My Years as a Copyist in Taiwan

Since 1986, the Taiwanese film and television industry has faced an insurmountable challenge in directly defeating Phoenix TV in the television drama arena.

At that time, all of her scripts were self-produced and self-distributed, and she also had a huge fan base of original book readers. The audience had long been accustomed to watching Phoenix TV dramas during prime time.

Her writing, filled with intense love, hate, and torment, accurately captures the emotional needs of housewives in Taiwan, a group that often holds the real power over the television tuning buttons in the home.

But now it is 1982.

At this point, the old lady was still living in the shadow of that German Shepherd's head. The movie "Asking the Setting Sun" was pulled from its Spring Festival release, and the rescheduled date was unknown to even her, except for Zhao Wen...

The culprit behind the withdrawal of "Asking the Setting Sun" was currently having a long talk with himself about "Love Letter" from "You Are the Apple of My Eye"...

Zhao Wen completely believed what Brother Deng was bragging about, and Brother Deng even downplayed his protagonist aura—

He had an 8v108 experience at the age of 17, becoming famous overnight! Tell me, would any online novel dare to write something like this?

As for the related events two years later, he became a guiding light in the industry.

"Brother Deng, I've always wanted to make 'Those Years' into a movie, so that's not a problem. The important thing is, do you believe me?"

"Ah Wen, we brothers hit it off immediately, it's like we've known each other forever, how could I not believe you!" Brother Deng said to his like-minded brother as he lit the neon cigarette Zhao Wen had given him.

Zhao Wen wanted to laugh when he heard Deng Ge being so literary, but he tried his best to hold it in. He turned around, went to the study, took out a stack of manuscripts, and placed them in front of Wu Deng.

Wu Deng looked at the four characters "Princess Pearl" on the cover, hesitated for only a second, and then opened it.

Of all the dozens of romance novels written by Phoenix, the one that has been etched into the memories of several generations of people in mainland China and has the highest national popularity is undoubtedly "Princess Pearl".

The reason why "Romance in the Rain" ranks second is simply because it has many memorable scenes and is also due to the creation of derivative works on short videos.

Other depressing novels are only suitable for young girls.

Therefore, Zhao Wen only planned to hijack "Princess Pearl". He didn't care about "Romance in the Rain" and couldn't hijack it either, because that book was written in 63.

Moreover, Zhao Wen only directed the TV series "Princess Pearl"; he hadn't read the novel, couldn't plagiarize it, and disdained to. Even so, he still spent a lot of effort smoothing out the 47 bugs, flaws, and toxic points that everyone recognized in the previous life.

"Mr. Snail, oh no, Awen, this plot is Phoenix's formula, but its scope is miles ahead. It's going to be a hit!"

Even though Wu Deng is a member of the entertainment industry, he is still somewhat of a cultured person. Otherwise, how could he have made such a name for himself in film and television over the past ten years? He only read a little bit of the script for "Princess Pearl" and he already understood where the exciting parts were.

"It'll be a hit, right, Brother Deng?"

"It's going to be a huge hit, a massive hit!" Brother Deng stopped his poetic spiel, his mind completely on the script. As for the copyright issue, haha, my brother's already covered it up, do I even need to ask?

"Do you know how many New Taiwan Dollars 'Chu Liuxiang' earned for CTV?"

"I don't know the details, but I know the general figure—5000 million or more!" Wu Deng said, licking his lips with envy.

At this time, "Chu Liuxiang" had just finished airing. It had 16 episodes, each two hours long, and aired one episode a week for more than three months. It had a viewership rating of 70%, making it the most popular TV series in history!

"Brother Deng, let's work hard and try to catch up with 'Chu Liuxiang'."

"...Can...can you catch up?" Brother Deng looked away from the manuscript and onto Zhao Wen's face.

"See, Brother Deng, you still say you believe me."

This time, Wu Deng didn't speak immediately. She just stared at Zhao Wen's handsome face, mentally comparing the data—

Throughout Taiwan's history, "A Boat in the Ocean" has been a designated reading for primary and secondary schools, selling 72 copies; "The Song of Unending Sorrow" is a benchmark for youth, selling 68 copies; "Stories of the Sahara" sold 55 copies; and as for the older women's depressing articles, the best-selling single work is "Misty Rain," which sold over 40 copies.

But this one, with his debut work, a new benchmark for youth literature, is now approaching 140 million copies sold!

"I believe you, Wen!" Wu Deng slammed his fist on the coffee table, his eyes shining as he looked at Zhao Wen and said firmly.

"So, let's, the two of us brothers, plan this out properly now."

Brother Deng took a big gulp of tea, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists: "This kind of large-scale historical drama must cost over ten million, right? How about we bring in another investor to share the burden?"

"No need to find outsiders. We'll each contribute half, and split the profits equally. I won't let you shoulder the burden alone."

Wu Deng looked utterly astonished: "You didn't charge a single penny for your copyright, yet you're actually investing real money?"

"Are these few taels of silver worth me asking you, Brother Deng?"

Zhao Wen exuded an air of authority, his eyes deep and unwavering. "What I want is for brothers to be united; their strength can break even metal."

In those days, script copyrights didn't fetch much of a price. The older woman's work was sold to three TV stations to produce short dramas, with each drama fetching only tens of thousands of New Taiwan Dollars on average.

"Good! You really are my good brother! Come on, tell me the terms!"

"Brother Deng, the more capable you are, the more work you should do. I'll transfer the money whenever you approve the project. I won't concern myself with anything else, not even the finance department!"

"Ah Wen, you're really something! You can focus on your novels and music without worry, I'll handle everything else!" Seeing how much Zhao Wen trusted him, Wu Deng immediately patted his chest, wishing he could become sworn brothers on the spot.

"But Brother Deng, you have to do three things for your younger brother. I won't tell you the third thing yet. I'll tell you after this TV series has made us money and we've had a good working relationship."

"Tell me ten things, and I'll do them all!"

"First, CCTV spent 18 million to secure the exclusive broadcasting rights for 'Chu Liuxiang.' If they can do it with imported dramas, why can't they do it with domestic dramas? The three major TV stations are fierce rivals, and they only drive up prices when they're vying for exclusive broadcasting rights. So, Brother Deng, you need to remember one thing: our 'Princess Pearl' will only be sold in rounds!"

"Round after round... what does that mean?" Wu Deng was a little confused. When he dealt with the three TV stations, he would just throw everything at them and pay whatever the price was right. So over the years, apart from generously sharing more than half of the money he earned in film and television with his brothers, not much of it ended up in his own pocket.

"Even if the other party only offers three or four million, or even two or three million, for the first broadcast, we'll still sell. But the contract must be strictly worded: only one prime-time premiere rights. Any subsequent rebroadcasts, second runs, multiple broadcasts, or even videotape releases will require us to buy the rights again!"

Wu Deng slapped his thigh: "I get it! I get it all!"

"Just like CTS now, they're following CTV and picking up scraps from Chu Liuxiang's reruns! If our 'Princess Pearl' gets high ratings in its first run, CTV will have to pay double if they want to rebroadcast it!"

Zhao Wen nodded with satisfaction. "The tiered copyright system, which only emerged more than a decade later, has been thoroughly understood by Brother Deng!"

"We'll release the first broadcast rights at a low price, and once the word-of-mouth is good, the real profits will come from the subsequent second-run rebroadcasts, videotape distribution, and overseas rights in Southeast Asia and Japan!" Wu Deng, who had just opened the door to a new world, excitedly envisioned the future.