Exciting 1979!

Chapter 206 How to spend so much money! (Guaranteed -in-)

Wei Ming told Zhu Lin that Liu Zhenyun and Guo Jianmei were the first people he met when he entered Peking University. They met on the way to Peking University.

"We have maintained a very good friendship since then. My first poem, "Ideal," was written by Liu Zhenyun at his request," Wei Ming said. "I will introduce my other friends to you in the future. They are all very good people. After all, people are divided into groups."

"I don't think that's necessary. We are just friends after all." Zhu Lin said in a strange voice.

Under the table, Wei Ming gently rubbed her calf: "I'm afraid you'll be embarrassed, so next time I'll tell them you're my girlfriend."

"Don't give me that~" Zhu Lin snorted. She didn't believe it. She felt that Wei Ming obviously didn't want to take responsibility.

Of course, if Wei Ming really said that, she would be very happy. She has no name or status now, and she always has a sense of insecurity about gains and losses. She also blames herself for being too eager and ending up at a disadvantage.

Wei Ming thought: Then let her be happy. It was my fault that I had poor self-control and broke the relationship.

Since the balance has been lost, I can only let Sister Xue down a bit. At worst I can persuade her to stay in the Magic City.

From now on, Sister Xue will be the boyfriend of Shanghai, Sister Lin will be the boyfriend of Yanjing, and I will buy an old villa in Shanghai.

Anyway, they are all actors, so I would advise them not to make their love life public.

Let's take it one step at a time. Wei Ming really envies the trend forty years later. Is it strange for a novelist to have two wives?

Zhu Lin was cheered up by Wei Ming and said, "I have seen a friend of yours named Xiaomei before."

"Oh, Mei Wenhua. Even though he is short, he is very smart. He may look unreliable, but he is actually very steady in his work."

Wei Ming objectively commented that when Xiaomei and Biaozi were doing business, Xiaomei actually played a greater role, and now there was no sign of the two of them separating, so they could be said to be sharing the joys and sorrows.

As they were talking, the last dish, braised beef in a clay pot, arrived, and Wei Ming quickly picked up a piece for Sister Lin.

After eating, Wei Ming suggested taking a walk to help digest the food.

So the two of them walked around here and parked the car at the door first. There was Yanjing Zoo nearby, but it had already closed at this time. The two of them took a stroll around the zoo, holding hands when they saw no one on the road.

Wei Ming began to test Sister Lin's oral training again.

"Your tongue is quite flexible now. Let me ask you a tongue twister."

"I have practiced tongue twisters. Eight hundred standard bearers ran to the north slope. The artillerymen ran side by side to the north. The artillerymen were afraid of bumping into the standard bearers, and the standard bearers were afraid of bumping into the artillerymen's guns." Zhu Lin said. She could even extend the version: Eight hundred standard bearers ran up the north slope.

Wei Ming: "This is too simple. Follow me: Red phoenix, yellow phoenix, pink house with flying phoenix."

Zhu Lin tried it and wanted to pass it quickly at the beginning. In the end, his tongue was tied. It was too difficult!

Seeing that there was no one around him, Wei Ming took the initiative to help her.

"Woo~"

Zhu Lin was terrified, after all, this was on the street.

Wei Ming said sincerely: "If someone sees us, they will say we are dating. I am serious."

These words made Zhu Lin completely lost. He put his arm around her waist and let him go.

But I did make an agreement with my parents tonight that tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, and I have to help my mother make rice dumplings tomorrow morning, so they have to send me home obediently in the end.

This was also the first time Wei Ming sent Zhu Lin home. Her father was a teacher at Yenching Institute of Technology, which later became Beijing Institute of Technology, and her family lived in the faculty and staff building on campus.

Zhu Lin, who had just ended a relationship, couldn't be so calm and was afraid of being seen by acquaintances.

So Wei Ming sent her to a place some distance from the school, and then watched her leave, jumping and skipping away.

Sister Lin, you are 28 years old and a little unstable.

It was getting late now, so Wei Ming didn't hang around outside and went straight home.

However, when he arrived downstairs of his house, Wei Ming saw Biaozi and Xiaomei's motorcycle. He thought it was strange. What urgent matter did they have that they came to his house to find him?

Wei Ming went upstairs quickly and saw a woman with fiery red hair squatting at his door.

She had her back to Wei Ming, and when she heard footsteps, she immediately turned around and met Wei Ming's eyes.

"You're finally back." Melinda stood up and rubbed her long legs, then smiled as she looked at the faintly fluorescent surface on Wei Ming's wrist.

Wei Ming: "How do you know I live here?"

"Shouldn't you invite me in first?" Melinda said, carrying her bag. "Hasn't China been a country of etiquette since ancient times? How come the tradition has been broken here?"

Although he was somewhat unhappy with Melinda for pretending to be a stranger in public today, Wei Ming still opened the door and let her in. It would not be nice for people to see her at the door.

However, as soon as they entered, Melinda pushed Wei Ming against the wall, which was something only someone of her height could do.

She smiled at Wei Ming, who had a conflicted look on his face, and was surprised that he didn't immediately turn himself into a little white sheep.

"You're so stingy. I was working, and I was translating for my boss's boss. Of course I had to act professionally. It was related to whether I could get a higher position. Besides, I just finished work and came to see you."

Wei Ming was not actually worried about this, but about Zhu Lin.

His relationship with Sister Lin had just been on the verge of taking a step further, but then Melinda suddenly showed up, leaving him feeling very confused.

Seeing Wei Ming remained silent, Melinda began to take the initiative to attack.

Wei Ming: This is too much, don’t I have no temper?
Wei Ming turned the tables and after some intimate moments he carried the 1.70-meter-tall foreign girl to the bed.

Then he took out foreign family planning products that Melinda was very familiar with from under the bed.

Melinda was overjoyed. She didn't expect it was still there after she had been away for so long. She thought Wei Ming had used it up long ago.

After all, international student girls are always very proactive in love, especially when faced with such an outstanding boy like Wei Ming. Her classmates are all eyeing him covetously, and she thought that someone would take over as soon as she left.

At this moment, Melinda looked at Wei Ming with even more affection. If she hadn't been in a rising period in the company and hadn't had ambitions to fulfill, she would have wanted to stay in Peking University to continue her graduate studies.

Wei Ming compared Sister Lin and Melinda. Chinese elegance and British wildness are two different kinds of beauty, and he likes both.

Melinda was also having fun. She got out of bed, picked up her bag, took out two stacks of banknotes and threw them at Wei Ming. The scene looked very much like that of a fallen young man and a female guest.

Wei Ming was angry. What did she mean? Who did she think of herself?

But when he picked up one of the stacks and saw the 100 and Franklin on the bills, Wei Ming immediately hugged Melinda's legs and said, "You are really rich now, paying so much service fee at one time."

"Do you think that thing of yours is made of gold? How can it be worth so much in service fees?" Melinda laughed, "This is your manuscript fee. I specially changed it into US dollars for you."

Wei Ming slapped his head and said, "Oh, yes, my copy of Jumanji has been published. I saw it on the list of donated books today."

Melinda pulled another book out of her bag. “Here, this is it. It’s a paperback edition.”

Wei Ming took it and, besides the title of the book, he first noticed the three names on the cover.

They are the authors "Mr Why".

Translated by "Melinda Gaskell".

Illustrated by Jill Bucklin.

Although it is a paperback edition, its cover, paper, and printing are much better than those of domestic publications at that time.

Looking more closely at the illustrations, one can see that they have a strong sense of art and their own style. His ability is definitely above that of Aaron, who has not yet formed his own painting style.

Wei Ming took a quick glance at it and liked it very much. No wonder a paperback edition could be sold for 1.8 pounds. It was only because the salary in the UK was high. If it were sold in China, even at the official exchange rate, it would be almost six dollars, and it would be difficult for anyone to afford it.

Wei Ming asked: "How much did the illustrator give her?"

Melinda said, "433. She gets the same share as me. Although she's a newcomer, she has great potential and talent."

Wei Ming nodded. It was indeed worth it. If it were just a dry novella without illustrations, the book would be worth half a pound. The illustrations and typesetting made the market value of the book increase dramatically.

He was more curious: "How many copies of this book were printed in the first run?"

Melinda said proudly, "Fifty thousand copies."

Wei Ming took a deep breath and exclaimed, "36D." The population of Britain is over 5000 million, which is roughly equivalent to one twentieth of that of China. If converted proportionally, it can be understood as the first print run of one million copies in China!

You should know that the first print run of "Animals" was one million, but that was based on the premise that Wei Ming was already famous and every novel in the book was well-known to the readership.

But the author, translator and illustrator of "Jumanji" are all newcomers, and it was able to achieve such a successful first print run, and Melinda definitely deserves credit for this.

However, Wei Ming found the problem after a little calculation.

1.8 pounds, 9 first print, so the total sales is pounds.

"How much are the royalties?" he asked.

Melinda was even more proud: "12%, this is the highest percentage a new writer can get."

This is indeed very high. In later generations, domestic writers who can get this royalty are all big names.

However, if a writer is well-known, he can get up to 20% in the UK, which is her ultimate expectation for Wei Ming.

However, Wei Ming had a new problem. With 9 yuan in sales and 12% royalties, his royalty income would be just over 1 pounds, or just over dollars.

And the money Melinda gave herself was almost $20,000.

“It’s $20,000,” she admitted.

"How could it be so much?" Wei Ming was very surprised. Many touching thoughts came to his mind, such as Melinda gave him her share, and even used her power to deduct the illustrator's hard-earned money and gave it to him.

Melinda smiled and said, "Because in addition to the paperback version, at my suggestion, a hardcover version was also released. However, the hardcover version is a bit thick and I can't fit it in. I have a copy in the hotel where I'm staying. I'll give it to you next time."

Wei Ming also asked about the hardcover edition, how much it cost, and how many copies were printed.

Melinda told him: "Twenty thousand copies were printed, and the price was five pounds each."

"Wow!" Wei Ming exclaimed, "So expensive!?"

Although he knew that foreign hardcover books were expensive and had high profits, the fact that they were almost three times the price of paperback books still came as a surprise to Wei Ming.

Although the print run was small, the total sales have exceeded that of the paperback edition.

No wonder Wei Ming only owns 4-tenths of the equity but earns 20,000 dollars!
Melinda told Wei Ming: "I was in charge of the hardcover edition. It contains the game drawings and sieves in the novel. The cost is high, so of course it is sold at a high price. After it was put on the market, it was very popular. Even the children of the British royal family read it."

Melinda talked incessantly about the sales and market feedback after the picture book was published. In short, Wei Ming's English pen name has become well-known in the UK, and next time she can help Wei Ming get a higher royalty ratio.

"The paperback version is still selling after two months, but the hardcover version is almost sold out. It was because of this planning that I was appreciated by my superiors, and because I am an international student at Peking University, that I got the opportunity to accompany the chairman to China."

"You are the best!" Wei Ming praised, and then he carefully weighed the twenty thousand dollars in his hand.

"How can I spend so much money?"

If this money could be exchanged for RMB on the black market, it would be worth at least 100,000 yuan, which is enough to buy two houses like the one he lives in.

This is also the first time he has earned so much money from a work. It really is easier to make money from foreigners!

Melinda rested her head on Wei Ming's thigh. "That's nothing. We will definitely have to reprint the hardcover edition in the UK this time. In addition, this book will also enter the US market. The US branch has already started publishing. There are more than 200 million people with strong spending power there. The market is four times that of the UK. Four times!"

After hearing Melinda's words, Wei Ming seemed to see a steady stream of dollars flowing into his pocket.

He also remembered that the original version of this picture book had sold millions of copies, but this time it sold less than 100,000 copies.

Also, the movies adapted from this novel also had high box office, ranking in the top ten of the year in North America, and several more films were made. This is just the beginning!
For the first time since his rebirth, Wei Ming felt that he would no longer worry about money. He couldn't help but feel his blood boiling and excited.

"Jingle Bell!"

At this moment, the phone suddenly rang.

Wei Ming's heart tightened. Could it be Linlin coming to check on him? She had a phone at home.

He put on a pair of boxers and went to answer the phone.

"Hey."

"Xiao Ming!" It was Uncle Ping An's voice, and he sounded quite excited. "Calm down first, and don't get too excited when you hear what I say next."

Wei Ming looked down and said, "Uncle, I'm calm now. Go ahead."

Wei Pingan: "I just got home, and on the way back I got the news that Melinda is back! She's back at Peking University today!"

Even so, Wei Ming was not excited at all... Damn!
While he was on the phone, Melinda came out of the bedroom, but she was wearing Zhu Lin's pajamas!
Because the size didn't fit, the silk pajamas were stretched tight on her, making her look very sexy, like a plaything.

"Xiao Ming, are you still there? Are you too excited?"

Wei Ming: "Uncle, I am very calm. I already know. I was also present at the speech given by the president of Oxford today. Melinda was his translator."

"Oh, I'm glad you know. What do you want to do next? Have you guys reconnected?"

All are connected.

"Uncle, we've already met, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Oh, as long as you know what's going on, I've been too busy lately and haven't invited you to dinner. If you guys are interested in continuing the relationship, how about your aunt and I treat you to a meal?"

Melinda had already moved closer to Wei Ming, hugged him from behind, and was waiting for his answer.

Wei Ming avoided the question and asked, "What have you been busy with recently? Why did you come home so late?"

"I have just taken up my new position in the Production Management Office. I have recently taken inventory of the school's assets. I have also listened to your previous suggestions and started to learn about computers. You are right. Wang Xuan's Chinese character laser typesetting technology has great potential. Is this also the main area of my work?"

“When will it be available on the market? I can’t wait to see the innovation in the publishing industry.”

Wei Pingan: "It is still difficult at present. We have already gone through the most difficult stage from 0 to 1, and now it is from 1 to 10. The biggest difficulty is that we need to purchase some foreign equipment, but we don't have enough foreign exchange."

Wei Ming asked, "Is twenty thousand enough? I'm talking about US dollars."

"It can play a role, but it's far from enough. Why are you asking this? You have $20,000."

"I do, but since it's far from enough, just pretend I didn't say anything." Wei Ming also wanted to help Uncle Ping An and promote the establishment and growth of Founder Group in advance.

It is true that 20,000 dollars is a lot of money for him personally, but for Peking University, it is a drop in the bucket for the survival of a school-run enterprise.

Wei Pingan became more excited and asked, "Where did you get so much money? And foreign currency? Didn't you empty your savings to buy the house?"

Wei Ming gently stroked Melinda's arm around his waist. "Didn't I tell you before that Melinda took Jumanji to England to see if it would have a market overseas? It performed quite well and was published a while ago. Melinda brought me the royalties when she returned to China this time."

Wei Ping'an on the other end of the phone sat on the sofa in the living room with his mouth wide open.

That's 20,000 US dollars! At least 20 years' salary!

Many masters and famous writers at Peking University have published works in English or other languages, but he had never heard that the royalties could earn so much foreign exchange. He did not expect that foreign children would also like it so much. The strength of his nephew was beyond his imagination!

Of course, Melinda's contribution must be attributed to this, but it is even more amazing that he can use a foreigner like Melinda for his own benefit!
Uncle Ping An asked Wei Ming to keep it for himself. Twenty thousand dollars could not solve Wang Xuan's problem, and the school could only exchange it with him according to the official exchange rate. His nephew was at a great loss.

After chatting with Uncle Ping An for a few more words, the two hung up the phone. Wei Ming quickly asked Melinda: "Why are you wearing clothes? I like you without clothes."

"Why, are you afraid that your clothes will be stained with my perfume?" Melinda teased, "I thought you were still single because you were still wearing my watch, but I didn't expect that things have changed."

Wei Ming grabbed her wrist: "What about my watch?"

"You're still talking. I couldn't bear to take it off, and it broke while I was swimming."

Wei Ming muttered: Wasn’t it said to be waterproof? It turns out that advertisements are not trustworthy.

Melinda couldn't use Wei Ming's Magic City watch anymore, so she could only keep it at home as a collection.

Wei Ming: "Your watch is very useful, so there is no need to replace it. It doesn't mean anything else."

"So you have a girlfriend, but you're still sleeping with me? Aren't you afraid that she'll find out?"

Wei Ming hugged Melinda: "Then don't let her know."

Melinda asked again: "Should I leave now and let you restore this place to its original state?"

Wei Ming shook his head: "It's too late. I'm worried if you leave now."

He asked Melinda to stay for one night before leaving. In fact, Melinda didn't want to leave, and she didn't care about Wei Ming's current relationship status. She would be going back to England in two days anyway. As long as Wei Ming didn't want to live abroad, they were destined to be people from two different worlds.

She also wanted to use the time before they parted to have a good chat with Wei Ming about her next work.

"Strike while the iron is hot. Are you interested in writing a book specifically for the English market? You can definitely raise your price after Jumanji. I want to make you a top children's book writer. Your success is my success."

As for why she wrote children's books, Melinda felt that Wei Ming understood children, but not necessarily Britain or the United States, so focusing on the children's market was the right choice, and children's books are really easy to sell.

Parents everywhere are more willing to spend money on their children.

Wei Ming: "What kind of children's picture books are popular in the UK now? I don't know much about the market there."

If he can't adapt to local conditions, then he can only continue to write "Jumanji 2".

Melinda's main job now is to edit children's books, so she has a lot to talk about when talking about this.

"Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr. Fox are both very popular, as is Raymond Blige's The Snowman."

These are all relatively new works by British writers. Melinda gave a brief introduction to the plot, but in fact, she didn’t need to introduce it because these books were later adapted into movies by Hollywood and were a huge success.

"There are also some older works that are very popular, such as Peter Rabbit, Paddington Bear, Winnie the Pooh, etc." They are all animal series, and child readers do like animals more than people.

Moreover, British authors have really provided Hollywood with more than just material. A lot of American pop culture actually has its roots in Britain.

"In fact, in addition to the popular new works every year, the old works are still very vital because they are classics. Parents are more trustworthy when buying books. Therefore, different versions of "Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales", "Grimm's Fairy Tales" and "Mother Goose's Tales" are endless, and there is no need to pay royalties to the authors. Now there is a wave of classic fairy tale adaptations in the UK, which are both innovative and can cater to readers' trust in classics..."

The two chatted until very late, and Wei Ming also thought about writing another children's book to cater to the European and American markets and earn more foreign exchange.

With money in his pocket, he can write whatever he wants and even go wherever he wants.

~
Although they both went to bed late, Zhu Lin woke up very early.

She got up early in the morning and helped her mother cook rice dumplings.

"Why do you bring so many?" Mother Zhu asked as she watched her daughter stuffing dumplings into her lunch box.

"I'll eat it at noon, and share some with my colleagues. It's not enough."

Mother Zhu: "Then I'll pack another bag for you."

"Well, thank you, mom."

Zhu Lin left early today. She rode her bike to the Overseas Chinese Apartment first, leaving most of the food for Xiao Wei to eat.
……

(Yesterday's guaranteed minimum)
(End of this chapter)