A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1263 Zhao Meilan visits the TV station! (Please subscribe!)
The first volume of "Ghost Blows Out the Light," titled "The Ancient City of Jingjue," has been completed. The sales of the Gusu Daily have exploded by 50%. The editor is now visiting the Su family every day, hoping to secure a physical book publishing contract for this work.

Hua Shier had not given an answer, but finally the Suzhou Daily couldn't sit still any longer, and the editor-in-chief personally visited them this weekend.

The old president laid the contract out on the Su family's dinner table:
“Teacher Su, I know what you’re thinking, comparing prices from different vendors, right? But our newspaper’s affiliated literary publishing house, although it’s not very big, has excellent distribution channels!”

"As the saying goes, it's better to do what you know than what you don't. We're old acquaintances, so we can discuss your requirements. This is the contract we've drafted. Take a look; according to industry practice, the first print run is 5 copies. You see, the royalties are already quite high."

Hua Shier glanced at it: "10%? I heard that Yu Qiuyu's new book got 15%!"

Su Mingcheng and Su Mingyu, who were watching from the sidelines, suddenly had a feeling of awe and wonder. Could their originally timid and incompetent father have unknowingly become comparable to literary masters?

Hua Shier: As long as I'm shameless, I can compare to Shakespeare. Believe me, you can too!
The old president was sweating profusely, and quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe his brow.
"But you are a newcomer after all. Ten percent is already the maximum for a newcomer. If we increase it any further, it would break the rules of the industry, and it would be difficult for us to do so. How about this, we add a clause: if the sales volume exceeds 10 copies, the excess will be calculated at 12%?"

Hua Shier was delighted to hear this. He had absolute confidence in the sales of "Ghost Blows Out the Light," knowing that the book had sold over 2000 million copies in later generations.

Although he didn't know the data for the year it was released, he figured it couldn't be worse than Pi Zi Cai's "The First Intimate Contact" published in mainland China this year, which sold over a million copies back then.

After feigning a moment's hesitation, Hua Twelve nodded in agreement:

"The president is right. It's better to stick with what you know than to do something new. I trust you won't cheat me. So let's do it this way: 10% royalties, and 12% for more than 100,000 copies!"

The old club president was overjoyed. He took out his pen and began revising the contract, adding the agreed-upon incentive clauses.

After he finished revising it, he showed it to Hua Twelve:
"Teacher Su, if there are no problems, please sign it. I'll go back and make arrangements for the first edition!"

Hua Shier glanced at the contract, then suddenly pressed down on the pen the old president was offering him, a half-smile on his face:

"No rush, you have sharp eyes, can you help me figure out what this line of small print means?"

He pointed to the barely visible words "including tax":
"Article 39 of the Contract Law stipulates that standard clauses must be clearly marked. What you're doing violates the Contract Law! I just said you can't cheat me, and this misunderstanding has happened. Isn't that terrible? By the way, the royalties we're talking about are after-tax, right? I won't do it before tax. I don't usually sleep with people casually!"

The old president's glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose, and his face immediately turned red.

"It's a misunderstanding! It's definitely a misunderstanding! It must be that one of our employees didn't notice when printing the contract. He quickly crossed out the clauses with his pen, and we'll pay the tax separately!"

After signing the contract, the old president even declined Hua Shier's invitation to stay for dinner and left in a hurry. As soon as he stepped out the door, Hua Shier spat:
"That old fox is trying to trick me again!"

Su Mingcheng stepped forward with an awkward smile: "Dad, how much money will you make this time?"

Hua Shier rolled his eyes: "You're a complete idiot, you've wasted your education. Go look at the contract yourself!"

Just then, the phone rang. Su Mingyu answered it, said a few words, then hung up and turned to say:
"Dad, my older brother said they're on vacation and will be coming back tomorrow to spend their summer break. He asked if there's anything you want, and he'll bring it back for you from Beijing!"

Hua Shier casually said, "I heard that the princess is also divorced. Why don't you have him bring the princess back to me? I'm single too!"

Su Mingyu:
Su Mingcheng:
They both felt that their father had become too unrestrained since the divorce.

If Hua Shier knew what they were thinking, he would definitely chuckle and tell them that they just hadn't seen Su Daqiang from the original story. Once they had, they would know what it truly means to let loose.

Su Mingyu had no choice but to tell Su Mingzhe on the other end of the phone that her father didn't want anything, but she did want some things. She then listed several items, most of which were for studying, such as books and workbooks.

Upon hearing her say this, Su Mingcheng quickly replied, "Tell my older brother, I want to too."

Before he could finish speaking, Su Mingyu hung up the phone.

Su Mingcheng immediately became anxious:
"Su Mingyu, you've gone too far! You asked my brother for something, and you hung up the phone as soon as I mentioned it. What do you mean by that?"

Su Mingyu chuckled softly:
"You're a grown man, and you still ask your older brother for things? Don't you know your older brother is also a poor student? How dare you! Bah!"

Su Mingcheng slammed his hand on the table:
"Su Mingyu, that's enough! Just because Dad has your backing, you've been making sarcastic remarks to me lately. Listen to what you've said about me. Didn't you ask your older brother for something too? How could you be so shameless? He's your brother, but he's also my brother. If you can ask for it, why can't I?"

Su Mingyu scoffed:
"Su Mingcheng, I've noticed you're getting more and more shameless. I'm not even eighteen yet. If I were normal, I'd still be a child. But you're an adult, and you still want to... Pah! Shameless!"

Hua Shier chuckled as he watched, and upon hearing this, he clapped his hands:
"Mingyu is right, debater from side A gets one point. Now, debater from side B, please begin your counterattack!"

Su Mingyu was smug, while Su Mingcheng gritted his teeth in anger:
"Su Mingyu, I can't argue with you, but let me tell you, don't push me too far, or I might lose control and beat you up again, and you'll be the one who suffers!"

Su Mingyu got angry just thinking about what happened last time;
"Well, Su Mingcheng, you even want to hit a woman? You're shameless!"

Su Mingcheng said irritably, "Can't you understand human language? I'm just worried you'll get hurt, so I'm reminding you not to mess with me!"

Su Mingyu made a grappling gesture: "I've already learned traditional martial arts, so it's not certain who will come out on top!"

Hua Twelve loves watching the drama unfold:
"Mingcheng, didn't you learn Taekwondo? There's no time like the present. Why don't you two siblings have a sparring match? It'll determine who's better and settle any old scores. Come on, let's go to the yard and I'll be the referee!"

Su Mingyu and Su Mingcheng's eyes lit up. The former had learned grappling techniques but had only ever been trained by his father and had never actually fought anyone. The latter was absolutely confident in his abilities and wanted to take this opportunity to teach Su Mingyu, who didn't know how to respect her older brother, a lesson.

The two of them went into the courtyard and stood facing each other.

Hua Shier shouted, "Begin!"

Following the coach's instructions, Su Mingcheng first bowed.

Su Mingyu's eyes lit up. Following her father's instructions, she focused on taking the initiative and striking first. She kicked Su Mingcheng in the face from below as he was bowing.

Bang!
Damn!

Su Mingcheng covered his nose and fell to the ground.

Hua Twelve immediately announced: "Su Mingyu has won!!"

The father and daughter clapped and high-fived excitedly.

"yeah!"

Su Mingcheng's nose was bleeding profusely, and it took him a while to stop it by rinsing it with cold water. He cried as he accused the heartless father and daughter who were laughing like hamsters.

"You attacked me from behind, you can't take this! I was bowing, and Su Mingyu, you attacked me!"

Su Mingyu shrugged:

"Sorry, I don't know much about Taekwondo. When you lowered your head just now, I thought you were going to attack me with your head, so I couldn't help but kick you!"

Su Mingcheng's hands trembled: "Dad, you're siding with her. Is what she's saying even human?"

Hua Shier looked puzzled:
"It's not Mingcheng, I'm a little confused too. Didn't we already say it was a grudge match? I even called it started, so you two should just fight. Since you have a grudge, why are you being so polite to her? Does that make you a hypocrite?"

Su Mingcheng felt wronged. What could he do when the coach taught him like this? He hadn't expected his opponent to be so uncooperative.

He covered his nose and said, "I demand a rematch. This time I'm sure I won't be ambushed!"

Hua Shier looked at Su Mingyu, who smiled and said:
"That would be perfect! If I can take you down in one move, all my other moves would have been for nothing!" Su Mingcheng and Su Mingyu stood facing each other again, and Hua Twelve shouted once more:
"start!"

Su Mingcheng shouted, "Spinning kick!"

As he spoke, he took a step forward, turned around, and leaped more than half a foot into the air. But before he could even kick his leg back, Su Mingyu kicked him in the butt, sending him sprawling face-first into the mud.

Then Su Mingyu rushed up and used Wudang small grappling techniques, first grabbing the collarbone, then the neck tendon. In just two moves, Su Mingcheng's arm was immobilized.

Su Mingcheng lived up to his reputation as a later-known "sister-beating maniac." Unable to move his left hand, he still had his right. While howling in pain, he swung his right hand at Su Mingyu.

But as soon as he raised his hand, Su Mingyu reached out and grabbed his armpit, her five fingers digging into the tendon under his armpit, and Su Mingcheng's right hand instantly lost its strength.

Then, Su Mingyu used a grappling technique to dislocate Su Mingcheng's elbow with a snap, causing Su Mingcheng to cry out in pain, tears streaming down his face.

Fifteen minutes later, Hua Shier applied safflower oil to Su Mingcheng's arm, reattached it, and reminded him:
"You've injured a few major tendons, but it's not serious. The pain will subside in a few days. But remember not to do any heavy work these next couple of days, and take it easy when you exercise!"

Su Mingyu, while eating an apple, made sarcastic remarks:
"Su Mingcheng, what kind of coach taught you? Don't you know that exposing your back when you're fighting is a major taboo?!"

Su Mingcheng's pride was hurt: "I don't want to talk to you!"

He looked at Hua Shier with a pitiful expression: "Dad, I also want to learn kung fu from you, otherwise I'm afraid Su Mingyu will bully me for no reason!"

Hua Shier nodded: "Don't worry, you'll get used to it!"

Su Mingyu giggled, while Su Mingcheng's face darkened. He felt that living in a family that favored girls over boys was even more unbearable than being beaten by Su Mingyu.

When his mother was alive, he was the little emperor of the family. Now, his own father not only doesn't side with him, but also tries every day to get Su Mingyu to "educate" him.

"Dad!" Su Mingcheng's voice trembled with grievance.
"You're being way too biased! Back when Mom was alive..."

Hua Shier interrupted directly: "When your mother was alive, Mingyu was bullied by you every day. Now you can taste that feeling too. Tell me, is it satisfying?"

Su Mingyu took a big bite of apple and mumbled an indistinct remark: "Exactly, what goes around comes around~"

Seeing that Su Mingcheng was on the verge of tears, Hua Shier looked at him with a half-smile:
"You know it's painful now? This is nothing. Think back to how Mingyu has managed all these years. At least I haven't stopped you from eating chicken legs, and at least I haven't deducted your allowance!"

At this moment, Su Mingcheng finally began to reflect on himself, because he felt a sense of empathy for Su Mingyu's previous situation, and it was indeed a bitter experience!
At this moment, Xu Tailang returned from outside and was surprised to see Su Mingcheng's appearance. After hearing what had happened, he burst out laughing.

Su Mingcheng, feeling embarrassed, picked up his schoolbag and said:

"Dad, it's the weekend today, I'm going to stay at Mom's for the day!"

As he was about to leave, he thought for a moment, then turned to Su Mingyu and said;

"It was wrong of me to bully you before, but I won't do it again!"

After saying that, he quickened his pace and left the house.

Xu Tailang exclaimed "Ouch!" and Chaohua Twelve laughed:

"My son has grown up!"

Hua Shier smiled like an old father: "That's right, haven't you seen how big my grandson is already!"

Xu Tailang's smile instantly froze on his face: "Can we talk about this in private?"

Seeing her second brother apologize to her—something that had never happened before—Su Mingyu's eyes reddened, but she still scoffed.
"You only say that because you can't beat me. Do you think I don't know that?"

After saying that to Hua Shier, he went to wash vegetables and cook.

Xu Tailang was helping out at the company and had just gotten back from get off work. After taking a sip of water, he said to Hua Shier:
"Xiao Ma asked me to tell you that he has completed the first version of QQ according to your requirements. Although the interface is still a bit rudimentary, the basic functions are all implemented. I tried it out, and it can add friends, send messages, and create group chats. He said he wants you to come and take a look tomorrow!"

Hua nodded:
"Okay, I'll go take a look tomorrow. Actually, it's the same whether you come or not. It's just those functions, how could you not be familiar with them!"

Xu Tailang puffed out his chest: "Of course, so Grandpa, when do you think we could give me some kind of equity incentive?"

When he needed something from Hua Twelve, he called him Grandpa; otherwise, he called him Brother Su. He was known for being flexible and adaptable.

Hua Shier chuckled: "Then I'll do it myself, it'll save me a lot of money!"

"No, please." Xu Tailang tried everything to persuade him, giving him massages and helping him with chores. Finally, Hua Shier agreed to invest more money after QQ went live, and then let him join in.

On Monday, Hua Shier went to the company and looked at the QQ that Xiao Ma had developed. He immediately felt that it was familiar, with a feel of later generations.

He asked about the details, and then the shareholders held a small meeting and decided to launch and promote the product.

The specific tasks were left to Xiao Ma and Niu Aihua, while Hua Shier continued to be a hands-off manager. However, he said that he only needed to let him know when they needed money.

In a coffee shop, Hua Shier and Dracula sat facing each other.

Old De was quite helpless: "Master, tell me, where are we going to mine this time?"

"Don't worry, I'm not letting you out to mine this time, I have something else for you to do!"

Hua Shier handed over a copy of Twilight, handwritten by Gu Yi:
"This is a novel about werewolves and vampires that I've painstakingly created, racking my brains and exhausting my brains. I submitted it to a publisher in the Ugly Country but it was rejected. You need to help me get it published by that publisher!"

Instead of looking at the book first, Old De asked, quite puzzled:
"Master, if you want to make money, just say the word, and I can handle any amount of money for you. Acquiring the world's largest conglomerate would only be a matter of days."

Hua Shier waved his hand: "No need to say anything. I have a strong sense of self-respect. I'm not used to getting something for nothing. I want to succeed through my own abilities. Do you understand? I'm a person with ambition!"

Old De raised his hands in surrender, then picked up the book, opened it, and looked at it. A strange expression immediately appeared on his face:
"Master, you must have made a mistake. I know this author, and I've read this book before."

Hua Shier's face darkened: "So what? I painstakingly transferred her work from other worlds, and all I did was put my name on it. Did I ask her for a single extra penny?"

Lao De: So when you talk about exhausting your mind, racking your brains, and searching your brains, you mean plagiarism?

Gu Yi: He didn't even copy it!

He gave the manuscript to Old De and sent him to the U.S. to handle the matter. Hua Twelve walked back, humming a little tune. Sometimes success is just that easy!
Back home, Hua Shier continued his "creation," and by evening, he had finally finished the second part of "Ghost Blows Out the Light."

There was a knock on the door. Hua Shier checked the time and figured the two kids must be back. He went over and opened the door, only to find a microphone almost poking him in the face.

"Hello Mr. Su, we are from the 'Ordinary People' program of Suzhou TV. We have been entrusted by your spouse to interview and mediate the issues between you!"

The speaker was a female reporter, followed by a photographer and an assistant. Zhao Meilan followed behind them with a wronged expression.

Thanks to 08a and Little Tiger of the Demon Realm for their donations, and thanks to the brothers who voted with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. Thank you very much.