"We're not just giving you ten million, we can make concessions on the profit sharing," Director He quickly explained, worried that Wang Shu might get angry and kick him out.
As the Director of the Copyright Acquisition Department of the television station, he was naturally responsible for the station's profits and losses. The reason he wanted to acquire the drama at a low price was to test the waters in the market. Moreover, by offering Wang Shu a high profit-sharing ratio, he intended to have Wang Shu share some of the risk, thereby minimizing the television station's risk.
"Then how much profit can you give me?" Wang Shu couldn't help but ask patiently.
"Our television station actually has another method, a guaranteed profit-sharing agreement. We can pay you a ten-million-dollar advance. If the revenue from the drama's premiere exceeds ten million later, it will directly convert to a fifty-fifty profit-sharing model. However, if the premiere revenue doesn't exceed ten million, the drama will be licensed to us for five years for ten million." Director He stated directly.
"Alright, let's go with this guaranteed profit-sharing model." Wang Shu readily agreed after hearing the terms. This model suited him. Although "Soldiers Sortie" had good reviews and ratings on Earth, he wasn't sure if it would be the same here, as it was a parallel world with many differences from Earth. The cultural environment and various concepts were somewhat different. If "Soldiers Sortie" flopped, he would still guarantee an income of over ten million, not a severe loss.
"Okay, then let's sign the contract today. Once you've completed the final cut, submit it to the station immediately. We need to start the publicity and promotion," Director He said cheerfully upon Wang Shu's agreement. He then took out the contract that had been prepared long ago and affixed the official seal in front of Wang Shu.
On the way back, He Jiaye was in a good mood. "Director, why are you so happy?" Jiang Ye asked Director He in surprise.
"It's worth it, it's too worth it to secure this drama for ten million!" He Jiaye said smugly.
Upon returning to the television station, He Jiaye was about to celebrate when he was summoned to the deputy director's office. "Director He, quite busy today?" A plump, well-fed man asked He Jiaye with a smile in the deputy director's office.
"No, I was just visiting a film crew today and purchasing a new drama," He Jiaye replied truthfully.
"Purchasing a new drama? What genre?" The deputy director asked generously upon hearing about the new drama acquisition.
"Military theme!" He Jiaye replied.
"Ah? Military theme? You dare to buy such an unpopular genre? Is this drama produced by one of your relatives?" The deputy director was taken aback when he heard it was a military theme and looked at He Jiaye in disbelief.
"Director, I personally surveyed this one. I believe this drama has the potential to be a hit," He Jiaye quickly explained.
"Then why did your department's Qi Qi come to me to report that you tried to solicit her, and you rejected her proposal when she refused?" The deputy director's expression turned serious as he looked at He Jiaye.
"I solicited her? What a joke! If I solicited her, may I die a horrible death!" He Jiaye exclaimed loudly. He never expected to be reported for soliciting by a female employee. "The dramas she submitted were all trash, and I rejected them, so she's trying to smear me," He Jiaye said helplessly.
"Alright, since you've already signed the contract, you'll be responsible for the profits and losses of this drama. I won't be able to protect you then," the deputy director said with a sly smile.
Meanwhile, at Dragon Island Film City.
After selling the television rights, Wang Shu felt completely relieved. "Everyone take a break. I'll notify you later. We have more big projects coming up." Wang Shu said to all the staff in the company. The script for "Wolf Warrior" had been favored by the leadership, and filming would likely be arranged soon. He would definitely strive to get the opportunity to film it, as it was a lucrative project that he couldn't easily let go of.
"Holiday! Finally, I can go out and have fun!" Du Xiaomin cheered happily.
"Boss, when will our drama air, and on which channel? I want to go home and show my parents that their son has become successful!" Wang Baobao asked Wang Shu excitedly.
"If everything goes as planned, it will be online within these two weeks, on Su Nan Television," Wang Shu patted Wang Baobao's shoulder.
"Thank you, boss. I'll buy a ticket home now. I haven't been back in a while and I miss home," Wang Baobao said with satisfaction and happiness.
Everyone packed their belongings and prepared to go home for the holidays. After everyone left, Wang Shu locked the company's door and returned to Hangcheng. Upon returning to Hangcheng, Wang Shu received the sample copies sent by the publisher. He was also notified that "To Live" had been stocked and was on sale in various bookstores.
At this time, Longwen Pavilion's data monitoring system had also begun to track the sales of "To Live." As per Longwen Pavilion's requirements, a flagship work needed to be excellent in quality and also have strong sales. Therefore, to monitor the real-time sales situation of all books, Longwen Pavilion had specially developed this data system and equipped each bookstore with it. Any bookstore that sold a book with the corresponding ISBN would be automatically recorded by the system. Today, "To Live," as a promoted work on its first day of release, was also a target for this monitoring.
In the first half of the day, the data for "To Live" showed no significant fluctuations. This was because Wang Shu was an unknown author, and many readers of published books were not very interested in works by such unknown authors. Thus, for most of the morning, people were primarily reading the trial version. However, since there was only one copy of the trial version, many people had to wait in line.
But in the afternoon, the sales of the book suddenly surged. The speed of the surge was astonishing. "May I ask if you have the book 'To Live' here?" "I want to buy a copy of 'To Live'!" "Can you give me a copy of 'To Live'?" In the afternoon, many middle school students rushed to Dida Bookstore to inquire about the book "To Live." The reason was that Wang Shu had recommended this book in his novel update today. Therefore, many young readers, in order to support Wang Shu, flocked to bookstores to buy the book.
The rapidly rising data also baffled the analysts at Longwen Pavilion. They knew that the author of "To Live" was a newcomer with no fame. Generally, on the first day of release, few people would be willing to buy it. Even if it was prominently displayed, only a small portion would choose to buy it on the same day. It was only after this group of people finished the book and started sharing it that more and more people would come to bookstores to buy it. However, for Wang Shu's book, after only half a day on the shelves, an incredible number of people across the country rushed to buy it, which was very strange. If it were a new author, they wouldn't have such strong appeal.