Colorful years

Zhang Cong was well aware that preparing for the inaugural issue of the Dayong Daily and the subsequent work of the newspaper was a heavy responsibility! This work was not only full of difficulties and obstacles, but also had extremely profound significance.

It's worth noting that the initial preparations were a complete mess, leaving everyone bewildered. However, Zhang Cong wasn't deterred by these difficulties; he carried out the tasks methodically.

The first step was to conduct comprehensive and in-depth market research. He tirelessly traveled to streets and alleys, schools and businesses, talking to all sorts of people and carefully listening to their needs and preferences regarding reading.

Through such extensive research, he gradually figured out the tastes of local readers, which pointed the way for the newspaper's precise positioning and content planning.

During this period, Zhang Cong also spent a lot of time reading through various similar newspapers. He studied them carefully page by page, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each newspaper in detail.

He identified areas where things were done well and could be learned from; he also identified areas where problems existed and needed to be addressed. In this way, he continuously summarized his experiences and lessons, striving to make his soon-to-be-founded "Dayong Daily" stand out.

At the same time, Zhang Cong did not forget to consult with experts and scholars from all walks of life. Whether they were authorities in the field of news and communication or well-known figures in the cultural and artistic circles, he would take the opportunity to communicate with them. From these industry elites, he gained a lot of valuable professional opinions and constructive guidance.

However, Zhangjiajie had only recently become a city and was among the poorest areas at the time, with the entire city in dire need of reconstruction. Under these circumstances, the difficulties of running a newspaper were even greater—funding was extremely scarce, and staffing was pitifully small.

However, despite the rugged and thorny road ahead, Zhang Cong firmly believed in the adage "there are always more solutions than problems." He knew that as long as he persevered and made persistent efforts, he would be able to overcome all the difficulties and obstacles and eventually successfully launch the "Dayong Daily," a publication that captivated and delighted a wide readership.

Shortly afterward, the municipal party committee gave a clear reply to Zhang Cong's "Request Report on Matters Related to the Establishment of Tianyong Newspaper": the newspaper would be temporarily designated as a full-funded public institution at the deputy-department level, with an initial staff of 8. Furthermore, it was specifically emphasized that no formal transfer of personnel was permitted before the official release of the inaugural issue.

Due to limited resources and manpower, Zhang Cong had to temporarily borrow a skilled art director from the Sangzhi County Film Company to assist him. Through their tireless and collaborative efforts, day and night, they successfully completed the production of this significant inaugural issue.

To ensure the timely and smooth publication of the inaugural issue, Zhang Cong went to great lengths, meticulously devising a detailed work plan and a timetable accurate to the second.

Whenever faced with unexpected emergencies or thorny problems, Zhang Cong always remains calm and collected, quickly sorts out his thoughts, and then accurately finds a practical solution.

Zhang Cong's work has been progressing very smoothly, all thanks to the strong support given by Minister Yan, a highly respected figure in the Publicity Department.

With Minister Yan's strong support, Zhang Cong was able to work with ease and achieve remarkable results.

But no one expected that Zhang Cong's smooth career path would arouse the jealousy of another person, namely Minister Zhang, who also worked in the publicity department.

Seeing Zhang Cong gain more and more favor and appreciation from Minister Yan, Minister Zhang felt extremely resentful. Gradually, this envy turned into deep jealousy.

In order to put Zhang Cong down and stop him from being so smug, Minister Zhang secretly resolved to create some trouble for him.

After careful consideration, Minister Zhang came up with a "brilliant" idea—to achieve his goal by damaging Zhang Cong's good image in Yan Beixiong's mind.

Without hesitation, from that day on, Minister Zhang deliberately delayed the progress of tasks related to Zhang Cong, causing some originally crucial tasks to be unable to be completed smoothly according to the scheduled time due to his covert interference.

That being said, at that time, the Dayong area didn't even have a single formal printing plant of its own that could independently handle newspaper printing business!

Therefore, when the Dayong Daily was preparing to launch its inaugural issue, it had no choice but to contact the printing plant of the Tuanjie Daily in another city and ask them to help with the printing.

It must be said that the printing process of the inaugural issue of the Dayong Daily was full of twists and turns! On the one hand, the time was extremely tight, and on the other hand, the quality requirements for this inaugural issue were extremely high.

Faced with this dual pressure, the Unity Daily printing plant finally made a difficult decision: to arrange for the workers to work overtime to ensure that this arduous printing task could be completed on time.

However, as the saying goes, "plans can never keep up with changes," this seemingly reasonable decision inadvertently triggered a series of unexpected problems...

It was the dead of winter, and the year was drawing to a close. The whole city was immersed in a festive and peaceful atmosphere, but the scene inside the factory workshop was quite different. The workshop foreman knew that orders were piling up at the end of the year, and it would be difficult to complete the tasks on time without working overtime. So he made a decisive decision and proposed that only by giving workers reasonable overtime pay could they be effectively organized to work overtime.

However, unexpectedly, Zhang Cong's application for overtime pay failed. Minister Zhang remained stubborn and resolutely refused to pay any overtime.

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, the workers, who had toiled all year, were eagerly anticipating an extra income to go home and celebrate the holidays. However, this hope has now been dashed. This outcome has undoubtedly sparked strong resentment among the workers, who have begun to express their protest through passive resistance and have even stopped prioritizing printing quality.

And so, amidst the chaos and disorder, the inaugural issue of the Dayong Daily was printed. But the newspaper that appeared before everyone was simply appalling—the text was blurry and illegible, as if shrouded in a thick fog; the pictures were even more severely distorted, losing their original colors and clarity.

The meticulously planned and well-prepared content had to be scrapped entirely because of the terrible printing quality.

Due to this major mistake, the inaugural issue of the Dayong Daily was forced to be postponed until three months later in the spring, when it was finally able to meet its eagerly awaiting readers.

After learning the whole story, Minister Yan was furious and severely criticized Minister Zhang.

Faced with his superior's reprimand, Minister Zhang not only failed to reflect on his own mistakes but also vented his anger on Zhang Cong. From then on, he targeted Zhang Cong at every turn, even deliberately creating numerous obstacles for him in personnel transfers and other areas, making Zhang Cong's work increasingly difficult.

The decision to send the graphic designer back to his hometown caused Zhang Cong considerable trouble. The graphic designer plays a crucial role in the newspaper's layout and design, and his departure brought the design work for the inaugural issue to a standstill…