Chapter 168: Across 20,000 Miles, No One Dare Disobey
Hong Kong Island, Sai Wan, Tallang Literary Publishing House.
Pei Wencong sat in the brand new boss chair, crossed his legs, and his brand new leather shoes were shaking, making him look three parts proud and three parts comfortable.
However, if an observant psychologist saw Pei Wencong's appearance, he would find that there was a hint of anxiety hidden in his actions.
Within ten minutes, Pei Wencong's boss chair turned seven times, and his right hand unconsciously touched his left wrist four times.
Pei Wencong was wearing a newly bought Rolex on his left wrist.
It is a real Rolex worth 60,000 Hong Kong dollars, not a fake one that costs only a few thousand dollars and can be broken into pieces by a strong slap.
As the saying goes, money can solve 99% of problems, including "face".
A few months ago, Pei Wencong would spend fifteen minutes dressing himself up every day before going out. He would wear a neat suit, polish his leather shoes, and polish his shabby Corolla over and over again, trying to save face when dealing with people.
However, the other party's hypocritical smile and Pei Wencong's own uneasiness made him realize that forced face is not real face.
Money is a man's courage. This statement is definitely extreme, but it does make some sense.
A wise person with a strong heart can ignore the vanity of money, but in this world, there are still more vulgar people, right?
So when he had money in his pocket, Pei Wencong immediately changed his appearance to verify whether this sentence was correct.
It turns out that's basically correct.
First of all, Pei Wencong himself has the confidence, and those partners are obviously much more enthusiastic about him. Even if Pei Wencong despises the other party's snobbery in his heart, he cannot deny that he feels happy about it.
For a moment, Pei Wencong was in high spirits and felt like he was only one step away from joining the elite class of Hong Kong Island.
But just a month ago, there was a sudden change in the market in Hong Kong Island. Several "masterpieces" on the same subject as "The North Wind Flying" were suddenly launched on the market.
Pei Wencong had been mentally prepared to some extent, because the degree of commercialization of literature in Hong Kong is very high. Once a certain subject becomes popular, there will be many followers, which is neither surprising nor shameful.
But the fact that several well-known writers published their works at the same time was beyond Pei Wencong's expectations and made him feel strong pressure.
Not to mention how famous those writers are, the strength of the publishing houses behind them is so strong that Pei Wencong is under a lot of pressure.
Shulian Sales is very sensitive to the market and immediately notified Pei Wencong to respond.
As for how to deal with it, Pei Wencong was left to figure it out on his own.
Therefore, Pei Wencong urgently notified Seven Inch Blade in the north, asking him to pay attention to this situation and make the subsequent story more exciting.
This is almost as embarrassing as saying "I am small and weak and cannot withstand the storm."
But seeing that he was about to gain wealth and encountered an uncertain crisis, how could Pei Wencong care about his face?
[Give me another three months, even two months.]
Pei Wencong was helpless. As long as there were two more months of expansion and development, the account of the Talang Literary Society would have a surplus of hundreds of thousands or even millions of Hong Kong dollars. He could then use some market competition tactics to compete with those competitors.
But now, he really has no power.
It started raining outside the window again. The deep, winding cracks on the cramped gray building wall ten meters away were so irritating.
"Amin, hasn't the report for Book Union's sales this month been sent over yet?"
Pei Wencong turned around and shouted at the clerk Amin.
Today is the day when Shulian Sales distributes reports to its partners. All merchants cooperating with them will receive the sales data of their products in the previous month.
If sales were good last month, promotion efforts will be intensified this month. If sales were not good, the consequences are self-evident.
The reason why Pei Wencong was so anxious today was also related to this report. After all, within a few days after the report was released, the share of the sales of the book association would be transferred to the account of the Talang Literary Society.
That's real money!
"Not yet, boss. You've asked me three times this morning," Amin looked at Pei Wencong and said with a smile, "According to the results of our market research, this month should still be okay! Boss, don't be too anxious."
"How can I be anxious? I'm just bored!"
Pei Wencong naturally would not admit that he was nervous, and he remained stubborn.
A boss must never show weakness in front of his employees. Even if he is so nervous that his legs are shaking, he must remain calm and composed.
"Boss, if you are bored, why don't you write a review and criticize that South Korean named Park? Aren't you a graduate of the Chinese Department of Hong Kong University who is just worthy of your reputation?"
Ah Qiang, who was sorting out the layout with his head down, said something to Pei Wencong in a low voice.
A few days ago, an immigrant from South Korea plagiarized "North Wind Flying" and published it in a small magazine.
He just changed the names of the main and supporting characters, and didn't bother to change the rest of the plot, let alone the sentences and paragraphs.
But he actually said that this almost identical thing came from the historical data of the South Korean people. It's really infuriating.
A Qiang is also a short-tempered editor. He immediately wrote a comment to curse the other person. Unfortunately, the other person's pen was stronger than his, and he cursed back at him, which made A Qiang speechless.
So he kept instigating Pei Wencong to engage in a war of words with the other party. Pei Wencong's writing style was very good, but he had been busy with business in recent years and had neglected it.
"A Qiang, there are different levels of verbal battles. Your verbal battle with Mr. Pu is on par with others. I, Pei Wencong, am from Kaipingzhi. If I pay any attention to him, I would be lowering my status."
Pei Wencong looked at Aqiang with contempt and raised his chin proudly.
Ah Qiang suddenly got angry and retorted with the same contempt: "How come you are better than me? Is there a hierarchy among people? Don't forget that your Mercedes was bought second-hand by me, what are you so proud of?"
"A Mercedes is a Mercedes, even a used Mercedes is still a Mercedes."
Pei Wencong smiled contemptuously, not feeling ashamed at all. Isn't a second-hand Mercedes a luxury car? Besides, I'm wearing a Rolex on my arm! You, Aqiang, are too lazy to even trim your hair. Are you on the same level as me?
"You are so stingy. You promised to raise our salary, but it has been three months and you still haven't raised it. But you bought a Rolex for show.
Don't think I don't know that you secretly saved money. We work hard for you every day, but you treat us like this."
A Qiang angrily left his work and was about to have a good fight with Pei Wencong.
He has followed Pei Wencong for many years and has never complained no matter how hard or tiring the work is. Their relationship is not that of an ordinary boss and employee. They don't feel any psychological pressure when they have a quarrel.
"I'm the boss. Do I need your approval for how I spend and save money?"
Pei Wencong was also a little angry. He did have some money saved but it was 20% of Li Ye's money. As a man, you should keep your word.
Amin made a cup of coffee with a smile and stood aside to watch the fun. However, just after taking two sips, the old fax machine in the office started to squeak.
"Stop arguing, stop arguing. Here comes a fax from Book Union Sales."
Whether it was the angry Aqiang or the proud and show-off Pei Wencong, they all ran to the fax machine and looked at the papers spitting out of the fax machine bit by bit, feeling extremely nervous.
We are all insiders and we all know the importance of this data.
Before he had even finished working out a reconciliation sheet, Aqiang was already staring at the numbers in a daze.
He couldn't help but ask, "How can there be so many? Did the accounting department of Book Union Sales make a mistake?"
Amin said happily, "How could the accounting of Book Union Sales be wrong? At least they are graduates of the University of Hong Kong. This is the money our club deserves."
"But there shouldn't be this many, right? This is more than last month. Ouch!"
Aqiang felt a sudden burning pain at the back of his head.
Looking back, Pei Wencong was holding a thick magazine in his hand. He was obviously very angry and grabbed something at hand and threw it down.
"Can you stop being such a pessimist? If you say one more word, I'll dock your salary for three months and make you eat for free all day."
Hong Kong Island is a place where superstition is rife and people want to get a good start before doing anything. Ah Qiang's subconscious mumbling to himself offended Pei Wencong's taboo.
A Qiang also knew that he was in the wrong, so he simply gave up the seat in front of the fax machine and went to draw his own cartoon out of spite.
Amin and Pei Wencong looked at the fax machine silently, waiting for the report transmission to be completed.
But today's report was completely different from the previous ones. It kept squeaking for a long time but still didn't finish.
Looking at several densely packed data reports, Amin looked at Pei Wencong in shock.
Pei Wencong closed his eyes, tilted his head back and faced the ceiling. After a long while, he said, "It should be because the overseas sales have exploded. The sales in Malaysia, Singapore and the east side of the Straits have far exceeded our expectations."
Amin was a little skeptical. After all, only a few well-known writers were famous in the surrounding Chinese-speaking areas and could call on readers to spend money.
Seven Inch Blade has just made his mark in Hong Kong Island, and many places have not heard of his name yet!
Finally, Amin couldn't help but ask, "Why?"
“Because of recognition, recognition of the flower-growing civilization.”
Amin seemed to see a strange halo on Pei Wencong's face.
"Lion City, Malaysia, Hong Kong Island. Although these places are far away from the mainland, they are more prosperous, more advanced, and more open-minded than them today.
But no one can deny that we all share the same roots and civilization.
No matter which flag we stand under to take the oath or sing the national anthem, we all agree with the special color of our skin, eyes, and hair from the bottom of our hearts.
Even if some people try to argue, these characteristics are blood marks that can never be erased."
Amin frowned and thought for a long time, then shook his head and asked, "But what does this have to do with the huge sales of "North Wind Flying"?"
Pei Wencong smiled and said, "Amin, do you know what Mu Qiang is?"
Amin smiled and said, "Women envy men for their strong side. We women all hope to have a strong man to protect us and keep us safe from the wind and rain."
"Not only that, admiration for the strong is the awe and envy of all the weak towards the strong."
Pei Wencong pointed to the north and said sincerely: "When I was in college, I came into contact with some things that were not in the textbooks.
Over the past several thousand years, no matter how many dynasties have changed in the mainland, it has always had a strong ruling power and influence over the land of East Asia.
All people within 20,000 miles north and south had to bow down to the northern dynasty and were influenced by their culture. Once an order was issued, no one dared to disobey.
The height of the roof of the South Korean royal palace was restricted by the mainland dynasty and could not be higher than one centimeter. Can you believe it?"
Pei Wencong smiled and continued, "The mainland has become weaker recently, but how could the influence of thousands of years of history disappear just like that?"
"As long as there are places where Chinese is spoken, this kind of identification with history, ancestors and strong people will never die out.
The powerful Tang Dynasty described in "North Wind Flying" has quietly and quietly conquered this land again! "
"From now on, you don't need to worry about it," Pei Wencong chuckled again and said, "If those authors don't agree with it wholeheartedly, they can't write works like "North Wind Flying", and they will eventually fall behind."
. . . . . .
At 4:30 in the afternoon, Pei Wencong was sitting by the phone at the publishing house, doing nothing.
This was the regular call time he and Li Ye agreed on. They would call once a week to exchange information and needs.
If there is no call this week, it means that Li Ye does not have any urgent needs and the call can be postponed to next week.
This put Pei Wencong in a passive position. If there was anything urgent, he would either have to go through Blue Ocean Publishing House or wait for Li Ye to call.
After a period of contact, Pei Wencong changed his original opinion.
Although Blue Ocean Publishing House attached great importance to Pei Wencong, their style of doing things was too conservative and they had too many rules and regulations. This seven-inch blade gradually got along well with Pei Wencong.
"Ding-ling-ling~"
The phone rang on time. Pei Wencong picked up the receiver and heard a familiar voice.
"The call may be disconnected at any time, so I'll make it short," Li Ye said steadily, "First, buy me some of the latest books and magazines on finance and economics, and send them to me through Blue Ocean Publishing House."
"Second, there may be a novel called "Hometown Lonely Soldier" submitted to your publishing house recently. Please arrange for the serialization as soon as possible."
"third."
Pei Wencong listened to Li Ye patiently, and then quickly expressed his anxiety: "Mr. Li, the situation I told you about last time has become more and more serious recently.
I haven’t received your follow-up manuscript yet, so I wonder if there is anything new in the plot?”
Li Ye said, "In this situation, do you think you can crush your opponent with just a wonderful plot?"
Pei Wencong said with some shame: "I know, I know. I will increase the marketing efforts. I just got this month's sales report, and there should be some surplus funds."
"No, no propaganda method can compare to the author's diligence."
Li Ye said coldly: "I sent you a manuscript of 200,000 words. You can publish it as a supplement or a single volume. Just give it to me. Roll them to death."
"A large amount to satisfy your hunger? Roll to death"
Pei Wencong didn't quite understand what Li Ye was talking about, and felt that he was talking about eating.
[Does this Seven-inch Blade like to eat pancakes? In the north, there seems to be pancakes with green onions. ]
Pei Wencong asked tentatively: "Mr. Li, if I understand correctly, do you mean to starve them to death?"
"Yes, you understood it correctly. Just starve them to death."
(End of this chapter)
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