Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Han Fei pedaled hard, sweat pouring down his back.

He was in the cardiopulmonary training room of Huizhi Fitness Center, where there were more than twenty advanced exercise bikes. On each bike sat a rather attractive young woman, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the silent television hanging on the ceiling.

The TV was showing "The Storm Riders," and Bu Jingyun was yelling, his lips moving as if he were shouting "Don't come any closer!" Han Fei knew this because nearly twenty years later, this scene would be made into a viral meme video.

Do you love me or not?! A rock song blared from the loudspeaker.

Han Fei disliked loud music and the harsh sound of his own breathing. Today was Saturday, and he could have gone to the publishing house as usual and spent the whole day in his office working on manuscripts.

However, after the meeting yesterday, Han Fei spent the entire day in his office reviewing the remaining manuscripts for the New Rural Novel Competition. Around 8 PM, as he stood up from his chair, he suddenly felt dizzy, his vision went black, and he almost fell.

Zhang Ruiyi told him that if he continued like this, he would eventually risk sudden death, so she persuaded him to temporarily leave his study on Saturday and join Huizhi Fitness Center. He agreed to join. Then, when Zhang Ruiyi continued to persuade him to participate in aerobic classes, he flatly refused.

Joining a group of people who like fast-paced music and doing exercises to the music, watching the aerobics instructor grinning and encouraging everyone to work harder, shouting slogans like "No pain, no gain," is, for Han Fei, simply self-deprecating behavior, and he cannot understand it at all.

Han Fei quickly glanced around to confirm that he was the only male member there today. The cardiopulmonary training room was filled with girls, all with earphones in their ears, stealing glances at him every now and then. They weren't looking at Han Fei, but at Zhang Ruiyi sitting next to him. She was wearing a gray bodysuit that accentuated her slender, graceful figure.

Han Fei glanced at Zhang Ruiyi, puzzled as to why, despite their similar exercise levels, Zhang Ruiyi's forehead was completely dry, while he was drenched in sweat like a stagnant ditch. Perhaps those girls were frequently looking at Zhang Ruiyi in search of a goal and motivation for their exercise.

The control screen on Han Fei's bicycle displayed a sentence: You ride very well.

"But I'm dressed terribly," Han Fei thought, glancing down at his baggy jogging pants. He kept pulling up the waistband because his phone was hanging from the elastic waistband.

His worn-out Adidas sneakers were neither new nor trendy enough, nor old enough to be considered retro. The black T-shirt he wore, printed with a still of Andy Lau from the movie "A Moment of Romance," was once a popular street style item, but now it conveyed the message that this person hadn't kept up with popular culture for many years.

But these things weren't enough to make Han Fei feel ashamed until his phone rang and more than twenty pairs of reproachful eyes shot at him. Only then did he feel utterly embarrassed. He took the black "little devil" from his waist.

"Hello, who is this?"

Do you love me or not?! The loudspeaker blared that line again.

"President, it's me, Lu Hai. Uh... is it a convenient time to talk now?"

"Convenient, it's just music."

"But why are you panting like a walrus?"

"I'm at the gym."

"Alright, I have good news for you. I've hired two new editors, and they can start work on Monday. Let me tell you, boss, these two are both incredibly talented."

"Yeah?"

"The first one is Zhou Tao, 23 years old, a graduate of the Chinese Department of Fudan University. He interned at the magazine 'Mengya' for half a year. Most importantly, he also writes, and has published several suspense novels in the magazine, which received a fairly good response. I read his manuscripts, and his style is quite unconventional. I think he can completely handle the style we are doing now."

"That's good. Having someone who's also a creative writer as an editor allows them to provide authors with more specific suggestions for revisions. What about the other one?"

Lu Hai gave a shy laugh: "The other one is a woman named Sun Yue, 26 years old. She worked as an editor at 'Story Club' for two years. She is particularly experienced in the kind of topics about family life and emotional entanglements, and she also has a few authors in her pipeline. She said that if the offer is right here, she can bring them over."

"Poaching people from 'Story Club'?" Han Fei laughed. "Lu Hai, you've got some nerve."

"Hehe, wasn't this recruited according to your instructions? She wasn't very happy at 'Story Club,' saying that it was too rigid there and she wanted to switch to a place where she could make more of a difference. After talking to her, I thought she was a good fit, so I made the decision to sign her."

"Good job. On Monday, take them through the process and emphasize our review standards so they don't cross the line right away."

"Understood. And then there's the matter of author contracts."

Han Fei stopped pressing the pedal.

Lu Hai cleared his throat: "After we sent out invitations for exclusive agreements, nine authors have already agreed to sign. Top authors like Lao Huai and Hedgehog are all fine with it, especially Lao Huai, who is particularly enthusiastic, saying that it is his honor to publish on Qingniao and he is willing to sign for as long as he wants."

"Um."

"Well... but quite a few authors are still hesitant. I've gathered their thoughts, and most of them actually approve of the model we're currently using. They're mainly worried about two issues. Some feel that if they sign an exclusive agreement, and our demand decreases or our style changes in the future, they'll have no other options. Others, especially those authors who are already somewhat well-known, value creative freedom and don't want to be bound by a particular style."

Han Fei thought for a moment: "Hmm... Authors are very important to us, and we can't just make sweeping decisions about those with doubts. Let's establish a tiered contract system, using tolerance to gain cooperation. Take notes."

"I have a pen in my hand. President, what are you saying?"

"The first-tier contract is an exclusive deal for five years or more, with a guaranteed minimum fee of 80 yuan per thousand words, plus a 5% commission. The commission is calculated based on the net revenue generated by the work. For example, if 1 readers pay 10 yuan per month for Lao Huai's work, the revenue generated by this manuscript would be 10 yuan. After deducting the mobile company's 15% commission, there would be 85000 yuan left. 50% of that is considered the publisher's operating costs, and the remaining 42500 yuan is the net profit generated by this manuscript. Lao Huai would then receive 5% of that, which is 2125 yuan. Is that clear to you?"

"Understood, President. Are you good at mental arithmetic?"

"I've already done the math a lot," Han Fei said with a smile. "Go on, the three-year exclusive contract is the second-tier contract, with a guaranteed minimum fee of 65 yuan per thousand words and a 3% revenue share. The third-tier contract is a one-year exclusive contract, with a guaranteed minimum fee of 50 yuan per thousand words and a 2% revenue share. All three tiers of contracts promise automatic termination after one month if our model ends. They also retain a certain degree of creative freedom, allowing you to write other types of works, but they won't be published online, and naturally, there will be no revenue share. We'll reserve 3 to 5 pages in the print magazine specifically for these types of works, but space is limited, so it's first-come, first-served, and those who miss out will be published the following month. The fee will be calculated according to the contract tier."

"Okay, boss. I'll post it right away."

Han Fei hung his phone back on his sweatpants, pulled up his pants, and turned his head to meet Zhang Ruiyi's eyes.

"Let's go," he said.

"You're leaving after practicing for less than an hour?"

Han Fei stretched his stiff neck from side to side: "I'm not good at aerobic exercise, let's go to the strength training room."