Era: Starting from divorce from female college student

Chapter 170, Ming Pao Returns to Beijing (asking for monthly tickets)

March 21, 1959, the 13th day of the second lunar month, is the Spring Equinox.

In the morning, the sky in Hong Kong and Kowloon was gray, and there was a drizzle over Victoria Harbour, but it had not rained in Central.

Sitting in the conference room on the 36th floor of Qifa Building, Zhao Mancang did not look at the Victoria Harbour scenery outside the window, but focused on the work at hand.

The cover of "Women's Wear" magazine is a very eye-catching photo of a woman's upper body, with an angelic face and delicate features, big wavy golden hair, a proud bust that is about to burst through the clothes, an enchanting thin waist, etc.

All these elements can catch the reader's attention at the first moment, and one glance is enough to make people immersed in it.

In addition to the cover being the big selling point, there are also many surprises inside.

Because there are many swimsuit photos of models in the magazine.

There is a saying in later generations that whoever controls the traffic password can make money.

As for the traffic password, in the era of short videos, as long as you touch the edge, it will be considered traffic, because the old perverts love to watch it.

Even lesbians love to watch it. For example, those male models with eight-pack abs wearing transparent shirts can make those old female perverts crazy with just a slight twist of their waists or a turn of their heads.

Of course, it is impossible for "Women's Wear" to just be so superficial with these borderline photos, and it also put a lot of effort into the text.

There are courses that teach women how to put on makeup, as well as popular information on how to deal with menstruation, how to calculate the duration of menstruation, and so on.

There is also popular science on how to capture a man's heart, how to make delicious food, etc.

"Fashion, makeup, beauty, food, lifestyle, gender issues, and so on—these are all the articles that should be popularized in our Women's Wear Weekly. Beyond popularizing knowledge, we also need to provide emotional value."

“Not only women love to read our magazine, but men also like it.”

"As for marketing, as I've said before, Hong Kong Island is only a small part of the market. New York and London are the main destinations, so we need to establish partnerships with airlines like Cathay Pacific."

After discussing this, Zhao Mancang ended the meeting.

The overall design of "Women's Wear" has been completed and he doesn't need to worry too much about it.

Maybe Bruce and the others would be a little worried about the high cost, but Zhao Mancang has already said that this is an English magazine that makes money in pounds and US dollars, so how could it possibly lose money?
In addition to "Women's Wear", "Ming Pao" is also ready, there is nothing much to say about this.

Ming Pao can directly copy and paste the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily, but the content design should be different.

The Ming Pao office was located on the 35th floor. The person in charge was Duan Baozhen and the deputy editor-in-chief was Yang Zhixiao.

Zhao Mancang also quickly finalized the content of the meeting and quickly resolved the problems of Duan Baozhen and Yang Zhixiao.

"We at Ming Pao focus on two major sections: world news and Chinese news. These are divided into five sections: news, opinion, special features, advertising, and supplements."

"I don't need to explain much about the news. Breaking news must be placed on the most prominent front page, but entertainment news and the like should be left out. We don't focus on them."

"The Opinion section primarily includes news commentary, readers' letters, and comments from professors and experts. Furthermore, our newspaper also needs to fill this section with its own content."

"Special issues can focus on hot social issues, such as recent real estate, cars, parenting, travel, reading, etc. These can all be published in special issues. Our editors need to complete the manuscripts a week in advance, and we must have sufficient manuscripts."

"The supplement is very simple, it's just a novel. I treat you Ming Pao and the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily News the same. This is a novel called "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer". You can serialize it directly in the supplement."

"In addition to serialized novels, the supplement still has a lot of space. We can report some local news, or other news, or we can directly arrange some anecdotes such as strange stories and legends."

There is a big difference between Ming Pao and Kowloon Daily. The former is relatively focused on the news section, and its entertainment attributes are much lower.

After all, Ming Pao’s mission is to distinguish right from wrong, so the section on speech is very important.

The novel "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" was serialized in Ming Pao mainly to increase the sales of the newspaper. Zhao Mancang did not want Ming Pao to be like other tabloids and become half-dead.

If it has no influence, there is no need to publish this newspaper.

As for the other parts of the supplement that are used to report fake news such as strange stories and legends, they are also just a means to attract readers.

For example, some prehistoric behemoths, underwater monsters, giant forest anacondas and other animals, as well as some strange things caused by strange natural phenomena, such as the famous will-o'-the-wisp, and the methane foam on the ice.

When reporting on this type of article, the main focus is on creating a terrifying atmosphere in the early stages to catch people's attention, and the answer is announced in the second or third issue of the newspaper to achieve the purpose of popularizing science.

After a while, you can collect these articles about strange stories and legends, and then publish them simultaneously like novels, and make more money.

Don't underestimate this type of article. Many people are very interested in it, especially in the next 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, when the European and American world will take off rapidly and become wealthy.

When people have money, they will want to enrich their spiritual world.

This kind of article about strange stories and legends can definitely attract people's attention.

There's a saying in later generations: Why are there so few Europeans and Americans? Isn't it because they all love to commit suicide?

What Zhao Mancang did was to conform to the laws of development of the times and to point out a path for them.

Duan Baozhen and Yang Zhixiao were very happy. With the arrival of the big boss, all problems were solved and were no longer a problem.

After finalizing these two things, Zhao Mancang returned to the lounge on the 36th floor, but Alex had already left.

It would be better if he left. Whether he can think things through depends entirely on him.

At noon, Zhao Mancang asked Zhuang Xiaoting to have lunch with him. During the meal, he just chatted about real estate construction and architecture, and did not talk about anything romantic.

Even so, there was something wrong with the way Zhuang Xiaoting looked at him.

Zhao Mancang is not a fool, how could he not see it?
But he seemed to be inseparable from the other party, because the other party was really a tool and could really bring him experience points.

It is indeed not as good as Xu Wenluo, but it is not a small amount. Yesterday it was 99, and today it is 59, which is almost half of Xu Wenluo.

Zhuang Xiaoting was curious about everything about Zhao Mancang, such as how he gained so much expertise. She felt she had found a kindred spirit, especially when it came to the undersea tunnel.

But at present, building an undersea tunnel is undoubtedly a very difficult task.

Not to mention whether there is anyone to invest, even if there is, I guess they can’t come up with so much money.

"Oh, so what's the investment figure you calculated yourself?"

Zhao Mancang asked curiously. Zhuang Xiaoting frowned slightly and said immediately:
"According to my estimate, an investment of HK$280 million would be enough. However, no one can afford such a large investment. Even if someone does have such money, it would be difficult to recoup the investment."

"Not to mention, the Hong Kong government is very likely not to approve this investment, as it seems to involve other disputes."

Zhao Mancang was very clear about the disputes she was talking about.

Since 1967, the Hong Kong government has stipulated that television broadcasts can only use English and Cantonese dialects.

Strengthen English, prohibit the teaching of Mandarin in primary and secondary schools, and prohibit the production of Cantonese dialect movies and songs.

This is one of the disputes and also a concrete manifestation.

In fact, in Hong Kong and Kowloon today, more than 40% of the people speak Mandarin. You have to know that this is a city with a population of nearly three million, and 40% means 1.2 million people.

After the 1960s and 1970s, the number of these 40% gradually decreased because everyone only spoke English and Cantonese.

After the 1990s, you could hardly hear anyone speaking Mandarin, because Cantonese movies and songs were very popular in Hong Kong and Kowloon at that time, and everyone used Cantonese when communicating.

In Zhao Mancang’s opinion, the issue of cost recovery of the undersea tunnel mentioned by Zhuang Xiaoting is not a problem at all.

Because in the original time and space history, Pao Yue-Kong once spent 320 million Hong Kong dollars to invest in the construction of the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel. The reason for doing so was mainly for two purposes.

For Pao Yue-kong, he was the world's shipping king. In the 1960s and 1970s, he didn't want to continue to be the Dragon King of the Sea, but wanted to go ashore.

So he needs a huge reputation to facilitate his future business in Hong Kong Island.

In the 1970s, in terms of reputation, even though Henry Fok had hundreds of thousands of employees, he was far inferior to Yue-kong Pao.

This is the first reason, and the second is that Pao Yue-Kong has already started to plan for real estate.

At that time, Pao Yue-kong acquired Wharf Holdings because the company owned a large amount of land in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.

One of the plots of land was located next to the exit of the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel. Later, Pao Yue-kong's son-in-law built the famous Times Square on this land.

As one of the landmarks of Hong Kong Island, Times Square is also one of the world-famous shopping malls. In the future, its annual rental income will exceed 3 billion.

Times Square has a very busy flow of people. After all, it is located at the exit of the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel, and more than 100,000 vehicles enter and exit the tunnel every day.

Huge flow of people means huge wealth.

In addition to these two points, the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel can also recover its costs by collecting tolls, which is more profitable than collecting landlords.

Therefore, the cost issue of the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel is not a problem at all. The biggest problem is whether we can come up with so much money to invest.

Secondly, in this era, British capital still dominated the world, and Zhao Mancang didn't want to pull out the tiger's whiskers.

After briefly chatting with Zhuang Xiaoting about these architectural topics, Zhao Mancang ended his lunch date with her.

"Mr. Zhao, can we meet again next time?"

Zhao Mancang was stunned when he heard Zhuang Xiaoting's explicit words. Is she so bold?
However, considering that she grew up in Hong Kong and Kowloon, and her cousin Feng Yue is an international student, it is understandable that she is bold, optimistic and extroverted.

"Well, if there's a chance, we'll definitely meet again."

Zhao Mancang smiled and was not in a hurry to make an appointment with the other party for the next meeting.

Although he really wanted to earn this experience point, he couldn't rush it.

After separating from Zhao Mancang, Zhuang Xiaoting excitedly prepared to return to No. 66 Deep Water Bay. She wanted to ask her cousin more about Zhao Mancang.

When preparing to take a taxi, Zhuang Xiaoting was attracted by a small newsstand not far from the roadside.

"Women's Wear?"

There was a magazine on the top shelf of the newsstand. It was already afternoon and most of the newspapers had been sold out. Only magazines were left, especially "Women's Wear".

Because the "Women's Wear" magazine is sold at a very high price, because its layout is very good, and it is a color magazine, it can be distinguished from other magazines just by looking at it.

The retail price of HK$12 would immediately discourage 99 percent of people, but Zhuang Xiaoting was an exception.

why?
Because Zhuang Xiaoting's family background is not bad, and she is also studying at the University of Hong Kong. Now she works in her cousin's company, and her monthly salary exceeds 3,000 Hong Kong dollars.

With a salary of 3,200 yuan, Zhuang Xiaoting is certainly not short of money.

After taking a quick look, Zhuang Xiaoting paid for the magazine.

The owner of the newsstand was very surprised to see this, and then quickly gave her the change, fearing that if he was a second late, she would regret it.

The magazine "Women's Wear" was too expensive, and the owner of the small newsstand was reluctant to put it up at first. If it weren't for the good cooperative relationship with the "Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily", he would definitely not want this magazine.

It’s only HK$12 per copy, why not go and rob the money?
If the newsstand owner knew that "Women's Health" costs $2.50 in New York and one pound in London, he would probably be shocked.

After all, 12 Hong Kong dollars is equivalent to 0.75 British pounds and 1.84 US dollars, but the price of "Women's Health" in New York and London is much higher than in Hong Kong Island.

They are definitely going to reap the wallets of local consumers.

After buying the magazine, Zhuang Xiaoting quickly got into a taxi and told the driver to drive to No. 66 Deep Water Bay. Then she sat in the back seat and read the magazine happily.

The models in the magazine "Women's Wear" are indeed a bit exposed, but it's okay.

Compared with magazines like Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard, "Women's Wear" is undoubtedly more upscale. After all, not ordinary magazines or newspapers dare to print color magazines because the cost is really too high.

In the Mong Kok Typhoon Shelter, at the Preface Bookstore, Zhang Quangui was bargaining with a middle-aged man named A Biao.

To be precise, A Biao was planning to spend twelve yuan to buy a copy of "Women's Wear", but the nearby newsstands and bookstores were out of stock. He finally found a copy at Xuyan Bookstore, but it turned out to be already opened.

In fact, it has been read several times.

So A Biao planned to ask Zhang Quangui, the owner of Xuyan Bookstore, to sell it to him at a lower price, but how could Zhang Quangui be willing to do that?
Twelve Hong Kong dollars, not a cent less!
In the end, A Biao had no choice but to succumb to Zhang Quangui's tyranny, or rather, he still couldn't resist the cover of "Women's Wear".

He wanted this magazine so badly.

When a man is in high spirits, he takes out money faster than he takes out a gun.

Ah Biao is an old pervert, even though he knows that with twelve Hong Kong dollars, he can have a passable fast food meal, and even if he adds thirty dollars, he can "go to a restaurant".

But these are just one-time things and will be gone soon.

Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard are actually OK, and they’re pretty cheap, but how can they be as realistic as Women’s Wear?
You have to know that the dragon, tiger and leopard are all printed in black and white, and the key is that they are not very attractive.

On the contrary, the models in "Women's Wear" are the best in all aspects. Although they don't expose themselves, not exposing themselves is more attractive than taking off all their clothes.

After happily earning 12 yuan, Zhang Quangui looked at his messy stall and planned to close it.

After returning home, Zhang Quangui felt more and more that something was wrong and became itchy.

Because "Women's Health" had sold out, many of the pictures in the magazine were not very clear in his mind. He had a poor memory and did not remember them.

"Damn it, you have to leave one for yourself tomorrow, otherwise it will be too torturous in the middle of the night."

Compared to him who was tortured very uncomfortably, A Biao was very popular.

Not only did A Biao feel good, but several of his co-workers also asked him to borrow "Women's Wear" to read, and he took the opportunity to charge them 50 cents as a borrowing fee.

In one night, he earned four dollars. This business seemed to be quite profitable.

The next day, Zhao Mancang returned to work at the Qifa Building, but heard the good news reported by Bruce and others.

"Boss, we sold out yesterday in Hong Kong. This morning, many small newsstands and bookstore owners asked for four or five more copies of Women's Wear. We've sold 500 copies so far. If we can sell even better today, we'll have no problem selling over a thousand."

Zhao Mancang was slightly surprised when he heard this.

In a city like Hong Kong and Kowloon, it is amazing that 500 magazines can be sold in one day.

You have to know that twelve Hong Kong dollars for a magazine is definitely not a small amount, it is too expensive.

Many workers only earn three or four hundred Hong Kong dollars, and they can’t even imagine a monthly salary of three thousand two hundred like Zhuang Xiaoting.

So selling 500 magazines a day is indeed a big achievement.

"Okay, keep up the good work and try to get a good market in Hong Kong Island, or even publish a Chinese version of Women's Wear."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Mancang smiled and encouraged them.

Five hundred magazines means a revenue of six thousand Hong Kong dollars. Although it is not much, it is better than nothing.

Another day passed, and on the 23rd, sales data from New York and London had already been reported back.

Sales in New York reached 2,357 copies, which was a mediocre result, but for a magazine that had just been launched, it was already very impressive.

And within the next week, the magazine's sales will definitely increase again. Breaking through 5,000 copies is definitely a problem, but whether it can break 7,000 or even 10,000 is uncertain. At $2.50 per copy, with sales of 2,357 copies, the revenue is $5,892.50.

Because this is a weekly magazine, although there are only twelve employees in New York, which is really small, but if the monthly sales of the magazine are only more than 10,000 and less than 20,000, it is probably just barely enough to cover expenses such as labor, water, electricity, and rent.

On the contrary, the sales in London exceeded 4,000 copies. Perhaps "Women's Health" magazine is more suitable for London readers.

Like the New York branch, the London branch also has twelve employees, which is not a large number.

However, with sales of 4,000 copies, it is expected that sales in the next week will definitely exceed 10,000.

And the sales of the second issue will most likely exceed 10,000. In this way, four issues of the magazine will be published in a month, and each issue will sell more than 10,000, and the monthly revenue will be at least 40,000 pounds.

A revenue of 40,000 pounds is not low at all. After deducting the rent, utilities, labor and other costs of about 10,000 pounds, the net profit must be more than 30,000 pounds.

Of course, these are all optimistic predictions, and the specific sales figures are still unknown.

Therefore, the content control in Hong Kong must be done well and no recklessness is allowed.

On the 23rd, Ming Pao was also put on sale at thirty cents a copy. Similar to the marketing plan of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily, it was sold for free to distributors such as small newsstands and bookstores for the first three days.

The first day's sales figures came out quickly, 43,000 copies, which dazzled the eyes of many competitors.

Louis Cha, Shen Baoxin, Pan Yuesheng and others soon learned about this matter and immediately fell silent.

"Mr. Cha, are we still going to continue publishing the newspaper?"

Pan Yuesheng was the first to speak, asking in a hoarse voice.

In the past few days, the three of them often got together to clarify the matter of running a newspaper. It was originally agreed that Louis Cha would invest HK$80,000, Shen Baoxin HK$15,000, and Pan Yuesheng HK$5,000, and the three of them would jointly establish a newspaper called "Liberty Press".

But now, Ming Pao has come out and its sales are so high. What should we do?

"Of course we have to continue publishing the newspaper. Why not? What's there to be afraid of?"

After all, Louis Cha is the initiator. He hopes to be in control of everything, to be able to make his own voice heard and achieve something, rather than "living under someone else's roof" and being controlled by others.

Hearing what Cha Liangyong said, Shen Baoxin also comforted him:
"Yuesheng, don't be scared by Ming Pao. If they can run a good newspaper, why can't we? Don't encourage others and destroy your own prestige."

"Besides, we at the Liberty Press are no pushovers. Just think about the Hong Kong Commercial Daily, and it's clear at a glance."

Ming Pao once again squeezed into the Hong Kong newspaper industry and became one of the top ten newspapers in sales, which scared newcomers like Louis Cha who wanted to start a newspaper, and also made them nervous about Sing Tao Daily, Sing Pao, Wen Wei Po and others.

At Sing Tao Building, No. 1 Wang Guang Road, Kowloon Peninsula, Hu Wenxian once again summoned Gu Qibei, Shen Yuanzhi and others to discuss countermeasures.

"Tell me, how are we going to deal with the current situation?"

"We just had the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily come out in January, and now there's the Ming Pao. We've already been kicked out of two of the top ten Hong Kong Island newspaper sales rankings. Will Sing Tao Daily be next?"

Hu Wenxian looked solemn, while Gu Qibei and others hurriedly analyzed the pros and cons, and said that they could publish articles criticizing the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily and Ming Pao for violating market rules.

We can even contact other newspapers and unite to drive out the two unruly companies, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily and the Ming Pao.

While Hu Wenxian and others were discussing countermeasures, on the other side at the Hong Kong Commercial Daily headquarters on Queen's Road West in Central, Fang Zhaohui, Dai Jie and others were worried about Louis Cha.

Because the latter is about to establish the Liberty Press.

The city of Hong Kong and Kowloon is only the size of a palm, and any rumors cannot be concealed for long. Moreover, Louis Cha's desire to start a newspaper cannot be concealed from people in the industry.

"Forget it. Those who want to stay will stay, and those who don't want to stay can't be forced." Fang Zhaohui waved his hand with a headache, interrupting Dai Jie's subsequent suggestions, who wanted to use some crooked tactics, and said:

"Let's think about what we should find next to replace The Legend of the Condor Heroes. By the way, I asked you to contact the author of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. Have you had any results?"

Dai Jie shook his head: "Boss, I tried to contact him, but I couldn't find him. I also checked with other newspapers, but it seems that this person doesn't exist."

"Could it be that the people at the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily News hid the author? Or is this person originally an employee of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily News?"

Fang Zhaohui's guess was very close to the truth. They never imagined that the author of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre was the owner of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily.

Zhao Mancang has been elusive and has only stayed in Hong Kong and Kowloon in the past two days, which has made employees like Bruce and Chen Liangsheng feel a little more at ease.

How could the outside world know that the author of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber was Zhao Mancang when Bruce and others did not take the initiative to announce that Zhao Mancang was the author of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber?
In the office of Sing Tao Daily, Liyuan Building, No. 20 Liyuan East Street, Mou Yanfang became even more anxious.

"Editor-in-Chief, we've already checked. Ming Pao is on the 35th floor of Qifa Building. Their owner is most likely the same owner of Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily News. Although the layout of the content sections of the two newspapers is quite different, the difference is actually not that big."

Li Dongyan said seriously:

"The two newspapers definitely have the same owner. No wonder they recently went on a hiring spree, hiring quite a few staff and even poaching several editors."

Upon hearing this, Mou Yanfang frowned even deeper, as if he could pinch a family of four to death.

"Speak your minds! Let's pool our wisdom and see if we can replicate Sing Pao. We can't just sit there and wait for death any longer. The competitive environment in Hong Kong's newspaper industry is getting increasingly harsh. So, in order to survive, we all need to think carefully about how to deal with the coming crisis."

Ming Pao now ranks among the top ten best-selling newspapers in Hong Kong and Kowloon, although its sales on the first day were only 43,000 copies, far less than the previous sales of more than 55,000 copies of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily.

But it also made it into the top ten sales rankings, which would be a disaster for other newspapers.

Since the last time the sales of Sing Pao fell below 70,000 copies, it has not gone up again and has been hovering around 69,000 copies. It seems that there is an invisible wall blocking them, and no matter how hard they try, they cannot break through.

Nowadays, Ming Pao is on the rise and has also serialized a novel called "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer". Although it is only the beginning and we cannot tell how powerful it is, the author of the novel is also Changshou.

The pen name is the same and the writing style is similar, so it is definitely the same person.

Since it is the same person, the sales volume of Ming Pao can almost be referenced to that of Hong Kong and Kowloon Daily.

why?
The current sales volume of Hong Kong Commercial Daily is 76,000 copies, and a large part of the credit for maintaining such sales volume is due to The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

If The Legend of the Condor Heroes is no longer serialized, the sales of Hong Kong Commercial Daily will definitely decline.

After Ming Pao went public, almost all newspapers in Hong Kong were paying attention to this matter. Many people wanted to copy and paste the success of Hong Kong Daily News and Ming Pao, but they lacked the strength and could only watch helplessly.

It’s not that no one has thought of using other tricks, but how can it be that simple?

In a blink of an eye, it was the 24th, the second day after Ming Pao was launched. Sales were steadily increasing, and Duan Baozhen, Yang Zhixiao and others were very happy.

At noon, Zhuang Xiaoting came to Qifa Building to deliver information. Fortunately, she arrived in time, otherwise Zhao Mancang would have left first.

"Ms. Zhuang, please tell your cousin when you get home that I might be quite busy for a while. Ask him to help keep an eye on the construction. If there are any quality issues, I will definitely ask for rework."

"Huh? Oh, okay."

Zhuang Xiaoting was obviously a little disappointed, but it was understandable.

Zhao Mancang smiled and did not point out the other party's little thoughts.

After watching the other party leave, Zhao Mancang also left Qifa Building.

After returning to the Kowloon Peninsula, Zhao Mancang had lunch with Xu Wenluo and briefly explained the situation to her. She immediately looked worried and reluctant.

"Your injury is recovering quite well. I believe you'll be able to try moving your feet after a while."

After a pause, Zhao Mancang looked at Xu Wenluo and said:
"But regarding your speaking, I'm still trying to figure it out, but don't hold your hopes too high. I can only say I'll try my best."

The latter quickly picked up a piece of paper and pen and wrote: "Thank you, I am very grateful. How can I repay you?"

"I don't need your repayment. Just take good care of your injuries and we'll talk after you're healed."

Zhao Mancang shook his head and thought to himself, I don’t know what to do with you myself.

"If you have time, you can ask Fang Xiaohui to push you around the neighborhood, but don't go too far. After all, your legs shouldn't be in a wheelchair for too long."

After giving Xu Wenluo instructions, Zhao Mancang took her for a walk in the community downstairs, and then sent her back upstairs before leaving.

At the Kowloon Wharf, in the warehouse, Zhao Mancang successfully loaded all 5 million kilograms of grain in the warehouse into the system space.

Then he went out to sea.

In the evening, when an ordinary merchant ship returned to the Central Pier, Zhao Mancang had changed his clothes and completed his disguise.

Hou Jianhua, Li Chengwu, Gui Nian'an and others who had received telegram notification in advance had already arrived at the Central Pier to welcome Zhao Mancang.

"Comrade Zhao Mancang, thank you for your hard work along the way"

After seeing Zhao Mancang, Hou Jianhua and others first verified Zhao Mancang's identity. After confirmation, they spoke excitedly.

Zhao Mancang said with a tired smile:
"This merchant ship was brought back from Mindanao. It has no tail. Please rest assured that the cargo should be in the cabin. Should we transfer it back to Baiyun City now, or should I drive this merchant ship directly to Baiyun City?"

Hou Jianhua, Li Chengwu and Gui Nian'an are all Wei Huayong's old comrades-in-arms for many years and have a very good relationship with him.

Long before Zhao Mancang left the capital to carry out his mission, Wei Huayong had talked to Zhao Mancang about Gui Nian'an and others, so they were comrades who could be trusted completely.

In this case, Zhao Mancang returned to Hong Kong Island with ten tons of gold and five million kilograms of grain.

"Wait a moment, let's check the goods first!"

Gui Nian'an said in a deep voice, while Hou Jianhua and Li Chengwu were concerned about Zhao Mancang and exchanged pleasantries with the latter.

After a while, inside the cabin, Zhao Mancang took out ten tons of gold, and Gui Nian'an and the other two were dumbfounded.

After confirmation, Gui Nian'an immediately said to Zhao Mancang:

"Comrade Zhao Mancang, on behalf of our superiors, I thank you. Regardless of whether Lao Wei applies for credit for you, I will definitely apply for better treatment on your behalf."

Gui Nian'an also gave Zhao Mancang a military salute, which scared the latter and he quickly returned a not-so-standard military salute.

After all, Zhao Mancang had never been a soldier before, so it was normal that his military salute was not standard.

Hou Jianhua and Li Chengwu were also overjoyed. This was ten tons of gold, very valuable. After they took it back, their superiors would definitely be very happy.

Although ten tons of gold is not a small amount, it is still just a drop in the bucket considering the current situation in our country.

But it’s better than nothing, right?
What's more, Zhao Mancang also brought back five million kilograms of grain. Although it was not much, it was better than nothing.

"Let's go back to Baiyun City right away. Comrade Zhao Mancang, I might need you to work harder."

Hearing Gui Nian'an's words, Zhao Mancang nodded. He didn't care.

Returning to Baiyun City overnight was originally part of his plan. Zhao Mancang even thought that he would fly directly to Beijing tomorrow.

Ten tons of gold are worth more than 12 million US dollars, which is not a small amount.

According to relevant statistics, our country's gold reserves were 4 million ounces in 1959.

Ten tons of gold is equivalent to 350,000 ounces. If you count the two tons of gold that Zhao Mancang brought back to the capital, it would be 420,000 ounces.

In other words, in less than three months, Zhao Mancang brought back gold equivalent to one-tenth of our current domestic gold reserves.

This number is absolutely amazing.

Therefore, it is understandable why Hou Jianhua, Gui Nian'an, Li Chengwu and others were so excited.

When Zhao Mancang's merchant ship started and left the Central Pier, two other merchant ships also left one after another.

Zhao Mancang was not driving the merchant ship, but chatting with Hou Jianhua and others.

It's not a work report, but a chat.

It took more than three hours to get from Central to Baiyun City. During this process, Hou Jianhua and his team seemed calm, but they were actually very nervous.

Even the dozen or so comrades standing on the deck of the merchant ship had their guns loaded and were on high alert, fearing that someone would intercept the merchant ship.

Fortunately, no news leaked out, and the merchant ship arrived at Baiyun City safely and securely.

After arriving in Baiyun City, the group did not go to Huayuan Road, but went straight to the airport.

"Comrade Mancang, we'll still need you to work hard. We'll rest here at the airport. We'll depart for Beijing at 5:00 AM. We've already arranged the flight."

Li Chengwu and the other three were very considerate of Zhao Mancang's feelings and did not just care about the ten tons of gold.

"Okay, leader, it's fine with me. This arrangement is fine. I also want to return to the capital as soon as possible."

The five million kilograms of grain on the merchant ship are temporarily kept at the Pearl River Wharf in Baiyun City. Someone will transport the grain back to the capital in due time.

Because these are the spoils of war of the 108 departments, and the capital city is already short of food, while Baiyun City is not short of food.

In 1959, many places in Northeast China, North China, East China, Southwest China and other places suffered from drought and poor harvests.

However, for Jiangxi, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, due to abundant water resources and dense water networks in the region, although there are some impacts, the impacts are not serious.

Therefore, there is still enough food in several provinces in South China.

At 5:30 in the morning, Zhao Mancang and his team started boarding the plane. It was still daybreak, but the plane had already cut through the dark night sky and reached an altitude of four or five thousand meters.

Aircraft of this era cannot fly in the stratosphere at an altitude of 10,000 meters, and can only fly at an altitude of 4,5,6,7,800 meters.

Not all ten tons of gold were on the plane, because the weight of gold was too terrifying. The maximum commercial load of the Il-14, a piston twin-engine transport aircraft, was only two thousand kilograms.

So only two tons of gold took off on the same plane with Zhao Mancang and his team, and the other eight tons of gold were transported by several other planes.

Just because of this mission to transport ten tons of gold, several planes from Baiyun City and nearby airports were dispatched.

There is no way. Ten tons of gold is almost equivalent to one-tenth of the gold reserves. Of course, the higher-ups attach great importance to it.

After refueling at an airport in a central province, the plane continued to take off without staying for too long.

Because the longer you stay, the more likely it is that something unexpected will happen.

At 3:30 in the afternoon, the plane Zhao Mancang was on finally arrived safely at Beijing Nanyuan Airport.

At this time, Wei Huayong and his team had been waiting in Nanyuan Airport for a long time, and they were even looking forward to it impatiently.

As early as the 12th of this month, Zhao Mancang sent a telegram to the intelligence department, informing them of the ten tons of gold and applying to return to the capital early.

As a result, after the 12th, Zhao Mancang seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth and there has been no news of him since then.

It was not until yesterday, the 24th, that a telegram was sent back from Hong Kong and Kowloon saying that Zhao Mancang had contacted them and would arrive at the Central Pier in the evening.

During this period, Wei Huayong and his colleagues were worried that something unexpected might happen.

It was not until this moment, when they saw Zhao Mancang, that Wei Huayong and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)