My Years as a Copyist in Taiwan

This report was of great help to Wu Deng, who was negotiating second-run, third-run, and overseas broadcasting rights.

Unlike decades later, in Taiwan in the 1980s, offering cigarettes to guests was a very common practice. After distributing cigarettes to everyone, Wu Deng grinned and blurted out his demands all at once:

The second and third rounds can be sold separately, with each round limited to one broadcast. If you want to acquire the permanent broadcasting rights for the entire island, that's not impossible, but the price will be calculated based on the full copyright standard of "Chu Liuxiang" back then, multiplied by 1.2—NT$1200 million, not a penny less.

Why is Brother Deng insisting on 1200? Because that's the total investment for this show. This investment alone will recoup the costs. The previous 280 million, plus revenue from Southeast Asian Chinese communities, Japan, and South Korea, will bring in far more than that amount—that's pure profit.

When this price was announced, everyone at the three television stations felt uneasy. 1200 million was an unimaginable sum in Taiwan's television industry in 1982. Even the permanent broadcast rights for "Chu Liuxiang" across the entire island didn't fetch that price back then!

They've already smoked two packs of my cigarettes! Seeing those old foxes still wasting time, Wu Deng pulled out a newspaper and slammed it down in the center of the conference table. These people had arrived early and hadn't seen today's paper yet; the entertainment section had the headline—

Mr. Snail's new book received a full advance payment of 4500 million yen from Kodansha based solely on its title.

"Forty-five million yen? Just for the title? Not a single word of the manuscript has been written?"

"The press release from the United Daily News's Japan bureau and Kodansha's official confirmation both state that the first print run of 'The Devotion of Suspect X' was 200,000 copies, with all royalties prepaid. Not a single word was written, and the money arrived in the account. The Tokyo publishing industry has been in an uproar for two days!"

After Wu Deng finished speaking proudly, he turned his head and handed out cigarettes to everyone again. His brother's outstanding achievements were something to be proud of!

This news is incredibly convincing.

A book title alone, and you got tens of millions in advance payments? Even if it's in Japanese yen, that's nearly nine million New Taiwan dollars, right?

At his peak, Gu Long could indeed barely manage to do that, but there were prerequisites: he needed an opening chapter of 20,000 to 30,000 words, and the amount was limited to 200,000 NT dollars.

"I believe that Mr. Snail's current viewership appeal has surpassed that of Mr. Gu Long. This is based on facts; after all, he has achieved what Mr. Gu Long could not. So, is there a problem with Mr. Snail's drama making a little more money?"

"Director Chen, your 'Chu Liuxiang' game has earned at least 6000 million in GG fees, don't think I don't know. Also, you got a huge bargain in the first round, if you keep trying to skimp on my little bit of money, believe me, you won't get a share in the fourth round..."

The people from TTV had no right to raise the price. They watched helplessly as CTV won the second-round broadcasting rights for 600 million and CTS won the third-round for 400 million. They could only reluctantly sign a fourth-round contract for 200 million, and the broadcast time would be more than five months away.

Overseas rights were also finalized: permanent broadcasting rights for Japan for NT$600 million, and a package deal for Singapore and Malaysia for NT$600 million. The offers from other regions did not meet Deng Ge's requirements, so the deal was put on hold. People from Hong Kong and South Korea did not come.

But even these things made Brother Deng very satisfied. In all these years, this was the first time he had made at least 20 million New Taiwan Dollars in one go!

The price offered by Hong Kong Island is unlikely to be low, after all, the main actors of "My Fair Princess" are all from Hong Kong Island.

Sure enough, less than an hour after seeing Director Chen and his group off, people from ATV Hong Kong arrived.

At this time, TVB and ATV were locked in a fierce battle, with ATV consistently being overshadowed by TVB and desperately needing a hit drama to turn things around.

Their purchasing representatives went straight to Wu Deng's office before even settling into their hotel. They demanded the permanent broadcasting rights for the entire city of Hong Kong, offering HK$80, which is nearly NT$400 million. They only requested that the content be dubbed in Cantonese and that no changes be made to the content.

They knew very well that this kind of Qing Dynasty comedy, suitable for all ages, would be absolutely competitive in the Hong Kong market. As long as they could secure the rights before TVB, they could turn the tide.

Wu Deng was very decisive: four million wouldn't do; the permanent broadcasting rights would cost six million, otherwise they would have to be sold separately to TVB...

ATV's people were not going to give TVB a second thought, so they signed the contract without hesitation.

When Zhao Wen heard Brother Deng's excited voice announcing the good news on the phone, he naturally had to share in his joy, even though the initial intention behind making this film wasn't to make money...

He is currently devising a plan on how to subtly persuade Yan Yin's agency to abandon its cooperation with Kondo Haruhime's side.

Zhao Wen knew exactly how future playboys would catch the most juicy fish with the least amount of bait: he would sign ten copies of "Norwegian Wood" or ten copies of "Love Letter" every day, and then have the staff at Tokuma headquarters deliver them to hundreds of book fans for a raffle.

This way, the news didn't spread and attract thousands of people, while successfully stabilizing the base of a few hundred to a thousand people each day...

As for maintaining order among these gathered book fans, Zhao Wencao didn't need to worry about it at all—the Tokyo Three Musketeers checked in every day, and did you think their twenty or thirty bodyguards who were always by their side were just for show?

Zhao Wen, of course, wouldn't turn these three away, frequently inviting them to the Dejian reception room for tea. Perhaps this is the mutual attraction among capitalists...

The Tokyo Three Scoundrels were having tea with him at that moment. Mr. Wicker Chair, like a dutiful wife, chased away the tea master specially hired by Tokuma Bookstore and personally served tea to the great Mr. Snail.

The opening of The Devotion of Suspect X is a classic example of a mystery novel packed with plot holes.

The story opens with a bang, getting straight to the core conflict with zero fluff: Ishigami's daily life, Ishigami's silent concern for Yasuko, and the ex-husband coming to harass her and then being killed by the mother and daughter.

Before the story reached ten thousand words, a murder had already occurred. Ishigami knocked on the door, promising, "I'll help you cover it up, and there won't be any mistakes."

As soon as the reader enters the story, they are immediately drawn into the core suspense of "how a mathematical genius can create the perfect alibi..." and are completely captivated without any dull moments.

The rattan chair can't stop following the updates, and the Kodansha publishing company doesn't dare to bother him, because the translated manuscripts are sent over immediately, and the higher-ups have almost all become Mr. Snail's most loyal followers.

The magic of Keigo Higashino lies in the fact that "The Devotion of Suspect X" does the opposite of what is expected. Instead of showing you how to find the murderer, he makes you guess how Ishigami will keep it a secret.

The killer, the process of the murder, the motive—it's all given to you. Mr. Rattan Chair, standing in God's-eye view, can't figure out the answer no matter how hard he tries.

This feeling of knowing the truth yet being unable to see through even the slightest trick is far more captivating than conventional mystery novels, even decades later in the world of online literature.

Moreover, Ishigami is a mathematical genius with an extremely high IQ, and Yukawa is a physics genius of the same level. One is aloof, and the other is perceptive, which multiplies the suspense of this book. How can you expect the clear-eyed Mr. Wicker Chair to break free?