1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhou Yan talked to Xu Feng on the phone, changed his clothes, and prepared to go to the studio.

But as soon as he stepped out the door, the phone in the living room rang again, and he turned around to answer it.

Hello?

Yu Hua's voice came from the other end of the phone: Are you at home?

Zhou Yan looked at the door that had been opened, and then nodded, Well, I'm at home, what's wrong?

Going to play with you. Yu Hua said.

You want to play with me? You are the only one.

With Tiesheng.

Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, Don't come to my house. Go to my studio. You wait at home and I will pick you up.

It's so embarrassing to ask you to pick me up... When will you arrive?

In a moment.

Then I'll wait for you at home.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yan drove to Yu Hua's house.

Yu Hua and the others now live near the Yanjing office of Zhou's company. It's a convenient way for Zhou Yan to go to the studio. He has to take a detour to pick up Shi Tiesheng.

A few minutes later, Zhou Yan picked up Yu Hua.

Sitting on the passenger seat, Yu Hua said with a smile, It's still comfortable to have a private car to pick you up. I'm wondering if I should also learn to get a driver's license.

You can learn if you want. Isn't it easy to learn this thing?

Among the writers Zhou Yan knows, Yu Hua is relatively receptive to new things. He now uses a computer, and he uses it more frequently than Zhou Yan.

It's easy to learn a driver's license, but it's difficult to buy a car. How much does your car cost?

The company allocated it, I don't know the details, but it's probably more than 200,000?

Yu Hua exclaimed, Tsk, tsk, isn't this a house on the road? Is there any cheaper car?

Hearing that Yu Hua was studying the matter of buying a car, Zhou Yan said with a smile, It seems that you have been financially well off recently.

I can't thank you enough. I got some licensing fees from the last video tape. Recently, Neon has been asking me for Going Away at Eighteen and The Mistake by the River, and they offered me more money. Yu Hua You asked doubtfully, Don't you know about this?

Zhou Yan was surprised, Why should I know?

They told me that they wanted to make a collection of our three novels.

Really? They didn't contact me.

Writing matters are basically handled by Zhou Yan himself. If Neon really has a publishing house that wants to do this, they will definitely contact him personally.

Even if the publishing house did not know the situation and contacted Tomson, then Tomson would definitely tell him about the matter as soon as possible, but so far, he has not received the news.

Yu Hua frowned, That's strange. Logically speaking, the reason why they want to make this collection must be because of you. Tiesheng and I both benefit from it. In this case, they should look for you first, and then for us. Yes, I thought you knew about this. I went to see you today because I wanted to talk about this.

I've never heard of it. When did they find you?

You called me the afternoon before yesterday. Li Xiaoling helped contact me.

Li Xiaolin is the chief judge of Harvest and the daughter of the famous writer Ba Jin. She has a very good relationship with Yu Hua. Now Yu Hua's first choice for works is Harvest. It was normal for the other party to contact Yu Hua through Li Xiaolin.

Did Tiesheng receive the news? Zhou Yan asked again.

Yu Hua nodded, I got it. He received it later than me. He received it yesterday afternoon. Before I called you, I called him first. He said that this happened.

Zhou Yan pondered, not understanding what was going on.

Could it be possible that Yu Hua and Shi Tiesheng were deceived?

This possibility is very small, because Yu Hua said that it was Li Xiaolin who helped the other party contact him.

Moreover, if this was a scam, Zhou Yan couldn't figure out what the other party was trying to deceive.

Seeing Zhou Yan frowning, Yu Hua also became worried, Is there any problem?

Zhou Yan shook his head, I don't know, but don't rush to sign it yet. If there is a contract, bring it to me and I will ask our company's legal affairs to help take a look.

Then if they don't look for you, there's no need for us to sign the contract.

That's not the case. If there is a Neon publishing house that wants to help you publish your novels, it will be the same with or without me.

Okay, I get it.

The two stopped talking about the matter after that. Zhou Yan took a detour to pick up Shi Tiesheng, and then the three of them went to the studio together.

When they got downstairs, Yu Hua looked at the building and said to Zhou Yan, Rock, paper, scissors.

Zhou Yan asked doubtfully, What for?

Whoever wins will carry Tiesheng.

Zhou Yan understood it immediately, and he said with a smile, No need to carry it, I have an elevator here.

Is there an elevator? Yu Hua looked surprised. This building didn't look like there was an elevator.

I'll take you to see it.

Zhou Yan pushed Shi Tiesheng forward to the first floor, and then walked to the west side of the building.

There really is an elevator. Yu Hua looked up and down and asked curiously, Why is there an elevator here?

“Originally there was no elevator, but it was later added.”

Can the elevator be installed at the back? I've never seen it before. It's high-tech.

It's high-tech. The elevator is not complicated. Let's go.

This elevator is rarely used because the building has only three floors and the elevator is on the west side. People who go to the second floor basically don't go to the west side to take the elevator.

Even if you go to the third floor, you rarely go around to the west side.

In most cases, this elevator is used to transport goods.

When I took the elevator before, I took into consideration the need to transport things, so the elevator was made very big. In the past, when musical instruments went upstairs, they always took the elevator.

After going upstairs, Zhou Yan took them around the recording studio and practice room.

Now the studio has hired a lot of people, including a front desk girl. However, there is basically nothing to do at the front desk now, so Xiao Li at the front desk also works part-time as a life assistant for Zhou Yan and the studio general manager.

After visiting the studio, Zhou Yan asked Xiao Li to make three cups of tea, and then took Yu Hua and the others to the office.

Entering the office, Yu Hua sighed, The recording studio and practice room are so luxurious. I didn't expect your office to be so simple.

Zhou Yan took out two packs of Hongtashan from the drawer and threw them to them, I don't come here often. It's a waste if the decoration is too good. It's time to spend and save.

Yu Hua was not polite and opened a pack of Hongtashan, gave one to Shi Tiesheng, and ordered one himself.

Shi Tiesheng took a puff of cigarette and said with a smile, Zhou Yan has always been like this. He has always been very low-key. It's not like you don't know it for such a long time. When we first met, I really thought he was just an ordinary college student.

Yu Hua shook his head and expressed his disapproval, Do you really believe it when he says it's economical? Although there aren't many things in this office, look at the sofa, the coffee table, and the desk and chair he used to work. not cheap.

As he spoke, he touched the sofa and said, This is such a good sofa, it's so comfortable to sit on.

Zhou Yan joked, Comrade Yu Hua, why have you become materialistic now?

Shi Tiesheng also laughed, This guy is already materialistic, you just discovered it.

Regarding Shi Tiesheng's comments, Yu Hua readily accepted, Yes, this is my true face. Before I went to pick you up, I was still telling Zhou Yan if there were any cheap cars. Buy one. If you want to buy a car, you can go there later. Come here, Zhou Yan, there is no need for him to make a special trip to pick you up, I will drive you here.

If you want to buy a car, don't use me as an excuse.

If you want to buy a car, it should be soon. Didn't Director Zhang and the others go to Cannes? When the movie Alive wins the award, the sales of the novel will definitely increase greatly. By then the novel will be published in Europe, and the royalties will be enough for you to buy a car.

I hope to win a prize, but it's not that easy to win. I don't expect this novel to make much money for me.

Hearing this, Zhou Yan couldn't help but smile.

The popularity of the novel Alive has been rising since the movie won the award at Cannes. It not only sold well in China, but also sold very well in France.

Later, Yu Hua himself said that he lived by living.

Although this is an exaggeration, it does illustrate how popular the novel Alive is.

Throughout the history of modern Chinese literature, no pure literary work has ever been able to achieve the results of Alive. The key is that this novel is selling better and better. After thirty years of sales, the annual sales volume is always surpassed by most works. Incomprehensible numbers.

The three of them chatted for about half an hour. The Piano Youth Band came over to rehearse, and Zhou Yan took Yu Hua and the others to listen to the music for a while.

After listening for a while, Zhou Yan's pager received Hua Yang's message, so he told Yu Hua and the others, and returned to the office to call Hua Yang back.

After the call was connected, Zhou Yan asked, What's the matter, Mr. Hua?

Good news. Neon Shueisha has contacted us and wants to publish a novel for you. If you are interested, I will give them your phone number.

Zhou Yan raised his eyebrows. It turned out to be Shuyingshe, and they should be the ones who went to find Yu Hua and Shi Tiesheng.

Well, no problem, just give them my contact information. If they can contact me this afternoon, give them the phone number of my studio office.

You are in the studio now.

Well, I called you from the office.

Okay, no problem, I'll tell them to contact you directly.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yan returned to the practice room. About half an hour later, Xiao Li came over and told Zhou Yan that a call came in. He nodded and went to the office to answer the phone.

Hello.

The other party heard Zhou Yan's voice and said with a smile, Hello, Mr. Zhou Yan, I am Chen Hongheng, the client of Neon Shueisha. Shueisha has entrusted me to contact you, hoping to publish Tree Hole for you. , The Death of the Mayor and The Knife in Clear Water are three novels.

Zhou Yan asked directly, Have you already contacted Yu Hua and Shi Tiesheng?

Yes, Mr. Zhou Yan, I have indeed contacted Mr. Yu Hua and Mr. Shi Tiesheng, and have reached a preliminary cooperation intention with them. Shueisha's idea is to make a collection of novels specifically for the three of you, Mr. Yu Hua The one there includes Going Away at the Age of Eighteen and Mistakes by the River, and Mr. Shi Tiesheng's side includes Life is Like a Piano String and My Distant Qingping Bay.

Zhou Yan asked directly, How many years will the contract be signed, how much will the royalties be, and how much will be the first printing?

Chen Hongheng quickly replied, Sign for ten years, and the royalties will be 10%, including 5% for you, 3% for Mr. Yu Hua, 2% for Mr. Shi Tiesheng, and the first printing will be 30,000 copies.

Ten years is too long, ten percent is too little, and the first printing of 30,000 copies is too little.

Chen Hongheng explained, In the Neon market, the royalty rate is basically 10%, and the first printing is 30,000 copies... If you think it is less, you can mention 40,000 copies.

Zhou Yan knew that the normal royalty rate was 10%, and the better ones could be as high as 11% or 12%.

But the reason why Shueisha wanted to make this collection was mainly because of the gimmick. The previous video tape of them in Jiangjun Tuo sold well, and Zhou Yan is famous, so the sales of this book will naturally not be too bad. .

Shueisha is originally a comprehensive publishing house, and they will not do business that does not make money.

Now it was Shueisha who took the initiative to find them. In this case, Zhou Yan was not satisfied with this condition.

He thought for a while and directly made an offer, Sign for five years, first print 80,000 copies, royalties are based on ten points, and for every additional 100,000 copies sold, one point will be raised, up to 16%. If Shueisha meets this condition, If you agree, then there’s no problem; if you don’t agree, forget it.”

Chen Hongheng was silent because he couldn't make the decision because of the conditions Zhou Yan mentioned.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Hongheng said, Then I will contact Shueisha first to see if they are willing to agree to this condition.

Okay, you go and ask, my conditions are not very high.

Well, I'll reply as soon as possible.

It doesn't matter whether it's fast or not. If they don't want to, Mr. Chen, you can persuade them. Tell them about the reputation of Yu Hua and Shi Tiesheng in the country, and let me tell you a piece of news, Yu Hua's novel is adapted from The movie Alive of the same name is currently participating in the Cannes International Film Festival, and it is very likely to win. The award will be announced in two days, but by then, this condition may not be met.

Okay, I understand, I will definitely try my best to persuade them.

After Chen Hongheng said this, he suddenly felt a little weird. He was obviously entrusted by Shueisha and received money from Shueisha. Why did he feel like he was helping Zhou Yan negotiate with Shueisha?

Hey, it doesn’t matter who you help, the main thing is to promote their cooperation.

After Chen Hongheng hung up Zhou Yan's phone, he quickly contacted Shueisha.

When they first heard about this condition, Shueisha disagreed. They thought it was a bit high. Tiered royalties were indeed feasible, but the maximum could only be raised to 14%, and the first printing dropped from 80,000 to 60,000.

At this time, Chen Hongheng started to show his talents. He told Shueisha that Alive was participating in the film festival, and told them that Alive was likely to win an award this year.

Shueisha got the news and quickly went to verify it.

Confirming that the news was true, Shueisha also decisively agreed to this condition.

Of course, they are not sure whether Alive will win the award at the Cannes Film Festival, but they are willing to take a gamble, and the stake is not high, but they only increase the ladder royalty by two points, and the first printing is 20,000 more Just a book.

If the movie Alive can really achieve success at the Cannes Film Festival, this effort will be nothing at all.

When Chen Hongheng called Zhou Yan again, Zhou Yan and the others had finished listening to the music, returned to the office, and were discussing where to go for dinner in the evening.

Let's go eat hotpot mutton tonight, I know a family...

Halfway through Zhou Yan's words, the phone rang.

I'll take a call.

Zhou Yan picked up the phone and said, Hello.

Chen Hongheng's happy voice came from the opposite side, Mr. Zhou Yan, originally Shueisha did not agree to your conditions and insisted on only giving 10% of the royalties and a first printing of 40,000 copies. But after my unremitting efforts, it was finally They changed their minds. Now they have agreed to your request, but how do you think you will divide the subsequent increase in the tiered royalties? Will the extra be counted as yours?

No, no matter how much the royalties are, they will be divided according to the original proportion, 50%, 30%, 20%. Zhou Yan said.

Okay, then I will confirm with Mr. Yu Hua and Mr. Shi Tiesheng. If they have no problems, I will draw up the contract and we can sign it at some time.

Don't bother me, they're all here.

As he spoke, Zhou Yan turned on the speakerphone and waved to Yu Hua and Shi Tiesheng.

Yu Hua pushed Shi Tiesheng to the phone.

Who? Yu Hua asked.

Chen Hongheng said on the other end of the phone, Mr. Yu Hua, Mr. Shi Tiesheng, I am Chen Hongheng. I have contacted you before.

Oh, Mr. Chen.

Just call me Xiao Chen, that's it...

Chen Hongheng then told Yu Hua and the others the terms they had negotiated with Zhou Yan. Of course, Yu Hua and the others had no objections to this terms.

Although Zhou Yan accounts for the majority of the royalties, it is normal. Not to mention that Shueisha is mainly for Zhou Yan's fame. In this collection, Zhou Yan's novels also account for the highest proportion of length. This share ratio is basically the same as the number of words. consistent.

After confirming that there were no problems, they made an appointment to sign the contract in a few days. When he was about to hang up the phone, Zhou Yan asked again, What is the name of our collection? Has it been decided yet?

Shueisha has decided on the Collection of Excellent Chinese Novels. If you have other ideas, you can put them forward. Chen Hongheng said.

Zhou Yan looked at Yu Hua and the others and said, Let's discuss it and give you an answer later.

Okay, I'll wait for your news.

After hanging up the phone, Yu Hua curled his lips and said with a smile, Are we now a team like Xiao Wang and others?

Shi Tiesheng rolled his wheelchair towards the coffee table, I've only heard of bands forming groups, but I've never heard of writers having groups.

It can't be said that there is no such thing. In the past, the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties and the Four Great Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty were all combinations, weren't they?

Those are all names given by future generations.

It's such a serious combination, how is that possible? Yu Hua said.

In fact, Zhou Yan had actually heard of such a thing as a writer's group. Later, Rao Xueman, who wrote about youth trauma literature, formed a writer's group with two other female writers.

At that time, this group was quite a gimmick, claiming to be the first writers group, and Zhou Yan also paid attention to it.

Later, the group quickly disbanded, but there was a lot of excitement when they were together. When they disbanded, Zhou Yan didn't hear much news. Maybe many people don't know that Rao Xueman also formed a group with others.

When a writer creates a group, it's just a fool's errand, and it's mostly just for gimmicks.

Yu Hua only mentioned the group because he found it interesting. (End of chapter)