Xiao Chuanzi led Li Banfeng and the others to a news-cart.
This ’news-cart,’ as it was called, was a small kiosk selling newspapers and magazines. In Yuezhou, such places were known as ’newsstands’ or ’pavilions.’
The newsstand in Black Stone Slope was a bit different; the small structure had wheels underneath—four wooden and four iron.
Normally, the wooden wheels were on the ground, allowing the vendor to pull the newsstand along.
When it reached the railway tracks, by manipulating a pulley inside the kiosk, the wooden wheels were lifted, and the iron wheels touched the ground. There was a hook at the front of the news-cart to attach it to the back of a train, so it could be towed.
Li Banfeng entered the kiosk and glanced at the newspapers.
He recognized the papers from the Lu Family and the Ling Family, but most of them were unfamiliar.
Take "Spotlight" Evening News, for example; the name itself was quite distinctive.
Li Banfeng looked at the headline: "From Reel to Real: Singing Empress Xiao Xiufei, How Deeply She Got Into Character."
The first few lines of the story recounted an interview with Singing Empress Xiao Xiufei before the release of the first "Blood Blade Detective" movie.
Li Banfeng was curious and reached for the paper, but the vendor immediately stopped him. "’Spotlight’ costs eighty cents. You can’t read it without buying."
Li Banfeng pointed at the Lu Family and Ling Family newspapers. "How much are these?"
"’Morning Herald,’ thirty cents; ’Evening Post,’ fifty cents."
"Then why does your ’Spotlight’ cost eighty cents?"
"That’s the price. Genuine goods at a fair price, ’effective upon reporting,’ and Fairness to Both Young and Old!"
Li Banfeng looked down on the vendor but still took out eighty cents and bought a copy of ’Spotlight.’
And, wouldn’t you know it, the paper really was ’effective upon reporting.’ After reading the front page, Li Banfeng felt a stirring—his own ’rod’ had ’brightened,’ so to speak.
The front-page news detailed Xiao Xiufei’s process of getting into character from various perspectives. The prose was simple, but the content was rich: the male lead’s experiences, the female lead’s insights, the photographer’s impressions, even the cleaning lady’s recollections. Everything was described perfectly, making it even more exciting than the movie itself.
Before he could read the rest, Li Banfeng noticed a magazine.
It was titled "Blood Gun Detective 5."
The woman on the cover was strikingly beautiful, with a distinctive figure and attire.
Her figure was graceful.
As for her clothes, there were none.
"How much is this magazine?"
"Five Ocean Dollars and sixty cents."
"Isn’t that a bit much? A movie ticket only costs five Ocean Dollars."
The vendor sneered. "That’s where you’re mistaken. A movie ticket only lets you watch it once. Besides, they aren’t even allowing ’Blood Gun Detective’ to be shown anymore. But if you buy this magazine, you can look at it as many times as you want. And I’ll even throw in a free poster."
The vendor had only revealed half the poster when Li Banfeng decided to buy it.
"I’ll take that one, and that one..."
In just a few minutes, Li Banfeng had spent over a hundred Ocean Dollars, much to the vendor’s delight. The vendor ended up giving away more than twenty posters.
If Bai Qiusheng hadn’t stopped him, Li Banfeng would have bought even more.
By the time he returned to the factory, Ma Wu had already arranged for a room to be tidied up for Li Banfeng. After an hour of studying the materials there, Li Banfeng began to understand the publishing industry in Black Stone Slope.
The newspapers relied entirely on wild concoctions. The magazines, however, weren’t entirely fabricated; they involved finding local girls to model for photographs, which were then accompanied by some background information about the girls and their supposed insights on life and the future.
Li Banfeng exclaimed, "You know, these girls are quite talented. What they write is profound; they’re all idealistic people."
Yu Wenqi shook his head. "Seventh Master, these girls barely know how to read. How could they have so many insights? That’s all written by the editors; it’s how they make their money, with their pens."
Li Banfeng nodded. "So, you’re saying that apart from the girls’ names, everything else is fake."
"That’s not quite right either," Yu Wenqi said, shaking his head. "Even the girls’ names aren’t real."
Bai Qiusheng said, "In Black Stone Slope, if you want to earn a living, your pen needs to be sharp. It’s the same principle as street performing. Regardless of whether you’re a contemporary literary giant or a renowned master, if what you write is good, people will keep buying it. If it’s not, you’ll fool them once at most; they definitely won’t buy a second."
Yu Wenqi added, "Seventh Master, you might think this stuff isn’t respectable, but Black Stone Slope has plenty of respectable material too. There are lots of good stories; Black Stone Slope has never lacked for good books and newspapers."
"I think these things are perfectly respectable; it’s all legitimate art. Those who create art are good people, and those who appreciate it are good people too. There’s nothing wrong with that, and nothing wrong with this place." Li Banfeng patted the books and newspapers in his hands. "We’ll produce newspapers, and magazines too. In a couple of days, when Xiao Chuanzi brings back the printing press, we’ll get started."
"Why wait a couple of days?" Bai Qiusheng laughed. "Chuanzi has been gone for over an hour; he should be back with it by now."
A printing press wasn’t like a modern printer. Li Banfeng had seen the ones in Puluo State; they were Steam-powered and so large they wouldn’t fit in two rooms. How could such a massive piece of equipment be bought and delivered so quickly?
But Chuanzi really had brought one back, already assembled.
The printing press wasn’t large, about the size of two wicker baskets.
Having spent his days constantly tinkering with various devices, Li Banfeng had picked up a fair bit of mechanical knowledge. "This isn’t Steam-powered," he observed. "It’s hand-cranked."
Chuanzi said, "The two authors said to make do with this for now."
Bai Qiusheng said, "Seventh Master, this is Black Stone Slope, not Greenwater City. Printing presses in Greenwater City can cost several thousand Ocean Dollars each, but we don’t need one of those. Here in Black Stone Slope, you can find any kind of printing press you want. This machine shouldn’t have cost more than sixty Ocean Dollars, right?"
"Fifty-seven," Chuanzi confirmed.
"Alright, that’s not too expensive. Seventh Master, listen to us. We’ll start with this one. If business booms, we’ll upgrade. If it flops, we won’t have lost much."
Li Banfeng nodded. "I’m a layman in this field, so I’ll defer to you two. Let’s not delay then; please get started right away. We’ll do the newspaper first, then the magazine."
Yu Wenqi sighed. "We used to do this for a living. Now that we’ve gained some renown, it’s unexpected to be back at our old trade."
Li Banfeng laughed. "Ah, but not at the same rates. Considering your current standing, I’ll offer triple the pay, plus double the Hua Hong. When it comes to money, I’ll definitely treat you right."
Bai Qiusheng praised, "Seventh Master certainly gets things done! So, what should we name our newspaper?"
Li Banfeng thought for a moment. "Since it’s an evening paper, let’s call it ’Night-blooming Jasmine’."
Yu Wenqi said, "It’s catchy and easy to remember. Let’s settle on that!"
The writers immediately set to work, ready to create art.
The photographer Ma Wu had brought from the film crew wasn’t to be idle either; he set about finding girls to photograph for their ’art.’
As for how to sell the newspapers and magazines, Ma Wu and the two authors were experts. That wasn’t something Li Banfeng had to worry about.
Li Banfeng went straight to Sanfu Cinema.
The owner was packing things up, preparing to move.
The cinema had been vandalized, the employees beaten, and the Strict Law Society had issued an order for him to leave Black Stone Slope within a month, never to return.
Li Banfeng pulled out twenty Ocean Dollars and stuffed them into the cinema owner’s hands. "Clean up the cinema a bit, and then run ’Blood Gun Detective’ one more time."
"Another screening?" The owner shook his head. "Sir, if I dare to screen it one more time, I’ll lose my life. Please don’t make things difficult for me."
Seeing that the owner really didn’t have the guts, Li Banfeng didn’t press him further. "In that case, name your price. Sell this cinema to me."
The owner was taken aback. "May I ask your name?"
PS: ’Night-blooming Jasmine’ isn’t just the name of the publication.