Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 123: The Cunning Bookseller of Nishima

A few days later, Zhang Chao met the English teacher assigned to him by Yanda, a Chinese girl who came to Yanda from the United States to study. Her Chinese name was Xu Ruiya and her English name was Rheya.

Xu Ruiya and Huang Jiefu are both mixed-race, but Xu Ruiya looks more Chinese than Huang Jiefu. If her deliberately tanned skin was not too conspicuous, it would be completely possible to mistake her for a Chinese girl.

As soon as she saw Zhang Chao, she shook hands with him enthusiastically and said, "Hello, nice to see you, Zhang Chao. I'm Xu Ruiya, you can just call me Rheya."

While Zhang Chao was still wondering why it was "see you" instead of "meet you", his mouth had already slipped out the words instinctively: "Nice to meet you too."

After that, he waited for the other person to say, "How are you?"

Then he replied: "Fine, thank you, and you?"

As a result, Xu Ruiya directly placed several books on the desk and said, "I am still a fan of your books. Can you sign them for me?"

Zhang Chao was surprised and said, "So many...Okay."

Xu Ruiya said in a delicate voice: "The versions are different... I travel everywhere and buy your books when I see them."

However, the communication between the two gradually became smoother, and Zhang Chao also understood why the department asked her to be his oral English teacher.

Xu Ruiya has been switching frequently between China and the United States since elementary school. Not only does she have a unique advantage in language, but she is also very familiar with the American lifestyle and various taboos. She can not only teach Zhang Chao spoken English, but also help him avoid trouble due to cultural differences after he goes to the United States.

In particular, Zhang Chao is the youngest Chinese writer invited by IWP over the years - and also the richest one. I heard that he likes to drive luxury cars and so on.

If he was stopped by the driver in the US for speeding, and Zhang Chao didn't handle it properly, his magazine would be emptied or something...

After the course officially started, Zhang Chao asked a question: "When you just met me, why did you say 'nice to see you' instead of 'nice to meet you'?"

Xu Ruiya replied: "It depends on the context..."

The class time passed quickly. Zhang Chao looked at his phone and saw that it was already past 5 o'clock. He casually said to Xu Ruya: "Thank you, Rheya! How about I treat you to dinner tonight?"

Xu Ruiya smiled and said, "So does this invitation belong to the Chinese context or the American context?"

Zhang Chao was stunned and asked, "Is there still a point for this?"

Xu Ruiya explained seriously: "Of course. If it is in the Chinese context, this is just a very common invitation between classmates. If it is in the United States, and we are of the opposite sex, your invitation like this will probably be considered a date..."

Zhang Chao listened for a long time and finally understood the difference between the two. He immediately said, "Chinese, Chinese context."

Xu Ruiya said: "No, my family has cooked dinner tonight, I will go home and have dinner with my grandfather."

Zhang Chaoqi asked, "Are you also a day student?"

Xu Ruiya nodded, and Zhang Chao didn't ask any more questions. After packing their schoolbags, they went downstairs together, said goodbye at the bottom of the building, one went west and the other went east.

Before we knew it, it was June and even in Yanjing, the weather was getting visibly hotter.

Zhang Chao had just finished class at Yanshi University that day and as he arrived at the parking lot, he saw a middle-aged man with a Mediterranean appearance standing by his car, looking around.

Upon seeing Zhang Chao, "Mediterranean" came up to him enthusiastically and said in a slightly exaggerated tone: "Mr. Zhang Chao, I finally meet you!"

When Zhang Chao heard the accent, he almost thought it was someone from his hometown, but after listening carefully, he could still distinguish it. Then, looking at the other party's behavior, he realized that he was most likely from the island, so he responded to his greeting indifferently.

"Mediterranean" didn't care and introduced himself: "My name is Liu Zhengxiong, the general manager of the Masao Publishing House in Xidao. I came to the mainland this time to talk to you about publishing your works in our Xidao."

Zhang Chao frowned and said directly: "If it is a new work, I don't have anything to publish recently. If it is an old work, you can go talk to Huang Jiefu of my company."

Liu Zhengxiong said, "He is a businessman, and we are both intellectuals. Intellectuals have their own way of talking. My ancestors were also from Fuhai, so we are fellow villagers... I will treat you to dinner tonight, Kempinski!"

Zhang Chao was still very indifferent, and waved his hand and said, "I won't eat anymore. You can talk to Huang Jiefu about the copyright of the old works."

After saying that, Liu Zhengxiong got into the car and left, leaving with an embarrassed look on his face.

The reason why Zhang Chao had this attitude was not that he opposed the publication of his works in Taiwan, but that Liu Zhengxiong was obviously guilty of something.

His and Midnight Tide's email addresses are public and not difficult to find. His cell phone number is also easy to get through his connections in the publishing industry.

How could two people who don't know each other at all, without sending emails or making phone calls, just block someone at Yanshi University?

However, Zhang Chao met Liu Zhengxiong again the next day. This time he did not come alone, but was led by Deputy Director Li from the International Exchange and Cooperation Office of Yanshi University. It was not known where this relationship came from.

Deputy Director Li obviously didn't know Liu Zhengxiong's specific purpose, so he just gave a brief introduction and let the two of them talk on their own.

It was not easy for Zhang Chao to just walk away at this time, so he could only listen to Liu Zhengxiong bragging.

Liu Zhengxiong took out a large stack of information, which included their publishing business qualifications, photos of their office and printing factory, and samples of books they had published in the past.

Liu Zhengxiong said proudly: "Our Zhengxiong Publishing House was founded in the 70s, and I was the founder... I was only 20 years old at that time, relying on a second-hand printing press from an island country... Now we..."

Zhang Chao listened for a while and said impatiently: "I'm not interested in hearing about your history of success. If you want to buy the copyright of my book, just say so."

Liu Zhengxiong immediately stopped and said, "Your Name, the novel and the comics, I want both!"

Zhang Chao asked directly: "My royalties are very high - as far as I know, it should be the highest among us now. If there is no very certain sales guarantee, you may not make money. Are you sure you want to buy it?"

Liu Zhengxiong said confidently: "Why don't you listen to the royalties I offer you."

Zhang Chao asked curiously, "Oh? How much?"

Liu Zhengxiong said: "30%, I will give you 30% of the royalties!"

Zhang Chao almost spit out his tea and looked at Liu Zhengxiong in disbelief, thinking that this man must be crazy.

His current 15% royalties are already the maximum in China. Only in some special circumstances may some publishers give 17% or 20%.

Around 2010, there was a rumor in the industry that Lu Jinbo offered Han Han a 20% royalty, which Zheng Yuanjie implied was "Nothing in human history has ever seen such a high royalty."

What about 30%? Printing is a hard cost, which cannot be saved; the distributors are unlikely to make concessions on the share; so the publisher must give the extra 15% to the author.

This means that the publishing house can only take 5%-10% of the book price, after deducting labor and taxes. Unless the book can sell millions of copies, Liu Zhengxiong will be working for Zhang Chao in vain.

Zhang Chao has not had such a huge illusion about his own charm.

Liu Zhengxiong was still full of confidence. He took out another stack of papers and placed them in front of Zhang Chao, saying, "I am confident that your works will be popular in Taiwan. This is the agreement. Once you sign it, you will get the highest royalties among Chinese writers, and even writers all over the world. There is absolutely no problem with the agreement. You can ask a lawyer to take a look at it now."

Zhang Chao picked up the contract and flipped through it. Although it was in traditional Chinese characters, it was generally a very standard contract. Apart from the rather shocking figure of 30%, there were no obvious traps in other aspects.

And since Liu Zhengxiong said so, there must be no fault in the details.

If there is no problem with the agreement, then the problem must be outside the agreement. Zhang Chao suddenly wanted to know what tricks Liu Zhengxiong was going to play.

So he took the agreement and said to Liu Zhengxiong: "30% is indeed tempting, but I still need to think about it carefully."

Liu Zhengxiong said: "No problem, you can take it back and have a look, and it's best to let a lawyer take a close look at it. We are very sincere! But I can only stay in the mainland for two more days, and I have to go back the night after tomorrow. So..."

Zhang Chao nodded to show that he understood, and without any further ado, he took the agreement and left.

That night, Zhang Chao found Huang Jiefu, and the two carefully studied the publishing agreement. Huang Jiefu didn't find anything wrong.

They even found the original version of the agreement on the Internet and compared them, and found that all the modifications were normal.

Masao Publishing House, whose public information can also be found on the internet in Kitajima, is a legally registered company. Although its ranking is not high, there are no obvious flaws.

Zhang Chao analyzed: "They came to me instead of you, probably because they thought I was young and they signed on impulse after seeing the 30%."

Huang Jiefu nodded and said, "Yes. If I had seen the figure of 30%, I would probably not report it to you and would have rejected it directly. He is most likely a fraudster."

"Scammer...scammer..." Zhang Chao suddenly thought of something and immediately called Xu Ruya, asking hurriedly, "Rheya, where are you? Is the book you asked me to sign last time still there?"

More than half an hour later, Xu Ruiya came to Zhang Chao's office in Panjiayuan with a bag of books.

Zhang Chao flipped through the books and took out a copy of "Youth Like You" and asked, "Where did you buy this?"

Xu Ruiya said: "Well... I saw it in a small bookstore when I was traveling in Xibei during the Spring Festival this year, and I bought it."

Zhang Chao asked, "Are you sure you are in Xibei?"

Xu Ruiya said with certainty: "Of course I confirm it. It happened only half a year ago. What's the matter? Is there something wrong with this book?"

Zhang Chao flipped through it and said, "I don't have an authorized publisher in Taiwan. This is a pirated copy. The cover is the same as the mainland version, and the traditional Chinese text may be reprinted from the Hong Kong Mingchuang Society version. When I signed, I just felt that the paper was not right, and I thought it was a problem with the printing batch, so I didn't pay attention to it.

Now I see that Chun Chun is just a stitched-together monster."

Xu Ruiya was surprised and said, "Pirated? No wonder it's so cheap. I thought it was an old book, but the boss guaranteed it was a new one."

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "I kind of understand what this guy is going to do... but I still need to confirm some things. Rheya, do you know anyone on the island? Jeff, what about you?"

Xu Ruiya said: "Of course I know him. I was an exchange student at Xida for a year and got to know a lot of teachers and classmates there."

Huang Jiefu also said: "I also know a few people from Taiwan in the United States, and they are all people of status."

Zhang Chao said, "Okay, you ask these people to help you find out the details of Liu Zhengxiong and his Zhengxiong Publishing House. I'll also ask them to find someone. Let's try to get this matter cleared up before tomorrow night."

They both said yes in unison.

As information from various sources was gradually collected, Zhang Chao finally pieced together the general context of the incident.

Liu Zhengxiong did start his business with a second-hand printing press from Japan, but he was not a serious publisher and relied on piracy.

From the 70s to the 90s, Japan was an absolute piracy paradise, because before June 1992, 6, works and translations outside Japan were not protected by Japan's copyright law, and publishers could publish, translate and sell them on their own.

No matter whether it is a best-selling book in the United States, Japan or Hong Kong, if it is published this month, you can buy a pirated copy in Japan at a very low price next month.

Later, the US father of the Japanese government could no longer sit still and prepared to impose sanctions. Japanese government then revised its copyright law and began to punish piracy more severely.

But how can the 30-year-long industry inertia be stopped in a short time? Many pirated publishers in Taiwan are still doing their old business in secret after they have transformed into regular publishers.

They have also learned to be smart and don't dare to touch the bestsellers in the United States, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, because these three countries are truly investigated and prosecuted, and the courts will sentence them to the maximum penalty. Even if there is piracy, it is small-scale and guerrilla.

But it’s different in mainland China. The information gap between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait is still very obvious in this era.

As Zhang Chao's "Your Name" became popular in both novels and comics in the island country, readers in Japan, which has always admired the island culture, gradually began to notice this work, especially young readers with strong purchasing power.

Liu Zhengxiong, who had a keen sense of smell, saw the direction of the wind and prepared to take action against "Your Name".

However, Shueisha and Kadokawa either have powerful agents in Kitashima or have directly opened subsidiaries. In theory, as long as they sign a supplementary agreement with Zhang Chao based on the original agreement, they can legally publish in Taiwan.

The main reason why everyone is waiting and watching is that Zhang Chao is a mainland writer who currently lacks international influence. It is questionable whether readers in Taiwan can accept his works. But that does not mean they will allow pirates to take advantage of this piece of cake.

Liu Zhengxiong's wishful thinking is to use super high royalties to lure Zhang Chao to sign an agreement. Then Shueisha will not be able to intervene in the piracy of "Your Name" novels and comics.

As for piracy, no matter where it happens, it is mainly up to the publisher to report it. It is very difficult for the author to obtain evidence when the publisher downloads a pirated version of their own book.

Especially for mainland authors like Zhang Chao. He has no connections and no fame in Taiwan. Even if he reports the case and sues, Liu Zhengxiong is confident that the Taiwan judiciary will be tolerant of "scammers" like him.

When it was time to pay the royalties, he just gave Zhang Chao a few tens of thousands of RMB to get rid of him, saying that the sales were not as good as expected and only one or two thousand copies were sold. What could Zhang Chao do except stare blankly?
Not to mention 30% royalties, even if Zhang Chao asked for 50% royalties, Liu Zhengxiong would dare to agree to it!

Zhang Chao finished his analysis to Huang Jiefu, who angrily said, "It is indeed a fraud island! Boss, it's a good thing you didn't impulsively sign the agreement yesterday."

Zhang Chao laughed and said, "Who said I won't sign? I want to sign. I'll call him now and sign with him tomorrow afternoon. Anyone who doesn't sign is a bastard!"

Huang Jiefu lost his voice and said, "Boss, are you crazy?"

(End of this chapter)