Actually, Zhu Mingzhong thought too much.

Like most budding writers, Zhu Mingzhong also devoted himself to the Journal, a magazine with a history of more than 100 years and the most well-known. After the Xingqian, it developed from the initial printing and distribution of books to newspaper serialization, and then to periodical serialization. There are more distribution channels, and the competition is also becoming more and more fierce.

Five days ago, Zhu Mingzhong put the 200,000-word manuscript in an envelope and sent it to the editorial department of the journal.

The following is waiting, and it is this kind of waiting that makes Zhu Mingzhong a little anxious, in order to send it as soon as possible, he chose express mail, according to the post office, he can arrive in Nanjing the next day, after all, it is an air mail. It can be delivered to the magazine the next day.

As the most well-known journal in the country, it is the job of the editors to receive submissions from all over the country every day, and to review and reply to these manuscripts.

Because of the large number of manuscripts, Zhu Mingzhong's manuscript has been pressed.

Zhao Guowei of the editorial department, after graduating from Jinling Academy, has been working as an editor in the magazine for more than ten years, as usual, when he arrived at his desk, he first made himself a cup of strong tea before starting to work.

The review work is actually very simple, as long as you look at it twice, you can know whether it is a manuscript that the magazine needs, and if it is completely unqualified, you only need to stamp and return it. The story and writing are good, and it is recommended to return the two sentences of annotation, and then it depends on the author's revision.

"It's a rich boy again......"

After reviewing a few manuscripts, he saw the blue envelope, which was an express mail envelope, and ordinary people would not use it to send manuscripts, so naturally, he chose to ignore the letter. Their submissions are nothing more than to show off their literary brilliance in front of women. Some of those rich children may also have literary talents. But for most people, what they write is at best a smooth sentence, and reading their stuff is a waste of time.

Manuscripts always come new, and with such contempt in his heart, the manuscript was pressed for three days, and it was not until the afternoon of the third day, when the manuscript in the basket was finished, that he took it out.

The word...... That's pretty good. ”

As soon as he looked at the envelope, Zhao Guowei was attracted by the words on the envelope.

I'm afraid you have to have decades of skills!

Zhao Guowei, who was originally contemptuous, took it seriously because of the words on the envelope, and sometimes for some manuscripts, you can know by looking at the words, and there is no need to review them.

Opening the envelope and taking out the thick manuscript, Zhao Guowei looked at it, at the beginning, he just felt a little interesting, but that's all.

But slowly, as the story progressed, it became more and more exciting, and he immediately immersed himself in it. In the end, before I knew it, I didn't even notice it until midnight.

"It's really infuriating, why is this Jade Rakshasa so blind, and he actually fell in love with Zhuo Yihang......"

After reading it, the whole person was completely immersed in it, and he scolded angrily, but also became curious about the next story.

"Oops, oops, looking...... This is really well written, I almost missed it, I really shouldn't judge people by their appearance......"

Just then, he heard someone shouting behind him.

"Weizhi, what makes you so angry?"

As soon as he turned around, Zhao Guowei saw that the deputy editor-in-chief Li Pingpu had arrived behind him at some point, he looked like he was going to get off work with his bag, and when he looked around, he noticed that the night was already deep.

"Hey, deputy editor-in-chief, this is just right, I have a manuscript here, you must take a look, the writing is really good!"

picked up the manuscript and stopped himself from leaving the deputy editor-in-chief, Zhao Guowei said.

"You said yes, that must be good."

Li Pingpu, who was about to get off work, put on his glasses and read it carefully, he read it very quickly, and he finished reading the manuscript quickly, compared to Zhao Guowei's annoyance after reading it, he seemed very happy.

"Whose work is this? Not to mention that the story is extremely exciting, but this style of writing is very comfortable. ”

While sighing in his heart, Zhao Guowei read the manuscript again, and the unique charm that overflowed in the plain text really made him heartbroken. Not to mention, it's wonderful, and it's very smooth, there's nothing to modify at all, and I'm afraid I'm also a veteran of climbing the lattice.

"Zhu Minghe, I sent it over."

Zhongdu, Zhu Minghe, haven't you heard of this name?

After thinking for a moment, Li Pingpu said.

""The Legend of the Western Regions" is almost serialized, and the society is worried that there is no book to continue, so I think this "The Legend of the White-Haired Witch" is just connected."

That is the best position for the journal, Zhao Guowei was stunned and surprised.

"Do you want to discuss it with Editor-in-Chief Qian?"

"I'm in charge of this, and I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"What about the remuneration?"

After a moment of consideration, Li Pingpu asked.

"The story is wonderful, the style is excellent, what do you think is the right price?"

"The normal newcomer price is definitely not good, although the newcomer is not famous, but after this one, there will definitely be fame."

Zhao Guowei looked at the deputy editor-in-chief and said.

"Now let's save a few dollars, and if we become famous in the future, we will definitely be poached by others, and we will also make wedding dresses for others."

After thinking for a moment, Li Pingpu smiled.

"In this way, I will go to Zhongdu the day after tomorrow to meet with Chief Xu of Lin, and when the time comes, you will also go over, and we will talk to him in person."

Zhao Guowei's call, Zhu Mingzhong did not receive it, although there was a phone in the basement he rented, but it was a public phone, he copied books in the café for a day, and when he returned to the basement, he heard from the administrator that there was a call to find him.

Press the number left behind and go back, and after a moment of beeping, Zhu Mingzhong heard a voice coming from the other end of the phone, although the phone was very primitive, it made him feel extremely cordial. This is a long-lost "high tech".

"Hello, I'm Zhu Ming...... And, may I ask who you are? ”

"Is it Mr. Zhu from "The Legend of the White-Haired Witch"? I'm Zhao Guowei, the editor of the journal, and I happen to be in a meeting with the deputy editor-in-chief in the central capital, so I'd like to invite you to come and sit down if it's convenient for you. ”

Although he has seen too many storms, when he heard the words on the other end of the phone, Zhu Mingzhong inevitably felt a little excited in his heart.

According to the agreement, when you come to the Roman restaurant on the first floor of the "Oriental Hotel", people will always be interested in exotic customs in any era, whether it is Lao Mo in the mouth of the big courtyard disciples, or the Western food and cuisine in the mouth of the petty bourgeoisie, in fact, it has nothing to do with anything else, just a change of taste. As early as the Xingqian period, various delicacies from the Western Regions and Rome have become popular in China. The Roman restaurant of the "Oriental Hotel" is also the earliest "exotic restaurant" in the capital.

Even after a hundred years, there doesn't seem to be much change here, except for the crystal chandelier becoming electricity, everything else is the same as in the past.

Under the guidance of the waiter, he came to a dining table, and the two middle-aged people at the table were all stunned when they saw Zhu Mingzhong.

"Hello, is it Editor-in-Chief Li and Editor-in-Chief Zhao of the Journal? I'm Zhu Minghe".

It wasn't until Zhu Mingzhong introduced himself that they stood up in surprise. Zhu Mingzhong's youth is beyond their imagination, originally according to their imagination, the person who can write that good hand must be at least forty years old.

In addition to being surprised, Li Pingpu warmly shook hands with Zhu Mingzhong.

"Mr. Zhu is really young."

Zhu Mingzhong's actual age is over 80 years old, but after crossing over, he regained his youth for some reason, as if he had returned to his youth, it seems, at most, he is 20 years old, even if he is only 18 years old, no one will doubt it.

"Contemptible Li Pingpu, the word Pu Ye, this is the editor of our magazine, Zhao Guowei, yours is what he reviewed, thanks to his discerning eyesight."

"Hello Editor-in-Chief Li."

After a few simple polite words, Zhu Mingzhong took out the manuscript he brought from his bag and said.

"This is the follow-up content, please take a look at it."

Zhao Guowei asked him on the phone before if he had a new draft, so he brought another 200,000 words.

Li Pingpu smiled when he saw that he went straight to the point.

"Then forgive me for being sloppy, Mr. Li, please take a seat, and I'll talk about it after I finish reading the manuscript."

Li Pingpu looked at the manuscript, Zhao Guowei also looked impatiently, for a while, two of the three people at the table looked at the manuscript, only Zhu Mingzhong sat on the chair and looked at the surrounding environment, he has been here, the last time he came here, it seems to be ...... He Ling'er, slowly sipping tea, occasionally falling into memories, inevitably with a trace of silence in his expression.

Compared to him, Li Pingpu and Zhao Guowei were both completely immersed in the plot, they occasionally frowned, occasionally smiled, and their emotions were completely swayed, and finally, when the last page was turned, Zhao Guowei, who was in high spirits, hurriedly asked.

"Anything else?"

"And some drafts."

Zhu Mingzhong smiled, in fact, he had already finished writing, and now he is writing another one.

Closing the manuscript, Li Pingpu smiled.

"Mr. Dacai, "The Legend of the White-Haired Witch" has indeed written a lot of new ideas compared to the current martial arts, especially the jade rakshasa, which simply subverts the image of all women throughout the ages, to be reckless and moody, but in fact she is a strange woman who is free and easy, Mr. can write such a strange woman, it really makes me feel ashamed."

"Editor-in-chief Li praised it falsely."

Zhu Mingzhong said modestly that what he was most concerned about was the manuscript fee.

After chatting for a while about the Jade Rakshasa and Zhuo Yifan, Li Pingpu cut to the chase and said.

"After chatting so much, I won't delay Mr. Zhu's time, this time I asked you to come over, first, I want to meet a young talent like Mr. Zhu, and second, of course, I want to talk about the manuscript fee."

Looking at the two people in front of him with a smile and a word, Zhu Mingzhong picked up the teacup and continued to drink the tea, occasionally he would look at the waitresses on the side, those waitresses looked a bit like Persian or Semitic, and their bodies were slender and exotic.

Seeing Zhu Mingzhong looking at the maid on the side, Li Pingpu said with a smile.

"In this way, I will first tell Mr. Zhu about the current situation of the manuscript fees of many famous authors, and now most of the famous authors in the Ming Dynasty have manuscript fees ranging from 20 yuan to 50 yuan per thousand words, and only a few people can exceed 50 yuan, as for most newcomers like Mr. are about 5 yuan per thousand words."

In fact, before this, Zhu Mingzhong had already checked the manuscript fee in the magazine, and naturally knew that he was telling the truth, the so-called few people can exceed 50 yuan, but in fact, it is still before tax, and most of the after-tax income is less than 50 yuan.

In contrast, the monthly salary of ordinary people in Zhongdu is only about 100 yuan, and a maid like Han Bingling is only 60 or 70 yuan a month. In fact, over the years, Daming's per capita income has not increased as quickly as imagined, but the only fortunate thing is that the price is not expensive, just like Zhu Mingzhong soaked in the tea house for a day, that is, it only costs a few dimes, even if he asks for a bowl of beef rice in the restaurant, it is only a dime.

As for the four-bedroom and two-hall apartment in the non-prosperous area of the city, it is only more than 3,000 yuan, so calculated, in fact, the people of Daming do not have much living pressure. It's no wonder that even in the central capital, everyone seems to have an easy time.

Actually, this kind of life is quite good, and there is not much pressure.

After some sighing, Zhu Mingzhong, who put down the teacup, looked at Li Pingpu and smiled.

"The books are all for the sake of rice, I don't know how much Editor-in-Chief Li thinks my book is worth?"

Zhu Mingzhong looked at Li Pingpu with a smile, and asked very skillfully, he didn't ask how much he was paid, but how much it was worth.

"Books are all for rice, good words, good words!"

Smiling, Li Pingpu said.

"The story of the white-haired witch is unheard of and the plot is so wonderful that I believe it will appeal to many readers. According to its quality, even if it is a high price of fifty, it is a matter of course, but ......"

After a pause, Li Pingpu said again.

"Rashly offering such a high price, the contemptible people are willing, but the directors of the company will definitely not agree, so let's do it, Mr. Zhu, you are a newcomer after all, and each industry has its own rules, so I can't violate the rules at the price, but please rest assured Mr. Zhu, as soon as the fame of this film goes out, I will immediately increase the manuscript fee, and it will seem that the directors will explain it when the time comes."

In business, booksellers are also businessmen, and Zhu Mingzhong just smiled at this.

"Editor-in-Chief Li said how much the manuscript fee is."

"Ten dollars for a thousand words!"

pursed his mouth, Zhu Mingzhong didn't speak, this price is not low for a newcomer, but he is not satisfied, although I don't know, "The Legend of the White-Haired Witch" will not be adaptable, but since the other party has come to the door, it will definitely become a bestseller.

"If it's only 1000 words, then I'm sorry."

Zhu Mingzhong smiled and put his hand on the manuscript. His action made Zhao Guowei on the side hurriedly hold down the book and said.

"Mr. Zhu, don't worry, the manuscript fee can be negotiated slowly."