Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 326 Self-Recommendation? Three Ways to Cook One Fish?
"What? Cao Sheng only submitted one chapter this month? Are you sure?"

Taiwan.

At the Xinchang headquarters, Lan Tianhu was also surprised when he received a phone call from Chang Qingshu reporting the news.

In his memory, Cao Sheng was very prolific, submitting at least two or three episodes every month. Even during the Chinese New Year period, he could still submit two or three episodes.

Why is there such a large decrease in production this year for the Lunar New Year?

Evergreen: "Yes, he only submitted one episode this month, and I have already sent it to the editor at headquarters who is responsible for receiving submissions."

Blue Sky Guardian: "..."

Evergreen hesitated for a moment, but still chose to express his guess, "Boss! I suspect that he has made too much money recently, and he has probably made enough money. In addition, he has been producing so many books in the past two years, and each book is so original. I am now a little suspicious that he may have run out of ideas, or... maybe because he has made enough money, he has lost the motivation to write and the passion for creation."

Blue Sky Guardian: "..."

Lan Tianhu didn't respond immediately because he felt that Chang Qingshu made a lot of sense.

Successful writers, especially those who have made enough money, generally lose their passion for creation. He has seen this many times over the years of running a publishing house.

For example, Jin Yong.

In 1972, Jin Yong, who was 48 years old at the time, was not old, but after finishing "The Deer and the Cauldron", he announced that he would stop writing.

Is it because he has run out of creative ideas?

The quality of "The Deer and the Cauldron" is obvious to all and is by no means inferior.

It can be said that when he stopped writing, he was at the peak of his creative career.

But why did he choose to stop writing at this time?

Many people think it's because he's earned enough money to last his life and just wants to enjoy life for the rest of his days.

In contrast to Jin Yong, there was Gu Long.

Gu Long continued writing until his death, never truly stopping.

What is the reason?

Some say it's because Gu Long was bad at managing money; he liked to drink and play with women after he made money, so he never saved much money, which is why he needed to keep writing.

Of course, these are just one person's opinion.

But Lan Tianhu thought there was some truth to it.

Therefore, he could fully understand Chang Qingshu's judgment that Cao Sheng might indeed have lost his passion for creation because he had made enough money.

"I understand, that's all for now! Goodbye!"

Lan Tianhu, who was in a bad mood, said a few words and hung up the phone.

He then sat behind his desk, his brow furrowed, and remained motionless for a long time.

He never dreamed that Cao Sheng, at such a young age, would be nearing the end of his professional career so soon.

The main reason was that he never expected Cao Sheng to make so much money so quickly.

Writing novels didn't earn me much, but writing screenplays made me money faster than robbing a bank.

At the end of last year, many media outlets reported that Cao Sheng earned more than 100 million yuan from two scripts, which surprised him greatly when he saw the news.

I thought back then that Cao Sheng might not put as much effort into writing novels after this, and might switch to being a professional screenwriter.

Unexpectedly, Cao Sheng reduced his writing workload by half so quickly.

After sitting silently for a long time, he finally picked up the landline phone on his desk and dialed an internal company number. "Hmm, I heard that Cao Sheng sent over his manuscript for this month, right? Could you please forward it to my email address as soon as possible? I'd like to take a look."

After giving the instructions, he hung up the phone, went to his computer, logged into his email, and soon saw Cao Sheng's manuscript for this month.

Lan Tianhu opened the document and squinted as he read through the manuscript.

He suspected that the quality of this episode's articles had dropped significantly.

There is serious suspicion that Cao Sheng halved not only the output, but also the quality.

If the quality is also halved, that would be the worst news.

He also needs to adjust the company's focus on promoting certain writers, and may need to consider promoting other authors.

He has been reading the book "The Legend of the Primordial Era" ever since.

Therefore, he was able to read the latest episode of the manuscript without any problems.

but……

As he watched, his expression turned to surprise.

Because he gradually discovered that the quality of this episode's script didn't seem to have declined at all.

He couldn't believe it.

Before I knew it, I had gradually forgotten to check the quality of this episode's script. My mind was completely absorbed in the plot, and I was deeply moved as I watched, because this episode was even more exciting than the previous ones.

The plot is getting better and better.

It wasn't until he had read the entire manuscript that he came to his senses.

His expression showed a hint of surprise.

I also have some doubts.

The quality of this episode's manuscript didn't decline at all, indicating that Cao Sheng's skill level hasn't decreased. So why did the output decrease by half? Is it simply because he's lazy?

Lan Tianhu almost laughed.

But more of it is helplessness.

A writer who has already earned enough is already doing well enough to keep writing; how can you expect them to write relentlessly?
……

Huizhou.

evening.

Cao Sheng followed the crowd to the school cafeteria, ordered a meal, found a less crowded table, sat down, and ate quietly with his head down.

He didn't think much about the reactions of Evergreen Tree and Blue Sky after receiving the manuscript.

He doesn't like this kind of mental drain.

Moreover, by now, he no longer needs to guess the publisher's mindset; if the collaboration doesn't go well, he can simply switch to another publisher.

Anyway, he has no trouble finding publishers to collaborate with for his works.

Suddenly, someone came to him with a tray.

A somewhat familiar voice came from behind, "Senior! May I sit down?"

Cao Sheng looked up and saw a tall, thin man, one of the four athletes he had recently hired.

Cao Sheng remembered that this person should be called Xu Jingshan, and that he had practiced swordsmanship since he was a child.

Cao Sheng smiled and nodded slightly.

Xu Jingshan smiled back and sat down opposite Cao Sheng.

"What do you want from me?"

Cao Sheng asked with a smile.

During his recent trip to Shenzhen, Xu Jingshan impressed him with his taciturn nature, so he didn't think Xu Jingshan's visit at this time was just a coincidence.

Xu Jingshan nodded. "Senior! I'd like to volunteer to be your long-term bodyguard. What do you think?"

Cao Sheng chuckled to himself.

He lives at the school now and rarely leaves, so he doesn't need bodyguards at all.

Therefore, he was not in a hurry to find a long-term bodyguard.

"We're both juniors now, so you don't need to call me senior."

Cao Sheng said with a smile.

Xu Jingshan shook his head, "No! You were originally a year ahead of me, you just went through your junior year again after becoming an undergraduate."

He paused, then asked, "Senior! Could you consider it? I really want to stay with you." Cao Sheng shook his head slightly, politely declining, "Sorry! I don't plan to hire a long-term bodyguard right now. We can talk about it later, okay?"

Xu Jingshan frowned slightly, but his expression didn't change much.

Cao Sheng's refusal was exactly what he expected.

Before recommending himself to Cao Sheng, he had already thought about it—with Cao Sheng's current wealth, if he really wanted to hire a long-term bodyguard, he should have done so long ago.

But he still wanted to ask.

Let's give it a try and see if there's a chance.

"Okay! But, senior, if you want to find a long-term bodyguard in the future, you can contact me anytime, I'm willing."

As he spoke, he took a slip of paper out of his pocket and placed it in front of Cao Sheng.

"Senior, this is my email address. If you ever want to invite me, just send me an email."

Cao Sheng looked at him, then at the note he had taken out, smiled, reached out and picked up the note, stuffing it into his pocket.

"Great! If I ever want to hire a long-term bodyguard in the future, I'll definitely consider you."

Xu Jingshan smiled and nodded, then got up, picked up his plate, said goodbye, and left.

Cao Sheng smiled and continued eating with his head down.

He had just put away Xu Jingshan's note out of politeness; in reality, he had no intention of considering Xu Jingshan.

Even if he needs long-term bodyguards in the future, he will give priority to veterans.

Are veterans less reliable than athletes?
……

However, to Cao Sheng's surprise, in the following days, he was stopped by two other sports students who offered to be his long-term bodyguards.

One of them is Sun Liang, and the other is Hu Rong.

Of the four sports students he briefly hired, three wanted to be his long-term bodyguards.
This made him want to laugh.

But it's understandable why these three athletes would have such thoughts.

It's probably because he paid too much for this short-term contract.

For him, it was just a small amount of money.

But for these three athletes, this might be the high salary they've always dreamed of.

It costs 500 yuan per day, plus bonuses, and meals and accommodation are included.

They might not be able to earn that kind of salary even in a month after graduation.

However, the fact that these three sports students recommended themselves to him gave Cao Sheng an idea—why not open a gym, recruit these three sports students, let them earn money for me in normal times, and let them act as my bodyguards when needed? I could also let them be my sparring partners, and learn about the kung fu they've been learning since elementary school.
He is now very interested in various traditional kung fu styles.

I'm still preparing to write a book about traditional Chinese martial arts.

On the passenger plane that flew to Shenzhen, he had thought about finding an opportunity to see the kung fu skills of these sports students.

only……

These days, opening a gym probably won't be a very good business.

Because there aren't many people who have both money and free time these days.

Even fewer people are willing to spend money to go to the gym.

However, Cao Sheng thought again and realized that it didn't really matter whether the business was good or bad. As long as he bought the property for the gym, even if the gym kept losing money, the property value would soar over time, and he could make back the money from the property value.

In short, you won't lose money.

Moreover, if you open a gym, you'll definitely need to hire several fitness instructors.

When necessary, these fitness instructors can also act as his personal bodyguards.

I can also be his sparring partner.

It just so happens that his Xitong Internet Cafe is about to open a branch, and he will need to buy a storefront. So he simply bought the second floor above the storefront as well. He will open the internet cafe on the first floor and the gym on the second floor. The gym's coaches can also prevent people from causing trouble at the internet cafe.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Cao Sheng inexplicably thought of a phrase: "one fish, three ways."

I feel like there are quite a few benefits to having a group of fitness coaches.

Then, he thought of another option.

—Developing real estate in collaboration with Brother Huang Qingya.

Brother Huang Qingya has a large business and should have many connections in the local area. If we were to cooperate with him on real estate development, we should be able to make it work.

The real estate company will also employ a group of security guards who can act as his private bodyguards at any time.

Of course, the premise is that the security guards you hire must be capable enough to occasionally act as bodyguards.

As a homebody who makes a living by writing, Cao Sheng has many ideas, but most of them are just thoughts.

Because he's afraid of trouble.

Therefore, he temporarily put aside the idea of ​​developing real estate.

However, he put his idea of ​​opening a gym into practice.

Opening a gym would be quite easy for him.

When buying a storefront to open a branch of an internet cafe, he can just buy the second-floor apartment as well. He can also hire someone to manage the gym. He doesn't care if it loses money, and he can accept it even if the gym closes down after operating for a while.

Even if the business goes bankrupt, it won't be a waste for him, as he can still go to the gym to practice boxing.

With this in mind, he called Liang Hongfei and told him that when looking for storefronts, he should look for those where he could buy several units on the second or third floor.

A few days later, Liang Hongfei called to report that he had found a storefront and asked Liang Hongfei to come and take a look at it.

The next day happened to be Saturday, and Cao Sheng went to take a look with Liang Hongfei in the morning.

That building is a little far from Huizhou Teachers College, near Huizhou Technical School. It's not a new building, but there are three adjacent shops for sale.

There are even more units available for sale on the second, third, and fourth floors.

By the way, this is a four-story building facing the street.

When Cao Sheng and his group arrived, the landlord had already opened the shop door and was waiting at the entrance.

The landlord was a middle-aged man with gray hair. He didn't react when he saw Cao Sheng take off his sunglasses and didn't recognize Cao Sheng's identity.

That's normal.

Men of this age generally don't have the habit of reading novels or watching the news.

Cao Sheng and his group went inside and took a look. They found that the three storefronts didn't look very big from the outside, but the interior space was quite good. Judging from the structure, they were clearly storefronts used for both commercial and residential purposes. In addition to the front storefront, there was a slightly smaller storefront in the back, and behind that, there was a bathroom and a kitchen.

"Boss! This storefront is in a great location. Why are you thinking of selling it? Do you need the money urgently?"

Cao Sheng asked the landlord out of curiosity.

The landlord smiled bitterly, nodded, and sighed, "There's nothing I can do! My son is a good-for-nothing; he lost money in business. As his father, I can only try to find a way to raise money to cover his losses. Luckily, I have these three storefronts; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to help him."

"You own the second floor too?"

Cao Sheng asked.

Because he had just seen the stairs leading to the second floor.

The landlord nodded. "Yes! The second floor is a bit smaller, with one less bathroom and kitchen than the first floor. Would you like to go up and take a look?"

Cao Sheng nodded, "Okay! Let's go! Let's go up and take a look!"

He went up the stairs first, went up to the second floor, and found that the room on the second floor had been lived in. There was a wooden bed, a wardrobe, and celebrity posters on the wall.

By the way, these three shops are connected not only downstairs, but also upstairs, with most of the upstairs area still in a bare-bones state.

The landlord explained, "This area is unfurnished; the previous tenants used it as a warehouse."

What kind of businesses were these places rented to before?

Cao Sheng was curious.

Landlord: "He runs a noodle shop!"

(End of this chapter)