By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 129 Beijing Daily Sales

The first day of the fifth month in the fifteenth year of Shun'an

On this day, all the bookstores that had signed contracts with the Beijing Daily Bureau put the Beijing Daily on their shelves and hung signs at the entrance of the bookstores—"The Beijing Daily is for sale today."

Customers who come in after seeing this sign will invariably ask, "Shopkeeper, what is the Beijing Daily?"

The shopkeeper readily explained, "Both the Imperial Gazette and the Court Gazette are official gazettes, but the Court Gazette is for officials, while the Imperial Gazette is for ordinary people like us. Would you like to buy a copy, sir? It only costs three coins."

The customers were stunned: "So cheap?"

"This is the price set by the imperial court, and it will remain the same price from now on."

Customers who come to the bookstore are usually not short of money. Rather, the common people are always curious about everything in the imperial court. When they learn that it is an official gazette that the common people can read, they will buy a copy even if it is just to satisfy their curiosity.

This kind of thing happened repeatedly in various bookstores, and the sales of the Beijing Daily were gradually increasing.

As those who bought the Beijing Daily spread the word, attracting even more people to buy it, the inventory of various bookstores was being depleted at an extremely rapid pace.

Upon realizing this, the bookstore owner immediately sent someone to the Beijing Gazette Office to request an increase in the quantity.

Only one hour passed between the sale of the Beijing Daily and the receipt of requests from various bookstore owners to increase the quantity.

Yao Maofang was stunned: "Sir, how could they sell out so quickly?"

He had asked Wen Zongji why he didn't promote the Beijing Daily before selling it. Now that the people don't even know what the Beijing Daily is, would they be willing to buy it?

Wen Zongji did not explain, only saying that we would know when the time came.

Now that the facts are clear, Yao Maofang admires Wen Zongji's foresight, but he is still curious about why.

Wen Zongji first instructed people to send the printing workshop's inventory to various bookstores before answering Yao Maofang's question.

"Maofang, do you know what the imperial court means to the people?"

Yao Maofang was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "Mysterious? Powerful? Inviolable?"

"Both are true," Wen Zongji said. "More importantly, the people are curious about the imperial court. They are curious about everything about the government, eager to understand and get closer. Before this, they had no knowledge of the Beijing Gazette, but that doesn't matter. They only need to know that the Beijing Gazette is the official gazette. No one will refuse to exchange three coins for a chance to understand the imperial court."

Why do so many merchants strive so hard to obtain the title of Imperial Merchant? It's not just because having the title makes doing business easier, but also because the government's endorsement makes it easier to gain the trust of the people.

After all, if even the imperial court approves of these merchants, what reason do ordinary people have to doubt them?

Yao Maofang then realized, "Your Excellency has foresight."

Wen Zongji waved his hand: "Don't get carried away by this. If the content of our newspaper can't retain the people who have been attracted, the reputation of the court will gradually become useless. So don't let today's seemingly successful start go to your head. We must pay even more attention to the content of the newspaper."

"The long-term goal of the Beijing Daily is to cultivate the habit of reading the Beijing Daily among the people."

Looking at Wen Zongji's solemn expression, Yao Maofang said, "Your Excellency is our pillar of support, and we always listen to you."

Wen Zongji valued everything about the Beijing Daily. From finalizing the manuscript to contacting paper mills and printing houses, and then to finding bookstores to cooperate with, Wen Zongji did everything himself.

The staff of the Beijing Daily had long been convinced of Wen Zongji's abilities. As long as Wen Zongji didn't become arrogant, and with him keeping an eye on things, the quality of the Beijing Daily wouldn't be a problem.

……

As the day passed, the sales figures for the Beijing Daily at various bookstores were also tallied.

Actually, there's no need to keep statistics.

The printing shop rushed to print 100,000 copies today, in addition to those prepared in advance, and they all sold out today.

Instead, many people still hadn't bought any and were chasing after the bookstore owner asking if they would have any left for tomorrow.

One copy of the Beijing Daily costs three copper coins, so 100,000 copies would cost 300 taels of silver.

This is just one day's sales. As word-of-mouth spreads through the Beijing Daily, sales are expected to remain strong for some time to come.

Upon seeing these sales figures, everyone at the Beijing Daily cheered, "That's amazing!"

Although Wen Zongji had expected this, he still smiled when he saw the data: "Thanks to everyone's hard work, we have achieved today's results. It's time to wrap up our shifts. I'll treat you all to a good meal at Wangchun Tower as a celebration."

"Your Excellency is mighty!"

Upon hearing that they could dine at Wangchunlou, everyone cheered again.

Wangchun Tower

Chang Dong arrived early and reserved a private room. By the time Wen Zongji and the others arrived, the dishes were already prepared.

Wen Zongji sat in the main seat, rose and raised his cup, saying, "During this period, everyone has put in a lot of effort to review the manuscript, and you have all become quite haggard. I have seen it all. This cup is a toast to you all."

Yao Maofang raised his glass: "You adults work even harder than us. A toast to you, sir."

The others chimed in, "Respect, Your Excellency!"

Wen Zongji smiled and said, "Then let's encourage each other."

After saying that, Wen Zongji was the first to down his drink, and the others followed suit.

Wen Zongji poured a second cup of wine: "This cup is a toast to the fate between us. The Capital Gazette Bureau was newly established, and we were all chosen to come here by chance. We have all worked hard together during this time, and now we have delivered a satisfactory result. I am very pleased; this is a collective achievement. Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Then, Wen Zongji poured a third cup of wine: "I will drink this third cup myself. I will leave first in a while. You may eat and drink as you please. If you need more, just tell the servant. Don't be shy."

The crowd's expressions changed slightly: "My lord?"

Wen Zongji finished his wine, put down his cup, and said, "With me here, you're bound to feel a bit awkward. Besides, I have a wife at home, and I've been too busy lately to have dinner with her often. I must go back and be with her today."

Upon realizing who Wen Zongji's wife was, no one wanted to persuade him to stay: "Please take care, sir."

Wen Zongji nodded and then led Chang Dong and the other man out of the private room.

After Wen Zongji left, someone asked, "Has anyone here seen Princess Anhe?"

"Are you kidding me? With our status, how could we possibly meet Princess Anhe? But I have heard that Princess Anhe is very much favored by the Emperor."

"Now that you've married such a favored Princess Anhe, won't you lose your authority as a husband at home?"

Gossiping about Shangguan's private affairs is a common trait among most people.

"I don't think so. The way the master was acting just now suggests that he has a good relationship with Princess Anhe."

"They've only been married for a few months, how bad could their relationship be?"

Yao Maofang listened intently for a while, but seeing that they couldn't offer any useful information, he coughed and said in a serious tone, "The master invited us to dinner, not so that we could discuss his private affairs."

"Cough cough cough, let's drink, let's drink—"

The topic shifted smoothly.