Chapter 168: Purchasing "Futures" Rights for the Future
Zhang Hui said, "Yes, there's clearly a large audience that enjoys listening to novels. In the past few days, quite a few people have already inquired about advertising opportunities with us."
"Mhm. A bit of advertising is fine, just don't overdo it," Yang Wendong replied. "Prioritize non-intrusive ads—things like movie and hotel recommendations. Blend them into the programming so they feel natural."
"Understood." Zhang nodded, then added, "Mr. Yang, I think we should secure the audio rights for Mr. Jin Yong's other novels as soon as possible. I'm worried someone else might catch on to the opportunity. Even if they don't have a radio station, if they buy up the rights ahead of us, we'll be in a passive position."
"Agreed. I'll find a time to talk to Jin Yong myself," Yang nodded, then smiled. "Last time, he only sold me the rights to The Legend of the Condor Heroes—probably hoping he could raise the price later."
Zhang said, "Makes sense. He's a businessman too now and is looking to maximize profits. I heard Ming Pao has been running at a loss lately. If he can earn a little extra, of course he'll take the chance."
"True," Yang agreed. "Also, try airing Gu Long's novels sometime. Let's see how the audience responds. If the results are promising, we won't be overly reliant on Jin Yong."
"Will do," Zhang replied. "I'll also reach out to other authors. Jin Yong isn't the only wuxia writer in Hong Kong."
"Exactly. As long as the writing's good, we'll pay to license it," Yang nodded.
There were still plenty of martial arts novels in Hong Kong. Jin Yong was simply the most prominent figure. But others had potential too—especially in this alternate timeline, where Yang's presence could encourage even better stories from emerging talents.
...
The next day, Yang Wendong arranged a meeting with Jin Yong.
Upon meeting, Jin Yong greeted him with a smile. "Mr. Yang, congratulations! With both your newspaper and now a radio station, you're well on your way to becoming Hong Kong's media mogul."
Yang shook his head modestly. "Mr. Cha, you flatter me. The radio station just launched, and the newspaper still lags behind Ming Pao—not to mention those major papers that sell tens of thousands each month."
Jin Yong chuckled. "I'm not talking about quantity. Your newspaper caters to high-end readers. Your audience is Hong Kong's wealthy professionals—very valuable demographics.
Unlike Ming Pao, which relies heavily on novel serialization. Most of our readers are average citizens or students with little spending power, and they're not exactly advertisers' favorite."
Yang smiled. "Students today are professionals tomorrow. The media industry isn't like finance or real estate—it takes time to mature."
"Well said," Jin Yong nodded. "Still, with the scale of your investments, I have no doubt you'll soon be one of Hong Kong's top media outlets."
"Thank you," Yang replied, then moved to the main topic. "Mr. Cha, I imagine you know why I asked to meet today."
"You'd like to purchase the audio rights to my other novels?" Jin Yong asked directly.
"Yes," Yang said. "You already know—selling me the rights benefits you as well. A lot of people in Hong Kong don't enjoy reading newspapers or novels, but they're willing to listen to stories via radio. This helps you expand your readership."
Even decades later, plenty of people preferred listening to audiobooks over reading. Preferences varied, and with Jin Yong's literary style being more sophisticated, many with lower education levels in Hong Kong might struggle to read his work.
Hong Kong Commercial Radio's dramatizations used conversational Cantonese to relay the stories, making them more accessible while also extending broadcast time—win-win.
Jin Yong nodded. "Alright. So you're looking for all of them—including Return of the Condor Heroes, which I'm still writing?"
"That's right," Yang confirmed. "Once Legend finishes, I plan to follow with Return. I'd like to get all your other titles on the air soon as well. Name your price."
Jin Yong paused to think. "I've got Return, plus four other completed books. How about 50,000 HKD?"
"50,000?" Yang raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit steep, don't you think?"
That amount could buy a 1,000-square-foot apartment in Central. Adjusted to modern standards, that was the equivalent of tens of millions.
Sure, Jin Yong's novels would eventually be worth a fortune, but this was only for audio rights—the least valuable form of copyright. And in 1960, Jin Yong's fame wasn't what it would be decades later.
While Yang could afford it, business was business. He wasn't about to overpay.
"How much are you offering, then?" Jin Yong asked.
"20,000," Yang replied. "Other than Return, the rest don't have the same renown as Legend."
The four novels were The Book and the Sword, Sword Stained with Royal Blood, Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain, and the incomplete Return of the Condor Heroes.
They weren't bad—but they weren't the crown jewels either. The Condor Trilogy plus Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils were his peak works.
Jin Yong frowned. "That seems a bit low."
Yang countered, "Is it, though? You sell your books for 30 cents a copy, right? Even at a few thousand copies a year, that's only a few thousand HKD total.
And piracy is rampant. If not for that, you'd be making much more."
Jin Yong's face darkened. "Don't remind me. Piracy has been killing us."
"I get it. I hate piracy too. Some of my Changxing Industrial products have been pirated as well," Yang said. "We've fought it hard and spent a lot doing so—but there's only so much you can do."
He added, "But the good news is, audio rights are clean. We pay you cash—no piracy, no loopholes."
"Still, 20,000 is low," Jin Yong insisted. "Especially since I'm offering you non-exclusive rights across all Chinese-speaking regions. You could resell this audio content elsewhere."
"In theory, yes," Yang replied. "In practice? Not so easy. Distribution is everything. And even if we could sell it, the profit wouldn't be huge."
Then he asked, "Is Ming Pao currently struggling with cash flow?"
Jin Yong hesitated, then admitted, "Somewhat. Many Hong Kong papers are now adopting color printing like Hong Kong Chinese Daily.
Ming Pao can delay for now, but long-term, we'll have to upgrade too. We've started looking into equipment."
Yang smiled. "Ah, that explains it. Color presses aren't cheap."
It was his own butterfly effect that had triggered this shift in the industry. Color newspapers offered a better reading experience—especially with the Heidelberg printing equipment he'd imported from Germany.
No other paper could ignore the competition.
Jin Yong nodded. "Exactly. Some papers are pooling funds to buy equipment together. But because of my serialized novels, I need full control—so I have to print everything in-house."
Yang considered for a moment. "Alright. Then how about this? Instead of haggling, I'll buy rights to more than just the audio for those four books.
Let's also include advance payments on rights to your future works. That way, the total payment can exceed 50,000 HKD—and you get the funds you need now. What do you think?"
Jin Yong blinked. "Future works? But I haven't even written them yet. You mean you're buying something that doesn't exist?"
"Exactly. I want to reserve the audio rights for your next ten novels. Once each one is complete, the audio rights automatically take effect."
"Sounds like a futures contract," Jin Yong murmured.
"Precisely," Yang grinned. "It's a bet on the future."
Jin Yong chuckled. "You're really going all in. What if I end up writing garbage?"
Yang shrugged. "That's the nature of futures. If I lose, I lose. If I win, I win big.
For you, it means immediate capital to support current needs—while still retaining full rights to reclaim these works later since we're not talking about perpetual rights."
Jin Yong, after all, was not just a novelist—he was a savvy businessman. That's why among all wuxia writers, he had achieved the highest commercial success.
Refusing to sell lifetime rights made perfect sense. Yang wouldn't sell them either if the roles were reversed.
After pondering it, Jin Yong said, "This is important. I'll need to consider it."
Yang smiled. "I'll offer 6,000 HKD per future novel, for the next ten. Combined with the 20,000 HKD for your current works, that's 80,000 HKD in total. More than enough for the printing equipment."
Jin Yong smiled. "Now that's tempting. Alright—I'll get back to you as soon as possible."
"Sounds good." Yang then added, "By the way, have you sold any of the film rights to your novels?"
"You want the film rights too?" Jin Yong was surprised. "Are you planning to make a movie?"
Yang laughed. "Not yet. But maybe in the future."
Film was a key sector of the media world—second only to television.
Once Yang had a solid network of theaters, it would make sense to begin investing in movies. He'd already identified the person to lead that effort when the time came.
Jin Yong picked up on the implication and said, "If you ever do want to adapt one of my stories for film, let's talk.
But film rights are more valuable. We'll negotiate them separately when the time comes."
"Absolutely," Yang nodded. "We'll revisit that later."
He knew Jin Yong had already licensed The Book and the Sword to Great Wall Movie Company.
A shrewd man like Jin Yong would want to wait and see how that adaptation turned out before deciding what to do next.
Besides, his stories were too long for movies—they were better suited to television dramas.
But with only one TV station in Hong Kong and no sign of a second for another five to six years, there was nothing concrete to pursue just yet.
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