Chapter 105: Sudden Windfall, the Secret Stash Overflowed!

It is a pity!

At this time, copyright fees had not yet been restored. It would take several more years for Wang Shuo to propose the idea to the authorities before copyright fees were gradually deregulated. Otherwise, the publication of single-volume books would not be calculated at seven yuan per thousand characters, but based on sales volume plus a per-thousand-character rate!

Only when that time comes will the golden age of publishing truly arrive. By then, the saying that "one book equals one courtyard house" might not be just empty talk.

"Is the author of 'The Herdsman' here?"

Just as Cheng Xuemin and Li Qingquan finished their business and were about to leave, another middle-aged man rushed into Li Shuguang’s office and asked.

"You must be Old Xu, right? You’ve come at the perfect time; I was just looking for you!" The newcomer’s eyes fell on Cheng Xuemin, and he asked.

"And who might you be, sir?" Cheng Xuemin was puzzled, wondering who this sudden middle-aged man was and what business he had with him. Could he be here to deliver another payment voucher? But Cheng Xuemin had calculated his earnings; he had already received all the royalties he was officially entitled to, and in fact, still owed a small amount back to the *October* magazine. As for his secret stash, it was too early for his standalone books to be generating that kind of extra income, right?

"This is Pan Hua, the head of the art editing department at the People’s Literature Publishing House. You can just call him Old Pan, Xuemin," Li Shuguang introduced.

"Oh! Hello, Teacher Pan, nice to meet you!" Cheng Xuemin greeted him repeatedly, feeling even more confused. What could the head of the art editing department want with him?

"Old Pan, this is Old Xu, the author of 'The Herdsman.' His real name is Cheng Xuemin, and he is the son-in-law of Old Feng and Teacher Gu!" Li Shuguang added.

"I know, I know. The son-in-law of Old Feng and Teacher Gu—so you are Old Xu!" Old Pan nodded repeatedly. He had, of course, heard that the author of 'The Herdsman' was their son-in-law, though he hadn't met the man himself.

"Nice to meet you, Xuemin!" Pan Hua greeted him formally and then hurriedly pulled out some drafts, asking, "Xuemin, did you draw these?"

Cheng Xuemin was confused. He took them, glanced at them, and asked in astonishment, "These are the storyboards I drew for Director Xie, right? Why are they in your hands, Teacher Pan?"

This was genuinely surprising. Weren't these the storyboard sketches he had drawn for the 'The Herdsman' screenplay he wrote for Xie Jin? Xie Jin had liked them at the time, but the director had his own pride and had insisted on making some changes based on his own creative sparks. Afterward, everything was handed over to the Shanghai Film Studio for review; his brother-in-law hadn't even given him an update yet. How did these sketches end up with Old Pan at the People’s Literature Publishing House?

"So you really did draw these?" Old Pan asked, full of disbelief.

"Yes! I did!" Cheng Xuemin nodded, adding sheepishly, "But they aren't very good, are they? Did Director Xie redraw them himself?" Since the sketches were with Old Pan, it implied that Xie Jin had replaced them and didn't intend to use his work.

"These were all drawn by you, Xuemin?!" Li Shuguang took the sketches, flipped through them, and said with equal surprise, "I didn't expect that you were as skilled at drawing as you are at writing!"

"That’s fine, as long as they are yours, Xuemin. Old Li, our art department won’t need to hire another illustrator for the 'The Herdsman' standalone book. I’ll just select ten of these to use directly!" Pan Hua nodded. Since the author himself had drawn them, there was no need to spend effort finding someone else.

"Are these really usable, Xuemin?" Li Shuguang was also stunned that Old Pan had come all this way just for this.

"Why wouldn't they be? Xuemin’s work here is no worse than those professional illustrators. I think we can use them as is!" Pan Hua nodded firmly. Illustrations by the author himself could better capture the theme of the work; nothing could be more perfect.

"Very well, you’re the head of the art department, so you decide what illustrations to use!" Li Shuguang agreed readily.

"Alright then. Old Li, settle the payment for the illustrations with Xuemin as well! I’m picking ten, and I’ll pay him twelve yuan per piece!" Pan Hua made the decision right in front of Cheng Xuemin. Before Cheng Xuemin could even react, Pan Hua added, "Xuemin, since you can draw, please draw the illustrations for the standalone book of 'The Quiet Heart' as well!"

"That one is a bit longer, so I expect we’ll need fifteen illustrations. Is twelve yuan per piece acceptable for you?" He looked at Cheng Xuemin, waiting for an answer.

"Teacher Pan, you pay for these illustrations too?!" Cheng Xuemin was dumbfounded. He desperately wanted to say yes, a thousand times yes! But he forced himself to stay calm, trying not to look like someone who had never seen money before. He asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

He could get paid for doing illustrations for his own books? And at a rate as high as twelve yuan per piece?

Twelve yuan! Do you have any idea what that means? The royalty check he had just received from Li Shuguang was only three hundred and fifteen yuan! And Old Pan was asking for twenty-five illustrations in total—ten plus fifteen. At twelve yuan each, that was three hundred yuan!

Good heavens! That was equivalent to his royalties for the two pieces he had written. Was this an extra perk of publishing a standalone book? Not only did he get the royalties, but he could also earn extra by doing the illustrations?

"Of course we pay for them! If we hired an outside illustrator, we’d have to pay at least ten yuan per piece anyway!" Pan Hua said as if it were obvious, then turned to Li Shuguang, "Xuemin is the author, and his skill is truly excellent. Twelve yuan is fair, right, Old Li?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Xuemin, I had no idea you were so accomplished in art. Amazing, truly amazing!" Li Shuguang nodded, praising him without reservation. "Old Pan, go ahead and submit the request for twenty-five illustrations. I’ll arrange for the payment to be remitted to you!"

"Don't wait. Let’s go over now. I’ll file the application immediately. Xuemin, you wait here; it will be done shortly!" Pan Hua was a man of action. He grabbed Li Shuguang and left, leaving Cheng Xuemin no time to process what had just happened.

"Do you really get paid for doing illustrations?" Cheng Xuemin muttered to Li Qingquan, still feeling a bit dazed.

"Well, who knew you were such a talented artist, Xuemin?" Li Qingquan didn't answer the question directly, but instead sighed and immediately began assigning tasks. "Never mind the previous ones; you can help draw the illustrations for your novella while you're at it!"

"Huh?" Cheng Xuemin had only asked a question—was he getting more work now?

"What do you mean 'huh'?! We were going to hire an illustrator anyway. If you have the time, you might as well do it for us!" Li Qingquan continued, "However, our *Yanjing Literature* isn't as wealthy as the People’s Literature Publishing House. At most, we can only offer eight yuan per piece!"

"For your novella, we don't need as many as the standalone book—probably fifty or sixty in total!" Li Qingquan estimated. If he counted one illustration for every five thousand characters, a two-hundred-thousand-character novella would certainly require fifty or sixty pieces.

*Slap!*

Before Li Qingquan could finish, Cheng Xuemin reached out and firmly grasped his hands, saying in a low, excited voice, "Old Li, can we keep this illustration work between the two of us?"

Never mind the eight yuan—the volume Li Qingquan was asking for was enough to make Cheng Xuemin take the risk. Because the Feng family, especially the young Miss Feng, certainly didn't know about this illustration work! This meant he could secretly pocket the fees and fill his private stash!

Good heavens! Old Li was asking for fifty or sixty pieces. The price might be lower than Old Pan’s, but the sheer quantity was rewarding! Eight yuan a piece, fifty or sixty pieces—that was four or five hundred yuan! Plus the three hundred from Old Pan, his stash would soar by seven or eight hundred yuan, finally breaking the one-thousand-yuan mark!

Moreover, this was just for the *Yanjing Literature* magazine. Once his novella was published, the standalone book from the People’s Literature Publishing House would follow, and they would need illustrations too! And the volume for the standalone book would be even higher than the magazine. If those two short stories required twenty-five illustrations, a two-hundred-thousand-character novella would surely need over a hundred, right?

And the best part was the pay! At twelve yuan each, wouldn't the illustrations for a hundred pieces exceed a thousand yuan? Combined with the sixteen hundred yuan in royalties for the book itself, he could make nearly three thousand yuan for a single volume. Was that how the math worked?

"I understand, I understand. Of course we can!" Li Qingquan smiled craftily, "In that case, regarding future manuscripts..."

"Teacher Li, rest assured. Whenever you need something, I’ll strive to provide you with one piece every... every quarter, how about that?" Cheng Xuemin was even more enthusiastic than Old Li. It was just paying tribute to the classics anyway; his mind was like a library, and he could just copy whatever he needed!

"Good, it’s a deal! One piece every quarter!"

"Now, Xuemin, take some time and get those illustrations done!"

They had struck a deal. Li Qingquan had gained leverage over Cheng Xuemin, and he would no longer have to worry about getting manuscripts from "Old Xu." He wouldn't have to deal with that mother-in-law, Teacher Gu, anymore!

After chatting further with Li Qingquan, Cheng Xuemin learned that during this era, while writing was a way to make money quietly, the art students from the Central Academy of Arts and Design were already doing the same! According to Old Li, the fees for illustrations or covers for magazines and journals were already ranging from six to fifteen yuan per piece!

Beyond that, the real money was in *lianhuanhua* (picture-story books). Although the pay per page was only five to eight yuan, the books were mostly illustrations. A book could easily have over a hundred pages, meaning an illustrator could earn thousands of yuan! And these books were becoming a trend. The printing plant behind *Yanjing Literature* was running day and night, printing these books, which were far more popular than magazines. They only had art editors but no dedicated illustrators, usually hiring freelancers—mostly from the Central Academy of Arts and Design.

With Li Qingquan’s reminder, memories surfaced in Cheng Xuemin’s mind. It was indeed true; the art students were quietly making fortunes. Some of them might even be on their way to becoming "ten-thousand-yuan households"! What did that mean in this era? It was an unimaginable sum for ordinary people, but for Cheng Xuemin, it was exhilarating!

There was a way to make money, and his secret stash was about to overflow! Cheng Xuemin secretly decided to focus on illustrations for his private funds. Later, he would ask Old Pan about the picture-story books to see if he could get into that market too.

"Xuemin, here is the payment voucher for the twenty-five illustrations. Keep it safe!" Shortly after, Li Shuguang and Old Pan returned to the office. Li Shuguang handed a voucher to Cheng Xuemin.

"Xuemin, you must hand in the fifteen illustrations for 'The Quiet Heart' as soon as possible so I can finish the layout and get the sample books out!" Old Pan added.

"Understood, Teacher Li, Teacher Pan. I will get them to you as soon as possible!"

While chatting with Li Qingquan, several versions of *The Herdsman* and *The Quiet Heart* had popped into Cheng Xuemin’s mind, and they did indeed contain many illustrations. He could easily copy them; with his artistic skills, it wouldn't be difficult.

With everything settled, there was nothing else to do. Under the watchful eyes of Li Shuguang and Old Pan, he left the publishing house with Li Qingquan. After parting ways at the entrance, Cheng Xuemin headed to his mother-in-law's workplace, *October* magazine. He still had a document from Old Wu regarding the approval for an *October* supplement that he had to deliver in person.

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