost, but the more newspapers were published, the more they lost money.

For profit considerations, when the circulation of "Xinwen Bao" and "Shen Bao" reached a certain amount and profits were maximized, they no longer pursued circulation.

"Business Daily" is four sheets of paper, and the corresponding cost should be five cents, and the selling price is three cents, but the wholesale price to newspaper vendors is only two cents, so it is normal to make a loss.

As for advertising fees, they are actually related to newspaper sales.

The higher the sales volume of a newspaper, the more willing people are to advertise and increase advertising fees.

With a sales volume of a few thousand copies, a newspaper like the Business Daily doesn't generate much advertising revenue at all.

Hong Yanbin made a quick decision and prepared to liquidate his position: "Boss Chen, are you still interested in taking over the Commercial Daily?"

Chen Guangliang said, "Of course I'm interested, but what's the price Mr. Hong is going to ask?"

We can't just make a killing from him.

Hong Yanbin said bluntly, "Since we've lost money, we won't say anything discouraging, nor will we try to get a killing from Boss Chen. After all, given Boss Chen's shrewdness, there's no way he'd agree to that. So, we'll discount the price to 1.5 yuan and transfer the entire Commercial Daily to you, including the equipment, personnel, and everything else."

What a character! Know how to make choices!
Chen Guangliang made his assessment and immediately offered a suggestion: "Mr. Hong, how about you invest 1.5 yuan in the company, and I'll invest an additional 3.5 yuan to restructure the newspaper. I'll own 70% of the new shares, and the rest will go to your original shareholders. I'll be the general manager, and you two will be assistant managers."

The scene changed instantly, and both Hong Yanbin and Huang Chunsun showed interested expressions.

However, Hong Yanbin said, "Boss Chen, if you have any tricks, why not reveal them first so that we can have a better idea!"

Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "Mr. Hong, you are not such a person!"

What this means is that you are not a timid person.

Looking at Chen Guangliang's smile, Hong Yanbin felt as if he had been seen through. He immediately laughed out loud, "I was obsessed. But Boss Chen is right. I do have the courage. After all, you dared to take out 3.5 yuan. Chunsun, what do you think?"

Huang Chunsun also said, "Boss Chen has a knack for winning in the real estate industry. I believe he must have some unique strategies for running the newspaper business. I'm willing to take a gamble!"

Not only has he achieved surprising success in the real estate industry, but he's also earned Gu Zhuxuan's praise in the car dealership sector, Hong Yanbin thought to himself. For a small figure to rise to this level, his abilities are undoubtedly undeniable.

"Okay, let's do as Boss Chen says!"

The reason why Chen Guangliang took a fancy to Hong Yanbin and Huang Chunsun was naturally because he wanted to make friends with Du Yuesheng; in addition, he also wanted to take a fancy to Huang Chunsun as an expert in newspaper publishing.

The two sides then agreed that Chen Guangliang would go back to raise money first, and reorganize the newspaper once the funds were in place.

Of course, during this period, the "Business Daily" continued to be published until the day before the new newspaper "Oriental Daily" was launched.

Chen Guangliang needed 3.5 yuan to start a newspaper, so of course he chose to take out a loan.

So, he immediately found Cheng Zikang from Jincheng Bank.

"You want to start a newspaper?"

Cheng Zikang didn't react for a moment. This young man's business scope was too wide. He even wanted to get involved in something like publishing a newspaper.

It's not that there's anything wrong with Chen Guangliang's wide-ranging business ventures; after all, every wealthy businessman in this era casts a wide net. And Chen Guangliang himself has indeed done well in rickshaw operations, taxis, real estate, and land speculation. It's just that the newspaper industry is a domain for intellectuals, or perhaps those with social status.

Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "Hong Yanbin's Commercial Newspaper is about to go bankrupt. I plan to start a new newspaper next."

Cheng Zikang didn't say anything in the end, and just said, "If that's the case, there's no need to borrow money. Changjiang Real Estate is our real estate consultant, and the agreed consulting fee is 5 yuan. I can decide to pay you another 3 yuan, leaving 1 yuan for later."

The two were friends, even on the same wavelength – both were betting on real estate and land.

Chen Guangliang said happily, "Thank you very much, Brother Chen. By the way, can the design drawings for Jincheng Shopping Plaza be completed by next month?"

In the end, the project on Nanjing East Road was named "Jincheng Shopping Plaza".

Cheng Zikang nodded and said, "There should be no problem next month. Zhuang Jun is working overtime on the drawings. At this rate, construction will begin in the first half of next year, with the roof completed in the second half of 1930 and the building opening in mid-1931. That's roughly the schedule."

It took nearly three years to invest in this project.

The initial investment for this project is likely to be over 100 million, as there will be rent for the first three years. The rent for three years is , plus the construction fund of , and miscellaneous expenses such as land donation.

However, when the construction is halfway done, you can start renting out the property. In this era, there is a top-up fee for leasing, which is one year's rent, which is equivalent to recovering 300,000 yuan from the investment.

After that, the annual rent will be more than 35 yuan. Excluding the rent of 18 yuan and the annual land donation, this project can earn 10 to 15 yuan a year, and the rate of return is still very good.

"Well, we have to follow this schedule. We can only speed up. After all, we have to catch the best opportunity and strive to make a good start!"

Cheng Zikang asked curiously, "Do you think China's economy will be in turmoil after the 1930s?"

You always like to rush, are you worried about something?
Chen Guangliang said frankly, "That's not the case. It's just that we have to seize the best opportunities in everything. This year, major investors have entered the market to invest in land and real estate. Next year, there will naturally be more capital coming in. So, in the early 1930s, the market will definitely be good."

"That's true," Cheng Zikang said with some pride. Since last year, Jincheng Bank has invested over two million yuan in land and properties in Shanghai, and these are his achievements.

Finally, Cheng Zikang readily asked the finance department to pay the consulting fee of 3 yuan to Changjiang Real Estate.

Chen Guangliang only needs to come up with 5000 yuan to raise the funds for this investment in the newspaper industry.

Du mansion.

"He is taking advantage of your and Huang Chunsun's abilities, otherwise why would he recruit you to join his gang!" Du Yuesheng spoke immediately after hearing Hong Yanbin's words.

Hong Yanbin was his most successful disciple (disciples did not necessarily have to be gangsters; even some journalists and intellectuals were Du Yuesheng's disciples). He had his help and support in getting into the newspaper business.

In Du Yuesheng's view, investing in newspaper business is still worthwhile, and investing in journalists and cultural figures is even more necessary.

"Mr. Du, he wants to rely on our strength, and I also want to invest in this young man. Don't you think so?" Hong Yanbin said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Du Yuesheng suddenly realized and said, "You, you can see further than I do. This young man is indeed quite capable."

Du Yuesheng was very impressed with Hong Yanbin's abilities, and even gave him a high evaluation - "Hong Yanbin's skills are greater than mine!" "He is so powerful that even mountains and seas cannot stop him," and "He rushes forward like a trolleybus."

Having said that, Hong Yanbin was still one of his most valued and favorite students - he had the talent of a manager and could sort out a mess clearly. Any difficult matter would be easily solved in his hands.

Hong Yanbin said, "It's not that I can see further than Mr. Du, but I have more contact with Chen Guangliang. So when he asked for a partnership, I agreed immediately. After all, for me, there is nothing to lose. If there is a real loss, he will lose the most!"

Du Yuesheng waved his hand and said, "I'll ask the accountant to give you 5000 yuan later. The losses from your newspaper this time will be on me. Besides, I always like to invest in newspapers. You can help me get into this new newspaper."

"Thank you, Mr. Du"

Hong Yanbin did not refuse.

The two chatted for a while. Du Yuesheng was very curious about how Chen Guangliang turned the situation around, so he asked Hong Yanbin to report to him frequently to see if there really was such a magical person.

Of course, if the newspaper fails, it means that Chen Guangliang is just a lucky person, not a truly capable person, and he also likes to brag.

three days later.

With the witness of the two lawyers, Oriental Newspaper was officially established.

Chen Guangliang invested 3.5 yuan, accounting for 70% of the shares; Hong Yanbin and Huang Chunsun joined the company with "Business Daily", accounting for 30% of the shares.

Subsequently.

In the conference room, Chen Guangliang summoned all management members, including Hong Yanbin and Huang Chunsun, to carry out drastic reforms.

He spoke first, "Editor-in-Chief Zhang, before the new newspaper, Oriental Daily, was launched, the Commercial Daily continued to find that the newspaper was not popular and impetuous. We are refreshing, not closing down."

Editor-in-Chief Zhang Jinglu quickly said, "No problem, General Manager!"

Even people like Hong Yanbin and Huang Chunsun are now willing to be his deputies, so he naturally won't jump out to oppose anything.

Chen Guangliang nodded and then said, "The Oriental Daily will still hire you, but our current staff is far from enough, so we need to recruit new talents to join us. Everyone, just rest assured."

Everyone was reassured that the new owner had no intention of burning bridges after crossing them.

Next, Chen Guangliang began to say:
"The Oriental Daily will still publish four pages, but we will gradually adopt a digest format to improve the layout of the newspaper. This means shorter articles, a wider range of columns, and easy-to-understand content to suit the tastes of readers of all ages."

"The main features of a regular publication are: extensive coverage of social news to attract readers, rapid timeliness, and broad coverage, especially of local news. To achieve this, we need to recruit 20 to 50 reporters."

"The characteristics of the supplement are: publishing articles by famous figures in Shanghai's journalism and literary circles; inviting people who are knowledgeable about horse and greyhound racing to write horse and dog guides; and inviting martial arts novelists to serialize their novels."

Horse racing guides, dog guides, and serialized novels were just initial means of "attracting popularity."

As long as Oriental Daily has sufficient sales and popularity, social celebrities will naturally write articles for them.

Zhang Jinglu asked, "How should this kind of newspaper be positioned?"

Everyone has this question. After all, progressive newspapers are popular in the market now and publish some progressive articles.

Chen Guangliang immediately said, "Dazhong Daily. We don't participate in politics. As journalists, we should be impartial. However, no one can guarantee that they won't judge things subjectively. So, we first established the Oriental Daily's style: 'Don't be a judge.' We only report on the facts themselves and don't draw conclusions."

After arranging tasks one by one, everyone finally understood the overall idea of ​​Oriental Daily!
The original content of the "Business Daily" is also needed, but the articles need to be compressed and adopt the "digest" format. For example, the original news of 1000 words may now only be 500 words.

The result is that the newspaper is easy to understand for customers and the content is rich and colorful.

The newly vacant space was filled by "Current Affairs News", which recruited a large number of new reporters and collected more local news. Of course, there were various ways to obtain national news, which could be purchased secretly from "Shen Bao" and "Xinwen Bao" (this stuff could be spread orally).

Special sections on horse racing, dog racing, martial arts novels, and gossip were added to increase the newspaper's entertainment value.

A dramatic change will appear in the Oriental Daily.

In recent times, Chen Guangliang has been focusing half of his energy on Oriental Daily.

I do a lot of things myself, such as interviewing people who write novels, dog guides, and horse guides.

Chen Guangliang also personally taught editors how to write news. First, the headline must be compelling, commonly known as "clickbait" (a catchy title); second, the content must be concise and accessible, so readers don't struggle; and finally, there should be more explosive news, even if it involves gangsters or adultery, but sensitive figures and issues should be avoided.

(End of this chapter)