Chapter 46
Xu Yanan's life inevitably slid to another extreme.
Sun Yan suddenly withdrew her gaze and turned her attention to Xu Yanan's younger brother.
Xu Yanan became more and more taciturn, and gradually became a "transparent person" in the class.
Correspondingly, Jian Li is becoming more and more eye-catching.
As everyone changed from long sleeves to short sleeves and took off their thick winter clothes, Jian Li's successful weight loss was as surprising as her sudden weight gain.
Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, Jian Li successfully published the first volume of her comic book.
Jiang Rou would always write about the magazine's sales in her letters, which had tripled from just over 100,000 during the Chinese New Year.
In the letter in May, Jiang Rou once again raised the offer to Jian Li.
The original price was thirty dollars, but now it has risen to fifty dollars.
Not only that, Jiang Rou also suggested that the magazine publisher wanted to publish a single volume of the comics.
Jian Li had anticipated the publication of the single volume a long time ago. Her first volume of the comic would be finished in June, so she could take this opportunity to take a month off and then publish the second volume. The timing and rhythm were just right.
As for the revenue from publishing, Jiang Rou suggested that the other party quoted a price of between one thousand and two thousand. Perhaps fearing that Jian Li might think this amount was too little, Jiang Rou gave her a detailed explanation in the letter.
There is no comic book style like Jian Li in the country, so for safety reasons, the first print run is limited to 3,000 copies. The most important thing is that the publishing cost of comics is higher than that of literary works, and the review and version number process also takes a long time.
Of course, this one thousand dollars is just the beginning. If this work sells well, the share of the profits will only go higher when more copies are printed.
Jian Li thought it was acceptable. She and Jiang Rou worked well together. Jiang Rou should have guessed that she was a student. But in their communication, Jiang Rou did not treat her lightly because she was young. Instead, she explained everything clearly every time.
Jian Li, who used to be a corporate slave, knows that it is a rare opportunity to meet a partner with a temper that suits her.
So even though Jiang Rou frankly stated in the letter that several other publishing houses had also tried to contact Jian Li, if nothing unexpected happened, it wouldn't take long for the other party to find her through various channels.
With works in hand and the ability to triple the sales of a mediocre magazine in one go, Jian Li could have chosen a platform with better treatment.
But Jian Li still chose to cooperate with Jiang Rou.
*****
At this moment, in the faraway city of Beijing, there was silence in the Meihua magazine office.
In the past few months, probably because of the popularity of "The Legend of Star Bamboo", "Mei Hua" received a lot of works similar to Jian Li's style. Jiang Rou picked out a few that she thought were good and published them. Although the effect was not as good as Jian Li's, some readers wrote to mention it, saying that they liked a certain short story.
Jiang Rou has officially become a full-time editor from a temporary worker.
In addition to being in charge of Jian Li's novel, she is also in charge of collecting manuscripts for one of the modules of "Charm".
Jiang Rou gave full play to her preferences and all she selected were girls' comics.
This caused dissatisfaction among many veteran editors, and the most dissatisfied was Qin Zhen.
Qin Zhen said loudly in the editor-in-chief's office: "I admit that Jiang Rou is excellent, and I also admit that Zhili's work is indeed in line with the market. But editor-in-chief, I want to ask what the positioning of our magazine is? If everything must be done according to Jiang Rou's wishes, then will we only publish these nutritious sweet water-like things in the future?"
Qin Zhen no longer had the same expression as before. He looked calm and asked, "I just want to know where the magazine will develop in the future."
After losing to Jiang Rou, he didn't feel like he had anything.
From the beginning, he knew that Zhili's work would be popular. But what would it matter if it became popular?
It's just a love story between a man and a woman, and it's just a little pocket money for a little girl.
Can this last?
When Qin Zhen was speaking, the senior editors outside were all listening attentively, waiting for a result.
What Qin Zhen said was also what they wanted to say.
They can neither understand the content of this kind of girls' comics, nor can most people judge whether they are good or bad.
If the magazine really abandons other modules in the future, they might as well leave early and find another way out.
Qin Zhen held his breath and waited for the editor to give an answer.
He felt he couldn't lose.
At least I can hear a definite answer from the editor-in-chief.
The answer is obvious. Although the sales volume has increased temporarily, can Zhili write here for the rest of his life? In other words, for a creator, the best work is just a flash of inspiration.
Who can guarantee that Zhili is not a Zhongyong-type character?
Qin Zhen felt that the editor-in-chief would at least restrict Jiang Rou's rights, such as changing Jiang Rou back to being responsible only for Jian Li's long article.
Magazines have to continue, and they always have to think long-term.
Many editors think this way.
The entire magazine is now divided into two camps: old editors and new editors.
The new editors are led by Jiang Rou, mostly young women who have just graduated. The old editors are led by Qin Zhen, who hope to make the magazine more diverse in style and return to the original passionate comic track.
A new editor said to Jiang Rou angrily, "If it weren't for you, would the magazine have sold 300,000 copies in the past six months? Qin Zhen and the others are so shameless!"
"Jiang Rou, aren't you angry?"
Jiang Rou, who had been concentrating on reviewing the manuscript, said: "I'm not angry."
To be fair, even if Qin Zhen didn't say it, she would have wanted to say it.
It was indeed time for the magazine to undergo a major reshuffle. Jiang Rou felt that the original inclusive style of the magazine was not suitable for future development.
The content is good, but it doesn't leave any fresh memories.
This series by Jian Li undoubtedly shows how huge the market demand for comics is among girls between the ages of 14 and 25.
Jiang Rou thought, if the editor-in-chief gave up the opportunity to change the style, she would have to consider her future. She and Qin Zhen were not a matter of personal likes and dislikes, but a fundamental opposition of styles. This time, either she left or Qin Zhen left, there was no other way.
The editor-in-chief was well aware of the struggles that had been going on within the magazine for some time, and he also knew that Qin Zhen's questions today were the result of several months of brewing.
He smiled bitterly and asked a question that surprised everyone.
"Qin Zhen, do you know how long it takes on average for a comic magazine on the market to go out of business?"
Qin Zhen said nothing. The editor-in-chief raised two fingers and said, "Most comic magazines can only survive for two years."
The editor leaned back and said, "In two years, you think I have the right to choose. Actually, I don't. I know you all graduated from good schools and have a lot of experience. But as the editor-in-chief, I am most concerned about the market."
Zhili's works have won the love of most readers, so he can only move in this direction. For a magazine, what is the long-term and the future? Just survive first and then talk about other things.
Qin Zhen looked at the editor in surprise, his mouth opening and closing but he didn't know what to say.
The editor-in-chief waved his hand and said in a voice that all editors could hear: "Go back."
Qin Zhen returned to his seat silently.
Three days later, three editors left the magazine, including Qin Zhen.
Jiang Rou officially took over the feature module of "Charm".
*****
Before we knew it, the weather was getting warmer and the 1996 college entrance examination arrived as scheduled.
A month in advance, Wang Mengmei was talking about giving Qian Ping some nutritional supplements.
"The last leg of the Long March cannot be wasted."
To be fair, Qian Ping was a worry-free child during the year she was studying here. Wang Mengmei liked her more and more, and hoped that she would have a good result.
The entrance of the high school is crowded with parents at night. The evening self-study for senior high school students lasts three periods until 10:30 pm. Some parents send their children lunch before the evening self-study begins.
Wang Mengmei made a meal for Qian Ping while she was still busy.
We took turns to have delicious fish and meat, and the food was abundant every day.
Qian Ping felt particularly embarrassed. She knew that her aunt was very busy, and she felt warm inside that she still brought her meals even though she was so busy.
Wang Mengmei stuffed her lunch box with roast beef jerky: "Don't worry about anything else. If you have any problems, just come to me or your uncle-in-law. This month, nothing else is as important as yours."
Wang Menglan came three times this month.
Although the mother has no hope for her daughter, she still hopes for the best for her.
It’s just that Wang Menglan was too busy. Every time she came, she looked very haggard and left after not staying for long.
He complained more than anyone else, but the last time he came, he brought a red cloth bag.
"A family in town went to the temple to pray, and when they came back they gave me one. You can give it to her... It doesn't matter if she takes it or not, I don't think there's much hope for her anyway."
Wang Menglan did not accompany her to take the exam, and Wang Mengmei did not encourage her either.
The child is taking an exam, and her sister is not a good-tempered person. If the two of them start arguing, won’t it affect Qian Ping’s mood for the exam?
Soon, the exam time arrived.
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