Chapter 421 “If I were young and successful and didn’t feel inferior.”

“Hey, whose car is this?!”

When Aunt Zhang came back from shopping today, she immediately saw a shiny, imposing black Volga sedan parked in the alley.

The appearance of this car is a bit old-fashioned, very similar to the cars used in those old Shanghai gangster movies in later generations.

The black paint has a very strong sense of lines, a low waistline and a majestic front face design.

Another feature is that the body of the car is extremely long, with a front-to-back length of approximately five meters.

Xiaomi su7Ultra is only a little over five meters long.

A car like this parked in the alley would attract so much attention.

Editorial Department of People’s Digest.

“Hello, Comrade Jiang Xian.”

“It’s Xiao Xu, right?”

Jiang Xian shook hands kindly with a young comrade.

He was assigned a car and, of course, a corresponding driver, this is Xiao Xu, Xu Chenhui.

Xu Chenhui is from Northeast China, born in Heilongjiang. He is 24 years old this year and has a handsome appearance.

When the young man heard that he could be transferred to drive for Jiang Xian, he was so happy that he was so excited that he couldn’t sleep well for several nights.

Nowadays, Jiang Xian is the common idol of all young people!

He is also included.

Xu Chenhui has only junior high school education. He likes to read literary magazines and novels. Jiang Xian’s novels particularly attract him. He has read almost every one of them more than three times.

“Xiao Xu, please sit down.”

Jiang Xian pulled a chair over for Xu Chenhui. “I heard from someone that you were a soldier?”

Xu Chenhui nodded, “Yes, I have.”

“Uh-huh.”

Jiang Xian knew that some military matters were confidential, and Xu Chenhui was not in a position to answer, so he did not ask further.

Of course, it was impossible for him to be completely ignorant of the person who was about to become his driver, as he had carefully read his information before.

Xu Chenhui, a junior high school graduate, is a veteran and was born into a working-class family. His father was once a switchman at Shanhaiguan Railway Station.

Politically absolutely reliable.

“It’s amazing that you became a driver at such a young age.” Jiang Xian patted Xu Chenhui on the shoulder.

These words really come from the bottom of my heart.

Drivers in later generations are all Didi drivers, and each of them is like Xiangzi, the rickshaw puller in Lao She’s book, doing exhausting work and earning a little hard-earned money.

But nowadays, being a driver who can drive and has a driver’s license is a very impressive thing. The profession of driver is also a “golden rice bowl” these days.

They have a high social status and are respected. Not only do they receive a considerable salary, but they also receive various subsidies and benefits, so they don’t have to worry about food, clothing and other daily necessities.

Moreover, because there are not many cars at this time, drivers are often asked for help by everyone, so no matter where they go, there are people willing to chat with the drivers and ask them to help carry things, buy things or deliver goods.

In this way, the driver can not only earn some extra money by delivering goods, but also have money in hand, be proud of himself, and know many people. He is definitely a “capable person” that no one dares to offend.

“You flatter me too much.” Xu Chenhui said shyly.

“Come on, show me the car.”

Jiang Xian followed Xu Chenhui to the gate of the yard. Many people from People’s Digest gathered around the car, including Zhu Wei, Zheng Yuanjie, Yu Hua, and Liu Bei.

“Ahem, the editor-in-chief is here!” Liu Bei reminded.

The other guys who were looking closely at the people in the carriage quickly turned around and looked at Jiang Xian with embarrassment.

“Editor-in-chief!”

“Can you see clearly?” Jiang Xian asked jokingly.

“good.”

Yu Hua answered honestly, “It would be even better if I could sit inside and take a look.”

For most people, the number of times they ride in this kind of car in their lives is very small, and a large number of people have never even ridden in a car in their entire lives.

Liu Bei gave Yu Hua a reproachful look.

Yu Hua has been working at People’s Digest for so long that she has become familiar with this shy big boy.

When she heard Yu Hua say this, she rolled her eyes, thinking that this boy was really stupid and talkative.

But to everyone’s surprise, Jiang Xian was very easy to talk to and said, “Okay, come in and take a look.”

“Really?”

Yu Hua still looked incredulous.

“It’s just a car, it’s made for people to sit in.” Jiang Xian said: “Besides, if only I can sit in it and the people can’t sit in it, then wouldn’t I become a high-ranking official?”

“.”

Xu Chenhui was standing nearby, and listened to Jiang Xian’s words silently.

He has experience and a resume, and has met many leading cadres. As a driver, he has ample opportunities to interact with these cadres.

So Xu Chenhui understood very well that some people may look bright and beautiful on the outside, but are actually very dirty inside.

It is extremely rare to find cadres like Jiang Xian who can integrate knowledge and action.

With just this small action, Xu Chenhui felt a lot more respect for Jiang Xian.

Jiang Xian opened the car door and leaned into the back seat to observe:
Bar-shaped instrument panel, non-hidden door wrench, chrome rearview mirror and upper triangular window on the front door
In addition, the wheelbase of this car is quite long, and the driving space is very spacious, which makes Jiang Xian very satisfied.

After all, it is a car made by the Russians, and there are too many big and strong men there, so the driving space must be designed to be larger.

I sat on the chair and found the sofa seat quite comfortable. I think it will be comfortable enough on the bumpy mountain road.

“What model is this?” he asked.

“It’s a Volga M24.”

Xu Chenhui introduced that “it is quite old, it was imported in 1980, and it is equipped with two 4-cylinder gasoline engines, with displacements of 2112 ml and 2445 ml respectively, and the maximum power of the engine is 69 horsepower and 95 horsepower, and the maximum speed can reach 147 kilometers per hour.”

“It consumes a lot of fuel, right?” Jiang Xian asked.

Xu Chenhui nodded, “It’s quite expensive.”

“Do you know how much it sells for?”

Xu Chenhui thought for a moment and said, “A car like this can probably be sold for around 3 yuan on the market now.”

“3?”

Yu Hua sat half-way in the back seat, looking reserved.

For a moment, I felt my butt was a little hot.

He is now sitting on 30,000 yuan!
So much money, I can’t even dream of it.

How many words do I have to write to earn that much?
Jiang Xian was very casual and didn’t act too surprised when he heard the number. He fiddled with the dashboard and the knobs on the car door. Of course, the car windows were hand-cranked lift windows.

“3 is not too expensive.”

He muttered, “I heard that the Toyota Crown 2.8 luxury version can be sold for 11 now.”

“Yes.”

Xu Chenhui was a little surprised. He didn’t expect Jiang Xian to know so much about cars.

Although we have conflicts with the Soviet Union, the business exchanges between the two sides have never been interrupted. Compared with Japanese cars of the same period, the most prominent advantage of Volga is its cheapness, otherwise it would not have become the taxi model in Beijing.

“Xiao Xu, light the fire and take the comrades for a walk in the alley.” Jiang Xian said.

“it is good.”

Xu Chenhui sat in the driver’s seat and started the car.

Yu Hua and his friends squeezed into the back seat. They rarely even had a car, so of course they had no intention of giving up the back seat to their leader.

Jiang Xian didn’t mind and sat in the passenger seat.

Probably because there were too many passengers, you could hear some squeaking noises coming from the car.

Alas, the things the Russians make are still a bit too crude.

Of course, the car didn’t drive very far, it just slowly circled the alley twice.

Just these two laps gave the young comrades a great shock.

“That’s great! If I become a big actor in the future, I will definitely buy myself a car.” Liu Bei looks forward to the future.

“How big of an actor must be to be able to afford it?” Yu Hua thought it was unrealistic.

Liu Bei also sighed. It was not the time to try to gain fans now. In the future, any star could attract fans, but it was not the case now. Now, no matter how big an actor was, he could only be famous but not rich.

“Then I’ll find a husband who can drive a car like this,” she said.

Yu Hua felt a little depressed when he heard this.

I have been treating people’s teeth and working as a dentist in a hospital all my life, but I’m afraid the organization will not provide me with such a car.

So he really envied Jiang Xian. He felt so envious when he thought about Jiang Xian being able to ride in such a car.

If he could be as successful as Jiang Xian, it would probably be easy for him to get along with Liu Bei.

After returning to his residence, Yu Hua pondered.

Still gotta write!
If I could write to Jiang Xian’s level, I would probably be able to afford a car that costs 30,000 yuan.

He picked up the pen with great ambition, but immediately became discouraged.

It’s easy to say, but is it easy to write at Jiang Xian’s level?

This is not something that can be achieved simply by working hard.

In recent years, many authors in China have become famous for their articles, but how many writers have had such huge responses for each of their novels as Jiang Xian, and have almost as many representative works as him?

When it comes to writing, hard work alone is not enough; you also need talent.

Talent is something that is innate.

Jiang Xian’s talent is like the Pacific Ocean, inexhaustible.

As for himself, Yu Hua felt that his talent was not too small, but not too great either.

If Jiang Xian is the Pacific Ocean, then he should be… Saying it is the Yangtze River or the Yellow River seems a bit too self-flattering.

Oh, Shichahai.

The Writers Publishing House contacted Jiang Xian to discuss publishing his novel.

Yao Xiaoyu, an editor at Writers Publishing House, found Jiang Xian’s home and told him that Writers Publishing House had included more than a dozen of his works in the “Literary Rising Star” series of publishing plans.

“We plan to publish a collection of short and medium-length novels, as well as several novels such as Furong Town and Rice, including The Chess King and Browning Lychees.”

Yao Xiaoyu gave a brief account of it.

It can be said that the publishing plan of this “Literary New Star” series covers almost all of Jiang Xian’s current representative works.

“How much is the fee for this?” Zhu Hong, who was standing by the wall, was shocked when he heard this.

She knew that her brother-in-law often had works published. She had heard from her sister that when there was an opportunity to publish a novel in the past, the basic royalties and printing royalties for a work of her brother-in-law often added up to several thousand yuan.

There are so many works this time, estimated to be worth tens of thousands of dollars!
“I have no objection to the publication.”

Jiang Xian said to Yao Xiaoyu calmly, “Since we want to discuss cooperation, I have to tell you first that I am different from other writers. I am not afraid to talk about money.”

“Of course, we should talk about it.” Yao Xiaoyu immediately agreed, “Comrade Jiang Xian, what do you think about the royalties?”

“This time your Writers Publishing House publishes my work, and I don’t want any royalties.”

“Don’t you want royalties?”

Yao Xiaoyu looked at him strangely, “Comrade Jiang Xian, I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“I don’t want royalties, I want royalties from you,” Jiang Xian said.

“Royalties?”

“Yes, I have published many works in the United States, and I have several novels published in Japan. The international publishing industry now pays authors royalties based on the royalty system.”

Yao Xiaoyu was a little confused.

“What kind of system is this?”

“Let me give you an example. If the royalty rate you give me is 10%, then for every $10 book you sell, you have to pay me $1.”

“For every 10-yuan book I sell, I have to pay you 1 yuan, which is the basic fee and the fee for the number of copies printed.”

“There is no such thing as basic royalties or royalties based on the number of copies printed.”

Jiang Xian waved his hand and said, “This is a new method. Let me give you an example. According to your previous system of remuneration, the remuneration is equivalent to a fixed salary. The money is given to the author, and how much the book sells is the publisher’s business, which has basically nothing to do with the author himself.

But the royalties are that writers only get commissions, which means that my work is tied to the publishing house. If the book sells a lot, I make money with you. If the book sells a little, then I share the loss with your publishing house.”

Jiang Xian explained it once and Yao Xiaoyu understood it quickly.

At first, he thought that Jiang Xian was trying to make things difficult for their publishing house by suddenly bringing up the royalties.

But after listening to Jiang Xian’s explanation, he suddenly realized.

Jiang Xian is not trying to create problems for their publishing house.

Jiang Xian is making things difficult for himself!

This system is very good.

If the book sells well, their publishing house will earn more money. If the book sells poorly, their publishing house will not lose too much, because Jiang Xian and they share the loss.

He thought for a while and said, “I roughly understand what you are talking about, but time is tight and I can’t agree to it directly. I need to discuss it within the company before making a decision.”

“No problem.” Jiang Xian said with a smile.

This time, he would rather not publish it than not get the royalties.

There is no way, this time the Writer’s Publishing House is going to publish almost his entire set of works.

If Jiang Xian were to be paid the royalties according to the existing remuneration system, he would really faint from crying.

He has confidence in his works. Which of his works is not a timeless masterpiece?

The royalties from these works are much more than just a little bit more than the ordinary royalties.

On the other hand, Yao Xiaoyu quickly explained Jiang Xianti’s royalty system to the publishing house.

Cong Weixi found it very interesting, “although I’m not sure if anyone has ever had such an idea before.

But among today’s writers, Jiang Xian is probably the only one who has the confidence to propose such a condition.”

Writers who propose to use a royalty-based contract must have enough confidence in themselves.

After all, for a writer, the market reaction is difficult for them to predict.

Apart from Jiang Xian, a big name in the literary world, who else would dare to do this?

(End of this chapter)