Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

The signing ceremony was as simple as a morning meeting.

There was no champagne, no reporters, no spotlight. Luo Bing called everyone in the editorial department into the hallway—three editors, two proofreaders, one distributor, one accountant, plus himself, a total of eight people.

We also hired a lawyer to review the contract.

"This is Mr. Zhang," Luo Bing stepped aside, "From today onwards, he is the new boss of 'Martial Arts World'."

Eight pairs of eyes turned to Zhang Dabiao.

In her early twenties, she dressed modestly, with a kind of pastoral style reminiscent of a beautiful young woman: a plaid shirt, a fishing vest, jeans, and sneakers. Her features were clear and bright, and her posture was relaxed, making it difficult to discern her true character.

It's so comfortable.

The old principal adjusted his reading glasses to Uncle Chen and asked shakily, "Mr. Luo, you're not doing it anymore?"

"Do it," Luo Bing said. "I'll be the editor-in-chief, and Zhang Sheng will be in charge. Things will remain the same as before."

Uncle Chen opened his mouth, but didn't ask any more questions.

Why not sell?

Luo Bing received 12 yuan for nothing, still received his salary, was the actual manager, and also had shares in the magazine.

Luo Bing must be crazy not to sell.

As for the other employees, nothing has changed. They are still the same as before. The only difference is that there is now another boss above the current boss, which doesn't affect them much.

As for salary increases, Zhang Yaoyang isn't rich to the point of being foolish. Maintaining a stable work team is Luo Bing's job as editor-in-chief.

The magazine will continue to operate as before, except that two more serialized works have been added.

First, release "A Deadly Secret," then "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" in March. Release a new book every quarter to increase user engagement.

Pen name: "Seven Rise Across the River to Fly Tomatoes"!

It took Manager Luo a while to read it smoothly...

But I don't understand what it means, why do we have to "fly" tomatoes?

Is "Seven Rise Across the River" a form of light-footed skill? Does "Flying Tomato" refer to using hidden weapons?

Is there such a saying in the martial arts world?

But the boss just chose a strange pen name, it's not illegal, right?

Then let him be.

Luo Bing was in charge of all the other daily operations; Zhang Yaoyang was too lazy to get involved. He wanted professionals to do what they were good at.

I'm just trying to accumulate copyrights, though the contract for "Wuxia World" needs to be revised. We need to retain the rights to film, TV series, standalone books, and game adaptations, but the author's royalties and profit sharing can be increased slightly. Even with future adaptations, the author has to get a share, otherwise, they won't do business with you.

He also made a decision: he wrote down the names of some people, and if they could sign, they would; if they couldn't, he would try to make friends with them, which wouldn't affect anything.

We're a magazine publishing house, not a club. We can't just kidnap people, can we?

Huang Yi – Born in 1942, 19 years old at the time. In 1961, he had not yet made his debut (his first work was "Broken Void" in 1987). At this time, he was either studying in Hong Kong or just entering the workforce. His future representative works include "A Step into the Past" and "Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty". He is a future master of fantasy fiction.

Ni Kuang – born in 1935, 26 years old at the time. He started with martial arts novels; his early representative work, *The Six-Fingered Demon Qin*, was yet to be written (circa 1962-1963). He was currently in the very early stage of his writing career, and had not yet found the path to future legendary status through "science fiction martial arts." That's the future trump card!

I don't remember or watch many of Zhang Yaoyang's other works, but I pay close attention to these two!

"Ni Kuang? It seems he's currently writing martial arts novels for Ming Pao under the pen name Yue Chuan."

"Around 2100 words per day, the first month's payment is HK$630, a fixed amount."

"Should we sign him?"

Signing Ni Kuang in 61 meant poaching him directly from Jin Yong's company. This wasn't just an ordinary competition for authors; it was blatantly stealing talent from Jin Yong's company right in front of him.

Zhang Yaoyang frowned: "Dig!"

"Editor-in-Chief Luo, you guys need to find a way to increase the payment for this article. I absolutely need this person!"

"Ming Pao gave him HK$630, we'll give him HK$800!"

"However, harmony brings wealth. If things don't work out, don't offend Teacher Jin too much."

In this regard, Roy Cheung still has his bottom line. Although he was a little angry that the collaboration didn't go through, plagiarizing someone else's work and then poaching their copyright is already going too far. There's no need to make such a big fuss.

At this time, Ming Pao was far from the newspaper empire it would later become.

This was a point in time when Jin Yong himself was still struggling in the mire—he was rushing to meet deadlines, was in debt, couldn't bear to spend 3 yuan on ferry fare, and was relying on martial arts novels to keep the newspaper afloat.

It wasn't that Roy Cheung was bullying a master who had achieved great success.

Instead, the time traveler took advantage of the fact that the Grandmaster hadn't yet reached the top and stole the initiative—by turning around and grabbing!

Luo Bing was confused, but since the new boss, Zhang Yaoyang, was going to foot the bill, why was he in such a hurry?

Just do as instructed.

------------

On the afternoon of the signing, Zhang Dabiao didn't hold any banquet with them and returned to Beijing early because he had to pick up his girlfriend from school after class.

There was no other way; Mu Wanqing was too beautiful, and she studied at the Beijing Art Academy, so he had to keep an eye on her.

After everyone in the courtyard had gone to sleep that night, Zhang Dabiao hid in his "little den".

I turned on the computer and started manually copying "Harry Potter"—one Chinese version and one English version.

This thing is the real killer weapon.

The next day, they went to Hong Kong and had Luo Bing contact Henry Steiner, the design director of The Asia Magazine. They were in the same circle, so it would be easier to contact him.

The other side was in even greater turmoil, which was the perfect opportunity for Zhang Dabiao (Zhang Yaoyang) to make his move.

The Asia Magazine office is located on the ninth floor of a new office building on Pedder Street in Central.

It's much more respectable than "The World of Wuxia".

The granite walls have been eroded by the sea winds, creating fine lines, and colonial-era bas-relief emblems are still embedded in the eaves.

The elevator was a Xizi Otis, gleaming. The foreigners inside glanced at him, scrutinizing his fisherman's outfit. Zhang Yaoyang dressed casually, as if he thought, "I can wear whatever I want."

You guys are all dressed in suits and ties, while I'm dressed like a fisherman from 2024. Now that's what you call trendy, you know?

He pressed the button for the seventh floor.

The copper floor plan is engraved with: The Asia Magazine · Editorial Office.

The corridor was carpeted in dark red, making no sound when stepped on. The receptionist wore a cheongsam, had permed hair, and wore light lipstick. She smiled and nodded at everyone she saw.

When Zhang Dabiao entered, the receptionist's professional smile paused for a moment.

The visitors were dressed...very fashionably and very casually.

"Sir, who are you looking for?"

"The editorial department." Zhang Dabiao placed the manila envelope on the front desk. "I have an appointment with Mr. Henry Steiner."

The receptionist opened the reservation book, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"What is your surname, sir?"

"open."

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Steiner is available at 10 o'clock, please wait a moment."

She led the person to the reception area and brought them a cup of black tea.

Zhang Dabiao didn't drink.

He sat on the beige fabric sofa, looking around the magazine office.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, Victoria Harbour glistens in the sunlight. Past covers of *The Asia Magazine* hang on the wall. The English title is arranged in an elegant serif font, and the cover design is simple and restrained, clearly the work of a professional.

But there was a subtle atmosphere in the air.

The receptionist lowered her voice when she answered the phone. Two foreigners in suits were arguing quietly in the corridor. A Chinese employee came out of the editorial department carrying a cardboard box with a photo frame and a coffee cup on it.

Henry Steiner arrived at the entrance to the reception area right at 10 a.m.

He was in his early forties, wearing a silver-gray suit, thin-rimmed round glasses, and gray-blue eyes. He had a typical Bauhaus-style face—strong features, sparse expressions, and a cold, arrogant demeanor.

"Mr. Zhang." His Chinese was surprisingly fluent, though with a strange accent. "I am Henry Steiner, the art director of The Asia Magazine. You can also call me Henry Steiner. Editor-in-Chief David Watson is not here today, so I will be receiving you."

Zhang Dabiao stood up, didn't shake hands, and directly pushed the manila envelope over.

Steiner caught it, but didn't rush to dismantle it.

"What is this?"

"A letter of intent to acquire," Zhang Dabiao said. "The Asia Magazine, a full acquisition, priced at HK$38,000."

Steiner was stunned?

Are you crazy?

Yesterday, Luo Bing called me and said that someone wanted to take over the company and become a shareholder.

But it didn't say it was a full acquisition.