Fang Mingyuan didn't remember which publishing house in the UK had published Harry Bōt and the Philosopher's Stone for Joanne in his previous life. However, he remembered that Harry Bōt and the Philosopher's Stone had only been published in a mere 500 copies for the first time, but even so, Joanne was overjoyed.

"Mr. Starr, may I ask how many copies your publishing house plans to release for the first publication of Joanne's novel?" Fang Mingyuan suddenly asked.

Starr glanced at Fang Mingyuan and turned his gaze back to Joanne. Although it is said that the beauty of Zheng Jiayi and Uda Guangli, who are sitting next to Fang Mingyuan, is also quite interested, but he has been in society for many years, and he has entered middle age, and he is already married and has children, so he naturally does not have a very low resistance to beauty like a young man with a máo head.

Joanne smiled apologetically and said, "Mr. Starr, this one is my friend, Mr. Fang from the Huaxia Continent!"

During World War II, if there were no Americans, even a small country like Japan would have been able to suppress them for more than ten years, and more than half of the country would have been lost! The British naturally do not expose their ugliness, for the past when they were defeated by the Japanese army in Burma during World War II, and they still need Chinese soldiers to come to the rescue, Starr chose to forget them.

Starr raised his head proudly and said, "Mr. Fang, my publishing house has planned for the first number of copies of Rowling's novels. But it's a trade secret between us and Rowling NV!"

"So how much is the manuscript fee, is it also confidential?" Fang Mingyuan continued.

"Of course!" said Starr without hesitation, "I don't think I need to make a special statement to you about this, do I?"

Qiao Annie nodded, and said to Fang Mingyuan with a little apology: "Mr. Fang, it's true, I can't tell you these contents." ”

Fang Mingyuan smiled and said, "Joanne, in fact, I am also very interested in your novel, if it weren't for the arrival of Mr. Starr, I think we would have almost talked about this matter in the restaurant!"

"Huh?" Joanne and Starr looked at Fang Mingyuan in surprise, while Zheng Jiayi smiled unabashedly.

Starr was very unhappy, he looked at Joanne, suspecting that this was Joanne's temporary arrangement of "To" to increase his value. However, the person she found was too young, so how could such a máo-headed boy be in a high position in the company? Besides, what well-known publishing house could there be in mainland China? As far as he knew, the Nobel Prize in Literature had been going on for decades, and there were no Chinese people! Moreover, the copyright protection measures in mainland China were very backward, and the rights and interests of authors could not be properly protected there!

"Then I would like to ask this Mr. Fang, which Huaxia publishing house are you studying at?" Starr asked in a condescending voice.

"I don't work for any publishing house!" Fang Mingyuan shook his head and said with a smile, "But that doesn't mean I can't publish Joanne's novels!"

Starr was even more disdainful in his heart, and glanced at Fang Mingyuan, not even interested in talking to him. "Rowling, do you have any thoughts on the terms of the contract, and if you have any questions, I can answer them for you right now. If there is no problem, then I can sign it? I have a meeting in Manchester, and I will leave Edinburgh early tomorrow morning. Joanne looked at Fang Mingyuan awkwardly, and then turned her gaze back to the contract.

Fang Mingyuan casually took out the checkbook from his arms, wrote down a number with a brush, then tore it off, pushed it in front of Joanne and said, "Joanne, this money is the down payment of the contract." No matter how many times your novel is published in the end, how many copies you have, even if one is not printed, this money is your minimum manuscript fee income. The formal contract will be drawn up soon, and I can assure you that the royalty rate will not be lower than the average for the UK publishing industry. ”

Joanne only glanced at it, her eyes immediately widened, and her face was filled with disbelief!

Starr knew something was wrong, and immediately turned his eyes to the check.

Zheng Jiayi stretched out her hand, blocked the check on the table, and said dissatisfiedly: "Mr. Starr, I don't need to remind you, right?

Starr was a little embarrassed by Zheng Jiayi's words, but he immediately turned his angry gaze on Fang Mingyuan and said: "It's shameful for you to behave like this!

Fang Mingyuan said with an indifferent face: "Mr. Starr, please pay attention to your words, otherwise, I don't mind fighting a lawsuit with you over the right to reputation." You have made an offer to Joanne, but until the contract is officially signed, others have every right to continue to make an offer to Joanne, and Joanne has the right to choose the one she thinks is the most suitable among the many offers!"

Starr couldn't help but be speechless, and turned to Joanne and said: "Rowling, Starr Publishing is an official publishing company, with complete procedures and formal publishing processes, and in the past three years, it has published books for many authors, and has been widely recognized by the general public! I believe that without me, you will know very well which one will make you feel more at ease! It is also more suitable for your future development!"

Joanne had not yet recovered from the shock given by the number on the cheque in front of her. Starr said it again, and Joanne raised her head, gently pushed Zheng Jiayi's hand away, and showed Starr the check on the table. "Mr. Starr, do you think I have any other choice?"

Starr wiped his eyes in disbelief, looked at them intently, and muttered, "One, ten, hundred, thousand, thousand, one hundred, one million!"

A million pounds of pounds is neatly written on the cheque! If a novel can be paid a million pounds for the basic manuscript fee, its author can be included in the ranks of first-line authors in the United Kingdom! What's more, Rowling is just a newcomer who has just debuted and is not yet famous!

And Starr Publishing House, the income from Rowling's manuscript fees is not even a tenth of this amount!

No wonder Joanne was so shocked!

Starr gasped heavily, he really couldn't understand how this Chinese mainlander could offer such a high price! With such a high manuscript fee, he couldn't even earn back the cost!

Starr looked at Fang Mingyuan again, could it be that this Chinese man was sent by his competitor to stir up the situation? But after thinking about it, he also felt that it was impossible! For the sake of a fledgling Rowling, the other party had to pay a million pounds, such a conclusion was really unbelievable!

"Rowling, can I take a look at this check?" Starr took a long breath, trying to calm himself as hard as he could.

Joanne reached out and picked up the check, glanced at Fang Mingyuan, and saw that he didn't say anything, so she handed it to Starr. Starr looked carefully and saw that the check was drawn from Credit Suisse and was paid on sight. Credit Suisse is the investment banking arm of Credit Suisse Group, which was established in the middle of the last century! Credit Suisse Group is an international financial institution operating in more than 60 countries around the world, and is one of the largest financial groups in Shijie, with a total asset value of more than $400 billion. In terms of global bank revenue last year, Credit Suisse Group ranked among the top five in Shijie. Its investment bank is one of the top five investment banks in Shijie, and its Fengtai Insurance Company is the fifth largest insurance company in Europe!

In short, the credit of Credit Suisse is unquestionable in Europe and even in the whole of Shijie! Joanne could have taken this cheque and asked to cash it at any bank in the UK.

Starr sighed helplessly, this cheque is obviously genuine, if the cheques written by Credit Suisse can be easily forged, then the vast majority of cheques from British banks are even more untrustworthy.

"Mr. Fang, I don't understand. How can you guarantee your company's profitability if you give Rowling such a high manuscript fee? After all, Rowling is not a well-known writer, let alone Michael Clayton, the best-selling author in the United States!" Starr asked solemnly.

Due to the jaw-dropping box office success of the movie "Jurassic Park" in Shijie, the novel "Jurassic Park" also became a global hit, and Michael Clayton became a best-selling novelist among Europeans.

Fang Mingyuan smiled faintly and said: "Mr. Starr, I'm sorry, how to ensure our profits, this is our core trade secret! You just need to know that we are willing to pay Joanne more than one million pounds for this novel, and this is enough! If Mr. Starr is willing to pay a higher manuscript fee, then please continue to bid." If Mr. Starr doesn't think it's worth it, then it's time for us to negotiate with Joanne!"

Starr's face turned red!After a while, he shook his hand angrily, picked up the briefcase next to the sofa, and did not say goodbye to Joanne, Diana and the others, but simply put on his coat and pushed mén out!

"Mr. Starr, Mr. Starr?" Diana and his wife, who were in the other room with Jessica in their arms, heard the voice, but only saw Starr's back when he was decided!。