RBCT Chapter 15 The First Step Taken After Rebirth
Chapter 15 The First Step Taken After Rebirth
But Chen Zhiyuan knew what cards he held. He was short of money, but he needed to build a better foundation for future negotiations.
"Editor Zhou," he said calmly, yet with an undeniable confidence, "I believe that, given the quality of this book and the potential impact it may have, it deserves a higher price. Two hundred per thousand words might be a bit of an exaggeration, but one hundred and fifty should reflect its true value."
A soft laugh came from the other end of the phone, seemingly unsurprised by his counter-offer.
"Chen, 80 yuan per thousand words is already a very high standard we can offer to new authors. How about this, I have high hopes for this book and admire your talent. I can try to get you 100 yuan per thousand words at most, but the condition is that you need to sign a formal exclusive serialization agreement with our newspaper."
Next, the two engaged in a gentle yet sharp "negotiation" over the phone.
Although Chen Zhiyuan is young, his speech is logical and he has a clear understanding of the value of his work; Zhou Shutang, on the other hand, is experienced and wants to acquire the masterpiece at a reasonable price, but he also truly cherishes talent.
This conversation lasted for more than twenty minutes.
Ultimately, both parties reached a preliminary agreement: the payment was set at 100 yuan per thousand words, which is the highest payment standard set by the Jiangnan Daily for specially invited renowned writers or top-notch articles.
Furthermore, the copyright remains with Chen Zhiyuan, and the newspaper only obtains the serialization rights. The two parties also briefly discussed matters such as serialization frequency and submission deadlines.
Many details couldn't be finalized over the phone, so Zhou Shutang took the initiative to suggest, "Chen, how about this? I happen to be free tomorrow, so I can come to Wuhe City and we can discuss it in person. I'll also bring the formal agreement with me. Is that convenient for you?"
Chen Zhiyuan readily agreed. The two arranged a time and place to meet the next day—at a nicely decorated dessert shop not far from the residential area of Shuguang Machinery Factory.
After hanging up the phone, the receiver still felt slightly warm in his hand. Chen Zhiyuan slowly leaned back into the sofa, his face finally breaking into a deep joy.
It worked!
The first step taken after rebirth was finally firmly planted on solid ground.
Once this book begins serialization in the Jiangnan Daily, its unique charm and high quality will quickly attract its first batch of readers and make it famous.
At that time, there will be no need for you to search around; those publishers with a keen sense of smell will naturally come to you.
But once physical publishing begins... that's when the real snowball effect starts and big money begins.
With this first pot of gold, many plans that could only remain in my mind before became possible to realize.
The setting sun outside the window painted the sky a warm orange-red, and the summer evening breeze stirred the curtains.
Chen Zhiyuan gazed out the window, his eyes bright, filled with an unprecedentedly clear expectation for the future.
Chen Zhiyuan put down the phone and sat in the living room for a while. About ten minutes later, he heard the sound of a key turning in the lock.
Mother Zhang Hui pushed open the door and came in carrying a heavy basket of vegetables. However, the cheerful look on her face when she left was gone. Instead, her brows were slightly furrowed and the corners of her mouth were turned down, clearly showing her displeasure.
This is strange.
You went out in a good mood, but why did you come back looking so unhappy after buying groceries?
Chen Zhiyuan got up and took the shopping basket from her, casually asking, "Mom, what's wrong? You went out for a bit, and you've come back looking like you're sulking with someone."
Zhang Hui seemed to have finally found an outlet for her emotions. She put down what she was holding, sighed, and her tone was full of resentment:
"Don't even mention it! I just ran into Aunt Liu, a former colleague from the factory, at the market. She lives in the building next door."
She was quite something; she immediately started showing off to me, saying that her son, Li Chenghua, estimated his college entrance exam score to be over 570 and had applied to Jiangzhou University of Science and Technology. She was talking about it with great enthusiasm.
She paused, recalling the scene, her tone becoming even more resentful: "By the way, her son was in the same class as you, wasn't he? The one with the name Li Chenghua?"
"Yes, they're from our class." Chen Zhiyuan nodded, having roughly understood.
"It's one thing for her to show off her son," Zhang Hui's voice unconsciously rose a little, "but she kept asking me how many points Zhiyuan estimated and where he applied."
I honestly estimated my score to be around 530 and applied to Jiangnan University. Well, her eyes immediately changed, and her words were full of things like, "Oh dear, Jiangnan University's cutoff score is so high," and "This score is a bit risky, isn't it?" On the surface, it sounded like concern, but you could practically smell her schadenfreude from two miles away! I felt so choked up, it was unbearable!
So that's what happened.
Chen Zhiyuan couldn't help but laugh after hearing this.
Like mother, like son.
Li Chenghua's competitive and petty behavior at school seems to be inherited from his family. Judging from his mother's description, his mother is probably even worse.
"Mom, why are you angry with her?" Chen Zhiyuan comforted her in a relaxed tone. "This is just an estimated score, not the final score. Every year, there are many people whose estimated scores differ from their actual scores by tens of points. If she likes to show off, let her show off."
"I understand the logic." Zhang Hui sat down, still somewhat annoyed. "But I just can't stand her face. It's like her son is already guaranteed to get into Jiangzhou University of Science and Technology, so our family has no chance at all."
"Alright, don't take it to heart." Chen Zhiyuan handed her the water he had poured and laughed. "The more smug she is now, the less she'll be able to smile when the scores actually come out. It's not worth letting something like this affect your mood."
He remembered clearly that Li Chenghua's actual college entrance examination score was only over 510, which was not even enough to get into a top-tier university, so getting into Jiangzhou University of Science and Technology was just a pipe dream.
These clowns are destined to be short-lived.
After comforting his mother, Chen Zhiyuan returned to his room.
Now that the collaboration with the Jiangnan Daily has been finalized and the serialization is imminent, the most urgent task is to write more drafts to prepare for any eventuality.
He spread out the familiar grid paper, turned on the fountain pen, and quickly immersed himself in the turbulent history of the early Ming Dynasty, the pen tip scratching softly.
The sweet and sour pork ribs for dinner still tasted just like I remembered – perfectly balanced between sweet and sour, with tender and juicy meat.
Chen Zhiyuan had a great appetite and ate three bowls of rice.
Perhaps it was his pleasant mood, or perhaps it was the satisfaction brought by the delicious food, but after dinner, his thoughts flowed freely. He sat at his desk and wrote more than three thousand words in one go, only putting down his pen when the night was deep.
The next day, Zhou Shutang arrived in Wuhe City as promised.
She drove herself here in a well-maintained red Volkswagen sedan.
The two arranged to meet at a newly opened dessert shop with a quiet and elegant ambiance.
Considering that the other party was a young woman, Chen Zhiyuan felt that this place was more suitable than a teahouse or coffee shop.
When Chen Zhiyuan saw the red car parked steadily on the side of the road, the door opened, and Zhou Shutang got out of the driver's seat, he couldn't help but feel a sense of amazement.