This is Just the Price of the Work Itself

"Long time no see."

After Chen Yuanguang exited the airport, Lin Jia was waiting for him in the underground parking lot, standing beside a Chevrolet.

Before Chen Yuanguang could even speak, Lin Jia suddenly walked up and gave him a big hug.

Chen Yuanguang patted her back, "It's okay, it's okay, didn't I come to be with you?"

"Yeah."

After putting the luggage in the trunk, Chen Yuanguang comforted her, "What your dad does won't affect much, unless he's willing to divorce and split the assets equally.

In that case, he and your mom would each get half. You could take everything from your mom and a portion from your dad. He wouldn't do something like that, considering how big he's made his business."

Lin Jia said while driving, "That's not the point. The main thing is he brought back the illegitimate child he had outside and said he wanted me to meet him. This itself has a testing flavor to it.

He says he wants me, the older sister, to get to know him, but does he even deserve it?

Maybe he's just paving the way for the illegitimate child, seeing if he can come back to work in the group. The old man is set in his ways. I don't care if he gives money to the illegitimate child; how much of his own money he wants to give is his business.

But I will absolutely not agree to him paving the way for the illegitimate child to return to work in the group. Not only will I not agree, but none of my uncles will either," Lin Jia said indignantly.

Chen Yuanguang asked, "Didn't you say that brother of yours is only in junior high?"

Lin Jia said, "That's not my brother, just a stranger. Being in junior high is fine. The old man is already fifty himself. By the time he's almost sixty, that illegitimate child will be about to graduate from university.

He'll enter the group to work, he'll pave the way for him for a few years, and then give him a subsidiary to manage. Don't I know the old man's plan?"

Lin Jia sighed, "It's precisely because of this that I didn't want to go back for the Christmas holiday this time and bothered you to come early.

The old man is pulling a surprise attack, and I really don't want to go back and see his face."

Chen Yuanguang got a headache hearing about this kind of thing. His father was similar, but the good thing was his father didn't have an illegitimate child and didn't cause any trouble.

However, considering his family and Lin Jia's family weren't on the same scale, his family's total assets, including real estate and movable property, were only around fifty million. Lin Jia's family's scale was multiplied by a thousand. Chen Yuanguang thought perhaps his father didn't have the capital to defy the "Tuien Ling" (a historical policy).

He changed the subject, "Driving a Chevrolet isn't your style. You used to drive a BMW X5 at Jiang University. Why did you downgrade here?

Didn't you say luxury cars here in the US are much cheaper than in China because there's no value-added tax?"

Lin Jia said, "Who told you I only have this one car here?

I bought this Chevrolet specifically to pick you up because I thought you had a lot of luggage. I also have a Porsche 911."

Chen Yuanguang was speechless, "So rich it's inhumane. Are you missing any accessories? I want to be an accessory on your leg."

Lin Jia said, "No problem, you can hug me however you want.

This is what I plan for the next few days. We can spend Christmas in New York first, and after Christmas, we'll go to Boston to ring in the New Year.

While we're in Boston, I'll help you rent a place, buy a used car, and then treat Bawendi Professor to a meal.

Here in the US, a car is especially important; it's very inconvenient without one.

Your living experience will greatly improve after you have a car. To celebrate your Nature publication, should I buy you one? Didn't you just say you wanted to cling to my leg?"

Chen Yuanguang shook his head repeatedly. He didn't want to be a live-in son-in-law and didn't want to take advantage of her.

"That's too expensive, it's not necessary. I can afford it myself. The copyright income from Goose Factory just arrived. I transferred fifty thousand US dollars this time to bring over, which is enough to buy a used car."

Lin Jia explained, "You don't want to take advantage, so I'll just open it for you. Go buy a used car, drive it for a few years, and then sell it. It won't cost much.

Besides, my dad's money is there to be spent."

When Chen Yuanguang heard the latter sentence, Shi Huilan inexplicably came to mind. He felt that their filial piety had a similar ring to it.

"In that case, there's even less need," Chen Yuanguang said. "I only planned to buy a Golf GTI anyway, for daily commuting and to come see you in New York sometimes."

Lin Jia didn't insist further: "Alright, if you insist, then so be it.

So, Yuanguang, you're still too concerned about appearances. Sometimes, to succeed, you can't be. But since you make a living with your brain, being concerned about appearances isn't a bad thing.

If you were a writer and also didn't care about appearances, you'd be invincible."

Chen Yuanguang was already used to Lin Jia's eccentricities. To outsiders, she seemed incredibly aloof, but in reality, she was eccentric and funny.

Seeing that Chen Yuanguang wasn't speaking, Lin Jia continued, "Show me your contract with Goose Factory, as well as the filming progress and promotional status of Kuala Lumpur Affairs.

I always feel that the value of the Kuala Lumpur Affairs IP is far greater than the 500,000 they gave you. We need to find a way to squeeze more out of this."

Lin Jia studied finance and had a strong interest and keen sense for business operations.

After putting their luggage in Lin Jia's three-bedroom apartment near Columbia University, they waited for their food at a Chinese restaurant next to her place. While waiting, Lin Jia was looking at the contract on her tablet.

"How is it? Are there any problems with the contract?" Chen Yuanguang asked. "I asked a lawyer from my mom's company to look at it for me."

Lin Jia said, "There are no problems, it's just that the profits from Kuala Lumpur Affairs have nothing to do with you.

But that's normal. After all, you're a newcomer, and getting 500,000 for the film adaptation rights as a newcomer is already very good.

However, you're not an ordinary newcomer. You're a promising young scientist, a genius with countless stories to be unearthed.

Do you know what this means? It means you yourself can become a part of the film's promotion.

Yuanguang, I've noticed that your publication in Nature and the fact that you are 2477, the author of Kuala Lumpur Affairs, haven't been linked together by the media.

Even Jiang University's reports haven't linked you together. This matter itself is full of promotional elements, with stories waiting to be dug up beneath the surface.

Undergraduate student, Nobel laureate, science fiction writer, Nature, film adaptation – any one of these points is enough to meet the media's daily KPI requirements for retweets, comments, and views.

I don't believe no one knows about this. Why hasn't it been linked together in reports? I think it's the people at Goose Factory who suppressed it. They want to release it when the movie is released to boost box office sales.

Plus, you've been accepted by MIT, and Chinese people have a complex of worshipping prestigious schools. Reading is tiring, so everyone will naturally want to watch the movie to understand you and the plot conceived by a genius like you.

So, the 500,000 Goose Factory gave you is just the value of Kuala Lumpur Affairs. The promotional value you embody, that money should be calculated separately!"

Lin Jia was very excited. Chen Yuanguang wasn't surprised that Lin Jia could discover these things. No matter what they did, Lin Jia's favorite thing was to calculate how much money others could make.

When they went out to eat, she would calculate the table turnover rate, how long it would take for the business model to break even, and where the risk points were for chain expansion.

When they went to a concert, she would calculate the number of audience members, the proportion of revenue shared by promotion, stage design, performance team, band, and sales channels, and how much the singer would actually receive.

Finished~