Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 386 Refusal to Renew Contract
Cao Sheng hadn't yet noticed the protests from book fans in the book review section, but his editor, Jin Qiaoyin, had.

Jin Qiaoyin is still unaware that "The Legend of the Primordial Era" has been published and completed in Taiwan last month.

The simplified Chinese publication of "The Legend of the Primordial Era" in mainland China is progressing slower than in Taiwan. The final volume has not yet been published, so Jin Qiaoyin cannot know from the simplified Chinese publication that the book has been completed.

The serialization of this book on Rongshuxia has been very stable recently, with two chapters updated every day, and there is no sign that it will end. Therefore, she cannot judge whether the book has ended based on the online serialization.

This led to a delay in her access to information.

However, Cao Sheng was, after all, her most prominent author, so she would take some time every day to check the book review section of "The Legend of the Primordial Era" to see if there were any problems with the book. Based on her experience, if there were any problems with the work or the author, there would be discussions in the book review section very quickly. If there were no discussions, it meant that the problem was not serious and could be ignored.

But on the morning after the traditional Chinese version of "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" was released, when she came to work early and habitually opened the pages of "The Romance of the Primordial Era," her relaxed expression quickly turned to surprise.

What are these posts in the book review section saying?

Mr. Cao's new book has been published? It's called "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts"? Is that true? Why didn't I know anything about it?
She was surprised, but also a little annoyed.

But at this point, she had not yet realized the seriousness of the problem.

I smiled bitterly and thought: Being his editor is both an honor and a tragedy. As his editor, I have a lot of face, but I also have to endure that he doesn't take me seriously. Who told him to have shares in the company? Who told him to be a nobody?
She quickly adjusted her mindset.

The depression has disappeared, replaced by curiosity and anticipation.

She also wanted to see what kind of story "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" was about. Was it a sister book to "The Romance of the Primordial Era"? Could it also be a story from the ancient primordial era? If so, with "The Romance of the Primordial Era" as a foundation, then this "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" wouldn't be too bad.

She thought for a moment, picked up her phone, and sent a message to Cao Sheng.

"Mr. Cao, congratulations! I heard your new book has been released. Could you tell me when it will be serialized on our website? I expect Mr. Zhu will ask me this question soon, so I'm asking you first. I hope you can tell me without hesitation, thank you!"

Cao Sheng saw her message while he was eating lunch in the cafeteria.

After reading it, he pondered for a few seconds and replied, "Let's wait a while! Only one volume has been published in the traditional Chinese version. As is customary, the online serialization progress is a bit slower than the published version. Let's talk about the online serialization when the second and third volumes are published!"

Currently, the 8 million words stipulated in the agreement he signed with Rongshu Xiao have not yet been completed. He will need to write about 200,000 more words to fulfill the original agreement.

Therefore, he is not considering serializing his new book online for the time being.

Let's just give it a perfunctory answer for now.

Let's talk about it after we've reached the word count stipulated in the agreement.

A moment later, before he had even finished his lunch, Jin Qiaoyin called.

She didn't call in the morning because she assumed Cao Sheng was in class, and since it was lunchtime, she figured he should have time to answer the phone.

Cao Sheng glanced at the caller ID, hesitated slightly, and then answered the call.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Cao. Have you had lunch yet?"

Kim Cho-yin's voice came through the phone.

Cao Sheng: "I'm eating now, what about you?"

Jin Qiaoyin glanced at the plate in front of her. She had just gotten her lunch and hadn't started eating yet, but when she heard Cao Sheng's question, she smiled and said, "I just finished eating. I'm sorry to disturb your meal. Should I get it back later?"

Cao Sheng: "No need! Just tell me what's on your mind!"

Jin Qiaoyin: "Okay! Then I'll try to keep it brief. President Cao, I'd like to ask how many more words are left in 'The Legend of the Primordial Era' before it ends? Could you give me a hint?"

Cao Sheng: "There are probably still about 40 words left!"

He and Rongshu Xiao have about 20 more words of novel to complete the word count stipulated in the agreement.

However, he has no manuscript of "The Legend of the Primordial Era" that has been serialized yet, and there are still about 40 words left.

Kim Hwa-eun was a little surprised.

I never expected that Cao Sheng's new book would be published, but there are still so many words in his old book that haven't been serialized.

If he can save up so many drafts, he must be really good at saving money, right?
Considering his approximate net worth, she felt she had guessed correctly.

"Oh, I see! Okay! Thank you for letting me know, Mr. Cao. By the way, if I remember correctly, Mr. Cao, you're almost done with the total word count for the agreement you signed with our website, right? Do you think... I should talk to Mr. Zhu for you? Maybe we could sign another similar agreement? For example, have Mr. Zhu sell you some more shares? What do you think of this suggestion?"

She seemed to be thinking of Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "No need! I've finally finished the 800 million words stipulated in the agreement, and I don't want to sign another agreement like this. I want more freedom, you know what I mean?"

In a restaurant in Shanghai, Kim Hyuk-yin was stunned when she heard these words.

She genuinely meant well, hoping to gain Cao Sheng's favor by helping him acquire more shares in the company. Moreover, if Cao Sheng was willing to sign a similar agreement, she could continue to serve as his editor for a long time, which would also benefit the company by ensuring that his works would continue to be published on their website. She felt it was a win-win-win situation, beneficial to everyone.

She didn't expect Cao Sheng to refuse.

Doesn't he want more shares?
Or perhaps he lost interest in their company's shares because he hadn't seen any dividends from his previous shares on their website over the past few years?

but……

Their website is still a leader in the industry and has a bright future!

"Mr. Cao... are you... are you sure?" Cao Sheng: "Yes."

Kim Hyo-eun frowned, a multitude of possibilities flashing through her mind.

For example: Does Cao Sheng want to go to other websites?

For example: Have other websites already offered him better terms? Have they already signed a contract for the online publishing rights to his new book?

For example: Does he think I'm not professional enough? Or not sensible enough? Does he want to change editors and talk to him about renewing my contract? Is it because I didn't offer myself to him? But he usually can't even be bothered to reply to my messages, how can you blame me? I didn't say I didn't want to.

and many more.

Her mind was a bit confused. With mixed feelings, she said a few more polite words and ended the call with a troubled mind.

As soon as she arrived at work in the afternoon, she hurried towards General Manager Zhu's office.

She knocked on the open office door. Mr. Zhu, who was behind his desk, looked up and smiled when he saw her. "It's Qiaoyin! Come in!"

Kim Hyo-eun went in, hesitated for a moment, then turned around and closed the office door herself.

This surprised Mr. Zhu quite a bit.

Without much thought, Jin Qiaoyin quickly walked to General Manager Zhu's desk, frowning as she said, "General Manager Zhu, there are two things I feel I should report to you. One is that General Manager Cao's new book has been published in traditional Chinese characters, titled 'The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts.' The other is... his old book, 'The Romance of the Primordial Era,' I asked him about it at noon today, and he said that there are about 40 words left to finish serializing. The agreement he signed with our company stipulated a total serialization word count of 800 million words. I calculated the total word count of the several works he has serialized on our website since signing the agreement, and it's already about 782 million words. In other words, he can complete the word count agreed upon with us without waiting for 'The Romance of the Primordial Era' to finish serializing."

As she presented her report, General Manager Zhu's expression shifted from listening with a smile to surprise, and then to seriousness.

When she got to this point, there was no trace of a smile on Mr. Zhu's face.

Jin Qiaoyin paused before continuing, "Mr. Zhu, when I spoke to him on the phone at noon today, I tried to ask him if he wanted to renew the contract with us. I told him I could suggest to you that we sell him some more shares, but he refused without even thinking about it. He also clearly told me that he didn't want to sign such an agreement again."

Mr. Zhu's expression was already very serious.

A mix of emotions welled up inside me: surprise, regret, and annoyance.

He felt that he was too young back then. When he signed that agreement with Cao Sheng, he thought that 800 million words would be enough to buy out his entire writing career.

Many famous writers cannot produce 800 million words in their entire lives.

Even with occasional exceptions, traditional writers are generally past their prime after writing 800 million words. Readers no longer like what they write, and publishers are unwilling to publish it, so it has little value.

Therefore, the agreement he signed with Cao Sheng only stipulated 800 million words of serialized content.

At the time, he felt he had overestimated Cao Sheng.

Deep down, he had a feeling that Cao Sheng wouldn't need to write 8 million words; he might only need 3 or 4 million before he became obsolete.

After all, Cao Sheng was so young at the time, and was only a junior college student at Huizhou Teachers College. His academic qualifications were not worth mentioning, and his cultural background was probably limited. Even if he could become popular for a while, it would be difficult for him to last.

He never dreamed that Cao Sheng would remain popular for so long, especially considering it's only been a few years? He's already about to complete an agreement with 800 million words?

These were all unexpected.

At this moment, he frowned and pondered for a moment before asking, "Qiaoyin, how did you know that his new book has been published in traditional Chinese?"

Jin Qiaoyin quickly replied, "I saw it in the book review section of 'The Legend of the Primordial Era.' Many readers are discussing his new book and urging him to release it online as soon as possible."

"is it?"

Mr. Zhu was a little surprised.

He thought Kim Cho-yin had some special connections to hear the news.

Kim Hyuk-eun hummed in agreement.

After thinking for a moment, Mr. Zhu logged into his company's website on his computer and found the book review section for "The Legend of the Primordial Era".

He frowned and quickly browsed the book review section for posts related to Cao Sheng's new book.

After a few glances, he was certain that Cao Sheng had indeed recently published a new book, titled "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts," which Jin Qiaoyin had just reported.

As he looked around, he noticed several posts written in traditional Chinese characters.

Based on his experience, these posts were likely made by readers from Taiwan.

He glanced at the posts and saw that they were all praising "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts".

"Ah Hui has grown up! The 'Romance of Chinese Martial Arts' has actually created a completely new genre..."

"I just finished reading the author's new book and came here to report to readers in mainland China on its quality—it's excellent..."

"Haha! Poor readers in mainland China, Ah Hui's new book is amazing!"

……

(End of this chapter)