Chapter 115: *Jiuding Daily* Sets Out Again

But what both pleased and troubled Xia Yu was that the company's backlog of orders had reached a new high of 145,000 sets.

On this day, the urgently purchased equipment had arrived at the printing factory and was almost ready for installation, with employees prepared.

By the fifth day, the printing factory's output had reached 250,000 books per day, allowing for the printing of 125,000 sets of *The Qin Empire* each day, which would significantly alleviate the urgent backlog of orders.

However, the company received another 80,000-set order today, with Southeast Asia contributing 45,000 sets, which made Xia Yu very happy.

The popularity of *The Qin Empire* in Southeast Asia was growing. Once readers finished the first two volumes, they would have to wait for the serialization, and *Jiuding Daily*'s sales in Southeast Asia were bound to be strong.

Over these days, *The Qin Empire*'s sales had attracted attention from other newspapers. From initial shock to subsequent numbness, all they could do was watch as the sales of *The Qin Empire* rose, and then express their frustration with comments like, "Total sales have increased again."

The envy and frustration had long since turned into resignation due to the vast disparity.

Some newspapers had even become lazy about writing news related to *The Qin Empire*, as it had become too common; the more exposure it received, the less news value it held.

…

"It really is an era with limited entertainment options. Apart from movies, TV shows, and novels, there's nothing else. This is so advantageous for physical book sales!" Xia Yu remarked as he looked at the continually increasing data.

In future times, during the internet era when entertainment exploded, selling 30,000 physical books in a single day would be extraordinary. It wouldn't achieve the impressive sales figures seen now.

But there's nothing to be done; with the tide of the times, physical book sales are declining year by year. Xia Yu could only aim to sell more copies of *The Qin Empire* and set a higher record.

After all, it was only 1978, and *The Qin Empire* would definitely be completed this year. He wouldn't be affected by future situations, so he shouldn't worry about it.

With the expansion of the printing factory, daily printing quantities finally kept pace with the order volume and even had some surplus. A few days later, the backlog was mostly cleared, and the factory workers could finally breathe a sigh of relief. After all, working non-stop like a machine every day was unsustainable for humans.

After all these days, *The Qin Empire* had accumulated 250,000 sets in sales and pre-sales in Southeast Asia, significantly raising its popularity. Many people had finished reading the first two volumes and were eagerly waiting for the continuation, but could only wait for the serialization.

The opportunity for *Jiuding Daily* to enter Southeast Asia was ripe. Due to the popularity of *The Qin Empire*, the distribution department had become very popular, and cooperative relationships were quickly established. The speed of building distribution channels increased several times, and now Jiuding Daily had channels that even *Sing Tao Daily* didn't have.

Everything was ready, just waiting for *Jiuding Daily* to enter!

That morning, Yan Wenhan arrived at Xia Yu's office to report on the specific situation in Southeast Asia, awaiting Xia Yu's instructions.

"Wenhan, the timing is right. The serialization of *The Qin Empire* has been interrupted for several days. An extended break will have a negative impact. Starting the day after tomorrow, we'll synchronize the Southeast Asia release. The printing and distribution departments must not slack off!" Xia Yu instructed solemnly.

Originally, the book was ahead of serialization by nearly 100,000 words to expand *The Qin Empire*'s influence and to align with the serialization in newspapers. Unfortunately, the plan was overtaken by events. The sales of *The Qin Empire* were so explosive that most of the inventory was taken by Hong Kong, leading to a shortage in Southeast Asia before the factory could expand further.

Due to the booming sales in Southeast Asia, Xia Yu had higher expectations and decided to delay *Jiuding Daily*'s entry to allow the popularity in Southeast Asia to continue to build. This way, when *Jiuding Daily* was released, it would have a strong start.

Fortunately, the printing factory's expansion caught up with the growth in orders! But it was still a bit late. To ensure a seamless connection of the plot, Xia Yu had to repeatedly slow down the serialization speed of *The Qin Empire* in *Jiuding Daily*. In the past two days, he had to stop the serialization abruptly.

During those two days, many people were full of grievances toward Xia Yu and *Jiuding Daily*. Even though *Jiuding Daily* provided an explanation, many still called the company to urge them.

There was no way around it. Fans didn't care about the reasons; they couldn't tolerate a break in serialization. Rationality aside, they simply wouldn't accept any excuses and continued to complain.

Faced with the strong demands from fans, the customer service staff of the company reported to Xia Yu. When Xia Yu heard this, he smiled but didn't take it to heart. The company's plans were more important.

"Understood. I'll have the distribution department prepare immediately to ensure simultaneous release!" Yan Wenhan assured seriously.

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed. *Jiuding Daily* newspapers were delivered to various sales channels in Southeast Asia, ready for simultaneous release in the morning.

Although the newspapers arrived in Southeast Asia relatively slowly, Xia Yu didn't mind the extra cost of air freight. He didn't expect to make a profit initially and understood that the upfront investment was necessary.

Later, branches would be established in various countries, and local printing plants would be set up, allowing for local printing and sales.

…

Singapore, officially independent from Malaysia in 1965 and joining the Commonwealth in the same year, is a city-state with an area of only 719.1 square kilometers and a population of fewer than four million.

Though Singapore is a country, it only has one city, Singapore City, making it a city-state.

Despite its small size and population, Singapore has rapidly developed economically due to its strategic location and its unique state capitalist model. Along with Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan, it is known as one of the "Four Asian Tigers" and is economically advanced, comparable to Hong Kong at this time.

Moreover, in Singapore, ethnic Chinese make up over 70% of the population, with Malays and Indians being a smaller proportion.

Given the similarity in population and economic conditions to Hong Kong, Jiuding Daily chose Singapore as the most crucial stop in establishing its Southeast Asian distribution channels, with the most extensive distribution network.