After arriving in China in the 28th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, Woodhead started as a reporter for the Linxi Newspaper and became the editor-in-chief of the Beijing-Tianjin Times during World War I. He can be said to be a China expert.
Under his hands, the newspaper entered its heyday. Its Chinese newspaper format and Chinese business service targets made it strive to be close to readers and have a certain degree of progress.
Many upper-class Chinese are its subscribers and readers, and it is almost everywhere north of the Yangtze River.
Therefore, facing the Chinese, Woodhead inevitably had a sense of superiority.
But he never expected that the young Chinese in front of him did contact only one domestic newspaper editor, but he also submitted articles to major newspapers in the United Kingdom and the United States. And these editors responded enthusiastically to him.
Chinese journalists are proof of this.
As a celebrity in the newspaper industry, Woodhead was naturally very familiar with these reporters. Seeing their enthusiastic eyes, Woodhead already understood that cheeseline's bread was free, but one person could not eat a few.
The eyes of these reporters are of course full of fanaticism, because their chief editors from China or Hong Kong have sent telegrams with repeated orders and solemn confessions, asking reporters in Beijing and Tianjin to win over Feng Zhou, because his works are too suitable for readers in the English circle.
, especially for readers in the UK, if such a wonderful work cannot be serialized, then it will simply be difficult to cope with sales.
At this time, let alone a Chinese who had stayed in the United States, even if he was a slave girl from a black tribe south of the Sahara, they had to treat him as a bishop.
Reporters thought that Feng Zhou was a hot cake, but Feng Zhou only regarded it as a matter of course.
In his previous life, he had killed people, robbed, and had become a billionaire. He had been surrounded by foreign reporters countless times, so he did not lose his position just because of the few reporters in front of him.
What's more, if it weren't for the purpose of getting money as quickly as possible and gaining fame through foreign newspapers, he wouldn't even bother to submit articles for children's fantasy novels like "Harry Potter."
As a college student who was born in an orphanage, in order to learn seven languages well, he used the stupidest and fastest method, which was to memorize the original literary works desperately. This "Harry Potter" was just the last work he memorized, because he
Unparalleled influence.
In fact, he prefers works written by Nobel writers who are highly ideological and literary.
So he responded calmly to these people one by one.
These reporters all came by car, and after some fighting, Woodhead finally got there first and asked Feng Zhou to get in his car.
How could Woodhead still have any sense of arrogance and superiority in his heart at this time? If he had even the slightest discount on manuscript fees or related royalties, the Chinese young man in front of him could find other newspapers and magazines in minutes.
Just relying on his works, he can gain huge income and fame anywhere in the English-speaking world. If he ignores the future for a small profit, then he will definitely hang on the pillar of shame in the history of the newspaper.
In the rest of my life, I might be used as a backdrop to be laughed at.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at Feng Zhou, who had a plain face, and felt a huge wave in his heart.
…
"Harry Potter" belongs to fantasy literature. At this time, modern fantasy literature has not yet emerged in the English-speaking world. Its originator "The Lord of the Rings" will not be published for more than 20 years, but its prequel "The Hobbit"
It has been born under the pen of writer John Ronald Tolkien, which shows that although it is a blank, someone is already developing it.
As reporters with a keen sense of smell, of course they noticed this unprecedented huge treasure trove, and the magnificent magical world with a very British style shown in "Harry Potter" made everyone's eyes brighten.
In the luxurious single room of Qishinlin, many reporters competed for the serialization rights of "Harry Potter". In the end, the British "Guardian" and the American "New York Post" won the competition, each with a thousand words.
The price of 10 pounds and 15 dollars per 1,000 words obtained the serialization rights of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in their respective countries. Hong Kong's English newspaper "South China Morning Post" paid Feng Zhou 20 silver dollars per 1,000 words.
Faced with these wealthy old newspapers and periodicals, as the editor-in-chief of the Beijing-Tianjin Times, I can only give 10 silver dollars per thousand words.
You know, in this era, the top literary figures in the country, such as the world-famous Lu Xun, Yu Dafu, Tian Han, Ba Jin and others, only paid 6 yuan per thousand words.
The reason why Feng Zhou's royalties are so high is entirely because his works are more popular among people in English-speaking countries. In their eyes, this money is already earned.
After "Harry Potter" began to be serialized, the royalties were secondary, and the most important thing was his influence!
Whether it is the Guardian in the United Kingdom, the New York Post in the United States, or the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, they all have extremely high influence in their respective distribution areas, covering 80% of English-speaking places.
Although the Beijing-Tianjin Times is a Chinese newspaper, it is pervasive among the upper class in northern China and has a huge influence. It is conceivable that as the influence of the novel ferments, Feng Zhou's influence as the author has increased!
After signing the contract, these guys paid a generous deposit in order to win over this talented man.
Among them, Woodhead was the most hemorrhaging. In order to become the only Chinese-language newspaper serialized in mainland China, he directly gave 20,000 silver dollars.
After leaving Shilin, Feng Zhou took a rickshaw and found a luxury hotel to stay. After resting for a night, he called the hotel front desk and asked them about the nearest bank to Nankai University. The hotel recommended it to him.
Jincheng Bank is one of the "Four North Banks" in Tianjin.
Jincheng Bank was founded by Zhou Zuomin, a well-known figure in the modern financial industry, in the sixth year of the Republic of China. It is one of the important private banks in China. "The name is Jincheng, which means the eternal solidity of Jincheng Tangchi." Due to its sound management, its business has developed rapidly.
The deposits given to Feng Zhou by these newspapers totaled 80,000 silver dollars, accounting for one-tenth of Jincheng Bank's annual deposits. Therefore, after Feng Zhou presented cashier's checks from major foreign banks, the entire bank hall went crazy.
The son stirred up.
After hearing the news, general manager Zhou Zuomin immediately received Feng Zhou in person and welcomed him into the VIP room. The administrative staff poured tea for Feng Zhou and the president, closed the door and left.
"Is this your first time in Tianjin, Mr. Feng?"
"Yes, it's my first time here, but I have to live here for several years. I will inevitably cause trouble to Mr. Zhou in the future."
"Mr. Feng, you are very polite. Our bank's philosophy is 'customer first' and providing customers with satisfactory services is our aim."
After some polite exchanges, Feng Zhou expressed his intention;
"I chose Jincheng Bank this time mainly because your bank is relatively close to Nankai University. I will live here for the next four years, so I thought it would be more convenient to do business with you."
"Mr. Feng, please rest assured that I will provide you with every convenience possible."
"Okay, there is one more thing that I may want to trouble you with. I have heard of your name, Mr. Zhou, since I was a child. I heard that since you founded Jincheng Bank in the sixth year of the Republic of China, you have spent most of the year in Jinmen. During these ten years
Over the past few years, you must be very familiar with this place, and also relatively familiar with Nankai University, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Feng is really knowledgeable. Since the establishment of Jincheng Bank, I, the general manager, have naturally been busy with banking business. We have also won part of the business of Nankai University. I am also familiar with the president, Mr. Zhang Boling.
I also know a few teachers more or less."
"That's great. I just have something to ask you to help me run."