Chatting About Him for Three Days and Three Nights (Third Update, Seeking Votes)

Li Ye ultimately did not become "Shuo Ye." Single-handedly, he shattered the industry's rigid constraints on the spot, establishing a groundbreaking precedent for "royalty fees based on print run" for countless writers.

However, after several back-and-forths with Blue Sea Publishing House, he finally managed to pry open a small crack in the contract, adding a seemingly impossible addendum.

[If this novel's print run exceeds 500,000 copies, royalties will be paid to the author at a base rate of 5% for every 10,000 copies, according to relevant regulations.]

A print run of 500,000 copies wasn't much in the era decades later, but in the early 1980s, for a new writer, it was practically an astronomical figure.

Jin Gu Qi Chuan, which debuted in '81, sold over 2.7 million copies in five years, making it number one among literary periodicals.

But it was a periodical, averaging less than 100,000 copies per issue. This was after five years of accumulated reputation leading to high sales.

At that time, many novels had print runs of only a few thousand copies per edition, with tens of thousands being rare.

As for phenomena like Fortress Besieged selling over a million copies in ten years of reprints, no one thought Li Ye could achieve anything similar.

Who was the author of Fortress Besieged? Who was Li Ye?

Li Ye was just a newcomer. Even if Latent's content was excellent, could it compare to the classic Fortress Besieged? Breaking the 500,000 sales mark was akin to a fool's dream.

Of course, Blue Sea Publishing House had also done the math. The novel was priced at nearly two yuan per copy.

Even if Li Ye miraculously became a massive hit and broke the 500,000 sales mark, their revenue would reach 600,000 to 700,000 yuan.

At that point, even if other competitors accused Blue Sea of breaking the rules, Blue Sea could present an irrefutable reason: "If you want to criticize me, you first need to print 500,000 copies."

Yes, Dong Yuejin said exactly that to Geng Zhi of Dahe Publishing House.

Geng Zhi had been tracking Dong Yuejin's negotiations with Li Ye the entire time, even attempting to poach Li Ye mid-negotiation.

But unfortunately, he lacked Dong Yuejin's conviction, and his backer, Dahe Publishing House, lacked the boldness of Blue Sea Publishing House. In the end, not only did he fail to impress Li Ye, but he also spurred Dong Yuejin into action, leading him to sign the exceptional contract on an "impulse."

So, when Li Ye went to the station to see Dong Yuejin off, the latter clasped Li Ye's hand and said, "Classmate Li Ye, we're in the same boat now. If you become popular, I'll definitely benefit. If you... alas."

Li Ye felt a little embarrassed. To be honest, Dong Yuejin wasn't a bad person; he was the kind of person worth befriending.

So Li Ye said, "If this one doesn't take off, I'll write another one for you, at a friend's price."

"Write another one?"

Dong Yuejin's interest was immediately piqued, and he asked, "Do you have any ideas yet? What genre?"

[I have plenty of ideas.]

Li Ye thought for a moment and then asked Dong Yuejin, "What kind of novels do you want? Historical, romance, sci-fi... I can do anything."

"..."

Dong Yuejin didn't know how to respond. If he hadn't become accustomed to Li Ye's "arrogance" over the past few days, he would have spat in his face.

"What kind of novels do you want? Historical, romance, sci-fi?" Did he think he was a chameleon, changing his skin just by shaking his head?

But Dong Yuejin finally said, "Wuxia is quite popular right now. Can you write it?"

Li Ye pursed his lips, looking troubled. "Wuxia... I'm not really good at it."

Dong Yuejin blinked his eyes, wearing an expression that said, "Let's see you brag now, I've caught you out."

Li Ye truly wasn't good at wuxia because, back when he was writing webnovels to climb the charts, wuxia had already declined.

Times were progressing, and readers' tastes were evolving.

It was one thing for Guo Jing to have shown off, and for Yang Guo to do it again, but asking Xiao Yan to perform the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms? Would that level of power still be relevant? It would have to be world-destroying!

The development of popular fiction was a cycle of new waves replacing the old. Even the most classic masterpieces could eventually bore readers.

"There's still some time before departure, let's talk about history!"

Dong Yuejin gave Li Ye some face and changed the subject.

"I've read some wuxia novels from Hong Kong that are linked to history. The authors use historical backgrounds to promote patriotism.

I once read a line, 'The greatest chivalry is for the country and its people,' which I found very moving."

Li Ye: [Under the current circumstances, it's not appropriate to discuss A Step into the Past!]

Listening to Dong Yuejin speak eloquently, Li Ye pondered suitable works and finally chose a more meaningful novel – Shuo Feng Fei Yang.

"For history, I temporarily have an idea," Li Ye asked Dong Yuejin, "Editor Dong, do you know about the Battle of Talas?"

"The Battle of Talas?"

Dong Yuejin recalled carefully and slowly shook his head.

Li Ye patiently explained, "The Battle of Talas took place in 751 AD. It was a chance encounter between the Tang Dynasty Empire and the Arab Empire, both at their peak and expanding their territories. It was a large-scale clash between the two major empires of the East and West..."

The story of Shuo Feng Fei Yang wasn't actually that complicated. It was about the descendants of the losers of the Xuanwu Gate Incident who were exiled west of the Congling Mountains and then participated in the famous Battle of Talas.

Li Ye didn't particularly advocate for this novel if it were just a simple depiction of war.

However, after the Tang Dynasty's influence receded from the Western Regions, the male protagonist continued to lead the remnants of the Tang army, keeping the Tang flag flying in the surrounded Western Regions for several decades.

The story of the isolated Tang army in the Western Regions was a bitter elegy, but also an epic that the descendants of the Tang people should always remember.

However, after hearing Li Ye's narration, Dong Yuejin wasn't particularly moved.

He asked Li Ye, "If you were to write a novel with this idea... what would you want to express?"

Li Ye pointed his finger solemnly at the ground beneath their feet.

"I want to do my best to let more people understand the past strength of this land."

"..."

Dong Yuejin was stunned, as if something had clicked in his mind.

Li Ye asked, "Editor Dong, have you dealt with imported goods? Are they good?"

Dong Yuejin nodded, "I have, they're good."

Li Ye asked again, "Editor Dong, do you know about the 'going abroad' craze?"

Dong Yuejin nodded again, "I know. Nowadays, a spot to study abroad can make spouses turn against each other and brothers become enemies."

Li Ye asked again, "Then Editor Dong, do you think the West is better, or is this land of ours better?"

"..."

Dong Yuejin didn't say anything.

Li Ye asked again, "Then Editor Dong, do you think as our contact with the outside world increases, people's confidence in our land will rise or fall?"

"This..."

Dong Yuejin didn't know how to answer.

Because his city was a port city, its contact with the outside world was far greater than that of inland areas.

Now, almost everyone who had seen the West firmly believed that the West was better. Moreover, judging by the trend, this sentiment would only grow stronger in the future.

Even Dong Yuejin himself believed that the West was superior to his own side in all aspects at the moment.

This sentiment was currently kept hidden, but it was foreseeable that in the near future, it would openly prevail.

"Li Ye, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Li Ye pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "I want to say that in the coming period, we may be subjected to a strong ideological shock. Many people will despise this land beneath our feet, scorn our ancestors and past glories, and believe that the nation that has nourished us for thousands of years is hopelessly backward."

Li Ye was telling the truth.

In his previous life, the phenomenon of worshipping foreign things and flattering foreigners persisted for a long time.

But decades later, when the two most powerful forces on the planet began to "confront" each other again, Li Ye and others finally realized how great and powerful the Land of the Dragon still was.

It could be said that his foresight and experiences gave Li Ye a completely different perspective and outlook compared to people of this era.

Li Ye looked up at Dong Yuejin and chuckled, "Actually, my original intention for writing novels was to make money. But I still want to make a small, meaningful contribution while earning money."

"Our nation has stood at the pinnacle of the world for thousands of years, with its sphere of influence extending for ten thousand miles. This is just a temporary period of silence and decline."

"I believe that an excellent author has the responsibility and obligation to promote our national history and culture, and to let readers know about our past strength, so that readers can feel proud and honored to be descendants of the dragon, rather than feeling... contempt and pity."

These were Li Ye's heartfelt thoughts.

No matter how outrageous or bizarre the online novels of later generations were, most of them adhered to one belief: we are strong, we are awesome, and we have great hope.

Admittedly, life has its hardships, but instead of dwelling on those hardships and lamenting, why not run towards a better future?

Although everyone knew they weren't the "chosen one," no one wanted to live like Xu Fugui.

Looking at the bewildered Dong Yuejin, Li Ye, who had written millions of words in his previous life, felt his vocabulary was surprisingly inadequate to clearly express his beliefs to the other person.

However, Dong Yuejin sensed Li Ye's emotions and felt a strong resonance.

Cultured people are easily moved.

He grabbed Li Ye's hand and pulled him towards the exit of the station.

"Hey, hey, Editor Dong, where are you going? The train is about to leave."

"I'm not leaving. I need to talk with you for three days and three nights."

"..."

Dong Yuejin really talked with Li Ye for three days and three nights, to the point where Li Ye felt a little apprehensive – "I haven't accidentally created some kind of 'ideological warrior', have I?"