Chapter 323: A New Direction in Comics — Chinese Classical Mythology
"Chinese University?" Wei Zetao asked, "You mean the one being formed by merging New Asia College and a few others? I heard a while back they were applying to establish a new university."
Yang Wendong replied, "The British side has already approved it, which means Hong Kong will officially have a second university."
Wei Zetao asked, "So Mr. Yang, you're thinking about using this opportunity to encourage CUHK to invest more in engineering disciplines?"
"Yes," Yang Wendong nodded. "The long-term strength of enterprises will depend on local universities. If Changxing Industries or Rongyao Electronics want to thrive in Hong Kong, we need a constant supply of local talent.
We can't always rely on overseas recruitment. It's too costly, and it's impossible to recruit endlessly from abroad."
Education is the foundation of a nation—and universities are the backbone of a city's development.
In his past life, many of the mainland's high-end industrial clusters were built around strong local universities. For instance, Xi'an's electronics industry owed its roots to Xi'an University.
Even in the mainland, the success of large corporations was closely tied to local universities. In a harbor city like Hong Kong, that was even more critical. Take Singapore, which would soon gain independence in just a few years—its rapid rise to developed-nation status hinged on its emphasis on education.
Wei Zetao replied, "Alright, I'll speak with some people in the Hong Kong Education Department to see if we can provide some sponsorship and encourage them to add more engineering programs."
"Good," Yang Wendong nodded again. "Also, push for electronics programs. You'll handle that as well. Rongyao Electronics is still too small. It doesn't have the resources it needs."
"Understood," Wei Zetao said.
Yang Wendong added, "If you run into any issues or obstacles, come to me. I'll speak to the Governor if I have to."
Even though he had a good relationship with Governor Black, the man was still the top authority in the city. You couldn't go running to him for every little thing.
If something could be solved with money—or by subordinates—it was better not to trouble those in high places. Favors like that should be spent wisely.
"Got it," said Wei Zetao.
The two of them then headed to another section of the factory.
"This area is where we produce Changxing Culture's sticker products," said Wei Zetao.
"Stickers? Those sell pretty well," Yang Wendong remarked with a smile.
"They do," Wei Zetao confirmed. "We've printed over ten million copies of the Calabash Brothers stickers. The profit margin isn't high on our end, but Changxing Culture's side has margins of over 100%—even better than Post-it notes and rolling suitcases."
"That's the nature of cultural industries," Yang Wendong said. "In the U.S., even Barbie dolls reportedly have profit margins exceeding 300%.
Many countries have very strict copyright laws. And with copyrights, infringement is easy to prove, and enforcement costs are very low. That allows for sustained high margins."
Most patents expire in 20 years. But copyrights? In many countries, protection lasts decades after the creator's death.
As long as you've properly secured the rights from the start, copyright disputes are easy to win—especially if you target the retailers and distribution channels directly.
Wei Zetao laughed. "Yeah, people are still willing to buy them. My younger son spent several dollars just buying stickers and sticking them on his books—he was thrilled."
"Exactly." Yang Wendong nodded. "That's why I'm not in a hurry to do what Hong Kong toy companies are doing—making generic toys.
Once our cultural business is built, toys, stickers, and other licensed products will generate massive profits."
"Always one step ahead," Wei Zetao smiled.
Yang Wendong then asked, "How are Black Cat Detective stickers selling?"
"Also doing well," Wei Zetao said, "but the comic only launched in November, so it's not quite as popular yet. Calabash Brothers still has stronger brand recognition."
Yang Wendong nodded. "In terms of story, Calabash Brothers might be more appealing to kids. But it's hard to stretch it into a long-running series."
Wei Zetao laughed, "That's true. The characters have superpowers—and honestly, even I sometimes daydream about having powers. Wouldn't that be amazing?"
"I feel the same," Yang Wendong chuckled. "Once the Changxing Culture team grows stronger, we'll definitely explore more of that genre."
Everyone fantasizes about having superpowers, or being part of a wuxia or xianxia world. In his past life, Yang Wendong was a huge fan of fantasy novels.
Wei Zetao added, "But a lot of people still haven't heard of Calabash Brothers. Maybe that's because we're limited by print media."
"True," Yang Wendong nodded. "But the Calabash Brothers animated film is already in production. Once it hits theaters, it won't just boost the film's popularity—it'll send sales of all related products through the roof."
TV was still in its infancy, and it would be a while before most households owned one. For now, film was still the best medium for mass communication—especially since he owned cinemas.
"I'll definitely take my kids to see it when it comes out," Wei Zetao said with a smile.
"I'll get you free tickets," Yang Wendong replied.
One big advantage of children's films was that parents always came along, doubling the audience.
At noon, Yang Wendong had a simple lunch at the Changxing Industries canteen. Eating luxury meals every day could get old—sometimes a basic meal hit the spot.
In his past life, he'd often sneak into street food joints—Sha County noodles, braised chicken rice, Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles. They were cheap and delicious.
That afternoon, back at Changxing Tower, Yang Wendong headed to the 10th floor, where Changxing Culture's main office was located.
"Mr. Yang," a group of staff came forward to greet him.
Yang Wendong smiled. "Old Wu, Old Zhang, let's go to the meeting room first."
Old Wu was Wu Hailin, head of all comic-related operations. Old Zhang, full name Zhang Zhiyuan, was responsible for sales and marketing.
The two were the top leaders at Changxing Culture, each managing a separate domain.
"This way, please," Zhang Zhiyuan said quickly.
In the conference room, after tea was served and the assistant left, Yang Wendong asked, "The Calabash Brothers comic has finished serialization, and now only Black Cat Detective remains in the weekly magazine. What are current weekly sales figures?"
Zhang Zhiyuan answered, "Including Taiwan and some parts of Southeast Asia, we're hitting around 130,000 copies per week. Sales in Hong Kong are about 25,000 per week."
"Not bad," Yang Wendong nodded. "Any progress in Japan?"
Zhang Zhiyuan replied, "Yes, around 10,000 copies per week. Japan has a large population and high spending power, but the manga market is brutally competitive, so progress has been slow."
"That's to be expected," Yang Wendong agreed.
It wasn't just about who had the better story—Japan had a strong economy and tons of entertainment options, which made it hard even for local publishers to succeed.
Audience expectations were much higher. Yang Wendong, despite living in this era for years, still found most 60s-era TV and film dull and boring.
Zhang Zhiyuan took out a book. "Here's the Calabash Brothers collected volume. We're ready to publish it."
"Let me see." Yang Wendong took the book and flipped through it. He ran his hand over the pages and said, "This paper is nice."
"We used high-grade paper, and printed it with the latest Japanese equipment," Zhang Zhiyuan said proudly.
"Good. How's the new printer performing?" Yang Wendong asked while reading.
Early on, their comics were printed using Hong Kong Chinese Daily's presses. But once profits grew, they imported advanced Japanese color newspaper and book printers.
The equipment was still housed at HKCD's print shop, allowing both companies to support each other when needed.
"Very well," Zhang Zhiyuan said. "It can print 3,000 books per day—way more than we currently need."
"That's only for now," Yang Wendong smiled. "Sooner or later, we'll need higher volumes. Every comic series we publish will get a collected edition."
Even Black Cat Detective would eventually be compiled, and since it could have endless sequels, they didn't even know how many storylines they'd end up with.
Add in stickers, toys, and other derivatives, and they'd soon be making money in their sleep.
"Yes," Zhang Zhiyuan smiled.
Yang Wendong turned to Wu Hailin. "Old Wu, how's the Calabash Brothers animated film coming along?"
That project had been greenlit when the comic first launched. But with limited manpower and no digital tools, progress had been slow.
Unfortunately, they'd missed the New Year release window. But animation, in this era, took an incredible amount of time and effort.
Wu Hailin replied, "Mr. Yang, we're one scene away from finishing the first half of the movie. If all goes well, we'll be ready to premiere by early March."
"Great," Yang Wendong said. "Once it's ready, I'll have Chongxin Media and our cinemas begin pre-release marketing."
"Understood," Wu Hailin replied.
Yang Wendong looked at Zhang Zhiyuan. "Old Zhang, make sure we focus on merchandising. Stickers, toys, brand licensing—this will be the core of our profits in the future."
"Yes," Zhang Zhiyuan said. "We've already entered several Southeast Asian countries with large Chinese populations. Sales are strong—especially stickers, which are consumables."
"Good. But remember, every comic has a shelf life. Even long-running series like Black Cat Detective will cool down eventually. We need new stories."
Wu Hailin's eyes lit up. "Mr. Yang, what kind of new comics are you thinking about?"
Yang Wendong replied, "We're Chinese. And in our ancient culture, we have a treasure trove of mythology. I want to start adapting classic Chinese myths into comics."
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