Rebirth of the Hong Kong Millennium Conglomerate

The seven-day free trial has ended. Today marks the eighth day since the publication of "Qian Gu Daily," and also the first day of its official launch of the paid subscription model.

The soaring sales in the first seven days, reaching a peak of 250,000 copies, had already made the "Eternal Daily" deeply rooted in people's hearts, but free and paid are ultimately two different things.

On this day, not only were the staff of the newspaper on edge, but the entire Hong Kong press was watching in suspense.

Will the "Eternal Daily" be able to maintain its former popularity after it starts charging fees?

Today's sales figures are undoubtedly the true test of this newspaper's quality.

As dawn broke, the newspaper building was already brightly lit, and Vincent Fang was still the first to arrive. Although there was weariness in his eyes from days of hard work, he could not hide the solemnity between his brows.

He stood by the office window, gazing at Hong Kong gradually awakening outside, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the windowsill as his thoughts churned.

While the 250,000 free copies sold are impressive, the results after charging are the real key. If sales plummet, all the previous efforts will be greatly diminished.

The distribution department staff had assembled early. Manager Li Fa, though still full of energy, seemed less relaxed than usual. He addressed the group in a serious voice, instructing, "Today is a crucial day. Everyone must deliver the newspapers to all outlets as quickly as possible, maintain close communication with newsstand owners, and promptly relay reader feedback. There can be absolutely no mistakes!"

Everyone agreed in unison and hurried off to their respective delivery routes.

A crowd had already gathered in front of the newsstands on the street early in the morning, just like a few days ago.

The newsstand owners, however, remained confident and continued to enthusiastically promote their newspapers. They knew perfectly well that the word-of-mouth reputation built up over the past seven days meant that the Qian Gu Daily would sell its newspapers without any worries.

Throughout the day, the newspaper office's phone kept ringing, all from newsstand owners reporting sales figures—"Sales are going well, our regular customers haven't left."

"Many people came because of 'The Bad Guys'."

As the operators listened to the feedback, they kept an eye on the real-time sales statistics. Seeing the numbers steadily increase, their anxiety gradually subsided.

As the sun sets and the city lights come on, the streets of Hong Kong gradually return to calm. Newspaper kiosks close one after another, and the final sales figures for the newspapers are finally finalized.

When the staff member carried the report into Fang Wenshan's office, their steps were filled with excitement. Fang Wenshan steadily took the report and his eyes fell on the key number - 230,000 copies!

The moment Fang Wenshan saw the numbers, his tense nerves instantly relaxed, and a relieved smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

Compared to the 250,000 copies sold on the last day of the free trial, although there was a drop of 20,000 copies, it was still far below expectations, and such a result was already a huge surprise.

He picked up the report and checked it repeatedly. The four large characters "230,000 copies" were clearly visible. At that moment, all the fatigue of the past few days vanished.

The sales of 230,000 copies, though seemingly a decrease from yesterday, actually means that the "Eternal Daily" still firmly holds the hearts of the vast majority of readers, which is a real sales figure.

Even more exciting is that these 230,000 copies sold directly propelled the "Eternal Daily News" to the throne of Hong Kong's newspaper industry!

Looking at the current Hong Kong newspaper scene, the sales figures of established newspapers have remained unchanged for many years: Oriental Daily News is firmly in first place with a daily sales volume of 180,000 copies; Sing Tao Daily follows closely behind with 160,000 copies; Ming Pao, with Jin Yong at its helm, ranks third with 140,000 copies; Hong Kong Economic Journal ranks fourth with 110,000 copies, and the rest of the newspapers are far behind.

Now, the newly launched "Eternal Daily News" has easily surpassed all its established peers with a sales volume of only 230,000 copies, becoming the undisputed number one newspaper in Hong Kong's newspaper industry!

From a declining old newspaper with daily sales of a thousand copies to the leading newspaper in Hong Kong, it completed a magical comeback in just eight days. Such a feat is unprecedented in the history of Hong Kong's newspaper industry.

Holding the sales report, Fang Wenshan strode into the conference room and informed all the newspaper staff of the news. The once quiet conference room instantly erupted in cheers and applause. Everyone was overjoyed, as their hard work over the past few days had finally brought them the best reward.

That evening, Vincent Fang called Zhang Zeyang, his voice filled with excitement and pride: "Mr. Zhang, great news! Today, on the first day of our paid subscription service, we sold 230,000 copies! We...we've become the number one newspaper in Hong Kong!"

On the other end of the phone, Zhang Zeyang said, "As expected. Next, we will maintain quality, defend the market, and proceed with the subsequent plans as scheduled."

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, when the news that the "Eternal Daily" had topped the Hong Kong newspaper scene with 230,000 copies sold spread, the entire industry was shaken like never before. All the newspapers were stunned and incredulous at the news.

No one could have imagined that a newspaper reborn under a new name could overturn the landscape of Hong Kong's newspaper industry in just eight days.

No one expected that the sales figures after the free period ended would completely crush those of many established newspapers.

Those newspapers that used to look down on The Daily News have now completely abandoned their contempt and are filled with shock and fear. The world of Hong Kong's press has truly changed!

In the aftermath of the shock, major newspapers responded one after another, publishing related news in their own papers, each with a different attitude and revealing their intentions.

As a former leader in the newspaper industry, Oriental Daily News was surpassed by a newcomer. It was rare for the newspaper to lower its stance and publish a commentary on a prominent page, stating that "the fact that The Eternal Daily News topped the list in eight days is a miracle in the history of Hong Kong's newspaper industry. Its content innovation and marketing methods are worth learning from by all its peers." The words acknowledged the status of The Eternal Daily News.

Sing Tao Daily, on the other hand, was more diplomatic, with its comments full of polite remarks, stating directly, "Congratulations to Qian Gu Daily on reaching the top of Hong Kong's newspaper industry. We are willing to work hand in hand with Qian Gu Daily to present better news and information to the people of Hong Kong and jointly promote the vigorous development of Hong Kong's newspaper industry."

The most eye-catching was Ming Pao. As the pioneer of martial arts newspapers, Mr. Jin Yong's status in the martial arts world is unparalleled. Furthermore, Mr. Jin Yong himself gave Ming Pao's *Qian Gu Daily* extremely high praise in his column: "Qian Gu Daily's serialized *The Bad Guys* is skillfully written, with vivid characters. It is in no way inferior to my own works. The Hong Kong martial arts literary scene may be about to gain another giant!"

Mr. Jin Yong's evaluation was like a bombshell, instantly igniting an uproar in Hong Kong.

It's worth noting that Jin Yong rarely praised the works of his peers so highly; this evaluation is his recognition of "The Bad Guys".

Suddenly, the popularity of "The Bad Guys," which was originally just due to martial arts fans' enthusiasm, surged again, and countless readers who came for Jin Yong's reviews flocked to newsstands to buy "Eternal Daily."

In addition, other newspapers, large and small, in Hong Kong followed suit, reporting on the miraculous rise of "The Daily News," analyzing the reasons for its sudden popularity, or discussing the new landscape of Hong Kong's newspaper industry. For a time, the four characters "The Daily News" dominated the pages of all Hong Kong newspapers and became the focus of heated discussion.

Back at the villa in Repulse Bay, Zhang Zeyang felt relieved after learning about the newspaper's situation. As long as there weren't any major problems, the Qian Gu Daily was safe for the time being.

So, he had other things to do next, so he called Qian Gu Group and asked Chen Mo and Su Qing to come to Repulse Bay the next day, as he had something to arrange for them.

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