Chapter 140: Full Copyright Buyout [Second Update]

Half an hour later, old Han Sheng's son finally arrived.

The man was in his forties, with an unusual and robust build and thick eyebrows. He rushed over in a flurry, and the moment he saw his father wrapped tightly from head to toe, tears began to fall.

"Dad, how are you feeling?"

The man entered with a nervous expression on his face, asking anxiously.

Behind him was a middle-aged woman. Although there were wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she still retained her charm, clearly having been a beautiful woman in her youth.

"I'm not dead yet."

Han Sheng replied with a hint of annoyance, then smiled at Zhang Yang and said, "Little brother, thank you so much this time. Otherwise, these old bones of mine would really have been left behind here."

During the previous half-hour, Han Sheng had thanked Zhang Yang more than once, and bringing it up again now was clearly meant for his son to hear.

"You're being too polite." Zhang Yang waved his hand and said with a wry smile.

"Oh, I'm so sorry... Haha, you must be the person who saved my dad. Thank you so much. My name is Han Xingchen, and I work at the News and Publication Bureau. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come find me." Han Xingchen thanked Zhang Yang sincerely.

"Yes, thank you truly. Otherwise, my dad, he..."

"It was only right. I believe anyone who encountered such a situation wouldn't just stand by and watch." Zhang Yang said this, and then turned to Han Sheng, saying, "Well, since the old gentleman is fine now, I should head back. I'll come visit you again next time."

"Good, good, don't let your family worry." Han Sheng nodded repeatedly. Clearly, he held a very favorable opinion of Zhang Yang, and even though he was injured, he still waved his hand continuously.

"Wait."

Suddenly, Han Sheng quickly called out to stop Zhang Yang, turning to instruct his son: "Xingchen, the young man paid my hospital deposit. Did you bring any money? Hurry up and pay him back."

"I brought it, I brought it." Han Xingchen nodded hurriedly. Beside him, his wife quickly pulled out a wad of cash from her bag, counted out five thousand yuan, and handed it to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang did not stand on ceremony; he accepted the money, tucked it into his pocket, and smiled as he said his goodbyes.

...

Upon returning home, Zhang Yang was momentarily stunned. "Why are you all still up?"

Usually, at this hour, his parents would have already been fast asleep in bed. How could it be today...

Moreover, Zhang Yang noticed that the way they were looking at him seemed a bit different. It felt as though he had been targeted by a wolf disguised as a grandmother, their eyes glowing with a greenish sheen.

"Xiao Ye, come over here. Dad has something to say to you." Zhang Haiquan gestured to him. Nearby, his mother, Liu Meiju, also shifted her body, making room on the sofa and leaving a vacant spot for him.

"When did you buy these clothes? How come I didn't know about it?" Liu Meiju swept a curious gaze over his body, then noticed Zhang Yang's face. "And your hair, why did it get cut like this? It instantly makes you look a few years older."

"I bought it together with a friend. I think it looks pretty good." Zhang Yang glossed it over with a vague laugh. If his parents knew he had been impersonating Sister Yuan's boyfriend, they would probably slaughter him on the spot.

"Sit down." Zhang Haiquan lit a cigarette. In Zhang Yang's memory, his father hadn't smoked in several years.

"What is it?" Zhang Yang walked over curiously. His eyes swept across his parents' faces, and that ominous premonition grew even stronger.

An inexplicable sense of apprehension stirred in his heart.

"Is there something you're keeping from us?" The moment Zhang Haiquan spoke, Zhang Yang's heart skipped a beat.

He simply had too many secrets. Could something have been discovered?

"Did you really write a book?" Liu Meiju couldn't keep things to herself; she stared at him with wide eyes, as if she were meeting her own son for the very first time.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you guys before?" Zhang Yang's heart slowly relaxed. If it was just this matter, he naturally didn't need to worry too much.

"Today, the post office delivered a document addressed to you. I accepted it on your behalf. They said it was a reply from a publishing house, stating they want to publish your book." Zhang Haiquan looked his son up and down, genuinely surprised that his son possessed such literary talent.

"That's right, and the pay is quite high—three thousand yuan per volume, writing one volume a month. That's higher than our former manager's salary!" Liu Meiju's eyes were filled with wonder and pride. As she spoke, she even pinched Zhang Yang's cheek, endlessly delighted.

"Three thousand a volume?"

However, Zhang Yang's brows furrowed.

Hearing Zhang Haiquan's words, he naturally understood that this was the reply from Sanlian Bookstore in Taiwan that he had mailed out. It had just taken quite a while to arrive. By the time they sent their reply, his own magazine had already been established.

And most importantly, he was not satisfied with this price.

What he had mailed over initially were the first three volumes of *Zhu Xian*, and Zhang Yang knew the potential of this book all too well. Not only did it achieve massive fame on the internet, but it would also become wildly successful in publishing and game adaptations. Since he was currently not strapped for cash, he instantly found the price offered by Sanlian Bookstore rather unsatisfactory.

Furthermore, *Zhu Xian* had already begun serialization in the magazine. Even if serialization could happen simultaneously in both places, Zhang Yang saw no reason to sell his book cheap.

That's right, selling it cheap. Fifty yuan per thousand words was simply too low.

Reaching out to take the contract handed over by his father, he read through it word for word. His brows furrowed even deeper.

All-rights buyout!

He would never agree to this. In the later eras, various copyrights blossomed everywhere—film and television, manga, physical books, the internet... countless spin-offs. Wanting to buy out all copyrights for fifty yuan per thousand words? Not a chance!

Thinking of this, Zhang Yang quickly raised his head and said to his parents, "My book has already been officially serialized in Aunt Wang's magazine. The pay I get from her is about the same, also fifty yuan per thousand words, but the rest of the copyrights remain in my own hands. So, there's no way I'm signing this contract."

"What? Mengzi's magazine pays that much too?" In Liu Meiju's mind, she had always assumed that magazine publishers paid very low author fees. At least, that was how it was more or less everywhere in the country right now. She hadn't expected Wang Mengzi to also offer such a high price to buy Zhang Yang's book.

"Could my own son actually have a talent for writing?"

Zhang Haiquan and Liu Meiju exchanged a glance, both seeing a look of profound gratification in the other's eyes.

Their son had truly amounted to something.

"Of course. Aunt Wang's magazine pays a minimum of fifty yuan per thousand words, and if you keep writing, the pay goes even higher. Your son here is her resident writer, and now I'm even a little bit famous," Zhang Yang said smugly.

"What are you getting so smug about? Is now the time for you to be making money? Get your academic performance up first. If your grades don't improve, see if I let you write anymore!" Zhang Haiquan scolded him, stood up, and walked toward his own bedroom.

"Being able to make money is our son's capability; why are you getting angry? You don't have the capability yourself, so you can't stand it that our son does!" Hearing this, Liu Meiju was instead displeased. She glared at her husband, then smilingly patted the top of Zhang Yang's head, stood up, and went off to sleep as well.

Zhang Yang rubbed his nose and shook his head. He gathered his clothes, took a bath, and then returned to his room to sit for a while. After pondering the matter, he directly wrote a letter of refusal, put down his pen, and lay down on the bed to fall asleep.