Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 308 $1000 million

Cao Sheng recalled that in the original timeline, the novel "Twilight" came first, and then the movie was made.

Later, while reading entertainment novels, I learned that "Twilight" was a bestseller in the United States, with high sales and popularity among young people. This caught the attention of film companies, who then adapted the book into a movie.

Cao Sheng recently remembered these things.

This gave rise to the idea of ​​selling the English novel adaptation rights to "Twilight".

If novels can be adapted into movies, why can't movie scripts be adapted into novels?

Selling the adaptation rights would not only increase his own income but also help Twilight build a fanbase, which would inevitably boost the film's box office in the future.

It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Yes!
Even if a movie's box office is high after its release, it doesn't have much to do with him as an editor, but it does have some connection. For example, a high box office can enhance his status in the screenwriting circle and allow him to sell his future scripts for higher prices.

This is why he sold the English novel adaptation rights to "Twilight" to Fox.

Now it remains to be seen whether Fox is interested in buying the rights.

On the other side of the phone.

Lin Xiang: "???"

He was stunned. He never dreamed that Cao Sheng would sell the novel adaptation rights to this script to him, or rather to Fox.

He had never encountered a screenwriter like this since he entered the industry.

He only wrote a script, yet he wants not only script fees but also fees for the novel adaptation rights? Trying to get two birds with one stone?
He opened his mouth, as if to ask: What other rights do you want to sell for this script?
However, Cao Sheng's suggestion just now lingered in his mind and seemed to make some sense. Adapting these four scripts into novels and publishing them seemed like a really good idea.

He had also read all four scripts for the Twilight tetralogy.

While watching, I felt that the script of this film series had built a complete world of werewolves and vampires, and the more I watched, the more surprises I found.

This script does seem to have the potential to be adapted into a novel.

He thought for a moment—if, while preparing for and filming the first Twilight movie, he could quickly find someone to adapt Twilight into a novel, publish it, and distribute it, then by the time the movie was finished and released, the novel might actually have accumulated a group of fans.

If a novel becomes a bestseller, it can accumulate a considerable number of fans.

It can save a lot of publicity costs for the movie, and the box office after the movie is released will have a basic base, which can play a role in guaranteeing the minimum.

Cao Sheng... a speck of ash in the Central Plains...

Lin Xiang murmured the two names to himself, feeling a mix of emotions.

I admire him a little, and I also understand why Zhongyuan Yidianhui, at such a young age, has such a great reputation and achievements in China.

A good brain is indeed useful.

Not only are his novels and screenplays brilliantly written, but he also has a remarkable business acumen.

"Mr. Cao! Thank you for your suggestion. You're right, your suggestion did exceed my authority, and I do need to report it to my superiors. However, I personally think your suggestion is very good. How about this? I'll report your suggestion to my superiors right away, and you can wait a few more days. Is that alright?"

Lin Xiang spoke these words with mixed feelings.

Cao Sheng suddenly noticed that the float on the water surface began to move up and down, indicating that a fish was taking the bait.
He instinctively sat up straight, his eyes fixed on the buoy on the water's surface. Upon hearing this, he casually replied, "Okay! That's fine, thank you for your trouble!"

Lin Xiang: "Of course, thank you again for your suggestion. Shall we talk again next time?"

Cao Sheng hummed in agreement, his gaze still fixed on the float, which then moved up and down even more dramatically.

Lin Xiang: "Then, goodbye?"

Cao Sheng hummed in agreement again, "Goodbye!"

As the call ended and he was about to put down his phone, he saw the float suddenly being pulled completely into the water. Seeing this, he quickly threw his phone into the grass next to him, grabbed the fishing rod with both hands, and pulled it up sharply.

Without any feeling of leverage, the fishhook flew out of the water, soaring high into the air, only to find it completely empty.

Cao Sheng's smile froze.

I sat here fishing for over an hour this afternoon, and after a while, some fish took the bait, but I didn't catch a single fish.

He thought a big fish had taken the bait when the float was suddenly pulled underwater! What a turn of events!

He frowned slightly.

Is this a sign?
Does this foreshadow that my collaboration with Fox will be a complete waste of time and effort, and ultimately unsuccessful?
Thinking about this incident affected his mood.

As I sat back down in my fishing chair and bent down to thread an earthworm onto my hook, another thought flashed through my mind: good things rarely come in pairs, like being unlucky in love but successful in career. Maybe I won't catch any fish today, but in a few days I might get some good news from Fox News.

As for the final outcome?

He can't say for sure right now.

We can only wait patiently.

Whether he can successfully collaborate with Fox this time, and whether he can actually get the $1000 million script and adaptation fee, will have a significant impact on him.

If things go as planned, his income this year could really break 100 million.

Conversely, his income this year is still far from breaking 100 million.

He's not short of money now.

Logically speaking, there's no need to worry too much about this year's specific income.

but……

He earns money not just for the money itself, but more as a way to prove his own value.

If it were just about earning a living, then all wealthy people could retire early and enjoy their later years.

But how many wealthy people actually retire early?
A person needs a sense of accomplishment to live in this world.

The sense of accomplishment from achieving higher and higher goals time and time again is unparalleled by any other feeling.

If his total income this year can exceed 100 million, his sense of accomplishment will be enough to make him proud for a lifetime.

It will be his lifelong glory.

This is the feeling he wants.

……

Fish are indeed difficult to catch this season.

Cao Sheng fished until evening, but his catch was not good; he only caught two small crucian carp and a few small miscellaneous fish.

When the nanny, Sister Zhang, saw the fish he brought over, she couldn't help but joke, "Boss, with this much time, you could go out and collect mineral water bottles to sell. The money you make could buy more than just these two fish."

Cao Sheng chuckled to himself.

He placed the bucket of fish in front of her and casually said, "I just love eating the fish I catch myself. It's time to test your cooking skills. Make me a bowl of fish soup tonight! If you don't do it well, you'll have to collect mineral water bottles tomorrow and sell them to buy me fish!"

Sister Zhang was amused, "Okay! Okay! I understand, I'll try my best! I'll do my best!"

That evening, a bowl of fish soup actually appeared on the dinner table.

The soup contained not only the two small crucian carp, but also several other small fish.

I must say, the fish soup was really delicious.

a few days later.

in the afternoon.

Huang Qingya has arrived.

She brought some fruit for Cao Sheng, saying that Cao Sheng doesn't usually buy fruit, but eating more fruit is good for his health, so she specially bought some for him.

"You seem to be in a good mood today? Did something good happen?"

In the living room on the second floor.

Cao Sheng made her a cup of tea, and seeing her smiling face, he asked her with some curiosity.

Huang Qingya reached out and took the teacup, then smiled and said, "Take a guess?" Cao Sheng was a little surprised.

He had just asked casually, but she actually encountered something good?
Is there a reward for guessing correctly?

Huang Qingya looked at him with a smile, leaned closer, and whispered in his face, "If you guess right, I'll wear whatever you tell me to wear later."

The two could only see each other a few times a month, as they were both busy with their own things. He was busy with school and writing, and she was busy with work and writing, so they didn't meet very often.

That's why, every time they meet, they always end up rolling around in bed together.

This had long become an essential part of every time they met.

Seeing her beaming face, Cao Sheng smiled and asked, "Did the publishing house raise your royalties?"

Huang Qingya chuckled, "Almost there! But no, continue!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Sheng thought for a moment and then asked, "Did the publishing house send you a gift?"

Before his rebirth, when he occasionally got good grades, the website would send him a New Year's gift or Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes.

Therefore, he guessed that Huang Qingya may have recently received a gift from the publishing house.

Huang Qingya chuckled and shook her head, "Still not right! Continue!"

Cao Sheng was a little surprised; he hadn't expected to guess wrong again.

Looking at her beaming smile, he narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, then asked with a smile, "Did you secretly start a new book behind my back? And did the new book pass the publisher's review?"

He used to do things like quietly releasing new books.

He usually doesn't tell anyone before a new book achieves success.

He suspected that Huang Qingya had recently published a new book.

But she still shook her head, "No! Continue!"

After guessing wrong three times in a row, Cao Sheng was a little discouraged and waved his hand, saying, "Forget it! I can't guess. What good news is it? Just tell me! Stop keeping me in suspense!"

Huang Qingya's smile widened. "You're not going to guess anymore? Why don't you try guessing again?"

Cao Sheng shook his head, "No! Just tell me already!"

Huang Qingya raised an eyebrow at him and said with some pride, "My novel 'Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms' is going to be published in simplified Chinese. Recently, the website recommended my book to a domestic publisher. This afternoon, the editor told me that it has passed the publication review. I have already printed out, signed, and sent out the contract today. How about that? Isn't that amazing?"

At this moment, she was proud.

Although she knew that Cao Sheng had long since achieved the success of publishing in both simplified and traditional Chinese characters.

I also know that Cao Sheng publishes each of his works in both simplified and traditional Chinese characters.

However, she is still very proud that her book was published in simplified Chinese.

Compared to all other female online novelists, her achievement is already something to be proud of. How many female authors can have their works published in both simplified and traditional Chinese characters at the same time?
At that moment, she finally felt that she was worthy of Cao Sheng.

Even with her achievements, she still can't compare to him.

But among female authors, she considers herself to be one of the best.

She felt that as a leading author on the female channel, she was worthy of being compared to Cao Sheng, a leading author on the male channel.

Cao Sheng was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.

He was indeed a little surprised.

Because he knew that there weren't many female authors these days who could publish in both traditional and simplified Chinese.

He nodded and smiled, "Impressive! Congratulations! Congratulations!"

Huang Qingya was very happy and leaned closer, whispering, "Although you didn't guess correctly just now, I'm happy today, so I can reward you."

As she spoke, she raised an eyebrow at him again.

Cao Sheng wanted to laugh, so he got up, took her hand, and walked towards the bedroom, saying as they went, "No need! A real man doesn't accept charity!"

Huang Qingya rolled her eyes at him, amused.

During this time, Cao Sheng's phone rang, but they ignored it, showing that she was indeed very happy today.

After a long while, the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped.

The two lay side by side on the headboard, satisfied. After resting for a while, she said, "Your phone rang a few times just now. I wonder who's calling you. Aren't you going to check it?"

Cao Sheng said lazily, "Could you hold my phone for me?"

Huang Qingya: "I'm about to publish the simplified version, and you're still ordering me around like this? Go get it yourself!"

Cao Sheng was too lazy to move. "You're about to publish a simplified Chinese version, and you won't even let me do something for you? Hurry up! Don't get cocky!"

Huang Qingya rolled her eyes at him, pouted, lazily got up, looked around, found his jeans, reached out and pulled them over, took out his phone and casually threw it next to his face. Then, she shrank back into the quilt and squeezed next to him.

It's really cold this time of year.

It's still most comfortable in bed.

Cao Sheng picked up his phone, turned on the screen, and saw that the caller ID showed a Fox number. He had a sudden thought: Fox must have reached a decision.

Will Fox actually give me ten million US dollars?

With a bit of anticipation, he dialed the number.

The call was quickly connected, and Lin Xiang's voice came through the phone, "Mr. Cao? I called you a few times just now, why didn't you answer? I have good news to tell you, but I didn't expect you to not answer even though the call went through."

Huang Qingya could faintly hear the voice on the phone and looked up at Cao Sheng with some curiosity.

Cao Sheng: Oh, I was busy just now. Good news? Your company has decided to adopt the suggestion I made last time?

Lin Xiang: "Yes! After discussion and research, our company has decided to purchase your four screenplays, as well as the novel adaptation rights to these four screenplays. However, we cannot offer 1000 million US dollars; 1000 million US dollars is far too much! Mr. Cao, how about 800 million US dollars? This is the highest price set for me by my superiors. Anything exceeding this price would be beyond my authority, Mr. Cao! Do you think 800 million US dollars is acceptable? If so, I can send you the electronic contract now. What do you think?"

Huang Qingya was stunned and stared in surprise at the phone next to Cao Sheng's ear.

$1000 million? $800 million? A script? Really? What kind of script can sell for that much money?

The information she vaguely heard startled her so much that her mind went blank. She subconsciously moved closer to Cao Sheng's phone, wanting to hear it more clearly.

Cao Sheng hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "1000 million US dollars, that's my bottom line!"

He decided to take a gamble.

He felt that since Fox had taken a liking to his four scripts and was willing to adopt his suggestion to adapt "Twilight" into a novel, there was no reason for them to give up his four scripts for $200 million.

So he decided to take a gamble.

Two million US dollars doesn't sound like much.

But it's worth several million RMB.

It might not be much to Fox, but in China, it's a huge sum of money.

Lin Xiang: "..."

After a moment of silence, Lin Xiang asked, "Mr. Cao, do you really want 1000 million?"

Cao Sheng hummed in agreement.

Lin Xiang: "Nothing to discuss? Can't it be any less?"

Cao Sheng hummed in agreement again.

Lin Xiang was silent for a while, then said, "How about 900 million US dollars? If so, I'll help you apply for it."

Cao Sheng: "No! At least 1000 million US dollars! I told you, this is my bottom line!"

Lin Xiang remained silent for a longer time this time. After a long while, he sighed, "Alright! Mr. Cao, you win. Ten million US dollars it is. On behalf of Fox, I agree. I will send you the electronic contract in a moment. Please check it and print it out as soon as possible, sign it, and send it to us, okay?"

(End of this chapter)