"I said Yaowen, when you go abroad, I will deal with everything to you Lao Dou, so I haven't slept well for half a month, and I am urged to get up by your mother every day. ”

Huo Yaowen drove the car, listening to Huo Chengcai in the passenger seat complaining, and also chuckled and said: "You are my old bean! If you don't help me, who will help me?"

When Huo Chengcai heard this, he smiled and said: "That's it, it's okay if others don't top you, I'm your old bean who will definitely top you." ”

Huo Yaowen glanced at the street sign, saw that it had arrived, stepped on the brakes, reduced the speed of the car, and turned into the parking lot of the Qingmao Building.

When taking the elevator upstairs, Huo Yaowen found that the environment of this Qingmao building was still quite good, with more than 20 floors, and after the crowded crowd in the elevator dispersed, he asked, "How much is the rent for this month?"

"Four pieces of three per foot, a total of more than 3,000 feet. Huo Chengcai replied.

Huo Yaowen quickly mentally calculated, and said in surprise: "The rent for a month is 13,000?"

Huo Chengcai said: "10,000 is three including property fees, the location of the Qingmao building is relatively good, our floor has a very wide view, I compared several buildings around, and the price of this building is quite cheap, and I am quite satisfied with the floor. ”

"If you include the strata fee, that's okay. Huo Yaowen nodded, although 13,000 a month exceeded his psychological expectations, and it was twice as expensive as the rent of the University of Hong Kong Press, but this area is indeed very good, at least there is a bus stop downstairs, and it is also convenient for employees to commute to work.

When the two of them reached the fourteenth floor, Huo Chengcai took the lead and walked to the left, and the sight was the huge character "Yaowen Book Publishing Company" hanging on the wall of the front desk at the door, inlaid on the wall word by word, which looked very good and formal.

After seeing Huo Chengcai, the front desk clerk hurriedly walked out of the counter and said respectfully: "General manager!"

"Well, this is the chairman of our company. Huo Chengcai pointed to Huo Yaowen behind him.

The little girl at the front desk heard what the general manager said, and hurriedly walked up to him and said respectfully: "Hello chairman!"

Huo Yaowen nodded slightly.

"Is Editor-in-Chief Yao here?" asked Huo Chengcai.

"Yes, the editor-in-chief came very early. ”

"Okay, then you're busy. ”

Huo Chengcai led Huo Yaowen into the company, and the people who saw him along the way shouted at him, "Good general manager, good general manager, good general manager".

"Lao Dou, why did you become the general manager?" There were many people before, and Huo Yaowen was not easy to ask, but now only the father and son were left, and they also asked with a smile.

"I'm just doing a job. Huo Chengcai smiled happily and said: "Editor-in-chief Wu said that you are no longer in the company recently, and you always need someone to take care of the company's situation, so why don't I come over to help you check the accounts and inspect the company's situation? Do you think I am willing? I have to come over early in the morning every day, and I haven't slept well for half a month." ”

"That's hard work for you. Huo Yaowen smiled.

"You know?" Huo Chengcai sighed: "Alas, it's better to take it easier to look at the bookstore, I'm thinking about reopening a bookstore on our street, your aunt and I usually have nothing to do at home, and I don't want to eat at home and wait for death before I turn fifty." ”

Huo Yaowen nodded: "Okay, when the time comes, you can directly buy a few shops to get through, and if you open a bookstore, you will open a bigger bookstore, and then you and your mother will stay in the bookstore, and it will be convenient to go home." ”

If it were fifty years later, Huo Yaowen would not agree to Lao Dou to open a bookstore, and he would have died at a loss, but now it is different, books are still an indispensable bridge for people to learn knowledge.

"Well, let's go back and talk about it, it's here. Huo Chengcai knocked on the editor-in-chief's office.

"Knock knock!"

"Come in!" the voice of a strange man rang out in the room.

Huo Chengcai pushed the door in.

Yao Wenjie, who was sitting at the desk in the room, immediately got up and smiled after seeing the person coming: "The general manager is here." ”

Suddenly noticing Huo Yaowen next to him, Yao Wenjie said in an uncertain tone: "This is the chairman, right?"

"Yes. Huo Chengcai just nodded in response, only to see Huo Yaowen step forward and shake hands with Yao Wenjie and say, "Hello Editor-in-Chief Yao, I'm Huo Yaowen." ”

Yao Wenjie looked at Huo Yaowen, who was younger than his psychological expectations, and thought of Wu Liande's words, and couldn't help but sigh: "The chairman is really young and promising!"

Editor-in-chief Yao smiled. Huo Yaowen said a few words modestly.

Waiting for a few people to sit down, Yao Wenjie opened his mouth directly and said: "Since the chairman is back, I will report to you some of the company's preparations in the past half month." ”

Huo Yaowen said: "Okay, then it's troublesome for Editor-in-Chief Yao." ”

Yao Wenjie said slowly: "The company has been preparing so far, in addition to the book "Cloud" written by the chairman, I have sent invitations to many writers I know, and so far three people have replied, but they don't know when the manuscript will be handed over, considering that the company does not have much business at present, so I took it upon myself to let the chairman of the board of directors translate the science fiction you wrote in the United States, thinking that when you come back, it will be published and printed. ”

"It doesn't matter. Huo Yaowen shook his head to say that he didn't mind, and said: "My book, as long as it is not cooperated with other publishing companies in Hong Kong, you can handle it with full authority, and I will sign a contract with the company later, and all the companies I write have the right to publish, but the sharing still has to follow the normal procedure." ”

Yao Wenjie nodded: "This is natural, the payment for "Cloud" previously settled by Taiwan Aoki Publishing House, I also paid to your account according to the chairman of the board of directors. ”

"I know, Editor-in-Chief Wu has already told me. Huo Yaowen thought of Zhang Wanjun's book yesterday, took out a stack of manuscript paper from his briefcase, handed it to Yao Wenjie and said: "This is my newly received manuscript, the writing is okay, you first arrange the following editors to help review the manuscript, as for the publication of the matter for the time being, I will write a detailed publicity plan to publicize the publication of this book." ”

Yao Wenjie took the manuscript, glanced at the title "Autumn Fairy Tale", knew that it was romance at a glance, and asked with a smile: "You wrote it, chairman?" Then it seems that the company's first published book is about to sell well. ”

Huo Yaowen said with a smile: "No, I didn't write it, but I think if it is properly promoted, the company should have another best-selling author!"

As a pure love who has not yet had a shadow at the moment, Huo Yaowen has some confidence to praise Zhang Wanjun as the most well-known pure love female writer in Hong Kong and Taiwan, after all, most of the romance letters on the market now are heart-rending of love, and even the two romance letters he wrote by himself are this routine, with new changes, no matter what the initial sales are, take your time, the new pure love will always be able to have a place in this market.

Wasn't the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School the most insignificant subject in the book market of the Republic of China back then?

Yao Wenjie nodded and put the manuscript on the table, looked up at Huo Yaowen and asked, "I know the chairman, I will personally be responsible for this matter." ”

Huo Yaowen said: "Well, Editor-in-Chief Yao should know that I am a teacher at the University of Hong Kong, so I rarely stay in the company, and my father is not very good at management, so most of the company's affairs are handed over to Editor-in-Chief Yao." ”

"I will work hard, chairman, since this opportunity is given to me, I will definitely take advantage of it. Yao Wenjie said with a smile.

A few people chatted a few more words, and Huo Chengcai took Huo Yaowen to his office to have a look, this office is very large, almost more than 30 square meters, in addition to the desk and bookshelves, there is also a small living room, with a coffee table and a sofa, which is much better than the office of the University of Hong Kong Press.

Huo Yaowen came back, and Huo Chengcai did not continue to stay in the company, but went home to find a store and plan to open a new bookstore on Hong Kong Island with his previous son's words.

Huo Yaowen, on the other hand, took out the previously written "The Matrix" in his briefcase after walking around the office, and continued to write the ending part.

The Matrix Trilogy, if written according to the plot of the movie, is difficult to write without a million words, but Huo Yaowen removed some cumbersome plots, and it is estimated that it will be completed in about six or seven hundred thousand words.

When he proposed "Brain in a Jar" in Vienna before, in addition to participating in some exchange meetings, he wrote in his bedroom with his head bored, and after seven or eight days, he also wrote a lot.

The overall plot is similar to the movie, all of which start with a male protagonist Leo discovering the bug in this virtual world, so as to try to return to the real world, but he finds that the real world is also not the real world, and it seems to be endless.

But Huo Yaowen still gave the book a relatively happy ending, that is, when Leo broke the third layer of the real world, he suddenly appeared in front of an ultimate boss, Evan Huo!

That's right, Huo Yaowen wrote himself into the book, so that the male protagonist Leo appeared in front of the ultimate boss in the book based on himself.

A bit like a sci-fi thriller, in the book, Leo finds himself just virtual, and after breaking the virtual world, he finds that he is just a string of data, even if it appears in the real world, it is still just a string of data.

When Huo Yaowen wrote this ending, he had already thought about how much of a sensation this book would cause once it was published abroad, one link after another, more complicated than Inception!

Because you can never know if the virtual world you have broken, the real world you have broken, is the most real world!

After all, there are two of them, and you can't know what the most real world is like, because you haven't seen it!

was busy until the afternoon, Huo Yaowen took a sip of the coffee that the clerk came in to brew, and was just about to continue writing, when the phone in the office rang suddenly.

When I picked it up, it was a call from Wu Liande, saying that there was a ghost named Lituo looking for him, and there was a letter mailed to Huo Yaowen from the United States.

Huo Yaowen said: "You asked someone to bring Lituo and that letter to me." ”

"Yes. Wu Liande replied.

Ten minutes later.

An employee of the University of Hong Kong Press led Litu to the company's side.

Christopher Littor walked into the office, and after seeing Huo Yaowen, he said with a surprised face: "My God, boss, you actually have two publishing companies?"

"Yes, but it's all a small company, did you bring me good news this time?" Huo Yaowen asked the clerk outside to make a cup of coffee and came in, and he himself took Litu to sit on the sofa chair.

After thanking the clerk, Christopher Littor took a sip of coffee and said, "Of course, a great piece of good news is enough to make you ecstatic, boss!"

"Let me be ecstatic?" Huo Yaowen raised his eyebrows, if it was just a matter of signing a contract, it would not make him ecstatic, after all, after the big sale in the United States, his "1999" will inevitably attract the attention of publishers in many countries, as long as the price is negotiated and it is still very easy to sell.

Christopher Littor saw that Huo Yaowen was a little indifferent, smiled at the corner of his mouth, put down the coffee, and said with a solemn face: "BOSS, you should know about the Hugo Award, right?"

"Hugo Award!!" How could Huo Yaowen not know that the science fiction awards issued by the World Science Fiction Association have a high reputation in the world, and the later generations of Da Liu won the Hugo Award, which can make him completely famous in one fell swoop.

Christopher Littor smiled lightly: "This year's Hugo Awards will start in November, BOSS your "1999" sold very well in the United States last year, I think I am fully qualified to compete for the Hugo Award." ”

Huo Yaowen didn't know much about the Hugo Award, but under the explanation of Christopher Lito, he also understood a little bit, starting from 1964, after the Hugo Award gradually became formalized, it will no longer be the same as before, but the winners are decided by the internal affairs meeting of the Hugo Award, and now the voting system is adopted.

The voting system is adopted, so there are a few more possibilities for operation, just like the Oscars, the public relations are good, and the chances of winning the award are still very high.

After listening to Lito's words, Huo Yaowen pondered for a long time and asked, "Do you mean that you want me to try public relations and compete for the Hugo Award?"

Christopher Littor affirmed: "Of course, BOSS, your writing is very good, if it is just an ordinary book, I naturally will not let you compete, but since the second half of last year, I have not found any book that can compete with BOSS your "1999"!"

"How sure are you?" Huo Yaowen is still a little confident in his book, but the matter of public relations awards is full of uncertainty.

Christopher Littor said, "Fifty percent, as long as you write a letter to the people of Bandan Books Publishing in the United States, I think they will help run it together, after all, as long as Boss your book wins, it will be a good thing for them." ”

Huo Yaowen clasped his hands in front of his chest, in fact, he doesn't take the award very seriously now, but if he wins the world's most famous science fiction award, whether it is for his next creation or the commercial value of "1999", it is very, very high.

Huo Yaowen frowned and asked, "How much public relations fee do you need?"

Christopher Littor said: "According to last year's Roger Zerazny's "King of Light" won the Hugo Award for the feature, he spent about 200,000 US dollars, although the price is very high, but after winning the award, his "King of Light" sold the publishing rights of more than 30 countries, and was also won the film and television rights by MGM Studios in Hollywood, and he has made a lot of money!"

"Then try it. After Huo Yaowen pondered, he decided to give it a try, no matter whether he could win the award or not, as long as he could get a nomination, it would not be a big loss, after all, the Hugo Award is a world science fiction award, and there must be many publishers in many countries who have been looking for good books in the past, even if they can't win the award, it is good to do publicity.

"Trust me boss, it will definitely succeed!"

Christopher Littor is full of confidence, before he came, he had investigated the science fiction bestsellers published in various countries around the world this year, in addition to Huo Yaowen's "1999", he found that the biggest competitor was Robert Silverberg's "Nightwings", but the overall plot of this book or story creativity is far inferior to what his boss wrote.

Huo Yaowen looked up and asked, "When are you leaving for the United States?"

"I think I'm going to leave tomorrow, and I'm three months away from the Hugo Awards, but now is the perfect time for PR," said Christopher Lito.

"Then you'll leave tomorrow. ”

Huo Yaowen got up and walked to the desk and said, "Mark of Bantan Book Publishing Company wrote a letter to me, just when I replied to him, you helped me bring it over, by the way, I wrote a new book, if you can, I want you to help me run this book in the United States at that time!"

Compared with "1999", Huo Yaowen believes that his new book "Virtual World" can win the Hugo Award, after all, integrating philosophical ideas into science fiction is also an innovation, especially the interlocking suspense plot, coupled with the "brain in a vat" he proposed, the probability of becoming a bestseller is still very high.

It's just that this book is a bit brain-burning, if you are not a science fiction fan, or a suspense fan, it is difficult to understand the setting, as if someone said that Inception is boring, and some people say that the Matrix is just pretending to be cool, and I can't understand some of the philosophical concepts to be expressed in it, and the question of the reality of the world.

Huo Yaowen believes that in addition to incorporating several elements of Inception and The Matrix, the most classic and exciting part of this book should be the setting of the virtual world.

After seeing so many brain holes given by the Internet in later generations, and having a deep understanding of the future development of science and technology, he wrote a virtual world that is not a fake big void, but with a trace of confidence that the future world may be so real.

Christopher Littor walked in front of Huo Yaowen in surprise, took the manuscript in his hand, looked at the thick stack of manuscript paper, and exclaimed, "BOSS, do you have a new book again?"

"Well, I think this book is pretty well written, you can take a look at it now to get an idea of the value of this book, I don't think it's worse than my last book "1999". ”

Huo Yaowen smiled lightly: "But it's not finished yet, you can't take it away for the time being, when you discuss the matter of public relations Hugo Award with Mark and them, I think it should be finished by then." ”

"That's a shame, but I think I can take a look now!"

Christopher Littor attaches great importance to Huo Yaowen's new book, the world's largest science fiction market is the United States, helplessly, Huo Yaowen has signed a contract with Bantan Books at the beginning, he can't get a commission, this time with a new book, naturally he has to operate it well, as long as it is written well, Christopher Littor thinks that he can make this book a bestseller better than "1999"!

This self-confidence comes from his more than ten years of experience in the copyright manager industry