A widower's entertainment

Chapter 330 [Father's Abundant Capital] (Please Subscribe)
Lin Youcheng didn't particularly care about Zhang Wei's shock. In his view, even if they were to cooperate with film and television companies in the United States to discuss script copyrights, it would just be a transaction. Moreover, the United States might not necessarily be interested in the later story scripts and continue to offer such high prices.

Of course, no matter what, the price of a script from Hollywood will definitely not be low.

Those in the literary world might be shocked to learn that he received such high royalties again, but it's not really important.

In Lin Youcheng's view, this kind of literary export is actually a form of his initial capital accumulation, and the initial accumulation of capital is often shocking and appalling.

With this idea in mind, Lin Youcheng naturally started writing the script. If the movie "The Time Traveler's Wife" is a box office success, the price of his script might be even higher, since film companies in the capitalist world are not philanthropists.

Of course, Lin Youcheng was writing the movie script at a leisurely pace, not in a hurry.

Now he's more interested in the house near the Asian Games Village.

Lin Youcheng originally wanted Zhang Wei to go with him to look at houses in the Asian Games Village, but Zhang Wei felt that he wasn't going to buy any, so he didn't go. Naturally, Lin Youcheng wouldn't force Zhang Wei to participate in this highly profitable investment, so he went to look at houses by himself.

Lin Youcheng went to the Asian Games Village alone, but he didn't expect to run into an acquaintance, Liu Xiaoqing, there.

Of course, the Asian Games Village was initially a place where celebrities from the arts and culture world stayed.

Liu Xiaoqing was pleasantly surprised to see Lin Youcheng and said, "I didn't expect to run into you here. Are you here to look at houses too?"

With the Asian Games over, the developers are unsure whether the apartments in the Asian Games Village will sell. They're currently offering an internal price of 1,500 yuan per square meter, which is quite high considering editor Zhang Wei's salary. Therefore, it's unclear how sales will go; sales are currently only being conducted internally.

Liu Xiaoqing was accompanied by two other celebrities. One was Liu Huan, who sang "Asian Heroic Spirit" at the Asian Games, and the other was Mao Amin, who later called herself the "elder sister." Of course, both of them are still young people and are juniors in front of Lin Youcheng.

Liu Xiaoqing introduced Liu Huan and Mao Awen to Lin Youcheng. These two naturally knew Lin Youcheng as a great writer and screenwriter. Although they were both in the arts, literature came first and art came second. There was still a certain importance to this. The two popular young singers greeted Lin Youcheng very politely.

Because Liu Xiaoqing acted as the introducer, Liu Huan and Mao Awen, two big names in the music industry, can now call Lin Youcheng "Brother Lin".

Mao Awen is clearly a singer who loves literature, saying, "Brother Lin, I especially like your novels. I've read all of your previous novels."

Liu Huan looked at Lin Youcheng and said with a smile, "Brother Lin, I also really like your novels."

These were indeed the truths of Mao Awen and Liu Huan. Both of them had read Lin Youcheng's novels. It's fair to say that young people involved in music are also artistic youths, and it's impossible that they hadn't read Lin Youcheng's novels such as "Under the Hawthorn Tree," "Love Letter," and "The Devotion of Suspect X." Even if they hadn't read the novels, they must have seen the movies, especially pirated DVDs of movies like "The Devotion of Suspect X," which they might have even secretly watched.

Lin Youcheng simply smiled and expressed his gratitude.

He didn't mind these polite words, and even if they were, he wouldn't care, because the two young men were flattering him.

"I think every one of your novels is incredibly well-written!"

This is Mao Awen's genuine feeling. She said, "Many of my friends and classmates also really like your novels. They all have your books at home. My favorite is your 'Love Letter' and 'The Devotion of Suspect X.' They are really amazing!"

Seeing Mao Awen's excited expression, Liu Xiaoqing couldn't help but smile. However, she also knew that Lin Youcheng's works were just that attractive, and she liked them very much herself.

Liu Huan wasn't as excited as Mao Awen, but he had actually read all of Lin Youcheng's novels, and even tried to write a song for the novel "Love Letters." However, that was obviously a long time ago, and the song was impossible to bring up now, since the movie adaptation of the novel had already been released, so there was no need to mention it.

Lin Youcheng also exchanged a few words with Liu Huan and Mao Awen, and brought up the song "Asian Heroic Spirit" again.

“My kids all sing your song ‘Asian Heroic Spirit’.”

Clearly, Liu Huan and Mao Awen were aware of Lin Youcheng's family situation, knowing that he was a widower with six children, which was a very difficult situation for him.

Liu Huan said with a smile, "Brother Lin, if you have time another day, would you like to take them to the recording studio and let them sing a good song there?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Youcheng simply smiled and thanked him, saying that he would definitely visit when he had time. Of course, he didn't think any of his children had any particular musical talent, or perhaps their musical talent hadn't yet been discovered by him, their father.

Since Liu Huan and Mao Awen weren't exactly close to Lin Youcheng, they didn't have much to say to each other. After chatting for a few more minutes, they went to find the waiter to look at the house.

Liu Xiaoqing and Lin Youcheng were old acquaintances, so after Liu Huan and Mao Awen left, they naturally had more conversations, especially about the copyright of Lin Youcheng's novel. She said, "Youcheng, you didn't give Jiang Wen the rights to film your novel 'Atonement,' but could you let him film 'The Reader'?"

Clearly, Liu Xiaoqing still remembered what she had said to Jiang Wen before. Jiang Wen had lamented after the publication of "The Reader" that if he had known earlier that Lin Youcheng had a story behind "The Reader", he would definitely have made "The Reader" himself, since that story was really too powerful.

Jiang Wen still remembers the book "The Reader" in his heart.

Lin Youcheng asked with some doubt, "Isn't he planning to film a different story now?"

Clearly, Lin Youcheng knew about some things happening in the industry, and he had also heard that Jiang Wen was looking for Wang Shuo to film the movie "Animal Ferocity".

Liu Xiaoqing said directly, "It hasn't started yet. It's Wang Shuo's novel 'Animal Ferocity,' but he's also quite interested in your novel 'The Reader.' He thinks that if this story were made into a film, it would be amazing. I was thinking of asking you about it before, but I didn't expect to meet you here today."

Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "You've probably read the story of 'The Reader,' right? Are you sure you can make it into a film?"

"There are some very daring scenes in there."

Liu Xiaoqing had naturally read the novel and knew that the plot was very daring. In fact, she was not sure if the story of "The Reader" could pass the censorship, but she said, "It seems that Zhang Yimou is going to make a movie about an aunt and nephew reading aloud. If that movie can be made, your 'The Reader' should be fine."

"Jiang Wenke also said that if he were to direct your 'The Reader,' he would cast me as the female lead." Lin Youcheng raised an eyebrow. He thought Liu Xiaoqing was very suitable for the role of Yang Ju in "The Reader," but he said, "You're very suitable for this role, but I heard you're a successful businesswoman now. Do you still want to act?"

Upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, Liu Xiaoqing immediately smiled and said, "I would definitely like to play a good role. I really liked your character Gu Xiaomeng in 'The Message'."

When Lin Youcheng heard Liu Xiaoqing's words, he couldn't help but touch his nose. He had originally planned to have Pan Hong play Gu Xiaomeng, but now that Liu Xiaoqing had brought it up, he felt a little embarrassed. Fortunately, Liu Xiaoqing later won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress for her role as Gu Xiaomeng.

Liu Xiaoqing looked at Lin Youcheng and said, "When it comes to business, I don't think I can compare to you. I heard that your novel 'The Time Traveler's Wife' was sold to a company in Hollywood, America, and made a lot of money!"

Clearly, Liu Xiaoqing had also heard about the million-dollar copyright fee for Lin Youcheng's novel.

Lin Youcheng waved his hand and said, "I was lucky."

Liu Xiaoqing knew this was Lin Youcheng's humble remark. She had always admired Lin Youcheng. His novels were not only popular in China, but also sought after by foreign countries for film and television adaptation rights. That alone was remarkable. She said, "You're really amazing."

“However, Youcheng, if Jiang Wen comes to you later to discuss the film rights for ‘The Reader,’ you can’t give it to someone else, and you can’t ask for such a high price!”

Lin Youcheng knew that Jiang Wen would have to wait several years after filming Wang Shuo's "Animal Ferocity," so he said with a smile, "Let's wait until Jiang Wen finishes filming Wang Shuo's novel and talks to me about it. I don't think he'll necessarily be interested in this story later."

Liu Xiaoqing understood that this couldn't be settled right now. They would wait until Jiang Wen finished filming "Animal Ferocity" and decided to film "The Reader" before discussing the film rights with Lin Youcheng. After discussing the novel's copyright, she asked about Lin Youcheng's purchase of houses in the Asian Games Village, asking, "How many houses are you planning to buy this time?"

That's a question that makes him seem very capable.

Lin Youcheng raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Let's take a look first."

Liu Xiaoqing said, "I think since you have several children, you should take advantage of the current low prices and buy a few more sets. The prices might go up later."

Lin Youcheng didn't expect Liu Xiaoqing to say such a thing. As expected of a strong woman who dared to perform for money in the 1980s and was able to start over after being released from prison, she still has a certain business acumen. Of course, Liu Xiaoqing probably didn't know that Lin Youcheng had already planned this, and that he had sold the courtyard house and bought several sets, all for the children.

"That makes sense."

Since they were looking at houses, Liu Xiaoqing and Lin Youcheng naturally went to see the houses separately. Liu Xiaoqing didn't know that Lin Youcheng had bought six houses; if she had, she would have been very surprised. Of course, she herself planned to buy two houses, and after choosing a house, she thought of inviting Lin Youcheng to dinner. However, Lin Youcheng had children at home, so he wouldn't wait for Liu Xiaoqing. Therefore, they didn't make an appointment to go to dinner after looking at the houses.

Lin Youcheng also went to see the apartment with the salesperson.

Compared to the cramped houses in Decheng Chunfeng Lane, the houses in the Asian Games Village are undoubtedly much better in terms of layout and quality. Although they may seem a bit outdated by today's standards, they are still quite stylish for the 1990s design. There are two-bedroom apartments of over 90 square meters, three-bedroom apartments of over 100 square meters, and four-bedroom apartments. Lin Youcheng didn't think about buying the biggest one possible, so he directly chose a three-bedroom apartment of 160 square meters.

The sales staff at the sales office naturally asked Lin Youcheng if he planned to place an order immediately, asking, "Mr. Lin, are you planning to buy this apartment?"

"This is a three-bedroom, two-living room apartment of about 160 square meters, with two rooms on each floor."

"Yes, Mr. Lin."

"I want all six floors in the middle."

"..."

Upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, the waiters were clearly taken aback, completely not expecting that Lin Youcheng would order twelve sets.

A total of twelve sets?
The internal price is 1,500 yuan per square meter for a 160-square-meter apartment, plus twelve other units, which adds up to nearly three million yuan.

The waiter was clearly surprised that Lin Youcheng would buy so much at once. He was so shocked that he wondered if he had misheard. He asked again, "Do you want all the units on the sixth floor in the middle?"

Lin Youcheng nodded.

"..."

Well, Lin Youcheng became an absolute millionaire in 1990. In front of the waiter, he bought twelve houses in one go, which was both unpretentious and astonishing.

Who is this guy buying houses? He bought twelve houses at once!

It's really scary!
Lin Youcheng originally planned to sell six sets, but since they were cheap, he decided to buy a few more.

Anyway, he's not short of money.

Regardless of whether his elder brother's family will come to the capital, even if they don't, it wouldn't be a problem for him to give those children an extra bowl of water.

Of course, they probably won't be living in these houses at all right now. But Lin Youcheng didn't plan to rent them out, as there was really no need. He thought he could talk to his older brother later and see if he wanted to come over.

As for leaving the house empty, that can also be considered another form of initial capital accumulation.

Lin Youcheng silently calculated his current net worth: those five courtyard houses, twelve apartments in the Asian Games Village, not to mention the royalties from his novels overseas, he still hadn't spent all of the one million US dollars in film and television rights fees for "The Time Traveler's Wife." He had previously converted nearly five million RMB at the savings bank, and even if he had spent three million, he would still have nearly two million left.

Thinking about all this, Lin Youcheng felt that just these twelve houses alone would be worth countless three million dollars by the time his children grew up.

(End of this chapter)