That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 197 Do you call this concession?

"It's actually in English. Mr. Li, are you good at English novels?"

Pei Wencong took Li Ye's manuscript and was stunned.

Although there have been literary greats like Lin Yutang and Gu Hongming among flower growers, they can conquer many Western literary media in English.

But not everyone is Gu Hongming or Lin Yutang, and Li Ye is obviously better at creating commercial literary works, which is not the same thing as those works by everyone.

For commercial literary works, the commercial value is first of all, and the literary value is only an accessory to it, and the reading groups it faces are also different.

In Pei Wencong's view, the difficulty of writing a commercial literary work that makes readers in the English cultural circle pay for it for a person whose native language is not English may be even more incredible than when mainlanders were able to explode nuclear weapons.

But now that Li Ye has taken out the manuscript, Pei Wencong always wants to take a look. This is the minimum respect for an author.

Especially when the author has a special "personality".

Pei Wencong's native language is Cantonese, but the University of Hong Kong where he once studied was taught in English. As a top student, his English skills are very good, and he has no problem reading an English novel.

He looked at it carefully for 10 minutes, then turned back and started looking again, and then slowly frowned.

"Mr. Li, the story of "A Song of Ice and Fire" is quite good, but I think it may not be easy to succeed if it is to be promoted to the whole world."

Pei Wencong expressed his opinion tactfully and found that Li Ye still looked calm and composed.

So Pei Wencong explained again: "Mr. Li, I have actually read many original English novels, and I feel that your work is similar to Mr. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings".
But that was a novel written 30 years ago, and the writing style of your work is too special, which may not fit in with the reading habits of Western novel readers. "

Pei Wencong felt that he had said it very tactfully. If another author had submitted such a manuscript to his literary society, he would have turned into a Maxim machine gun and sprayed him all over his head and face.

[Is this a novel?What you are writing is a text, especially a middle school text. 】

Li Ye's original translation requirements for Wen Leyu were "straightforward and accurate". This also came from the experience of later generations. Many Chinese works that were successfully exported overseas in later generations pursued straightforward writing to facilitate translation and publication.

If it is written in a flashy way, Waiguoren will be blinded by it. He will know what exactly you want to express?
A little deviation here, a little distortion there, and in the end the meaning is completely wrong when translated.

"Ha~, it's not possible, it's definitely not a good fit."

Li Ye smiled, and then he said calmly: "Mr. Pei, there is no need to be so tactful. I know the problems with this book, so I have prepared a proper solution."

"A proper solution? Then I'm all ears."

Pei Wencong smiled, but he didn't think so.

Literary works are not industrial products, as long as they can achieve effectiveness, they are very subtle things.
Not to mention those crappy novels, even many excellent novels may take decades to suddenly become popular. Who dares to say "proper solution" before the work is on the market?

Li Yedao: "Mr. Pei, does your publishing house have the ability to solicit manuscripts from the English cultural circle?"

Pei Wencong was stunned for a moment and said: "Yes, Hong Kong Island is one of the 52 members of the Commonwealth. I have many foreign colleagues and friends, and sometimes I also adopt some translation manuscripts from abroad."

"That's good," Li Ye said confidently: "I will offer you thirty thousand US dollars as a bonus, and you can find a way to publish an advertisement for prize-winning manuscripts around the world and find someone to translate my manuscript a second time.

After soliciting opinions and scores from readers, a few outstanding works are selected for publication and marketed, and then undergo a second round of market practice testing. Finally, the winners are selected and published based on market response.”

Pei Wencong: "."

The plan mentioned by Li Ye actually adopted part of the screening mechanism for later online articles, weakened the comment rights of book reviewers, greatly increased the weight of readers' opinions, and finalized it based on market response.
Whether a commercial literary work is good or not depends on the readers and the market.
To give an inappropriate example, let’s take the Golden Plum Blossom. Even if critics criticize it as a stubborn dregs of the old era, it will be passed down from generation to generation because of the support of readers.

And for many popular literary works, who will still read them dozens or hundreds of years later?

"Mr. Li, I think the method you mentioned is a great idea. I can immediately arrange for people to start making plans and implement them as soon as possible."

In fact, Pei Wencong already understood what Li Ye meant when he was halfway through listening to Li Ye's words, and even figured out various subsequent operation plans in his mind.

Pei Wencong didn't know whether Li Ye's novel would work, but this method was definitely feasible. The $[-] these days was definitely a powerful attraction for many authors.

Pei Wencong couldn't help but ask himself, am I still an insider in the publishing industry?

Why, as a graduate of the University of Hong Kong and still living in Hong Kong Island, an area with an extremely strong business atmosphere, why didn’t I think of the method Li Ye mentioned?
Li Ye nodded slightly and said, "Then, we need to talk about cooperation next."

It's coming, that familiar feeling is coming again.

Pei Wencong seemed to see the figure in Causeway Bay again. The sharp watermelon knife shone brightly in the sun. With one cut, a large piece of fat on your butt was cut off.

"Mr. Li, this time, are you going to take away 20% of the publishing house's profits according to the partnership model?" Pei Wencong said with a smile: "I have to say that Mr. Li's conditions are even better than those of other novels. Too much concession."

In fact, the current cooperation model between Li Ye and Pei Wencong is that Li Ye technically takes a stake in "Shuofeng Feiyang" and earns 20.00% of the profit of Talang Literature Publishing House.

When Li Ye proposed this model, Pei Wencong was almost unable to accept it, because according to the practice on Hong Kong Island, Li Ye wanted too much.

[Do you think you are Gu Liang Jin? 】

If Pei Wencong hadn't been desperate, he would never have accepted it.

But only a few months later, Pei Wencong felt that he had "earned money."

A small company like Talang Literary Publishing House has small strength but also small burdens. A popular book can take it off and transform it into the ranks of medium-sized publishers.

What's more, after the name of "Seven Inch Blade" became famous, it became a cash cow!
Anyway, "Song of Ice and Fire" has not been serialized yet, and Li Ye still has to take 20% of the profits. It is okay to use this period to promote this "Song of Ice and Fire". If it fails, Li Ye's thirty thousand US dollars will help. At the end of the day, if you succeed, you will get 80%, no matter how you calculate it, it is appropriate.

More importantly, based on Pei Wencong's understanding of Li Ye, he felt that it was impossible for him to accept lower cooperation conditions than those for "The Flying Wind".

Sure enough, after listening to Pei Wencong's words, Li Ye shook his head slightly and said: "We didn't know each other last time, and we didn't know each other's strength very well.

Now that I have proven my strength, I think [-]-[-] is more appropriate. "

"Three sevens?"

Pei Wencong said with an expression of embarrassment: "Mr. Li, I know you have confidence in your work, but my publishing house is also booming. You just provide a work and take 30% of the profit. It is really too high." ”

"You misunderstood," Li Ye waved his hand and said, "It's you three and me seven."

"."

Pei Wencong stood up suddenly, stared and said urgently: "Mr. Li, are you kidding? You just publish a work and you want to be my boss?"

The entire Hong Kong Island, no, the entire Yadong region does not have such a reason as you. You are simply joking. "

If Pei Wencong hadn't gained a new understanding of Li Ye in Zhongying Street, he might have impulsively shouted out curse words such as "Fuck you, Eminem" at this moment.

You just brought a manuscript with an uncertain future and asked Sanqi to become the majority shareholder of Talang Literature Publishing House. Are you trying to beat my rich man?
"Mr. Pei, please be patient and talk about cooperation. Of course we have to talk about it."

Looking at Pei Wencong who almost jumped, Li Ye said calmly: "Since Mr. Pei thinks this cooperation condition is unreasonable, then I will take a step back." "I don't want your publishing house's profits this time. The operation of this book Separate accounting, you three and I seven, is that okay?"

You can be a ghost!
Do you call this taking a step back?Except for your two books, the entire publishing house has not made much progress. How big of a difference does it make if you regress or not?
Pei Wencong tugged hard on his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, then released the depression that was held in his heart.

The prize-winning draft plan that Li Ye just mentioned seems to be just a few words, but it is very cumbersome to implement and requires a lot of energy and connections.

All these tasks had to be coordinated and completed by Pei Wencong, but when it came time to share the profits, he actually got three?Let the author take seven?
Am I a capitalist or are you a capitalist?

In fact, Pei Wencong really wronged Li Ye.

Because based on his experience in writing online articles in later generations, the author fee sharing ratio for those great authors is as low as thirty-seven.

For example, for a company that occupies the leading position of domestic online articles, the subscription profit sharing ratio between ordinary authors and the platform is [-]-[-], while for great writers, it is [-]-[-].

Although this is the share ratio after deducting operating expenses, it at least gives the author a "fair" feeling.

So with "Seven Inch Blade"'s current status as a celebrity, is it too much to ask for a date with a great god?

Pei Wencong looked at Li Ye who was calm and composed, and his mood finally calmed down.

"Mr. Li, it is difficult to implement your proposal because my publisher needs to pay a lot of hidden costs. It is difficult to calculate the profit of a certain book."

Li Ye is right, since it's cooperation, let's talk!

But after Pei Wencong finished speaking, Li Ye showed no intention of negotiating.

"Then let's visit Hong Kong Island first and then talk about it in two days."

After Li Ye finished speaking, he stood up and walked out. Pei Wencong hesitated and had no choice but to follow.

When Li Ye and Pei Wencong went downstairs, they discovered that Hao Jian and Jin Peng, who had just come out to "hang around", had not gone far at all. They were standing "at attention" not far away, vigilant about the situation around the hotel like sentinels. .

This time the three of them came to Hong Kong Island. They were very clear about their positioning, which was to take good care of Li Ye.

Li Ye did not say why he gave the invitation letters to Hao Jian and Jin Peng, but they felt that it was not just because they were the best in Cantonese.

It's a trust.

Seeing Pei Wencong coming down, Amin, who was in a tea restaurant nearby, hurried over and whispered something to Pei Wencong.

Pei Wencong nodded slightly, and then asked Li Ye: "Mr. Li, where are we going to visit?"

Pei Wencong still remembers the first time he talked to Li Ye. Li Ye not only said he wanted to visit Victoria Bay, but also wanted to visit Sanlian Bookstore and other publishing houses.

Pei Wencong was really conflicted at this moment. He didn't want to lose Li Ye's brand name. A long-term cooperative relationship between Talang Literary Society and Seven Inch Blade would be a win-win situation.

But Li Ye's proposal was too much, and Pei Wencong couldn't accept it for a while.

However, Li Ye did not propose to visit any publishing house, but said: "Do you know where there is a fashion store that makes clothes? I want to customize some clothes."

Li Yeye was afraid that Pei Wencong wouldn't understand, so he added: "Try to be as fashionable as possible, and the budget for each person is within [-]."

"Yes, yes," Pei Wencong said immediately, "I know there is a store. The owner went to Europe to study fashion design. After he came back, he opened a store not far away."

Amin drove the car over and drove several people to a small street.

This is a standard Hong Kong Island-style small street. The street is very narrow, with tall buildings on both sides. There are a row of shops along the street, and the decoration of the gates is pretty good.

"Mr. Li, don't look at the small size of the shop here. It is very famous on Hong Kong Island. Many movie stars come here to customize their clothes. It can be said to be the most fashionable clothing store."

While introducing Li Ye, Pei Wencong led Li Ye past several shops, turned into an alley next to the small street, and arrived in front of a small clothing store.

"Cough cough~"

Facing Li Ye's expression of "Are you a shill?", Pei Wencong coughed twice and whispered: "Mr. Li, the shop owner here is one of my junior sisters, but I have absolutely no other intentions, and you Maybe they don’t know much about Hong Kong Island, and many people have some misunderstandings about mainlanders.”

"I know, you are afraid that people won't receive us, right?"

Li Ye smiled, opened the door and walked in.

The clothing store is not large, but the decoration is OK. There is a young woman in her 20s inside, who is reading a children's picture book with a little boy.

The woman stood up quickly, and before she could say anything, she heard Li Ye ask in smooth Mandarin: "Hello, we want to make some clothes. Is it convenient for us to receive you?"

Not to mention 83, even three to forty years later, there are still some people in Hong Kong who don’t want to see mainland guests!You speak Mandarin to him, he speaks Cantonese to you, you speak Cantonese to him, and he asks you if you know English.

Some people from Guangdong Province angrily yelled: "Since you speak Cantonese, why don't you recognize your ancestors?"

So Li Ye didn't wait for Pei Wencong's introduction and spoke in Mandarin. If you don't want to do it, just say it already. Don't embarrass yourself in Pei Wencong's face.

"Of course it's convenient! How can you not receive guests when you open the door for business, let alone Senior Brother Pei's friend."

The young woman in the store actually spoke good Mandarin, which made Li Ye feel a lot better.

Pei Wencong stepped forward and said, "Aling, these gentlemen are going to make some fashionable clothes. Please recommend them."

"Okay, what do you gentlemen have to ask for? Take a look at these albums. What style do you like?"

The shopkeeper named A Ling was not overly enthusiastic, nor did he show any neglect. While calling out a young girl to come and measure Li Ye and others, he took out a stack of albums for Li Ye and others to choose from.

In fact, Pengcheng Factory No. [-] has its own clothing master, and Li Ye has been wearing customized clothes in the past six months.

But after all, there is a 40-year difference in perspective. Sometimes, several old masters who have retired from state-owned factories cannot understand Li Ye's requirements.

Li Ye was not sure whether it was the master's problem or his own thinking that was too forward-thinking, so he came to Hong Kong Island this time to verify it.

It turns out there are both reasons.

Those old masters who have retired and returned to work are indeed limited by the development level of the garment industry in the mainland, and their vision is somewhat insufficient.

But Li Ye's fashion thinking is indeed somewhat avant-garde.

Li Ye picked out a few models from the album provided by Aling, and then asked to change some details. Aling quickly understood Li Ye's intention and was able to draw new templates by hand.

However, looking at the surprised look in Aling's eyes, it is obvious that she, a "turtle designer", cannot escape the limitations of the times.

(End of this chapter)