Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 399 Seeking Benefits for the Beginning
In the past few days, Yan Qiansan has called Cao Sheng at least seven or eight times. Sometimes Cao Sheng saw his call, and sometimes he didn't. But even when he did see it, he pretended not to see it and didn't answer a single call.

There are two main reasons.

Firstly, he has already handed over the responsibility for the simplified Chinese publication to Cui Xinyu.

Secondly, he has been receiving a lot of calls lately, and he wants to focus on writing his new book and doesn't want to be bothered by these trivial matters.

Therefore, Cao Sheng did not answer any of the calls Yan Qiansan made in the past few days, nor did he call back afterwards.

But then, Cao Sheng thought for a moment and answered the call.

Just now, Cui Xinyu mentioned that a vice president of Huacheng Publishing House is already on his way to Huizhou.

He had collaborated with Huacheng Publishing House before, and his first book after his rebirth, "Living with an Air Hostess," was published by Huacheng Publishing House.

Therefore, when Huacheng Publishing House sent a vice president to discuss the simplified Chinese publication of his new book, Cao Sheng felt it was time to make a decision on the simplified Chinese publishing rights.

After all, Huacheng Publishing House and he have a long-standing relationship.

Since the other party has sent a vice president this time, he should give a clear answer no matter what, and not keep making the other party wait for news.

That's very rude.

But Changjiang Literature & Art Publishing House has been working with him for a longer period of time, and if we're talking about a strong bond, Changjiang Literature & Art Publishing House has an even stronger bond with him.

Therefore, Cao Sheng felt that before meeting with the vice president of Huacheng Publishing House, he should first give Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House an opportunity to communicate.

After all, his collaboration with Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House over the past two years has been quite pleasant.

The reason he didn't sign the new book directly with Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House as he had done before was simply because he wanted to increase his royalty share.

If Changjiang Literature & Art can meet his requirements, he is still very willing to continue the cooperation.

The phone is on.

Cao Sheng: "Hello? Is this Mr. Yan?"

Yan Qiansan's voice came through the phone, "Oh! Mr. Cao, you finally answered my call! It's so hard to get through to you these days! Haha."

Cao Sheng smiled slightly and said calmly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Yan, I've been focusing on writing my new book lately, and my phone is usually with my assistant. She generally doesn't dare to answer my calls, so I apologize!"

Lying through your teeth is an essential social skill for adults.

He suffered a lot in this area back then before he gradually learned how to do it.

This was also a major reason why he couldn't make it big when he was an accountant.

Back then, he took pride in never lying and only told the truth to everyone, the only difference being how much he said, but he never wanted to tell a single lie.

This personality trait has also been reflected in many of his works.

In the early years when he first started writing online novels, the male protagonists he created were just as straightforward.

But time changes many things, including his personality.

He gradually changed the personality of the male protagonist he created, and he also gradually changed his own personality.

Since then, he has become much more composed when interacting with people, and his interpersonal relationships have become many times more harmonious. More and more relatives and friends say that he is a good person.

At that time, he realized a truth: in fact, many times, people prefer to hear his lies, while the truth will make the other party very uncomfortable.

Yan Qiansan: "Oh, I see. That makes sense! You're starting a new book recently, so you must be focusing all your energy on it. I understand! I completely understand!"

After a pause, Yan Qiansan didn't ask Cao Sheng why his phone wasn't with his assistant at this time. Instead, he said, "By the way, Mr. Cao, I just arrived in Huizhou and would like to meet with you for a meal and to discuss the publication of your new book. Would you be able to spare some time to meet with me?"

Cao Sheng was very surprised.

Cui Xinyu, who was standing nearby, overheard Yan Qiansan's words and looked on in surprise.

Cao Sheng's eyes flickered, then a smile appeared on his face. "Of course! Since President Yan has come in person, I should entertain him. Meeting and having a meal are a must. May I ask where President Yan is in Huizhou right now? Shall I come and pick you up?"

Yan Qiansan: "Haha, thank you, thank you! Thank you so much, Mr. Cao. There's no need for you to pick me up, it would be too much trouble. Besides, I've already left the airport and am on my way to the hotel. By the way, my secretary booked the Shangri-La Hotel for me. How about this, would you like to meet me at the Shangri-La for lunch?"

Cao Sheng nodded, "Okay! Of course! Shall we meet at noon?"

Yan Qiansan: "See you at noon!"

……

After ending the call, Cao Sheng put down his phone and continued eating his breakfast.

Cui Xinyu, who was standing nearby, asked curiously, "Boss! Didn't you say you were going to give Changjiang Literature a break? Why did you take a call from President Yan today?"

Cao Sheng glanced at her and chuckled silently. "Even Huacheng Publishing House has sent a vice president. Don't you think it's time to make a decision?"

Cui Xinyu nodded and asked again, "So, have you made a decision?"

Cao Sheng took a couple of sips of tofu pudding before saying calmly, "Let's see how sincere they are! Whoever is more sincere will get the contract."

Cui Xinyu nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

She suddenly realized that Cao Sheng still preferred to work with the two publishing houses he had previously collaborated with.

……

noon.

Shangri-La Hotel.

Inside a private room in the restaurant.

Cao Sheng and Yan Qiansan had already started eating and drinking, each having downed three cups of wine.

Accompanying them were Cao Sheng's assistant Cui Xinyu and Yan Qiansan's secretary Chen Liguang.

At this moment, Chen Liguang got up again to pour wine for everyone.

Yan Qiansan finally steered the conversation to the main topic.

"Mr. Cao, thank you for giving me the honor of having this meal with me today. I'm sure you know why I'm here. My personal visit should demonstrate my sincerity. So, how about we be more frank and discuss the terms? Or should I ask first... if there's still a chance for Changjiang Literature and Art?"

As he said this, he stared intently at Cao Sheng, carefully observing every change in Cao Sheng's expression.

Their secretaries and assistants also instinctively fell silent, listening to their conversation.

Cao Sheng chuckled slightly, “Mr. Yan, you flatter me. Of all the publishing houses in mainland China, I have collaborated with your company the most times. During the collaboration, there have been no unpleasant incidents. Now that I have a new book coming out, your company naturally has the greatest opportunity.”

Yan Qian smiled broadly, raised his hands and cupped them to Cao Sheng, "Thank you, thank you!"

He put his hand down and asked again, "Then can you tell us the terms of this cooperation? Whatever the terms are, just tell me. As long as it's within my reach, I'll try my best to satisfy you. What do you think?"

Cao Sheng looked at him, and Yan Qiansan also looked at Cao Sheng; the two stared at each other.

Cao Sheng felt Yan Qiansan's sincerity.

Yan Qiansan noticed that Cao Sheng's eyebrows twitched slightly, as if he had suddenly thought of something. As a reborn person, Cao Sheng's ability to read people far surpassed that of his peers.

Although Yan Qiansan was not a reincarnated person, he was older than Cao Sheng before his reincarnation, and sitting in his position, he had far more experience and had met far more people than Cao Sheng.

Therefore, Yan Qiansan's ability to read people's expressions was actually stronger than Cao Sheng's.

The ability to read between the lines is an essential skill for almost every seasoned professional.

This is also where seasoned professionals generally outperform younger people.

Many students who excel academically in school struggle to make a name for themselves in the workforce after graduation.

In fact, to a large extent, it's because they lack the ability to read between the lines.

Those who excelled academically in school often fail to be observant or perceptive when they enter the workforce, much like they struggle with understanding exam questions in school.

If you don't read the questions carefully or misread them during the exam, it will be very difficult to get a high score.

Therefore, in the workplace, if you are not good at reading people's expressions or your ability to do so is not good, it will be difficult for you to succeed.

Yan Qiansan was a master at reading people's expressions and demeanor.

He had just noticed that Cao Sheng seemed to have suddenly thought of something.

This caused his expression to change slightly.

He felt that it was likely his words that had prompted Cao Sheng to come up with new conditions.

It's like lifting a stone only to drop it on your own foot.

In fact?

Cao Sheng has indeed come up with a new condition.

You can't blame him!

Yan Qiansan's sincerity was truly overwhelming. Cao Sheng thought to himself: Since he is so sincere, it would be a shame if I didn't take this opportunity to ask for a couple more conditions.

"cough!"

Cao Sheng coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and smiled, "Since you put it that way, Mr. Yan, then I'll get straight to the point?"

Yan Qiansan gave a slightly awkward smile and nodded, saying, "Please go ahead!"

Cao Sheng: "You must have heard that my new book has been published in traditional Chinese characters, right?"

Yan Qian nodded three times.

Cao Sheng: "But you may not know that Xinchang has increased my royalty share by two percentage points this time. I hope that the royalty share for the simplified Chinese release of this new book can also be increased by two percentage points. However, we have always had a pleasant cooperation. I can only publish in the simplified Chinese market, which is greatly affected by piracy. Your company's profits are probably far less than Xinchang's. Therefore, I have been embarrassed to mention this condition to Mr. Yan. This is also the main reason why I have not yet decided which publisher to sign this new book with. I hope you can understand, Mr. Yan."

Yan Qiansan: "..."

Cao Sheng wanted to increase his royalty share, a condition that Yan Qiansan had actually anticipated.

Otherwise, he really couldn't understand why Cao Sheng was so reluctant to sign the new book to Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House.

But Yan Qiansan hadn't expected Cao Sheng to be able to give such a high-sounding reason for not signing his new book with Yangtze River Literature.

Yan Qian nodded and smiled. "I understand! I understand perfectly! Thank you so much, Mr. Cao, for thinking of our Yangtze River Literature and Art. You're very kind!"

Then he asked, "Mr. Cao, do you have any other conditions?"

Cao Sheng then mentioned a condition he had just thought of: "Indeed, there is another one! Mr. Yan may not know that I have shares in Qidian.com. This website is a professional novel website with hundreds of thousands of works in its library. The simplified Chinese copyright of my new book has been pending for a long time, and one of the important factors is... I hope to use the simplified Chinese distribution rights of my new book to secure a long-term publishing partnership for Qidian.com. For example, a publishing house might be willing to select 10 excellent works from Qidian.com for publication every month. I wonder if Mr. Yan would be willing to give me such an opportunity?"

Yan Qiansan's heart sank, and his brows furrowed.

As the head of a publishing house, he has some understanding of the various online novel platforms that have sprung up like mushrooms in recent years.

Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House will also select the best works from various websites for publication.

Qidian.com currently ranks among the top three in its category, so Yan Qiansan naturally paid attention to it.

but……

His opinion on all current online novel platforms is: there are some high-quality works, but very few.

Sometimes he would go to a novel website, click on a few of the top-ranked books, and take a look.

Every time she looked at him, he would frown deeply.

The works he clicked on were written in a very straightforward style, mostly in a conversational manner.

This made him, who was used to traditional literature, feel very uncomfortable.

A few years ago, he wouldn't have bothered with any of these online novels.

However, since Cao Sheng's works are in a similar style, yet their sales have been steadily increasing, he was able to patiently read other online novels.

but……

There are still many differences between those online articles and Cao Sheng's works.

For example: Not exciting enough.

For example, the story is heavily padded, and many plot points in the opening are irrelevant.

For example: Too provocative! There are too many erotic scenes. In many novels, when a female character appears, the descriptions focus on details such as her breasts, buttocks, and legs, even going so far as to describe every pore on her legs. It's so irritating to read, even for someone as old as him.

For example, there are too many plots involving organized crime and politics. Although there is currently no regulation on how novels are written online, giving online writers ample creative freedom, physical publishing is far less free. What can be written online does not mean that a publishing house can publish it.

Therefore, in his view, very few works on various online novel platforms are truly suitable for publication!

Most of the works are practice pieces by new authors, with highlights but countless flaws.

However, the condition Cao Sheng just proposed was that Yangtze River Literature and Art Publishing House would select 10 works to publish every month on the Qidian Chinese website.

This naturally gave Yan Qiansan a big headache.

The main problem is that each month, 10 works that meet the publishing requirements are selected from the Qidian book library. The selection process is extremely difficult, and it would require a lot of reviewing editors.
Besides, can Qidian.com publish 10 works suitable for publication every month? Is that possible?
Yan Qiansan gave a wry smile, looked at Cao Sheng, and sighed, "Mr. Cao, you're putting me in a difficult position! To be honest, our publishing house currently selects and publishes fewer than 10, even fewer than 5, novels from all the online novel websites each month! So, you're asking me to select 10 novels from the websites you mentioned each month? Sigh! Can you change the terms?"

Cao Sheng shook his head, "We can't change it!"

Seeing Yan Qiansan's bitter smile deepen, Cao Sheng paused and added, "But we can discuss the conditions again, for example: reduce the number of books from 10 to 5 per month, a minimum of 5! Mr. Yan, please consider it?"

Yan Qiansan: "..."

Yan Qiansan looked at Cao Sheng, then at his secretary, and pondered, "Five books is a lot! The main problem is that selecting a few suitable works for publication each month from the vast library is a huge workload. If I really agree to your condition, how many more editors would I need to hire? Don't you think so?"

Cao Sheng chuckled, "So that's what you were worried about. Mr. Yan, you're overthinking it. Qidian.com also has editors who review manuscripts. Qidian can recommend a batch of works to your company every month, such as 20 or 30, for your company to choose from. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)