PDLP Chapter 55 Brainstorming
Chapter 55 Brainstorming
It looks like the foreigners are about to start fighting again.
Yu Zhen and Zhang Fushi exchanged a quick glance; it was time to formally propose the "one fish, multiple uses" overseas full copyright cooperation mechanism.
This time it was Zhang Fushi's turn to get up and do his job.
After all, he was the third-ranked man in Shanghai. When chatting with Yu Zhen, he was completely like a kind and approachable uncle next door. But now he was going to talk about serious business, and it involved a major foreign-related matter involving tens of millions of US dollars in expected foreign exchange gains.
When Zhang Fushi gets serious, his imposing aura as a superior immediately emerges.
The five publishers, who were just moments before arguing and about to unleash a barrage of Western-style punches, quickly calmed down, obediently returned to their seats, and looked at Zhang Fushi, their hearts visibly pounding.
Clearly, they thought that this Eastern official was about to decide their fate with a single sentence.
After standing up, Zhang Fushi truly exuded an air of dominance.
Believe it or not, officials in this era were not as rigid as those in later generations. Each official had a highly personalized style of doing things, and their personal imprint was far greater than the image and demeanor constrained by their official positions.
To put it more bluntly, at the very least, for Zhang Fushi right now, although he desperately wants the cooperation project to be completed, his core mentality towards foreigners is to deal with things objectively, and there is absolutely no possibility of him flattering or trying to get things done.
Moreover, for the representatives of the five publishers, including Mark the Elder, the war of the 5s undoubtedly left a lasting mark on their lives.
As the only country in nearly half a century to have the United States sit calmly at the negotiating table and talk things out during foreign wars.
Before they made the decision to fly to Shanghai.
Deep down, there has always been an invisible and intangible fear accompanying me.
The same mentality applies to Zhang Fushi's generation. To put it bluntly, they are poor but incredibly proud. If you foreigners dare to make things difficult or cheat them, well...
After getting up, Zhang Fushi scanned the five publishers with a sharp look in his eyes.
His demeanor didn't resemble someone discussing business cooperation with a businessman; rather, it was more like someone who had just won a battle and was about to force a defeated general to sign a treaty of surrender.
To be honest, even Yu Zhen himself was a little taken aback by Zhang Fushi's aura.
Selena Feng was already prepared to provide a live translation, to accurately convey Zhang Fushi's words as soon as possible.
At this moment, she also suddenly became nervous.
After scanning everyone for more than ten seconds.
Zhang Fushi then spoke, "We have seen the sincerity of you gentlemen, but your sincerity is far from enough. You have underestimated the influence of our country's most outstanding young writer and his science fiction works..."
The opening statement immediately focused on our side, setting the tone for the ensuing conversation.
Selena von translated her words precisely, and the expressions of the five publishers, including old Mark, were visibly taken aback.
Have you underestimated this Eastern writer, and the influence of his works?
Where does this come from?
Is there some misunderstanding in the middle?
If you really underestimate writer Yu, we would travel thousands of miles to Shanghai to seek cooperation opportunities...
Zhang Fushi continued:
"Leaving aside the fact that this is my country's first science fiction series targeting overseas markets, which has the strongest promotional basis,
Just considering the commercial success of Yu Zhen's first two works, *The Truman Show* and *Brain in a Vat*, under Mr. Mark's management, their achievements in the North American market are already considerable.
Honestly, have the potential value of those two successful works truly been fully realized?
No, not at all!!
In our view, Mr. Mark, your business operations and development haven't even reached one-tenth of their full potential!
To put it bluntly, Mr. Mark, you are even recklessly wasting the opportunity to collaborate with Comrade Yu Zhen on the publication of two works.
I apologize, I don't mean to name names, but Mr. Mark, your boldness in the field of business development is really a bit too much!
Honestly, how much of your so-called successful operation is truly attributable to your business acumen?
The truth is indeed the most hurtful, but that is the cruelest business logic.
Believe it or not, just imagine if these two works had been published by any of the publishers here, or by some smaller publishers in North America.
Mr. Mark, think about it carefully. Are you saying that others couldn't achieve the same success?
Old Mark wanted to argue, but he knew that what the Eastern official said was the truth.
He knew better than anyone else about his so-called success; he was just a foolish businessman who was lucky enough to find a treasure, a foolish bookseller whose company was originally on the verge of bankruptcy due to poor management.
The same opportunity for cooperation would be in the hands of anyone else.
Others will also achieve 100% success, and may even achieve far greater success than him.
The truth is indeed the most hurtful; old Mark's face was filled with frustration, and he was powerless to refute it.
Seeing this, the other four publishers felt much more at ease.
It seems that even though Old Mark played his trump card of only taking 1% of the profits, he still couldn't convince the people of Dongguo easily.
The people of Dongguo are very cautious in their approach to cooperation and have very high expectations.
Mark is probably out of the game.
But at the same time, they also felt uneasy.
The appetite of the people of Dongguo seems to be enormous; they are simply not satisfied with the so-called expected royalties of $5 million, the fame and fortune from several high-profile international literary awards, and the fame and fortune from Hollywood film and television adaptations...
They are businessmen, that's true, but their industry is cultural publishing, and they specifically flew to this mysterious Eastern country in an attempt to seek transnational cooperation in the business field.
Before coming, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of some of the policies and regulations of the Eastern Kingdom.
According to the information they possess, this mysterious red empire is undergoing reforms and actively aligning itself with the Western world, while gradually distancing itself from its other terrifying red neighbor to the north.
Even voices from the Washington level expressed a welcoming attitude towards their business ventures in the East.
From this, we can infer some unknown secrets: their current dealings with the Eastern Kingdom must contain more symbolic meanings than just commercial operations.
Therefore, this science fiction epic with over a million words could be seen as a proactive overseas exploration by Dongguo in the field of literary creation.
The real creator is not this ridiculously young man in front of us.
In reality, behind the scenes in Dongguo, there is a powerful elite creative team.
Just like how there's always a union of the best writers and screenwriters in Hollywood's DreamWorks, encompassing the entire Western arts and culture scene, wouldn't there also be a dedicated group of organized creators in East Korea, led by their government, who want to turn science fiction writing into an industry and export it to the North American market...
Zhang Fushi's attitude was too domineering.
Furthermore, his domineering and unparalleled words during the negotiations easily created a strange illusion for the foreigners: it seemed that he was the true owner of the work, and that Yu Zhen, the young writer, was just a prop brought in as a facade.
Under the influence of their habitual conspiracy theories, foreigners actually started to imagine things in a completely distorted way.
There's no way around it. No foreigner dares to confidently claim that they truly understand this mysterious country and know exactly how ordinary people and officials interact.
They will never understand the true concept of a public servant in their lifetime.
In their minds, it is clearly unimaginable that Yu Zhen earns huge royalties overseas and generates a huge amount of foreign exchange for the country. Such a thing, which is a very private matter in the Western world, has become a super event in the East, at least in this era, that can truly cause a sensation across the country and have a significant impact on the cultural sphere.
Despite the fatal overthinking, Zhang Fushi's strong statement after getting up quickly achieved an extraordinary persuasive effect.
As a result, apart from Mark Ruffalo, who had already conceded defeat, the other four publishers became increasingly eager to acquire the rights...