Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 217: Introducing Hong Kong
Lin Chaoyang was well aware that writing the novel in this way would make the story seem popular and might even become mediocre, but he didn't care.

What he wanted to do was to let more people read the novel, to make it have a greater impact than "A Game of Chess", and not let the cowardly historical view in the movie influence a generation.

The barbarians fear power but not virtue!
Thousands of years ago, our ancestors told us these wise sayings.

As the saying goes, there is gain in loss. This novel is obviously weaker in literary quality than his previous works. The outstanding story and popularity also greatly lower the reading threshold of this novel, making it easier to have an impact.

After listening to Lin Chaoyang's explanation of his ideas, Zhang Dening asked another question.

"If Jiang Nansheng didn't use Wu Qingyuan's experience, then Li Zhuo should have been the one, right?"

What greeted her was Lin Chaoyang's silence. After holding it in for a long time, Lin Chaoyang finally said, "I didn't say that."

"Ha!" Zhang Dening let out a mocking laugh towards the sky, which made Lin Chaoyang feel a little uncomfortable.

"What are you laughing at? These are all groundless speculations by you nosy people. The novel is purely fictional and any similarities are purely coincidental."

"Yes, yes, it's all coincidence, coincidence, right?"

After laughing twice, Zhang Dening asked seriously, "You curse at people, are you afraid that others will know?"

"It's not that I'm afraid of others knowing, it's mainly because there are river crab monsters watching me."

“Who’s watching?”

"It's okay, none of this matters."

Two days later, just as Lin Chaoyang arrived at work, he was called to the office of the curator Xie Daoyuan. There was another person sitting in the office, who was the old man from the Hong Kong Chinese University delegation that day.

"Chaoyang, I didn't introduce you properly the day before yesterday. This old man is Mr. Xia Chengying."

When Lin Chaoyang heard this name, he immediately associated it with another name. Xia Chengying's pen name was He Fan. He had published many newspapers before the founding of the People's Republic of China and was quite famous in the fields of prose and poetry.

Of course, even more famous is his wife, Lin Haiyin, who wrote "A Little Reunion".

Xia Chengying originally lived in Taiwan. Two years ago, he was invited by the Chinese University of Hong Kong to become a professor at the school. This time, the school happened to organize students to visit the mainland, and he wanted to take this opportunity to return to the mainland to see the beautiful scenery.

On that day, a delegation from the Chinese University of Hong Kong visited Yenching University for exchanges and donated books to the Yenching University Library. In return, the Yenching University Library presented the delegation with fifty copies of Lin Chaoyang's novels.

During the two days of visits, Xia Chengying had nothing to do in the evenings, so he flipped through the novel "The Death of Van Gogh". Unexpectedly, he became addicted to it after reading it once. He spent two nights to finish the novel. He couldn't wait to come to Yanjing University and didn't care about the subsequent schedule.

"Mr. Lin, your novel has left a deep impression on me. The story is integrated into real history, full of suspense and tension. At the same time, the language is refined and accurate, full of literary beauty, and the reading experience is very smooth.

What is even more rare is the profound exploration of the theme of the pursuit of art, which is highly consistent with the narrative itself, not only making the plot of the novel fascinating, but also enhancing the humanistic depth of the novel.

Your novel is the best novel I have read in recent years."

Lin Chaoyang was confused by Xia Chengying's praise. He came all the way to Yan University, it couldn't be just for him to praise himself, right?

He said a few polite words, and Xia Chengying continued, "At the exchange meeting the other day, a student said that it would be great if your novel was introduced to Hong Kong. This was of course a joke. But these two days I exchanged reading experiences with students, and they praised your novel highly. Some of them even proposed that we hope that our Hong Kong Chinese University Press will introduce it..."

Xia Chengying finally explained his purpose, "I came here today to talk to you and see if we can give this novel to our school's publishing house for publication."

After listening to Xia Chengying's words, Lin Chaoyang pondered. Someone wanted to introduce his novel to Hong Kong. This was certainly a good thing. It was free royalties.

Seeing that Lin Chaoyang hesitated and did not express his opinion, Xia Chengying thought that he disliked the Hong Kong Chinese University Press because it was a university press.

"Mr. Lin, our Hong Kong Chinese University Press is not very large, and has always focused on publishing academic works.

However, we have also published literary works from the mainland. We have published works by Lu Xun, Lao She, Mao Dun, and Ba Jin.

In Hong Kong’s academic and literary circles, our publications are still very well recognized.”

My goodness! As Lin Chaoyang listened to the names that came out of Xia Chengying's mouth, he felt that it would be a bit of a rebellion if he did not agree to his request.

Xiaoke, how could I have deserved this?

"Thanks to your school's kindness, it would be a good thing if my novel could be introduced to Hong Kong so that more readers could see it," said Lin Chaoyang.

Seeing that Lin Chaoyang agreed, Xia Chengying showed joy and said a few words of thanks.

"As for the manuscript fee, since we are a non-profit publishing house, the standard is not too high. Before coming here, I had a discussion with Dr. Lin from the publishing house. How do you think about 300 Hong Kong dollars per thousand words?"

The royalties in the Hong Kong literary world have never been high. The works of some top masters are only around a thousand dollars per thousand words, and the royalties for ordinary writers are mostly between three and four hundred dollars per thousand words.

The remuneration for publishing articles in newspapers and magazines is even lower. If the author is an unknown amateur, he may earn fifty or sixty yuan per thousand words.

In the words of a newspaper owner, if you don't write, there are plenty of people who will, so your royalties won't increase.

This is also why many Hong Kong writers choose to set up their own publishing houses or companies to manage their works after becoming famous. They work hard to write a book, but the publishing house boss eats the meat, while they have to beg for mercy just to get some soup. No one would accept this.

After all, for the publishing industry, content is the most core element.

The standard of royalties that Xia Chengying offered to Lin Chaoyang was considered low in today's Hong Kong publishing industry, but the Hong Kong Chinese University Press was a non-profit publishing house, so the royalties were not outrageous.

The full text of "The Death of Van Gogh" is 220,000 words, and 300 yuan per thousand words is 66,000 Hong Kong dollars. According to the current exchange rate between RMB and Hong Kong dollars, it is about 20,000 yuan, which is almost ten times the fee for publishing in "Contemporary".

It’s still easy to make money in foreign exchange!
With a sigh in his heart, Lin Chaoyang discussed the details of the publication with Xia Chengying. The Hong Kong Chinese University Press signed a one-time publishing contract with no time limit. The publishing house will evaluate the printing volume later and it will not exceed 10,000 copies.

Although Hong Kong Chinese University Press does not seek profit, it cannot lose money either. After all, Lin Chaoyang is a mainland writer, and the sales of the novel after its publication is still unknown, so the printing volume must be conservative.

After talking about the novel, Lin Chaoyang took the initiative to invite Xia Chengying to dinner. There were no decent restaurants around Yanda University, and the Changzheng Restaurant was a Michelin three-star restaurant nearby.

Lin Chaoyang invited Xia Chengying to dinner, and Xie Daoyuan, the curator, accompanied him. Both parties had a great time. After seeing Xia Chengying off, Xie Daoyuan said with emotion: "I never thought that your novel would be published in Hong Kong."

"This is also due to the help of the museum. If it weren't for the return gift from the museum, they wouldn't have done this."

Xie Daoyuan smiled and said, "They asked to see you."

He looked at Lin Chaoyang, his face full of relief, "It's been almost three years since you came to the museum. You've grown so fast!"

"It's all because of your good teaching!"

Lin Chaoyang's words were not compliments. He still remembered the advice and guidance Xie Daoyuan gave him when he first entered the museum, which still benefits him today.

Xie Daoyuan waved his hand and said, "It's because you have talent and are willing to work hard."

After chatting for a few words, Lin Chaoyang left the office.

Today is Saturday. After get off work, Lin Chaoyang went directly to Tao's house. Not long after he arrived at Tao's house, Tao Yushu also came back.

He whispered to Tao Yushu that "The Death of Van Gogh" would be published in Hong Kong, and Tao Yushu could hardly suppress her surprise.

"Really?"

"Ah."

"That's great!" Tao Yushu couldn't hide the joy on his face and smiled brightly.

When the elder brother-in-law saw the two of them talking to each other, Tao Yushu was so happy that his teeth were about to show, so he asked, "What good news are you so happy about?"

"Guess!" Tao Yushu looked proud.

"It must be a good thing. I guess I got the royalties."

"It does have something to do with the royalties, but there are more important things than royalties."

"Is there anything that would make a money-hungry person like you happier than the royalties?"

Tao Yucheng boasted that he knew his sister's temper very well, and his words immediately caused Tao Yushu to roll her eyes and denounce him.

The brother and sister quarreled for a while. At this time, Tao's father came out of the room. Tao Yushu walked up to him and said proudly, "Dad, Chaoyang's novel will be published in Hong Kong!"

Hearing this, Tao's father looked surprised. Before he could say anything, Tao Yucheng spoke first.

"Chao Yang's novel is going to be published in Hong Kong? Which novel?"

“The Death of Vincent van Gogh.”

"Which publishing house is going to publish it? How did you get in touch with them?"

The news that Tao Yushu told him filled him with curiosity, and he kept asking questions. Even Tao's mother and Zhao Li, who were cooking in the kitchen, were alarmed and ran over.

Lin Chaoyang then explained to everyone the causes and consequences of the publication.

Zhao Li exclaimed: "The novel will be published in Hong Kong. Chaoyang has become an international writer."

"Sister-in-law, what international writers? The Hong Kong Chinese University Press is similar to our Yenching University Press. Both are non-profit organizations that focus on academic works. It's the same as normal publishing, except that the royalties are a little higher." Lin Chaoyang said modestly.

"Yes, Hong Kong's economy is more developed than ours. Didn't Chaoyang earn 30,000 Hong Kong dollars last time he wrote a script for a Hong Kong director? How much is the fee this time?"

When Tao Yucheng mentioned the royalties, his eyes lit up and Zhao Li immediately pulled him.

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said truthfully: "The publishing house gave me a fee of 300 Hong Kong dollars per thousand words."

Tao Yucheng calculated in his mind and his eyes widened, "That would be more than 60,000 Hong Kong dollars? How many Hong Kong dollars can we get for one dollar?"

"It seems to be more than three yuan." Tao Yushu said.

"Wow! Isn't that 20,000 yuan?" Tao Yucheng's face was full of amazement, "Chaoyang has made a fortune!"

Tao Yushu looked down on his greed for money and said, "Is this about money? This is about honor."

"Oh my! You don't even care about 20,000 yuan, right? Mom is right. You have always been a big shot since you were a child!"

"You are the one pretending to be the big shot!" Facing his elder brother's provocation, Tao Yushu retorted.

"Alright, alright!" Father Tao interrupted the quarrel. "It's a good thing that Chaoyang's novel can be published in Hong Kong. Yucheng, go buy some more vegetables and cook two more dishes tonight to celebrate Chaoyang."

Tao Yucheng skillfully extended his hand to Mother Tao, "Mom!"

For today's literary or academic circles, it is indeed an honor for a work to be published abroad.

Two more dishes were added to the dinner, and the whole Tao family was filled with joy.

Because tomorrow is Sunday, Tao Yumo went out to see a newly released movie with his classmates after class. When he got home in the evening and heard the good news, he immediately regretted it.

"If you had told me earlier that you wanted more food tonight, I wouldn't have gone out!"

Tao Yushu looked at her speechlessly. Her cheeks were almost in line with her neck, and she was still eating!

(End of this chapter)