After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 353 Making a fortune through translation
Upon arriving in the United States, we first took Aunt Wan and Teacher Jiang to their hotel.

Let them adjust their time zone.

Zhou Haoran had no time to rest; this trip to the United States only lasted half a month.

Hurry up!
Liang Jianchang was already waiting at the hotel.

"Senior, what brings you here?"

Zhou Haoran was pleasantly surprised.

Liang Jianchang smiled and said, "I was afraid you weren't familiar with it, so I came to make the arrangements."

"I know this area very well!"

Zhou Haoran's familiarity with Silicon Valley is absolutely no less than that of Liang Jianchang, who studied and lived in the United States for many years.

“I know you’re good at English.” Liang Jianchang invited him to set off, and pointed to a man next to him, “This is Wei Jie, my colleague at Oracle, and also our alumnus.”

Zhou Haoran's eyes lit up. "Another senior?"

Wei Jie said with a smile, "I graduated in 92 with a degree in sociology."

Zhou Haoran was somewhat surprised, "A liberal arts major, coming to the US to study and even joining Oracle?"

“It was a coincidence.” Wei Jie shook his head slightly and sighed. “But you’re right. As someone who studied humanities, I really don’t feel comfortable working at Oracle. Even though I’m in marketing, I still lack interest.”

Zhou Haoran glanced at Liang Jianchang, vaguely understanding his meaning, and tentatively asked, "Senior, do you want to return to China to develop your career?"

Wei Jie nodded. "That's exactly what I'm planning, but I haven't figured out what I can do when I go back to China. The technology industry isn't my forte, so it would be best if I could do something in the cultural field."

Liang Jianchang said bluntly, "Haoran, do you remember saying that you were also doing some things in the cultural field?"

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "That's such a coincidence!"

The three of them got into the car.

Headed straight to Oracle's headquarters.

It is not too late.

"Senior Wei, I do have something I'd like to ask for your help with!"

Zhou Haoran didn't know Wei Jie, but he didn't need to investigate him.

A college graduate in 92, majoring in sociology, was able to study in the United States, and a liberal arts major was able to join Oracle... It's as if Oracle had already interviewed him.

Liang Jianchang chuckled and said, "You're asking for help the moment we meet? You're not being polite at all!"

Zhou Haoran said, "We're all alumni!"

"Yes, he's not an outsider." Wei Jie came here mainly through Liang Jianchang's connection to get to know this rising star alumnus and look for opportunities to return to China. "If there's anything I can do, just let me know!"

Zhou Haoran then explained the current predicament faced by Zhongbo Bookstore.

State-owned publishing houses monopolize all the high-quality works in China.

As a result, private publishing houses have very little room to survive and can only produce niche topics, which inevitably leads to high risks and low income.

If you're looking for outstanding projects and there aren't many opportunities in China right now, then look overseas!
In fact, he had already taken action before that.

The female apprentice, Qiao Nuo, is doing just that.

She is mainly working on two projects.

First, books on conspiracy theories.

This is the simplest, and it doesn't require copyright. The United States is the world's largest country of conspiracy theories; almost all Western conspiracy theories are written by American authors using montage techniques.

This is a major section of the bookstore.

It belongs to the category of best-selling books.

It has the widest global audience, both brainwashing and profitable.

Qiao Nuo bought a batch of products, summarized the content, adapted it, and patched it up to make it his own, thus avoiding paying royalties to foreigners.

Second, inspirational books.

This requires copyright. This is a legitimate book, too difficult to compile, yet it lacks appeal.

It's still better to pay royalties and translate and publish directly, rather than just translating and publishing.

She has been going to Fudan University a lot lately.

The main goal is to collaborate with English departments, hoping that scholars and teachers there can participate in some translation work.

Unfortunately, her English wasn't very good, and it wasn't safe for a girl to travel abroad alone.

Wei Jie was indeed very interested after hearing his suggestion. "Translating excellent foreign works and publishing them in China? That's great! I've read so many good books in the United States over the years. If they could all be translated and brought back to China, it would be a rich source of spiritual nourishment for contemporary youth!"

Zhou Haoran and he sat in the back of a General Motors car. Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "Zhongbo Bookstore has only been established for a short time and its strength is limited. We can start by selecting a few key projects and get the translation and publishing business up and running."

"Well, you should!"

Wei Jie immediately began to dream about it.

For intellectuals, engaging in this kind of business is not just about making money, but also about a spiritual belief. The ideal job is one that combines the spiritual and the material.

Liang Jianchang chuckled and said, "Haoran, didn't you come to America to provide technical guidance? Why are you studying books?"

"No delay."

Zhou Haoran was very calm.

What kind of book project do you want to do?

Liang Jianchang and Wei Jie are colleagues, alumni, and friends; otherwise, he wouldn't have introduced him to them.

Zhou Haoran said, "I read a Hollywood report before, which contained very important information."

"Hollywood?"

Liang Jianchang twitched the corner of his mouth.

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "I heard that Warner Bros. wants to start the Lord of the Rings project, which has caused a lot of controversy. Many critics say that Warner Bros. will ruin this timeless classic."

"The Lord of the Rings..."

Liang Jianchang stared at him in astonishment, not expecting him to be serious.

Wei Jie said excitedly, "Yes, The Lord of the Rings series is a classic masterpiece! Although it is not mainstream literature, it can be regarded as the pioneer in the fantasy market."

Zhou Haoran said, “Most of the mainstream Western literature has already been published in China. However, those state-owned publishing houses don’t understand the market, and their senior editors are very conservative in their views, looking down on bestsellers. This is where Zhongbo Bookstore’s opportunity lies.”

"Are you going to sign a contract for 'The Lord of the Rings' and have it translated and published in the country?"

Wei Jie was immediately filled with fighting spirit. He was a liberal arts student.

I feel like doing this kind of thing is much more interesting than doing marketing at Oracle.

Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "I think it's a good idea. This is a classic masterpiece, and it's necessary to publish it in China. If 'The Lord of the Rings' is really adapted into a Hollywood blockbuster, then this project will definitely be a huge success."

We arrived at Oracle headquarters.

We had a brief half-hour tour first.

Then let's get straight to the point.

Time was limited, and both sides were in a hurry.

Let's talk about the price first!

Initially, Oracle's offer was between $20 and $200 million.

Zhou Haoran flatly refused.

Later, the two sides communicated several times via email.

Oracle raised its offer to $50 to $500 million.

Zhou Haoran still did not agree.

Instead, they contacted IBM.

He is currently involved in national financial projects, and there are IBM people in the expert group, so it's very convenient to contact them.

In the IT services sector, IBM is the world's largest company.

However, in the field of aviation systems, IBM only ranks third.

Second is the German giant SAP, and first is Oracle.

With Zhou Haoran's high-concurrency, multi-security audit mechanism algorithm, IBM's aviation outsourcing services could be greatly enhanced, creating a strong competitive advantage in the market.

Therefore, IBM is extremely sincere.

The offer could reach as high as $1200 million!
This amount of money may seem like a lot, but it's just a drop in the ocean for tech giants.

For example, IBM's aerospace systems products generate $3 million in revenue for them annually. Within this business, annual R&D spending exceeds $3000 million!
Oracle is at least three times the size of IBM in this field!
Even the Civil Aviation Administration of China had to set aside its national security concerns to purchase Oracle's aviation systems... This shows just how strong Oracle's capabilities are in this area.

With such strong capabilities, offering such a low price is incredibly stingy!

Zhou Haoran negotiated the price with them.

First, present IBM's offer.

"During my trip to the United States, I will definitely implement the algorithm for a secure handling mechanism under high concurrency." Zhou Haoran directly pointed out the other party's Achilles' heel: "It will either be a collaboration with Oracle or IBM."

Then, Oracle brought in their chief scientist and chief financial officer.

The former discusses technology.

I agree.

The latter talks about money.

The offer reached $1000 million!
This is an advanced quote.

The $1000 million payment will only be received if the project is 100% completed. If only part of the project is completed, the quote will be significantly reduced, with the total cost ranging from $200 million to $1000 million.

This is the general market rate for technology service companies in Silicon Valley.

At the same time, these traditional tech giants are all very domineering.

It adopts a buyout system.

In other words, Oracle paid Zhou Haoran a sum of money to come and provide technical guidance... Once the project is completed, even if it earns $100 billion or $10 billion in the future, it will have nothing to do with him.

Zhou Haoran adapted to local customs.

The proposal was accepted.

Sign and affix your fingerprint.

start working!
……

Zhou Haoran collaborates with Oracle's technical team, serving only as a technical consultant and advisor.

Because Oracle placed great importance on secrecy.

They were terrified of leaking secrets.

They would only ask him about some technical problems that they couldn't solve, and they would only involve him in implementing algorithms based on a few papers he wrote on high-concurrency security strategies, but they would not let him see the whole picture of the entire aviation system.

Zhou Haoran was pleased to see it happen.

So much the better.

Easy!
Just spend 4-5 hours each day meeting with their technical committee and expert group to provide specific implementation plans. Let their technical team handle the actual operations.

So much so that Zhou Haoran even had time to go to Los Angeles for a day with Aunt Wan and Teacher Jiang.

At the same time, he also had further contact with Wei Jie.

Zhongbo Bookstore is currently short of a vice general manager in charge of translation business. This person must have a good understanding of foreign literature, be fluent in English, and have extensive knowledge of marketing...

It's practically tailor-made for Wei Jie.

The first project was acquiring the publishing rights for "The Lord of the Rings" in China.

Before the movie is made.

Exclusive deal on bargain hunting!
The two went to the bookstore, went to the fantasy category, and bought a copy of "The Lord of the Rings" to check the translation difficulty.

These books weren't written by literary masters; they use simple, colloquial language, making them easy to translate.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Haoran found another book in the fantasy category.

"Huh? This is..."

Zhou Haoran opened his eyes wide.

"Harry Potter?" Wei Jie leaned over to take a look, his reaction rather indifferent. "Never heard of it, it must be a new book, right?"

Zhou Haoran opened it and saw that it was indeed a new book published.

It was just published last month.

We're rich now!
(End of this chapter)