Chapter 074: Buying a Book

"The Four Legendary Detectives Shake the Northeast" was reprinted twice, with a total of eighteen thousand copies printed. In just one month, nearly fifteen thousand were sold in Taiwan alone, and sales were ongoing in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, with excellent shipment numbers. This was the wonderful news Zhang Tan received in mid-January.

The Laba Festival had already passed, and Hefei had seen two more snowfalls. The weather was so cold that no one wanted to step outside.

Yet Zhang Tan was elated because the traditional Chinese edition had sold so well. He saw someone had built a tall snowman along the main road’s curb. Feeling a surge of youthful vigor, he took a running leap and delivered a 360-degree whirlwind kick, striking the snowman at the neck and decapitating it.

Snowflakes whirled through the air, and the cold wind wrapped around his slightly lanky figure, making him seem solitary and proud.

Then, as a few passing students cast disdainful glances, labeling him as childish, he retreated, covering his face.

Too pleased with himself, he forgot his composure.

He needed to rein himself in.

Once he rounded the corner and left those scornful students behind, Zhang Tan resumed his swaggering, roguish stance, humming a cheerful tune about common folk enjoying their day, and climbed the stairs into the classroom.

“Inspector!” Tang Tongxin waved as soon as she saw Zhang Tan.

He sat next to Liu Jing, angling his body sideways, elbow propped on the desk, hand rubbing his chin. “What is it?” he asked, his gaze drifting toward Liu Jing.

The girl had donned a thick down jacket, her fair face framed by clear, bright eyes. She could now look Zhang Tan in the eye, unlike at the start of the semester when she always blushed and avoided his gaze.

She had evidently adapted to Zhang Tan’s worldly, somewhat muddy eyes.

Older men, when observing women, always looked at hips first, then the chest, followed by the thighs and slender waist, and only afterward the face.

It was aggressive—some called it maturity, others simply shamelessness.

Now, Zhang Tan looked at the younger girls quite directly, without any attempt at concealment. After all, he was experienced, and any sense of bashful restraint had long since left him. Especially when he saw high schoolers who, faced with their crushes, avoided eye contact and were too shy to even speak—he found it amusing.

“Inspector, you often go to Hefei, right?” Tang Tongxin asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“When are you going next?”

“In a couple of days—I need to buy a few things. Why? Do you want me to bring something back for you?”

Tang Tongxin, a bit embarrassed, said, “I’d like to go with you. I haven’t been to Hefei much, and I want to get familiar with the roads. I’m planning to work in the city during the winter break.”

“Working during the winter holidays, eh? Sure, I’ll call you when I go. I’ll show you around Hefei.” Zhang Tan didn’t hesitate; helping classmates was a good deed, and living should be meaningful.

“Thank you.”

Zhang Tan smiled, “No need to thank me—we’re classmates, and you’re really nice. Only good kids work during the holidays.”

Working during the summer and winter breaks was a positive thing, both training one’s abilities and supplementing the family income. Zhang Tan hadn’t really worked during the holidays himself, but he was never idle at home, catching fish and shrimp every summer for a bit of extra money. He’d wanted to work in Hefei, but unfamiliarity with the city made him hesitant.

So he genuinely admired Tang Tongxin’s courage—she was only a freshman and already planning to work during winter break.

...

At noon, Wang Conglun called, telling Zhang Tan he had received the sixty-thousand-word manuscript of "The Four Legendary Detectives Meet in the Capital." He also shared that the traditional edition of "The Four Legendary Detectives Shake the Northeast" was selling like hotcakes in Taiwan, about to break the twenty-thousand mark.

“I estimate that selling thirty thousand copies shouldn’t be a problem. Even if it doesn’t reach that, twenty-five thousand is certain. You’ll easily earn over a hundred thousand in royalties,” Wang Conglun assured him.

Zhang Tan’s contract with Xianxian Culture stipulated a fixed royalty of thirteen percent of sales. Calculating with twenty-five thousand copies at one hundred sixty New Taiwan dollars each—using a rough exchange rate of four to one, that’s forty yuan per copy. Twenty-five thousand sales equals more than a million in total revenue.

After deducting printing, shipping, and labor costs, and rounding to a million, thirteen percent in royalties is one hundred thirty thousand. With Taiwan’s twenty percent royalty tax, after tax it’s just over one hundred thousand yuan.

A sizeable sum.

“Then I’ll rely on your good words, Editor Wang,” Zhang Tan replied cheerfully. With such impressive sales numbers, he was more excited than anyone, though he still maintained a degree of restraint. “It’s great the traditional edition is selling well, but what I really look forward to is releasing the simplified edition. Our mainland has so many more people.”

“Ha, don’t get your hopes up too much for the simplified edition. Too many people read pirated versions now, not many buy the official ones.”

“I know that. Still, official readers need to be cultivated gradually. As economic conditions improve, more people will support official editions. Also, releasing the simplified edition is a matter of pride for me—without it, it doesn’t feel like a real publication, not something I can truly show off.”

“Don’t worry. With the traditional edition selling so well, publishers are bound to follow up and release the simplified version for you.”

“Thank you for your good wishes.”

After hanging up, Zhang Tan picked up the traditional edition of "The Four Legendary Detectives Shake the Northeast" from his desk, feeling slightly dissatisfied.

Despite adding many extra plot elements to the book, the overall storyline still felt a bit thin, the main plot too singular, and there wasn’t much space to flesh out the characters individually. The emotional scenes were nearly nonexistent. The original work itself was sparse.

If he really wanted to make it stirring and heroic, it wouldn’t be "The Four Legendary Detectives Shake the Northeast" anymore.

“Well, it’s just a practice piece; I can’t expect more. Now it all depends on the success of the next book, 'The Four Legendary Detectives Meet in the Capital.' Hopefully it’ll become an instant hit and get adapted into a film or TV series.”

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Tan called Tang Tongxin and together they went to Hefei, accompanied by the music teacher Zhu Yunfei. Zhu Yunfei had business in the city and also guided Zhang Tan in buying an accordion. Zhang Tan had already mastered the guitar and planned to learn the accordion next. Watching Zhu Yunfei play it looked quite impressive.

They spent an entire afternoon wandering Hefei, exploring all the bustling streets.

Passing a newspaper and magazine stand, Zhang Tan deliberately went in to look around—and indeed found "Legend of Today and the Past: Martial Arts Edition." Seeing his own novel being sold in a newsstand gave him a real thrill.

“Boss, is 'Legend of Today and the Past: Martial Arts Edition' selling well?” Tang Tongxin asked curiously.

“Oh, it’s doing quite well—many people are buying it. Though it’s a new magazine, for martial arts novels, this is the only one. Many students love martial arts novels now. You’re students, right? Want to buy a copy? It’s really good.”

Zhang Tan waved him off, “Boss, you better sell it to someone else. I won’t buy it.”

The boss persisted, “It’s really good. Take a look—it’s worth it. I’ve already sold over a hundred copies.”

“No need.” Zhang Tan smiled.

The more the boss praised the magazine and its sales, the happier Zhang Tan felt. And the more he restrained himself from buying, hoping the boss would keep praising it—he loved hearing good things.

Tang Tongxin, unaware of Zhang Tan's little scheme, couldn't hold back and blurted, “Boss, one of the martial arts stories in the magazine was written by him.”

“What?” The boss didn’t react at first.

Zhang Tan waved his hand, “It’s nothing.”

He quickly pulled Tang Tongxin away, stopping her from showing off further.

Honestly, I’m a low-key person at heart!