Chapter 10

After the class representative left, Lu Yang really wanted to open the envelope immediately to look at the contract and the first sample book inside.

But there were still two roommates in the dormitory, and Lu Yang didn't want his novel-writing to become public knowledge, as it might affect his life. So, he suppressed his eagerness, took the thick registered letter, and went out.

After Lu Yang left, the two roommates exchanged glances. The chubby Shao Dahu said, "Lu Yang is usually so low-key, but I didn't expect him to have a relative in Taiwan."

The thin Hu Gu nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that letter is so thick; maybe his relative in Taiwan sent him something."

"I don't know what it is. Lu Yang didn't even open it in the dormitory; he took it out so mysteriously. What a drag!" Shao Dahu was also very curious about what was in that thick envelope.

Because of this registered letter, Shao Dahu and Hu Gu became more curious about Lu Yang.

...

Lu Yang habitually went to Room 3 of the teaching building, the top-floor classroom he visited most often.

At this moment, only three students were quietly reading books in the classroom. Each student was about ten meters apart, clearly not wanting to be disturbed, and they were truly focused on their reading.

There was not a single sound in the classroom, not even the occasional page turn.

Lu Yang loved this atmosphere. When he entered, he walked quietly to the corner by the window at the back of the classroom, sat down at the last desk, and with anticipation, smiled as he carefully tore open the envelope and slowly took out its contents.

As expected, the envelope contained a contract from C Publishing House and four sample books of the first and second volumes of "Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland."

The contract had already been signed by the chief editor of C Publishing House and stamped with the company's seal.

After a quick glance, Lu Yang put the contract aside and focused entirely on the four sample books.

The sample books were beautifully made, with thick cover paper. The cover featured a comic-style, gray-toned illustration of a ruined city, depicting a post-apocalyptic scene. On the empty, desolate street, a tall, thin youth walked ahead, holding a long knife, followed by a slender, beautiful girl.

The title "Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland" was printed in large purple-red letters on the right side of the cover. Below the title, in small print, it read "by Wen Chou."

Notably, the text was printed in traditional Chinese characters.

"This is my work, my first creation after rebirth..." Lu Yang murmured to himself, gently caressing the cover of the sample book.

A first work holds a special place in every author's heart, carrying special emotions that outsiders find hard to understand.

Flipping through the pages, just like his first published work in his previous life, the text inside was all in traditional Chinese characters, arranged vertically from top to bottom, and read from right to left.

The paper inside was thick and white, with a very high quality, far superior to the textbooks Lu Yang had used over the years.

Before his rebirth, Lu Yang had given away many sample books, and in the end, he only had one left. With over a dozen volumes, he couldn't even complete a full set.

Lu Yang always regretted this, but it was too late to change now that the books had been given away.

But in this life, Lu Yang didn't plan to do that again.

This was also one of the reasons why Lu Yang didn't want his roommates to know about his novel-writing too early.

If his roommates knew he wrote novels and had them published in Taiwan, with two sets of sample books, they would definitely ask him to give them a copy, or even several.

Giving one to this person and one to that person, the two sets of sample books promised by the publishing house wouldn't last long, and in the end, Lu Yang would be left with only a few.

With only two sets of sample books, Lu Yang wanted to keep one set for himself and the other to give to the most important people in his heart in the future.

As for ordinary friends, he could only apologize to them.

Spending about half an hour flipping through the four sample books in the classroom, Lu Yang reluctantly put them and the contract back into the envelope and then took them to the Star Rain Internet Cafe outside the school's back gate.

The contract and sample books had arrived, and Lu Yang thought the editor from C Publishing House should have sent him an email to inform him.

After turning on the computer and logging into his email, Lu Yang found a new email from the manuscript editor of C Publishing House, Sanwenyu.

Opening the email, he learned that C Publishing House had not only sent him the contract and sample books but also transferred his first payment of 4,500 yuan to the bank account he had provided in the contract.

A few days ago, Lu Yang had already sent the second volume's manuscript. According to the rules, the payment for the first volume's manuscript would be withheld, and payments would start from the second volume.

Lu Yang had sent two volumes, so he received his first payment.

4,500 yuan in 2013 wasn't much.

At that time, the renminbi had depreciated significantly, and carpenters and masons earned 200-300 yuan per day, with monthly earnings of 6,000-7,000 yuan, or even more.

But in 2003, 4,500 yuan was still a considerable sum for the lower class.

In 2003, carpenters and masons earned only 40-50 yuan per day, and some even earned 30 yuan. Working hard for a month, they might not earn 1,000 yuan.

At that time, Lu Yang's tuition for a whole academic year, two semesters, was less than 4,000 yuan.

The living expenses for one semester were only 2,000 yuan, with an average monthly food and other expenses of about 400 yuan.

In such an era, 4,500 yuan was a significant amount for Lu Yang.

Most importantly, 4,500 yuan was not his monthly payment but the payment for one volume of 65,000 words.

At his current writing speed, Lu Yang could write 6,000 words in one night, and in ten days, he could write over 60,000 words. Adding a few more days to input the text from the manuscript into the computer, it would take less than half a month to complete one volume.

In a month, Lu Yang could write at least two volumes.

One volume for 4,500 yuan, two volumes for 9,000 yuan.

In 2003, this was absolutely a generous income that ordinary people could only dream of.

Finally, he had received his first payment.

With 4,500 yuan, Lu Yang could buy a laptop, which would increase his writing speed by at least one-third, eliminating the need to input the manuscript into the computer manually.

As the saying goes: "To do a job well, one must first sharpen one's tools."

To speed up his writing, Lu Yang knew he needed a computer. This first payment was not the time to save.

Immediately, Lu Yang returned to the dormitory, locked the registered letter in his desk drawer, and then went to withdraw the money to buy a computer.

Unfortunately, in 2003, all brands of laptops were very expensive, generally costing 5,000-6,000 yuan or more.

With his first payment, Lu Yang had few options for buying a good laptop.

Moreover, the high price aside, the configurations of laptops were also disappointingly low.

In the end, Lu Yang gave up on buying a computer for now and deposited the money back into the bank. He decided to continue writing by hand and then inputting the manuscript into the computer at the internet cafe.

On his way back, Lu Yang also realized that none of his roommates had computers. If he bought a new computer, they would all want to play with it, and it might break down soon.

The dormitory was often noisy, unsuitable for writing. If he brought a laptop to the classroom to write, the typing sound would disturb others.

It would also affect his desire to keep his novel-writing a secret.

He decided to wait until he had enough money to rent a quiet room and then buy a computer.

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