A top scholar’s title didn’t change Ethan Stone’s attitude, but her expression clearly softened a lot. In fact, she didn’t truly despise The Brooks Family for being poor; it was just that, as a prominent family in Binhai City, the The Summers Family would lose face if their daughter married an ordinary man. That’s why, deep down, she rejected Andrew Brooks.

But upon hearing how outstanding this young man was, and seeing his handsome appearance, refined demeanor, and calm, confident speech, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of goodwill toward him.

“Have you found a job yet?” Ethan Stone pondered for a moment before continuing to ask.

At this time, university graduates were no longer assigned jobs by the state; independent job-seeking and two-way selection had already become the norm on college campuses two years prior. Because of his excellent academic performance, and having published over a hundred thousand words of poetry and prose in various newspapers and magazines during his time at school, Andrew Brooks was highly regarded by Professor Julia Morgan of the Yanda Journalism Department. With Julia Morgan’s recommendation, Andrew Brooks had met several times with the chief editor of Binhai Morning Post, Zachary Howard, a Yanda Journalism Department graduate from the class of ’86. They got along well, and it seemed likely he could secure a job as a reporter or editor at Binhai Morning Post.

However, his mother Ashley Brooks didn’t want him to work at a newspaper. In recent days, she had been busy making connections, determined to get Andrew Brooks a position in a government office. Although the state no longer assigned jobs, quite a few government agencies still held a small number of official positions. As long as one had the right connections and a unit willing to accept them, Andrew Brooks could complete the necessary procedures at the personnel bureau and become a true government official, securing an “iron rice bowl.”

“Auntie, I’m planning to work at Binhai Morning Post.” Andrew Brooks said softly. Suddenly, his gaze casually landed on the luxurious quartz clock hanging high on the wall in the The Summers Family’s dining room. Seeing the clock frozen at exactly 2:00 p.m., his heart skipped a beat: Oh no, isn’t today the day he was supposed to meet Zachary Howard at the newspaper office? At 2:30 p.m.? Damn!

In his previous life, on this very day, he had left the The Summers Family in anger after being treated coldly, and completely forgot about his “appointment” with Zachary Howard. He didn’t remember until evening, but by then Zachary Howard had already left for a business trip to Yanjing that afternoon.

Andrew Brooks gave a bitter smile. Missing that appointment in his previous life had nearly gotten him kicked aside by Editor-in-Chief Howard. If Professor Morgan hadn’t spoken up for him repeatedly in person, he probably would have lost the job. In this life, was he going to miss the appointment again?

Thinking of this, Andrew Brooks let out a long breath, smiled at Ethan Stone, gave up on continuing the “battle” with her, then turned to greet Emily Summers, “Emily, I have something urgent and need to get to the newspaper office—Uncle Summers, I have to go now, I’ll come visit you and Auntie another day.”

……

……

Andrew Brooks hurriedly left the The Summers Family. Fortunately, Binhai Morning Post was just two streets away from the The Summers Family, so he ran all the way there, arriving with five minutes to spare before his meeting with Zachary Howard.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar Morning Post building before him, Andrew Brooks, who had lived two lives, couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. Steadying himself, he strode inside.

Binhai Morning Post was a newly reorganized city newspaper, formerly the official newspaper of the Binhai Communist Youth League Committee, called “Youth Daily.” Chief Editor Zachary Howard, riding the wave of city newspaper launches across the country, quickly led Binhai Morning Post through a major transformation from an official paper to a market-oriented publication.

There weren’t many print media outlets in Binhai. Besides Binhai Morning Post, there were three other newspapers. The leader, of course, was the Binhai Municipal Party Committee’s official paper, “Binhai Daily,” along with its subsidiaries “Binhai Evening News” and “Today’s Morning News.” “Binhai Daily” was the party paper, so it naturally had mandatory government subscriptions and distribution. “Binhai Evening News” and “Today’s Morning News” relied on the strong financial backing and powerful background of their parent paper, and since both entered the market early, they had carved up the vast majority of Binhai’s newspaper market between them.

At this time, Binhai Morning Post had a circulation of less than 50,000 copies and was still struggling in its early stages.

Chapter 004: Morning Post

The current Binhai Morning Post building was the office building completed by the Youth League Committee in 1996. For some reason—rumor had it the feng shui was bad—the newly appointed Youth League Committee secretary decisively abandoned the building and moved the committee offices back to the municipal compound.

After Binhai Morning Post went market-oriented, this building was injected as an asset.

Though called a “building,” it was only twelve stories tall, and soon became lost among the many skyscrapers of nearly thirty stories that sprang up everywhere. The 6th floor mainly housed the offices of the chief editor, deputy editors, the editorial office, and other leadership and administrative departments. The news department was on the 3rd floor. The theory and information department, society department, education department, and editorial center were spread across the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, and 9th floors. Advertising, logistics, printing, the labor union, as well as the newspaper’s activity room, library, and conference rooms, were scattered on the 10th floor and above.

The meeting with Zachary Howard went very smoothly, and the matter of joining Binhai Morning Post was settled just like that—so smoothly that it surprised Andrew Brooks a little. What surprised him even more was that Zachary Howard actually suggested he start right away, first interning in the news department for a while. As for the paperwork, it could be handled a few days later.