Chapter 78

After returning to their accommodation, everyone washed up. Meanwhile, the production team had also sent over some midnight snacks. As one of the three major figures in the production and the first male supporting actor, the snacks for Li Zhengxi were particularly abundant. It was clear that the production team knew he liked chicken legs, so in addition to spicy stir-fried rice cakes and other snacks, they had specially prepared two sauced chicken legs.

Because of the busy filming schedule, everyone had only eaten a little at around 11 PM, and they were indeed quite hungry now. After washing up, Li Zhengxi casually grabbed a chicken leg and started gnawing on it.

While eating, he also looked at the to-do list in his notebook and realized he had missed one item. He checked his watch and found it was just around noon in New York, so he picked up the phone and called his second brother, Li Wenxi.

He wanted to discuss the publication of "The Da Vinci Code." This book was so good that there was no worry about its publication or sales, which was why he chose it over "Twilight." "Twilight" was a slow-burner that only became popular after a long time, and Li Zhengxi naturally wanted to make a quick profit. Besides, "Twilight" would eventually fall into his hands anyway.

However, because there was no worry about publication or sales, Li Zhengxi was thinking about how to maximize the profits. If he gave it to a regular publisher, the royalties would not be great, and even with a performance-based contract, the highest profit could not be achieved.

After careful consideration, he decided to do it himself. Of course, he was busy now and needed someone to help him. That person was Li Wenxi, his second brother, who had a Master's degree in Economics from Wharton and was currently interning at Goldman Sachs.

Among the three Li brothers, apart from the eldest brother, who was mild and steady, both Li Wenxi and Li Zhengxi were restless and could not stand the conventional work life.

After graduating last year, Li Wenxi did not stand out much in the talent-rich Goldman Sachs. For over a year, although he participated in a few small projects, he was mostly doing grunt work, which was tiring. However, to gain experience, he had to stay there and endure.

Now, with Li Zhengxi, a reborn genius with a Ph.D. in Economics, Li Wenxi no longer needed to waste time there. Practice was the best way to learn, and with Li Zhengxi's help, Li Wenxi would have countless opportunities to grow and would have a completely different life...

"Hey, Third Brother, why are you calling me all of a sudden!" The phone connected, and Li Wenxi's voice came through. He used Chinese, which was a rule left by their grandfather, and even Kim Mi-yeon was used to speaking Chinese at home.

After a slight pause, Li Wenxi looked at his watch and added, somewhat surprised, "It's around 3 AM there, right? Why aren't you sleeping?"

Li Zhengxi chuckled, "Just finished filming." Hearing the surprised voice on the other end, he shrugged and changed the subject, "Brother, help me register a company, called Empire. And, I have a suspense thriller novel. If there's a small publishing company with a budget of no more than one million, buy it and use it to publish this book. If not, find a relevant advertising company to design the book cover and packaging, and then find a printing factory to print and publish it. In short, we'll publish and distribute it ourselves, not through other publishing companies..."

Li Wenxi was stunned for a moment but quickly found the key point. He laughed, "Little brother, you seem very confident that your book will sell well. To be honest, I read your 'My Sassy Girl' and 'Blue Swallow,' and as for the movie 'Curse,' I couldn't do much, but from the first two, Korea might be okay, but you should understand the cultural differences..."

"Of course," Li Zhengxi smiled, "Let me put it this way, I wrote it specifically for the American market, and it will be a bestseller globally. I won't say more, I'll send you the manuscript first, and you'll understand after reading it. Oh, you can also show it to Dad and Big Brother..."

On the other end, Li Wenxi chuckled, "Alright, I still believe in our little genius." He paused for a moment and continued, "But it's not that I won't help you. I'm a poor guy right now. Even if there's a suitable publishing company, I don't have one million dollars..."

Li Zhengxi laughed, "If Dad thinks it's good, you can ask him for the money first, and then pay him back after the book sells well!"

On the other end, Li Wenxi laughed even harder, "Alright, you're really good at making deals, even saving on labor costs..."

Li Zhengxi laughed again, "I won't be that stingy. You handle the specific affairs, Big Brother handles the legal issues, and Dad lends me the money. I'll be generous and give each of you 10% of the company's shares..."

Li Zhengxi's eldest brother, Li Seok-hee, had a Master's degree in Law from Columbia University and was currently working at a law firm in Manhattan, making him the best person to handle legal issues.

Li Wenxi smiled and shook his head. His younger brother had thought it all through, and it seemed he had really matured. He didn't pay much attention to the 10% share, thinking that the money for registering the company would come from their father, and 10% of the shares was nothing. Of course, if he knew that the Empire company would become a vast empire, he would realize how terrifying that 10% share would be.

For now, he just said, "Alright, I'll first evaluate whether buying a publishing company or designing and printing it ourselves would be more profitable..."

Before he finished, Li Zhengxi shook his head and smiled, "Brother, you don't need to do that. If there's a suitable company, just buy it. I have many more books to publish..."

Apart from the upcoming "Twilight" and other bestsellers, when the time was right, he would even use the "forced contract mode" to get "Harry Potter" and even Marvel comics. Therefore, having a well-operated publishing company would be beneficial for future integration.

On the other end, Li Wenxi was slightly stunned but then laughed, "Ha, I forgot, you're a bit more of an economics genius than me. You must have already thought through the evaluation. Alright, I'll listen to you, my little boss, and try it out..."

Li Zhengxi thanked him with a smile. It had been a while since they last talked, and although it was late, he was not sleepy after discussing the matter, so they chatted about things on his side and occasionally asked for his brother's advice.

While they were chatting, Son Ye-jin finished washing up and came over with her midnight snack. Seeing the sauced chicken leg on his plate, she pouted, "That's so unfair, why don't I have one?" Then she picked it up and started eating, looking at him curiously, "Who are you talking to?"

She didn't consider herself an outsider, and Li Zhengxi smiled bitterly, covering the phone and said, "Why aren't you sleeping? We have to shoot early tomorrow."

"You're not sleeping either," Son Ye-jin pouted and then rubbed her head in frustration, "I didn't even want to shower, I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep, but I couldn't fall asleep for a long time..."

She punched him and pouted, "It must be because you exploited me for over 100 million, that's why I can't sleep!"

"Why do you keep saying that!" Li Zhengxi was frustrated, but Son Ye-jin was even more frustrated. She was joking, but she really couldn't sleep. She thought she would fall asleep on the way back, but she couldn't sleep when she lay down.

Frustrated, she pouted and naturally leaned her head on his shoulder, "What if I can't sleep all night, what will I do tomorrow?"

Li Zhengxi laughed, about to say something, when Li Wenxi finished talking about his internship at Goldman Sachs and added, "Why is there a woman's voice in your room, is it Tae-hee?"

"It's not," Li Zhengxi laughed, but at that moment, Son Ye-jin, leaning on his shoulder, heard Li Wenxi's voice in Korean, and without caring who it was, she pouted and said, "Hey, I'm not Kim Tae-hee, my name is Son Ye-jin!"

Li Zhengxi was frustrated, and Li Wenxi was stunned for a moment but then laughed, teasing Li Zhengxi, "Third Brother, is this your new girlfriend? But Mom said you and Tae-hee are almost engaged, right?"

Li Zhengxi couldn't let Son Ye-jin hear that, so he spoke loudly but not in Korean, Chinese, or English, but in French, which he had specially considered.

Chinese, Korean, and English were almost innate for the Li family, and French and Spanish were additional languages they had learned. Therefore, Li Zhengxi had no problem, but Son Ye-jin was completely confused.

"It's not, she's an employee of my company and the lead actress in the drama!" Li Zhengxi said in French. Son Ye-jin, not understanding, naturally thought he was saying something bad and pinched him again, loudly saying into the phone, "Who are you? My name is Son Ye-jin, remember that, and don't call me that girl Kim Tae-hee again..."

Hearing Li Wenxi's laughter, Son Ye-jin smiled and winked at the frustrated Li Zhengxi. Li Zhengxi was really at a loss and couldn't help but scold her, "Stop fooling around, and go back to your room and sleep!"

"No way!" Son Ye-jin pouted and lay down on the blanket on the floor.

Li Zhengxi was speechless and ignored her, continuing to chat with his brother about things on his side. To prevent Son Ye-jin from causing trouble, he switched to Chinese.

After about fifteen minutes, they finished chatting, and Li Zhengxi hung up the phone. He turned to deal with Son Ye-jin, but when he turned, he saw that she had already fallen asleep on the blanket.

He was stunned again!

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*Note: The original text includes a request for recommendations and collections, which is not translated as it is not part of the story content.*