At the age of 38, he went to college and his children were classmates.

Chapter 134, Who is that vixen? (Please subscribe)
The two met at a Western restaurant near Sanjiang University.

Chen Min didn't mention bringing the child along, and Shen Qiushan tacitly didn't mention it either.

After all, it's not very convenient to have a child with you, whether you're talking about work or something else.

Since it was dinner time and today was the day for new students to register, many parents who lived nearby hadn't left, and the Western restaurants, which usually weren't very busy, were almost full.

Shen Qiushan and Chen Min were seated near the window by the door. Whenever someone entered or left, the lucky cat sensor on the shelf would emit a cartoonish voice saying "Welcome."

It's a bit noisy, yet also has a childlike charm.

The initial pleasantries were once again interrupted by a greeting of "Welcome!" Chen Min smiled and shrugged, "I wish I hadn't arranged to meet here."

Shen Qiushan picked up his coffee and took a sip: "Sister Min, how about we just order?"

Chen Min nodded with a smile: "Okay, then let's get straight to it."

"I think your book, 'The Three-Body Problem,' is quite good. I'd like to talk to you about collaborating."

Is the book finished?

"Yes, it's finished."

"How many words?"

"88."

"So long?"

"Isn't it better if it's longer?"

"Uh"

Chen Min looked up at Shen Qiushan opposite her and subconsciously added, "I was talking about books!"

"if not?"

Shen Qiushan looked completely innocent, as if he hadn't understood anything.

His actions caused Chen Min's cheeks to flush slightly. A woman as attractive as her, who had been in the workplace for so many years, had naturally heard all sorts of dirty jokes. In fact, during social occasions, clients and some famous male authors would deliberately tell her dirty jokes.

Some just enjoyed the verbal sparring, while others genuinely wanted to have something happen between them and Chen Min.

Chen Min already had her own way of dealing with men, but Shen Qiushan's sudden turn of events caught her off guard, and what's more, she managed to catch him steadily.

Right now, Shen Qiushan is pretending to be innocent with clear eyes, making it seem as if she is the one who started the conversation.

If Shen Qiushan were just a greasy old man, Chen Min wouldn't have reacted much. But to her, Shen Qiushan was like a younger brother, and he was extremely handsome.

This creates the impression of an "older woman" teasing a "younger man".

"If it's 88 words, then it's best to divide it into two volumes, or three volumes."

Chen Min composed herself and then steered the conversation back on track.

"Three books, I've already divided them up."

"Ah."

Chen Min nodded slightly, then looked at Shen Qiushan again and said seriously, "Let's talk about royalties. How much are you hoping for?"

Chen Min's question seemed normal, but it was actually a test of Shen Qiushan, firstly to see how he valued his work.

Secondly, she deliberately used conversational techniques that were not typical of non-professionals. If the person sitting opposite her was a well-known writer, Chen Min would not talk about royalties, but would directly discuss royalties.

Knowing that Shen Qiushan was a writer by profession and had no prior publishing experience, Chen Min wanted to test whether Shen Qiushan understood the ins and outs of the industry.

In response, Shen Qiushan only replied with one sentence: "I will take 20% of the royalties."

"Hmm~"

Chen Min, who had just taken a sip of coffee, almost spat it out. At the last moment, she clenched her teeth and picked up a tissue from the table to wipe her mouth.

"Brother Shen, do you know what a 20% royalty rate means?"

After tidying herself up, Chen Min asked with a serious expression.

Based on current market conditions, when publishers collaborate with authors, the royalties authors receive generally fluctuate between 5% and 15%.

If you are a relatively unknown new writer, you will generally only receive 5% of the royalties.

Domestic first-tier writers usually only receive about 15% of the royalties, while only a few top writers at the very top of the pyramid may receive more than 15%.

However, when collaborating with top writers, there are many more things to discuss. In addition to royalty sharing, there may be a guaranteed minimum payment and other additional conditions.

Therefore, Shen Qiushan's 20% royalty share is exactly the treatment of a top writer.

He was just an "online writer".

Although he achieved some success on Tencent Novels, he has not yet proven himself in the field of physical publishing.

Strictly speaking, he is still just a newcomer.

Before coming here, Chen Min had planned to sign a publishing cooperation agreement with Shen Qiushan at the price of a newcomer.

However, Shen Qiushan made an outrageous demand!
"I think The Three-Body Problem deserves a 20% royalty."

Shen Qiushan said with a confident expression, "Every author thinks they have written a masterpiece, but whether it is a masterpiece or not is not up to the author or the editor."

"It is the readers' opinions and the market's opinions that matter."

At this moment, Chen Min had already adopted a negotiating stance. She subconsciously crossed her hands together and stared intently at Shen Qiushan.

"Min-jie was one of the first readers of 'The Three-Body Problem,' so what do you think of the book?"

Shen Qiushan asked calmly.

"Um"

Chen Min hesitated for a moment. She thought the next step would be a negotiation on price, but Shen Qiushan unexpectedly threw the question back at her.

"I approve of this book, otherwise I wouldn't have approached you, Brother Shen, to discuss collaboration."

"But as I just said, your or my approval is not very meaningful. Only the approval of readers and the market can bring real value."

Chen Min continued, "Brother Shen, as a new writer, I can tell you with certainty that it's impossible for you to get a 20% royalty share, especially since this is a science fiction novel."

"To my recollection, it's been a long time since a science fiction novel published in China has sold over 10 copies."

Chen Min was interrupted halfway through her sentence by a waiter who came to serve the food.

The two ordered two steaks, a vegetable salad, and a snack.

After the waiter left, Shen Qiushan picked up his knife and fork, cutting the steak in front of him as he said, "Sister Min, do you think it's possible to sign an agreement like this, where the royalty rate is linked to the sales volume? For example, if 10 copies are sold, the royalty is 10%; if 50 copies are sold, the royalty is 15%; if one million copies are sold, the royalty is 20%, and so on."

"of course can."

Chen Min agreed very readily because their publishing house used this tiered royalty agreement when collaborating with some bestselling authors.

The more books a writer sells, the higher their royalty percentage will be.

This is actually a method that publishers are willing to adopt, especially when collaborating with well-known authors. If they directly offer a high royalty contract, the publisher is likely to lose money if the book does not sell well.

"Okay, let's discuss the royalty rates corresponding to the specific sales volume!"

Shen Qiushan knew that it was unrealistic for a newcomer like himself to directly receive a high royalty share, so he had already decided on the way here to adopt a tiered royalty model.

If Chen Min still doesn't agree to this, then let's move on to the next one!
There are plenty of publishers anyway.

The commercial street outside the window.

A small group consisting of four women and one man was particularly eye-catching.

The four girls walking in front, in particular, were all very beautiful, making them a striking sight on the commercial street.

Almost every guy who passed by would take a second look, and one guy who was with his girlfriend even had his ear pulled because he was distracted.

The four girls who make up the group are Shen Yanran, Lin Jiayu, Fang Xiaoya, and Shen Yanran's roommate Chen Jiahuan.

The boy following behind the four was naturally Shen Yixiao.

The reason why the group got together was quite simple: Shen Qiushan had stood up the two children, and coincidentally, Lin Jiayu, their aunt, contacted them to have dinner together.

Shen Yanran and Chen Jiahuan got along well, so Shen Yanran invited Chen Jiahuan to join them as well.

Fang Xiaoya, the scheming stepmother, naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity to build a relationship with Shen Yanran and Shen Yixiao, so she insisted on joining the dinner party and even took the initiative to treat them to a meal as a welcome party for the two siblings.

Since it was still early, Lin Jiayu suggested taking Shen Yanran and the other two to stroll around the school's commercial street to familiarize themselves with the surrounding environment.

"Yanran, what important thing is it that your father has to do? He didn't even eat with you at the first meal of the new semester."

Fang Xiaoya was very curious about Shen Qiushan's whereabouts.

Could he have been secretly dating other women? When Shen Qiushan reported for duty today, didn't a lot of young girls ask him to take photos with them? One of them was a WeChat friend of Fang Xiaoya, and she even posted on her Moments, calling him the most handsome uncle she had ever seen!

Fang Xiaoya also browsed the school forum, where there were several posts about Shen Qiushan. The titles of these posts were mostly about encountering Shen Qiushan reporting for duty.

However, in the comments below the post, many girls were praising things like "Old Shen is so handsome" and "Uncle Shen is so handsome".

This made Fang Xiaoya, the "stepmother," feel a great sense of crisis.

"They said it was about work, but I didn't ask any questions in detail."

Shen Yanran wasn't too concerned about what her father was doing. She was still immersed in the joy of arriving in a new environment and was very curious about the shops on both sides of the commercial street.

At that moment, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.

Well.
Dad?!
Of course, Shen Yanran recognized her own father; right now, he was sitting in the Western restaurant to her right.

At almost the same time, Fang Xiaoya also spotted Shen Qiushan sitting in the Western restaurant, and the "vixen" opposite him!
"She really did sneak out on a date!"

Who is that vixen?

Fang Xiaoya stomped her feet angrily, like a young wife who had caught her husband cheating.

"Uh?"

"Brother-in-law, you really went on a date?"

Lin Jiayu, who was chewing a corn cob like a little hamster with one end stuck in her finger, stopped and looked at her brother-in-law sitting in the shop with surprise.

Chen Jiahuan, who was walking next to her, was dumbfounded, because the "vixen" Fang Xiaoya was talking about was actually his own mother!
(End of this chapter)