Nominal: Who isn't a son-in-law?

The small conference room for the Department of Political Science and Law is located on the third floor of the administration building. Although it is called a small conference room, it is still more than 100 square meters.

They came here once when their student council had a meeting.

Pushing open the door, Chu Shijun saw two people sitting in the first row: a bald middle-aged man and a young man in his twenties.

Upon seeing the two, Chu Shijun quickened his pace, extending his hand and saying warmly, "You must be Director Liu from the Great Xia Daily? I am Chu Shijun, and this is my classmate Pei Qianqian."

"Hey, Deputy Director, Deputy Director, my name is Liu Huanfa, and this is Wang Jianning from the manuscript receiving department." Liu Huanfa also stood up, looked at the two of them, and said with emotion, "Shijun is truly a promising young man, and Qianqian is also very beautiful."

Upon seeing Pei Qianqian, Liu Huanfa roughly guessed that she must be Minister Zhou's niece. However, he did not say it directly, as their statuses were different, and there were some things he knew but could not say.

"I don't deserve it," Chu Shijun shook his head, then turned and said, "Qianqian, could you please make some tea?"

"Okay," Pei Qianqian replied, and was about to leave.

"No need, no need, don't trouble yourself, Qianqian. I just had a few drinks at your teacher Gao's place," Liu Huanfa waved his hand and said. "I'm short on time this time and I'm leaving tonight. The main reason is that the new issue is going to be published the day after tomorrow, so I need to finalize things as soon as possible."

"So, Shijun, shall we discuss the status of your book now?"

"Yes, Director Liu, please have a seat. Let's sit down and talk."

After Liu Huanfa sat down, Chu Shijun and the other man also pulled up chairs and sat opposite each other at the table.

"Shijun, your book is very well written. The ideas are profound and far-reaching. Our editorial team all gave it a thumbs up. No one expected that it was written by a college student. Our department head also read it, so I took the initiative to make this trip to prevent the subordinates from being ignorant and letting you, a great writer, go elsewhere," Liu Huanfa said with emotion.

"Haha, Director Liu, you flatter me. I've just read a lot of books and enjoy exchanging ideas with teachers and thinking about problems, which is why I have these humble opinions. Besides, everyone in the class knows I'm stubborn. Even if this doesn't work out, I'll revise it and still submit it to the Da Xia Daily. It's a great honor to have an article published in Da Xia's top newspaper. I'm also very honored that my book has been appreciated by you seniors. This is a recognition of me." Chu Shijun began to flatter him.

These words made Liu Huanfa very happy. He was not modest at all. The Daxia Daily was the official mouthpiece. If he was not number one, who would dare to claim the same title?

"Hehe," Liu Huanfa chuckled softly, took the two sheets of paper from Wang Jianning's hand, and said, "It's like this, Shijun, I'm here on behalf of the Daily to discuss the publication of your book with you, and I'm doing this with great sincerity."

"Since the 1980s, the price of articles in our newspaper has generally been around 6-20 yuan per thousand words. The price for famous writers is higher, reaching up to 50 yuan. We have discussed your book in a meeting. Considering the length of your work, the current offer is 9 yuan per thousand words. We will increase the price depending on the response. What do you think of this offer?"

This price is certainly not the price given by the Daily News, but how much to offer, how much to ask for, and how much to finally agree on all need to be negotiated. If Chu Shijun is not satisfied, he can just add a little more.

"Let me think about it."

Chu Shijun frowned, took the paper Liu Huanfa handed him, which listed the prices of some articles from the Daily over the past two years.

At this moment, Pei Qianqian spoke up.

"Director Liu, isn't 9 yuan per thousand words a bit low? Shi Jun's book is expected to be over 400,000 words long. It's not like those short articles in the daily newspaper; it can be published over a long period of time. We can consider publishing it as a book later. Moreover, his status as a college student will likely have a positive impact on the sales of the publication, since that's quite rare."

"My aunt is also a director at the daily newspaper. I remember she once said that for good articles and excellent works, we should dare to make exceptions and not stick to the rules and suppress enthusiasm just because the author is not famous. You must have heard that, so you might as well reconsider."

I've heard it, I'm sure I've heard it. It was Zhou Yuqiong's words published in the Daily News last year, and all her subordinates can recite it from memory.

Liu Huanfa's heart tightened. Auntie, this was indeed Minister Zhou's niece.

But judging from the way Pei Qianqian addressed him, he wasn't foolish enough to think she didn't know Minister Zhou's position. Clearly, she didn't want to put too much pressure on her boyfriend, and he understood.

"These words sound like they were spoken by Director Zhou... I didn't expect that Qianqian is actually a member of our Daily's family. To be honest, I'm not very satisfied with this price either, so after the meeting I asked the director for more authority to negotiate as much as possible, so that this good book can't slip out."

Liu Huanfa tapped the table, pretended to ponder for a moment, and gritted his teeth, saying, "This book is indeed very well written. How about this, 15 yuan per thousand words. This is the maximum I can offer. After all, Shijun's current fame is not comparable to some established writers. If the price is too high, it will inevitably have an impact."

"15 yuan per thousand words?" Chu Shijun nodded slowly, knowing when to stop. He knew there was more to come, and this had already met his expectations, perhaps even a little higher. After all, no matter how good the book was, he was just a college student, and the other party was definitely doing it because of Pei Qianqian's aunt.

He just didn't know how high an official position this aunt held; he didn't believe she was just a director. But since Pei Qianqian hadn't said anything, he didn't plan to ask. He'd just let things take their course.

"It's only 15 yuan per thousand words. Thank you so much, Director Liu. I will definitely put my heart into my writing and live up to your expectations," Chu Shijun said sincerely.

"I'm sure you'll put your heart into creating this. This price is only for the first three issues. We'll see how the volume goes after that. If it's good, the price will go up; if it's bad, the price will definitely have to go down. I have to be responsible to the Daily News. Is that okay? Also, the book will be published after the third issue. I'll discuss that with Shi Jun then, and that will be the final price," Liu Huanfa said slowly.

Chu Shijun extended his hand directly.

"Thank you for your help, Director Liu."

Liu Huanfa reached out and shook his hand, smiling as he said, "I hope that Shijun will work hard in his writing and produce more excellent works in the literary field, so that even an old pine tree in this office can have something new to read."

"Ha ha"

Seeing this, Wang Jianning knew that things were settled. After glancing at Liu Huanfa, he took out a stack of pre-prepared contracts from his bag and began to search through them in front of Chu Shijun and Liu Huanfa.

The contracts offer prices of 10 or 11 yuan per thousand words, with the highest being 14 yuan per thousand words.

"Director Liu, the highest rate you brought was 14 yuan per thousand words. I'll draft a new one now," Wang Jianning said.

"Okay, write it here." Liu Huanfa nodded.

At this time, contracts were still mainly handwritten. Printing technology was not as advanced as it would be in later years. A fingerprint or a steel stamp had the same legal effect. With his signature as the director, the contract was considered valid.

Wang Jianning worked quickly, and soon wrote a new copy based on the template. After printing a copy, Chu Shijun and Liu Huanfa immediately signed their names and pressed their fingerprints on the two contracts.

After glancing at the watch on his left wrist, Liu Huanfa stood up and said, "Classmate Shijun, we won't stay any longer. We have to rush back to the capital to take care of some matters. I will take the contract back to get it stamped and then mail it to you."

"It's almost lunchtime. Director Liu, why don't you two have a meal before you leave? I'd like to show you some hospitality."

After shaking hands with Chu Shijun, Liu Huanfa waved his hand and said, "I'll come back to eat with you, the great writer, when you publish your next book. I really have something to do this time."

After saying that, he turned to Pei Qianqian and smiled, "Qianqian, is there anything I'd like to tell your aunt?"

"No need to trouble Director Liu, I'll call my aunt later." Pei Qianqian shook her head.

Make a phone call? Sure, make a phone call!

Liu Huanfa nodded and didn't say anything more. He just wanted Minister Zhou to know that it was Liu Huanfa who had handled this matter.

The group walked downstairs, and Liu Huanfa turned around and gestured, saying, "Go have dinner, you two. No need to see me off. Like I said before, focus on your writing. I'm looking forward to your excellent work, Shijun."

"Of course, of course, Director Liu, please take care."