One unexpected result of the serialized stories was that people always gathered beneath the Illuminated Signboard. Ling Xiaose felt as though he had ridden a tiger and could not get off, so every few days he scraped together a fresh report to post. Publicity was powerful: across the Immortal Realm, Zheng Daoguang's tall, radiant image soon took root in the hearts of the people.
Luo Qian gradually realized that this primitive "bulletin board" had amassed an enormous audience. The advertisements, meanwhile, had become the "commercial breaks" readers hated with a passion.
The discovery delighted Luo Qian. This was the birth of the media industry! He had to make use of it. From now on, the Illuminated Signboard need not carry only Luo Company's advertisements; he could take other people's too. As for the price—if the offer was too low, they ought to be ashamed to bring it to Young Master Luo.
Once a hobby became a job, even someone who had loved it could find himself miserable. Under Luo Qian's "tyranny," Ling Xiaose accepted his fate through tears and took up his post as a so-called "columnist," writing under pen names such as "Pearl Return Guest," "Yin Yong," and "New Snake"...
Having crushed the first stirrings of Ling Xiaose's rebellion, Luo Qian pressed Old Roughworker to develop an "Electronic Screen" for the Immortal Realm. As for filming soap operas or sitcoms, he had not thought that far ahead.
In short, the media industry's prospects were bright, but its present was harsh. Ling Xiaose was Luo Qian's only pillar; if the fellow's spine could not bear the weight, Luo Qian's fledgling media enterprise would collapse.
Old Roughworker could already turn mundane objects into Immortal Artifacts. Game Consoles and Laptops sold well, though they no longer brought the staggering profits of the