CIATB Chapter 1601 Signing the Contract
Chapter 1601 Signing the Contract
At seven o'clock the next morning, sunlight streamed into every household through the gaps in the curtains.
Most of the readers who were excited until the early hours of last night because of the book's release couldn't stay awake and fell asleep in the latter half of the night. However, many more readers who couldn't stay up until midnight decided to take a nap first and save up their energy to read to their heart's content the next morning.
When they woke up, everyone was ecstatic.
The book review section of "Da Feng Da Jing Ren" exploded.
The messages refreshed so fast it was dizzying; a post that was just published a second ago was buried the next second, and before you could even read the replies, a dozen new posts appeared.
"Holy crap, how many chapters have been updated?"
"For the first time, I wish the subway ride would take longer, so I wouldn't be able to finish reading before I get to the office."
"A massive chapter of 10,000 words! A full 30 chapters updated! My goodness! Could it be that the first subscription has surpassed 30,000? Or is it an extra bonus?"
"Are you crazy? They only updated 200,000 words after the initial subscription reached 30,000, but now they've updated 30 chapters, which means the initial subscription has surpassed 40,000."
"Breaking 40,000? Impossible! It's only been seven hours and it's already broken 40,000 in first-day subscriptions. Breaking He Han's record is a piece of cake!"
"One book made him a legend, awesome! (voice cracks!)"
"What a load of rubbish about 'one book making a god'! This eunuch has already changed his identity seven times. But to be fair, 'The Great Feng' is indeed good. Hopefully, this guy won't pull any more crazy tricks."
"Probably not. Nobody turns down money. This one book alone is enough for the author to live on for half a lifetime."
The book review section was abuzz with discussion; some were excited, some were skeptical, and some were so excited they were incoherent. But everyone was speculating about the same thing—how many pre-orders did "Da Feng" actually receive?
While readers were still debating in the book review section, a banner had already been displayed on the homepage of Dingqi.com—
**Warmly celebrate "Da Feng Night Watchman" surpassing 5 orders in its first seven hours!**
The bright red background and large gold lettering occupy the most eye-catching position on the entire homepage, making it impossible not to see.
This caused a sensation not only in book review sections, but also on Weibo's trending topics and major online literature forums.
"Holy crap? Over 50,000 first-day subscriptions in just seven hours?"
"This is terrifying! These numbers are absolutely explosive!"
"Hehe, so that means there's still 100,000 words of update to read today?"
"If the first subscription reaches 50,000, we need to update 400,000 words. Now it seems like reaching 60,000 is not out of the question. That means 'Da Feng' will update 500,000 words today!"
"My God, how many drafts are in the works? Such extravagance!"
"You call this extravagance? This is confidence! You dare to add so many chapters if you don't have enough drafts? You must have saved up over a million words, right?"
"Chief Eunuch: I wasn't a eunuch before; I just lacked inspiration. Now that inspiration strikes, nothing can stop it."
However, this is just the beginning.
Dingqi.com's off-site promotion was fully launched in the morning—APP splash screen ads, Weibo hot search placements, short video platform seeding, and pinned posts on major online literature forums. The promotion budget that Uncle Fan approved last night, which was doubled, began to take effect, and the name "Da Feng Dajingren" spread like a virus on the Internet.
Many casual readers who had only heard the phrase "Nothing to do today, so I listened to music in the brothel" but had never read the original work clicked on Da Feng's book out of curiosity amidst the overwhelming publicity, and then—never came out again.
Initial orders saw another surge.
It only took two hours to go from 50,000 to 60,000.
From 60,000 to 70,000, it took three hours.
The rate of increase slowed down from 70,000 to 80,000, but it is still steadily climbing.
For each breakthrough, Dingqi.com would update its homepage banner, and each update would spark a new wave of discussion. Eventually, even some people who never read online novels knew that a novel called "The Great Feng Night Watchman" was creating an unprecedented record.
The data finally stopped at 11:59 p.m.
**“The Great Feng Night Watchman” first 24-hour subscription: 9.27.**
The only pity is that it did not break the 100,000 initial subscription mark.
But this number is already a mountain that many online writers can never surpass in their entire lives.
In the book review section, the atmosphere has shifted from initial fervor to a near-solemn reverence.
"Speechless, awesome! 9.27 initial subscriptions, I doubt anyone will be able to break this record."
"Yes, there are so many more forms of entertainment now, and fewer and fewer people are reading novels. This record is probably unbreakable."
"Not necessarily. Maybe he'll break it himself. Don't forget, this is only his first book with over a million words."
Yes, that's right, the first book to surpass a million copies sold has already reached this level.
What does this mean? It means that as long as he maintains this level of quality and accumulates popularity, the quality of his next work can be on par with "Da Feng," and breaking 100,000 first-day subscriptions is not a dream at all.
-
TopQ Network Headquarters Office.
Uncle Fan looked at the curve and couldn't stop smiling.
"I never expected Qin Hao to give me such a big surprise."
He picked up his teacup and took a sip, his tone brimming with undisguised smugness. When he initially decided to promote Qin Hao with the same level of support as a top-tier author, he wasn't entirely confident. If Qin Hao's book flopped later on, the entire promotion budget would be wasted.
But now, the initial order data of 9.27 proves that his bet was right, and he won beautifully.
Zhou Zhengyang, standing to the side, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his face also beaming with joy: "Yes, I never expected Qin Hao's book to reach this level. To be honest, when you decided to promote it with the same level of support as a top author, I was quite worried."
"You're just too conservative," Uncle Fan said with a smile, shaking his head. Then his smile faded, and his expression turned serious. "By the way, you should contact Qin Hao quickly and have him sign the contract."
Zhou Zhengyang was taken aback when he heard this, and then realized a fact that had been overshadowed by his joy—Qin Hao was still only under a regular author contract!
The contract was practically non-binding; the revenue sharing was the platform's standard rate, it only covered the books, not the author's personal life, and placed no restrictions on the author, not even a minimum update requirement. In short, Qin Hao was now a free agent; he could publish his work on other platforms whenever he wanted.
A top-tier player with 9.27 initial subscriptions is listed on an ordinary contract—it's like having a gold mine right there on the roadside.
"I'm going right now!" Zhou Zhengyang turned to leave, his steps so hurried he almost tripped over the carpet.
"Wait a minute," Uncle Fan suddenly called out to him.
Zhou Zhengyang turned around and saw that Uncle Fan had already stood up, put the teacup on the table, and straightened the collar of his jacket.
“Forget it, I’ll go myself.” Uncle Fan’s tone was calm, but his eyes revealed an undeniable determination: “If he makes any demands that you can’t make a decision about, it’s better if I talk to him face-to-face.”
-
Uncle Fan arranged a meeting place with Qin Hao over the phone.
When Uncle Fan arrived at the address, he almost thought there was something wrong with his navigation system.
An old alleyway lined with various hole-in-the-wall restaurants, the smell of cooking oil mixed with the stench of sewage, made Uncle Fan, who was used to the air conditioning in office buildings, frown. At the entrance of the alley hung a crooked signboard—"A-Qiang's Pig Trotter Rice".
Just as he stood at the entrance of the alley wondering if he had come to the wrong place, a voice came from behind him.
"Mr. Fan, over here."
Uncle Fan looked back and was both amused and exasperated.
Qin Hao sat at a greasy folding table by the roadside, a bowl of braised pork trotters rice in front of him, which he was eating with gusto. He was wearing a faded gray T-shirt and plastic flip-flops, making it hard to associate him with a cultural worker.
"Oh my, I really didn't expect that a great writer like you would be eating braised pork trotters here." Uncle Fan walked over and sat down opposite Qin Hao, subconsciously wiping the grease off the table with a tissue.
Qin Hao looked up half-jokingly, smears of braised sauce still clinging to his lips: "What can I do? I just terminated my contract with Zhixing, and the new book hasn't even paid out royalties yet. I'm broke. I'm lucky to have a bowl of braised pork trotters with rice."
Uncle Fan smiled and smoothly got to the point: "Teacher Qin Hao is truly humorous, but if you need anything in your personal life, I can make a special exception and give you an advance on part of your royalties—"
Qin Hao smiled and waved his hand, interrupting him: "Forget about the advance payment. Actually, the braised pork trotter rice is quite good."
He put down his chopsticks, leaned back in his chair, and his gaze suddenly became somewhat distant: "Back when He Han and Lin Zhanqiao were so poor they could barely afford food, I used to bring them here for braised pork trotters rice. It was delicious and filling. Back then, a bowl of braised pork trotters rice only cost eight yuan; now it's fifteen, but the taste is still the same."
Uncle Fan's expression changed slightly when Qin Hao mentioned Lin Zhanqiao.
He had known Lin Zhanqiao for over ten years and knew her personality all too well—strong-willed, competitive, and unwilling to admit defeat. Lin Zhanqiao would definitely not let Qin Hao's termination of his contract with Zhengxing go unpunished. And with her methods, she would certainly find a way to bring Qin Hao back.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Uncle Fan's vigilance instantly spiked.
He asked tentatively, "Lin Zhanqiao came to see you again?"
Qin Hao stirred the gravy in the bowl without commenting: "He Han asked me to come."
The statement was concise and to the point, neither confirming nor denying anything.
But Uncle Fan had already discerned the underlying meaning—Lin Zhanqiao hadn't given up yet, and she was playing the emotional card, using He Han, Qin Hao's old friend, as a go-between.
Uncle Fan visibly relaxed upon hearing this, and immediately said, "Teacher Qin Hao, not to be rude, but there's an old saying: 'A good horse doesn't eat the grass it's already grazed.' Besides, you clearly have a better option in front of you, so why go back?"
"Oh?" Qin Hao looked at him with a half-smile: "The better option that President Fan mentioned is—"
Without saying a word, Uncle Fan took out a contract from his briefcase and handed it to Qin Hao.
"Apart from the exclusive copyright and contract term, if there's anything on this that you're not satisfied with, I'll change it immediately."
Seeing the other party's sincerity, Qin Hao took the contract and began to read it.
He looked at it very carefully, and while looking at it, he took out a pen from his pocket and made corrections directly on the contract.
Five minutes later, Uncle Fan looked at the contract that Qin Hao had altered beyond recognition and couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
"Mr. Qin Hao, everything else is negotiable, but this ten-year, five-film contract is really..."
Uncle Fan pointed to the line Qin Hao had crossed out on the contract, his tone tinged with helplessness. Five books in ten years—this was the standard clause in the top-tier author contract on Dingqi.com, and no author had ever raised any objection to it—because for the vast majority of online novelists, it was normal to write a long novel in two or three years, and writing five works over ten years was just the right pace.
Qin Hao smiled and pushed the contract back in front of Uncle Fan: "Five works are acceptable, but ten years is not."
Uncle Fan was momentarily stunned: "But, considering the length of online novels, it's quite normal for a long novel to take two years to write, plus you might need time to conceive a new book in the meantime—"
"That's someone else." Qin Hao spread his hands, his tone relaxed yet confident: "For me, five novels won't take that long at all. Ten years is too long; changing it to a work contract will benefit everyone."
Uncle Fan frowned and quickly did some mental calculations.
The work contract means there's no time limit; Qin Hao only needs to complete five works within a reasonable timeframe. For the platform, the risk lies in the possibility of Qin Hao delaying—but conversely, given Qin Hao's current creative speed and state, the possibility of delay is extremely low.
Moreover, the work contract has an implicit benefit: it binds Qin Hao and Dingqi.com even more tightly. A time contract expires when it's over, but a work contract means Qin Hao must complete five works before he can be free—this is actually more binding than a ten-year contract, provided Qin Hao can maintain a high output.
Uncle Fan thought about it and realized that it made sense.
So, gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine, let's change it to a work contract. But regarding the word count—"
“Each book must be at least three million words!” Qin Hao held up three fingers.
Uncle Fan was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
Three million words per book, five books would be fifteen million words. This word count is astronomical for ordinary authors, but not impossible for someone with Qin Hao's writing speed. Moreover, the more words, the greater the platform's revenue, a condition that Uncle Fan couldn't be happier with.
"Great!" Uncle Fan slammed his hand on the table. "I'll have someone revise the contract and send it over right away."
He took out his phone and made a call, reading the modification requirements to the legal department one by one.
Half an hour later, a brand new contract was delivered to the pig's feet restaurant by Uncle Fan's assistant.
Qin Hao took the contract and carefully read it through from beginning to end. After confirming that all the revisions had been implemented, he picked up a pen and signed his name in a flamboyant manner in the signature column.
Looking at the signature, Uncle Fan finally felt a weight lifted from his heart.
He let out a long sigh of relief, picked up the tea that his assistant had poured for him at some point, and drank it all in one gulp.
Qin Hao smiled and said, "Mr. Fan, would you like a bowl? This place has the best braised pork trotter rice on the whole street. The owner is from Chaoshan, and the braising sauce is absolutely authentic."
Uncle Fan quickly waved his hand: "No, no, I just had breakfast."
“Mr. Qin Hao, then I won’t bother you any longer.” Uncle Fan stood up, straightened his jacket, and resumed his shrewd and capable CEO demeanor. “Let’s add each other on WeChat. If you need anything in the future, just let me know, and I’ll do my best to meet your needs.”
"Okay, Mr. Fan, let me see you off."
Qin Hao also stood up, and the two walked out along the alley.
-
Shortly after Uncle Fan left, Qin Hao's phone rang.
He glanced at the caller ID and frowned.
After hesitating for two seconds, I answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"It's me, Zhao Lanxin..."
A capable female voice came from the other end of the phone, speaking at a moderate pace, with a deliberately suppressed enthusiasm.
Qin Hao frowned even more deeply: "Why is it you again? Didn't I tell you? I don't plan to go back to Zhixing."
Zhao Lanxin said with a smile, "Teacher Qin Hao, please don't hang up yet. Listen to my terms first. You won't lose out by comparing prices."
"No need." Qin Hao's tone was cold and decisive: "I've already signed a contract with Dingqi.com, and I won't sign with any third-party companies."
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Zhao Lanxin.
In Qin Hao's mind, this name was synonymous with "untrustworthy".
She was Lin Zhanqiao's college classmate. After Lin Zhanqiao founded Zhixing and achieved some success, he brought Zhao Lanxin into the company and later gave her one-third of the shares. It's worth noting that even He Han didn't own any shares in Zhixing—He Han received the highest percentage of revenue sharing, but that was still revenue sharing, not shares. Zhao Lanxin, however, obtained one-third of Zhixing's equity based on her classmate relationship and so-called "operational skills."
Over the years, Zhao Lanxin has used the dividends from Zhixing to buy a house in Shanghai and is living a very prosperous life.
However, what did Zhao Lanxin do after Lin Zhanqiao and He Han broke up?
Not only did she betray Lin Zhanqiao and start her own business with another partner, Ling Yikai, but she also poached a large number of editors and authors from Chengxing. Those editors were cultivated by Lin Zhanqiao, and those authors were signed by Lin Zhanqiao one by one. Zhao Lanxin poached them all without showing any mercy, and even put on a self-righteous attitude, pushing everything onto the workplace.
Qin Hao wouldn't dare entrust his back to someone like that.
If you can betray Lam Chin-kiu today, you can betray him tomorrow.
-
On the other end of the phone, Zhao Lanxin stared at the disconnected call screen, her face as gloomy as the sky before a storm.
Ling Yikai leaned against the desk with his arms crossed, and he knew the outcome just by looking at Zhao Lanxin's expression.
"See? I told you you couldn't sign Qin Hao." His tone held a hint of schadenfreude. "He's a top-tier author with nearly 100,000 first-time subscribers now; so many eyes are on him."
Zhao Lanxin put away her phone, forcing herself to remain calm, and said, "At least he didn't go back to Lin Zhanqiao. Lin Zhanqiao only has He Han now; what if they break up someday?"
"Do you even believe that yourself?" Ling Yikai scoffed, a hint of barely perceptible jealousy flashing in his eyes. "Look at their inseparable relationship—"
Zhao Lanxin keenly noticed Ling Yikai's change in mood, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of her lips: "Are you jealous?"
Ling Yikai's expression changed slightly, but he did not refute it.
Zhao Lanxin stopped provoking him and began to analyze the situation on her own: "The easiest thing to break up in this world is when emotions and work are mixed together. Do you think Lin Zhanqiao and He Han haven't had any conflicts after all these years because their relationship is so good?"
"It's just because He Han has been holding back."
"Anyone else, after achieving success, would have broken up with Lin Zhanqiao long ago. The reason He Han didn't break up wasn't because he didn't want to, but because he liked Lin Zhanqiao. But love has an expiration date."
Zhao Lanxin paused, her gaze sharpening: "I believe the day He Han and Lin Zhanqiao break up isn't far off."
Ling Yikai snorted lightly, "Then I'll wait for that day."
"You'd better not wait any longer." Zhao Lanxin suddenly turned around, looked directly into Ling Yikai's eyes, and said coldly, "Even if Lin Zhanqiao and He Han have a falling out, she won't be interested in you."
These words were like a knife, precisely piercing Ling Yikai's soft spot.
His face instantly turned ashen.
Zhao Lanxin was fully aware of Ling Yikai's feelings for Lin Zhanqiao. The reason Ling Yikai was willing to ally with Zhao Lanxin in the first place was less to fight against Lin Zhanqiao and more to fuel his twisted desire for her—if he couldn't get Lin Zhanqiao's approval, he would destroy her authority.
But Zhao Lanxin saw it very clearly: in Lin Zhanqiao's eyes, Ling Yikai wasn't even a backup option.
Faced with Zhao Lanxin's mockery, Ling Yikai sneered and retorted, "Since you know that forced relationships are never sweet, why waste your time on me? You can't sign Qin Hao, you can't poach He Han, you don't have a single card in your hand, yet you're here analyzing with me that Lin Zhanqiao is doomed sooner or later?"
He straightened up, looking down at Zhao Lanxin: "How much better are you than Lin Zhanqiao? At least she has He Han, what do you have?"
"you--"
Zhao Lanxin glared at Ling Yikai with hatred, her chest heaving violently, but she finally managed to suppress her anger.
She took a deep breath, picked up her bag from the table, and walked towards the door without looking back.
The door slammed shut behind me.
Ling Yikai looked at the swaying door, his cold smile slowly fading, replaced by a complex expression that was hard to describe.
"He Han..." (End of Chapter)