Sunset.

The Fleet River was glowing with Ling Ling waves, and it was ruddy.

On Fleet Street, there are only two newspaper offices that are busy: The Scotsman and The Manchester Guardian.

At the gates of the office of the Scotsman, the newsboys surrounded it,

"Out of stock?!"

"It's over, I've got ten copies of The Scotsman today, damn it! Damn! ”

"Hey! Don't you all have an estimated sales?! ”

"How can this be estimated!?"

……

It's really impossible to predict,

After all, even the editor-in-chief of The Scotsman did not expect his newspaper to sell so well.

In the office, Cooper's whole person was in a state of madness, his hair was pulled up, lock by lock, and it became the appearance of an exploding head + small dreadlocks.

He commanded all around:

"You all give me action! How's the stamping in Edinburgh? ”

No one replied.

Cooper slapped the table,

"I'm asking you!"

Bang –

There was a loud bang on the table.

Finally, someone cringed and spoke: "Editor-in-chief, the printing plant at the headquarters is in a hurry, and a telegram came just now saying that the printing press over there is all smoking, but only more than 2,000 copies can be produced in the morning. You see......"

Cooper's face darkened,

"What do you see? Speak up! ”

The man quickly replied: "Is it necessary to have the newspaper delivered?" ”

And they looked at the sky outside,

From Edinburgh to London, all the way to catch the train, the newspaper may be delivered in the early morning.

When the time comes, will it still be able to sell?

This is a problem.

Cooper bowed his head and pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, "Send a telegram to the headquarters, leave five hundred copies in Edinburgh, and send the rest to London." Sell in the most prosperous area, it should be no problem. ”

There is no doubt that The Scotsman's roots are in Scotland,

But because of the land time, Cooper has ambitions,

He now wants to focus his business on London.

If the newspaper headquarters and printing house could be moved to Fleet Street in the future, the printing and transportation costs would be greatly reduced, and it would be easier to attract the attention of the old men in Whitehall, Downing Street, and the Palace of Westminster.

And it's not just Cooper who has this idea,

Manchester Guardian's Scott was preparing to change the registration to The Guardian and moved the headquarters to Fleet Street.

Cooper disagreed: "I know you're worried that if you get those newspapers in so late, they might not sell." But, trust me, no problem. ”

Since the editor-in-chief has spoken like this, the following things will naturally not be persuaded again.

The office is busy again.

Cooper turned his head and entered the editor-in-chief's room,

At this time, Lu Shi was sitting in an armchair, holding "Seaside Magazine" in his hand, reading the secret of "The Dancing Villain".

He heard the movement and looked up,

"Mr. Cooper, I think you're busy."

Cooper laughed,

He closed the door, cut off the hustle and bustle outside, and then said, "I am willing to be busy, and I am willing to be busy and faint." ”

As he spoke, he sat down across from Lu Shi,

"You, awesome!"

This praise is the second time Lu Shi has heard it today,

He said politely, "I just went to visit Mr. Scott, and he said the same thing." ”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Cooper took a sip of water, then said, "How did you crack that code for 'Dancing Villain'?" I studied for hours and my eyes were spent. ”

In Cooper's eyes, the villains ended up becoming:

Dancing (((((())))))

It's torture.

Lu Shi spreads his hands,

"I've made it clear in the Manchester Guardian today. Actually, Dr. Doyle only used the simplest replacement password, but because it was in the form of a picture, it looked a bit new, and in fact it was the same. ”

"Tsk......"

Cooper stammered, "This is only convincing if you say it." ”

After speaking, he turned his head: "I heard that today's Manchester Guardian is selling out?" ”

Lu Shi nodded,

He had just come from Scott's side, so he had the most right to speak: "Yes, Mr. Scott is facing the same dilemma as you, and he needs to be printed in large quantities. ”

The main reason is the book review edition the day before,

At the time, readers didn't know that it was Lu Shi's masterpiece, but whoever painted the dancing villain on it was a positive response to Doyle's provocation,

Such a hot point and gossip naturally attracted the attention of the whole people.

As a result, after the release of "Seaside Magazine" today, it was discovered that the content of the book review page turned out to be "I cracked the code. Your faithful friend, Lu. It's hard for newspapers not to sell out.

Cooper pinched his fingers, and there were words in his mouth,

After a while, he said: "It feels like the Manchester Guardian today may have crossed the 100,000 sales mark in London." ”

After today, the Manchester Guardian can finally wrestle with The Times and The Daily Telegraph in a real sense.

Cooper gave a weird smile,

He asked Lu Shi: "Lu, do you know what the last time The Times sold more than 100,000 in a single day in London?" ”

Lu Shi only knew that the "Times" was popularized from "quality newspaper" after 1908, and the sales volume was not easy to estimate.

He guessed, "World Exposition?"

Cooper scratched his head,

"Which class are you talking about? If you refer to last year's session, it is not. ”

The 1900 World's Fair was held in Paris, France, and lasted 210 days, with 50 million visitors, and the theme was a retrospective of the century.

Doesn't that help the newspaper sell more than 100,000 copies?

Lu Shi asked again: "That was 1889?" The Eiffel Tower was the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution at that year's World Expo......"

Cooper shook his head,

"Why do you always like to guess the World Expo?"

Lu Shi is out of line,

"Then I can't say it."

Cooper chuckled and whispered, "It's Prince Albert who died of illness." ”

Lu Shi's whole person was confused,

"What? Wasn't that forty years ago? ”

Cooper nodded,

Although the Times and the Daily Telegraph have claimed hundreds of times since then that their single-day sales have exceeded 100,000, but that is all in the whole country, not in London. Moreover, there is also moisture in the whole country combined. ”

Lu Shi understood,

It was probably Cao Cao who wrote a letter to Sun Quan, "There are 800,000 water troops in Imaji, and Fang and the generals will hunt in Wu." ”

Of course there could not have been an army of 800,000,

Bragging.

Cooper lowered his voice and said, "So, Lu, you created a news comparable to Prince Albert's death. ”

Lu Shi hurriedly waved his hand,

"Don't talk nonsense. Besides, I didn't make it alone, and if it wasn't for Dr. Doyle's full cooperation, how could I have created such a big explosion? ”

The heat is stirred up little by little:

First of all, Doyle released the "Dancing Villain" incident chapter on Monday, which has a feeling of challenging the heroes of the world.

The event begins to warm up;

After that, Lu Shi responded with a dancing villain in the Manchester Guardian on Tuesday,

Heat escalation;

Finally, on Wednesday, the secret of "The Dancing Villain" and Lu Shi's book review were released at the same time, and the two were compared with each other, allowing people to decipher the content of Lu Shi's book review the day before.

The heat exploded.

So what Lu Shi said was right, it was indeed the result of his and Doyle's mutual cooperation.

It's just that I don't know if Doyle will vomit blood when he hears this.

Cooper's gaze swept over Seashore Magazine and said, "Alas, Sherlock Holmes lost in the case this time, and he lost in reality. I don't know how to deal with the future of "Seaside Magazine", whether to use "Lost Detective" as a selling point. ”

Lu Shi did not pick up the stubble,

In fact, he just wanted to respond to the Cambridge bet.

Unexpectedly, Doyle ran straight into it, so he could only be embarrassed.

Lu Shi stretched,

"I'm actually a Sherlock Holmes fan."

Cooper couldn't help but roll his eyes,

Believe him!

As Lu Shi attacked Doyle mercilessly like this, if he was a fan of Sherlock Holmes, then there would be no real fans in this world.

Lu Shi chuckled and said, "Mr. Cooper, don't you believe it? ”

Cooper snorted,

"I believe it, of course I do."

This is clearly the opposite.

Lu Shi couldn't help laughing and said, "That's because you don't understand me." ”

Cooper thought for a moment and said, "That seems right to you." I've heard that you're a guest in London and you've always encouraged students to question your own essays, and the more they question, the more excited you become, which seems to be your style? ”

This is almost like treating Lu Shi as a masochist.

Lu Shi was slightly embarrassed,

"That...... Ahem...... That is actually the opinion of Mr. Siu, the school supervisor. ”

Cooper wondered,

What is the difference between Mr. Xiao's view and Lu Shi's view?

Studied but cannot comprehend.

Lu Shi was even more embarrassed and changed the topic: "By the way, the main purpose of my coming here to find you is to ask about the sales of The Scotsman. Looks like it's selling very well today? ”

As soon as he said this, Cooper's attention was really attracted, and he said excitedly: "That's right! I...... Hmmm......"

As he spoke, he seemed to be a little stumbling.

Lu Shi is puzzled,

"What's wrong with you?"

Cooper stood up suddenly, bowed to Lu Shi, and said, "I'm sorry! ”

Lu Shi was speechless for a while,

Why is "Sensation Your Intimate Marseille" contagious?

He hurriedly said: "You and Mr. Scott have helped me a lot to achieve my current results, so I don't need to say 'I'm sorry', just say anything." ”

Cooper sighed,

"Actually, I was conservative. Today, The Scotsman has only 20,000 copies. ”

Lu Shi tilted his head and thought for a while, and asked, "Before, didn't The Scotsman publish 20,000 ...... in the London area?" Yes...... I get it. ”

From the perspective of distribution, the printing and distribution of the works of famous authors should be progressive.

For example, the Sherlock Holmes series,

Putting aside "The Study of Blood Letters", which did not cause any storms, Doyle became famous since "Four Signatures",

Subsequently, every issue of "Seaside Magazine" will be appropriately reprinted, more than three to five thousand, as little as one or two thousand, as long as the publicity is done well, there is no reason why it cannot be sold.

This virtuous circle is also the reason why Sherlock Holmes can gradually expand its influence.

Similarly, Lu Shi became famous for "No One Left Alive", so "The Scotsman" should be reprinted for "The Hobbit",

Only in this way can we conform to the laws of the publishing industry and the newspaper industry.

Cooper whispered, "When I first read The Hobbit, I thought it was a great film that would lead the fantasy trend. But when the time came to print...... Alas...... I'm sorry. ”

From suspense to fantasy adventures, the span between them is too big.

It's no wonder that Cooper mutters and worries about sales.

It's just that the current sales have slapped Cooper in the face.

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"It's human nature."

He didn't want to be "sensationalized by your private Marseille" anymore, so he continued the topic and said, "This time it was also the light of Professor James and Dr. Doyle. ”

If it weren't for those mutual sprays on both sides in the newspapers, it would not have been possible to attract so many people's attention.

Cooper chuckled,

"The main thing is that you became famous."

Lu, the pen name, has too many works under his name,

From poetry to drama, it covers a wide range of history.

Cooper continued, "And, you may not believe it, most of the readers of your 'The Hobbit' are ......."

Before he finished speaking, he heard the noise outside the window suddenly become louder.

The two looked at each other,

Cooper walked briskly to the window and pushed it open.

I saw that the front door of the office was full of people, surrounded by three layers inside and three layers outside.

But the innermost layer is not the newsboys waiting to get the goods, but a dozen half-grown children who don't look very old, and even girls.

Cooper smiled wryly,

"I was just saying that the majority of The Hobbit readers are teenagers under the age of fifteen."

It can only be said that history is always strikingly similar,

Tuo Lao's original work was originally a fairy tale, but Lu Shi changed the style of writing, and the result was still the same.

So, it's the content that really frames the age of the reader.

Lu Shi said: "I actually already have ...... Not...... It's ......."

Cooper followed his gaze as he landed,

I saw a few girls there, dressed uniformly, seemingly in the uniforms of a certain girls' school.

He smiled,

"Lu, it seems that girls also like your works."

Lu Shi did not answer this flattery,

His eyes locked on a girl's body and muttered in a low voice, "Zena? ”

……

Out of the office.

Zena tugged at Labal's sleeve and whispered, "Will this work?" ”

Bar nodded firmly,

"It works! Newspapers will keep some newspapers that they don't sell. ”

Seeing her best friend like this, Zena couldn't help laughing, and said, "I don't know who doesn't want to read Lu's works, what's the matter, you, suddenly become a super fan?" ”

Ba'er glanced at each other,

"Didn't you hide the Scotsman too tightly and not show it to me?"

Zena said, "I'm afraid you'll learn from Miss West, and you won't pay it back." ”

Because the newspaper was confiscated, Zena was absent for the whole day, and she couldn't even eat at noon.

This kind of thoughtless appearance aroused Bar's curiosity, so after Mama West returned Zena's "Scotsman", she also leaned over and read a short paragraph of "The Hobbit".

As a result, it was out of control.

Although she only read about a thousand words, Bar was deeply attracted by the story.

She wanted to borrow the newspaper, but of course Zena wouldn't give it;

She wanted to buy another copy, but found that all the goods in the newsboy's hands were sold out.

In the past, according to Baer's strict tutoring, she would not pursue anything anymore.

But every time she thinks of "The Hobbit", she has a kind of restlessness, and she wants to read the whole story today, so she makes a crazy decision-

Buy it directly from the newspaper.

Bar pinched Zena's palm,

"What do you mean by 'borrowing or not repaying'? Didn't Miss West return the newspaper to you? ”

Zena said: "She didn't return it until she finished reading the serial. If I lend it to you, you'll be like her, and you won't pay it back until you've finished reading. ”

This cannot be refuted,

Ba'er said: "I read fast~ Besides, you can also read your sister's newspaper~"

Zena glanced at her best friend, and the right to do it was unheard.

She digressed the topic: "I always feel that it is unreliable to wait here, it is better to go to London to block Professor Lu." Our school is also in Adelphi, close by. Look here, there are too many people. ”

As he spoke, the two looked around.

Around them, there are students who are trying to try their luck.

The sound of discussion came to my ears:

"Alas...... I've only read one chapter. ”

"You borrowed it? It's the same as me. However, I finished reading a chapter and a half, and the second chapter begins with ......"

"Get out! Don't give me spoilers! ”

"That's right, that's right, the spoiler killed him on the spot."

"Are you all borrowing newspapers? Then I'm much worse than you, because I like "No Survivor", so I have been buying "The Scotsman", I didn't expect today's "The Hobbit" to be more exciting than "No Survivor", I was too involved in reading it, and the newspaper was confiscated. ”

……

There are still people like Zena,

It's a pity that he didn't have Zena's acting skills, and he didn't know that the crying child had milk to eat, so he couldn't get the newspaper back.

Zena couldn't help but snicker.

At this moment, a familiar voice sounded behind her,

"Zena? You came to buy The Scotsman? ”

Zena turned her head and stared wide in surprise,

Lu ...... Hmmm......"

She just wanted to say hello, but remembered what kind of environment she was around and quickly covered her mouth.

Lu Shi chuckled, handed a bag to the other party, and said, "Okay, hurry up and go home, don't join in the fun here." ”

With that, he turned and walked towards the office door.

Ba'er wondered, "Who is he?" ”

Zena did not answer, but opened the bag,

Inside were two copies of today's The Scotsman.

Ba'er blushed excitedly and said, "Zena, you have a very wild path, you can actually ...... Not...... That one was Asian, yes! @*#￥%……”

The latter words became garbled because Zena covered her mouth.

She warned, "Don't talk nonsense, be careful of being attacked by a crowd." ”

As he spoke, he looked around.

Surrounded by students and newsboys who wanted newspapers.

Ba'er nodded again and again, waited for her best friend to let go of the hand covering her mouth, looked at Lu Shi's gradually disappearing back, and said in a low voice: "I didn't expect to be so handsome." ”

Zena glared at the other party,

"Don't be a nymphomaniac!"

(End of chapter)