52: Chapter 52: Sign in to receive a brooch just like the Queen's!

Lin Tian and Jones shook hands, and the deal was essentially settled.

The specific details would have to wait for professional lawyers to step in and sign the contract in black and white for it to be official.

As for whether it was worth spending $150,000 to buy the newspaper, Lin Tian was very clear in his mind.

He remembered the trajectory of the future: a few years later, Jones would pass away due to illness, and the newspaper would get its third editor-in-chief.

At that time, the newspaper was on the verge of bankruptcy, losing over two thousand dollars a week, carrying a crushing debt of three hundred thousand, and its circulation had plummeted to only nine thousand copies.

Even in that state, the buyer still had to spend seventy-five thousand dollars to take over the newspaper.

In contrast, now, The New York Times was at its peak, with a national circulation firmly holding at ninety thousand copies, and it was a genuine money-making machine.

Old Man Jones only wanted $150,000; this price was practically a giveaway, allowing Lin Tian to pick up a huge bargain.

If word got out that the newspaper was for sale for $150,000, buyers from Wall Street would trample the threshold down.

"Once the newspaper is mine, there will always be a Jones Editor-in-Chief Office reserved for you!" Lin Tian promised generously, returning the favor.

Upon hearing this, Jones's face was filled with gratified smiles.

He understood that handing over the newspaper, which had consumed his life's work, to this young man was absolutely a brilliant move.

This Chinese youth was not only promising but also someone who remembered kindness.

With the newspaper in his hands, it would surely reach a new level.

"No need for that. My old bones can finally set down the burden, and having found a safe place for the newspaper, I am already very satisfied; there is nothing to linger over." Jones declined with a smile.

Lin Tian did not try to persuade him further.

He had already planned it out in his mind: in the future, when the newspaper moved into the new building in Times Square, he would have to set aside a room specifically and hang a plaque for the Jones Editor-in-Chief Office.

This would be his way of thanking the old man for his generosity in selling the newspaper.

After sitting in the room for a while, to prevent any complications, Lin Tian and Jones agreed that he would bring a lawyer over first thing tomorrow morning to go through the procedures and sign the contract.

As soon as Lin Tian left, Jones called all the editors in the newspaper office into the room and officially announced the decision to transfer the newspaper.

Although the editors were reluctant to part with their old editor-in-chief, they had to keep their jobs, and everyone knew that from now on, they would have to learn to serve the new boss.

...

The next day.

Early morning.

"Ding... Today's sign-in complete... Reward issued: One daffodil-shaped brooch!"

"Why send a brooch?"

Lin Tian lay in bed and casually took the brooch out of the system space.

Although he had no interest in shiny stones, he still squinted his eyes as he was dazzled by the object in his hand.

Glancing at the description provided by the system, Lin Tian gasped.

This was a peerless treasure custom-made by the top jeweler Cartier to celebrate the British Queen's wedding in the future!

It was inlaid with a total of two hundred and three white diamonds, plus a top-quality pink diamond weighing fifty-four carats.

"As expected of the goods given for reaching level four; this thing is worth at least five hundred thousand dollars nowadays!"

Although Lin Tian didn't understand jewelry appraisal, he understood how precious a perfectly cut twenty-three-carat round diamond was.

If it were sent to an auction house in the twenty-first century, this brooch could easily fetch a hundred million with eyes closed.

Although this item was priceless, Lin Tian had no intention of selling it for money.

He was not short of these few hundred thousand dollars.

Besides, for the system to level up to five, in addition to having one hundred million dollars in his account, he also needed to obtain a specific title.

Just having money was useless.

He casually stuffed the brooch back into the space, planning to give it to Elizabeth as a birthday gift in a few days.

After finishing breakfast at the hotel, Lin Tian took Paul, the lawyer who had just arrived in New York, straight to The New York Times office building.

Before noon, both parties had signed the transfer contract in black and white.

From the moment he put pen to paper, Lin Tian officially became the behind-the-scenes boss of this major national newspaper.

After seeing off the old editor-in-chief Jones, the first fire Lin Tian lit upon taking office was to directly raise the salaries of all the editors in the company by twenty percent!

As soon as the words about the salary raise fell, the entire room full of editors was so excited they didn't know what to do with themselves.

"Not only will there be a salary raise, but in the future, I also want to move the entire newspaper office to 42nd Street in Manhattan; we are going to build our own news building!" Lin Tian struck while the iron was hot.

The whole room instantly boiled over, and the editors cheered with joy.

Currently, to save on rent, the newspaper had been holed up in a dilapidated rental building, with an environment as crowded as a sardine can.

Every summer, it was so stuffy inside that it made people unable to breathe.

Once they heard the new boss wanted to build a building, who wouldn't be happy?

A few nostalgic editors instantly threw their previous boss to the back of their minds and joined the others in applauding wildly.

"Everyone, rest assured, I guarantee that the newspaper's original rules of 'truthful and fearless, impartial, and not involving partisan interests' will not be changed by even half a word and will continue to be implemented as before!"

Once these words were spoken, everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

For this group of writers, getting a raise and a new building was certainly happy, but they were more afraid that the newspaper would change its character and become a tabloid seeking attention to cater to the powerful.

After some firm words and reassurance, Lin Tian let everyone go back to work, but called a deputy editor-in-chief named Ed into the room alone.

"Ed, if we were to advertise a newly opened fast-food restaurant, how could we make it a sensation across the city?" Lin Tian asked, leaning back in his chair.

Ed thought for a moment and asked in return, "I wonder what the relationship is between this fast-food restaurant and you, Boss?"

"I own it." Lin Tian said directly.

"Does the shop sell anything rare?"

Lin Tian calculated slightly: "I just created a special drink, and I also found people to specifically learn the German way of making burgers and Turkish kebab techniques!"

"Another one of your new inventions!"

Ed looked full of admiration and casually flipped out a past issue of The New York Times from the desk and handed it over.

"Boss, I think if we get this person to step forward, it will definitely help you make the fast-food restaurant's name famous throughout New York!"

Lin Tian glanced at this copy of The New York Times.

The front page headline was prominently printed with two rows of bold characters:

"Polar Bear Strongman Challenges Chinatown; Chinese Kung Fu is Vulnerable, and Not a Single Person Dares to Accept the Challenge!"

He glanced at the date; it was an old newspaper from a week ago.

At that time, Lin Tian was still in San Francisco and had never heard of this matter at all.

"Boss, do you think your Chinese Kung Fu can beat this strongman from the Polar Bear country?" Deputy Editor-in-Chief Ed asked tentatively.

Lin Tian carefully examined the picture in the newspaper.

The strongman in the photo had a tiger's back and a bear's waist, a face full of flesh, was at least two meters tall, and was wearing a pair of heavy boxing gloves.

At a glance, he was a battle-hardened heavyweight professional boxer.

But in Lin Tian's eyes, this was not a threat at all.

After taking the Perfect Serum, his body had long since undergone a complete transformation.

Let alone a boxer, even if a real adult bear were standing here, he would have absolute certainty of killing it with one punch.

"Speak your mind; how do you plan to use this matter to make a splash?" Lin Tian became interested.