Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 115 Magazine First Issue Released (Second Update, Please Subscribe and Vote)
The Ghost Blows Out the Light magazine was printed in color. It included the Ghost Blows Out the Light comic and the Interstellar Mercenaries comic, which was equivalent to two standalone comic books. In addition, there was a 50,000-word Tomb Raider Chronicles, some ghost stories, and readers' reading notes.

The price reached HK$18, which is very expensive compared to other magazines. Magazines featuring celebrities, movies, etc., are usually around HK$10, and a comic book is about the same price.

However, all of them are printed in color and are of very good quality. Coupled with the fame of Beipai Sanshu, they are priced at HK$18.

Two hundred thousand magazines were delivered to various magazine retailers in the morning. Because of the high price, the number of pre-orders was not very large, and the owner was also worried that they would not be able to sell them.

The pre-orders are around 100,000 copies.

On Thursday morning, Li Song went downstairs for breakfast and then observed the sale of Ghost Blows Out the Light magazine.

After watching for more than an hour, Li Song went back, because he knew things were going well.

During the one-hour workday, Li Song observed that the magazine stall had sold out, with some students buying in groups of two or three.

Those who didn't manage to buy any later cursed the owner, saying that everyone had waited so long and the owner shouldn't have ordered more, and even called the owner a loser.

Around 9 a.m., the magazine's phone was ringing off the hook with people wanting the magazine.

The magazine quickly called the printing plant and then a company that specializes in newspaper and book logistics, asking for extra money for emergency delivery.

The printing plant received an order for an additional 200,000 copies and quickly began printing more.

The printing factory owner had already prepared the materials, because he thought that the Ghost Blows Out the Light single volume could sell millions of copies, although many were sold to other places, so selling 500,000 copies of the magazine should not be a problem.

However, the printing of magazines is slower than that of newspapers, and the additional printing was not completed until the afternoon, after which delivery began.

Then, after get off work in the afternoon, the 200,000 copies were basically gone again.

That evening, RTV (Rediffusion Television) reported that the Ghost Blows Out the Light magazine had sold 400,000 copies on its first day.

A reporter interviewed passersby: "Isn't 18 yuan too expensive?"

“Look at this paper, so many colors, and you can learn a lot from it. Look at this, this is a feng shui arrangement, something you couldn’t learn even if you had money before,” an uncle said.

"That's it, there's also the 50,000-word Tomb Raider Notes, those 50,000 words alone are worth five yuan."

"I'm dying of laughter. Sun Wukong is such a snob. I'm going to buy a copy of Journey to the West to read later."

"Oh right, and Huang Rong pays five taels of silver for a meal. I didn't know that before, but now I realize it's equivalent to five thousand coins!"

The reporter then interviewed these magazine buyers.

Some people buy more than a dozen copies at a time. These people say they have a large family, but it's clear that someone is planning to sell them to other places.

Because the Ghost Blows Out the Light novels were sold in many places back then.

At this moment, Li Song received a call from Liu Jiale, who said that someone in Taiwan wanted to become the agent for the Ghost Blows Out the Light magazine.

Li Song readily agreed.

On Friday morning, when Liu Jiale was sending people back from the mainland, he gave each of them a magazine and said that 400,000 copies had been sold yesterday and that they were still printing more today.

The members of the inspection team did the math and were incredibly surprised.

Four hundred thousand copies, at eighteen yuan each, that's seven million two hundred thousand.

Moreover, they are still printing more and selling them to Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Some of this reprint will be sold locally, but more will be sold in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, as some companies in Taiwan and Southeast Asia have already come to ask for agency rights.

Doesn't that mean this magazine sells over ten million copies a month?
Even 20 million or more, because there are even more people in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

On Friday afternoon, Li Song arrived at the magazine office.

Li Song's purpose in coming here was to give people red envelopes!
"Our magazine's inaugural issue was a huge success; everyone deserves credit, so come and collect your red envelopes."

"I hope we can continue our efforts and achieve even greater success." Li Song knew, of course, that the magazine's huge sales were entirely due to him.

First of all, the characters and props in both comics were provided by the authors themselves.

There are also novels like "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles".

In addition, the novel "Ghost Blows Out the Light" also helped boost the film rights to the novel "Tomb Raiders Notes" acquired by Huang Baiming, which was also heavily promoted!
In addition, the fact that it sold out yesterday morning created a kind of scarcity marketing effect.

In addition, some people sold the novels to Southeast Asia and other places by mail.

The high sales volume is due to a combination of factors. Although I deserve some credit, the magazine is ultimately my own, so it's okay to put in more effort!
We cannot ignore the efforts of the magazine's staff because of this.

"thank you boss!"

"Thank you, boss!" The magazine's employees all came up to take the red envelopes.

Each red envelope contained HK$888. The magazine staff's salaries were not very high, with a basic salary of only HK$6,000 to HK$7,000.

The main reason is that Liu Jiale did not poach employees with too much seniority.

Because if someone has too much seniority, it's difficult for them to manage.

In addition, the magazine mainly relies on the boss, so it does not need highly qualified employees!

"We've made a reservation at a restaurant for dinner tonight!"

"Everything's packed up for everyone to take home and celebrate with their families!" Li Song made this arrangement again!

"Thank you, boss!" The employees were all very happy to hear that they would get paid and have good food and drinks.

"In addition, everyone will receive a 5% raise!" Li Song announced at the end.

Anyway, whenever the magazine issues bonuses or raises, Li Song has to announce it himself.

Regular management can be left to Liu Jiale, but he still needs to take charge of this kind of good thing.

"Wow!!"

"The boss is so great!!" The employees jumped up with joy.

Several employees looked at their boss with stars in their eyes.

Especially the young clerks.

"The magazines on Hong Kong Island will probably only sell 600,000 copies in the end!"

"Moreover, magazine sales in Hong Kong Island will likely decrease next month!"

"Because next month, the agents in Taiwan and Southeast Asia will start selling it simultaneously!" Li Song said as he entered his office, followed by Liu Jiale.

"This has far exceeded our expectations, considering that Hong Kong Island only has a population of a few million!"

"I originally thought it would only sell for 200,000 units, considering the high price!"

"Now that we've achieved such great results, we've already made a name for ourselves."

"We just need to keep the number of copies sold to two or three hundred thousand.

"Also, be careful with the ads at the back of the magazine. Don't accept ads for food, health products, or cosmetics!" Li Song knew that these things were very likely to be counterfeit.

"Mhm!" Liu Jiale nodded. This magazine ad was for Huang Baiming's Cinema City film company.

This advertisement was given away for free, after all, Huang Baiming spent HK$3.2 million to buy the film rights to The Lost Tomb.

Huang Baiming hyped things up back then, and this can be seen as him returning the favor.

In addition, there were several advertisers with whom negotiations were not ideal because the magazine's sales figures were unknown.

"We've already been contacted by camera companies!"

"The last time they contacted us, it was because of the huge difference in advertising fees."

“However, this time they will probably offer an even higher price,” Liu Jiale said.

"Okay, you can make these decisions. See you on Sunday!" Li Song didn't intend to interfere in the management matters; he would just show up and go back to continue writing.

"Take care, boss!"

"Take care, boss!" The other employees greeted Li Song as he left.

After returning home, Li Song called Tian Jiahui and asked him to keep an eye on Zhang Dehua and then accompany him back to the mainland next week.

(End of this chapter)