Chapter 155: Gu Long's Transformation and Meeting with Jin Yong
"Is it really confirmed?" Although Yang Wendong was almost certain such news wouldn't be false, he still instinctively asked again.
Zhao Chengguang laughed and replied, "Mr. Yang, do you think I'd joke with you about something like this? It's already been decided internally. The radio license is yours. It'll take about a week to complete the final administrative procedures."
"That's fantastic." Yang Wendong was genuinely delighted.
Before television became widespread, radio and newspapers were the only two ways the general public could access information. The former was costly, while the latter was cheap. However, radio had far greater efficiency, functioning essentially like a TV station without the visuals.
In an industry like print media, which already had a large number of entrenched players, it was obviously difficult to make a breakthrough in the short term. But obtaining a radio license meant he had successfully seized a significant piece of the media pie.
Zhao Chengguang continued, "Just a friendly reminder—since the government has granted you the radio license, you'll need to follow the business plan you submitted. Minor delays or issues can be negotiated, but if there's a major deviation, the government has the right to revoke the license. You'll need to act fast to get the station up and running. Once the tower is built and broadcasting begins, as long as you stay within legal bounds, the government won't interfere anymore."
"Got it. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Yang Wendong agreed readily. Until the station was physically built and operational, he wouldn't rest easy.
After ending the call, Yang immediately contacted Zhang Hui. That afternoon, Zhang arrived at his office.
"Mr. Zhang, the license came through—we did it," Yang said with a broad smile.
"Really?" Zhang Hui's eyes lit up. Getting the license meant a fresh new chapter in his life.
Yang handed him an envelope and said, "This is your salary—double your previous one. You can go ahead and resign from your current position and then help me get the radio station company up and running.
And this is just the beginning. If the station performs well, your compensation will get even better."
Zhang took the envelope but, out of courtesy, didn't open it in front of his boss. He then took out a piece of paper and handed it over. "Thank you, Mr. Yang. I will need to hire some people. This is a list of positions."
Yang glanced at the hand-drawn chart. It outlined about 20 positions, along with the number of people needed for each and the current market salary. It was clear Zhang had put a lot of thought into it.
He returned the paper and said, "This setup looks good. Go ahead and start hiring. But don't rely solely on poaching people from the public radio station. There aren't many radio professionals in Hong Kong, and if we pull too hard from just one place, it won't look good for us—especially in front of Mr. Tian Yunjian."
Yang understood well enough. Tian had already helped him by allowing a civil servant to jump ship. If he now tried to raid the entire department, it would be difficult to justify.
Besides, when building a new company, it's generally not wise to hire exclusively from one source. If everyone already knows each other, it might create cliques and hinder integration.
Zhang Hui nodded. "Understood."
"Wait here, I'll introduce someone to you. You two will be working together in the future." With that, Yang picked up the internal phone and called for Qin Zhiye.
Once Qin arrived, Yang introduced them. "Gentlemen, from now on, you'll both be leading my media subsidiaries. You'll also be working in the same building, so I hope you'll coordinate closely."
"Mr. Qin, nice to meet you." Zhang reached out with a smile. "Though we're both in media, radio doesn't handle interviews. We usually just broadcast news from the newspapers."
Qin Zhiye laughed, "That works great—it means our reporters' efforts will be reused, giving them more value."
Yang chuckled from the side, "Old Qin, why don't you take Zhang over to check out the new headquarters building? Should be nearly topped off by now, right?"
The new Hong Kong Chinese Daily building would have 12 floors. The construction wasn't especially difficult, and with funding in place, the contractors were pushing the pace. According to the plan, the building would be completed by the end of January next year.
All employees would move in before the year 1960. The lower floors would be finished and ventilated first so they could begin operations earlier. Given the current timing—it was already late November—the schedule was just about on track.
Qin nodded. "The upper floors are nearly done. The bottom three levels are already fully renovated. Right now, with the size of our teams, even with Mr. Zhang's people, two floors are enough.
The upper floors can be prepared slowly next year. For now, we have more than enough space."
"Good. Looks like we're almost there." Yang nodded with satisfaction. "From here on out, it's up to you two."
He placed immense importance on his media ventures. Unlike his industrial businesses, however, this was an area where he couldn't offer much strategic expertise. His only real advantage was his knowledge of future developments, which gave him the confidence to invest heavily.
Now that both the newspaper and radio station businesses were in place—with proper office spaces and equipment provided—the rest would depend on the professional managers leading each venture.
Both Qin and Zhang quickly assured him, "Don't worry, Mr. Yang. We'll give it our best."
"Mm." Yang Wendong nodded with satisfaction. He asked a few simple questions, and Zhang Hui then excused himself to go handle the resignation procedures at his current job.
A short while later, Qin Zhiyi spoke up, "Mr. Yang, there are a few things on my end I'd like to report."
"Go ahead," Yang responded.
Qin began, "Lately, our newspaper sales have continued their slow but steady rise. Our news coverage isn't behind the other papers, and Xiong Sheng's novel is still being serialized. But to be honest, it's starting to lose some steam.
So I was thinking of opening up public submissions for short stories, jokes, and strange or curious news. It could help make the paper more engaging. Of course, it would mean a bit more budget."
"That's fine. As long as the content is good, paying for it is perfectly reasonable," Yang agreed. "And since we're branding ourselves as a high-end paper, we should be willing to pay high rates for quality.
With decent pay, Hong Kong's tens of thousands of educated citizens will prioritize submitting to us. Who knows? Maybe among them is the next Jin Yong or Xiong Yaohua. If we land another solid novel, it'll be a big win."
Running a newspaper, a radio station, and potentially a TV station in the future—all required significant investment in acquiring quality content. There was no way a media company could rely solely on in-house writers to produce all the material it needed.
"Speaking of Xiong Sheng, something interesting happened recently," Qin added, a faint smile in his eyes.
"Oh?" Yang looked curious. "What is it?"
Qin said, "You remember how we discussed his drinking problem, right? And how you asked me to find him a psychologist?"
"Yeah," Yang nodded. He had high hopes for Gu Long's future. First, his novels could help anchor the paper's readership; second, if Gu Long could avoid the tragedies from his original timeline and live into the 21st century, Yang could partner with him to adapt his stories into TV shows, potentially helping him become a legendary martial arts writer on par with Jin Yong.
Now that Gu Long had relocated to Hong Kong, history had already taken a new path. But his drinking problem remained a big risk—both to his health and to his relationships.
Qin said, "I arranged for a psychologist to work with him. The therapist is pretty good. After just a few sessions, Xiong Sheng completely changed. He's even taken a leave and gone back to Taiwan—to get married."
"Married? That fast? Is it that Zheng Yuexia woman?" Yang asked in surprise.
While he hadn't known much about Gu Long's personal life in his previous life, this time around, with direct contact, he had learned that the author had endured a rather tragic life.
Gu Long had shown exceptional literary talent as a young man. People once thought he would live a comfortable life. But then his father abandoned the family for a mistress, and his mother fell ill soon after. The family plunged into hardship.
To support his family, Gu Long joined a gang in Taiwan and later met a nightclub dancer—Zheng Yuexia. It was this woman who inspired him to leave the underworld, find honest work, and begin writing novels.
After that point, Yang's intervention had brought him to Hong Kong. Gu Long still occasionally returned to Taiwan, mainly to see Zheng Yuexia.
Qin nodded. "Yes. He's planning to rent a place here in Hong Kong, and they're both moving in. He's looking for something nearby, but the rent is really high, so he asked me to help him find something suitable."
Yang paused and said, "Alright. Take a look around the area. If there's a decent residential unit, I'll buy it. They can live there. We'll charge him a rent lower than the market rate and deduct it from his royalties. That way, he can focus on writing in peace here in Hong Kong."
If Gu Long could stay away from heavy drinking and live a relatively stable life, he could be an exceptional asset. Drinking in moderation was fine, of course.
Of course, according to Yang's memories, Gu Long eventually had several lovers and even a few illegitimate children. Once he became successful, his children might well follow in his footsteps and live wildly. But that wasn't something Yang could control now.
Qin chuckled. "Sounds good. If Xiong Sheng can focus on his writing, my job will become a lot easier."
"Mm, send him my congratulations," Yang smiled. "Anything else?"
Qin replied, "Yes. This morning, Shen Baoxin from Ming Pao gave me a call. He said that Mr. Jin Yong wants to meet with you at Ming Pao."
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