A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

Chapter 136 Successful Identity

On the twelfth day of the Oriental Daily's publication, sales continued to be around 28000, and Chen Guangliang's heart gradually settled down.

As long as the daily sales of Oriental Daily can be maintained at 20000 to 30000 copies in the past month, the sales of Oriental Daily will continue to grow and will sooner or later exceed 50000 copies.

Chen Guangliang did not dare to boast about catching up with the Xinwen Bao and Shenbao, because in this era, it is difficult for a newspaper to achieve the same level as the Xinwen Bao and Shenbao without a clear political stance and various progressive remarks.

Of course, the Oriental Daily also has many advantages that the News and Shen Bao do not have.

If Chen Guangliang had not wanted to get into trouble, then with the style of Oriental Daily News, it would definitely have been a newspaper that swept the country, just like the early days of Murdoch's media empire in later generations.

Because of this, some people have begun to criticize Oriental Daily for being too vulgar, but of course this is only the voice of a very small number of people.

The next day.

"Oriental Daily" published the news that "Hengchang Vehicle Manufacturing Factory launched three-wheeled rickshaws": Professor Zhang Qihua, the author of "Camel Xiangzi", personally experienced the three-wheeled rickshaw and finally came to a conclusion - the three-wheeled rickshaw greatly saves the rickshaw pullers' energy. Once it is widely used, the lifespan of rickshaw pullers will be greatly improved.

This is the public opinion that Chen Guangliang needs!

Although he only holds 30% of the shares of Tongchang Vehicle Manufacturing Factory, Tongchang Vehicle Manufacturing Factory not only produces three-wheeled rickshaws but also bicycles, and its potential is huge.

A street somewhere.

A group of drivers gathered around a three-wheeled rickshaw. One of them asked with a skeptical look, "Does this rickshaw have a license plate?"

Chen Bing, a specially trained rickshaw driver, said proudly at this moment: "With a big license plate, how can it be without a license plate? It can run all over Shanghai!"

One rickshaw driver tutted, "Combining a bicycle and a rickshaw is a damn good idea! If our rickshaw shop switched to this, we wouldn't have to work so hard in the future!"

The jealous driver said, "Don't be so optimistic. If the car dealership really changes, our rental fee will have to increase. This thing is quite expensive, isn't it?"

Chen Bing said, "It's just the price of a rickshaw and a bicycle, but the rent is the same, there's no increase in rent."

Seeing a guest coming, Chen Bing waved and said, "Sir, please take a seat in the new car!"

The customer was startled. Seeing the three-wheeled rickshaw, he asked curiously, "Can I take this car?"

Chen Bing said, "I guarantee you can ride it. It's a new invention, it has a license plate, and it's fast and stable!"

The customer was curious after all and chose to sit forward.

Chen Bing rode his bike and pedaled towards his destination in a cool and elegant manner.

"With this thing, it's a good thing to grab business!"

"Not only that, it saves energy. I won't have to work so hard anymore!"

"But what if our boss refuses to buy? Wouldn't that mean they'll steal all the business?"

"Yeah, this isn't necessarily a good thing."

At one time, there were both good and bad situations.

But the three-wheeled rickshaws on the road are quite cool.

"What kind of car is that?"

"Bicycles?"

"Aren't bicycles prohibited from carrying passengers? And how can a bicycle have three wheels?"

“That’s a rickshaw.”

"Don't rickshaws have to be pulled by people? This one just needs pedals in the front!"

For a time, three-wheeled rickshaws attracted the attention of many people on the road and became a big news in Shanghai.

Oriental Newspaper
"Manager Chen, I've calculated that the current sales volume of our Oriental Daily is 28000 copies, and the printing cost of each issue is 1200 yuan. The wholesale price of the newspaper is 480 yuan (total price), and the advertisements in each issue are between 850 and 950 yuan. We can already make a profit, with a profit of more than 130 yuan per issue. The current sales volume of the Commercial Daily is 6000 copies, which can achieve a break-even point." Huang Chunsun reported a financial indicator.

Chen Guangliang smiled. It’s not easy!

The profitability of newspapers in this era is really hard to describe.

It's not absolutely true that higher sales mean higher profits. For example, after Shenbao surpassed 100,000 copies, it stopped pursuing sales and instead focused on profit. This is because newspapers inherently lose money; the more they sell, the greater their losses. However, advertising fees have a limit; it's not absolutely true that higher sales mean higher advertising fees. (Of course, advertising fees for a newspaper with 100,000 copies sold are certainly much higher than those for a newspaper with 30,000 copies sold.)

So, you may make money if you sell 30,000 copies, but you won’t make money if you sell 40,000 copies. It’s not until you sell 50,000 copies that you can make a lot of money.

Now, if the sales volume of Oriental Daily is calculated as 3 copies, it can earn 4000 yuan per month, and the annual profit is 48000 yuan.

Of course, this is gross profit!
"If we take into account our increased investment costs, this profit may not exist!"

Huang Chunsun nodded and said, "Yes, but at least we can ensure a balance between income and expenditure. And once we open up the important urban markets in the Central Plains and the north, the profits will still be good."

There is a thing here. If the Oriental Daily was published in cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Wuhan, and its total sales exceeded 5 copies, the profit might still be to yuan a year.

It's very simple. Other cities may only be able to break even, or even make a slight loss.

Chen Guangliang said: "No matter what, as long as there is money to be made, there will be money to be used for expansion. For a newspaper like Oriental Daily, our ultimate goal is to set a circulation of 50,000, and maintain this level for a long time."

I dare not imagine that there would be 100,000 copies. After all, this was the exclusive right of the Xinwen Bao and Shenbao. The former was already the "official newspaper" of the Nationalist government, and the latter was specifically used to criticize the Nationalist government. Obviously, neither of them was Chen Guangliang's target.

Huang Chunsun sighed inwardly, "A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger." This person really doesn't understand how difficult it is to sell 5 copies. Their current sales volume is only 28000, which is not stable. Just being able to maintain this performance is already very good.

Of course, the greatest skill he learned from working with Chen Guangliang is self-confidence.

"Beijing and Wuhan have already made progress. I believe we'll be able to recruit our own reporters after the New Year. By then, our shortcomings in national news will have been addressed!"

"Um"

Once assigned, they would contact other newspapers and buy their local news, firsthand of course. Then, they would gradually recruit local reporters and develop local news gathering.

Finally, Chen Guangliang said, "Assistant Manager Huang, I want you to be the Executive Director and Deputy General Manager, responsible for the actual operation of the Oriental Daily. After all, my position as General Manager is only part-time, and I have a lot of business!"

Huang Chunsun was definitely a master at running a newspaper. Even after the closure of the Commercial Daily, he still had no shortage of connections.

Huang Chunsun was also very impressed with Chen Guangliang at this time and immediately said, "Thank you for your trust, Manager Chen. I will definitely concentrate on doing this well."

"Okay, I'll bring it up at the management meeting later."

Huang Chunsun replied with a sly smile, "By the way, Manager Chen hasn't received his salary from the newspaper yet. This is unreasonable, considering you're truly involved in the operations and are our leader. At the next meeting, I suggest you get the highest salary."

Shareholders participate in dividends, but if shareholders participate in the management of the company, they should have a "salary", which is called "paojin" in Guangdong Province.

Chen Guangliang said decisively, "I'm not going to take a salary. After all, I'm the majority shareholder and own 70% of the shares, so there's no need for a share. However, I still want to thank Assistant Manager Huang for his kindness."

Assistant Manager Huang was taken aback. He had not expected Chen Guangliang to refuse. He quickly said admiringly, "Manager Chen is a man of high moral character!"

That’s right!

Since Chen Guangliang no longer lacks money, he no longer receives salary from any company.

Of course, there are not many partnership enterprises.

After Huang Chunsun left, Chen Guangliang was still thinking about the Oriental Daily.

This newspaper has now attracted a lot of attention. Du Yuesheng even started to get involved at the beginning, saying that he wanted to borrow money. I'm afraid he wanted to win over or even interfere.

Hong Yanbin was considered Du Yuesheng's most successful disciple, but the accounts were settled separately after all, so Du Yuesheng's loan of 30,000 yuan was probably a hot potato.

Fortunately, Chen Guangliang is not a rigid person and he will accept the money if someone offers it to him.

When the sales of Oriental Daily exceeded 3 copies, when Oriental News established news outlets in the north and Central China, and even when it was published locally, Du Yuesheng's 3 oceans would be converted into equity.

It wasn't really about letting a wolf into the house, at most it was just letting Du Yuesheng get involved.

What's more, Chen Guangliang's popularity in Shanghai has reached a new level, and his purpose of running a newspaper has actually been achieved.

For a consecutive week, the sales of Oriental Daily remained at around 28000 copies, which made Chen Guangliang basically relieved and the newspaper industry was considered to have stabilized.

In fact, Oriental Daily had been published for just over half a month and had only been on normal sale for a week (it was initially provided free of charge to news vendors).

In the past half month or so, Chen Guangliang has been personally training editors and reporters, and personally checking the content. He can be said to be quite diligent.

According to Chen Guangliang's style, he will soon release his energy from Oriental Media Group. After all, what he likes most is new challenges.

Two days before the New Year, Fang Jiaobo organized a card game at the Ningbo Association in Shanghai and invited Yu Qiaqing, Xie Tianci, and Chen Guangliang.

This time, Yu Qiaqing's interest in Chen Guangliang was much greater. Previously, it was just a matter of fellow-townsmanship, but now he truly valued him. The reason was simple: Chen Guangliang, the owner of the Oriental Daily and a successful real estate businessman, was already a well-established Ningbo businessman in Shanghai.

In order to take care of Chen Guangliang, the card game was not too big, and the maximum winnings or losses were only a few thousand dollars, which was not exaggerated.

Of course, winning or losing thousands of dollars is already a very big game. After all, the wealthy people of this era are only worth tens of millions of dollars.

During the card game, 'Brother Ade' Yu Qiaqing asked, "Guangliang's speed of development is truly astonishing. He's a real estate tycoon, yet he's suddenly become a newspaper tycoon. What a surprise!"

There are only thirteen newspapers in the country with sales exceeding 10,000. The Oriental Daily News in Chen Guangliang's hands is already a medium-sized newspaper among these thirteen, and it can be said that it is a "good support".

Chen Guangliang said modestly: "It's just some tricks. Our newspaper's current sales volume is not stable."

Fang Jiaobo immediately said, "The Oriental Daily's achievements are obvious to all, and its visibility is very good. Guangliang, don't be so modest. By the way, didn't you say you wanted to find a new bank to obtain a loan? Brother Ade is here today, why not tell me about it?"

Mr. Fang Jiao is really kind-hearted. Chen Guangliang doesn’t know how to start talking to him!

Yu Qiaqing said, "I thought it was a small matter. Guangliang's real estate business is doing very well. I heard there's still a lot of land on Yuyuan Road. If you want a loan, you can come to our Siming Bank after the holiday to discuss it!"

This move is equivalent to bringing the "connected people" in the poker game to the point of handling official business.

It can be said that he is very smooth in dealing with things!

Of course, having a chance is always better than having no chance at all. Chen Guangliang immediately said, "Sorry to bother Mr. Yu!"

"Don't bother me. We are all from the same hometown. If I can help you, I will definitely take care of you." Yu Qiaqing said with a smile.

Siming Bank's deposits remain high, which is a good thing, but it's also worth considering where to put the funds. Siming Bank's advantage is that its real estate trusts are doing well, building a large number of houses for rent, and the return rate is very high, with rental income alone being around 15%.

But a loan like Chen Guangliang's was only about 100,000 or 200,000 yuan, so it wasn't a big problem.

At this time, Xie Tianci said in a buzzing voice: "Last time, Guangliang won a hand of land from me, and today he won another loan opportunity. He is winning at both ends of the table!"

Tonight, Chen Guangliang is winning again, and he will definitely not let up. After all, he can't afford to lose much.

Xie Tianci felt a little annoyed. Last time, he sold the land to Chen Guangliang in a fit of rage. Now, only a few months have passed, and the price of land in Shanghai changes every day.

Obviously, it’s a big loss to sell it!

“Thank you for your care, seniors.”

Fang Jiaobo smiled and said, "Old Xie, I'm willing to accept the loss!"

Xie Tianci replied: "I don't know yet, I just say this kid is lucky."

In fact, it cannot be said that Chen Guangliang is lucky. Everything came after he demonstrated his value.

For example, after Chen Guangliang successfully launched the Oriental Daily, he encountered few obstacles and instead gained widespread support. It was simple: everyone knew that after Chen Guangliang acquired the Oriental Daily, his success was no longer accidental.

(End of this chapter)