Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 303 Cao Sheng: I was talking about US dollars

"250 million US dollars? Are you sure?"

When Cao Sheng heard the price, a string of question marks seemed to appear on his forehead.

Who would negotiate the price down to 250?
Wang Jing's voice came from the phone, "Yes, confirmed, it really is 250 million US dollars."

Cao Sheng couldn't help but ask, "How did you negotiate the price down to this figure? Disney didn't offend us, so why did you quote them this price?"

If you were to quote this price when doing business with Chinese people, it would be somewhat insulting.

Wang Jing: "..."

After a moment of silence, Wang Jing spoke again, her tone tinged with helplessness, "Boss! This isn't my fault. I originally quoted 280 million US dollars, but they disagreed and insisted on haggling. I compromised and said 260 million US dollars, but they still disagreed and insisted on bringing the price down to 250 million US dollars. What could I do? It really isn't my fault!"

Cao Sheng was a little surprised. "You quoted $280 million? Fox only quoted $50. How do you have the courage to quote so much to Disney?"

Wang Jing: "Asking for the moon, but settling for the bottom! Besides, didn't you set a minimum of $2 million for me? Since you set such a high bottom line, I figured the other party would definitely try to negotiate, so I had to leave them some room to bargain, right? I originally wanted to quote $3 million, but after a quick conversion, I estimated it was at least 20 million RMB, which seemed too outrageous. I was also afraid of scaring them off, so I lowered it a bit and quoted $2.8 million. Sure enough, they bargained, and eventually it came down to $2.5 million. Boss! Don't worry, I don't think Americans have any such taboos. Anyway, when we got the price down to $2.5 million, I felt the other party was quite happy."

Cao Sheng: "..."

After hearing her explanation, Cao Sheng was speechless for a moment.

She seemed to have a clear and logical thought process.

They also knew that a $300 million offer might scare the other party away, while a $280 million offer sounded better.

But he was still a little curious, "Didn't they know that Fox only offered us 50?"

Wang Jing chuckled lightly, "You probably don't know! This should be a Fox trade secret. They seem to have done a good job keeping it confidential. Someone from Disney asked me if I was negotiating this script with Fox recently. I said yes. They also asked me how much Fox was asking for. I said Fox was asking for over two million US dollars, and that I wasn't quite satisfied with that price. Then they asked me what price I wanted, and I naturally quoted 280 million US dollars. I also mentioned that your previous 'Pacific Rim' script sold for 200 million US dollars. They didn't seem to doubt Fox's offer and lowered the price to 250 million US dollars. They urged me to sign the contract quickly. Boss, have you printed out the contract yet? We need to sign it as soon as possible! Be careful, things might change if we delay."

Cao Sheng hummed in agreement.

I want to laugh a little bit.

It's already very difficult for a screenplay to sell for $200 million.

Unexpectedly, Wang Jing managed to negotiate the price down to $250 million USD, which is almost 2000 million RMB.

It's so easy to make money off Americans.

This is partly due to the gap in economic development levels between the two countries, and partly due to the fact that Hollywood blockbusters often have investments of one or two hundred million US dollars.

In 2000, China's economic level was indeed far behind that of the United States.

There is a striking difference in the living standards of the people on both sides.

Currently, China is still a developing country and has not even joined the WTO.

And what about the United States?

It has long been the world's leading economic power.

$250 million is a huge sum of money in China.

In the United States, in Hollywood, the salaries of top stars can easily reach tens of millions of US dollars.

End the call with Wang Jing.

Cao Sheng copied the electronic contract she sent him onto a USB drive, then took the USB drive out to print the contract.

Wang Jing can negotiate the contract for him.

However, he needs to sign the contract himself.

$250 million...

On his way to find a print shop, Cao Sheng was already thinking about how to spend the money. He had the idea of ​​buying a building again.

I was thinking, if I bought another building, how much would it be worth in ten years? It should easily increase in value tenfold, right?
Sometimes, he even felt like a nouveau riche from the old days.

Nouveau riche like to buy land.

He likes buying houses and buildings.

Compared to other investment methods, he felt that buying a house was simple, had an amazing rate of return, and most importantly, didn't require much effort to manage.

Once you buy it, even if you leave it there and don't care about it, it will increase in value by at least ten times in ten or twenty years.

Tell me: who wouldn't like this foolproof way to make money?

……

"I don't know! She said it's a trade secret and she can't tell me."

In the office of the head of the copyright department at Hollywood and Fox.

When questioned by his foreign boss, Lin Xiang lowered his head and answered in this way.

His foreign boss stared at him coldly for a long while before slowly speaking: "Lin! The company told us to secure this S-level script at all costs, but now Disney has snatched it away. This is a major mistake by our copyright department, and someone needs to take responsibility. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lin Xiang looked up in surprise, staring at the other man in disbelief. "Sir! You want me to take this responsibility? No! You were the one who decided on this negotiation plan, I..."

"Oh!"

The foreign boss slammed his hand on the desk, startling Lin Xiang into silence. His face was cold as he said in a deep voice, "Lin! If you make a mistake, you must have the courage to take responsibility! I entrusted you with full authority over this negotiation long ago. Don't try to shift the blame onto me! I can't bear this responsibility, and I can't take it for you!"

Lin Xiang looked surprised, then became angry.

Unable to believe that the other party would try to pin the blame on him, he cried out, "Sir! You can't do this! This plan was clearly yours to decide, you..."

The foreign boss stood up angrily and strode towards Lin Xiang. Reaching Lin Xiang, his green eyes fixed on him, he lowered his voice and said, "Chinese man! Shut your mouth! I'm your boss! A boss is never wrong! Don't you understand that? Show some courage! Take responsibility for this. I'll compensate you privately, but if you don't shut up, you won't get any benefits, and you'll lose your job. Think carefully about your choice!"

Lin Xiang's face turned extremely ugly, his fists clenched tightly, but he dared not swing them.

……

After the contract is printed out, signed, and mailed out.

Seeing that it was getting late, Cao Sheng went straight back to school to prepare for his morning and afternoon classes.

In classrooms.

Some classmates mentioned playing games at an internet cafe at noon.

A classmate said that he met a beautiful girl somewhere at noon.

One student said that they slept really well during their afternoon nap today.

……

At this time, there were still about ten minutes before class started.

The classroom was quite lively, with all sorts of things being said.

Cao Sheng sat in the last row of the classroom by the window. Listening to these voices, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly. Thinking about the $250 million copyright contract he had signed at noon that day, and listening to the topics his classmates were discussing, he had a feeling of quietly making a fortune.

This feeling is pretty good. He figured he probably wouldn't be able to concentrate on writing tonight.

Having made so much money all at once, he wanted to celebrate a little.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Huang Qingya, inviting her to dinner.

He didn't plan to tell her how much he had earned that day.

But I wanted to celebrate and relax with her.

However, Huang Qingya replied, "I'm sorry! My aunt is visiting today, so I have to stay home with her. Can I come out and keep you company tomorrow?"

After reading her reply, Cao Sheng was a little disappointed.

"Okay! It's fine, let's do it tomorrow then!"

This is his reply.

He was still thinking about going out to celebrate tonight, even if he was alone.

evening.

He took a taxi to the first floor of the old street, ordered a private room, a few dishes and a bottle of Shaoxing wine, and drank by himself.

There weren't many dishes, but they were all his favorites.

He was just eating and drinking alone; there was no celebratory atmosphere. It was more like he was out drinking by himself.

After a few drinks, he couldn't resist taking out his phone, wanting to find someone to talk to.

Perhaps, that's just how people are.

When I'm unhappy, I want to talk to someone.

When I'm happy, I also want to talk to someone.

But who should I talk to?
My former roommates? They're not the right people to share this joy with.

A high school classmate?
We haven't seen each other for a long time, and we've grown distant emotionally, so it's not appropriate for us to share this joy.

Jiang Xiaoshuang?
Looking at her name in his phone's contact list, Cao Sheng hesitated for a moment, but then decided to continue scrolling down the list.

As I flipped through the pages, I came across Wang Zuxian's number.

Thinking that it had been a while since he had seen her, and considering that she was a big star with a high income, $250 million shouldn't be much to her. Moreover, their relationship was unusual, so it would be suitable for them to talk about some private topics.

With that in mind, Cao Sheng dialed her number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Hey?"

Wang Zuxian's voice came through the phone.

Cao Sheng: "It's me! What are you doing? Filming 'The Hunger Games' on the island recently, right?"

When Jackie Chan called him recently, he said that he was filming this movie on a small road in the Pacific Ocean, and that Wang Zuxian also starred in the movie, so Cao Shengcai asked this question.

But Wang Zuxian's answer was beyond his expectations.

"No! I don't have many scenes in this movie. I just finished filming recently and returned to Hong Kong a couple of days ago. I'm resting these past few days. What's up? It's rare that you called me today. What's wrong? Did you miss me?"

As she asked, she chuckled twice.

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "I made 250 million today and I wanted to share it with you."

Hong Kong.

Wang Zuxian, who was also eating alone, looked a little surprised when she heard this, but that was all. 250 million was indeed not a large sum for her.

She smiled and said, "Oh, not bad! Congratulations! I recently earned about 200 million from filming 'The Hunger Games,' but I only acted for more than half a month. So, when you calculate it, I still don't earn as much as you! Hehe."

Cao Sheng chuckled lightly, a hint of smugness in his voice, "Oh? I was talking about US dollars, are you talking about US dollars too?"

Hong Kong.

Wang Zuxian stopped a piece of pork rib that she had just picked up with her chopsticks and was about to put in her mouth.

Her expression turned to astonishment. "What? US dollars? You mean you earned 250 million US dollars today?"

Cao Sheng hummed in agreement.

He estimated that this was roughly Wang Zuxian's annual income.

but……

After a moment of silence, Wang Zuxian couldn't help but ask, "How did you earn that much? Do you know I haven't earned this much in the past few years? How can a novelist like you earn so much in a day? You...you didn't sell another script to Hollywood, did you? No! Are your scripts that popular in Hollywood? Other screenwriters might not sell even one in their entire lives, how come you keep doing it? Tell me! Did you really sell another script to Hollywood?"

Cao Sheng chuckled softly.

His expression showed some surprise.

"Hmm, you sold a script. Wait a minute! You just said you haven't earned this much in the past few years? Really? You should be considered a top-tier actress in Hong Kong, right? Is your income really that low?"

Wang Zuxian: "..."

After another moment of silence, Wang Zuxian sighed, "Sigh! You don't understand! Our income as celebrities is very high, but that's only compared to ordinary people. In reality, our female celebrities' pay is generally much lower than that of male celebrities at the same level, because the industry generally believes that we female celebrities don't have much box office appeal. Many investors and directors just use us as decorative objects."

Moreover, we have a company and agents who take a cut of all our income. Also, our own expenses are high: houses, cars, clothes, skincare products, beauty products…etc. We need to maintain a certain standard; we can't be too shabby. Occasionally, we have social engagements, and even a simple meal with someone can cost tens of thousands of yuan. We can actually save very little money.”

Cao Sheng: "???"

Before he could reply, she added, "Besides, you should know my situation in recent years. My mind isn't on work, and I've taken on very few roles, so my income is even lower."

Cao Sheng: "..."

He suddenly realized that he might have overestimated her income.

He also realized that the message he had just shared with her might have upset her a little.

After thinking for a moment, he comforted me, "Actually, I didn't really earn this money in just one day. You know, the scripts I've been selling lately are mostly adaptations of plots from my previous novels. Writing a novel takes me about a year, and with the preparation time, it takes even longer. Today was just the signing of a contract. Compared to you, I work much harder to earn money, don't you think?"

Wang Zuxian: "Oh, I know, thank you for comforting me! But please don't compare your hardships with mine in the future, okay? You're sheltered from the wind and rain every day, all you have to do is sit in front of the computer and type. What about me? Do you know how much I've suffered to get to where I am today? Haven't you seen me flying here today and there tomorrow? I'm always flying around, it's very tiring."

Cao Sheng chuckled.

"Sorry! I misspoke. But every profession has its difficulties. Being an actor is tough, but writing novels isn't as easy as you imagine. However, you're right, let's not compare who has it harder, okay?"

Wang Zuxian: "Hehe, give me a break! Don't think I don't know that since your debut, your works have become bestsellers one after another, and your career has been incredibly successful. You're saying you're working hard? Work hard my ass! You only work a little hard when you're messing around with me!"

Hearing her say that, Cao Sheng felt a sudden itch in his heart and couldn't help but say, "Then come over here and let me mess with you a bit more?"

(End of this chapter)