amaotonovel Chapter 1186 The book has its own golden house
Chapter 1186 The book has its own golden house
Chapter 1186 The book has its own golden house
By the canal, flower street.
"Guixiang, Guixiang in the grocery store has your phone number."
Liu Yuling (Shao Xingchi's mother) returned to the snack stall along the river in Huajie with a bottle of vinegar. She usually set up the stall with Grandma Ma, Li Yan (Xia Fenghua's mother), Liang Haihong (Xie Wanghe's mother) and Liang Guixiang, and they get along like a family.
Liang Guixiang was a little confused: "My phone number?"
"It's a long distance call. It seems to be from a publishing house in Hubei."
"Why does the publishing house want to see me?" Liang Guixiang was even more confused when she heard this.
"Guixiang, you go and take a look first. There aren't many people here now anyway. We'll watch over it for you." Liang Haihong suggested.
Liang Guixiang came to the store with doubts, and called the number the store owner had written down. The other party asked directly, "Is this Liang Guixiang, Teacher Liang?"
"Uh, my name is Liang Guixiang, but I'm not a teacher. Did you find the wrong person?"
The other party hesitated and gave a home address.
Liang Guixiang was even more confused. This was indeed her home address on her ID card, but how did the other party know it?
"How do you know the address on my ID card?"
"Mr. Liang, you submitted three manuscripts to our magazine, and they contain your contact information and home address."
Liang Guixiang shook her head as soon as she heard this: "You must be mistaken. I haven't even graduated from junior high school and I have trouble writing essays. How can I possibly submit an article to your magazine?"
The other party was also confused. He took out the information left on the manuscript again and checked it with Liang Guixiang, and found that they were exactly the same.
"Teacher Liang, do you have any concerns? I know there are some misunderstandings about our Zhiyin magazine in the market. Don't worry about this. Your personal information is completely confidential. Your article is signed with a pen name, not your real name."
The editor of Zhiyin Magazine had a strange look on his face. Although the payment for articles from Zhiyin was high enough, the content of the articles was somewhat unworthy of being published, and many authors did not submit their articles using their common pen names.
Liang Guixiang was completely confused. She had no idea what the pen name or real name was.
Just as she was about to hang up the phone, she suddenly remembered that Qin Hao asked for her ID card that night.
"Could it be a son?"
But then I thought, even though my son has good academic performance, can he really submit articles to a magazine in the fourth grade?
"Ahem, Editor Wu, I have something urgent to deal with right now. How about I call you back tomorrow?"
"Okay, Mr. Liang, you go ahead and do your work. I called you today to let you know that two of your three manuscripts have been selected by our magazine..."
Liang Guixiang returned to the snack stand, with Editor Wu's words still echoing in her mind. No matter how she thought about it, it seemed impossible.
"Guixiang, what's wrong? You looked like you lost your soul after receiving the phone call."
Lucy Liu from the next stall asked with concern.
Liang Guixiang just repeated the situation as if it were a joke.
"That must be a typo. Haozi is only in the fourth grade. Our Huazi now has to use punctuation marks to make up the word count when writing a 200-word essay. No matter how well Haozi writes, it is impossible for him to be selected by the magazine." Li Yan said with a smile.
Lucy Liu also echoed, "Yes, our Lao Shao often submits articles to magazines, but only a few of them are published."
"Yeah, I also think it's unlikely." Liang Guixiang still felt a little disappointed while speaking. After all, which parent doesn't want their son to be successful?
Grandma Ma said, "That's not necessarily the case. Guixiang, ask Haozi later. Maybe there is a writing genius in our Huajie."
"Okay, then I'll go back and ask." Liang Guixiang's heart was filled with hope again.
However, Lucy Liu and her friends had no hope at all.
Around 4:30 in the afternoon, as the children gradually got out of school, the snack stand also welcomed a wave of good business. Liang Guixiang was so busy that she forgot about this matter. It was not until sunset that when there was no business, several people packed up their stalls and went home.
When she returned home, Liang Guixiang saw her son doing his homework obediently, and she walked up to him as if possessed.
"Haozi, have you submitted your article to the magazine?"
Qin Hao raised his head: "Has the manuscript been selected?"
Liang Guixiang looked at her son in disbelief: "Did you really submit the manuscript?"
Seeing Qin Hao nod, Liang Guixiang felt that her worldview had been overturned.
"No, when did you submit the manuscript?"
"Just last week."
"But, you are only in the fourth grade..."
"Yes, that's why I submitted the manuscript under your name."
Liang Guixiang's mind was in a mess: "No, I mean, how come your manuscript was chosen?"
Qin Hao was happy. This showed that he did not believe in his ability.
"It's actually very simple. You just need to understand the magazine's style of selecting articles and cater to their preferences."
Liang Guixiang doesn't believe it's that simple: "Teacher Shao, who is so educated, has not been selected many times..."
"That's because he can't let go of his scholarly airs. To put it bluntly, he just wants to save face."
Liang Guixiang felt that she was being led astray again: "Show me the manuscript."
"No more, they have all been sent out." Qin Hao spread his hands. It would be better not to let Liang Guixiang see this manuscript for the time being.
Liang Guixiang took a long time to accept the fact that Qin Hao's "composition" was selected by the magazine.
"Son, do your homework first. Mom will give you an extra dish today."
No matter what, it is definitely a great thing that my son’s “composition” was selected by the magazine and it is worth celebrating.
"Mom, has the editor of Zhiyin said how many articles have been published? How much is the manuscript fee?"
This is what Qin Hao is most concerned about.
Liang Guixiang thought for a moment and said, "I think I mentioned two articles. Manuscript fees? And what about manuscript fees?"
"Of course, and it's not low." Qin Hao gave Liang Guixiang a heads-up in advance.
"How much can it be? I heard from your Aunt Liu that the highest royalties Teacher Shao has ever received is only 83 yuan." Liang Guixiang said casually.
"It's definitely higher than Uncle Shao's anyway."
"Yeah, my son is awesome."
At the same time, the small courtyard in Huajie was already filled with fragrance. Xie Wang and the four naughty monkeys were having fun in the yard. They waited until the meals of each family were served on the table before they went home to eat.
When Shao Xingchi returned home, he heard his mother Liu Yuling talking about Qin Hao's submission.
Shao Bingyi scoffed at this: "How can a primary school student who can't even recognize all the characters write a good article?"
"That's true, but who submitted the article under Guixiang's name?" Liu Yuling was puzzled.
"People who hide their heads and show their tails like this probably don't have much knowledge, so don't pay any attention to them."
Shao Xingchi said casually.
"That's not necessarily true. Even our teacher thinks Haozi's article is good."
"Can the judging criteria of school teachers be the same as those of magazine editors?" Shao Bingyi glared at his son.
"Your father is such an educated man, but he has only reviewed his manuscripts a few times in all these years. How can a primary school student publish an article in a magazine? It's a joke."
Seeing that her husband's tone was too harsh, Lucy Liu was afraid of scaring her son, so she quickly changed the subject.
……
The next afternoon, Liang Guixiang closed her stall early and came to the school to pick up Qin Hao after school.
"Hello, Aunt Liang."
"Aunt Liang."
Liang Guixiang waved to Xie Wang and the other four people, "Hello."
"Thank you, Aunt Liang."
Liang Guixiang pulled Qin Hao all the way to the grocery store. Xia Fenghua licked her lips when she saw them go in.
"Aunt Liang, are you going to buy snacks for Qin Hao?"
Xie Wanghe winked at the three of them and followed quietly.
The result disappointed the two of them. Liang Guixiang took Qin Hao and walked straight to the phone.
At Qin Hao's suggestion, Liang Guixiang took a deep breath and dialed yesterday's number.
"Hello, is this Editor Wu? Yes, it's me..."
Liang Guixiang was usually honest, so when she was suddenly asked to lie, she felt her calves trembling.
Editor Wu was relieved to see that Liang Guixiang finally "admitted" her identity. Other editors in the magazine were very optimistic about the two manuscripts, and the circulation of the next issue depended on these two manuscripts. If he could not publish them due to contract issues, he would definitely be criticized.
"Manuscript fee." Qin Hao reminded in a low voice.
Liang Guixiang then asked cautiously, "Editor Wu, I want to ask for the royalties for these two manuscripts."
Editor Wu said seriously, "It's like this, Mr. Liang, the quality of your two manuscripts is very good, but since you are still a newcomer, we can only give you 150 per thousand words."
Liang Guixiang had no idea about this. In her opinion, getting 150 for writing a thousand words was already a lot. She was surprised and was about to agree when she was pulled back by Qin Hao.
"The fee is too low. It should be at least 200 per thousand words!"
"Is this still low?" Liang Guixiang covered the microphone and whispered.
Qin Hao shook his head: "The lowest price for Zhiyin's manuscripts is this. This involves my future manuscript fees. If it is set too low now, it will be difficult to raise the price in the future."
"Can the price be raised further?" Liang Guixiang's eyes widened.
"Just do as I say."
Liang Guixiang was experienced in bargaining with others. Editor Wu was silent for half a minute. Just when Liang Guixiang was worried that he might change his mind and not want her son's manuscript, he suddenly spoke.
"Okay, I personally admire Mr. Liang's writing talent very much. I'll negotiate with the editor-in-chief for 200 per thousand words. It shouldn't be a problem, but we need to sign an exclusive writing contract with Mr. Liang."
Liang Guixiang told Qin Hao about the situation.
"Promise him and ask him when the manuscript fee will be paid."
Seeing Liang Guixiang agreed, Editor Wu was very happy: "Don't worry, Mr. Liang, we will mail the check and the contract to you."
Liang Guixiang asked cautiously: "Editor Wu, can you tell me first how much I can get for the manuscript this time?"
"The total number of words in your two manuscripts is 4852, and the total manuscript fee is 970.4 yuan. After deducting taxes, it should be 936 yuan."
Liang Guixiang widened her eyes. She originally thought that two or three hundred yuan was already a lot, but she didn't expect it to be so much.
You have to know that she works very hard every month setting up stalls and doing odd jobs, and only earns more than a thousand yuan. This is almost as much as her monthly income.
"Teacher Liang, are you listening?"
Liang Guixiang woke up as if from a dream: "Yes, yes."
"If there are no other questions, I will arrange to mail the contract to you. Please give me a bank account. Once you sign the contract and mail it to me, we will transfer the money to you after confirmation."
Liang Guixiang subconsciously looked at her son, and when she saw Qin Hao nodded, she breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay."
After hanging up the phone, Liang Guixiang felt like she was in a dream.
Xie Wang and the other four who were eavesdropping nearby also looked at Qin Hao in disbelief, especially Shao Xingchi. He often heard his father brag about his articles being published in certain publications, but as far as he knew, the highest royalty his father had ever received was no more than one hundred yuan.
Qin Hao's royalties are exactly nine times what his father earns. In Shao Xingchi's opinion, nothing else matters. Only the royalties are real income.
"Qin Hao, can I see your article in the magazine in the future?"
"Qin Hao, you are so amazing, you are worthy of being one of our four young masters of Huajie."
Zhou Haikuo and Xie Wanghe gave Qin Hao a thumbs up. This time, even Xia Fenghua didn't bother about the title of "Four Young Masters of Red Street".
Liang Guixiang was also very happy. After paying the bill, she generously took out five dollars.
"Auntie will treat you to ice cream, take whatever you want."
"Thank you, Aunt Liang."
"Long live Aunt Liang."
Xie Wang and the other four ran back to the courtyard holding ice creams, and then couldn't wait to tell the adults at home about the situation.
Lucy Liu was cooking and paused: "So, Haozi's article will be published in the magazine?"
"Not only that, there is also royalties, more than 900 yuan." Shao Xingchi added.
Now everyone else in the yard was also surprised. Nine hundred yuan was nothing to them. They would get a certain dividend every time Boss Xie came back from sailing. But after all, Qin Hao was only ten years old.
"I've always known Haozi to be a smart kid. Guixiang will have a good life in the future." Liu Yuling felt very sympathetic towards Liang Guixiang's situation.
Zhou Yipu (Zhou Haikuo's grandfather) said with emotion: "Books are the golden house. Haikuo, have you seen it? This is the power of knowledge. You should learn more from others in the future."
"Yes, I know, grandpa." Zhou Haikuo answered very obediently.
Seeing his mother Liang Haihong's envious look, Xie Wanghe immediately patted his chest and said, "Mom, when I make money in the future, I will give it all to you."
Liang Haihong laughed and scolded: "Stop it, look at Haozi, he is already earning royalties at such a young age, but you can't even write an essay clearly. I'm afraid I won't be able to enjoy your blessing in this life. I'll be happy if you don't worry me too much."
Xie Wanghe scratched his head embarrassedly.
Grandma Ma said with a smile: "Wanghe has been smart since he was young. As long as he can focus on studying, he will definitely have a bright future."
"Grandma Ma, please stop praising him. Haozi has always been at the top of his class, which means he is really smart. He is just a little bit smart."
Soon everyone had prepared dinner. When Shao Bingyi got home from get off work, Lucy Liu immediately poured him some hot water.
Shao Bingyi was washing his hands when he heard people outside talking about Qin Hao.
"What does that mean? Was Haozi's manuscript really selected? Which magazine? Is it about youth writing?" Shao Bingyi asked casually.
"No, I heard Aunt Liang say that it seemed like a soulmate."
Shao Bingyi frowned when he heard this: "Zhiyin? He, a ten-year-old kid, submitted an article to Zhiyin? And it was accepted?"
Shao Bingyi, who always calls himself a "cultural worker", apparently looks down on popular publications on the market, let alone something like "Zhiyin" that is not worthy of being published in high society. However, he has heard about the remuneration of "Zhiyin".