EFB Chapter 150 The Old Fox
Chapter 150 The Old Fox
The Beijing Daily has a huge influence.
As news spread that the Beijing Daily was going to open up the sale of Beijing Daily publication licenses, many people came to see Mao Zheng every day.
Nowadays, everyone assumes that Mao Zheng is Wen Zongji's spokesperson and wants to get information from him.
It was learned that the Jingbao Division planned to allocate quotas through auctions, dividing them into five inner city districts and eight outer city districts, with varying quotas allocated according to the development of each district.
Generally speaking, the inner city is larger, with more scholars and even more people interested in politics. They don't mind spending three coins to learn about politics through the Beijing Gazette.
Therefore, each of the five inner city cities was allocated ten slots.
The number of people in the eight wards of the outer city was actually greater. The number of people in the outer city was definitely more than that in the inner city. However, people in the outer city might occasionally spend three coins to buy a copy of the Beijing Daily, but the probability of them sticking to it was not as high as that in the inner city.
Therefore, each of the eight wards in the outer city was allocated six slots.
This was decided by Wen Zongji, so he could naturally increase the number of slots in order to make money.
But the world is bustling, and everyone is chasing after profit.
Merchants aren't fools either. If they can't make a profit, why would they be willing to pay a high price for this qualification?
Moreover, this is only in the capital. As long as this auction is successfully held and the reputation of the Beijing Daily is further spread, I believe many people will want to buy this qualification.
For the sake of long-term interests, Wen Zongji would never exhaust the resources to the point of depletion.
It's worth mentioning that these allocated slots include bookstores that had already been reserved.
In other words, there aren't that many slots available for this auction, and the bookstores that are already qualified will have to be eliminated.
As a result, bookstores in some areas are facing a shortage of slots, as their availability is being squeezed, and if they are even slightly reluctant to give up a slot, they may miss out on it.
The right to sell the Beijing Daily newspaper was not only key to making profits, but also a way to get involved with the Beijing Daily.
No one dares to disregard it!
On the day of the auction, Mao Zheng specially booked the Wangchunlou restaurant and held the auction in the lobby on the first floor.
A high platform was erected at the front of the hall, where Mao Zheng stood to preside over the auction.
The shopkeepers of various bookstores sat densely packed below. Such an important matter could not be decided by ordinary people; only the shopkeepers themselves could handle it.
Meanwhile, a dozen or so people sat relaxed beside the platform. Looking at the somewhat nervous ones, they sighed, "It's a good thing I didn't refuse when Manager Mao asked me to be a judge for the storytelling competition."
"That's right. Look at those well-known, time-honored brands, they're all sitting there waiting to grab a spot, while we can stay here as steady as a rock."
"Thanks to Manager Mao's kindness."
Several people expressed their agreement, agreeing wholeheartedly.
"Gentlemen, these people will probably spend a lot of money to compete for a spot today. We didn't spend a single penny. Will Lord Wen have any complaints about us because of this?"
Upon hearing this, everyone else's expressions turned serious.
"Although selling the Beijing Daily was a gamble for us back then, we won the gamble now, so there's no point in dwelling on the situation back then."
"Well said. Now the Jingbao newspaper is famous throughout the capital. When many people enter a bookstore, the first thing they ask is if they have the Jingbao for sale. This has boosted the sales of other business in the bookstore as well. In any case, this is something that Lord Wen brought to me, and we can't just take it for granted."
They expressed themselves rather subtly, but they both understood each other's meaning.
The concern was that Wen Zongji would look down on those of them who hadn't spent any money after receiving the money from the auction of the Beijing Gazette's qualification.
Wen Zongji was the chief editor of the Beijing Gazette Bureau, which could be considered his personal fiefdom.
If they made Wen Zongji uncomfortable, he could easily find a reason to revoke their qualifications.
To save a few dollars, they lost their right to sell the Beijing Daily; it was truly a losing proposition.
No one here is stupid; no one would do a losing business.
"I think we should see how much silver they're all contributing later, and then make up the difference based on their prices."
"Good idea, let's do it this way."
The matter of supplementing the funds was passed unanimously.
Meanwhile, the auction began.
Mao Zheng raised his voice and said, "I am honored to represent Lord Wen to preside over this auction. I am aware of everyone's purpose in coming. You all know how many slots are available in each region. Without further ado, let's auction the slots for Xicheng first. Xicheng has ten slots. After deducting the four slots already filled, there are six slots left."
"The auction for the first qualification in West City will begin. There is no reserve price. Everyone can bid according to their own price range until someone calls out the highest price."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the manager of Cuiwenzhai immediately raised the plaque in his hand and announced loudly, "One thousand taels!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed, and they all looked at the manager of Cuiwenzhai.
They all knew that the price of a copy of the Beijing Daily was three copper coins. To earn a thousand taels of silver, they would have to sell more than 300,000 copies. And that was just the sales revenue. They bought the Beijing Daily from the Beijing Daily office, which charged them at least two copper coins. So their profit was only one copper coin. To earn a profit of a thousand taels of silver, they would have to sell a million copies of the Beijing Daily to the people.
But with the increased quota today, and so many places selling the Beijing Daily in the capital, how long will it take them to sell out one million copies?
In the minds of the bookstore owners, even if there were bidders, they were all merchants and had an estimate of the value of this qualification, which was only worth a few hundred taels of silver.
To everyone's surprise, right at the start of the auction, someone came along who didn't play by the rules.
Moreover, it is a well-known, long-established bookstore in Beijing.
These shopkeepers were filled with resentment and confusion.
The owner of Cuiwenzhai wouldn't do anything foolish.
Because the owner of Cuiwenzhai offered such a high price, catching everyone off guard, no one had time to react and compete with him.
Mao Zheng waited a while, and seeing that no one else was bidding, he called out loudly, "One thousand taels of silver per bid!"
"One thousand taels of silver twice!"
"One thousand taels of silver three times!"
Mao Zheng brought down the gavel: "Sold! The first qualification in Xicheng belongs to Cuiwenzhai."
The manager of Cuiwenzhai smiled slightly: "You're too kind, everyone."
Seeing his smile, everyone realized that this was the purpose of Cuiwenzhai's manager.
He deliberately offered a high price to intimidate everyone.
The inner city of the capital has five sections. The East and West sections are known for having many powerful and wealthy people. Now, the West section only has six spots left, a typical case of too many wolves and too little meat.
The manager of Cuiwenzhai did this to avoid any mishaps, which is why he took the initiative and secured the first spot.
As for the bid being too high?
The sale of the Beijing Daily is not a one-off business; you can always earn back the thousand taels of silver. However, the qualification to sell the Beijing Daily is not something you can do often.
If you miss this opportunity, who knows when you'll get another chance?
Moreover, timing is crucial in business; one must be ahead of the curve step by step.
They were already a step behind, and if they fell behind again, they would really never catch up.
Having figured this out, the shopkeepers glanced at the owner of Cuiwenzhai and muttered to themselves, "Old fox."