The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

In the south of Tianjin city, in the evening.

Yuan San'er, a shoe repairman, came home from his stall. When he passed by a grocery store at the entrance of the alley, he took out a bottle and prepared to go in to make liquor. As soon as I walked to the door, I saw a crowd of people in front of the counter, and there was a news broadcast from inside.

"Yesterday, Chang Kaishen, the puppet government of Nanjing, sent a telegram across the country, swore in Xuzhou, and issued a general attack order for the Second Northern Expedition. Chang Kaishen himself served as the commander-in-chief of the First Army and marched northward along the Jinpu line; Feng Yuxiang served as the commander-in-chief of the Second Army. Between the two lines of Beijing and Han, advance from the west to the south and go north; Yan Xishan is the commander-in-chief of the third group army, and advances eastward from the Beijing-Sui and Zhengtai lines; Li Zongren is the commander-in-chief of the fourth group army..."

Yuan San'er's first reaction when he heard the news was not that there was going to be another war, but that the voice was really nice. He squeezed into the crowd strangely, but saw a small box on the counter, and the sound actually came from the box.

This is the cheapest ore radio, and its appearance is completely different from that of later generations.

The outer box is made of cardboard wrapped cloth, and when the lid on the top is opened, you can see many knobs and some things like screw caps. There is also a small grid next to it, which houses a pair of earphone-like amplifiers.

"It's so rare!"

"Why do you think this foreigner's brain is so brilliant, and he can put sound into a box."

"Is this a new type of record player? Why can't I see the record?"

"Boss, what is your object?"

"..."

The onlookers talked a lot, and the owner of the grocery store laughed and said, "This is a spar radio, an American product."

"That will cost a lot of money?" asked the onlookers.

The boss smiled and said, "Haha, it's not expensive, you can buy it for 25 yuan."

"Hiss," Yuan San'er gasped, "25 yuan isn't that expensive? It's enough for me to repair shoes for half a year."

The boss said: "Actually, I didn't buy this radio. It was Xinfu Yangxing and China Radio Station for product promotion, and it was temporarily stored with me for free. Now there are many stores in the city. It can only be used for free for one month, and the next month People will take it back, and if you want to listen to it, you have to spend money to buy a radio."

Just as the boss was talking, the news broadcast suddenly ended, and the advertisement was replaced by: "People are passing by, and the wine is fragrant. Yiju Yongji adopts an advanced and scientific management model, combined with traditional Tianjin wine brewing methods, to produce mellow and smooth wine. The sorghum wine, rose dew wine and Wujiapi wine are the top wine brands in Tianjin..."

The audience suddenly became cheerful, and someone said: "I have drunk the Wujiapi of Yijuyong. Last time, my son-in-law's family had a treat, and there were five bottles of Yijuyongji. That wine is really good!"

The bystander laughed and said, "Lao Li, I think you'll spend your whole life talking about a few bottles of wine."

Radio audiences are still small these days, and advertising costs are pitifully low. Take Yiju Yongji Distillery as an example. It only pays 10 yuan per month, and can broadcast three advertisements a day.

After the wine advertisement ended, there was another dance hall and ink advertisement, and the onlookers in the store listened with great interest.

"Cross talk is a kind of folk rap art, which originated in North China during the Ming Dynasty, and became more and more prosperous after the development of the Qing Dynasty... Next, please listen to the cross talk performed by Mr. Zhang Shouchen and Tao Xiangru——"Article Meeting"!"

Before the cross talk started, the shop became noisy:

"Hey, this foreigner's radio also has cross talk!"

"It's still Zhang Shouchen. I used to hear him talk about cross talk, and he said it well. It's a pity that he has entered the cross talk garden in the past two years, and he has to pay for a ticket to hear it."

"Don't make any noise, don't make any noise, just listen quietly."

"..."

The Taiping lyrics sung by Zhang Shouchen came out from the radio: "The great ancestor of the Han Dynasty has a way to sit in the country, and there is a king who is upright, his ministers are virtuous and the people are safe. There is a virtuous king of the Three Qis named Han Xin. If he destroys Chu, put this society in peace..."

"good!"

"another one!"

The audience applauded loudly, they completely regarded the grocery store as a cross talk garden.

"Woo~~~~"

"Hahahahahaha!"

The cross talk was still going on, and everyone booed and laughed from time to time, it was as lively as a meeting.

After listening to this cross talk, Yuan San'er suddenly realized that it was already dark, he slapped his head and shouted: "Give me half a catty of soju, hurry up, I have to go home for dinner!"

"Oh, why did I forget to eat?"

"Uncle, are you still leaving?"

"No hurry, I'll listen again. You go back first and ask your aunt to save some food for me."

"..."

More than half of the people in the shop left in an instant, and the rest were reluctant to leave, and stayed until the shop closed before leaving.

The boss was very happy, and these guys who came to listen to the radio had to express it no matter what. For example, if you listen to it for three or five days in a row, you will have to buy something to feel good about it. With this radio, his grocery store is much more popular than other stores around it.

The boss has decided that when the one-month free trial is over, he's going to actually shell out the money for his own radio.

The scariest thing was the Central Plains Department Store, where at least fifty or sixty people came here every day to listen to the free broadcast. The department store bought it directly without waiting for the trial period to end, and it was a high-end radio for 50 yuan.

This high-end radio has a wooden casing and has a much better sound quality than the lowest grade mineral radios.

For Tianjin people, whether they are ordinary people or dignitaries, radios and radios are new things. Nowadays, there are many former Qing Dynasty elders who go out in the morning with a birdcage and a radio in the other, which is a status symbol.

...

Foreigners Club.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Davis laughed loudly and said to Zhou Hexuan: "Zhou, guess how many radios I have sold in the past half a month?"

"How much?" Zhou Hexuan asked while drinking beer.

"Peking and Tianjin, as well as the surrounding areas, sold a total of 506 units." Davis stretched out five fingers and said.

Zhou Hexuan smiled and said, "It's normal. Especially in the Tianjin Concession, there are hundreds of old people living in apartments, warlords and politicians. They have plenty of money and are ideal users of radios."

Davis patted Zhou Hexuan on the shoulder and said, "But I still have to thank you. Zhou, you are a genius in broadcasting. The few radio stations in Shanghai don't do as well as you."

Zhou Hexuan rolled his eyes at him: "Brother, you have made money, and I have been losing money. The initial investment of 6,000 yuan is not counted, and now I have a net loss of more than 30 yuan every day. When the announcers and technical staff change from part-time jobs to full-time jobs, Lose even more."

"I haven't made any money yet. I gave you a set of broadcasting equipment for free." Davis complained.

Zhou Hexuan pondered: "When the radio sells 1,000 sets, please inform me that the advertising fee should increase."

Davis said: "The businessmen in Tianjin must be happy. The effect of your broadcast is very good."

"I hope," Zhou Hexuan raised his glass, "Come on, let's drink to your radio, my radio station!"

"Haha, cheers, happy cooperation!" Davis was overjoyed, and took a gulp of beer.