Hong Kong: Black Gold Tycoons

Deborah had intended to go back early in the morning.

But Chen Fei kept pestering him to do morning exercises.

After resting, she left immediately.

She didn't come home all night last night, and I wonder if Xie Xian is worried.

After she left, Chen Fei finally had time to check the messages.

[Personal assets have accumulated to US$100 million. Gift package: Hong Kong daily situation map, which automatically refreshes daily and shows upcoming/occurring events in various parts of Hong Kong that day.]

Chen Fei immediately visualized a dynamic intelligence map of the entire city in his mind, showing which street was about to have an incident, which street was currently experiencing an incident, whether it was a fight between friends or a transaction, a brawl or a sexual encounter, and the location and events were clear at a glance.

This is absolutely awesome!

He instantly fell in love with the reward, feeling that his efforts to borrow five million from Li Ka-shing were worthwhile.

Furthermore, it was discovered that there were loopholes to exploit: regardless of whether the money was stolen or borrowed, the system only recognized the total amount.

This gives you a lot of room to maneuver.

Daily Task: Invest in a new industry before midnight.

Investing in new industries?

Chen Fei quickly went through the industries that were suitable for him in his mind and decided what to invest in.

Around noon.

Chen Fei and Chen Jiaju were having dinner at a restaurant.

"Inspector Chen, how's the investigation going last night?" Chen Fei asked proactively.

Chen Jiaju said, "Those thugs only admitted to being hired to kidnap, but denied the bomb incident. Even the person in charge of 'New Knowledge' only admitted to planning the kidnapping, but denied anything else."

If the matter is left unresolved, the police will likely only classify it as some kind of explosive device.

"That requires a police investigation," Chen Fei said. "If we just beat them up, I think they'll confess to everything."

Chen Jiaju said helplessly, "Perhaps. Thank you for what happened last night. For now, I'll be temporarily reinstated to my original position."

"Oh? Then I wish Mr. Chen a bright future." Chen Fei raised his glass.

Chen Jiaju said with a smile, "I don't dare to dream of rising to prominence. I just hope to solve more major cases, arrest more criminals, and make society a little more stable."

After the meal, Chen Jiaju went to handle the case first.

Chen Fei then went to HSBC to check his account.

Although the money has been confirmed to have arrived, I still want to check that string of numbers.

Upon seeing the HK$5 million transfer in the account, he instantly felt much more confident.

With this money, he can do many things.

But this money still needs to be split.

First, invest 300 million in the stock market, still in Cheung Kong Holdings, and still with a 1:4 leverage ratio.

He has now invested 400 million in the stock market, and after deducting various costs by the end of the year, he should be able to earn at least 1800 million.

In a bull market, this investment is a sure thing.

However, we can't just wait for the stock market to recover, so the remaining money needs to be divided into two parts.

One million was used to publish the magazine, and one million was used for personal expenses.

Starting a magazine was a choice Chen Fei made after careful consideration.

Although there are many goods in the mall, some of them cannot be mass-produced immediately, distributed throughout the city, and sold like hotcakes simply by buying the production line and technology.

Magazines are currently the most suitable industry for him in Hong Kong.

No magazine publishing house ever makes money by selling magazines.

Instead, it relied on the readership built by the magazine.

With a readership, you can sell celebrity cards, merchandise, organize events, collect male celebrities, and promote newcomers and take a cut.

When a company becomes large enough, it becomes involved in public opinion.

The magazine itself is just an entry point.

Although the magazine industry in Hong Kong is currently rife with scoundrels, Chen Fei is not worried about sales at all. With the "Hong Kong Daily Events Map," he can immediately send his men to any place where robbery, violence, or illegal transactions are about to occur, which is much faster than newspaper reporters.

Although it would be more appropriate for the Daily News to report this information, the Daily News' political content is sensitive, and the Hong Kong British government has very strict regulations, so it cannot arbitrarily expose the scandals of celebrities, business secrets, or foreign firms.

Moreover, established newspapers such as Oriental Daily, Ming Pao, Sing Pao, and Hong Kong Economic Journal have been rooted in the market for many years and have a stable readership, making it extremely difficult for new daily newspapers to break through.

The Hong Kong British government had a lax oversight of gossip, social, and financial weekly magazines, allowing them to publish celebrity secrets, entertainment industry gossip, triad secrets, shady business dealings, and shady operations by foreign firms.

After making up my mind.

Chen Fei began visiting magazine stalls of all sizes in Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Wan Chai and other places.

I discovered that there isn't a single magazine specifically for young people.

Ming Pao Weekly is too expensive and its content is too mature.

Hong Kong Television is too official; it's all just TVB promotional material.

"New Knowledge" is too erotic; female students won't buy it.

"Dragon Tiger Gate" is too hardcore; girls won't watch it.

This is a gap.

We'll publish a book called "YES!" specifically for young people.

Based on the principle of first come, first served, he used the name directly.

Then design four or five sections, such as celebrity news, campus anecdotes, dating Q&A, fashion trends, serialized novels, and comics.

Once sales have expanded, we'll sell star cards, each printed with a photo and bio of a popular celebrity, with lyrics or personal information printed on the back, for fans to collect, exchange, and keep.

Hong Kong's printing industry is now highly developed, with mature four-color offset printing technology, making it fully capable of producing high-quality celebrity cards.

As for high-resolution photos of celebrities, they are obtained from publications such as Ming Pao Weekly, since copyright management is more relaxed these days.

It definitely has potential.

The other book is called "Black Gold," which is specifically for information on things like cheating, trading, mergers, wealthy people having affairs, family inheritance disputes, and CID corruption.

As long as you don't mess with the leftists or criticize the Governor of Hong Kong, you're basically safe. On the contrary, the ICAC will secretly "tacitly allow" magazines to expose corruption scandals.

Once established, Yes! will become a cultural symbol for young people in Hong Kong, while Decipher will become a nightmare dictionary for the upper class.

After making the decision.

Chen Fei first went to the mall to buy plans for the positioning and development strategies of magazines like "YES!" and "Black Gold," and then called Le Huizhen, asking her to meet up under the pretext of revealing information.

Because he only knows one person in the news industry, and the investment needs to be completed before midnight; even recruiting a senior editor wouldn't be this fast.

Half an hour later, at the Peninsula Hotel coffee shop.

Lok Wai-ching arrived right on time.

Upon meeting, he first handed over an envelope. "Mr. Chen, this is the fee for last night's scoop. What juicy news do you have to share today?"

Chen Fei accepted the envelope and said, "Let's talk about the leak later. I have something I'd like to ask you."

"you say."

"I'm looking to acquire a magazine publishing house. Do you have any connections in this area?"

"You want to start a magazine?" Lok Wai-ching looked surprised.

"right."

"What magazine?" Lok Wai-ching asked, puzzled.

"The target audience is secondary school students, young men and women, and young white-collar workers in Hong Kong who are fans of celebrities. It is a trendy entertainment weekly aimed at the young generation in Hong Kong. It is clean and vulgar, with celebrity fandom, youth life and trendy leisure as its core."

Yue Huizhen looked at him and asked seriously, "Do you know how much it costs to publish a magazine?"

"You calculate it for me."

Without a second thought, Lok Wai-ching casually replied, "First, you need an office, right? In Wan Chai or Mong Kok, around 1,000 square feet, with a monthly rent of HK$5,000, two months' deposit and three months' rent in advance, totaling HK$25,000."

"Equipment: typewriter, telephone, fax machine, camera, starting at 30,000; licenses, registration, miscellaneous, 10,000; personnel: editor-in-chief, editors, reporters, photographers, art director, five people; first month's salary plus recruitment fee, at least 25,000."

"Then there's printing. The first issue will have 10,000 copies, with coated paper covers and newsprint pages inside, costing around 18,000. As for distribution, if we want to stock up on newsstands and convenience stores throughout Hong Kong, we'll have to rely on the distribution company, which takes a 50-60% cut."

She continued, "The initial investment is at least 150,000 yuan, and the monthly operating cost is conservatively estimated to be at least 80,000 yuan, and may even be as high as 150,000 or 160,000 yuan. Before you make any money, you will have to invest at least nearly 300,000 yuan."

Chen Fei quickly considered the options in his mind and said, "I don't think your column is very good. Why don't you work with me on a magazine?"

Upon hearing this, Lok Wai-ching was dumbfounded. "Me, go with you to work for a magazine? Weren't you going to break some scoops?"

"Isn't this a bombshell?" Chen Fei pulled out the business plans for the books "YES!" and "Black Gold" that he had purchased. "Take a look first."

Looking at the two project proposals, Yue Huizhen was completely confused. She first opened "YES!".

The first page is for navigation.

"Hong Kong's first youth culture weekly, targeting readers aged 12-25, with content focusing on celebrities, music, movies, trends, relationships, and comics. It does not publish explicit photos or violent content; it is clean, fun, and geared towards young people."

Lok Wai-ching didn't say anything and turned to the second page.

Section design:

[Celebrity Intelligence Bureau: Exclusive Celebrity Interviews, Set Visits, Fan Letters]

[Campus Gossip Platform: Student submissions to share funny stories, quirky teachers, and embarrassing moments with classmates]

[Relationship Lightning Rod: Relationship Q&A, teaching young people how to date, how to break up, how to get back together, and whether or not to use a condom during sex]

[Trendsetter: What to wear, what to listen to, what to play – a different theme each episode]

[Comic/Novel Serialization: Long-running comic series]

【YES! Celebrity Cards: Included with each issue or sold separately, randomly packaged; collect all cards to redeem a prize】

Lok Hye-jung's eyes began to light up.

She worked as a journalist for three years, covering record companies, film companies, and concerts, and saw countless magazine proposals.

But all those proposals had one thing in common: they were boring.

It's all just empty talk like "We want to make an attractive magazine" and "We want to provide readers with valuable content."

But this one is different.

This isn't about "making an attractive magazine," but rather "how to make money from young people."

Celebrity cards, trading cards, random packaging, etc., aren't these just disguised lotteries?

Young people would buy ten, twenty, or fifty copies to complete a set.

Magazines are just the starting point; celebrity cards are the real money-printing machine.

She turned to the budget page: the first issue would print 30,000 copies, priced at HK$2.

Celebrity cards are sold separately for HK$1 each, with 5-10 designs released each time.

Projected monthly profit: The magazine itself will break even, while the celebrity card will generate a net profit of 5 to 10 yuan.

After a quick mental assessment, Lok Wai-ching lowered her head and flipped through the second book.

"black gold".

The cover has only two words: black background and gold lettering.

Turning to the first page, the location is marked:

"Hong Kong's first in-depth investigative weekly magazine, targeting men aged 25-45, with content focusing on political and business secrets, triad dynamics, inheritance disputes among the wealthy, and ICAC operations."

Lok Wai-ching paused slightly, then continued scrolling down.

[Exclusive Files: Insider Deals, Extramarital Affairs, and Illegitimate Children Among Political and Business Figures]

[Jianghu Daily: Robberies, gang activity, turf wars, and rivalries among bigwigs – more daring and timely than *New Knowledge* magazine]

[ICAC Operations: Latest Investigation Updates - Who Was Called in for a Chat]

[Family Feuds: Inheritance Battles, Brotherly Feuds, and Father-Son Enmity in Hong Kong's Elite Families]

Le Huizhen was slightly startled.

Currently, no magazine in Hong Kong dares to simultaneously cover the three areas of politics, business, social organizations, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

Touching one is bad enough, touching three is tantamount to suicide.

But she also knew that if someone dared to touch it, as long as the information was accurate and timely, the magazine would sell like hotcakes.

Le Huizhen closed the plan, looked up at Chen Fei, and felt that this man was crazy.

"Did you write these two business plans?"

"Is there a problem?"

"The proposal is fine," Yue Huizhen said, placing it on the table. "But I have a question."

"you say."

Do you know how many magazines there are in Hong Kong?

"have no idea."

"Ming Pao Weekly, Hong Kong Television, New Knowledge, New Television, Silver World, Popular Television, Sisters, Youth, Jade TV... more than a dozen publications of all sizes, what makes you think your magazine can survive?"

Chen Fei didn't answer, he just looked at her.

Lok Wai-ching continued, "The idea for the celebrity cards in 'YES!' is great, but what about 'Black Gold'? Do you know what the consequences are of writing about the inner workings of a triad? 'New Knowledge' has been running for five years, and its boss, Lo Bin, has been threatened at least ten times, his office has been vandalized three times, and reporters have been assaulted twice."

"That's because Luo Bin is no good."

"Are you sure you can do it?"

"I can do it."

This guy is arrogant!

This was Yue Huizhen's first reaction.

But she had to admit that these two proposals were the most ambitious magazine projects she had ever seen.

It's not the kind of empty talk like "we want to become number one in Hong Kong," but rather a careful planning of every step: how to make money, how to acquire content, how to mitigate risks, and how to build barriers to entry.

She already felt that if someone could really make these two magazines successful, they would definitely have a cash cow in one hand and a public opinion weapon in the other.

"Aren't you afraid I'll copy your ideas?" Lok Wai-ching asked half-jokingly.

Snapped!

Chen Fei took out the Czech Scorpion Vz.61 and placed it on the table.

"Ask yourself first if you can withstand a hail of twenty bullets?"