Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Three days later, just as dawn was breaking.

In the front courtyard of the Yongningfang Dayongmin Newspaper Office, a bustling scene was already underway.

One hundred and twenty newsboys stood tall and straight, forming neat square formations.

These children, the oldest being no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, and the youngest looking only seven or eight, were just around the age of 18.

They were all originally homeless children wandering around the capital, fighting with stray dogs for food.

Later, it was taken in by the Yitang Hall in Powa Lane of Pujitang.

Now that he's been sent to the newspaper office, he finally has a decent job that can earn him a living.

The children all changed into matching indigo short blazers today, and they were all clean and fresh.

Each person carried a large, coarse cloth bag slung across their shoulder, on which were embroidered four large characters in sturdy red thread: "Da Yong Min Bao".

Gu Mingli stood with his hands behind his back on the high steps, his gaze sweeping over the group of eager children below.

"Listen up, my children!"

"Today is the first day of publication of the *Da Yong Min Bao*! For the first time, our newspaper is being given away for free, without charging a single penny!"

"Once you've delivered that stack, hurry back and collect the new ones!"

"When you're walking through the streets and alleys, be sure to shout out today's front-page headline clearly in every single one!"

"yes!!!"

One hundred and twenty distinct tones, some crisp and clear, others sharp and jagged, converged together, causing the sparrows in the trees to flutter and take flight.

Song Huaijin is now the editor-in-chief of a newspaper.

He directed his men to open the warehouse door, where bundles of newspapers tied with hemp rope were stacked.

The children's eyes immediately turned to that direction.

Lin Zhixing and Chen Wangshu stood at the warehouse entrance, leading people to distribute newspapers.

"Everyone, line up to get your newspapers."

Fifty copies were stacked in a row, and the newsboys immediately lined up and stepped forward in an orderly fashion to distribute them.

Those who received the newspaper stuffed it into their large satchels.

In groups of three or five, they excitedly filed out and poured into the bustling streets of Kyoto.

At this time, the morning market in Kyoto was bustling with activity.

The vendors shouted their wares in drawn-out tones.

The large meat buns from the steamer have just come out of the steamer, and wisps of white steam are rising up.

The stalls selling fried dough sticks, wontons, and tea on the street were packed with customers heading to the early morning market.

They were quietly eating breakfast in twos and threes, occasionally whispering about old gossip from some wealthy family.

Suddenly, a series of clear, childlike voices hawking their wares abruptly rang out from the streets and alleys.

"Da Yong People's Daily! We're the first to know about everything, big and small, happening in the world!"

"His Majesty personally went to Jizhou to provide disaster relief and, in a fit of rage, arrested corrupt officials! The imperial court allocated 100,000 taels of silver to aid the disaster victims in Jizhou!"

"Potatoes and sweet potatoes have become lifesavers, and large-scale planting has already begun in eight disaster-stricken counties!"

The children's voices were high-pitched and bright, with a strong penetrating power, instantly tearing apart the hustle and bustle of the morning market.

The elderly women who were haggling over prices with their vegetable baskets at the morning market all stopped in their tracks and turned around in astonishment to look at them.

The old man selling wontons casually wiped his flour-covered hands on his apron and peeked out from behind his stall.

"What is a newspaper? And what are potatoes and sweet potatoes?"

The clever newsboy ran over, pulled a newspaper still smelling of ink from his pocket, and handed it over with both hands with a "snap".

"Sir, today's newspaper is free! Here you go! There are lots of interesting stories in it!"

The old man took it with a suspicious look on his face and examined it for a long time, turning it over and over.

The paper is thin yet sturdy, and feels smooth to the touch.

The handwriting on it was clean and black, with straight lines and neat arrangement, even more orderly than the books copied by private tutors.

He didn't know many characters, but he could tell that this was different from the notices posted by the government on the city walls.

Most importantly, this newspaper... actually has pictures on it!

The fourth edition of the comic book depicts the scene of disaster relief in Jizhou.

With just a few incredibly expressive lines, the painting depicts the devastating locust plague in the north, the forced land sales for food by the victims, the emperor's personal command of disaster relief efforts, and the teaching of farming at the Puji Hall.

Next to it was a line of explanatory text written entirely in plain language.

Although the old man couldn't read all the words, he understood the suffering and joy of salvation in the picture at a glance.

"Hey! Scholar!"

He quickly turned around, clutching the newspaper, and grabbed the young scholar at the next table who was eating wontons with his head down.

"Scholar! Quickly read this to us all, what earth-shattering matter is written here!"

The scholar was initially annoyed at being disturbed, but when he glanced at the layout on the paper, he was taken aback.

He put down the spoon and took it, his eyes widening as he glanced at the bold, large headline on the front page.

"This content...is interesting!"

The diners who were originally eating separately suddenly swarmed around the wonton stall.

"Read it to us quickly."

The scholar shook the newspaper and began to read it carefully.

"...His Majesty personally went to Jizhou to inspect disaster relief efforts and severely punished local evil forces on the spot!"

"Jia Zhengjing, the governor of Jizhou, has been dismissed and arrested on the spot by the Embroidered Uniform Guard for embezzling disaster relief funds and abusing his power for personal gain. He will be escorted to the capital immediately for thorough investigation and accountability!"

"Whoa—!!!"

The people looked at each other in disbelief, and a huge gasp of astonishment erupted from the crowd.

"I heard that guy surnamed Jia is related to the Cui family! And he was just arrested like that?!"

"Such a good thing?! Thank God!"

"Scholar, hurry! Keep reading, what's next!"

More and more people gathered around to listen to the newspaper being read aloud, and even the man selling cut cakes next door came running over with his knife.

For the first time in his life, the scholar became the most sought-after person among the common people, greatly satisfying his vanity.

He simply stood up, even adopting a storytelling tone with some intonation.

When the news about grain prices in the livelihood section was being read, a burly man with a full beard couldn't help but interrupt.

"Scholar, is what this says true? In the capital, a dou (a unit of dry measure) of rice has now risen to over forty wen (another unit of dry measure)?"

The scholar immediately turned to that line of text, pointed to the newspaper, and loudly confirmed:

"Look for yourself! It's written very clearly here!"

"Grain prices in Kyoto have risen by 12% in the past half month, with the current average price in the East Market at 43 mon per dou."

"Furthermore, the newspapers reported that the imperial court is already aware of this matter and is conducting a thorough investigation into the grain merchants who are hoarding and speculating. Once verified, their property will be confiscated and they will be severely punished!"

"good!!!"

A thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd, followed by applause and cheers.

The burly man slapped his thigh and exclaimed angrily, "I knew it! I thought the rice was ridiculously expensive when I went to buy it the other day!"

"I initially thought it was that unscrupulous manager of Li's Grain Shop ripping me off! Turns out the whole capital has seen price increases! Good for the imperial court, they should have investigated these scoundrels long ago!"

The crowd urged the scholar to continue reading.

Before today, only high-ranking officials and wealthy families knew about these important court affairs and the lives of ordinary people.

Ordinary people can only listen to gossip, a mix of truth and falsehood, in teahouses, letting others fool them.

But now, it's clearly printed in black and white!

Every single detail, with names, origins, and even the exact date of the arrests and the exact amount of money the rice price had increased, was clearly listed!

The scholar became more and more enthusiastic as he read, and continued reading.

By the time the third edition of "Observations from Various Places" was being read, a crowd of thirty or forty people had already gathered in front of the wonton stall, making it impossible to move.

Later arrivals couldn't squeeze in at all, so they simply stood on tiptoe or even stepped on the cart to peek through the gaps in the crowd to listen.