“Cheng Ge, do you think he’ll agree?”
Xiao Hua felt a bit anxious. She thought HK$50,000 for the buyout was reasonable. Coming from a humble background, she knew that ordinary people in Hong Kong rarely bought novels. They would at most buy pirated ones for cheaper, nothing else.
Influenced by their environment and economy, Hong Kong people were among the most frugal people in the world. They worked hard in factories every day, but their earnings were meager, while prices were not cheap. Otherwise, why would the two-dish meals at Chan’s General Store be so popular? They naturally weren’t willing to spend more money on reading novels. They barely had time for it, constantly struggling for a living.
At most, they would read newspapers or listen to the radio, borrowing one from others. These were their greatest entertainment options.
Zheng Bai Cheng didn’t care about this. He said, “If he doesn’t agree, we can find someone else. This is a one-off deal. Once they buy it, it’s only for five years. If they can’t make their money back in five years, then what kind of publishing house is it? They might as well shut down.”
Xiao Hua was still young. She listened to Zheng Bai Cheng when he spoke.
“After lunch, let’s start writing. We’ve finished the first three volumes of Star Wars. We need to finish the rest quickly. New Year’s Day is only a few days away.”
Zheng Bai Cheng was looking at the calendar, calculating the time. At that moment, there was a knock at the door, interrupting his thoughts. Xiao Hua was about to get up, but Zheng Bai Cheng motioned her to stay seated. He went to open the door himself. It was Za Huo Qiang, who seemed to be in a good mood when he saw Zheng Bai Cheng open the door.
“Old Bean, you’re out.” It was a statement. Seeing Za Huo Qiang’s joyful expression, he knew there was good news.
Za Huo Qiang laughed and scolded, “You little rascal, I wouldn’t be running around like this if it weren’t for your business.”
He walked straight in. Seeing Xiao Hua standing in the living room, he smiled even wider and said, “Xiao Hua, come and sit down. I went to your house just now, and I talked to your father about the betrothal. I… We’ve decided to have your engagement on Christmas… Your future in-laws wanted me to stay for dinner, but I declined. I came back to tell the two of you. Hahaha…”
Za Huo Qiang kept talking excitedly. Perhaps the news of his son’s engagement had lifted a weight off his mind. In Hong Kong, the legal marriage age was sixteen, but Zheng Bai Cheng felt that was too young. He disagreed. With that settled, Za Huo Qiang wanted them to get engaged first. After all, they were a young man and woman, and being together without a commitment would attract gossip and damage the girl’s reputation. Xiao Hua’s family was also worried, so they wanted to settle things sooner. It would also fulfill the wishes of both families.
Xiao Hua’s family was short of money. Although Xiao Hua was a good student, she was a girl after all. It was better to invest in her brother to give him a better future.
In Hong Kong, it was unclear if they valued sons more than daughters or daughters more than sons. They longed for daughters, especially beautiful daughters, who could marry into wealthy families and bring them good fortune. But when they had sons, they hoped they would bring glory to their ancestors and make a career, changing the family’s circumstances.
Zheng Bai Cheng, despite being from mainland China, was talented, and talent meant wealth. He was also Za Huo Qiang’s adopted son. Za Huo Qiang had no offspring or relatives. Sooner or later, all his assets would belong to Zheng Bai Cheng. A surefire future star in Hong Kong. It was naturally clear to Xiao Hua’s rational parents, and they were happy in their hearts.
They hadn’t expected their daughter to benefit from misfortune. They had learned about their daughter’s experience at school from their son. They had been angry at first, but now they felt it was a good thing. They were even thankful that they had given birth to a beautiful daughter.
Whether people acknowledged it or not, those born with good looks often had higher success rates in many things, especially in the marriage market. Although he wouldn’t admit it, Zheng Bai Cheng was also a member of the “lookism” club.
That day, Zheng Bai Cheng went to a nearby restaurant to celebrate. Za Huo Qiang said it was too extravagant, and Xiao Hua also thought it was too expensive. But Zheng Bai Cheng said it didn’t matter. He had money, so he was going to splurge.
Xiao Hua didn’t say anything, but seeing Zheng Bai Cheng celebrating like this, she was very happy inside. Za Huo Qiang was also extremely happy. This son was perfect in every way. Not only was he talented, but he was also filial. He didn’t disrespect Za Huo Qiang when he became famous and wealthy. He was still the same as before.
“Ah Cheng, when are you and Xiao Hua going to have a son? I’ll help take care of him. I’ll be happy staying at home then. Hehe…”
Xiao Hua’s face flushed. Zheng Bai Cheng also felt a little embarrassed. He said, “We’ll definitely have a son for you to play with in two years. You and Xiao Hua can wait.”
“You little rascal, you only talk. Don’t come home tonight.” Za Huo Qiang laughed and scolded him.
Zheng Bai Cheng looked at this old rascal and thought, Are you serious? I’m still young. I’m a baby. Xiao Hua almost buried her head in the ditch. The blush had spread to her ears, making her look adorable.
The three of them had a very happy meal at the restaurant. When they got home that night, Xiao Hua even asked Zheng Bai Cheng if he wanted to stay overnight, which made him very embarrassed. He said, “After we get engaged.”
Two days later, Zheng Bai Cheng called the other party. Liu Chang Sheng was at the hotel. He had received confirmation from the headquarters. Twenty thousand for twenty thousand. Three regions of distribution for twenty thousand was reasonable, actually.
What Zheng Bai Cheng might not know was that these publishers often sold both legal and pirated versions. They understood that there weren’t many people who would buy the legal version, but pirated ones wouldn’t be a problem. This allowed them to reduce the royalties paid to authors, who were also willing to sell their copyrights. They knew this reason to some extent. Otherwise, the publishing houses would only give them a meager income, making them unable to make ends meet.
However, this time, they had to buy the entire package because they hadn’t technically crossed the line before. Now that they had this authorization, they could sell both the legal and pirated versions.
On the phone, Zheng Bai Cheng insisted that they pay the entire amount upfront, not in installments. The reason was simple: he was afraid of not receiving the final payment. He also said on the phone, “Mr. Liu, I have another novel. You probably know about it. It’s called The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Would you be interested in considering it?”
“We thought the same thing. I asked the headquarters about it immediately. Under the same conditions, we are willing to buy it.”
Once they agreed on everything, there were no problems. At the same time, Zheng Bai Cheng informed the two newspapers, Commercial Daily and City Daily. He asked them to come together because the novel was not yet finished, and they needed to negotiate a few things.