Rebirth of the Hong Kong Millennium Conglomerate

The newsstand owner casually flipped through the newspaper, and after only a few glances, his eyes lit up. He couldn't help but mutter in admiration, "Wow, this layout is fresh! It's completely different from the old layouts of other newspapers. It's spacious and clear, which is pleasing to the eye. It's got something special!"

After quickly flipping through the entire page, he habitually went straight to the novel section—he was a true martial arts fanatic, and lately he was suffering from a reading slump, spending his days at the newsstand hoping to find one or two good new martial arts novels.

"The Bad Guys? That's a unique name. I'll have to see how well it's written." The shopkeeper muttered to himself, his eyes fixed on the text. Once he started reading, he couldn't take his eyes off it. He was so engrossed in the newspaper that he was oblivious to the sounds around him and didn't even bother to greet customers.

"Boss, give me your change!"

A clear, urging voice abruptly pulled him back to reality. The newsstand owner frowned, looked up impatiently, and saw a white-collar worker in a suit staring at him. He grabbed the money the man handed him, quickly tossed the change over, and, too lazy to say a word, buried himself back into his novel.

This indifferent attitude only piqued the white-collar worker's curiosity. He peeked at the newspaper in the boss's hand and saw that it was a novel. He was quite surprised: This boss has read countless newspapers and what kind of novels hasn't he read? How could he be so obsessed? Could it be that some famous martial arts author has released a new work?

He felt a strong urge to buy it. He glanced at the newspaper and saw the words "Eternal Daily" printed on the masthead. It was unfamiliar to him, but he didn't think much of it. A newspaper wasn't worth much money. He immediately took one, handed over the money, and walked around flipping through the newspaper, heading straight for the novel section.

"The Bad Guys? Author Yang Yun? Never heard of that... Oh well, I'll give it a try."

The more he read, the slower he walked, until he finally stood rooted to the spot, completely unaware that he was blocking the middle of the sidewalk. His eyes were glued to the pages, and he was completely immersed in the world of "The Bad Guys," with even the people around him becoming mere background.

On the other side, the newsstand owner finally finished reading the 20,000-word serial. He rubbed his sore eyes, his face full of regret: "It's over so quickly? That's so unsatisfying!"

After the initial disappointment, his eyes shone with barely concealed elation—he had finally found a good martial arts novel that could keep him up at night! Although the author, Yang Yun, was an unknown figure, his writing was masterful, the plot was full of twists and turns, and the foreshadowing was exquisite. Judging by the quality of "The Bad Guys" alone, it was by no means inferior to martial arts masters like Jin Yong and Gu Long!

"Good heavens, this is going to produce a martial arts master!" The boss slapped his thigh, instantly realizing the key. "Is this 'Eternal Daily News' going to follow the path of 'Ming Pao' back in the day? Becoming an instant hit with martial arts novels! Sales are guaranteed, I have to seize this opportunity to make a fortune!"

Thinking of this, he quickly got up and moved all the remaining copies of the "Eternal Daily" in the newsstand to the most conspicuous prime location. He even arranged them in a stacked shape, and whenever someone approached, he would immediately start enthusiastically hawking them, his voice so loud that the whole street could hear him.

"Hey handsome, get me a copy of the *Eternal Daily News*! The martial arts novels in it are amazing, the writing is on par with Jin Yong's. If you don't like it, come back to me!"

"Young man, don't miss this! This is a masterpiece by a rising martial arts master; you'll regret it for the rest of your life if you miss it!"

"Uncle, can you get one? Just look at it and you'll see how addictive it is! I guarantee you'll want to come back after you see it!"

He was sweet-talking and quick-witted, speaking with sincerity. Passersby, already curious, were persuaded to buy the newspapers, and within half an hour, all one hundred copies were gone.

The newsstand owner frantically grabbed the phone on the table and dialed the number, his voice urgent: "Hello! Is this the Qian Gu Daily? This is the newsstand at the Kowloon Street intersection! All 100 copies of the newspaper are sold out! Restock quickly! Send 300 copies first! Yes, 300 copies! The faster the better, or I'll run out of stock!"

After hanging up the phone, he made sure to pile up the empty newspapers more conspicuously, afraid of missing out on a single customer.

Meanwhile, the office worker, after finally finishing the 20,000-word serial, clicked his tongue in regret: "It's so good, but too short, not enough at all..."

He groggily looked up and realized the street was already teeming with people. He glanced instinctively at his watch, his face instantly turning deathly pale. He exclaimed, "Oh no! I'm late!"

His previous blissful immersion in the novel vanished instantly. Without bothering to straighten his suit, he sprinted toward the office building, his leather shoes clicking loudly on the stone pavement. He didn't even bother to pick up the newspaper that had fallen to the ground, regretting that he had been so engrossed in reading that he had forgotten about going to work.

Pedestrians on the street watched his sprinting figure, and then looked at the "Eternal Daily" they had just bought in their hands. They became even more curious about what magic this newspaper had. Many people who had not planned to buy it turned around and rushed to the newsstand. Unfortunately, the newspaper was already sold out, and they could only wait anxiously for a restock.

With the enthusiastic promotion from newsstand owners throughout Hong Kong, the sales of "The Eternal Daily" snowballed, climbing steadily from dawn onwards and completely igniting the long-dormant Hong Kong newspaper scene.

Those newsstand owners who occupy prime locations are all shrewd people. After tasting the benefits, they spare no effort in promoting their newsstands.

Having witnessed the charm of "The Bad Guys" firsthand, they knew that this was their best selling point, so they simply abandoned other newspapers and focused all their efforts on promoting "The Eternal Daily".

One person tells ten, ten tell a hundred, and the reputation of "Qian Gu Daily" spread rapidly with the flow of people. Early risers who bought the newspaper were either attracted by the novel and comfortable layout, or moved by the down-to-earth content of the people's livelihood section. Countless people also fell into the martial arts world of "Bad Guys", and after reading it, they couldn't help but recommend it to their friends and relatives. In the process of word of mouth, its reputation quietly fermented.

At noon, coinciding with the lunch break for office workers, the sales of "Qian Gu Daily" experienced an explosive surge, thanks to its positive word-of-mouth.

Queues of varying lengths formed in front of newsstands. Many people took a detour to buy the newspapers just to catch a glimpse of "The Bad Guys." Some who couldn't buy any simply waited in front of the newsstands for restocking, muttering to themselves, "How come they're selling out so fast?"

At the newspaper office, with Vincent Fang in charge, the phone never stopped ringing.

Replenishment calls came incessantly from newsstands in various districts, all in urgent tones. Some wanted dozens of copies, others hundreds. Every call conveyed the same message—"Qian Gu Daily" was selling like hotcakes!

While methodically arranging for manpower to coordinate restocking, Fang Wenshan kept a close eye on the sales statistics. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he could not hide the excitement in his eyes.

The 50,000 newspapers were a number Zhang Zeyang carefully decided on. Although he was confident at first, he never expected them to be so popular.

As the clock slowly struck two in the afternoon, a sales summary report was presented to Fang Wenshan. Looking at the numbers, he could not hide his shock—the first batch of 50,000 copies of the "Eternal Daily" had been completely sold out!

Newspaper kiosks on every street corner were running out of stock, and many readers who couldn't buy a copy even called the newspaper office directly to inquire, their voices full of urgency.

Without the slightest hesitation, Vincent Fang immediately made the decision and contacted the printing factory to print an additional 30,000 copies!

Over the phone, he repeatedly urged the printing plant to speed up the process at all costs, to deliver the newspapers to all sales outlets as soon as possible, and not to miss this wave of popularity, nor to disappoint the eagerly awaiting readers.

The printing plant was already on standby and ready. Upon receiving the order, it immediately went into full operation, with the machines roaring all night long. Typesetting, printing, and binding were all done seamlessly, with workers taking turns to produce the new batch of newspapers as quickly as possible.

The newspaper's distribution department staff were all mobilized, forgoing their lunch break and braving the midday sun to rush around various areas, delivering the freshly printed newspapers to newsstands as soon as possible, going back and forth without stopping.

The additional 30,000 copies of the newspaper were released to the market starting at 4 p.m., and readers who had been waiting for a long time flocked to them, causing the already booming sales to surge even further.

As the sun sets and the streetlights come on in Hong Kong, people who have been busy all day slow down. Many of them hold a copy of the "Eternal Daily News" in their hands, either standing by the roadside or sitting in a tea restaurant reading "The Bad Guys".

Around 6 p.m., the last copy of the "Qian Gu Daily" was bought by a late-returning office worker, and the additional 30,000 copies were sold out.

From its launch at dawn to nightfall, the first-day sales of "Qian Gu Daily" reached 80,000 copies in just one day, a figure that caused a sensation in Hong Kong's newspaper industry.

It's worth noting that at its peak, the Hong Kong Daily News' daily sales were only around 10,000 copies, and in its later years, it plummeted to a meager 1,000 copies. No one could have imagined that the reborn Hong Kong Daily News, under its new name, would achieve such phenomenal success, with sales of 80,000 copies, enough to place it among the top newspapers in Hong Kong. Such a rapid rise is nothing short of a miracle.

Fang Wenshan held the final sales report, his fingers trembling slightly, his heart filled with excitement.

On this day, he was in charge of the newspaper office, coordinating the overall situation and dealing with countless emergencies, watching sales repeatedly break records, from 50,000 to 80,000.

As night deepened and the clock struck seven, Fang Wenshan calmed his turbulent emotions and dialed Zhang Zeyang's number.

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