Chapter 128 : The Chaos of Congwen Bookstore Begins
Li Changan injected literary spirit, and soon a familiar voice came from the sound transmission talisman. It was Manager Huang who had been in contact with him all the time, "Young Master Qinglian."
"I've met Manager Huang."
"The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Mr. Qinglian is astonishing. I have been in the bookstore for more than 20 years and I have never seen anyone as good as Mr. Qinglian."
Manager Huang's words were full of praise, "After discussion with the bookstore, we decided to print an initial print of 600,000 copies."
Li Changan raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Six hundred thousand volumes is not too much, but too little.
But there was no sarcasm in Manager Huang's tone. He sincerely thought "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was very good.
But what does 600,000 volumes mean?
"As far as I know, "Butterfly Lovers" has sold at least 2.5 million copies." Li Changan mentioned "Butterfly Lovers".
The implication is self-evident.
My last storybook sold so many copies, and the second one sold 600,000 copies. Isn’t it a bit too underestimated?
Manager Huang heard what Li Changan meant and quickly explained with a smile, "Young Master misunderstood."
"The Butterfly Lovers has a total of more than 100,000 words, and one volume sold for 23 copies. However, the book "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" has more than a million words, and the price negotiated by the bookstore is 120 copies."
"Six hundred thousand copies of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" are worth three million copies of "Butterfly Lovers", and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is still the most disliked martial arts script."
"Young master, it's time to know how seriously we attach importance to "Legend of the Condor Heroes"."
Li Changan nodded at this time. This explanation made sense.
Only 600,000 volumes. Does the bookstore look down on Mr. Jin Yong too much?
"Manager Huang, I wonder what price the bookstore will give?"
Li Changan doesn't have those twists and turns. Six hundred thousand copies won't be enough to sell. The bookstore will print more copies when the time comes, so you don't have to worry about it.
I only care about two things, one is how much literary momentum "Legend of the Condor Heroes" can gather, and the second thing is how much money this story can make.
There is no point in worrying about Wenqi. He can only rely on subsequent sales to gradually expand his influence.
With the background of "Butterfly Lovers", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" should not be ignored at the beginning.
As for the money, "Butterfly Lovers" has brought me 17,250 taels based on 2.5 million copies.
It's nothing to those extremely rich, but to most people, it's money they won't be able to earn in ten lifetimes.
When the Han Dynasty first came into being, money was needed everywhere.
With this amount of money, it should be enough in the short term.
But no one feels too little money, especially in Li Changan's plan, there are many places to use money, otherwise there would be no special gold department.
The financial department will not make much profit in the short term, and will have to make money on its own.
Manager Huang smiled and said, "The bookstore can give you 35% of the total sales volume. This is the price of a master storyteller."
"As far as I know, Master Huaben still has a monthly salary in the bookstore, and he also gets a lot of dividends every year." Li Changan said softly,
"Qinglian has no interest in those things... 40% is the bottom line."
Manager Huang was stunned for a moment, "Sir, wait a moment, I still need to discuss with Shopkeeper Yu."
"Manager Huang, please excuse me. Qinglian is waiting for you." Li Changan nodded.
After waiting for almost a stick of incense,
Manager Huang's voice came again, "According to what Mr. Qinglian said, 40% of the total sales will be in silver! But the bookstore has one more request."
"Manager Huang, please tell me."
"If Mr. Qinglian has new scripts in the future, he must first consider the Cong Bookstore. Only after the Cong Bookstore refuses, can he switch to other bookstores."
Manager Huang told me the conditions put forward by shopkeeper Yu.
The corner of Li Changan's mouth curled up slightly. This text trap is a bit vulgar. What if the bookstore doesn't refuse, but instead uses this to lower my price?
"I can agree to this condition, but there is a prerequisite. If the bids are the same, I will give priority to the bookstore series."
"But if other bookstores offer better offers, I have the right to choose."
Manager Huang was stunned again.
Isn't this Qinglian's mind spinning too fast? She can't control it at all.
Another tug.
Manager Huang carefully considered every word, and finally settled on it with great difficulty.
Qinglian's future Newspeak editions were first tested at the Cong Bookstore. The price quoted by the Congbook Store was five points lower than the price quoted by other bookstores, so Qinglian had the right to choose.
“A pleasure to work with!”
"Happy cooperation!" Li Changan said with a smile, "Also, Manager Huang, please note that "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is a martial arts script, not a martial arts script."
"This word must be changed."
Manager Huang smiled at Qinglian's fuss. Is the difference in one word so important? But he agreed readily, "Don't worry, sir, I will inform the engraving craftsman about this matter."
"Thank you, Manager Huang."
…
Li Changan signed the contract, said goodbye and left the bookstore.
The shopkeeper looked at the thin page of deed in his hand, but felt like he was holding a heavy boulder.
40% of total sales silver!
He couldn't even imagine this number.
That’s the price for a top storyteller.
What's more, there is also a sound transmission talisman that represents the noble status inside the bookstore.
The bookstore's emphasis on Qinglian has reached an unprecedented level.
This is a newcomer who has just released his second novel.
A name popped into the bookstore owner's mind.
Too white!
From Qinglian's body, he saw the shadow of Taibai.
That talented poet who was just starting out and stepped on the master's footsteps to become the most talented poet in the world.
From this point of view, isn’t Qinglian just another Taibai!?
…
The deed was delivered to the headquarters bookstore on the same day.
After Manager Huang got the deed, he immediately assigned the printing task.
For a million-word masterpiece, photoengraving is an extremely arduous task.
Manager Huang did not forget and changed the martial arts script into a martial arts script.
And added a line, "Qinglian defines what martial arts is."
Shortly after the task list was issued, a flying letter quietly left the Cong Bookstore without anyone noticing.
Tongque Bookstore,
A steward surnamed Zhang took the flying book from the boy. After reading it, he couldn't help but smile and shake his head.
"Is this Yu Guangzu's method? The head shopkeeper of the dignified Congdang Bookstore, placing all his bets on a martial arts storybook?"
The subordinate took the flying book handed over by Manager Zhang, and after reading it, he smiled and echoed,
"What martial arts? It's just a martial arts storybook with a different name."
"This Qinglian really dares to write a million-word martial arts script. Even a Zongzheng-level being would not dare to write like this, right?"
Manager Zhang knocked on the table, "Yu Guangzu, I don't know where I found this good seedling of Qinglian."
"The movie "Butterfly Lovers" saved him a lot of life, but the last move was terrible."
"What nonsense is this plan? If you want to use this to change the direction of the situation, it's really a fool's errand."
"The storybook masters within the Cong Bookstore are all in panic..."
Before Manager Zhang finished speaking, a second flying letter was delivered to him.
After reading it, Manager Zhang couldn't help but feel excited. He slammed the table and laughed, "The time has come!"
"How dare Congwen Bureau give the sound transmission talisman to Qinglian."
"After laying so many hidden clues and looking for it for so long, I never expected that Cong Bookstore would expose its shortcomings on its own."
"Is this guy Yu Guangzu in trouble with Chengxin and Congwen Bureau?"
Manager Zhang immediately contacted the general manager of Tongque Bookstore.
Not long after,
The sixteen management-level figures of Tongque Bookstore all entered the state of approaching war.
"A loophole appeared in the Cong Bookstore, and Yu Guangzu himself dug into the roots of the Cong Bookstore."
"Get ready to take action, and we will take this opportunity to bring down the Cong Bookstore!"