Ouyang Ji's old eyes lit up: "You mean, his newspaper, even with the so-called 'commission' for the newsboys, is another loss-making venture?"
It was said that a newsboy had about a thousand newspapers. For every hundred sold, he received one coin. That was ten coins a day.
For a family of three, these ten coins were enough for at least a day's expenses!
A group of children, each earning ten coins a day, was unimaginable before!
Of course, applying to be a newsboy also required parental accompaniment, lest the children, being ignorant, caused trouble. The newsboys' mothers would even put down their weaving to accompany, look after, and guide them throughout the process.
Liang Xiao's efforts in having the newsboys sell newspapers yielded unexpectedly good results. Considering that this was the Da Gan Kingdom, earning a little money to supplement household expenses could also foster their confidence and sense of family responsibility.
But Ouyang Ping had calculated that, according to the Ouyang family's printing methods, the cost of each newspaper was at least eight coins!
After Ouyang Ping explained the costs in detail, everyone breathed a sigh of relief: "Another loss-making endeavor just for publicity? With the contract in hand, as long as we can afford his books, he cannot sell them to outsiders at a lower price than us, or he will have to pay a hefty 'breach of contract fee'!"
Ouyang Ping's face suddenly darkened: "My son, is there a possibility that Liang Xiao's 'movable type printing' can truly control the printing cost to a price unimaginable to us, even below one hundred and fifty coins..."
"Impossible!" Ouyang Ping repeatedly shook his head. "Father, considering the manufacturing and wear of tools, ink, binding materials, and wasted paper from printing failures. Not to mention worker wages and the rent for the bookshop, no matter how low the cost per book, it cannot be less than three hundred coins!"
Ouyang Ji mused and nodded: "Indeed, our cost price is around five hundred coins. Even if his is lower, it cannot be below three hundred coins, after all, the other materials used are the same..."
At this moment, the Ouyang family had not yet realized that their woodblock printing was still in its infancy, with many inconveniences, and they had not found the right materials. Moreover, satisfied with their current profits, they had not continued to improve.
The capital city had a population of over a million. The ten thousand copies of the first issue of the newspaper were naturally not all sold. Seventy thousand copies were transported by Liang Xiao's men to the towns surrounding the capital for sale.
With the capital city as the center, radiating influence to the surrounding areas, this was Liang Xiao's vision, which was being perfectly implemented!
The thirty thousand copies of the newspaper in the capital were sold out in less than two days, receiving a fervent response!
Some leisurely citizens even went in groups to the bookshop entrance, requesting the Da Gan Newspaper Office to continue publishing the second issue, so they could see "Journey to the West" and other stories sooner, and learn about the strange happenings.
One section of the newspaper also included a children's education column, specifically publishing content from literacy primers.
When the common people compared, they found that one hundred newspapers cost only five hundred coins, with at least two pages, making it much more affordable and comprehensive than the books sold by Ouyang Ji, naturally leading to high demand.
Fortunately, the Da Gan Newspaper Office was well-prepared and continued to rush out reprints. Those not sold could be taken to distant places for sale.
The Da Gan Kingdom had a population of tens of millions. Occasionally, the common people would buy a copy of the Da Gan Daily. Several people, dozens of people, or even the entire clan could pool money to buy one or two copies, and continue buying for several issues, which was perfectly feasible!
Liang Shu's third son, Liang Yun, was on his way to the Shu region, carrying some layouts of the Da Gan Daily. He would start recruiting and working upon arrival in Shu.
Ten thousand copies of a single issue of the newspaper, at five coins per copy, amounted to five hundred taels of silver, and this was only for the capital and its surrounding areas.
The most trusted confidantes of the Liang family had already been dispatched to all parts of the country, preparing to open more bookshops.
Liang Xiao initially estimated that once the literacy rate of the populace increased in the future, he would be able to net at least ten thousand taels per issue nationwide!
The Ouyang family discovered that Liang Xiao had once again gained the favor of the populace, and they could not sit still. They sent people daily to urge Liang Xiao to print more books, not forgetting to add a few sarcastic remarks.
Liang Xiao ignored them, instead focusing on arranging the operations of the bookshops and wineries before heading to Jiangnan.
If the Ouyang family insisted on sending him money, he would want them to print desperately, but printing books was several levels more difficult and profitable than printing newspapers, so he could not rush. He still needed to first build the public's favor towards the bookshops and establish their reputation, making it easier for the bookshops to sell books after the Ouyang family conceded.
This also served to keep the Ouyang family on edge, preventing them from selling books at high prices, thus having no revenue in the short term, and potentially leading to worker defections!
At that time, Liang Xiao could easily recruit some of the workers from his factories in various locations, achieving a shift in power!
The Ouyang family was driven to distraction by Liang Xiao. For books with a cost of three hundred coins, they had been patiently enduring, only urging Liang Xiao to print books quickly so they could purchase them all.
Liang Xiao's bookshops were delivering printed books, while the newspaper office was printing the second issue.
Once again, a huge sale occurred, and the public's clamor for the third issue after reading the second was even louder than their clamor for the second issue after reading the first!
Ouyang Ji shuttled back and forth between the Ministry of Revenue and his family, extremely busy, and patiently waited.
The Ouyang family was convinced that Liang Xiao was losing money by selling newspapers, but compared to the small daily losses from newspapers, they cared more about Liang Xiao's books, as this directly related to whether their bookshops could obtain books at low costs and sell them at high costs.
As long as Liang Xiao was defeated, they could sell the books bought from Liang Xiao at their original prices. Even if they lowered the price, it would still be a huge profit. At worst, they would lower it by one or two hundred coins to offset the difference between their own costs and the purchase price from Liang Xiao!
Because of their strong support for the Ouyang family, the Dugu family and the He family were also involved.
Unlike the noble families who were busy every day, Liang Xiao, after inspecting the bookshops, would go home to tell the girls stories from "Journey to the West" and "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," occasionally telling a few jokes, living a carefree and joyful life!
Those jokes were written down by Zhen Mi and sent to the newspaper office to be published in the entertainment section.
This night, Liang Xiao finally exposed his shameless face. He told several stories from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" to the girls consecutively, frightening Yue Lian into hiding in Liang Xiao's arms, weeping profusely.
Even Luo Qingxue, along with Jian Qinwan, hugged Zhen Mi tightly, their faces pale with fright!
"Oh, you're so scared. I'll tell different stories next time." Liang Xiao pretended to be sympathetic, but the smile on his face still betrayed his shamelessness.
"No, Young Master, tell us more next time! I'm both scared and want to listen..." Yue Lian trembled.
The other girls nodded, expressing their agreement.
The Da Gan Kingdom also had some ghost stories, but Liang Xiao told them vividly and chillingly, and they were all stories the girls had never heard before, naturally causing their curiosity to skyrocket.
Liang Xiao couldn't help but sigh.
It was a pity that modern horror stories like "The Ring" couldn't be told...
"With this matter concluded, I can set off for Jiangnan tomorrow. Judging from the content of Zhuo Lingjun's letter, the tone was as if he wished he could fly from Jiangnan to my presence instantly and drag me to Jiangnan!"
"Teacher is really something..." Luo Qingxue said coquettishly, but in her heart, she was also quite looking forward to it.
As long as Liang Xiao returned from Jiangnan successfully, he could become a consort, and she could then marry him with peace of mind!
As they were discussing, Ding Wuyi arrived and took Liang Xiao to the West Palace Villa.