Chapter 42

The reason Teacher Ke suddenly changed her mind and refused to sign her name on Li Ye's "Lurking" was because Wen Leyu had given her a manuscript for a new novel the previous night.

When Wen Leyu originally wanted to learn how to write novels from Li Ye, Li Ye chose a "co-creation" model for real-time teaching and had Wen Leyu provide the story background and character material for the new novel.

The material was, of course, provided by Teacher Ke, and on the very day she provided it, Teacher Ke began writing herself.

She wanted to test her own ability to see if she could write a novel just like "Lurking."

Teacher Ke was a person who had her own pride and was by no means a layman when it came to literary writing; she believed that with Li Ye's "Lurking" as a reference, she could surely write something of substance.

Teacher Ke's writing went quite smoothly; after all, she was a university student from the 1960s and had previously published literary works, so she definitely had no problems with her command of language.

Moreover, among the materials she prepared, many of the stories about character prototypes were things she had heard from the elders in her family; now, narrating them in writing was merely a matter of interpretation.

Teacher Ke wrote more and more smoothly, and soon she had written an opening that looked quite good.

After reading it carefully several times, she felt a bit confident and proud, and she planned to let Li Ye take a look in a few days so they could "learn from each other."

It was co-creation, after all! Naturally, both sides had to contribute.

But unfortunately, before Teacher Ke had a chance to give the manuscript to Li Ye, Wen Leyu brought over Li Ye's manuscript.

After Teacher Ke read it, just like when she first saw the manuscript of "Lurking," she sat up for another whole night.

Comparing people leads to death; comparing goods leads to throwing them away.

With the same character material and the same story background, the resulting works were two completely different things.

If one had to make a comparison, Teacher Ke's story was like a pot of bland, salted stew—lacking flavor and barely enough to satisfy hunger.

Whereas the story Li Ye wrote was a stir-fried feast with a mix of meat and vegetables, complete in color, aroma, taste, and nutrition.

The various seasonings and cooking techniques missing from her work were all the "private goods" Li Ye had added himself.

Teacher Ke's story was actually a "bookkeeping novel," with beautiful prose but a bland plot, while Li Ye's story was a literary novel with a rich plot.

When the sky outside the window began to brighten, Teacher Ke laughed at herself.

She finally understood how imprudent and overconfident her initial move to request a co-author credit had been.

Li Ye didn't need her help at all; her help would only cause trouble for others.

Although Teacher Ke was truly at her wit's end at the time and wouldn't have wanted to give up even a straw, was that really a justifiable reason?

And looking at the manuscript in her hand, Teacher Ke could feel that Li Ye was truly helping her.

This novel, tentatively titled "Beacon Fire Deserter," was a "high-end custom piece" that fit Teacher Ke's wishes in every way.

Although it was only an opening, the soldiers who shed their blood for the light were all described by Li Ye with such vivid colors using various techniques that anyone who saw it would be left with a deep impression.

And this point was very important.

Once this book was finished, Teacher Ke would show it to some people; as long as it left an impression on them, her husband, who had already been forgotten by others, would surely be remembered again.

It could be said that Teacher Ke had never explained to Li Ye what she needed, but Li Ye had precisely given her the thing she desired and needed most.

Treating others with sincerity is mutual.

Teacher Ke immediately made a decision to express her apologies to Li Ye.

Taking the works she had published in the past to show Dong Yuejin, and then admitting her own shortcomings, was a disguised way of elevating Li Ye's literary level.

After all, Li Ye was still too young and easily looked down upon by others.

And admitting her own shortcomings humbly in front of Li Ye's parents didn't make Teacher Ke feel that she had lost much face; she even felt it was just right.

Teacher Ke had watched the changes in her daughter; something might happen between her and Li Ye in the future, so she absolutely couldn't let his parents gossip!

"I'll toast the two of you; congratulations on raising such a good son and grandson."

Teacher Ke picked up her wine glass and toasted Li Zhongfa and Li Kaijian very formally.

"Not at all, not at all; the child is still young, and we still have to rely on you, Teacher Ke, to provide more guidance!"

Li Zhongfa and Li Kaijian were also people who knew how to handle social situations; they weren't reserved at all, and as the wine flowed, the atmosphere in the private room became very harmonious and enthusiastic.

And because of Teacher Ke's intervention, everyone finally automatically filled in the explanations for certain questions.

Li Ye's age was still on the young side, and writing spy thrillers like "Lurking" lacked some persuasiveness.

But now that Teacher Ke was standing on the sidelines to support him, it inadvertently filled in this flaw; everyone took it seriously, believing that Teacher Ke had dictated many stories to pave the way for Li Ye to use.

Not long after, Li Ye saw Dong Yuejin gradually blushing and sweating, knowing that his tolerance for alcohol was average; if he were to get drunk, they wouldn't be able to talk business.

Talking business at the dinner table is best done between "tipsy" and "drunk," because if you're drunk, your words don't count, and if you're sober, you don't say anything.

So Li Ye found an opportunity to interject and ask: "Editor Dong, now that you've come this time, has the publishing house told you anything about the remuneration?"

Dong Yuejin was well-prepared and said with great confidence: "Of course they have. Li Ye, the quality of your novel is still quite good. I've fought for a standard of 5 yuan per thousand words for you; among new authors, this is already very high."

"5 yuan?"

Li Ye was clearly a bit disappointed. The state regulation was 3-10 yuan per thousand words; for a new author writing a book for the first time to get 5 yuan per thousand words didn't seem low.

But for a book like "Lurking," only giving 5 yuan per thousand words really wasn't high.

Li Ye pondered for a few seconds and asked again: "Editor Dong, then how much is the royalty set at? What percentage?"

"Royalty?" Dong Yuejin was taken aback and asked Li Ye in return: "What royalty?"

Li Ye was also stunned by the question. He thought for a moment and said: "I mean the print-run royalty. Didn't the state restore the print-run royalty in '80?"

Dong Yuejin looked embarrassed and said: "I'm really not clear about this..."

Li Ye frowned; he didn't know if Dong Yuejin was really unclear or just playing dumb with him.

Because when he was writing web novels in his previous life, he had once accidentally seen the content of royalties in China because he envied the high royalties of those big-name authors.

Royalties were introduced to this land in the 1920s, and people like Hu Shi relied on royalties to live very comfortably in the imperial capital, where "living in the capital is difficult."

And by 1980, the state restored the long-interrupted royalty system and formulated a royalty ratio of "5% basic remuneration for 10,000 copies," which was later increased repeatedly; even Han X had received a 20% royalty.

But what Li Ye didn't know was that while the state had regulations, the actual implementation of this policy, which was beneficial to authors, only happened after "Master Shuo" burst onto the scene.

But how could Li Ye, in his current state, know this? He even thought he had remembered it wrong.

So Li Ye tentatively asked: "Then Editor Dong, is the remuneration standard stipulated in '80 3-10 yuan per thousand words for original works and 2-7 yuan per thousand words for translated manuscripts?"

Dong Yuejin was also embarrassed; he nodded and said: "Yes, that's correct, but the print-run royalty... I'll verify it with the publishing house..."

That meant he hadn't remembered it wrong. For a moment, Li Ye felt a bit uncomfortable, and the smile on his face clearly cooled down.

Actually, Dong Yuejin was also in a difficult position. Although "Lurking" was indeed a rare and good work, before seeing the results, it couldn't bridge the status gap between the publishing house and the author.

Treating a new author like Li Ye, Dong Yuejin was already a very amiable and tolerant editor.

In this era, there were no shortage of people like Feng Bo from the Dahe Publishing House.

When Li Zhongfa and Li Kaijian heard this, they also felt uncomfortable. So the maximum was 10 yuan and the minimum was 3 yuan, and you only gave my grandson 5 yuan, and you even cut off the subsequent earnings?

Li Zhongfa immediately laughed and raised his glass to urge a toast: "Come, come, Editor Dong, let's have a drink. The child likes to be serious; don't take it to heart. We aren't writing books because we're greedy for that little bit of money, are we?"

And Li Kaijian, who was a retired scout, took advantage of the two of them drinking to quietly take back Li Ye's novel manuscript and pack it tightly into his bag.

【You want to buy my son's treasure for a thousand-plus yuan? Is that a lot of money?】

Hao Jian's malt sugar business was surprisingly booming. A couple of days ago, Jin Peng came to snitch, and it was estimated that the profit share from this batch could be as high as three thousand yuan.

Therefore, the Li family's emphasis on money was already different from before.

Dong Yuejin was plied with quite a bit of alcohol by the Li family's grandfather and grandson. Dizzily, he reached for his bag, wanting to take out the contract to confirm the publication with Li Ye, only to find that the manuscript he hadn't finished reading earlier was gone.

It was like a power outage or loss of internet connection halfway through watching a show; it was frustrating and uncomfortable.

However, this also inadvertently reminded Dong Yuejin that if he, a senior editor, could be hooked like this by this novel, what would happen if ordinary readers saw it?

It could be said that the second half of Li Ye's manuscript far exceeded Dong Yuejin's expectations, and it also made him make up his mind.

【"Lurking" is a good book; I must get it!】

He took out the contract and said to everyone with a smile: "We've had our wine and our meal; it's time to talk about some serious business! This is the publishing contract the house has for "Lurking"; Li Ye, take a look..."

"Hey, what's the rush?" Li Kaijian grabbed Dong Yuejin and said affectionately: "It's not easy for Editor Dong to come to Qingshui once; you have to let us host you for a few days. We have to keep drinking tonight..."

Dong Yuejin smacked his lips, knowing that this matter was going to hit a snag.

However, he was also a responsible person, so he immediately stated: "I can't drink any more; if I drink more, it will delay my work.

I'll call the house in a while to report and try my best to fight for a higher remuneration. Do you think that's okay?"

Li Kaijian was taken aback for a moment, then grabbed the editor's shoulder and patted it hard, saying: "Old Dong, you're a straightforward person. No matter what, I've made a friend in you."

Dong Yuejin left the restaurant and insisted on refusing Li Kaijian's continued hospitality, going to the post office to make a call himself.

The process of making the call didn't go very smoothly; the publishing house had strong objections, claiming "there is no such precedent."

Later, after Dong Yuejin said that "Dahe Publishing House is interested in intervening," the editor-in-chief finally left him with one sentence: "If you are willing to take full responsibility, then toss and turn as you please."

The weight of this sentence was very heavy. If Dong Yuejin insisted on making an exception, unless "Lurking" became a massive hit, Dong Yuejin's future work prospects would be affected.

Dong Yuejin depressedly circled the county town twice, and the more he thought about it, the more it went to his head.

By this time, the alcohol was also kicking in, and it was almost five o'clock in the afternoon, so he had no choice but to plan to stay first and talk to Li Ye properly after careful consideration tomorrow.

He walked into the Qingshui County guesthouse and saw a young man at the counter, who was asking how to get to the County No. 2 Middle School while checking in, and also asking questions like how old the students in the repeat class generally were.

Dong Yuejin took it to heart and leaned over to take a look at the other person's introduction letter. Although his nearsightedness made it a bit unclear, inside that big red stamp were the three words "Publishing House."

【Damn it, talk about seeing a ghost.】

Dong Yuejin gave a start, and his drunkenness vanished.

He quietly retreated, left the guesthouse door, and bolted toward the direction of the County No. 2 Middle School.