Huo Yaowen followed Chief Editor Li Daoguang into the office that used to belong to Ma Rulong.
"Mr. Huo, please have a seat." Li Daoguang gestured for Huo Yaowen to sit at the coffee table in the office, which was specifically for entertaining guests.
Huo Yaowen smiled and said, "Thank you."
After Huo Yaowen sat down, Li Daoguang went out and asked a Clerk to prepare two cups of tea.
While waiting for the Clerk to make tea, Li Daoguang said, "Mr. Huo, I apologize. The newspaper is newly established, and everything needs to start from scratch. Many things are not yet complete. Moreover, this is just a temporary base; the place is a bit small. However, President Ma has already purchased several nearby shops and plans to connect them and redecorate. We expect Oriental Daily News to move into the new premises next month. When you visit again, Mr. Huo, you will surely see a different Oriental Daily News."
Hearing this, Huo Yaowen gave a slight smile and said, "A good newspaper and a good publishing house are never solely due to a good location or large area that they become the top-selling newspaper in All of Hong Kong. Only through the collective efforts of all employees can a newspaper develop and grow. Therefore, I believe that under the efforts of Chief Editor Ma and Chief Editor Li, Oriental Daily News will definitely become a publishing house on par with Ming Pao. When Mr. Jin Yong first founded Ming Pao years ago, wasn't he also confined to a small office?"
"Haha..." Li Daoguang was very pleased to hear this. He resigned from Ta Kung Pao and resolutely came to this Oriental Daily News, which had nothing. On one hand, it was because Ma Rulong offered a very high salary, and on the other hand, it was a matter of ambition.
Ta Kung Pao had been established for a long time, with complex internal factions. Li Daoguang had worked hard at the newspaper for ten years, yet he was only a deputy editor of the supplement, a position neither too big nor too small, with a moderate salary. To strive for further advancement, it would be difficult to reach the position of Chief Editor or even Chief Editor without another ten years or more.
Li Daoguang was only in his forties this year, so he naturally hoped for an opportunity to advance. Therefore, when Ma Rulong extended an olive branch, he readily accepted it. Not only did he immediately become the Chief Editor of the newspaper, but he also received nearly double his previous salary. Why wouldn't he be happy about that?
The most important point was that the current Chief Editor of Oriental Daily News was Ma Rulong. Although Li Daoguang did not know what kind of business this President Ma was involved in, judging by how he was spending money, he probably had other businesses, and the newspaper might be the smallest of them.
So, in the future, most of the newspaper's affairs should be handed over to Li Daoguang to handle, which was a disguised promotion, making him the Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper.
As the saying goes: Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox.
After laughing, Li Daoguang picked up the manuscript Huo Yaowen had submitted and said, "President Ma told me a little about the four major schools of tomb raiding that Mr. Huo mentioned, as well as some tomb raiding methods or tools. But I'm very curious, are these all Mr. Huo's own fabrications, or did such schools really exist in ancient Times?"
To deal with someone like Li Daoguang, who had been a newspaper Chief Editor and read many manuscripts, Huo Yaowen certainly wouldn't just tell a simple story to pique his interest, as he might with Ma Rulong.
So, Huo Yaowen pondered for a few seconds and said, "Strictly speaking, tomb raiding has existed since ancient Times, and some of the tomb raiding tools I mentioned indeed existed in ancient Times, such as Luoyang shovels and tiger claw hooks; their existence is verifiable. As for the four major schools of tomb raiding, apart from Tomb Raider Captain and Faqiu Lieutenant Generals, which have clear records in ancient texts, I once read an ancient book years ago that mentioned some ancient tomb robbers' methods, so I created the other two schools based on those."
"Tomb Raider Captain and Faqiu Lieutenant Generals have clear records in ancient texts?" Li Daoguang was surprised, not expecting that there was indeed a concept of tomb raiding schools in ancient Times, and asked, "Which ancient text recorded it?"
"Haha, Chief Editor Li has definitely read this book, and basically most people have," Huo Yaowen chuckled.
"Oh?!" Li Daoguang was puzzled.
"Both romance of the three kingdoms written by Luo Guanzhong and Records of the Three Kingdoms written by Chen Shou record the two tomb raiding schools, Tomb Raider Captain and Faqiu Lieutenant Generals, which developed from the late Eastern Han Dynasty."
Hearing Huo Yaowen mention these two Three Kingdoms books, Li Daoguang couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "I haven't read much of Records of the Three Kingdoms, but I've read romance of the three kingdoms over and over again, yet I've never seen any mention of Tomb Raider Captain and Faqiu Lieutenant Generals!"
Noticing Li Daoguang's disbelief, Huo Yaowen didn't mind. Instead, he smiled and said, "I wonder if Chief Editor Li remembers an episode in romance of the three kingdoms during the Battle of Guandu, where Yuan Shao ordered Chen Lin to write a proclamation against Cao Cao, and Chen Lin wrote 'A Proclamation for Yuan Shao to Yu Province'."
Li Daoguang carefully recalled romance of the three kingdoms, thought for a moment, and nodded, "Yes, there is such an episode."
"In that 'Proclamation for Yuan Shao to Yu Province' written by Chen Lin, there is a passage: [Cao also specially established Faqiu Lieutenant Generals and Tomb Raider Captains; wherever they passed, they plundered, leaving no bones unexposed.] This sentence means that Cao Cao newly established two official positions, Faqiu Lieutenant Generals and Tomb Raider Captains. Wherever these two armies passed, there was not a single intact skeleton."
Li Daoguang didn't remember the details of that chapter very clearly, but seeing Huo Yaowen speak so confidently and directly naming it as a record in romance of the three kingdoms, he couldn't help but believe him a little. After all, the book romance of the three kingdoms was basically everywhere, and one could easily verify its authenticity with a quick check.
Li Daoguang then looked at Huo Yaowen in surprise. He hadn't expected that such a small and obscure passage in romance of the three kingdoms could give Huo Yaowen such unique ideas, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "Countless people have read romance of the three kingdoms since ancient Times, yet no one has ever proposed such a theory of tomb raiding schools. Mr. Huo's explanation today has enlightened me. It seems there really were two tomb raiding factions in ancient Times."
"Chief Editor Li, you're joking." Huo Yaowen quickly waved his hand and said, "This is just my personal conjecture. I can't say for sure whether these two major tomb raiding schools truly existed, as apart from some scattered ancient records, basically no book mentions these two types of tomb raiding schools."
"Ah, Mr. Huo, there's no need to be modest. This isn't a formal history book. Since ancient texts truly mention Tomb Raider Captain and Faqiu Lieutenant Generals, it's enough to show that there were indeed specialized armies in ancient Times for tomb raiding and excavating treasures. It's not impossible that their descendants also followed in their ancestors' footsteps to excavate ancient tombs deep in the mountains and forests."
Chief Editor Li had received many wuxia manuscripts and understood that fiction originates from life but transcends it, so some conjectures were inevitable.
Huo Yaowen smiled without speaking.
Then, Li Daoguang continued, "We've talked so much, I won't delay Mr. Huo's time any longer. The main reason for inviting you here today is about the manuscript fees. President Ma mentioned to me before he left that he hadn't discussed the manuscript fees with you yet. So, I'd like to ask Mr. Huo, how do you think the manuscript fees should be calculated in your mind?"
"Me?" Huo Yaowen was stunned. He hadn't really thought about it carefully, only intending to accept a decent manuscript fee from the other party.
"Yes." Li Daoguang smiled.
Huo Yaowen pondered for a few seconds, recalling the different manuscript fees offered by various newspapers that Ming Zai had collected. However, these could only serve as a reference, as no writer would publicly disclose their manuscript fees.
After thinking for a moment, he worried that saying too much would make Li Daoguang think he was greedy, and saying too little would make the other party readily agree. Helplessly, Huo Yaowen said with a wry smile, "Chief Editor Li, this is my first submission. Naturally, I hope for as much manuscript fee as possible, but I'm really not sure how much the fee should be. So, Chief Editor Li, you name a price, as long as it's not too low, I think I can accept it."
"Haha... Mr. Huo is truly straightforward."
Li Daoguang chuckled, "Then let me tell Mr. Huo about the current manuscript fees for many famous authors. Currently, the highest manuscript fees in Hong Kong belong to Mr. Jin Yong, and several other wuxia masters like Mr. Liang Yusheng. Next are famous authors like Qiong Yao, Ni Kuang, and Eileen Chang. Most of their works range from 50-200 per thousand characters, while most new writers receive around 20-50 per thousand characters."
The manuscript fees of this era were not very high. For established wuxia masters like Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng, it was basically around two hundred yuan per thousand characters.
For new generation famous writers like Ni Kuang, Yi Shu, and Qiong Yao, their manuscript fees were generally above one hundred per thousand characters.
In this era, when an ordinary person's monthly salary was only six or seven hundred Hong Kong dollars, a famous author could easily earn over ten thousand a month with a little effort.
"Then, Chief Editor Li, what manuscript fee have you set for me?" Huo Yaowen pursed his lips.
"Mr. Huo's 'ghost blows out the light - Tomb Raider's Journal' is unprecedented and unheard of. I also don't know how to set the manuscript fee, but I believe this is a work that can attract a wide range of readers."
Li Daoguang tried to lower the price, saying, "How about this, Mr. Huo, you are a newcomer after all, and the newspaper is newly established, so the conditions are not very good. Therefore, the manuscript fee might not be very high, but please rest assured, Mr. Huo, as soon as the newspaper improves, the manuscript fee will definitely increase."
Regarding Li Daoguang's attempt to lower the price, Huo Yaowen smiled and said, "Chief Editor Li, just tell me the manuscript fee."
"Twenty per thousand characters!"
"Chief Editor Li, isn't that too low?"
Huo Yaowen shook his head. He hadn't expected Li Daoguang to bargain so hard. Even if he was a newcomer with no fame, he believed that once 'ghost blows out the light' was published, it would definitely attract many, many people.
"It's not low, Mr. Huo. When I was at Ta Kung Pao, new writers often received ten or fifteen yuan per thousand characters, and some even only five yuan per thousand characters."
"If it's only twenty per thousand characters, then I'm sorry, Chief Editor Li." Huo Yaowen feigned a sigh, preparing to pick up the manuscript from the table and leave.
"Mr. Huo, don't be in a hurry, we can discuss the manuscript fee." Chief Editor Li hadn't expected Huo Yaowen to get up and leave directly, so he quickly went over to stop him and said, "How about twenty-five per thousand characters?"
"Thirty per thousand characters!"
"How about twenty-eight per thousand characters?"
"Thirty per thousand characters!"
Facing Huo Yaowen, who insisted on thirty per thousand characters, Li Daoguang feigned a difficult expression. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, then, thirty per thousand characters."
In fact, even if he gave one hundred per thousand characters, Li Daoguang could afford it, but he had just become Chief Editor and was determined to save money for his boss. Since he could get it at a cheaper price, he naturally had to push the price down.
As for Huo Yaowen, he wasn't entirely satisfied with thirty per thousand characters. In his opinion, even if it couldn't compare to Jin Yong and others, at least fifty per thousand characters was reasonable.
However, he was a newcomer now, and 'ghost blows out the light' was a very long book, with each different tomb and tomb raiding being a new story. So, he considered publishing it in the newspaper as soon as possible to gain some fame, and then wait for Li Daoguang to increase his manuscript fees.
By then, as long as "ghost blows out the light - Tomb Raider's Journal" received a good response, Huo Yaowen would have plenty of ways to make money from it.