According to the standard of thirty dollars per thousand characters, the manuscript Huo Yaowen submitted earlier was a total of 31,200 characters, and the total manuscript fee was 930 dollars. Li Daoguang was not stingy and directly gave an extra 70 dollars, making it a round one thousand.
After completing the first manuscript fee transaction at the finance department, Chief Editor Li said with a smile, "Our Oriental Daily News is expected to officially launch and publish at the beginning of next month, so I hope Mr. Huo can write more manuscripts in the next few days."
Huo Yaowen casually slipped the envelope containing one thousand All of Hong Kong dollars into his pocket, then nodded and said, "Chief Editor Li, don't worry, I'll go back and write more drafts. I definitely won't delay the submission."
"Quality still needs to be guaranteed." Li Daoguang was very satisfied with Huo Yaowen's writing attitude. Writers at that time often delayed their manuscripts, mainly due to quality issues, so he didn't want Huo Yaowen to hastily churn out work just to get more manuscript fees.
Huo Yaowen smiled and said, "Of course, ghost blows out the light is my first book. No matter what, I will write it to perfection, ensuring not a single word is changed or missed."
"With Mr. Huo's words, I'm relieved. When I was at Ta Kung Pao, there were often some writers who padded their manuscripts, and in the end, they were all rejected," Li Daoguang said very directly.
Huo Yaowen made no comment, smiled, and then said, "In that case, I'll head back now. I will submit the manuscript on time according to the date we discussed earlier."
"The newspaper is just starting, and many things need my personal attention, Mr. Huo. Please forgive me for not being able to see you off."
"No need, no need, Chief Editor Li, please carry on with your work."
After declining Li Daoguang's offer, Huo Yaowen left the Oriental Daily News and walked straight towards the bus stop. Just as he arrived at the bus stop, the bus to Tsz Wan Estate arrived, and he directly dropped his coin and got on.
It was only a little past three in the afternoon, and there weren't many people on the bus. Huo Yaowen sat in the last row, glanced at the empty seats in front, and then took out the envelope with the manuscript fee from his pocket.
He opened the seal of the envelope, spread it open, and saw ten one-hundred-dollar All of Hong Kong banknotes inside.
This one thousand All of Hong Kong dollars was equivalent to two and a half months of Huo Yaowen's current salary as a teacher at Hong Kong University, and all he had to do was handwrite a little over thirty thousand characters.
Huo Yaowen couldn't help but sigh, no wonder Ni Kuang in later generations called Jin Yong "the richest literati in China's five thousand years!"
This "literati" was not that "literati"; the richest literati Ni Kuang referred to were simply those who made a living solely through writing.
After all, the most famous corrupt official, "He Shen," also came from a literati background, and his early writings were deeply admired by the literati of his time.
According to the novels written by Mr. Jin Yong, excluding the early manuscript fees, just the subsequent publication of books, filming of movies, TV series, adaptation into games, animation, comics, and so on, the IP value exceeded ten billion.
Based on these alone, not counting those foreign writers, Jin Yong can indeed be considered a literati and scholar who, for five thousand years in China, became famous through writing and prospered through writing.
...
Time flew by, and by the time Huo Yaowen returned home, it was already half an hour later.
Sai Mui Xi Mei Huo Tingting, who was still drawing in the house, suddenly heard the anti-theft door open. She looked back and saw Huo Yaowen walking in, wiping sweat from his forehead. She asked curiously, "Ah Ge, didn't you say you weren't coming home for dinner tonight?"
Huo Yaowen took off his shirt and said, "Hmm, I originally wanted to go to the school, but I thought better of it. Later, you can accompany me to the street to buy some bedding and sheets. I'm moving into the school dormitory tomorrow morning."
"Oh." Huo Tingting responded and continued to lower her head, drawing something.
Huo Yaowen didn't pay attention to Sai Mui's thoughts. He took his change of clothes, towel, and basin and went to the public toilet to shower. This time of day was the best; those who went out to work hadn't returned yet, and most of the children on holiday were out playing.
Ten minutes passed.
Huo Yaowen returned home refreshed, threw his dirty clothes into the laundry basket, and put the basin and other items back in their place. Only then did he notice that Sai Mui had been drawing something since he came home, and her mood was a bit low, completely unlike how she clung to him before he left.
He curiously walked to the round stool by the dining table and sat down. Looking at Sai Mui's delicate face, Huo Yaowen frowned and asked, "What's wrong? You seem unhappy."
"Nothing." Huo Tingting pouted.
Huo Yaowen raised an eyebrow and said, "If you don't tell me, I won't listen anymore."
Huo Tingting finally couldn't hold it in and said, "Ah Ge, I don't understand what you wrote."
"What don't you understand?"
Huo Tingting pointed at the letter paper Huo Yaowen had written earlier on the table and said, "It's this comrades: almost a love story you wrote, Ah Ge! They're looking for romance novels, not boring literary works."
"Haha..."
Hearing this, Huo Yaowen chuckled. The comrades: almost a love story he wrote could indeed not be considered a traditional romance novel, but it achieved the same goal, telling a story of love between a man and a woman, and its concept was much grander than novels written purely for love.
But telling this to an eighteen-year-old Sai Mui, she might not necessarily understand it. In her opinion, only something like Qiong Yao's work could be considered a good romance novel, with love and passionate entanglement from the very beginning.
Huo Yaowen lightly tapped Sai Mui's forehead and said exasperatedly, "You're the one who asked me to write it, and now you're blaming Ah Ge for not writing it well."
Huo Tingting rubbed her forehead and said aggrievedly, "I just hoped Ah Ge would write well enough to get first place and win that five thousand reward, didn't I?"
"I think you're just thinking about Qiong Yao and Yi Shu's autographs! You little imp, alright, don't worry. This is just the beginning. When I get to the unfolding of the plot, you'll want to cry but won't be able to."
Huo Tingting pouted, "I definitely won't cry, Ah Ge! What you wrote isn't touching at all."
"Haha, when I say you won't be able to cry, I mean your tears will have all dried up!"
"Hmph, I don't believe you!"
Facing Sai Mui, who was holding her head high, looking arrogant and disbelieving.
Huo Yaowen's competitive spirit was aroused. He grinned and said, "Alright, you said it. If you cry your eyes out then, don't blame Ah Ge for not warning you."
After gaining the original owner's memories, Huo Yaowen knew that Sai Mui Xi Mei Huo Tingting was a particularly emotional person. Any small article or novel with a tragic color would stir her emotions, breaking through her fragile defenses, and she would cry so beautifully it could be described as pear blossoms bathed in rain.
"I definitely won't cry!"
Seeing Huo Tingting so confident that she wouldn't cry, Huo Yaowen didn't say anything more. He thought that after settling the school dormitory matters tomorrow, he would finish this comrades: almost a love story before Hong Kong University started, so as not to delay writing ghost blows out the light later.
"We'll see if you cry then. Now, accompany Ah Ge to buy some bedding. I got my manuscript fee today, so Ah Ge will take you out to splurge."
Huo Yaowen patted his pocket.
"Manuscript fee? You got the manuscript fee!"
Huo Tingting's eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly, "Ah Ge, how much manuscript fee did you get? Did you get a hundred dollars?"
"You underestimate me too much. Thirty dollars per thousand characters, I wrote a total of thirty thousand characters, one thousand dollars!"
"One thousand dollars!" Huo Tingting's watery eyes widened, and she said incredulously, "You're not lying to me, are you? What could you write to get one thousand dollars!"
Currently, the average monthly salary for most low-income people in All of Hong Kong was only around five or six hundred dollars. Now Huo Yaowen said he could get one thousand dollars just by writing a thirty-thousand-character manuscript, which naturally astonished Huo Tingting.
Huo Yaowen said sarcastically, "Oh? You don't believe me? Then assume Ah Ge is lying to you. I wonder who said last time they wanted to buy a new white dress. Since no one's saying anything, I'll just save the money."
Upon hearing "white dress," Huo Tingting's eyes lit up. She had wanted to buy one for a long time, but her family's financial situation had never been very good. She was sensible and well-behaved, never actively asking for things, only occasionally mentioning it to Huo Yaowen. Now, hearing Ah Ge was going to buy one for her, she quickly moved closer, showing a spoiled expression and saying, "Don't be like that, Ah Ge, I believe you, I believe you!"
"Then let's go! I also need to buy a good suit."
School was starting in ten days, and Huo Yaowen didn't have a decent suit. It was fine for everyday wear, but as a teacher at Hong Kong University, not having a suit or formal wear would always give people an immature impression.