Jiang Ye: "Commander."
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "My apologies! To think such an important figure would be interested in a literary journal. I always assumed important people weren't interested in such things."
An electronic contract was immediately sent over.
Jiang Ye forwarded it directly to Feng Zhi Shuang, then clicked open his earpiece. "Are you there? Don't you have someone in your department who studied law? Quickly review this contract and see if there are any issues."
"Got it, please wait. I'll have the results for you in five minutes." Feng Zhi Shuang replied readily.
After five minutes, Feng Zhi Shuang sent an OK gesture.
Jiang Ye suddenly thought that this "OK" emoji was probably the most common application of English in this era. A once flourishing culture, after being submerged by history, always leaves some traces in the nooks and crannies, like fossils.
Signing the contract online was simple and took two minutes.
Jiang Ye: "Pleasure working with you."
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "Pleasure working with you. Based on normal sales, two issues of 'Literary Cannon' will sell 2.6 billion copies across various planets. The payment for eight articles will be approximately 20.8 million yuan. If sales change, this amount will also change. However, please rest assured, all payments will be deposited into your account on time. We at 'Literary Cannon' may not claim to be number one in the industry, but we are definitely in the top three. Our reputation is as solid as rock."
Jiang Ye transferred 660,000 yuan to him.
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "Oh my, such a large sum! What is the meaning of this?"
Jiang Ye: "Just a small token of appreciation for your hard work. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you, if you're not busy right now."
The other party certainly wouldn't refuse. A patron who sent such a generous gift without a second thought had to be treated with the utmost care!
Jiang Ye: "I know that ordinary writers have limited energy, and their creative speed is often unsatisfactory. Even if readers show up with assault rifles to demand their manuscripts, many writers still can't produce a single line."
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "Hahaha, that's true. Honestly, I've lost count of how many times I've wanted to grab an axe and go find my authors to urge them to write. But I suspect even if I raised my axe, those writers would just roll their eyes dismissively, confident that I wouldn't dare to strike, because if I did, there would be no more sequels."
Jiang Ye: "But the intelligent fungi are different. These fungi are very smart and learn extremely quickly. They can read hundreds or thousands of books every day and type on multiple keyboards simultaneously. In theory, they could even produce several books a day."
The other party sent two shocked emoji.
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "Are these bacteria that efficient? They are indeed both lovable and terrifying."
Jiang Ye: "So, what I want to ask is, once these intelligent fungi can create more and better works, how can we obtain more profit? You are a titan in the industry, perhaps you know some ways?"
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "I wouldn't dare to call myself a titan, I'm just an old scribbler. If these intelligent fungi can truly write prolifically and produce more content, you can pursue physical book publishing, serialize in multiple literary magazines, sell one-time copyrights, serialize online, exclusively supply nobles, produce audiobooks, film and television dramas, games, and so on. There are many avenues."
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "Looking at the address on the contract, you're on Jiang Ye Star, right?"
Jiang Ye: "That's correct."
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "How about this, I know some friends in the publishing industry. I'll try to gather them this week and visit you to personally introduce you to related matters."
Jiang Ye sent thirty million yuan in one go.
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "Hey! There's no need for this! What is this for? Such a large sum, it's terrifying!"
Jiang Ye: "Consider this money as activity expenses. I'd appreciate it if you could put in some effort and introduce some reliable industry professionals to effectively monetize the works of the intelligent fungi. I also want to specially appoint you as a consultant for the promotion of intelligent fungi literary works. May I be so bold as to ask, what is your current monthly salary?"
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "Around a million, it varies with performance. But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. My current job is extremely busy, and it's difficult for me to free up time to be a consultant. However, I can recommend some reliable candidates for you."
Jiang Ye: "Let the reliable candidates meet me. How about a consultant salary of one million per month for you?"
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "You may not know, but I've been in this position for over thirty years. Ten more years and I'll retire with honors. My youthful ambitions are no longer present, and my old bones can't handle the strain. So, for the consultant position, you should find someone else."
Jiang Ye: "Two million?"
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "Oh my, why would you need to 'buy a thousand-li horse at the price of a hundred,' as the saying goes? I'm truly an old man."
Jiang Ye: "Three million, a monthly salary of three million, which is thirty-six million annually. If performance is good, there will be commissions, year-end bonuses, housing benefits, travel expenses..."
Editor Bao Lu Ri: "You are too kind. In that case, I will put my old horse to work."
Jiang Ye transferred six million yuan, specifying it was for the first two months' salary.
He also requested Bao Lu Ri to continue serving as the editor-in-chief of 'Literary Cannon' magazine.
The circulation of this magazine was truly terrifying, nearly three billion copies, and with two issues per month, its influence couldn't be described as merely a cannon; it was truly nuclear-level!
Now that he had someone inside, there would be no worries about the subsequent publication of the intelligent fungi's short articles. Just a few pieces would be enough to cover Bao Lu Ri's salary.
Furthermore, with Bao Lu Ri continuing as editor-in-chief, he could maintain his influence in the literary world and better leverage various resources. As the saying goes, "Three days in office, people ask about me; three days out of office, I ask about people."
Closing the chat window with Bao Lu Ri.
Jiang Ye opened "Literary Fungi Laboratory" and started typing.
"The first batch of articles you created have all been approved. They will be published in two batches next month, and I will show you the sample copies then."
The entire pool of white intelligent fungi, upon seeing the words on the screen at the bottom of the pool, all began to vibrate.
Soon, large, milky-white characters appeared on the surface of the liquid:
"Happy! We will continue to create! Thank you, Master!"
Jiang Ye typed a "cheer up," and the intelligent fungi dispersed again.
Staff members were throwing books into the pool.
A whole trolley of books, covering various genres, was continuously pushed into the laboratory by staff members. They removed the book covers and threw them into the pool.
The intelligent fungi would automatically surround the thrown books, with large groups of fungi burrowing into the gaps of each page, scanning every line of text, then reassembling and communicating to quickly acquire the entire content of the book.
Other staff members, armed with long-handled nets, would scoop up the intelligent fungi once they had "read" a book and push them away in small carts.
The method was crude and simple, but highly efficient. Displaying e-books on the screen at the bottom of the pool presented information in a flat format, and not much could be displayed simultaneously. However, with physical books, each page could be read at the same time, which was considerably faster.