I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 286 Settlement of Accounts
Time slips away silently.

It's already the end of July.

Alizee is leaving!

Although she was very reluctant to part with it, the old lady was also reluctant to part with it.

But eventually, we have to leave.

Her new song is about to be released, and she's going to London for promotion.

Moreover, I'll be staying there for a month.

Liu Jin drove her to the airport.

Alizee was in the car, crying her eyes out.

She had never been with Liu Jin for so long before, and she was very happy!

Of course, there were also regrets.

Her sneak attack failed...

As she got out of the car, she suddenly hugged Liu Jin and kissed him before reluctantly getting out of the car and walking into the airport.

Liu Jin watched her retreating figure and couldn't help but smile.

Is this a forced kiss?

Um, I guess so!

He couldn't tell.

He shook his head, slapped his cheek, and started the car, driving towards downtown Toulouse.

Mela needed to see him, so he had to come back and check on her.

He had not contacted the outside world for more than twenty days, nor had he inquired about the sales of his works.

However, the first royalties from Random House have already been deposited into his Citibank account, totaling $16 million.

Of these, nine million came from royalties for *The Old Man and the Sea*, five million from the first part of *Pirates of the Caribbean*, and two million from royalties for *Amélie*, *The Father Trapped in Time*, and *Love Me If You Dare*.

These three books were also published in the first half of the year.

It may not be as sensational as The Old Man and the Sea, but it is steady and reliable.

Sales have been consistently around 20,000 copies per week, and have remained so until now. There hasn't been a dramatic increase in sales, nor a significant drop...

Ms. Luo from Senqu said, "The situation of these three books is very special."

Based on the current situation, it's certain that by the end of the year, sales of "Amélie" and "Father" will surpass one million copies. "Love Me If You Dare" is expected to be slightly less successful, with sales projected to be around 800,000 copies, which is still a very impressive achievement.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was released in May and has already sold over two million copies, making it a sure hit. It is expected to surpass five million copies by the end of the year, and has also boosted sales of the first book, The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Currently, the number of copies of "The Curse of the Black Pearl" has exceeded nine million, and it is a foregone conclusion that it will reach ten million.

The third installment, "The End of the World," will be released at Christmas.

Then, a bundled version will be released.

"Amos, you have created a miracle."

"Thank you!"

"Next month, 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' will be released, but unfortunately you are unwilling to come out for a book signing."

"If you like to eat eggs, you don't necessarily have to look at the hen that laid them."

Readers like the story, not me as a person.

Ms. Luo from Senqu could only express her regret.

How are the sales of "Beautiful Life"?

“Very good. So far, there are 4,768,000 copies.”

A few days ago, Mr. Werner Michael Blumenthal published an article reminiscing about his days living in Shanghai. He jokingly added that the "bread-delivering boy" in your book is him, and he wants to collect royalties from you.

"It was an honor."

"Sales have been good recently because of Mr. Werner's article."

However, I've heard that some victims have expressed dissatisfaction, believing that the perpetrators didn't mistreat them... But don't worry, Mr. Werner's article is enough to shut those people up and won't affect the book's sales.

Liu Jin's heart sank.

He was indeed right.

Some victims are just ungrateful wretches.

Throughout the Republican era, the victim and Xiao Rizi were secretly colluding.

According to some historical records from the future, the victims were early investors in Xiao Rizi.

Especially during the war against Russia, they directly funded the poor.

But he can't reveal these things now... There's nothing he can do, since the victims hold the power of discourse in the West.

As long as Liu Jin expresses even the slightest bit of malice towards the victim.

It doesn't seem impossible that he was shot twice in the back and committed suicide...

This isn't my hometown after all!
Fortunately, there are still some victims with a conscience.

At least, Werner was.

When he served as finance minister, he unfrozen some of China's assets.

At the same time, he consistently showed goodwill towards China, visited Jewish memorials seven times, and dedicated his life to promoting Sino-US cooperation.

Moreover, he wielded considerable influence within the victims' social circles.

His statement was enough to suppress a large number of victims who harbored ill will towards China.

After all, the victims at this time had not yet been able to completely control America's political arena.

But be careful!

Liu Jin reminded himself silently.

At the same time, it gave him a new understanding of the influence of Xiao Rizi in America. No, he had to find a way to continue his smear campaign.

But how do you make it black?

Liu Jin was also thinking about it.

Upon arriving at Singer Publishing House, I unexpectedly met Chloe.

"Aren't you preparing for your thesis defense?"

"Can't I just rest for a bit? You're going too far! I even helped you pick up your mother, and you and Ottilie were having so much fun in Gruson. I'm just coming back to relax, and I'm going back to Paris at the end of the month. What, are you very unhappy?"

"Why would I be unhappy?"

Liu Jin sat down at his desk and looked at Mela, asking, "What's wrong with her? I was just asking casually."

She was envious!

"Hahaha!"

Chloe rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"The royalties for the first half of the year have already been settled."

"Oh?"

"It is mainly divided into several parts."

Mela took a notebook out of the drawer and handed it to Liu Jin.

"By the end of June, in France, sales of Amélie had increased by 1.3 million copies, Father's Day by 2.1 million copies, and Love Me If You Dare by 800,000 copies. Based on a uniform 20% royalty rate, Amélie earned €10.90, Father's Day by €15.80, and Love Me If You Dare by €11.29... Amélie's royalties for the first half of the year totaled €2,834,000; Father's Day by €6,636,000; and Love Me If You Dare by €1,806,400."

A total of 1127 will be transferred to your newly opened bank account at Industrial Bank within 6400 hours.

In June, on Raphael Brown's advice, Liu Jin opened a personal fund account at Société Générale to avoid taxes. Otherwise, Liu Jin would have been reluctant to pay the 35% tax, especially since the money was going to France.

A personal fund account could reduce his taxes by at least 70%.

"it is good!"

"Next, let's tally up your comic book earnings."

"it is good!"

It's a comic book, in two parts.

WALL-E and Supergirl.

In addition, Liu Jin also published "The Old Man and the Sea," "Pirates of the Caribbean 1," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "Life Is Beautiful," "Identity," and "The Crucible" in the first half of the year. The royalties for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "The Old Man and the Sea," and "Pirates of the Caribbean" were paid by Midnight Publishing and Hachette Publishing Group, and this money will be deposited into Liu Jin's personal foundation account in three installments.

Among them, The Old Man and the Sea sold 600 million copies, Pirates of the Caribbean sold 320 million copies, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sold 257 million copies...

The royalties from the three books totaled 2808 million euros, a huge financial expenditure for any publishing house.

Fortunately, there were two publishing houses involved, so the payment was made in three installments.

The pressure has decreased a lot!
"Life Is Beautiful, ID Fatal, and The Crucible—these results haven't been tallied yet. How about we settle them at the end of the year?"

"can!"

"Next, we'll look at the data compiled from various countries..."

"Fine, fine, just tell me how much it costs in total."

"Based on the publication date, works published after March of this year have not yet been included in the statistics."

Currently, only three films have been counted: Amélie, Father Trapped in Time, and Love Me If You Dare, totaling 8,793,000 euros.

Which account do you plan to transfer this money to?

"Bank of China, please."

"In addition, Random House recommended America's IMAGE comics company to us, which is interested in publishing the comic book WALL-E... There are also two other comic book companies that have their eyes on Death Note and Supergirl."

"You just take care of the negotiations."

"Alright, then I'll see how things go."

Chloe sat to the side, dozing off.

She's become a little numb!

All things considered, the total came to over 70 million euros, nearly 80 million euros (including Langdon's royalties), plus an additional 23 million euros for adaptation.

That's one hundred million euros!
The key point is that this is only half a year's worth of royalties.

Chloe had a feeling that she had chosen the wrong major back then.

I'm clearly a cultured young woman, and my literary skills are pretty good too. Just two years ago, when I met Amos, we were even reciting Gorky's "The Stormy Petrel" together. But in the blink of an eye, this guy has become a billionaire.

Of course, these works experienced several hot topics in the first half of the year.

A book recommendation for the beginning of the year, followed by the war between Liu Jin and the little people.

America's success in the market sparked a trend that led to a surge in the European market...

To put it simply, sales will definitely slow down in the second half of the year, unless Liu Jin causes some more trouble, otherwise it won't be this much.

But that's still pretty scary!
Should I go back to school?
Go to the Literature Department of the University of Toulouse II...

That's not right either, Mela graduated from the literature department.

As a result, they followed Liu Jin and made a fortune.

Can you believe that just two years ago, Singer was penniless, but now his assets are approaching hundreds of millions?

I hate it!
"Chloe, Chloe?"

"What?"

"We've finished talking. Shall we go have dinner together?"

"Yes, of course we'll go. We'll go to Stephen's restaurant."

Chloe, gritting her teeth.

……

(End of this chapter)