66: Chapter 66 Zheng Ge'er: Who is so obsessed with me!

"Correct!"

Zhao Fusu scraped his index finger against Wang Xia's perky nose and said, "My Xiaer is truly clever."

Zhao Fusu and Wang Xia began to research how to make a newspaper.

Among the paper Zhao Fusu brought back, there was paper specifically cut for making newspapers.

As for the dimensions and specifications of the newspaper, Zhao Fusu followed the broadsheet format.

Its width was 749 millimeters, and its height was 597 millimeters.

The overall size was quite large.

The various sections of the newspaper mainly included the masthead, the ears, the type area, the lead story, the double lead, and the bottom lead.

The masthead is located on the first page of the newspaper, usually in the upper left corner, containing information such as the newspaper's name, publication date, publishing unit, and serial number.

The ears are the sections next to the masthead in a horizontal layout, which can publish news, advertisements, or be used in conjunction with other parts.

The type area refers to the core region on the page that actually contains text and images after excluding the blank margins on all four sides.

The lead story is usually located at the top left of a horizontal newspaper or the top right of a vertical newspaper, used for publishing the most important articles.

The double lead and bottom lead are used to publish articles of equal importance to the lead story in the ears or the bottom right of the page, respectively.

The layout design of the newspaper can also divide the main areas through three vertical lines and add partitions in the body text to adapt to changes in the volume of information.

Images are the most important part of the layout design; it is best for headlines and images to be connected, choosing images with striking visual effects.

Zhao Fusu intended to make a weekly newspaper, with one issue per week.

A single weekly issue was planned to have 20 pages.

The layout is the overall presentation of various articles arranged and combined on the newspaper, and it is the visual interface that readers first encounter.

One newspaper sheet usually has 4 pages, so two sheets have 8 pages.

Therefore, this weekly issue consisted of five sheets of paper.

There are two main ways to arrange the pages:

Stacked multiple sheets: The front of the first sheet is the first and last page, and the back is the second and second-to-last page.

Stacked separate sheets: The first sheet is pages one through four, and the second sheet is pages five through eight.

Thus, the front of the first sheet, which is the first page, is the most prominent page.

This was also why, when Zhao Fusu was arranging the content, he specifically left the first page blank and noted, "The first page is for my own use; no other content can be placed there."

"Husband, what kind of content do you want to put there?"

Wang Xia asked curiously.

"I won't tell you yet."

Zhao Fusu kept her in suspense.

"I'll tell you once your elder brother has escorted the items here."

Zhao Fusu said mysteriously.

He had already sent someone to the Great Wall to notify Wang Li.

For one, he wanted his brother-in-law Wang Li to come and establish the Ministry of State Security.

Secondly, it was a good opportunity for his brother-in-law to help him bring the items back.

"Husband, just tell me!"

Wang Xia pleaded with Zhao Fusu in a soft, sweet voice.

However, Zhao Fusu still didn't say anything.

He was holding back a big surprise.

He had said before that he wanted to give the Great Qin Empire a surprise—or perhaps, a shock.

Zhao Fusu felt regretful once again.

What a pity!

If the First Emperor were still alive, seeing this surprise of his, his blood pressure would probably soar from the shock, and he'd be slapping his thighs in astonishment.

Zhao Fusu felt regretful once more.

If only the First Emperor could see the surprise he had prepared.

For the First Emperor, that would definitely be an immense stimulus.

"Achoo!"

While Zhao Fusu was thinking with a mischievous sense of humor, Zheng Geer was sneezing incessantly in the manor.

"Your Majesty, the wind is strong; you should put on some clothes."

By the end of June, the weather in Xianyang had begun to get quite hot.

Zheng Geer was there farming with a hoe on his shoulder.

When he was young, he didn't find farming particularly interesting.

But at his current age, it was as if his ancestral instincts had awakened.

Whenever he saw an empty plot in the manor, if he didn't plant some vegetables there, he felt uncomfortable all over.

After Zheng Geer finished dinner and digested his food, he hoed the ground by lamplight for an hour, working up a sweat.

Zhao Gao thought the night wind had given the First Emperor a chill.

"I feel like someone is thinking of me obsessively."

Ying Zheng looked at the lean muscle on his body.

This was all built up from hoeing the ground during this period.

Because he hoed frequently, his body had actually become much stronger than before.

He didn't think the night wind had given him a cold; rather, someone was thinking of him obsessively.

"Is it the Remnants of the Six States?"

Ying Zheng thought to himself.

He had destroyed the six states, causing countless families to be torn apart; it was only natural for people to think of him obsessively with hatred.

However, he absolutely never imagined that it would be Zhao Fusu who was thinking of him obsessively.

The Next Day

Zhao Fusu first went to check the progress of the bank management personnel learning Mental Abacus, then sent someone to call Li Si and Feng Quji over to tell them about the newspaper.

Upon hearing this, Li Si and Feng Quji asked almost in unison, "Head of State, you've manufactured paper!"

Li Si and Feng Quji had seen the books in Zhao Fusu's hands, so they knew of the existence of paper.

They had always wanted to get their hands on some paper.

A single sheet of paper could record not only more content than bamboo slips but was also much lighter!

The weight of a single bamboo slip was equivalent to a whole stack of paper.

"Head of State, so you took so many people to the outskirts just to make paper?"

Li Si asked thoughtfully.

"Yes."

Zhao Fusu did not deny it.

"Is the selling price expensive?"

Feng Quji asked.

Zhao Fusu replied, "There are expensive ones and cheap ones."

"A roll of the expensive paper must sell for at least one gold."

"And the cheap ones?"

Feng Quji asked.

"Sixteen taels and half a coin, I suppose."

According to modern unit conversions, 250 grams for ten yuan.

Modern A4 paper costs only about 0.7 yuan for 250 grams; Zhao Fusu's pricing would be considered very high even in modern times.

In the Qin Dynasty, this pricing was even higher.

However, Zhao Fusu wasn't selling the paper to commoners; he intended to harvest the wealth of the nobility.

The annual salary of the 'Three Ducal Ministers' in the Han Dynasty was 4,200 dan. According to the conversion of 1 dan = 30.75 kg in the Qin period, this is approximately equivalent to 129,150 kg in modern terms. If converted to a monthly salary, it is about 350 dan, or roughly 10,762.5 kg.

If calculated by the current grain price of one yuan per jin, Li Si and Feng Quji had a monthly salary of twenty thousand yuan.

Calculated by the purchasing power of the Qin Dynasty, it was equivalent to ten million today.

Li Si and Feng Quji both breathed a sigh of relief.

For people with a monthly income equivalent to ten million, it wasn't unaffordable.

"Head of State, may we see the paper?"

Feng Quji and Li Si inquired.

"Sure."

Zhao Fusu gave a sheet of paper to Feng Quji and Li Si each.

"So this is paper!"

Feng Quji and Li Si carefully held the paper in their hands.

"So white!"

"So smooth!"

"So delicate!"

"I really want to lick it!"

Zhao Fusu was dumbfounded; what kind of suggestive language was this!