Chapter 60

Chapter 16: Miyamoto's Sincerity (Part 2)

Su Aijun sighed softly in his heart after reading the contract. He felt that this was a reasonable negotiation, not a forced transaction. Compared to the contract that Sun Lan had presented earlier, the one brought by Miyamoto Tetsuichi undoubtedly offered much better terms and a fairer attitude. Su Aijun felt that this result was acceptable. After all, this was Fang Mingyuan's first collaboration with the other party, and he was still a newcomer. To get such conditions was already quite good.

"Fang Mingyuan, I have a few questions I would like to ask," Fang Mingyuan cleared his throat and said.

"Fang-kun, please go ahead," Miyamoto Tetsuichi took out a notebook from his briefcase and found a pen, clearly intending to record Fang Mingyuan's requests. Fang Mingyuan and Su Aijun exchanged glances, and this single action gave Miyamoto Tetsuichi a lot of goodwill.

"The first question is, if I sign a contract with your company, can you help me contact a few assistants to come to China for a period of time? First, to help me with the auxiliary work, and second, to train a few local assistants. I still have my studies, and it would be too much pressure for me to complete the drawings on my own. After all, my family would never allow me to neglect my studies because of this," Fang Mingyuan said earnestly. "Of course, I will pay them the corresponding salaries."

Japan's massive manga industry has produced many excellent manga artists. Since their works are usually serialized in manga magazines, their work is quite demanding. Many manga artists have assistants to help them. Generally, the story composition and the main character drawings are done by the manga artist themselves, while the background and crowd drawings, shading, and other detailed tasks are handled by the assistants. This can reduce the workload of the manga artist.

Although Fang Mingyuan remembered the story, plot, and even the original drawings of "Yuu Yuu Hakusho" clearly, the task of turning them into real drawings was still a massive project, which made him somewhat intimidated. He had spent a considerable amount of time completing the previous drawings. If he signed the contract, he would have to provide monthly submissions, leaving him very little free time. This was clearly unacceptable to him.

Miyamoto Tetsuichi was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized. He was also familiar with the current state of the Chinese manga industry and understood Fang Mingyuan's proposal. "Fang-kun, this is a point where our magazine has been negligent. We didn't consider that Fang-kun is in China, which is quite different from our manga artists. To show our sincerity, our magazine can provide the expenses for four assistants to come to China for three months. If after three months, Fang-kun still hasn't found suitable replacements, their salaries will be paid by Fang-kun. However, I believe that by then, with Fang-kun's income, it won't be a significant burden. Fang-kun, is this acceptable to you?"

Satisfied, how could he not be satisfied? Fang Mingyuan was already overjoyed. This Miyamoto Tetsuichi was indeed considerate, thinking of everything. In the previous life, he had heard that top Japanese magazines took care of their star authors from daily life to work, even arranging tickets and hotels for them. Today, it seemed that this rumor had some truth to it.

"Miyamoto-san, although this might hurt our relationship, I must remind you to choose assistants who are friendly towards China. I don't want political factors to affect our cooperation in the future," Fang Mingyuan said as tactfully as possible.

Miyamoto Tetsuichi nodded. "Fang-kun, you have considered this very carefully. I admit that many of our citizens are not friendly towards your country, but please believe that there are also left-wing people like me in our country. I will be cautious when selecting assistants for Fang-kun. If Fang-kun is not satisfied with them, our magazine can recommend new ones."

"The second question, the salary you pay me, will it be in yen, Chinese yuan, or dollars?" Fang Mingyuan's second question took Miyamoto Tetsuichi by surprise.

He put down his pen and thought for a moment. "Generally, our magazine pays authors in yen. Considering that Fang-kun is Chinese, we can also convert it to Chinese yuan based on the current exchange rate. However, this would mean that the amount of Fang-kun's monthly royalties would vary."

"If I hope that your company can convert my royalties to dollars or a European currency, is that possible?" Fang Mingyuan continued to ask.

"In principle, there is no problem, but Fang-kun must consider the exchange rate fluctuations and avoid frequently changing currencies. If the amount is large, Fang-kun may need to pay a handling fee, of course, this is paid to our country's bank," Miyamoto Tetsuichi replied. Compared to China, Japan in the late 1980s had a very convenient foreign exchange system, so he agreed readily.

Su Aijun glanced at Fang Mingyuan. What does this kid need dollars for? But in front of Miyamoto Tetsuichi, he naturally didn't ask.

"The third question is also a very important one."

"Fang-kun, please go ahead," Miyamoto Tetsuichi couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. From the previous conversation, he had already sensed that Fang Mingyuan was quite satisfied with the contract terms. If these issues could be resolved satisfactorily, Fang Mingyuan was very likely to sign with "Shonen Monthly." In his excitement, he naturally took these issues very seriously.

"Miyamoto-san, since this is a negotiation, we should be upfront. Regarding the arbitration and trial for breach of contract, I hope it can be changed to take place in China. Miyamoto-san should know that it is not convenient for our citizens to travel to Japan for non-official matters, partly due to restrictions in our system and partly due to restrictions in your country. Therefore, if any disputes arise, I won't be able to go to Japan in time. However, if it is in China, it will be much easier for your side to come to China to file a lawsuit or request arbitration. I believe that, given the current attitude of our government towards your country, your magazine doesn't need to worry about our arbitration institutions and courts favoring me. Can Miyamoto-san agree to this?"

Miyamoto Tetsuichi pondered for a moment and said solemnly, "Fang-kun, I admit that what you said makes a lot of sense. Although we hope that such unpleasant situations won't occur, your point is very reasonable. We should be upfront. However, changing this to China is not something I can decide now. I need to discuss it with the magazine. Let's put this aside for now, Fang-kun, please continue."

When it was nearly eleven o'clock that night, as Su Aijun sent Miyamoto Tetsuichi back to the hotel, Miyamoto Tetsuichi was already filled with joy. Except for the issue of the location of the arbitration and court, the other terms and details had already been agreed upon. He had a premonition that tomorrow might be a very important day in his life...

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