Chapter 44: Chatting for Three Days and Three Nights

Li Ye ultimately did not become a literary rebel of his generation who smashed the industry's shackles single-handedly to pioneer the precedent of "royalty by print run" for the vast community of writers.

However, after much tug-of-war with Blue Sea Publishing House, he finally managed to pry open a slight crack in the contract, adding a seemingly impossible supplementary clause.

[When the print run of this novel reaches fifty thousand copies or more, royalties shall be paid to the author based on the standard of a 5% basic royalty per ten thousand copies, in accordance with relevant regulations.]

A print run of fifty thousand copies might not seem like much decades later, but in the early 1980s, for a debut author, it could be described as an astronomical figure.

*Legends of Past and Present*, launched in 1981, sold over 2.7 million copies within five years, ranking first among literary publications.

Yet it was a periodical, which averaged out to less than one hundred thousand copies per issue—and that was achieved only through the continuous fermentation of word-of-mouth over several years.

At that time, the print run for each edition of many novels was only a few thousand copies, and those reaching ten thousand were a distinct minority.

As for phenomena like the novel *Fortress Besieged*, which sold over a million copies during a decade of reprints, no one believed it could possibly be associated with Li Ye.

Who was the author of *Fortress Besieged*, and who was Li Ye?

Li Ye was a mere newcomer; no matter how good the content of *The Lurker* was, could it compare to the classic masterpiece *Fortress Besieged*? Wanting to break a sales volume of fifty thousand copies was tantamount to daydreaming.

Of course, Blue Sea Publishing House had also done the math. With a retail price close to two yuan per copy,

even if Li Ye miraculously skyrocketed and broke the fifty thousand sales mark, their revenue would still reach six to seven hundred thousand yuan.

By then, even if other industry peers accused Blue Sea of breaking the rules, Blue Sea could produce an irrefutable argument—if you want to point fingers at me, you print fifty thousand copies first.

Well, Dong Yuejin had put it precisely like that to Geng Zhi of Great River Publishing House.

Geng Zhi had tracked the entire tug-of-war between Dong Yuejin and Li Ye, constantly attempting to poach the author halfway through.

Unfortunately, he lacked Dong Yuejin's daring, and Great River Publishing House behind him lacked the boldness of Blue Sea Publishing House. In the end, not only did he fail to sway Li Ye, but he instead stimulated Dong Yuejin to dig his heels in, "momentarily carried away by impulse" to sign the exceptional contract.

Therefore, when Li Ye went to the station to see Dong Yuejin off, the latter tightly grasped Li Ye's hand and said, "Student Li Ye, we are now grasshoppers tied to the same rope. If you hit it big, I'll definitely bask in your glory; if you... sigh..."

Li Ye also felt a tiny touch of embarrassment. To be honest, Dong Yuejin was not a bad person and was the kind worth making friends with.

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

"Write another one?"

Dong Yuejin instantly grew interested and asked, "Do you have a plot in mind already? What genre?"

[I have plenty of plots in mind.]

Li Ye thought for a moment and turned the question back on Dong Yuejin, "What kind of genre do you want? Historical, romance, sci-fi... I can do any of them."

"........."

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

What do you mean by "what genre do you want," and what do you mean by historical, romance, and sci-fi? Do you think you're a chameleon? Just shake your head and wag your tail, and you can change your skin?

Still, Dong Yuejin ultimately said, "Wuxia is quite popular right now. Can you write that?"

Li Ye pursed his lips and said with difficulty, "Wuxia... I'm really not good at it."

Dong Yuejin blinked his eyes, wearing an expression that said, "I knew you were just bragging, and now I've called your bluff."

Li Ye truly wasn't skilled at Wuxia because back in the day, when he used to trawl through ranking lists to write web novels, the Wuxia genre had already declined.

Times were progressing, and readers' tastes were advancing as well.

The process of popular fiction development was a tale of waves behind pushing waves ahead. No matter how classic a master's masterpiece was, there would always come a time when readers grew numb and fatigued.

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

Dong Yuejin ultimately saved face for Li Ye and changed the subject.

"I've noticed that some Wuxia literature from Hong Kong is related to history, and authors use historical backgrounds to promote patriotism and national sentiment.

I once read a line—'A great hero of chivalry serves the country and the people'—which was deeply moving........"

Li Ye: [Given the current situation, it's not appropriate to talk about *A Step into the Past* right now!]

Listening to Dong Yuejin's eloquent discourse, Li Ye pondered a suitable work and finally selected a novel with profound significance—*Flying Winds of the Northern Frontier*.

"As for history, I do have an idea for the moment," 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 explained patiently, "The Battle of Talas took place in 751 AD. It was an encounter between the Tang Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate, both at the peak of their power, during their respective processes of expansion. It was a large-scale clash between the two great empires of the East and the West at that time..."

The story of *Flying Winds of the Northern Frontier* was actually not complicated; it followed the descendants of the losers of the Xuanwumen Incident who were banished and exiled to the west of the Congling Mountains, where they subsequently participated in the famous Battle of Talas.

If it merely described warfare, Li Ye wouldn't hold this novel in such high regard.

However, even after the Tang Dynasty's influence receded from the Western Regions, the protagonist continued to lead the remaining Tang troops in persistent combat, keeping the banner of the Tang fluttering for decades in the heavily besieged Western Regions.

The story of the lone Tang army in the Western Regions was a bitter and plaintive dirge, but it was also an epic worthy of being remembered forever by the descendants of the Tang people.

However, after hearing Li Ye's narration, Dong Yuejin was not particularly moved.

He asked Li Ye, "If you write a novel following this concept... what are you trying to express?"

Li Ye extended a finger and solemnly pointed at the ground beneath their feet.

"I want to do my utmost so that more people can understand this land... and its former greatness."

".........."

Dong Yuejin was suddenly stunned, as if something had flashed across his mind.

Li Ye asked, "Editor Dong, have you ever come into contact with imported goods? Are they good to use?"

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

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

Dong Yuejin nodded once more, "I do. Nowadays, a single quota to study abroad can turn couples against each other and make brothers into enemies."

Li Ye asked yet again, "Then, Editor Dong, do you think the West is better, or is our land better?"

".........."

Dong Yuejin remained silent.

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

"This..."

Dong Yuejin did not know how to answer.

Because his port city of Qingdao had much more contact with the outside world than the interior,

almost everyone who had witnessed the West first-hand unanimously concluded that the West was better, and judging by the trend, this sentiment would only grow stronger in the future.

Even Dong Yuejin himself believed that the West at this moment was superior in every aspect compared to their side.

Currently, this sentiment was still kept hidden and concealed, but it was foreseeable that in the near future, it would run rampant quite openly.

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

Li Ye lowered his head in thought for a moment and said earnestly, "I want to say that in the upcoming period, we may suffer a strong ideological shock...

Many people will disdain the land beneath our feet, will despise our former ancestors and glory, and will think that the nation which has nurtured us for thousands of years is backward and worthless in every way..."

What Li Ye said was the truth.

In his previous life, the phenomenon of worshiping foreign things and fawning over the West lasted for a very long time.

Yet decades later, when the two most powerful opposing forces on this planet began to "butt heads" once again, Li Ye and others suddenly realized that this dragon kingdom was still so great and prosperous.

It could be said that his advanced vision and experiences gave Li Ye a completely different perspective and outlook from the people of this era.

Li Ye raised his head to look at Dong Yuejin and smiled softly, "Actually, my initial motivation for writing novels was for money, but I still want to make a tiny, meaningful contribution besides making money...

Our nation, throughout thousands of years, has always stood at the pinnacle of the world, with its power radiating over tens of thousands of miles; we are merely experiencing a brief period of dormancy and decline right now."

"I believe an outstanding author has the responsibility and obligation to promote our nation's history and culture, to let readers know of our former greatness,

and to make readers feel proud and glorious for being descendants of the dragon, rather than feeling... disgusted and pathetic."

This was Li Ye's heartfelt conviction.

No matter how outlandish or bizarre the web novels of later generations might be, most of them clung to one firm belief—we are powerful, we are awesome, and we are full of hope.

Granted, life had all sorts of hardships, but rather than dwelling on those hardships in self-pity, why not charge toward a better future?

Even though everyone knew they weren't all-powerful protagonists, no one wanted to live the tragic life of a mere victim of circumstance.

Looking at the bewildered Dong Yuejin, Li Ye—who had once written millions of words of fiction—suddenly felt that his vocabulary was so impoverished, unable to clearly express the beliefs in his heart to the other person.

Yet Dong Yuejin felt Li Ye's emotion and experienced a distinct ideological resonance.

Literary intellectuals were easily moved to sentiment.

He grabbed Li Ye's hand and pulled him straight toward the outside of the station.

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

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

"........."

...

Dong Yuejin truly talked with Li Ye for three days and three nights, to the point where Li Ye even felt a lingering fear—wasn't he going to accidentally spawn a zealous cultural warrior?