Chapter 5

Though the typewriter would make the work of typing much easier in the future, Yan Shao was not particularly happy when he left the store. This was entirely due to his experience inside the store.

Yan Shao also understood that the discrimination against Chinese people was a result of the times, and no matter how unwilling he was, there was nothing he could do about it.

"Unless..."

Placing the typewriter on the table, Yan Shao sat down on the bed.

He had read plenty of web novels in the past and had often fantasized about what he would do if he were to travel back in time, but...

"Can I really do that kind of thing..."

Looking at his own hands, Yan Shao smiled bitterly.

He knew himself well; as an ordinary young man from the future, he could manage to copy the novels he often read, but to be like the protagonists in those novels would be too much to ask of him.

However, he didn't intend to just drift through life. After all, he was very clear about what would happen in the next few decades.

Actually, the discrimination against Chinese people could be solved by building a strong China.

However, building a strong China was easier said than done, as China in this era could not be described as merely weak and poor.

"Maybe I could donate most of my royalties to the revolutionary party?"

This was a good idea, but the question was, to whom? In this era, there were many revolutionary parties, and while not all of them were just a bunch of rabble, the evaluation that they were more likely to fail than succeed was not entirely off the mark...

"This is really a tough one..."

Scratching his head, Yan Shao decided not to think about it anymore.

At the moment, he was both penniless and unknown. Supporting the revolution? He had neither the qualifications nor the capital for that...

"The most important thing now is to make a living for myself..."

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With a few thousand francs saved up, Yan Shao was no longer in such a hurry. At this time, the publishing house in Talis also began to distribute "Tarzan of the Apes."

To be honest, while Talis was very optimistic about the book, he wasn't very confident that it would create a miracle. After all, a good work didn't always mean good sales. If good works always got good sales, there wouldn't be so many critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful works in the future.

However, to Talis's surprise, after a slight pause in the first month, all 5,000 copies of the first print run were sold out in just the second month, forcing Talis to prepare for a second print run.

Although the second print run made everyone at the publishing house busy, everyone was satisfied. After all, even if they were busy, it was better than the publishing house going bankrupt and everyone losing their jobs. Besides, Talis was not a harsh boss; while the dozen or so employees were working overtime, he didn't skimp on their overtime pay.

With the success of the first and second parts of "Tarzan of the Apes," Yan Shao's name was remembered by many, especially when many people learned that Yan Shao was Chinese, they were quite surprised.

On the other side, in the publishing house's office, Talis was pacing back and forth.

In recent times, Yan Shao's two novels had definitely been bestsellers, bringing some profit to the publishing house. However, if he wanted to save the newspaper, two novels alone were clearly not enough.

Unless, Yan Shao could produce a few more works...

"Boss, this is the additional royalties for the second print run. If you confirm that there are no problems, I will deliver them to the hotel..."

Just as Talis was pacing in the office, the young man from last time walked in.

According to the agreement, if Yan Shao's novel was reprinted, the publishing house had to pay additional royalties each time. Although the amount paid would not be as much as the first time, it was still around a thousand francs.

The young man was holding the additional royalties to be paid to Yan Shao.

At this moment, the young man was admiring Talis's foresight. Although Yan Shao's "Tarzan of the Apes" series had sold less than 10,000 copies so far, bringing only moderate profits to the publishing house, such things were never one-off deals.

Just like Jules Verne's "Five Weeks in a Balloon," which sold 3,000 copies in the first year and 76,000 copies of the unillustrated version by 1905, the profits were considerable.

This was why the young man was willing to deliver the royalties personally. Although he still had some prejudice against Yan Shao's country, he didn't mind as long as Yan Shao brought him enough benefits.

Hearing the young man's words, Talis, who had been deep in thought, seemed to wake up.

After a brief silence, Talis spoke.

"I'll deliver the royalties myself..."

"Um..."

The young man was surprised, but before he could say anything, Talis had already taken the royalties from his hand and walked out of the office, leaving the young man alone, still unsure of what had just happened...

---

With the royalties in his pocket, Talis walked alone on the road to the hotel.

In this era, cars had not yet been put into practical use, so people usually traveled by carriage or train. However, with the development of technology, more and more people chose to travel by train, especially in 1904, when the four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage finally lost the competition with the steam train, and the last famous horse-drawn carriage service between the wealthy towns of Virginia City and Goldfield in Nevada, USA, was discontinued, marking the end of the golden age of horse-drawn carriages.

However, for short trips or within the city, carriages were still the preferred choice.

As the owner of the publishing house and the newspaper, Talis originally had his own carriage, but due to the recent crisis at the newspaper, he had to dismiss his driver. So, in recent times, he usually traveled by hired carriage or on foot.

Recently, due to the success of the two novels, the publishing house's situation had started to improve, but he was currently thinking about some things, so he didn't mind walking to the hotel.

With the current situation of the publishing house, two novels alone were clearly not enough to save it, even if Yan Shao finished all four parts.

Besides, although the two novels were selling well, selling a few thousand or even ten thousand copies didn't bring in much money. By the time the entire "Tarzan of the Apes" series was completed and sold a few hundred thousand copies, the publishing house might have been closed for a long time.

So, the most urgent task was to see if Yan Shao could produce a few more works, preferably of even higher quality than "Tarzan of the Apes."

Of course, Talis himself was well aware that asking an author to start a new novel and maintain the same quality was a tall order. If the publishing house's situation wasn't so dire, and if it were another author, Talis might not have done this.

However, since the subject was Yan Shao, Talis still harbored some hope...

After all, Yan Shao had produced a sequel of similar quality within a month of submitting his first manuscript. Who could say he couldn't produce another book in a short time? It was just a question, and it wouldn't waste much time.

Yan Shao wasn't staying in a high-end hotel, just one with a decent environment, so there were quite a few guests. When Talis walked in, a few people were chatting and drinking coffee in the lobby, and one of them was even reading "Tarzan of the Apes." The guests were curious about the novelist staying in their hotel, so a few of them had bought a few copies, contributing to the thousands of sales.

Walking to the front desk, Talis directly explained his purpose to Magda, who was standing there.

Hearing that Talis was from the publishing house, Magda didn't dare to be rude and immediately led him to Yan Shao's room.

Hearing the knock on the door, Yan Shao was surprised to see Talis outside, but he quickly welcomed him in, after all, Talis was like a benefactor to him.

Finding a seat, Talis quickly explained his purpose after handing over the royalties, hoping that Yan Shao could produce another work of similar quality to "Tarzan of the Apes" in a short time.

Of course, he knew this was a tall order, so he quickly offered to provide better terms, such as higher royalties or even a percentage of the profits.

After hearing Talis's request, Yan Shao, who was sitting on the bed, fell silent for a moment.

At this point, he had the idea of supporting the revolution at home. There were generally two ways to do this: one was to contribute money, and the other was to use his influence.

Yan Shao planned to do both...

He had been in this world for some time, and to be honest, he was tired of the looks from the people around him. Although not every French person discriminated against him, he often encountered such people when he went out. In fact, after earning a few thousand francs, Yan Shao had not moved out of the hotel. On one hand, he had gotten used to staying there, and on the other hand, he was not sure if he would be comfortable in another place due to the neighbors.

If he had traveled back to America, it wouldn't have been a problem, as even in a white-dominated country, there were still Chinatowns where most residents were Chinese, and moving there would mean he wouldn't have to worry about discrimination. But this was France...

So...

Seeing Yan Shao fall silent, Talis also felt a bit anxious.

With his experience, he shouldn't have felt this way, at least not over such a matter, but this was about the fate of the publishing house, and he had no choice.

After about ten seconds of silence, Yan Shao stood up from the bed and took out a part of a manuscript from the drawer, handing it to Talis.

"This should be what you're looking for..."

On the cover of the manuscript, there was only a scribbled English name...

"The Lord of the Rings"

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