Chapter 5

When Zhou Hexuan walked into the room, Li Shoumin greeted him happily, "Brother Hexuan, would you like to be a proofreader for the newspaper? The monthly salary is 36 yuan. I will be promoted to editor in a few days, and there happens to be a vacancy for a proofreader. With your abilities, you will definitely be hired. It's just a bit of a waste of your talent."

"Congratulations on your promotion, Brother Shoumin," Zhou Hexuan said, clasping his hands in greeting.

"It's just a small editor position, what's there to congratulate?" Li Shoumin waved his hand and smiled. He really didn't care much about being an editor; the only thing that made him happy was the slight increase in salary, which could help ease the family's financial situation.

Zhou Hexuan took out his novel manuscript, "Since Brother Shoumin is now an editor, could you please take a look at it?"

"I will certainly read your masterpiece," Li Shoumin said, taking the manuscript with great curiosity about what kind of work Zhou Hexuan had written.

Mrs. Zhou had already set the table and said, "Let's eat first."

After the meal, Zhou Hexuan chatted with Mrs. Zhou for a while and then bid farewell, returning to his bedroom to continue writing.

Li Shoumin, on the other hand, picked up the manuscript and began to read. "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" opened with a storytelling scene, gradually introducing the loyal descendants of Guo and Yang, intertwined with the national sentiment of the Tartar invasion. Zhou Hexuan's more than ten thousand words only reached the point where Qiu Chuji appeared and named the two unborn children Guo Jing and Yang Kang.

After finishing the manuscript, Li Shoumin found it somewhat interesting, but that was all. Since the plot had not yet unfolded, he could only infer from the text that Guo Jing and Yang Kang would likely be the main characters of the book.

About four years ago, Pingjiang Buxiaosheng (Xiang Kaiyan)'s "The Strange Heroes of the Jianghu" was published, marking the birth of China's first true martial arts novel, which broke away from traditional chivalric stories and quickly became popular in southern provinces.

In the north, Zhao Huanting was the leading figure in martial arts novels, but his works still followed the old套路 of "Three Heroes and Five Gallants."

These two were known as "Southern Xiang and Northern Zhao," the top martial arts writers.

In Li Shoumin's view, Zhou Hexuan's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" followed the style of "Southern Xiang" Pingjiang Buxiaosheng. This type of novel was very popular at the time, and it would definitely be suitable for serialization in the newspaper. He planned to wait until Zhou Hexuan wrote more and then take it to the newspaper office to find the chief editor.

The next morning, Li Shoumin practiced his breathing exercises in the courtyard on time. When he finished, he saw Zhou Hexuan walking over with a smile, holding several pages of manuscript, "Brother Shoumin, I completed the first chapter last night, totaling over 26,000 words."

"So fast," Li Shoumin was a bit surprised.

Without much thought, he took the manuscript to the newspaper office to work. By the time he finished his tasks, it was almost noon, and he finally had time to read the rest of the chapter.

Guo Xiaotian fought to the death to protect his brother's escape, and Yang Tiexin, to save his sister-in-law, tearfully abandoned his pregnant wife, who was seriously injured and her fate unknown. This section was written with great passion, and while modern readers might be familiar with such scenes, in the 1920s, it was particularly exciting.

Li Shoumin felt a surge of heroism as he read, but he also felt a sense of sorrow for the characters in the book.

Both the wives of the two loyalists survived and were pregnant, which made readers eagerly anticipate the story.

Li Shoumin put away the manuscript and went directly to the deputy editor, Tao Jincheng, "Mr. Tao, please take a look at this novel."

Tao Jincheng put on his glasses and read the manuscript carefully, finishing it quickly. He asked happily, "Whose masterpiece is this? It's somewhat similar to Pingjiang Buxiaosheng, but it has its own unique style."

Li Shoumin said, "A friend of mine wrote it. He just returned from studying abroad in the West."

Tao Jincheng said, "The serialization of 'The Thirteen Heroes of Jiangnan' is almost over, and this 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' can take its place."

"What about the remuneration?" Li Shoumin asked.

Tao Jincheng thought for a moment and said, "The quality of the manuscript is excellent. What do you think of 80 cents per thousand words?"

"Too low," Li Shoumin negotiated on behalf of Zhou Hexuan.

At the time, the remuneration for articles published in newspapers and magazines was generally 1 to 3 yuan per thousand words. For masters like Lu Xun, it could reach 5 to 6 yuan per thousand words, but that was for essays, poetry, reviews, and miscellaneous writings. The remuneration for long novels was generally lower.

Tao Jincheng smiled and said, "Let the author come to the newspaper office, and I will discuss it with him in person."

...

"The New Tianjin Daily" was founded two years ago by Liu Ran Gong. The newspaper's policy was to be accessible to the common people, in other words, it was a newspaper for the masses, avoiding political and academic disputes.

The newspaper developed very quickly, with its circulation increasing from over 1,000 copies initially to over 20,000 copies now, making it one of the major newspapers in the Beijing-Tianjin region. Liu Ran Gong took advantage of this momentum and successively launched "The New Tianjin Evening News" and "The New Tianjin Morning News," both of which had circulations of 5,000 to 6,000 copies.

Of course, the rapid development of the "New Tianjin" series of newspapers was also due to the closure of "The Ta Kung Pao."

"The Ta Kung Pao" was initially a base for the royalist party, with its headquarters in Tianjin. Later, it had close ties with the Anhui clique of warlords and had a large circulation in the Beijing-Tianjin region.

Three years ago, the second owner of "The Ta Kung Pao" died in the Great Kanto Earthquake. With the defeat of the Anhui clique in the Zhili-Anhui War, "The Ta Kung Pao" lost its financial backers and support, and finally ceased publication last year. Taking advantage of this gap, the "New Tianjin" newspaper series rapidly expanded and dominated the newspaper market in the Beijing-Tianjin region.

When Zhou Hexuan arrived at the newspaper office on the fourth day, he brought the manuscripts for the second and third chapters, totaling over 70,000 words.

"Mr. Tao, this is Zhou Hexuan, a young talent who has returned from the West," Li Shoumin introduced.

Tao Jincheng shook hands with Zhou Hexuan warmly and smiled, "Mr. Zhou, you are so young."

Zhou Hexuan was actually 28 years old. Due to his frequent global travels and exposure to the elements, his skin was dark and slightly rough. However, after his time travel, his skin became much fairer, and even the wrinkles on his face disappeared, as if he had returned to his youth.

"Hello, Mr. Tao," Zhou Hexuan greeted, taking out the manuscript he brought, "This is the subsequent content, please take a look."

Seeing that he was getting straight to the point, Tao Jincheng smiled and said, "I apologize for the inconvenience. Mr. Zhou, please sit down, and I will read the manuscript and then we can talk."

After Li Shoumin brought him in, he went to handle his own work, leaving Zhou Hexuan and Tao Jincheng alone in the office. A secretary brought a cup of tea, and Zhou Hexuan sat on the sofa, sipping the tea and looking around the room.

The appearance of the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan and Temujin in the novel caught Tao Jincheng's attention. After finishing the manuscript, he smiled and said, "Mr. Zhou, you are truly talented. 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' indeed brings a fresh perspective to contemporary martial arts novels."

"Mr. Tao, you flatter me," Zhou Hexuan said humbly.

Tao Jincheng then introduced the current remuneration situation in China and said, "I hope 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' can be serialized in 'The New Tianjin Evening News.' What do you think of 1 yuan per thousand words?"

For a martial arts novel, this was a relatively high rate, especially for a newcomer like Zhou Hexuan, who had no fame. He did not haggle and nodded, "Agreed."

Of course, if the novel became popular, the remuneration would definitely increase. Even if Zhou Hexuan did not bring it up, the newspaper would do so to secure him with a high salary and prevent other newspapers from poaching him.