N-A-A Chapter 21 was blacklisted by the newspaper industry.
Chapter 21 was blacklisted by the newspaper industry.
In the office building of the Zhonghua Daily, the once noisy large office is now filled with people busy with their own things, and there is no more chatting or laughing. It is as if they are shrouded in a suffocating atmosphere.
Lin Zhou walked in briskly, carrying a thick kraft paper envelope. Inside the envelope were the final chapters of "A Step into the Past," a time-travel novel that had already caused a sensation in Hong Kong after months of serialization.
From being completely unknown to becoming the talk of the town, every adventure and power struggle of Xiang Shaolong has captivated countless readers. Newspaper sales have also soared from an initial 20,000 to 30,000 copies to a peak of 150,000 copies.
"Ah Zhou, you've finally arrived!" Editor-in-Chief Chen greeted him with a grim face. His usually smiling face was now filled with anxiety. "Something terrible has happened!"
Lin Zhou's heart sank, and he handed over the envelope: "Old Chen, what's wrong? I've finished organizing the last chapter. Please check if there are any problems with the layout. Let's try to wrap it up next week and give the readers a satisfying ending."
Chen Jingzhi didn't take the envelope. He just sighed heavily, pulled Lin Zhou to a corner of the office, and said in a low voice, "The ending probably won't be published on time. There's a problem with the printing plant!"
"Printing plants?" Lin Zhou frowned. "Didn't we sign long-term contracts with three printing plants? We were able to deliver 150,000 copies on time before, so why is there a sudden problem?"
"They broke the contract!" Li Wangcai said through gritted teeth. "As soon as I got to work this morning, I received calls from those three printing factories. They all said it was 'force majeure' and wanted to terminate the cooperation. They were even willing to pay the penalty for breach of contract."
I sent people to inquire and found out that it was Oriental Daily News, Sing Tao Daily, Ming Pao, and a few other newspapers that spearheaded a coalition of more than twenty large and small newspapers, issuing a message to all the printing plants in Hong Kong: anyone who dares to print newspapers for us can forget about getting work from other newspapers!
Lin Zhou's pupils contracted slightly, instantly understanding the key point. The rise of *Zhonghua Daily* essentially meant taking away market share from other newspapers. The Hong Kong newspaper market was only so big, and readers had limited time and money. *Zhonghua Daily*, with *A Step into the Past*, surged ahead, causing the sales of other newspapers to visibly decline.
The martial arts serialization in Oriental Daily News was overshadowed, the social news section of Sing Tao Daily lost much of its appeal, and even Ming Pao, which has always been known for its in-depth commentary, is facing a decline in subscriptions.
"They're trying to wipe us out! This is the second time they've smeared us. Sigh! Who told us to be so weak-rooted?"
Li Wangcai slammed his fist on the table, his voice filled with anger. "Not only the printing plant, but I also received news that they have jointly issued a statement saying that our Zhonghua Daily is 'attention-seeking and misleading the public,' calling on all readers in Hong Kong to boycott us, and even saying that we should 'go bankrupt and get out of the newspaper industry.' Look, this is the front page of other newspapers this morning."
Li Wangcai handed over a stack of newspapers. The front page of the Oriental Daily News featured a bold headline: "Resist Unhealthy Publications, Restore a Clean Hong Kong Press Industry." The Sing Tao Daily directly named the Zhonghua Daily for "using absurd novels to attract attention while neglecting its journalistic duties." Ming Pao's commentary section was even more lengthy, accusing the Zhonghua Daily of "disrupting the order of the press industry and damaging its ecosystem." More than a dozen newspapers adopted a unified stance, their words brimming with hostility.
Lin Zhou flipped through the newspaper, a cold smile playing on his lips. These newspapers, usually locked in fierce competition, had now reached an unprecedented consensus to suppress the *Zhonghua Daily*; ultimately, it was all about self-interest. "What else did they do?"
"They even pressured the government," Li Wangcai sighed. "I heard they jointly submitted a petition to the Chief Secretary, saying that our newspaper's circulation was too high and 'may affect social stability,' and demanding that the government intervene to restrict our distribution. Fortunately, the government ignored them."
Lin Zhou breathed a slight sigh of relief. In Hong Kong during the 1960s, although the political situation was complex, the government's management of the newspaper industry was relatively relaxed. As long as it didn't involve sensitive content such as military, political, and international relations, it wouldn't interfere too much. The core content of the *Zhonghua Daily* consisted of entertainment novels like *A Step into the Past*, along with some local news. It neither crossed any red lines nor failed to generate substantial tax revenue for the government. Naturally, there was no need to shut down a legally operating newspaper to appease other newspapers.
"The government said that our newspaper content is compliant and we have paid all the taxes we owed, so they can't control how much sales we get," Old Chen added.
Li Wangcai hurriedly said, "But the printing factory problem is still not solved! Right now, only our own small printing factory can still operate, but the equipment is old and we don't have enough workers. We can only print 50,000 to 60,000 copies a day at most, which is far less than the previous 150,000 copies!"
This figure also made Lin Zhou ponder deeply. While a sales volume of fifty to sixty thousand copies wouldn't bankrupt the newspaper, profits would shrink significantly, and many loyal readers might be disappointed at not being able to buy a copy. More importantly, this was a boycott orchestrated by other newspapers; if they compromised this time, the *Zhonghua Daily*'s foothold in Hong Kong's newspaper industry would only shrink further.
"We can't let them succeed," Lin Zhou said in a deep voice. "Our own printing plant, didn't we just buy equipment? Can we add more staff? And set up three shifts? Can we temporarily repair and upgrade the old equipment? Even printing 10,000 more copies would be good."
"Yes, Director Wang has already made arrangements." Li Wangcai nodded. "The workers are willing to work three shifts, and the equipment is being repaired overnight, but we can only get a maximum of 70,000 copies. Any more than that and we really can't keep up. Moreover, other newspapers are spreading rumors that our newspaper 'will soon cease publication,' and some newsstand owners are starting to hesitate and dare not order more of our stock."
At that moment, across the street, several readers were surrounding the newsstand owner, asking, "Has today's 'Zhonghua Daily' arrived? I need two copies, one for myself and one for my colleague."
The shop owner shook his head and said helplessly, "There are only three copies left. They were almost all snatched up as soon as they were put out. Other newspapers told me not to get my hands on the *Zhonghua Daily*, but you guys keep asking every day, there's nothing I can do!"
The readers looked utterly disappointed. One of the young men said, "I read the newspapers' statements. They talk about boycotting, but they just can't stand seeing *Zhonghua Daily* doing well! What good novels are there in Hong Kong now besides *A Step into the Past*? The serializations in other newspapers are either outdated or dragging on; they can't compare at all!"
Another middle-aged man chimed in, "Exactly! Entertainment is already scarce enough. Watching 'A Step into the Past' after work is the happiest thing of the day. The more they boycott it, the more I'll support 'Zhonghua Daily.' I'll just come earlier to queue up next time!"
At the Zhonghua Daily, Lin Zhou pondered for a moment. He suddenly realized that the boycott by other newspapers, though seemingly aggressive, was actually untenable. Because what they were boycotting was not just the Zhonghua Daily newspaper itself, but also the readers' desire for high-quality content.
In 1960s Hong Kong, material resources were scarce, and entertainment options were extremely limited. People were tired of listening to songs, operas, and storytelling on the radio, and movie tickets were expensive, unaffordable for ordinary citizens. Serialized novels in newspapers became the cheapest and most convenient form of entertainment.
The appearance of "A Step into the Past" was like a thunderclap piercing the night sky. The time travel setting was novel and unique, the plot was full of ups and downs, and the characters were vivid and three-dimensional. It not only satisfied the readers' imagination of history, but also had a tense and exciting adventure plot, which naturally made people unable to put it down.
"Wang Ge, Lao Chen, don't worry." Lin Zhou turned around, his eyes firm. "The readers won't abandon 'A Step into the Past' just because other newspapers appeal. What we need to do now is, first, keep our printing plant running at full capacity and print as many newspapers as possible; second, contact those newsstands that are willing to continue cooperating with us to ensure that the newspapers can be delivered to the readers smoothly; third, publish the final chapter of 'A Step into the Past' on time, so as not to disappoint the readers."
The two nodded simultaneously, and Li Wangcai's anxiety lessened somewhat: "I'll arrange it right away! As for the newsstands, I've already contacted some of our long-time customers, and they said they're willing to continue selling our newspapers. After all, the sales of the *Zhonghua Daily* speak for themselves; who wouldn't want to make money?"
"That's good." Lin Zhou smiled. "As for those newspapers that ganged up to block us, they thought they could defeat us with such methods, but they forgot that the core of a newspaper is its content. As long as 'A Step into the Past' is still around, and as long as our content is good enough, our readers will continue to support us."
Just then, the phone rang in Li Wangcai's office. Li Wangcai ran over to answer it, listened for a few moments, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Really? That's great! Thank you!"
After hanging up the phone, Li Wangcai ran back excitedly and said, "A-Zhou, great news! The owner of a small printing factory, a loyal reader of 'A Step into the Past,' said he's willing to secretly print newspapers for us. Although it's not a large-scale operation, it can print 20,000 more copies a day!"
"This is truly a timely help!" Lin Zhou was also somewhat surprised, but then understood. The influence of "A Step into the Past" in Hong Kong was far greater than they had imagined, not only captivating ordinary readers but also touching many people in the industry.
Over the next few days, the printing and distribution of the *Zhonghua Daily* proceeded smoothly despite the difficulties. With its own printing plant and the small printing plant it secretly collaborated with, it could print 90,000 copies of the newspaper daily. Although this was 60,000 fewer than its peak, it still held an important position in the Hong Kong newspaper market.
The newspapers that had joined forces to boycott the *Zhonghua Daily* were starting to panic when their boycott proved ineffective and sales remained strong. They had initially thought that cutting off the printing press and launching a media campaign would quickly bring the *Zhonghua Daily* to a close, but they hadn't expected such strong reader support. Many people who didn't normally read the *Zhonghua Daily* even bought the newspaper out of curiosity about the boycott to see just how appealing *A Step into the Past* really was.
The editor-in-chief of Oriental Daily News, seeing his company's sales continue to decline, smashed a cup in anger; the head of Sing Tao Daily held an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures, but could not come up with anything that could compete with "A Step into the Past"; Ming Pao published another article in its commentary section, attempting to continue to smear Zhonghua Daily, but was refuted by readers, many of whom wrote to Ming Pao accusing them of "not tolerating competitors" and "making a mountain out of a molehill".