Entertainment: Since 1990

Chapter 56 Turns out to be a street kid

In the Ming Pao building, the beautiful female receptionist was stunned by Cao Jian's slap.

What did I say wrong? Why did this guy just come up and attack me? Is he a gangster?
But how could a gangster write a book?
This person looks gentle and refined, why is he so violent?

She covered her face, various possibilities flashing through her mind. After a long while, she said, "Why did you hit someone?"

"Does this slap count as an appointment?"

Cao Jian slapped the woman and felt better, but his face still had a vicious expression: "Why don't you inform me?"

The female receptionist was frightened by Cao Jian.

In fact, she just wanted to make things difficult for Cao Jian because he was young and from the mainland.

I didn't expect to get slapped in vain. I wanted to call security, but when I saw the ferocious look of the other person, I was really worried that he was a gangster, and I would be in danger after get off work.

I'm so beautiful, it wouldn't be worth it if I were bullied.

"Wait a moment."

She obediently picked up the phone, and while she was talking on the phone, she didn't even dare to mention that she had been slapped.

After a while, she said politely, "Please go up to the fifteenth floor. There's someone there to receive you."

"How cheap!"

Cao Jian cursed in his heart, without looking at the beaten female receptionist, and went straight upstairs.

"So scary, he must be a gangster."

The female receptionist looked at Cao Jian's back, remembered the slap just now, and wondered whether she should leave work early to avoid being targeted by this man.

"Are you the young man who wants to submit his work?"

Cao Jian went upstairs and a secretary in a small suit took him to an office.

"I'm Zhang Jianbo, deputy editor-in-chief of Ming Pao. I heard you have a novel you'd like to submit to Ming Pao. We have very high standards for manuscripts here."

A thin-faced man in the office was reviewing manuscripts. When he saw Cao Jian come in, he looked up, then lowered his head and continued to read other things while talking.

The main reason is that Cao Jian looks too young and doesn’t look like someone who can write good works.

"Deputy Editor-in-Chief?"

Cao Jian didn't expect that the slap he just gave had such a good effect that the front desk clerk immediately made an appointment for him with a deputy editor-in-chief.

Although I didn’t see Old Man Jin, being the deputy editor-in-chief was enough.

As for the other party's attitude, let's see the work first.

He took out a stack of manuscripts and said, "I know the status of Ming Pao in Hong Kong. If I didn't have some confidence in you, I wouldn't dare to step through your door."

"?"

After hearing this, Zhang Jianbo finally looked up and looked at Cao Jian seriously.

Young people are speaking very arrogantly, and are secretly saying that the threshold of our Ming Pao is high?

But that's what talented people do.

He smiled and said, "Let me take a look at the manuscript."

Cao Jian handed the manuscript to his secretary, then sat down on the sofa without any hesitation.

"Young man, not bad."

Zhang Jianbo was surprised again by the young Cao Jian's calm attitude. He smiled softly and picked up the manuscript to read.

After looking at it for a short while, he looked up and said to his secretary, "Pour this gentleman a cup of coffee."

"Ok."

When the secretary heard the order, he couldn't help but glance at Cao Jian.

The deputy editor-in-chief is usually not so polite to ordinary people. Has he changed his personality today?

In the office, Cao Jian drank coffee and looked at the female secretary's figure, which made the girl feel a little embarrassed.

I heard that Ming Pao's payment for articles is not high, but the secretary-general is quite good.

Editor Zhang Jianbo was smoking while reading the manuscript very seriously.

Half an hour passed and I finally finished reading the first 20,000 words.

Zhang Jianbo put down the manuscript and said, "It's really well written. The theme of modern people traveling back in time to ancient times is very novel. I haven't seen anything like it before, but..."

Cao Jian asked, "Just what?"

"It's just that the descriptions in some places are too explicit."

"It's okay, this is how you attract people."

"."

Although Zhang Jianbo understood that what Cao Jian said was right, he still felt that this young man's mind was full of those terrible things.

Although Ni Kuang's novels also have some such plots, it is obvious that this "A Step into the Past" is more direct.

There's a sex scene in Chapter 4.
However, the description is quite good. He stood up and picked up the manuscript, saying, "Wait a moment, I'll go discuss it with the editor-in-chief."

After more than ten minutes, Zhang Jianbo came back and asked, "Is this all you've written for this book? Do you have any more manuscripts saved? How much can you write each week in the future?"

"I've already written 500,000 words, and I can guarantee to publish two chapters a day."

In fact, Cao Jian has already finished writing the book, but there is no need to tell the truth, so that he can keep his money flowing and get more royalties.

"That's good."

Zhang Jianbo nodded. "The editor-in-chief just read your book and thought it was okay, but there are some places that could use some revisions, like some of the passionate descriptions."

"I don't want to change."

Cao Jian shook his head. It’s not some point in thirty years now. Can’t he even write with his neck?

He said: "Every word is the result of my hard work, and the description is not excessive. If I need to change it, I can only find another publisher."

"this."

Zhang Jianbo was a little hesitant.

If it were twenty years ago, or even ten years ago, he could have immediately rejected Cao Jian's request.

At that time, martial arts novels were at their most prosperous period.

But now, the boss Jin Yong has stopped writing, Gu Long has passed away, and Liang Yusheng has no new works released. Only Wen Rui'an still writes occasionally.

At this time, Cao Jian's book is like timely rain, which can increase the sales of Ming Pao.

Moreover, many publishing houses are now competing for manuscripts. If you don’t accept them, there will definitely be others who will.

After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Since you say so, then I won't change it."

"Thank you."

Seeing the other party compromise, Cao Jian smiled and asked, "How much is the fee?"

"A thousand words and eighty."

The manuscript fee in the mainland is ten to thirty yuan per thousand words, and a little higher in Hong Kong, so Zhang Jianbo felt that he paid too high.

"eighty?"

Cao Jian had heard that Ming Pao's royalties were low, but he didn't expect them to be so low.

This book has more than 1.5 million words, and it only costs 120,000 Hong Kong dollars for 1,080 yuan per thousand words?
No wonder they can recruit such a beautiful female secretary. There is also a beautiful receptionist downstairs. It turns out that they have money to support these people?
Although he knew that the novel would be mainly published as a physical book and adapted for film and television in the future, the price of 80 yuan was a bit
Cao Jian shook his head and smiled, "I heard that Ni Kuang's novels are all 200 words long. I think 150 is about right."

"One hundred and fifty?"

Zhang Jianbo felt that this young man was a bit arrogant.

He actually wants to compete with Ni Kuang?
"One hundred words at most, you're a newbie after all."

Although he also believed that "A Step into the Past" was likely to be a big hit, he could not agree to the royalties.

"Sorry about that."

Cao Jian stood up and took the manuscript back directly: "Editor-in-Chief Zhang, then I will compare it with other publishing houses."

After saying that, he left without hesitation.

The reason I refused to revise those passionate parts just now was just a test. Cao Jian thought that since you can compromise, you should be able to compromise on the manuscript fee as well.

Now it depends on who can't hold it anymore.

Cao Jian kept waiting for someone to catch up, but when he got downstairs, there was no sound of footsteps behind him.

At the door, there was still the same reception desk as before.

The girl saw Cao Jian coming out alone with a disappointed look in his eyes, and she felt a little proud: "A mainlander wrote something and wanted to publish it in our newspaper? He was so arrogant before, but now he is a loser."

But she didn't dare say these words out loud, for fear of being beaten again.

At the door, Zhou Huimin had been waiting for a long time and was already getting impatient.

Noticing Cao Jian opening the car door, she asked, "How's it going?"

"If the negotiation fails, look for another one."

Cao Jian had already planned to give up publishing in Ming Pao. He didn't even want to pay 150 yuan per thousand words. He was really stingy.

When Zhou Huimin heard that the deal didn't go through, she felt smug and said with a smile, "Why did you make me wait so long? You should just focus on writing songs and creating music instead of dreaming."

But before she could finish, she heard a woman's voice shouting from behind her.

"Mr. Cao, wait a minute!"

Cao Jian turned around and found that it was the female secretary of the deputy editor-in-chief of Ming Pao.

The secretary trotted over and said, "Mr. Cao, our Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zhang wants you to go back and talk to him."

"Is the book he wrote really that good? Did he even have someone track down the deputy editor?"

Hearing this, Zhou Huimin looked surprised and couldn't help but look at Cao Jian a few more times.

(End of this chapter)