Blackstone Code

In a somewhat cramped office, the president hung up the phone in his hand, and not much light reflected into the window through the opposite wall.

This is an office building... in a very bad location, but for the publisher they are very satisfied.

The competition in print media is too fierce, and this industry has gradually gone from having opportunities to make mistakes in the past to often making mistakes now.

In the past, when publishing houses were having a better time, many unknown authors came to the publishing house with their books, and they would agree to any conditions as long as they could print them.

They often did this in the past, and of course they would not accept bad books. The books they could select were all very good.

But soon a large amount of capital began to flow into the publishing industry, and publishing houses became increasingly difficult to operate.

Now, before the authors finish their books and then call around to ask who can publish their books, those purely commercial publishing houses are waiting outside the authors' homes early, waiting to sign contracts with them!

The president even saw a salesperson from a publishing house serving an author like a nanny from morning to night, with the purpose of signing a contract as soon as possible.

Not only are they shameless, they are also willing to spend money!

This has also caused many publishing houses that are not very well-capitalized to be gradually eliminated by the mainstream in the rapid development of the entire industry. In the end, even the shadow of Qianlang is no longer visible.

That's what this publishing house is like.

The sales volume of the magazine is very miserable. It can only be said that the cost of printing and distribution of the magazine is barely covered, and the salary may not be fully covered.

There is still some income from various works and books, but this income is getting less and less.

Accountants have calculated that if the publisher cannot find new sources of funding in the second half of this year, the publisher will have to make some tough choices.

Cut off its own works and turn it into a reporter station. While making money by selling news, it also signs printing contracts with other publishing houses.

The transportation cost of books is not low. Rather than printing the books and transporting them to other places, which incurs an additional transportation fee, it is better to find a local printing house that can cooperate.

This is a good way, at least as far as the current market is concerned, there is still business.

But no one expected that a turning point would appear in their lives so quickly.

"What did the other party say?" the vice president couldn't help but ask as he stubbed out half of the low-quality cigarette in the ashtray.

Ever since they heard from their colleagues that a very important magazine was about to be launched recently, they found that good luck appeared.

Generally speaking, when a heavyweight magazine is launched, these people definitely do not regard the magazine as a competitor, but consider whether there is an opportunity to jump to it.

Where is work not work?

And this time, the Blackstone Group is backed by Lynch, so at least there won't be a shortage of wages or anything like that.

Many people thought so until someone asked, "Our magazine...is also called Pioneer, right?"

The president swallowed his saliva. At this moment, his eyes were filled with countless money.

The publishing house's equity is not concentrated in the president alone. Capitalists always have ways to reduce their risks. When business is not doing well, he disperses the equity to the vice president and all his colleagues.

Paying equity as bonuses or even wages to employees does allow them to save a lot of money when the situation is bad.

But now, all he could think about was finding a way to bite Lynch.

At the beginning, other people in the magazine had simple ideas. Since they had the trademark "Pioneer", they would sell the trademark to Lynch.

Everyone still remembers what the vice president said at that time!

"We can ask him for...three million!"

He originally wanted to say one million, but then he thought about it and said one million was too small, so he increased the number to three million.

Everyone took a breath. With three million, their good days were coming.

However, the president put forward a different opinion, "Even if he gives us three million, do you think this money can have any effect?"

His words at that time made everyone's blood cool down, "I am the major shareholder, and the shares in your hands are scattered and rare. Some people may only get a few thousand of the three million! "

Yes, not everyone holds a few percent, a dozen percent, or a few dozen percent of the shares. Most people's shares may only be one percent or a few tenths of a percent.

This allows them to get a few thousand or ten or twenty thousand at most, but what they have in front of them is three million!

Human greed and stupidity hugged each other tightly at this moment, and they decided to follow the president's plan.

If you want to use something to describe it, then this plan is...parasitic!

They used the "Pioneer" trademark to invest in Lynch's magazine, and then they would hold a certain share, and then they could work in Lynch's magazine.

"In this case, we can get equity dividends from Lynch's magazine every year. For a large company of that size, what we get will not be less than what we pay directly."

"What's more important is that we can still get a job. On the basis of being able to distribute money once a year, we also have a good job. Is there any better choice than this?"

His words convinced everyone in the magazine. Even the cleaner who swept the floor agreed with the president's idea. After all, he also held 0.1% of the shares.

It was the most difficult month for the publishing house. The president paid the salaries of those who could not be exempted, and the rest were paid in shares, and they were overpaid.

After doing a series of operations, now is the harvest season.

The president waved his hand to disperse the smell of low-quality cigarettes in front of him. He walked to the window and opened it, letting in the cold but fresh air outside.

He stood by the window, and in just a short while, the tip of his nose turned red from the cold.

He sniffed and said, "No, how could they agree?"

"I know very well the habits of these capitalists. They will definitely think about whether they can solve it through other methods. Then they find that there is no way to solve it, and they can only sit down and talk with us in the end."

"So you don't have to worry now, what you have to do is spread the news through your channels."

"We have the trademark that Mr. Lynch wants, but we haven't reached an agreement yet. Someone will contact us soon."

"At that point we will be able to use those inquiries to put pressure on Mr. Lynch."

"Of course we can also make appropriate concessions. If he doesn't agree to our request, then we will sell the trademark to someone else."

"And Mr. Lynch may become a joke in other people's mouths. If you pay attention to Lynch, you can find that he almost never fails, at least I haven't noticed."

"Whether this is a coincidence or he deliberately maintained it, he will definitely continue to talk to us, so you can rest assured."

"This money and these conditions are just small amounts of money to him..."

Everyone praised the president's mind and believed that his method could work. After all, everyone thought carefully and found no logical illogicalities.

That's good, everyone gets down to the task at hand.

The law firm Lynch worked with acted quickly. The next day the magazine received a subpoena from the court and someone sued them.

And, there's more than one.

The president was a little confused about what happened, but he still invited his legal adviser to consult.

Most federal people will have their own legal advisors or lawyers, because most federal people may encounter legal problems and need the help of lawyers.

After reading the summons, the lawyer made several phone calls, and then there was a lot of smile on his face.

These smiles made the president relieved. At least things didn't look too bad, right?

"Mr. President, don't worry too much, I've already figured it out."

"Did your magazine publish an article last year called "Who is taking away my home?"

The president nodded. He personally approved this article because it was full of racism and discrimination against foreigners.

Not all magazines dare to publish this kind of article that is highly controversial and can cause trouble. If you are not careful, you will get into trouble.

But for them, they can barely survive, so I apologize to all of them.

On the contrary, such radical articles can bring them some exposure, attention, and even advertisers.

The article was filled with a lot of content that smeared immigrants and ethnic minorities. It received fierce social criticism as soon as it was published, but they also got what they wanted.

Attention, as well as donations and advertising from some people.

He didn't hide anything about what had happened, "Yes, what happened to it?"

"Some people are suing you and the magazine for discriminating against them. These are actually very small cases that can be easily resolved."

The president breathed a sigh of relief, "Then it's all up to you..."

He did not take this matter seriously, and the lawyer did not take this matter seriously. Even the local courts and judges did not take this matter seriously.

Until...when court begins on Thursday.

Immigrants and ethnic minorities from all over the world were crowded outside the court. They held up slogans "Oppose Racial Discrimination" and angrily surrounded the court.

A large number of reporters appeared in the area to shoot, and some pioneers of the affirmative action also appeared here.

What made the president even more unresponsive was that those who sued him did not ask for much compensation, but they all applied for punitive damages.

Punitive damages and punitive fines are often used to punish some major wrongdoings in small cases. The push for the passage of this bill actually has something to do with immigration.

In short, as long as this application is approved, the case itself may only ask for a hundred yuan in compensation, but the judge can issue a fine of one million yuan!