From street tabloids to the first newspaper of the Republic of China

same day.

Songhu, the International Settlement.

Lin Wangzheng and Shen Zishi walked through the alleyways of Huafuli, which was English territory.

The alleyway connects at both ends, one end on Fourth Road and the other on Jiangxi Road. It is somewhat narrow, with mostly two-story villas on both sides, primarily commercial shops.

The two of them wouldn't just wander around aimlessly; Lin Wangzheng was thinking about the money he'd made recently—

Since Goodnow's articles opened up the market, peak daily sales have exceeded five thousand copies, and over several days, they could catch up with the daily sales of a major newspaper like the Shen Bao. Coupled with Shi Jiaxiu's investment and his savings over the years, he encouraged Shen Zishi to buy a printing press.

Here, there are bookstores and printing plants.

These were the Ya-Tung Library, the Guang-Chih Bookstore, and a small printing factory. Shen Zi-Shi often came here to print newspapers, so he simply came to look for any old, obsolete printing presses.

"Tell me, why do we have to buy that thing?"

"Aren't we doing just fine now? The printing shop prints and picks it up immediately, so we don't have to worry about it. You'd just buy it and have nowhere to put it, wasting money..."

Shen Zishi had a pipe in his mouth, his words muffled.

The money hasn't even been properly held onto before it's going to be spent again; it's bound to hurt.

Lin Wangzheng puffed on his cigarette, saying:

"It's fine now, but what if things get tense later?"

Shen Zishi stopped and looked at him:

"You mean... just in case?"

Lin Wangzheng nodded without stopping:

"What will you do when it becomes inconvenient for us to show up at the printing shop, or when the printing shop refuses to take our jobs?"

"We need our own machines to print, even if the quantity is small, the sound can't be interrupted."

Shen Zishi was silent for a moment, then followed him:

"You're right. How come I never realized you were so farsighted?"

Lin Wangzheng's expression remained calm:

"I used to be quiet, but now I've figured it out."

After saying that, he quickened his pace, not wanting to dwell on the topic.

Shen Zishi didn't ask any further questions and continued walking forward.

The printing factory was right by the roadside, occupying a small area, just a two-story building, with printing on the first floor and offices on the second.

The machines roared loudly, and you could smell the pungent odor of ink mixed with lead plates and paper as soon as you stood at the door, which made you feel nauseous.

Just as Shen Zishi was about to lead Lin Wangzheng inside, two people came out to meet them.

The man, around forty years old, wearing a gray short jacket with ink stains on the cuffs and his fingers stained black from lead type, was Manager Zhou.

The other man looked to be around the same age, not too far from forty. He wore a thin scholar's robe, thick glasses, had a gentle face, a slender build, and a small mustache.

He was declining the offer from Steward Zhou:

"Old Zhou, we're neighbors, so there's no need for us to deliver things to each other, right?"

"Old Wang, why are you being so polite with me? I still need to deliver it downstairs. In the future, please transfer more orders to my account."

"Definitely, definitely!"

"I'm relieved to hear that. You know how tough business is these days..."

As Steward Zhou was speaking, he noticed the two figures, one large and one small, at the door. His eyes lit up, and he grabbed the person next to him and shouted:

"Here he is! This is the person you've been looking for! The owner of the 'Strange News'!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Wangzheng and Shen Zishi exchanged a glance, understood each other's meaning, and without the slightest hesitation, took off running in the direction they had come from.

The two ran very fast, covering several meters in the blink of an eye.

Wang Mengzou, who was behind them, had just come to his senses and was exchanging bewildered glances with Steward Zhou, still not understanding what had happened. But the person they were looking for was right in front of them, so they couldn't let him escape. They followed behind the two, shouting:

"Hey, hey, hey! Please wait a moment, you two!"

"Don't run away! I'm the owner of Ya-Tung Library!"

.......

It all happened in a flash.

The three who had run away returned along the road, all of them out of breath.

Shen Zishi, the fattest of them all, leaned against Lin Wangzheng, panting heavily.

"You, you should have said so earlier...you should have said you were in the same industry..."

Lin Wangzheng wasn't much better off, picking up the conversation:

"Yeah, I thought you were a spy. You can't even run a hundred meters this fast..."

Wang Mengzou waved his hand and took a few deep breaths:

"You didn't give me a chance to speak. As soon as you saw me, you took off running. What could I do but follow you?"

He was genuinely at a loss for words. He had finally managed to find out about the news from the "Strange News Report," but what happened? Upon meeting him, the reporter first led him on a 200-meter run before finally stopping to listen to his explanation.

However, the good news is that they have made contact.

On the way back, I also found out that the writer who penned the magnificent article was actually a child!

Thinking of this, Wang Mengzou asked again:

"You two really aren't lying to me? The investigative report on the dock, and the subsequent articles, were all written by this young man, Lin?"

As a person of later generations, Lin Wangzheng knew the origin of the Ya Tung Library. Although it had been poorly managed in recent years and could not even take over Chen Qingtong's "Youth Magazine", in the future, it was an institution that Lu Xun praised as "the only publishing institution that can be the Ya Tung Library"!

From magazines like "New Tide," "Young Xia Kingdom," and "Construction" during the May Fourth Movement, to the new-style punctuated novels published in the "Yadong Edition," and then to taking over the distribution of official newspapers like "Guide," it is enough to prove their stance.

The man before us, Wang Mengzou, insisted on sacrificing commercial interests to "publish more noble books." He once boasted that he would rather raise funds to open a brothel than publish obscene books, and he persisted in publishing high-quality books even when he was in dire financial straits.

Therefore, even though it was the first time they met, they were truly trustworthy and there was no hiding anything between them.

"It is I. I have long admired your esteemed establishment."

Wang Mengzou was somewhat numb, and his worldview began to crumble.

He had met many journalists, and in his mind, the most outstanding ones were people like Zhang Xingyan and Chen Qingtong, but how old were they when they became famous?

So much so that he now really wants to ask, "Are you making fun of me?" but feels it would be too rude to say it.

It wouldn't be appropriate to hastily extend an invitation on behalf of Chen Qingtong, so I could only ask instead:

"Are you two here to print the next issue of the newspaper?"

Lin Wangzheng shook his head:

"I wanted to come and see if there were any obsolete printing presses for sale. You know our kind of newspaper can't be published in the open, so we have to print our own when necessary."

Wang Mengzou nodded in understanding, pondered for a moment, and then said:

"Perfect timing. You two don't need to go to the printing factory. Our office has an old, half-sheet hand-cranked printing press that can be operated by one person. We haven't used it for years, so we'll donate it to your newspaper as a token of our support."

Sending the machine out will create a favor, making things easier in the future.

Upon hearing that it wouldn't cost any money, Shen Zishi smiled more brightly than a flower:

"real?"

Lin Wangzheng was a little embarrassed and scratched his head:

"How can this be?"

Wang Mengzou raised his hand to indicate that there was no problem.

"Consider it a favor to a friend. I won't pretend to be all selfless; I might need to ask you two for help in the future. But let me make it clear in advance: I'm out of supplies, so you'll have to find somewhere to buy them."

Lin Wangzheng thought about it and felt that the deal was quite worthwhile.

For Wang Mengzou, it was simply a matter of writing articles, and he could even get paid for them.

An old-fashioned half-sheet hand-cranked printing plate machine, even if it's in good condition, will still cost around a hundred yuan. If you can save that money, it will naturally have its place.

While they were pondering, the three of them arrived at the main entrance of the Yadong Library.

Lin Wangzheng bowed to Wang Mengzou:

"Then we shall respectfully accept your offer. If we can help Boss Wang, please feel free to ask."

After returning the greeting, Wang Mengzou gestured for the two to enter the house:

"Alright, you two, come with me."

......

One hour later.

Lin Wangzheng and Shen Zishi returned to the French Concession, followed by a handcart.

The vehicle contained a small, half-sheet hand-cranked printing plate machine, as well as auxiliary materials purchased from the printing factory, including lead type for typesetting, ink, paper, screens, and other consumables. It was too heavy for two people to move by hand.

Luckily, I got a machine for free this time, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have had enough money to bring with me.

However, instead of heading towards Dongxinqiao, the two men led the cart toward the former French Concession.

That area was the site of the "Songhu French Concession Extension Clause" signed last year by Yuan Shikai's party with the French Minister to China, Conde, in order to expel the revolutionaries. This clause allowed France to expand westward by more than 15,000 mu. Currently, many areas are still under development, and bamboo scaffolding can be seen everywhere, with workers moving and working on it.

The printing plate machine isn't large, but with consumables and other supplies, it's definitely not practical to put it in a small hotel room.

Especially when you need to run away, you can't take it with you.

Therefore, finding a remote place to settle down, so that you can move there directly if something happens in the future, is the best option.

Since Lin Wangzheng began reforming the "Strange News" newspaper, Shen Zishi had started preparing to rent a safe house. With his understanding of the concession, he had already chosen a general area. Now he could just go there, pay the money, and get the key.

Upon arriving near the Baxianqiao Cemetery, Shen Zishi led Lin Wangzheng into an alleyway.

The buildings in this area are different from those in the old concession area. They still retain the style of a Jiangnan water town, with each house having its own entrance and courtyard. The houses are somewhat dilapidated, but there are still many people living there.

It was mainly populated by ordinary people, and included people from all walks of life, as well as many vagrants and wanderers.

Shen Zishi quickly completed the rental arrangements, choosing a secluded courtyard with a monthly rent of eight silver dollars, which was still affordable for the two of them at the moment.

After unloading the machine and auxiliary materials and paying the movers for the cart, the two of them worked together to carry the machine into the house, sweating profusely from exhaustion.

This machine is at least as heavy as a Shen Zishi...

"Ha! I'm old and useless now. Back in the day, I could lift this little bit of stuff with one hand."

Shen Zishi plopped down on the threshold, wiped his sweat with his sleeve, and casually boasted a bit.

Lin Wangzheng also sat down, took out a cigarette, handed one to Shen Zishi, and lit it for both of them.

The two men smoked in silence, neither of them saying a word.

The alley was quiet. A cat jumped over the wall, making a slight sound. When it saw the new neighbor, it meowed twice and then ran away quickly.

"Wang Zheng, how much longer do you think we can hold out?"

Shen Zishi looked up at the sky and asked the question seemingly unintentionally.

Lin Wangzheng threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out.

"How long will it last?"

"That's the kind of life I'm living."

"We'll hold out as long as Yuan Shikai wants to be emperor, until he slinks off the throne and dies in regret."

"Okay, the machines have already been shipped back. It wouldn't be worth it to quit now."

Shen Zishi chuckled.

Lin Wangzheng also laughed, stood up, and patted the dust off his backside:

"Uncle, I want to eat lion's head meatballs today."

Shen Zishi also stood up and put his arm around his shoulder:

"Then, as your uncle, I'll take you to eat!"