Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 181 Da Liu, I want your people!

With Da Liu as his guide, Zhang Chao was finally able to enter the Niangziguan Power Plant after registering his visit information at the gatehouse.

Occasionally, he would meet workers from the power plant on the road. The younger ones would call him "Engineer Liu" and those of similar age would call him "Big Liu".

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "He's popular."

Liu Cixin said: "After all, you have been working for so many years... Tell me about your publication."

Zhang Chao briefly introduced the publication ideas and distribution positioning of "Youth·Daguan" and finally said: "Daguan magazine really needs a heavyweight and youthful work to support the publication. I think your work can do it."

Liu Cixin hesitated for a moment and said, "As for journals... To be honest, I have never submitted a manuscript to any magazine other than Science Fiction World. Your book Grand View should pay more attention to 'literariness', right? I only know how to write science fiction, is that appropriate?"

Zhang Chao said: "Do you still remember the debate in the 80s - whether science fiction should be classified as 'science' or 'literature'?"

Liu Cixin nodded and then fell silent again.

Zhang Chao considered for a moment before speaking: "Science fiction belongs to genre literature, and 'genre characteristics' is originally the predicate of its literary attributes. So if science fiction is no longer named 'science', then it is not even 'literature'."

"In addition, I think this debate is very boring. It is essentially a pretext for arguing over the right to speak. 'Science fiction' and 'literature' are not mutually exclusive. You can't just choose one or the other. Just lean more towards the aspect you are good at. There is no reason to write in a certain way."

"These are all the inertial products of decades of struggle thinking by some old-timers in the 80s literary and scientific circles."

Liu Cixin's expression became visibly happy after hearing Zhang Chao's words. At this time, the two had already walked to the door of his office. As a "senior engineer" of the power plant, he had his own small office.

As soon as you enter the door, you can see the desk and a huge CRT computer monitor on the desk. There is a sofa by the window and two iron filing cabinets against the wall on the inside. It is very simple and plain, without even a pot of green plants.

Liu Cixin asked Zhang Chao to sit on the sofa, and searched the desk and filing cabinet for a long time, but he couldn't find even a disposable plastic cup. He said awkwardly: "There have been few outsiders visiting me in the factory over the years. Usually, colleagues who come to visit bring their own cups, so..."

As he spoke, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and with a slight shake of his hand, a filter tip popped out of the cigarette box: "How about one?"

Zhang Chaolian said no, he was not used to drinking tea and did not smoke, but Liu could smoke if he wanted. What he wanted to do most now was to read the new novel Liu was writing.

Liu Cixin breathed a sigh of relief, put the cigarette in his mouth, then turned on the computer, opened the document, and said to Zhang Chao: "I've just written the beginning, you can take a look..." Then he lit the cigarette, but considerately opened the window.

Science fiction, a genre that relies on imagination as its core competitiveness, is like mystery novels. It is still taboo to show it to others before it is published. If the idea is copied by others, you can only suffer in silence.

However, Zhang Chao and Liu Cixin are not on the same literary track at all, and Zhang Chao visited him in the form of requesting manuscripts for a magazine. He sent emails and registered his visit, so Liu Cixin was not worried about Zhang Chao seeing it in advance.

When Zhang Chao sat down in front of the computer, the first thing he saw was the title - The Three-Body Problem. He felt relieved - owning this novel was like owning half of Liu Cixin.

After all, Liu Cixin, who wrote The Three-Body Problem, was suspected of having his brain replaced by aliens...

The novel just wrote that Wang Miao entered the game and started a conversation with King Wen of Zhou, so Zhang Chao quickly flipped to the bottom of the document. After reading it, Zhang Chao took a deep breath and said to Liu Cixin: "Please give "The Three-Body Problem" to "Daguan" for serialization!"

The sincerity and determination in his tone made Liu a little unbelievable. He quickly put out his cigarette and asked nervously, "Do you understand?"

When Zhang Chao saw Liu Cixin's expression, his heart was shocked - the first few chapters of "The Three-Body Problem" were not the most attractive part of the novel, and the core creativity of the entire novel only showed the tip of the iceberg. If he said that he "understood" the novel at this time, then Liu Cixin must have felt not joy, but deep disappointment.

He would think that this means that the core idea of ​​the novel "The Three-Body Problem" is unoriginal and mediocre. Even a "liberal arts student" like Zhang Chao can see through it at a glance. What's the point of continuing to write it? With Liu Cixin's personality, he will definitely cut the book. In the forum, he gave up a novel because a netizen guessed his brain hole.

20 minutes ago, "Science Fiction World" was only one step away from losing "The Three-Body Problem".

20 minutes later, the world of science fiction was only 3 seconds away from losing "The Three-Body Problem".

Fortunately, Zhang Chao's mind worked quickly, and he quickly said, "Hemingway has an 'iceberg principle' when writing novels, which means that a good novel should be like an iceberg, with only one-eighth of it exposed above the sea.

Although this principle is not particularly appropriate to use to compare "The Three-Body Problem", I still feel that I have just seen "one-eighth of the iceberg" and can't wait to know what the rest looks like.

In addition to maintaining your simple, grand, and humanistic style, The Three-Body Problem also has a strong sense of suspense. Although I didn't understand what story you were going to write, I was still deeply attracted.

I may be a writer, but when it comes to science fiction, I am no different from any other general reader. I think even non-science fiction fans will be impressed by The Three-Body Problem.

So, please give me The Three-Body Problem! "

After hearing Zhang Chao's answer, Liu Cixin finally felt relieved and smiled again. However, he still did not agree to Zhang Chao's proposal immediately. After all, his creative career was almost tied to Science Fiction World, and the relationship between him and the editor was already very smooth. Giving his new work to other magazines would almost make him feel guilty as if he had cheated on his wife.

Zhang Chao naturally knew Liu Cixin's concerns. He took out a large folder from his backpack, which contained data tables and pictures, and began to introduce -

"Our Youth Magazine currently has a stable monthly sales volume of over 50 copies. Among domestic literary magazines, there is no other magazine with a higher monthly sales volume than ours, except for Story Club and Selected Short Stories..."

"With sales as a support, the remuneration we pay to authors is also at the top level in the industry, reaching an average of 300 yuan per thousand words, and excellent authors can even get 400 to 500 yuan per thousand words..."

Liu Cixin's eyes lit up when he heard this, and his expression suddenly became enthusiastic. At that time, the remuneration for "Science Fiction World" was still around 150 yuan per thousand words, and Liu was no exception.

Zhang Chao seemed unaware and continued to introduce:
"We are good at getting higher royalty rates for writers from publishers. I heard that you received royalties for your previous two novels? That's a big loss..."

“In addition to the reader base established by Youth, Youth·Grand View will continue the diversified development of Youth, expand the influence of works through peripheral products, and share profits with authors…”

"These are the author cartoon images and character cartoon images we launched from last year to this year. They can earn considerable income from them every month..."

"In addition to novels, we also have close cooperation with China's Yanjing Cartoon and Japan's Shueisha. These works have been made into comics, and the original authors will also receive corresponding income..."

At this point, Zhang Chao had already seen that Liu Cixin's loyalty to Science Fiction World was already shaky, so he decided to add some more material -

“Not only in Japan, I can also help you promote The Three-Body Problem overseas. I have already translated two of my novels, which were published by Random House and Simon & Schuster, two of the top five publishing houses in the United States, and both have performed quite well.

I am very familiar with the editors of these two publishing houses, and they are heavyweights. They regularly send me emails to ask if I have any new works. I recommend your novel to them. I can't guarantee whether it will be successful, but I guarantee that they will read your manuscript carefully.

America is the holy land of modern science fiction, and I think your novel can become the Bible for all science fiction fans!"

These words made Liu Cixin, an introverted and somewhat stiff science and engineering man, secretly excited. However, he still remained calm and restrained on the surface, and said in a low voice: "If what you said is true, I can give you "The Three-Body Problem"!"

Zhang Chao said with a smile: "I want not only The Three-Body Problem, I also want you!" Seeing Liu Cixin startled and terrified, Zhang Chao quickly explained: "My 'Midnight Tide' is not only a work agent, but also a writer agent.

You can take a look at our standard agreement. "Literary agents" are still relatively rare in China, but they are more mature in Europe and the United States. J.K. Rowling and George R.R. Martin both have their own literary agents.

After all, writers are more focused on writing and are often unable to develop the commercial value of their works. As far as I know, the copyright of your previous works is very scattered? In fact, this is not conducive to the development of commercial IP..."

Liu Cixin breathed a sigh of relief and began to read the standard agreement Zhang Chao handed him. After reading it, he sighed and said, "We are all writers, how can you think of these things..."

Zhang Chao did not answer, but said: "Given your status in the domestic science fiction community, this agreement must be adjusted. If it is convenient, we can discuss it now..."

Since it concerned his own economic interests, Liu Cixin immediately became serious and began to communicate with Zhang Chao about the clauses he was concerned about one by one.

Time passed unknowingly and it was evening. Thanks to the special nature of "Engineer Liu's" work, the two of them chatted in the office for the whole afternoon without anyone disturbing them.

It was not until it was dark outside that Zhang Chao and Liu Cixin finalized the details.

Zhang Chao put away his notebook and said to Liu Cixin, "I will send these to my colleagues in the company tonight, and the legal department will review them. If there is no problem, we can sign the contract."

Liu Cixin had completely let go of his guard against Zhang Chao and was extremely happy. He just felt that this young man in front of him was handsome and the more he looked at him, the more he liked him. The key point was that he understood literature and science fiction, spoke well, and paid a lot of money. In short, he was a real talent!

Seeing that it was getting dark, Liu Cixin held Zhang Chao's shoulders and said, "I didn't even let you drink a sip of water this afternoon - you must have dinner together tonight!" Then he frowned and said with some regret:

"I just don't know if you can get used to it. Although I'm from Shanxi, I won't defend my shortcomings - Shanxi cuisine is not up to standard and can't be served on the table. Yangquan is a rural area and there are no good restaurants. You're probably used to eating good food in Yanjing and won't look down on it..."

Zhang Chao said quickly, "It's okay, it's okay. I really like to eat knife-cut noodles, especially fried knife-cut noodles. When I was in Yanjing, whenever I didn't have time to cook, I would find a noodle shop to have a bowl. Now that I'm here, I naturally have to try the authentic Shanxi knife-cut noodles..."

Liu Cixin's eyes lit up and he said, "Really? Fine, I know a noodle shop that not only makes great knife-cut noodles, but also authentic deep-fried pork!"

More than half an hour later, in a small noodle restaurant not far from the Niangziguan Power Plant, Zhang Chao, who had slurped a bowl of noodles and eaten half a plate of fried meat, finally looked rosy again.

He flew from Yanjing to Shanxi early this morning, drove straight to Niangzi Pass without having lunch, and then talked with Liu Da for the whole afternoon. It was not until now that he had a proper meal, so he was very hungry and didn't care about his table manners.

Liu Cixin watched Zhang Chao eat with relish and smiled, while he slowly picked up a mouthful of noodles and drank a sip of wine. He felt so comfortable.

After a conversation with Zhang Chao today, Liu Cixin felt that he had been a writer for seven or eight years in vain. It turns out that a novel can be used in so many ways, and writers' income channels are not limited to royalties and royalties.

Things like "adaptation rights" were just a term to him. He never thought it would have anything to do with him.

Even in his sweetest dreams, he had never seen the movie scene of tens of thousands of planetary engines pushing the earth away from the solar system...

Seeing Zhang Chao put down his chopsticks, Liu Cixin asked, "What did you mean by that email? 'Don't submit! Don't submit! Don't submit!' - It really scared me. I was originally planning to send the first few chapters of The Three-Body Problem to Science Fiction World and ask the editor to review it for me..."

Zhang Chao took a sip of the local Weierkang soda, burped for a long time, and then said, "To be honest, I just wanted to ask you to write an article on a whim. If I call you, we don't know each other; if I use connections, it will be too late; if I directly email you to ask you to write an article, I guess you will reject it at a glance.

So I had to think of a crooked trick to at least get your attention first. Now it seems to be working."

Liu Cixin laughed and said: “The three exclamation marks are indeed quite eye-catching - but what really made me hesitate was that it gave me some inspiration. I actually started to conceive the book "The Three-Body Problem" five or six years ago. The draft of the whole book is basically ready, but some details have not been thought through.

For example, there is a plot at the end of "The Three-Body Problem" where a "patrolman" from an advanced civilization receives a signal from humans. How he responds is actually one of the key nodes of the novel. His response must be clear and concise, with a strong sense of urgency, and must also imply a great sense of sadness...

I thought about it for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution. Your three sentences of 'Don't submit!' immediately enlightened my mind... Do you mind if I use this sentence pattern in my novel later?"

Zhang Chao: "..." After a moment of silence, he quickly said: "I don't mind, I don't mind, I don't mind at all! Use it as hard as you can!"

Liu Cixin said: "That's good. Actually, I have some ideas about this novel..."

Zhang Chao interrupted immediately, "Don't spoil the plot! This way, when I read your manuscript, I'll feel the satisfaction of finally getting a rain after a long drought..."

Liu Cixin didn't expect Zhang Chao to react like this, but he was obviously very satisfied with it, so he didn't say anything more after hearing it, but changed the subject and started talking about other things.

The reason why Zhang Chao didn't want to talk to Liu Cixin about The Three-Body Problem was that he didn't want to affect his thinking. Having written novels for more than two years, he knows best that for a writer, a slight fluctuation in thinking may lead to a completely different final work.

After a while of chatting, we lost track of "The Three-Body Problem" or turned the topic into something else. What should we do?
If Zhang Chao had not been determined to snatch the book from Science Fiction World, he would not even be willing to offer Liu Cixin such generous conditions so early.

After all, "literature hates success" - who knows whether the change in Liu Cixin's mentality after receiving the serial payment of 500 yuan for thousands of words will affect the creation of "The Three-Body Problem".

You have to know that ever since his bank deposit balance became longer than his ATM password, he could only count on one hand the number of short and medium-length stories he had written, let alone long ones.

After eating and chatting, Zhang Chao drove Liu Cixin home and found a hotel for himself to rest his tired body and mind.

To win over a middle-aged man like Liu Cixin who has the dual temperament of a literary youth and an angry young man, and is persistent and introverted, Ma Boyong, who can only talk about literature and writing, is not enough, and Huang Jiefu, who can only talk about money, is even less capable. You have to do it yourself.

Whether it is "The Three-Body Problem" or "The Wandering Earth", although the cultural market and film and television technology level in the past two years cannot support them to quickly realize movies with hundreds of millions or billions of box office, but with the prosperity of the science fiction market and Liu Cixin's popularity rising like a rocket in a few years, it will eventually become an inexhaustible gold mine.

Just as Zhang Chao fell into a deep sleep filled with joy, he searched Baidu "Yangquan Bar", and under a post titled [The No. 1 Chinese science fiction novelist is from Yangquan, has anyone read his works], a bar friend with the ID "shipship" replied to the post:
[He is now the highest paid science fiction writer in China! Awesome! (smiley face) (smiley face)]

Soon, "shipship" appeared again in the "Niangziguan Power Plant Bar". There was a post in the bar titled "What position does Liu Cixin hold in the power plant now?", and one of the comments was as follows:

[A person who is quite closed off and can only make a living in a dreamy state of mind, he doesn't dare to show off and can't adapt to the living environment. Everyone, please stop talking and don't disturb others' peace. If they don't want to disturb you, you don't have to be indifferent.]

"shipship" replied to this comment: [Soon you won't even be able to make a fraction of what he makes in a year! ]

……

As the night deepened, Liu Cixin finally could no longer resist the sleepiness. He yawned, turned off the computer, and quietly slipped back to the bedroom to sleep.

(Two chapters in one tonight)

(End of this chapter)