Chapter 93: Men on Paternity Leave?

Chapter 93: Men on Paternity Leave?

Muir Media Building.

The assistant ushered the guest into the office, and Mr. Muir stood up to greet him.

Mr. Lee introduced with a smile, "Muir, this is Mr. Du, the owner of the advertising company I mentioned. He manages a significant portion of the advertising space for the Hong Kong Ming Daily and the Hong Kong Morning Post."

Mr. Muir wasn't particularly fond of most Chinese people, of course, except for those who could bring him benefits.

Moreover, Mr. Du was quite refined and didn't come off as annoying like some other cunning Chinese individuals.

"Mr. Du, nice to meet you."

"Mr. Muir, I've heard a lot about you!"

After sitting down, they shot the breeze about the current situation and horse racing before diving into business.

Mr. Du admitted, "I've primarily focused on newspaper ads, targeting a more general audience. Recently, I've been looking to attract some high-end clients. I noticed that your magazine is quite suitable for high-end ads, so I wanted to book two months before the New Year to give it a try. If it works out, we can consider long-term cooperation."

Mr. Muir smiled, "Our Fenghua Magazine has a readership of cultured, tasteful, and affluent individuals. If Mr. Du takes over and zeroes in on high-end ads, you're bound to make a killing."

Mr. Du asked, "How much ad space do you have?"

Mr. Muir replied, "How much space do you want, Mr. Du?"

Mr. Du smiled, "I'll take whatever you've got, but it depends on the price."

Mr. Muir glanced at his assistant, who flipped open a copy of Fenghua Magazine and explained, "We have one frontispiece ad, four mid-magazine ads, and two back cover ads. If you want to bundle them all, the price starts at 18,000 yuan."

Mr. Du thought for a moment, "I can take all of them. But I have a requirement: the circulation for each issue must reach at least 40,000 copies. There are two issues per month, so that's 80,000 copies per month. Only with this circulation can I justify it to my clients, and I'll pay the full amount. We have long-term cooperation with major book distributors, so I can monitor the circulation at any time."

In other words, the numbers can't be fudged.

Mr. Muir asked, "Our previous circulation was at least 36,000 to 37,000 copies. What if it's a bit short?"

Mr. Du replied, "If the circulation doesn't meet expectations, I can only pay half the fee. I also reduce the fees for my advertising clients by half."

Even at half the price, it was still a big step up from their current ad revenue.

Mr. Muir pretended to sigh and let his team haggle a bit more. In the end, they signed the agreement at the initially discussed price.

After signing the agreement, he tossed the contract in front of his wife.

"Can you guarantee over 40,000 copies in circulation? I can pull in 36,000 yuan from ads each month. How much can you earn?"

Mrs. Muir picked up the contract, skimmed through it, and was in disbelief, "You signed the contract?"

Mr. Muir said smugly, "The deposit's already been paid!"

"Why isn't the date filled in on the contract?"

"Don't worry about that. I left it blank on purpose."

"With Mi Xian out of the picture at Panorama, their circulation is sure to take a nosedive. Even if ours doesn't go up, hitting 40,000 copies per issue shouldn't be too tough. But with paper prices skyrocketing lately, I'm really sweating about not making money in these last two months. With this advertising guarantee, I can relax." Mrs. Muir sighed in relief.

Her husband wasn't pleased. Mr. Muir pressed the contract, "This is the money from advertising. You also need to make money from magazine sales. Quick, give me the bottom line—how much can you pull in per issue? Normally, you earn 3-4 cents per magazine. Now, as long as you guarantee the bottom line, earning 2 cents per magazine is fine. That's a low requirement, right? 80,000 copies per month would mean earning 16,000 yuan. Can you do it?"

Mrs. Muir became alert, "What are you trying to do?"

Muir didn't dare to tell the truth: "I need to come clean with the old man."

"If you don't cover the embezzled funds soon, you'll have to hand over your position as general manager to your eldest cousin next year," Mrs. Muir said angrily. "Don't get me involved in your mess."

"Damn it! Cut the crap," Muir snapped impatiently. "You haven't answered me yet—can you guarantee a profit of 20 cents per book?!"

Of course, it was possible, but Mrs. Muir didn't want to deal with him.

Muir said firmly, "It must be done, no excuses! If you can't even achieve half the required profit, you'll have to step down from your position next year too."

Mrs. Muir had to agree, "As long as printing costs don't go through the roof, it can definitely be done."

Seeing his wife give in, Muir raised an eyebrow. "Good!"

The total guaranteed profit over the two months was 104,000 yuan.

It truly set a record!

Two days later, on the golf course, Mr. Muir handed his golf club to the caddie and walked with Peter while chatting.

Peter took off his hat. "I've provided the betting party with your company's financial and performance reports from the past few years. Professional accountants reviewed the accounts and found no issues."

Muir laughed. "Of course, there are no issues; the books are rock-solid!"

Peter continued, "In recent years, Fenghua Magazine has been making a monthly profit of between 15,000 and 20,000 yuan. So, for the last two months of this year—November and December—the betting threshold is set at 100,000 Hong Kong dollars. Given the challenge, they've proposed two options."

Muir asked, "What are the two options?"

Peter explained, "Option one: if Fenghua Magazine's profit meets or exceeds 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, the betting party will pay you 300,000 Hong Kong dollars; if the profit falls short, you transfer 15% of your shares in Muir Media to them."

300,000 would be enough for Muir to pay off his debts and live comfortably for about a decade.

Muir nodded; the offer was quite appealing.

Peter continued, "Option two: if Fenghua Magazine's profit in the last two months meets or exceeds 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, the betting party will pay you 2 million Hong Kong dollars."

2 million Hong Kong dollars? Muir's eyes sparkled. "What happens if the profit falls short?"

Peter replied, "If the profit falls short, you'll have to transfer all 45% of your shares, including those held in trust, to them."

Either win 2 million or lose 45% of Muir Media's shares—a high-stakes gamble, truly thrilling.

"Option one is the safer bet; option two is more aggressive. Think carefully," Peter advised. "You owe less than 100,000, so you might as well go with the first option; it's safer."

Muir's heart raced. He smiled, pondered for a moment, still a bit anxious. "What if our profit exceeds expectations, would they try to claim that I faked the performance?"

Peter explained, "You need to sign an agreement at the law firm. If there are any doubts about the performance or any suspicion of fraud, the law firm will investigate thoroughly. Do you want to fake it? It's very difficult! Otherwise, you could have your friend's friend buy 100,000 yuan worth of ads, easily tricking them out of 2 million—is that possible? They're not fools. The performance must be real. Once you fake it, there will be loopholes; don't underestimate those lawyers. Faking means losing, don't try it."

Muir laughed and patted Peter's shoulder. "I won't fake it. I'm just afraid they might renege at the end."

Peter reassured him, "Don't worry, as long as the contract is signed, your shares and the betting party's funds will be held in escrow by the law firm."

Muir looked at the vast lawn in front of him, gritted his teeth, and said with great determination, "Then let's choose option two, OK?"

Now, the guaranteed profit for the last two months of Fenghua Magazine has already reached 108,000 yuan—he was sure to win without losing.

Since it's a sure win, there's no reason to choose the option that earns less money.

Muir thought he had the guts, but Peter felt he was too greedy.

"Young man, you're way too much of a gambler," Peter chuckled and suggested, "Why don’t you think it over for a couple more days?"

"No more thinking needed!" Muir replied. "Go ahead and set up the meeting at the law firm to sign the bet agreement."

The next day, Muir and Peter went to the law firm and signed the agreement with the betting party.

*

Lin Yufan was short on cash, but her assets totaled over two million. The land at Delin Commercial Center alone was quite valuable.

She planned to mortgage the land for a bank loan, but Zhao Zhiao talked her out of it and directly gave her two million.

She smiled, holding the check in her hand. "I’ll borrow it for two months and pay you interest later."

"Do I care about your measly interest?" Zhao Zhiao asked.

"Then what *do* you care about?"

Fresh out of bed and sitting by the bedside, Zhao Zhiao, who had been vegetarian for over a month, leaned forward. "How about you lick me tonight?"

Lin Yufan dismissed lazily, covering her big belly. "No."

Zhao Zhiao sighed, talking to his little one through the belly. "Your dad’s going through a lot for you."

He caught his wife’s sharp glare and quickly added, "Of course, your mom’s got it even harder, little one. You better be a good kid when you’re born."

Then he kissed her round belly.

Zhao Zhiao went to work as usual.

At home, Lin Yufan spent her mornings strolling in the garden, played mahjong in the late morning, rested at noon, wrote articles in the afternoon, and listened to the radio at night.

Her days followed a strict routine.

This morning, two concubines joined Lin Yufan for a garden stroll, chatting for a long time.

Then they returned to the card room to start playing.

Today, Chen Dandan was on a losing streak, grumbling under her breath after losing three games in a row.

Geng Dongping, meanwhile, was raking it in and beaming with joy.

Geng Dongping drew a "90,000" and was about to play it but hesitated and took it back.

"Pong!" Chen Dandan was quick, putting down two "90,000."

"I didn’t play it!" Geng Dongping protested.

"You’re cheating!" Chen Dandan snapped.

"Where did I cheat? The rule at the table is that if it's not on the table, it's not played! Why are you so eager to put the tiles down?"

"Me eager?! Am I as eager as you?"

Dai Ruyin quickly intervened. "Don't argue, it's just a pong of 90,000. My 90,000 is for you to pong."

But neither of them paid attention to her. Chen Dandan continued to scold, "Ugly inside and out."

Saying she's ugly?

Geng Dongping stood up angrily, "Who do you think you're calling ugly?! I've been tolerating you for a long time, Chen Dandan—watch your mouth!"

"Tolerating me for a long time? No more pretending, huh? No more faking it, huh? Finally showing your true self?" Chen Dandan pushed her tiles over and stood up as well. "Take a look in the mirror! With a face like yours, you think you can stand next to me?!"

Geng Dongping didn't back down, "You think you're some kind of goddess? Take off that wig and show everyone your bald head! Madam, you haven't seen her without her wig, have you? Let Madam see and judge just how beautiful you are, and whether I'm not worthy to stand next to you."

Geng Dongping, known for her sharp tongue, usually held back, but in a real fight, Chen Dandan was no match.

Bringing up the bald head struck a nerve with Chen Dandan, who immediately jumped up to fight with Geng Dongping.

Others quickly stepped in to shield Lin Yufan, pulling her away from the fray.

Lin Yufan, from a distance, said, "Quick, separate them!"

But it was too late—Geng Dongping had already yanked off Chen Dandan's wig.

The sight of the Fourth Concubine's bald, scabies-ridden head left everyone wide-eyed in shock!

Though rumors of the Fourth Concubine's baldness were widespread, few had witnessed it—until now.

"Aaaah!" Chen Dandan screamed as she grabbed her wig back and put it on.

"Geng Dongping, you planned this! You've been scheming for ages, haven't you?! Fine, fine... I have no place in this house!" Saying this, Chen Dandan cried and went upstairs.

As she went upstairs, she cursed, "Besides, without official concubine papers, we're not even recognized as concubines! None of us are any better than the others!"

Not long after, Chen Dandan came downstairs with her personal maid, carrying two or three suitcases, determined to leave the Zhao family garden, and no one could stop her.

Ms. Guan had no choice but to arrange a car to take her to a familiar hotel.

Everyone expected Chen Dandan to return after a few days of cooling off, but who would have thought she wouldn't come back, and even talked about renting a place outside.

Driven by guilt, Geng Dongping went in person to plead for her return, but failed, and ended up staying at Chen Dandan's place, declaring that if Chen Dandan didn't return, she wouldn't either.

Everyone thought Chen Dandan didn't want to come back because everyone at home had seen her bald head.

In truth, it was all a ruse orchestrated by her and Geng Dongping.

Their departure spared Zhao Zhiao and Lin Yufan any scandal, and they exited with dignity.

Zhao Zhiao didn't get involved in their affairs at all.

When Lin Yufan told him they wouldn't return, he said, "Let's offer them a house."

As it happens, there's a vacant apartment in Weiyin Apartments. I'll let them move in rent-free—it amounts to the same thing."

Living in Weiyin Apartments, with Sun Jingxi's family upstairs, they could look out for each other.

*

Since the "Asking Mi" column was taken offline, the sales of *Wanxiang* Magazine dropped to just over thirty thousand copies.

But this still exceeded the expectations of the editors at Seeking Light Press.

After all, they thought that without Mi Xian, sales would drop significantly, and maintaining thirty thousand copies in Hong Kong was already impressive.

As long as they could stabilize, it would be a success.

Entering November, the paper prices, which were expected to drop, did not decrease but instead faced a severe shortage.

With paper prices soaring and no room to hike prices to sustain sales, Mrs. Muir had no choice but to heap all the pressure onto Wenmo Printing Factory.

The owner of Wenmo Printing Factory, Boss Xie, couldn't hold on any longer and had to visit Mrs. Muir to discuss the situation.

"If you don't raise the prices, I can't take your orders anymore. I lose money on every book printed. The more you print, the more I lose."

Mrs. Muir was firm: "According to the contract, I don't need to raise your prices, but I've already raised them twice. I've gone above and beyond."

Boss Xie, pushed to the limit, said, "The cost of paper is rising every day. If you won’t raise the fees, you’ll need another partner. I can’t keep this up."

Mrs. Muir snapped, "Are you thinking of taking this to court?"

With evidence against her, Boss Xie wasn’t afraid: "Mrs. Muir, are you sure you want to go to court?"

Mrs. Muir stared at Boss Xie, and seeing no retreat in his eyes, she finally conceded: "From the 11% rebate, I'll give you 5%! Is that enough?"

Hearing this, Boss Xie finally smiled: "Thank you for your generosity, Mrs. Muir."

In November, with the efforts of everyone at Muir Media, they achieved sales of two issues of Fenghua Magazine, each selling 40,000 copies.

By minimizing costs, the magazine turned a profit of 55,000 yuan—36,000 from advertising and 19,000 from sales.

As long as they get through December and earn another 45,000 yuan, the bet of 2 million yuan will be secured.

Just when Mr. Muir thought the 2 million yuan was within reach, Chui Zhu received two letters.

One was from Fan Yi, the other from Gu Pingan.

They both requested time off for two issues.

Other editors gathered around. "We're pushing for year-end targets, they can't take leave. By the way, why do they want to take leave!"

Chui Zhu was baffled: "They’re asking for paternity leave!"

Men taking paternity leave? Are their wives about to give birth?

"No, a foreign legislator just proposed that men should also take paternity leave, and our great writers are so trendy, wanting to ride this trend?"

Chui Zhu didn't understand; he needed to contact them immediately. They absolutely cannot take leave at this time.