Chapter 29: Fifteen Thousand Hong Kong Dollars
As a novel adapted from a TV series, Shao Bao is easy to adapt into a TV series. Adding branches and roles to the main plot will not affect the watchability of Shao Bao as long as the scale is not large. In Hong Kong, where scripts are not well written, it can basically be taken over and filmed, and the adaptation rights will naturally be very valuable.
Moreover, there are only two free TV stations in Hong Kong, TVB and RTV, and the two are constantly fighting. When TVB was preparing to film Justice Bao, RTV naturally set its sights on Justice Bao.
However, RTV does not have Liu Hongmin’s contact information yet, so he did not show up.
Luo Baoming met Liu Hongmin first, which was considered to be a good opportunity. If he waited for RTV to come, the remuneration would definitely increase again.
So, when Liu Hongmin invited him to Uncle Wang's restaurant for dinner again, Luo Baoming said straightforwardly: "Mr. Liu, I came here this time to discuss the contract for the remaining six parts. The price given by Mr. Jin Yong himself is 50 Hong Kong dollars per thousand words."
Liu Hongmin smiled and said, "Mr. Luo, don't worry, let's talk while we eat."
Looking at the Erguotou in Liu Hongmin's hand, Luo Baoming's mouth twitched. The last time he had a meal here, Luo Baoming fell down after two cups, but Liu Hongmin was fine. If he fell down again this time, I'm afraid he would miss the event.
"Mr. Liu, there's no rush for the drinks. The price just now is the highest price Mr. Jin Yong has offered. If you're still not satisfied, I can only go back in disgrace."
After hearing this, Liu Hongmin said, "Fifty Hong Kong dollars per thousand words is actually a good remuneration. However, Mr. Luo, you should know how much of a stir the short package has caused in Hong Kong. If we wait until the stir reaches its peak, this remuneration will not be enough."
Luo Baoming nodded, "Of course I know this."
"Since Mr. Liu knows so much about the situation in Hong Kong, allow me to do the math for you. Famous World can be serialized for ten days, and its influence on Ming Pao can last for about a month. According to our estimate, Ming Pao's sales will increase by 24 Hong Kong dollars this month."
"But this is before the cost is deducted. The cost of printing and paper is almost one-third of the sales. That means 80,000 Hong Kong dollars is gone..."
"There are also bonuses for our staff. Because of our good performance, we can get about 10,000 Hong Kong dollars..."
"The remuneration of other writers has increased. Sales have been good this month, so the remuneration of writers during this period will increase. According to our estimate, the remuneration for this month will increase by at least 20,000 Hong Kong dollars..."
"The performance of Famous World is good, and there are a lot of letters from readers. Mr. Jin Yong has to hire a few employees, and their salary needs to be at least 30,000 Hong Kong dollars..."
Liu Hongmin unscrewed the Erguotou and poured it into Luo Baoming's cup. Seeing this, Luo Baoming knew that Liu Hongmin didn't listen to him at all, so he stopped helplessly and looked at Liu Hongmin.
"Mr. Luo, I don't really understand how to run a business. But it has nothing to do with me. After all, Mr. Jin Yong won't give me a penny of his earnings. All I want is fairness. I want the money my work is worth."
Luo Baoming smiled bitterly and said, "But 50 Hong Kong dollars per thousand words is the maximum I can offer."
Liu Hongmin said calmly: "Fifty Hong Kong dollars per thousand words is not a bad price."
Just when Luo Baoming was happy, Liu Hongmin continued, "But I can only sign a three-part contract with you."
Luo Baoming asked in confusion: "Why is that?" Liu Hongmin: "If I wasn't short of money, I would only sign one."
A few days ago, Zou Shifang brought news that a family in Shichahai wanted to go abroad, so they wanted to sell the courtyard house for 20,000 yuan. Liu Hongmin had more than 7,000 yuan in his hand, and he was still short of more than 10,000 yuan. Selling the serial rights of three novels would bring him nearly 15,000 Hong Kong dollars, which was just enough for him to buy the courtyard house, which was a large house with three entrances.
Compared with Siheyuan, what does a little loss in royalties matter?
But Luo Baoming didn’t know!
He was afraid that Liu Hongmin would go back on his word, so he quickly signed a three-part contract with him. That night, Liu Hongmin got him drunk again and sent him back to the guesthouse unconscious.
The next day, he returned to Hong Kong without stopping, carrying the three volumes of books.
During the few days he was away, the situation in Hong Kong changed again. TVB acted quickly and had already started the project preparation. As long as the money was in place, filming would start immediately. TVB did not miss the adaptation rights, nor did it think of buying the adaptation rights. Instead, it found a book called Three Heroes and Five Gallants, compiled the script according to the records above, and incorporated some exciting cases.
RTV was not to be outdone and contacted Ming Pao directly. However, Mr. Jin Yong was afraid of affecting Luo Baoming, so he kept delaying.
But when Mr. Jin Yong found out that Luo Baoming only brought back contracts for three films, he was a little unhappy. I helped you delay for several days, and I didn't even give face to my friend, and you only signed three films?
Faced with accountability from his boss, Luo Baoming complained bitterly.
"Sir, you don't know! This Liu Hongmin is a stubborn person! He knows that Shao Bao will be more popular, so he won't sign all six series. If he wasn't short of money, he might not even want to sign three and only let us serialize one."
Mr. Jin Yong said speechlessly: "Don't you know to increase his remuneration?"
Luo Baoming stood there awkwardly. Boss, didn’t you set the price at 50 per thousand words?
Perhaps knowing that he was in the wrong, Mr. Jin Yong passed over the matter.
"Do you think Liu Hongmin was lying to us when he said he would give us all the serial rights to Shao Bao's novel?"
"Probably not!" Luo Baoming thought for a moment, "You know, if he doesn't serialize it for Ming Pao, he may not be able to sell the serialization rights. Although our remuneration is a bit low, it is a huge sum of money for mainland China. The housing prices there are very low. If Shao Bao finishes serializing this series, it will be enough for him to buy several houses."
Mr. Jin Yong nodded, thought for a moment and picked up the phone on the desk.
"Manager Huang, weren't you looking for the author of Shao Bao a few days ago? My editor who was on a business trip just came back... Yes... It was him who contacted Liu Hongmin, and he was the only one who knew Liu Hongmin's contact information..."
Mr. Jin Yong hung up the phone and said, "RTV will send someone over in a while, and you can take them to Beijing. RTV will be responsible for the travel allowance."
"Okay, sir!"
Luo Baoming forced a smile. The boss was really stingy! He didn't even want to give him a few hundred yuan in travel allowance. If RTV didn't give him any, he would have made a wasted trip.
In this way, the poor Luo Baoming flew to Beijing again with the representatives of RTV.
(End of this chapter)
