Chapter 123 Selling Lies to the Japs
Just when Liu Hongmin was thinking this, Yang Guiren suddenly came to visit him.
"Brother Ren, you have a really good nose! You noticed it the moment I started writing?"
Yang Guiren was stunned for a moment. "You just started writing. Are you going to write a new novel?"
"You don't know?" Liu Hongmin asked in confusion, "Then what do you want from me?"
Since "The Devotion of Suspect X" became a big hit among the Japanese, Yang Guiren has been very busy. Even the contract for the fourth part of "Justice Bao" was signed by Huang Qiang. Now he suddenly came to visit, if it wasn't for "White Night Walk", then there must be something big.
Yang Guiren took out a copy of "Human Name Literature", which was the special issue that published "Lies".
“I’m here for it.”
Liu Hongmin looked at him strangely, "You want to publish "Lies" in Hong Kong?"
Yang Guiren couldn't help feeling proud when he saw that Liu Hongmin didn't guess his intention.
"Not just Xiangjiang, but also the Southern Dynasty and the devils."
"Are you sure?" Liu Hongmin's face became even more strange. "Lies" speaks ill of the Japanese again."
"It's not a big problem!" Yang Guiren said, "We have reached a cooperation with Random House. This time we will use their channels and it will definitely be available in Japan."
Liu Hongmin nodded. Random House is a big bookseller in the United States, with distribution channels all over the world. With Random House on the side, the Japanese would definitely not dare to stop it. However, it is hard to say whether readers will buy it or not.
Yang Guiren: "We have already reached an agreement with Random House. They highly praised "Lies" and believed that the Japanese people must know the truth. As a condition, they can translate your suspense novel into English and sell it all over the world."
Liu Hongmin was stunned. Is there such a good thing?
His books should not be popular in the English-speaking world. How can Random House do such a loss-making business? Is there any trickery involved?
"What do they want?"
Yang Guiren whispered, "I feel strange too. The representative from Random House said that the Japanese have been experiencing a surge in national sentiment lately, and they hope to suppress it."
Liu Hongmin understood immediately. It turned out that the American father was trying to scare his son by seeing him making a fuss. "Lies" is based on real history and is considered to be evidence of the Japanese invasion. As long as the Japanese doves use this book, they can suppress the arrogance of the hawks.
This can also be regarded as a warning from Mei Daddy. If the eldest son continues to make trouble, Mei Daddy will take ruthless measures.
Liu Hongmin hesitated for a moment, "Will this affect the sales of my next book?"
Yang Guiren said cunningly: "Let's change our pen names."
Liu Hongmin raised the corner of his mouth. As long as "Lies" could be published by the Japanese, changing the identity would be a piece of cake.
The two discussed the details, and then Liu Hongmin reminded: "We have to inform Random House about this. If they find out, we will be just trying to cover up our mistakes."
"Leave this to me, but what about the mainland?"
Liu Hongmin: "Leave the mainland to me, I will definitely strictly block the news."
The single volume of "Lies" has been handed over to the Beijing University Press, and he only needs to tell the Beijing University Press. As for whether the Japanese saw it here and reported it back to China, it depends on whose propaganda channels are stronger. With the American father around, it is not certain whether the eldest son dares to publicize this matter!
Yang Guiren: "Justice Bao is watched by TV viewers, so I didn't list it as a co-authored book. Shao Bao, The Great Song Dynasty Judge, The Ming Dynasty 1566, The Devotion of Suspect X, and Lies. Random House has agreed, and now we just need to sign the contract."
Liu Hongmin: "How much is the royalty?"
"15%," Yang Guiren said, "Because it's a three-party collaboration, it's a little less. Sanlian Publishing House can only get 10% of the profit. After deducting the cost, the rest goes to Random House."
"Random House has the channels, and they are willing to give 25%, which is quite sincere." Liu Hongmin asked: "When will Sanlian be able to build global channels?"
Yang Guiren smiled bitterly and said, "You really think highly of us. How can Sanlian compare to the United States standing behind Random House?"
Liu Hongmin pointed to the north and said, "Sanlian can also find a backer!"
Yang Guiren was thoughtful. Although the mainland is not developed now, it is still a big country. Since the founding of the country, it has fought many wars and has never lost. The powerful United States and the Soviet Union could not make it surrender. If it had her support, it would at least be much stronger than it is now.
President Zou has already realized this, but the current international situation does not allow Sanlian to rely on the mainland.
After all, Hong Kong is still under British management, and they cannot take any open actions.
Liu Hongmin was just giving a suggestion. After the Iron Lady falls next year, too much capital will flee from Hong Kong, almost hollowing out this international city.
The next day, Liu Hongmin went to Sanlian Publishing House and signed a tripartite agreement with representatives of Random House, authorizing the English version of his book to Random House.
After sending the Random House representative away, Yang Guiren invited Liu Hongmin to his office. He took out a new contract and said, "Brother Liu, tell me about your new book!"
Liu Hongmin looked at the letter of intent speechlessly, "Do we still need to sign this?"
Yang Guiren said, "Of course not, but you have to sign this. This time we are cooperating with Random House, and Sanlian is going to promote it in a big way. The president heard that you are writing a new novel, so he has this letter of intent to add some fuel to the promotion."
"All right!"
Liu Hongmin flipped through the contract and found no problems, so he signed it.
Yang Guiren put the contract aside and asked, "What is the subject of this novel?"
"'White Night Walk' is also a mystery novel." Liu Hongmin roughly recounted the plot of "White Night Walk".
Yang Guiren was delighted. This story was similar to "The Devotion of Suspect X" and was very suitable for the Japanese market. It seemed that he could earn a large bonus again this time.
“How long will it take to finish writing?”
"I just started writing, so I have to wait until the New Year."
"so long?"
"Boss, can't you wait for more than a month?"
"I wish you would finish it now."
Liu Hongmin smiled and said, "Wait for my call! I'll need you to go to Beijing when the time comes."
"completely fine!"
For the sake of the bonus, he would have no problem going to Beijing, let alone Mount Everest.
After New Year's Day, the box office of "New Shaolin Temple" dropped by 50%. However, relying on the previous accumulation, the box office still reached 1800 million after half a month of release. Although it will be closed in a few days, the filming has been severely reduced, and it is difficult to reach 2000 million.
Sure enough, the box office of "New Shaolin Temple" just exceeded 1900 million.
Tomorrow the film companies all feel very sorry, but from the outside world's point of view, this is already a very scary data. You know, the second place in the box office in 82 was only 1793 million. As long as it doesn't encounter a monster like "Best Partner", "New Shaolin Temple" has a chance to compete for the top spot in the box office in 83.
(End of this chapter)
