197: Chapter 197 Industries Eliminated by the Times

After touring the premises, Chen Hao asked many questions, and through these questions, he understood a harsh reality.

Almost all the sports cars parked at the Sports Car Club were vehicles that the Second Generation Rich rarely drove. They were here for display, or perhaps for modification to enhance performance and increase speed.

To let so many cars gather dust here without being driven, keeping them out of the sunlight, was simply a terrible waste of resources.

There was nothing to be done; who told the Second Generation Rich to have so much money? Their personal allowance was in the tens of millions. How could ordinary people compare?

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow, lend me the Sports Car Club and your villa."

"With so many sports cars as a backdrop, the magazine's sales are guaranteed to explode!"

"Absolutely!"

Just as everyone was making solemn pledges, Chen Hao suddenly received a call. It was Zhuang Hua.

"Something's happened. The magazine office has suddenly gone back on its word and unilaterally terminated the printing and publication."

"What's going on?"

"I don't know either. I'm heading to the magazine office now to find out the situation."

"I'm coming too. Wait for me."

Chen Hao looked at Young Master Xiao and Young Master Hu.

"The magazine office suddenly pulled a stunt. I need to go check things out. I'll head off first," Young Master Hu said.

"We don't have anything else to do anyway. We'll tag along and see what's up."

"Let's go together."

And so, the group drove off in the sports cars, arriving in a flurry at the magazine office's workplace.

The magazine office was located in a dilapidated old courtyard in the old district. Weeds climbed the exterior walls of the building, giving it a gloomy, stagnant feeling when viewed from outside.

Before entering the main gate, Chen Hao first looked at two plaques.

One read 'Jiangcheng Folk Publishing House,' and the other read 'Jiangcheng Fashion Periodical Magazine Office.'

The group re-entered the gate. The Elderly Man gatekeeper had just started to ask a question.

"What are you here for?"

"Looking for someone!"

By the time the Elderly Man, leaning on a cane, managed to catch up, the group had already gone upstairs and entered the magazine office's workspace.

The environment exuded a strong sense of a bygone era—cool and dim, filled with mountains of stacked magazines. The desks were covered in various manuscripts, and old-fashioned desks even had glass sheets placed on top.

The gloomy-looking editors mechanically lifted their heads, looking confusedly at the young people who had barged in. They all set down their 'work,'

such as checking their phones, knitting sweaters, or a game of Chinese chess that was about to have a piece placed.

All the editors stood up. Someone asked,

"Do you need something?"

Chen Hao stepped forward and said,

"Hello, I contacted your Editor-in-Chief a couple of days ago about jointly publishing a fashion magazine."

"Oh, we heard about that."

The editors showed little interest; they seemed like walking dead, lacking motivation and drive.

"The Editor-in-Chief went out with a girl from Guangcheng?"

"Where did they go?"

"They went to the printing plant. Why don't you wait a while? They should be back soon."

Chen Hao sighed helplessly and surveyed the stagnant interior of the magazine office.

The walls displayed the magazine office's past glory. The sales charts stopped at 2007, and performance had declined every year since, reaching a dead end by this year.

Chen Hao had long known that in the tide of the times, such an outdated and pedantic organization would either advance or fall behind, destined to be eliminated by the era. This was their fate.

Just as Chen Hao was observing the environment,

a commotion came from outside.

"Why are those sports cars parked in the magazine office's courtyard?"

"It must be our boss who arrived."

Chen Hao quickly walked to the window and saw the aging Editor-in-Chief entering the gate, accompanied by Zhuang Hua.

Not long after, the Editor-in-Chief pushed open the door.

"Chen Hao is here. Come into my office and sit for a while."

The Editor-in-Chief led the group to the office door, pulled out a set of keys from her waist, unlocked the brass lock, and then gestured for everyone to come in and sit.

Chen Hao and Zhuang Hua entered side-by-side. Young Master Hu and Young Master Xiao clicked their tongues in amazement, while the two Female Internet Celebrities looked disdainfully at such an antiquated establishment.

After sitting down, the Editor-in-Chief took a sip from an enamel teacup and then spoke earnestly,

"Chen Hao, I know your purpose in coming, but you must also understand our difficulties."

She first took out a red-header document from the drawer and placed it on the desk. Then, clasping her hands, she spoke in an official tone,

"The magazine you want to co-publish with us is somewhat irregular. State regulations clearly forbid the printing and dissemination of pornographic periodicals."

Chen Hao quickly explained,

"I clearly stated in the proposal I gave you and guaranteed that it would absolutely not be a pornographic periodical, but a regular fashion magazine."

The Editor-in-Chief smiled.

"We have printed and sold fashion magazines before."

She took out an outdated fashion magazine from the drawer. The cover featured a model with wavy curls, sporting a strong 80s vibe.

Chen Hao picked it up to look, and everyone else gathered around for a peek. It felt like a calendar from the previous era—an outdated aesthetic. Even people in the countryside would think the paper was too stiff to use for pasting on walls.

The Editor-in-Chief, however, spoke with self-satisfaction,

"We once had glory. This periodical sold tens of millions of copies in its time and once swept the era."

"But times have changed now. Magazines don't sell anymore. Never mind the 124 issues you proposed; we can't even afford to print one issue."

"That's not what I meant."

Just as Chen Hao was about to explain, the Editor-in-Chief suddenly raised her hand to interrupt him.

"I know you intend to self-fund the publication, but we are, after all, an official organization. Moreover, I am about to retire soon. I don't want to accumulate any blemishes during the final stage of my political career."

Chen Hao leaned on the desk and said,

"You agreed perfectly fine before. Why the sudden change of heart today? What is the real reason?"

The Editor-in-Chief hesitated repeatedly before finally saying,

"Young man, nobody reads newspapers or magazines anymore. Forget 10,000 copies per issue; we can't even sell ten copies per issue. Why are you persisting?"

Chen Hao was speechless.

"What should I do if you suddenly back out?"

The Editor-in-Chief opened the drawer again and handed a stack of kraft paper envelopes to Chen Hao.

"These are the approval documents for the periodical numbers I applied for—a total of 124 issues. Can I give these to you as compensation?"

"Isn't this..."

Young Master Hu was about to rush forward to argue, but Chen Hao pressed him down, shook his head slightly as a signal, then took the periodical approval documents and gave the Editor-in-Chief a slight bow.

"Thank you. I appreciate your support."

The Editor-in-Chief smiled knowingly.

"Young man, go for it. This is the world of you young people now. Whether you can save this sunset industry of magazines depends on you young people."

"Understood. We'll take our leave now and won't disturb you any further."

After Chen Hao led them away, everyone looked utterly bewildered. It wasn't until they reached the courtyard that Young Master Hu still couldn't grasp the meaning behind it all.

"Brother Chen, what exactly did that old lady mean?"

Chen Hao motioned for him to wait, then looked solemnly at Zhuang Hua.

"Tell me, the entire process of your trip to the printing plant. What did the Editor-in-Chief say?"

Zhuang Hua recounted as she remembered,

"The Editor-in-Chief just said that the higher-ups refused to allocate funds to the magazine office. Even self-funding has difficulties, unless we establish an entirely new magazine office ourselves."

"It's pretty much what I thought."

Everyone became interested.

"Tell us more."