Since the Xinhai Revolution, governments in both the north and the south have demanded that the Lunar New Year be abolished and the New Year's Day of the Western calendar should be celebrated. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

But how can a custom and tradition formed over thousands of years be abolished by a decree?

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, in accordance with government decrees, the Ta Kung Pao newspaper office still went to work normally. But every employee of the newspaper received a red envelope from the boss, and melon seeds and candy were also placed on everyone's desk.

In the president's office, laughter thundered.

"Hahahaha!"

Hu Zhengzhi laughed loudly, swallowed melon seeds and said: "Mingcheng, this past year can be described as a bumper harvest. Not only did the daily sales of Ta Kung Pao in the north exceed 60,000, and the daily sales of the supplement of Volkswagen exceeded 20,000, but we also successfully opened a branch in Shanghai. ”

Zhou Hexuan asked: "What about the sales of newspapers in Shanghai?" ”

"The competition in the poster industry is too fierce, and there are two giants, "Declaration" and "News", and now our "Ta Kung Pao" has barely 5,000 copies sold in the south," Hu Zhengzhi said without worry, "but this is just the beginning, as long as we have been following the eight-character newspaper policy, sales will catch up one day." ”

Zhou Hexuan suggested: "Why don't you serialize 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' in the newspaper, this novel is rarely read in the south, and it should be able to increase newspaper sales." ”

"How's that going to work?" Hu Zhengzhi directly rejected this suggestion, saying, "The content of Ta Kung Pao in the north and south must be the same, and one or two more pages must not be printed in the south, right?" ”

"Why not," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "Two more editions per issue are printed specifically for the publication of martial arts novels, and the cost will not increase much, but it can quickly open up the market." ”

"No, no." Hu Zhengzhi waved his hand again and again, he and Zhang Jiluan were both very pure newspaper people, thinking that newspapers belonged to social institutions, and they refused to even increase the advertising pages, let alone print novel pages.

"Then it's up to you," Zhou Hexuan could only smile bitterly, and didn't want to persuade again, "What are your plans in the north?" ”

Hu Zhengzhi said of his lofty idea: "When Chizhang (Zhang Jiluan) opens the scene in Shanghai, I will go to the northeast to open the Fengtian branch, followed by Hubei, Guangdong and Sichuan. Within 10 years, I will have Ta Kung Pao branches all over the country! ”

"Hahahaha, this is a good idea," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "When I had Chinese New Year's Eve dinner last night, an idea suddenly came to my mind. ”

"What thoughts?" Hu Zhengzhi asked.

"Start a radio station." Zhou Hexuan said.

Hu Zhengzhi said: "Is it the kind of radio station that can hear people talking through the radio box? ”

"yes, that's it." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

At present, only Shanghai and Harbin have radio stations in China, and it will take several months for the central radio station run by the Nationalist Government in Nanjing to be established, and there is not even a shadow of a radio in Tianjin and Beiping.

And two of the three radio stations in Shanghai have now closed down.

The reason for the collapse is simple, the expenses are too big to make money.

Hu Zhengzhi didn't know much about this, and he asked: "Running a radio station requires a very advanced science and technology, right?" And the capital investment is also very high. ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled: "Haha, brother Zhengzhi, don't think about how difficult the radio is, that thing is simpler than telegram." However, it does have to invest some money, and the daily expenses are also very large, so it is not up to you whether you can make money. ”

"That's better not to do it, we're a newspaper, and it's a bit unprofessional to run a radio station." Hu Zhengzhi is not optimistic about the broadcasting industry.

Zhou Hexuan thought for a while and said, "It's okay, then I'll pay for it myself." However, I would like to work with Ta Kung Pao, and there is some news content in the radio program, and I need to use Ta Kung Pao's press releases. ”

"You're the president, you have the final say, just use it for free." Hu Zhengdao.

"That's not okay, public is public, private is private, and news usage fees must be paid. "In fact, this is also a way to increase the influence of Ta Kung Pao, and the two newspapers, "Declaration" and "Da Wanbao", have their own special broadcasting sub-stations (that is, radio channels) in cooperation with Shanghai Kailuo Radio Station. ”

"The Declaration has its own radio station?" Hu Zhengzhi was quite surprised by this.

Zhou Hexuan said: "In fact, radio stations, like newspapers, are news carriers. As science advances, radio and radio are certainly becoming more and more widespread. ”

"Maybe." Hu Zhengzhi obviously didn't believe this.

Shanghai's Kailuo Radio Station is the longest-running radio station in China, but the profit model is too simple.

The radio station doesn't even have ads, and there is no listening fee. They collect market quotes, compile them into a market code sheet, print it once a month, and the audience needs to pay to buy and sell the code sheet to get the news.

What the hell is this?

What's even funnier is that in order to increase its influence and expand its user base, Kailuo Radio actually opened a radio channel and provided free news to newspapers such as "Declaration".

Zhou Hexuan wants to be a radio station, so he will naturally make up his mind on advertising expenses. However, the upfront advertising cost is definitely not much, and it is necessary to increase the number of listening users in order to achieve breakeven step by step.

……

Sunday.

Zhou Hexuan took Meng Xiaodong, who was stranded in Tianjin, to the Foreigners' Friendship Club together.

Liao Yaquan also wanted to follow, but Zhou Hexuan refused, asking her to stay at home and copy books obediently. The female spy suddenly thought about it and felt that Zhou Hexuan must have gone to connect with someone.

"Hey, another whiskey!"

"Oh oh, you don't even know how to mix cocktails, so you might as well be the bartender for me."

“……”

The club was buzzing, with the bar counter filling to the brim, at least half of them new American GIs. One by one, their specialty is to make cocktails, which belong to the new game spawned by Prohibition in the United States, and was originally created to avoid being searched by Prohibition agents.

Zhou Hexuan naturally did not come to find American soldiers, and now most of the foreign businessmen in North China are gathered in Tianjin, and they can meet many people in the club every day.

"Hey, Mr. Neville, long time no see." Zhou Hexuan greeted a foreigner.

The foreigner smiled and said, "Zhou, sit down and have a drink." ”

"No, there are too many guests, too lazy to wait," Zhou Hexuan asked, "Mr. Neville, do you know who sells radios?" ”

The foreigner shook his head and said, "Radio is not selling well in China, and everyone doesn't do this business, so you can go to Shanghai and ask." ”

As the two were talking, a loud laugh suddenly came from behind them: "Haha, Mr. Zhou, I didn't expect to meet you here." ”

Zhou Hexuan turned around to see that it was a non-mainstream American general greeting him, and he responded with a smile: "Hello General Butler." ”

Smedley Butler is actually Smedley Darlington Butler, with a different translation. His goodwill behavior in China is not entirely for show, this guy is a pacifist, and even openly stated that he "will not be a thug of Wall Street bosses and capitalists".

As for the abduction and deception of American GIs in Tianjin, Butler was unaware.

When he returned to the United States the next year, he would be promoted to the youngest major general in the Marine Corps, and in 1930 he would even have the potential to succeed him as commander of the Marine Corps.

It's a pity that Butler likes to tell the truth, and often scolds the president, congressmen, and capitalists, resulting in too many enemies on weekdays, and finally misses the post of commander. Later, because he was shot and injured with a gun, his political opponent was immediately killed, and he was tried by a military court and placed under house arrest.

After leaving the army, Butler ran for Congress, but failed. Eventually, he became a social activist and military writer, against fascism and capitalists, and spent his days making peace speeches.

The Butler Marine Corps Barracks in Okinawa was named after this person.

"Zhou, do you know how to bowl?" Butler asked.

Zhou Hexuan smiled: "There will be some." ”

Butler hooked up with Zhou Hexuan regardless of his identity, and said with a smile: "Let's go, play ball with me." ”

Zhou Hexuan introduced: "This is my girlfriend Meng Xiaodong. ”

Meng Xiaodong immediately smiled and nodded: "Hello." ”

"Oh-oh," Butler said in English, screaming, "sometimes, I envy Chinese men." ”

Zhou Hexuan laughed twice and asked casually, "General Butler, do you know which merchant sells radios?" It would be nice to also have radio station equipment. ”

Butler said: "Of course, the world's first radio station was born in the United States, and the United States is the best at radio, so I'll introduce you to a friend another day." ”