Chapter 219: Country Boy Enters the City

Liao Wei was also a comic enthusiast. He was currently studying at the prestigious Boy's School, right next to Xia Ming's class.

A few days ago, everyone in Xia Ming's little group had a copy of "Zhiyin Manke," which made him envious. He was fortunate to borrow a copy from one of them, but he had only managed to read less than half before it was taken back.

Despite only seeing half, the comics inside had fully piqued his interest.

However, the reputation of "Zhiyin Manke" spread quickly throughout the school. There were only a dozen copies of the magazine available, but the number of people wanting to borrow them kept increasing, and eventually, he couldn't get a hold of one.

Repeatedly going to borrow it with hope, only to be disappointed each time, made him very anxious to know the rest of the story.

Especially since those who had already read it gathered to discuss it passionately, while he had not seen it at all. Every time he went over to listen to their discussions, he not only failed to understand anything but also felt increasingly frustrated and restless.

Fortunately, he received an exciting piece of news from Xia Ming: the magazine would officially be released in a few days.

Therefore, every day, he rushed to the bookstore at the school gate before and after school to inquire, ensuring he would be the first to buy "Zhiyin Manke."

Then he saw the poster on the bookstore wall. The bookstore owner gave him a clear message: on the event date, everyone could get a copy of "Zhiyin Manke," and the first issue was completely free, but each person was limited to one copy!

The wait was finally over!

This news excited him throughout the night. Last night, he experienced his first bout of insomnia, unable to fall asleep until the early morning.

However, when the alarm rang this morning, despite being so tired he could barely open his eyes, he summoned all his strength to jump out of bed, quickly washed up, skipped breakfast, and hurried to school.

Arriving at the school gate, Liao Wei dashed into the bookstore, asking with anticipation, "Boss, is 'Zhiyin Manke' here yet?"

Seeing Liao Wei, the bookstore owner smiled and pulled out a brand-new copy of "Zhiyin Manke" from under the desk, handing it to Liao Wei amid his excited and expectant gaze, saying, "Here you go!"

Seeing the comic he had been dreaming about, Liao Wei quickly took it and said joyfully, "Thank you, Boss!"

"Boss, here's the money!"

Liao Wei said, pulling money from his pocket to give to the bookstore owner.

To his surprise, the bookstore owner didn't take it. Instead, he smiled and said, "Keep it. I told you yesterday, the first issue is free, but starting from next week, the second issue will cost 3 Hong Kong dollars each!"

Hearing this, Liao Wei repeatedly expressed his gratitude, then opened the comic and started reading, not even planning to go into school just yet.

Seeing Liao Wei's obsessive behavior, the bookstore owner was in high spirits. This customer was secured!

Although this issue was free, he would be able to make money from Liao Wei in the future with every issue of "Zhiyin Manke." That was the real profit!

Moreover, Liao Wei was not an exception. In the past few days, many students like him had come to his store asking about "Zhiyin Manke." These students would become loyal readers. With no other bookstore nearby, they would have to buy from him in the future, wouldn't they?

Thinking of this, the bookstore owner was delighted, and happily gave a copy of "Zhiyin Manke" to every student who came to ask.

Even students who entered his bookstore, even without asking, would be given a copy of "Zhiyin Manke," hoping to attract more readers and future customers.

Xia Ming's school had heard of the comics because he had given many to his classmates, causing the news to spread, and students came to the bookstore to find the comics.

However, students from other schools were unaware that free "Zhiyin Manke" comics were available today.

But it didn't matter. Every bookstore owner at the school gates knew these students, including which students frequently bought books and what kinds they preferred. They knew which students liked comics.

So, when these bookstore owners saw students enter their stores, they guided them to the event poster on the bookstore door, informing them that they could get "Zhiyin Manke" comics today.

As a result, bookstores at the gates of other schools also distributed large quantities of comic magazines that day.

These scenes mainly occurred in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian countries.

But in Japan, the situation was not so good. After all, "Fengyun Daily" had little impact in Japan. Its sales were still under ten thousand copies, and most subscribers were Chinese, who were generally older and uninterested in comics.

The influence of Jiuding's companies in Japan was very limited!

Japan, being a foreign market, had well-established distribution channels but lacked significant influence. Many things were inconvenient to manage. To distribute more comics, Xia Yu had to spend money.

On one hand, he hired a large number of temporary workers to distribute "Zhiyin Manke" comics at the gates of various primary and secondary schools. On the other hand, he rented the most prominent positions in bookstores for promotion and spent heavily on advertisements on Japanese TV stations.

To promote the comics, Xia Yu spared no effort.

Of course, the comics sent to Japan were directly printed by the local printing factory of Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd.

Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. had established a branch and a printing factory in Japan. The comics released in Japan had been translated by the company's translators to avoid any confusion for readers.

The grand promotion of "Zhiyin Manke" in Japan was naturally noticed by the Japanese comic industry.

However, in the comic industry, the Japanese were very confident. Compared to Japan's market, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia's comic markets seemed like remote villages.

Large comic publishers like Shogakukan, Shueisha, and Hakusensha had not paid any attention to Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd.

Now, a country bumpkin with no sense of the industry's standards was spending vast amounts of money trying to make a name in Japan's comic industry. Such ambitions and actions seemed laughable to them.

Did they really think entering the Japanese comic market was so easy?

Many businessmen from their American "big brother" had tried to enter the Japanese comic market but failed!

If even their American "big brother" couldn't break into their market, naturally, people from other countries wouldn't be taken seriously.

As for the big country across the sea, they admitted that they had learned from it one or two decades ago. However, after one or two decades of development, the Japanese comic industry had undergone tremendous changes, while the big country's animation industry had been declining and failing to make an impact abroad.

These situations had led the Japanese comic industry to start looking down on other countries and regions.

So, the actions of Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. were seen by them as mere entertainment, waiting to see Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. fail and exit the market.

Would things really turn out as they expected?

If Xia Yu knew the general sentiment of the Japanese comic industry, he would surely laugh disdainfully!

The grand free distribution campaign for "Zhiyin Manke" comic magazines lasted for a whole week. When the results were tallied, the entire company was in an uproar!

The number of distributed copies could easily apply for a Guinness World Record!

The number reached…