Reborn in 1977

Chapter 633: This Kind of Bestseller List

While Chen Fan was in the brigade headquarters cafeteria, under the light of the electric lamp, raising cups and exchanging toasts with Zhang Wenliang, in New York, USA, it was the perfect time for the sunrise in the east and a gentle morning breeze.

In the villa's dining room, Zhou Zhengdong held a newspaper in his hand, leisurely eating breakfast.

A very ordinary American breakfast: milk, oatmeal, fried eggs, toast, fried sausage, fried potato cakes, two florets of broccoli, two prawns, and a steak—enough to ensure a day's nutritional supply.

Therefore, he rarely ate lunch, usually opting for afternoon tea.

Flipping the newspaper to the last page and finding no news of interest, he set it aside, looked up at his wife, who was late in arriving, and said, "Morning."

Then, turning to his daughter, who was still exercising in the garden, he called out, "Yali, come and have breakfast, or you'll be late for school."

Zhou Yali, without turning her head, replied, "I don't have class this morning, and I won't be late anyway."

Zhao Wanru pulled out a chair and sat down. The nanny, who had served the Zhou family for generations and was about fifty years old, pushed the dining cart over and placed the plate in front of her.

She turned her head, smiling and thanking her, "Thank you, Aunt Lan."

Then, she looked at her daughter outside, "That girl, I don't know what kind of boxing she learned from Xiaofan, but she's been doing it for half a month."

Zhou Zhengdong also raised his eyebrows, "The longest record before was seven days, it seems this time it's not just playing around."

He suddenly smiled mysteriously and turned to Aunt Lan, whispering, "Don't discourage her, let her move around more, it's good for her health."

Aunt Lan's family had served the Zhou family for generations. Her husband was once Zhou老爷's (Master Zhou's) personal attendant, so their loyalty was beyond doubt.

She used to complain that Zhou Yali's moves were just for show and that she should learn martial arts from the family, but the girl didn't appreciate it, saying that Uncle Song and Uncle Xu's kung fu didn't look good, and she refused to learn.

This almost made the old folks choke with anger. Was kung fu for show?

She was simply incorrigible.

Then, thinking about it, since the young lady had someone to protect her, it didn't matter if she didn't learn, so the matter was dropped.

In fact, Zhou Yali was also very aggrieved. She had tried to learn once, but she couldn't learn it no matter how she was taught. Was she supposed to admit that this young lady was stupid?

In the end, she could only blame the kung fu for not looking good.

Liu Xiulan was about to push the dining cart away when she heard Zhou Zhengdong's words, a strange look flashed in her eyes. She glanced at Zhou Yali in the garden, whose movements were even slower than an old lady in the park, and said softly, "Miss's boxing is not ordinary, it's not the same as those fancy moves before."

Since the master didn't ask, and it wasn't a bad thing for the young lady to learn the true art of boxing, she didn't say anything. Now that it was mentioned, she naturally wouldn't hide anything.

Zhou Zhengdong frowned slightly, glanced at his daughter, and asked, "What do you mean?"

Since the young master asked, Liu Xiulan naturally told everything she knew, saying immediately, "Miss's Bagua Palm is very unusual, it's a superior kung fu that has been passed down."

As soon as she finished speaking, she walked out slowly, smiling at Zhou Yali, "Miss, do you feel bored practicing by yourself every day?"

Zhou Yali kept moving, only glanced at her, "Aunt Lan, don't come over, my kung fu is very powerful, even more powerful than Grandpa Xu's, and it's also Bagua Palm, but my skill is not yet perfect, I'm afraid I'll hurt you if you get too close."

Liu Xiulan walked around her a few steps, then suddenly, without a sound, thrust a palm over.

Zhou Yali, who was exercising, reacted instantly, instinctively chopping three palms in a row, the palm style like a knife, startling Liu Xiulan and causing her to quickly retreat two steps.

Zhou Yali also stopped at this time, first looking at Liu Xiulan, and after finding that she was okay, patted her chest, and said unhappily, "Aunt Lan, I told you not to come over, see, I almost hurt you."

Then, lowering her voice, she muttered softly, "If my brother finds out, he'll definitely scold me again."

Eh, why did she say 'again'?

Liu Xiulan chuckled dryly twice, "Alright, alright, you practice, I'll go."

After speaking, she turned around and left, without any hesitation.

She returned to the dining room, stood beside Zhou Zhengdong, and whispered, "I just tried it, Miss's kung fu should be passed down from the great hero Han Muxia, but it has been modified a lot, and there are some differences from the original Han School Bagua Palm. I can't see the specifics yet, but it shouldn't be worse than the original."

Her own kung fu happened to be the Han School Bagua Palm, created by Han Muxia by integrating the Northern and Southern Bagua.

However, this palm technique, like Han School Xingyi Quan, was not specifically named separately like Cheng Style Bagua or Gong Style Bagua, so its reputation was not obvious. Only the disciples of Han's martial arts hall at the time passed it down orally, distinguishing it from other schools' fist and palm kung fu.

Zhou Zhengdong was stunned when he heard this.

Han Muxia was a famous martial artist in Tianjin, who had studied under 9 late Qing Dynasty martial arts masters, learning the true teachings of Xingyi and Bagua. The famous founder of Bagua Palm, Dong Haichuan, was his grandmaster.

After completing his apprenticeship, with the consent of his masters, he founded the "Martial Arts Hall" on Yuwei Road in the HB District of Tianjin in 1912, teaching Xingyi Quan and Bagua Palm.

Tianjin was the martial arts center of the north during the Republic of China, where life-and-death fights were common. Anyone who dared to open a martial arts hall there was not simple, each and every one of them was a martial arts grandmaster.

At that time, the Zhou family was still doing business in Tianjin. Hearing that Han Muxia had real kung fu, they sent several family servants to the martial arts hall, where they diligently practiced for more than ten years, until they left Tianjin for the United States, and then stopped learning.

It can be said that the Zhou family's ability to survive and gain a firm foothold in the United States had a great relationship with the learning experience of these family servants.

It was a pity that a few years after they left, they heard that puppet troops came to invite Han Muxia to come out of the mountain. In order to refuse to work for the Japanese, Han Muxia closed the martial arts hall, broke his right arm, and abandoned his martial arts. After that, he only ran a small business to support his family and no longer cared about any Jianghu matters.

Because Han Muxia's martial arts hall did not charge tuition fees, and he was invited to teach martial arts at Nankai University, he did not ask for wages, but often took money to subsidize poor disciples, so even though his disciples were all over Tianjin, he did not have much money in his own hands.

After abandoning his martial arts, he refused the help of wealthy disciples. Until 1947, he finally died in poverty.

At this time, Zhou Zhengdong was very surprised to hear that his daughter's boxing came from Han Muxia.

He thought for a while and said softly, "Could it be that Xiaofan's master also studied at Han's martial arts hall back then?"

Liu Xiulan pondered for two seconds, her brow furrowed slightly, her eyes fixed on Zhou Yali, and said softly, "I've been observing for half a month, and I just tested her. This Bagua Palm is ever-changing and unpredictable. It's very different from the original Han School Bagua. It seems to have integrated the original Dong School Bagua, and there are also some shadows of battlefield fighting techniques…"

Speaking of this, her eyes suddenly lit up, "Ah, I know."

At this time, Zhou Zhengdong and Zhao Wanru were looking at each other.

They had just heard Aunt Lan say something about ever-changing and unpredictable, and looking at their daughter's slow movements, they didn't know how Aunt Lan saw it.

Just a few seconds of changing hands?

Hearing Aunt Lan's exclamation, they couldn't help but turn their heads to look at her, "Know what?"

Aunt Lan's face was flushed, as if she had everything under control, "I heard several martial arts colleagues from the mainland say that Han Daxia's (Great Hero Han's) son, Han Shaoxia (Young Hero Han), joined the People's Liberation Army in 1948, fought bravely in the North and South, and also participated in that founding battle.

I heard you say that Young Master Fan's master is a retired veteran. They must have met Han Shaoxia in the army, learned the Han School Bagua Palm from Han Shaoxia, and created this brand new palm technique together in the army!"

When Zhou Zhengdong and Zhao Wanru heard this, they couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

He thought and said, "Xiaofan's master also fought in the North and South, and also participated in the northern war, and they are both martial arts masters, so there must be some intersection. From this perspective, it is really possible."

He looked at Aunt Lan again, "What is Han Shaoxia's real name? I'll ask next time I go back to China."

Saying that, he turned to look at Zhao Wanru, and said with emotion, "When my father was still alive, he often said that if it wasn't for Han Daxia's sincere teaching back then, which doubled the Zhou family's courtyard martial strength, it would have been difficult to survive in this foreign country.

It's just that back then, we were separated by the ocean, and there was no news of the Han family, so we could only look at the moon and cherish the memory.

Now, if we can contact the Han family, and do our best, it will be considered as repaying that kindness."

If the Zhou family was poor and destitute, then naturally everything would be out of the question. But now the Zhou family is doing okay, and it's better to repay the favors that can be repaid.

Liu Xiulan nodded involuntarily from the side. Her Bagua Zhang was learned from her father, who was one of the live-in disciples who studied at the martial arts hall back then. Naturally, she also had a share of this favor.

Years ago, when she heard the news of Han Muxia's death, her father sighed endlessly. If they could find Han's family and repay this kindness, it would be a load off his mind.

Moreover, Han Muxia was famous in Tianjin back then and had countless disciples, many of whom wandered overseas, from North America to Europe, from Hong Kong to Southeast Asia, too many to count.

If news of Han's family could be found and the Han School could be re-established, the network of contacts and benefits would be astonishing.

Zhou Zhengdong was still looking at her expectantly, "Sister Lan, what was Han Shaoxia's real name? Do you know?"

"Oh,"

Liu Xiulan came back to her senses, "He was called Han Shaoxia, and he had an older sister called Han Xiaoxia. Han Daxia only had this one son and one daughter."

Even with Zhou Zhengdong's extensive knowledge, he couldn't help but be stunned for two seconds.

There really is someone named Shaoxia?

After chatting for a while, Zhou Yali finally finished her daily routine exercise and strode towards the dining room.

Liu Xiulan quickly pushed the dining cart to the kitchen to get her breakfast.

Zhou Yali first went to the bathroom to wash up briefly, changed into casual clothes, and walked over, just as breakfast was being set on the table.

She looked up and smiled, "Aunt Lan, were you okay just now?"

Liu Xiulan stood aside with a smile, "You've only practiced kung fu for a few days. It's too early to think about hurting me."

After a pause, she watched Zhou Yali drink most of her glass of milk in one gulp and continued, "However, Miss, your progress is fast enough. You've only learned for a month and a half, and you can practice this set of palms to this extent. It seems you've worked hard."

Zhou Yali raised her head, ready to say that she had only practiced for three weeks, and strictly speaking, she had only learned from her cousin for a week, but the words came to her lips and she swallowed them back.

She just rolled her eyes and grinned, "Now you know I'm a genius, right? Grandpa Liu said I had no talent last time. I'll go see him this weekend and show him a hand. Let's see what he says."

When Liu Xiulan heard this, she couldn't help but laugh, "Then you have to be merciful. He doesn't have much beard left."

Zhou Yali waved her small hand, "Don't worry, pulling beards is something only children do. I won't be so childish."

Liu Xiulan smiled and left, leaving the space to the host family.

Zhou Zhengdong slowly finished his breakfast, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and looked at Zhao Wanru and asked, "How are the sales on the first day of the new book's release?"

Zhao Wanru swallowed the food in her mouth and said softly, "I haven't called to ask yet."

She looked at Zhou Zhengdong and smiled, "It's only the first day. Even if the new book is good, it won't have very high sales, unless it's a famous writer."

After tomorrow, it will be a new week. I have already talked to the editor of the book section. He will leave a spot for me on the bestseller list."

Zhou Zhengdong frowned slightly, "Bestseller list? Doesn't the New York Times bestseller list speak with sales? The sales of this new book haven't been counted yet, can it still be on?"

A playful look appeared on Zhao Wanru's face, "It depends on who it is. To the outside world, even the world's largest publishing group company needs to pay a considerable price to get a new book on the bestseller list."

"But some things, you know, are not for internal use. According to the rules of the New York Times bestseller list, sales data comes from the sales reports of book distributors, and the Times editorial department only strictly controls the sales reports…"

Hearing this, Zhou Zhengdong didn't understand the trickiness in it, and couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Select distributors from the list that have a good relationship with us, greet them, send the books over, and pay a service fee."

"Then let our workers take the money we send and go to these bookstores to buy books…"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Wanru shook her head gently, smiled and said, "No need to be so troublesome. There are specialized service companies that operate this business, and their background doesn't need to be asked."

"What we have to do first is to choose a professional 'book washing' company, pay a service fee first, and then pay a book fee."

"After they receive the money, they will hire workers all over the United States to swipe different cards at different book distributors and buy books with different mailing and payment addresses."

After speaking, she shrugged her shoulders lightly, put down her fork, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and smiled, "So, that's why I asked you to arrange the first printing of 100,000 sets."

"50,000 sets of which will be used for 'book washing'. Generally speaking, monthly sales of 40,000 copies can get on the New York Times bestseller list. 50,000 sets of books are enough to rank at the top."

"Moreover, these books will not be wasted. We can recover this batch of books at the most favorable discount."

"As long as we can enter the rankings, coupled with Xiao Fan's wonderful story, I have every reason to believe that this set of books will definitely sell well throughout Europe and the United States, and dominate the top of the list!"

Zhou Zhengdong exhaled a long breath and shook his head with a wry smile, "So that's how the bestseller list is."

After a pause of two seconds, he raised his head and smiled, "In that case, it's even more fun."

Just as the couple smiled at each other, Zhou Yali, who had finished her breakfast ravenously, picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth, pretending to be calm and said, "You guys, do you have so little confidence in my younger brother?"

Zhou Zhengdong and his wife frowned at the same time and looked at her together, "Huh?"

Zhou Yali smiled, and said to them, "Yesterday, just yesterday, I was paying attention to the number of shipments from the warehouse all the time. Guess, how much did we sell yesterday?"

Zhou Zhengdong glanced at his wife, Zhao Wanru raised her eyebrows slightly, spread her hands, indicating that she didn't know.

He looked back at his daughter, "How much did you sell?"

Zhou Yali suddenly raised her hand to cover her mouth, and laughed non-stop, then raised a palm.

Zhou Zhengdong's eyes lit up, "5,000 sets?"

Zhao Wanru couldn't help but say, "This number is okay, as word of mouth spreads…"

Then she was interrupted by Zhou Yali, "Can't you have a little imagination? Not to mention anything else, Cohen's store alone has a daily customer flow of more than 2,000 people. Uncle Cohen added goods repeatedly 3 times yesterday. In addition to the 200 sets sent in the first batch, he later added a total of 2,500 sets, and he promised to sell them all."

Guaranteed sale?

200 sets plus 2,500 sets?

Zhou Zhengdong only felt his mind buzzing, and looked at his daughter in disbelief, "So, you're saying, 50,000 sets?"

"Of course."

Zhou Yali smiled and said, "There are dozens of well-known bookstores on Fifth Avenue, and there are tens of thousands of book lovers who linger on this street every day, not to mention other tourists."

"I showed my younger brother's book to my classmates. Even bookworms who don't like to read novels can't bear to put it down once they pick it up and start from the first page."

"Where have these foreigners seen how to cultivate Dou Qi and magic from the beginning?"

"I can be sure that most people who have read this set of books will buy it, and the fact that all bookstores on Fifth Avenue requested additions yesterday is enough to prove everything."

"That's why Uncle Cohen dared to ask for so many goods, he's not afraid of not being able to sell them at all."

As she said that, she stretched her waist, stood up and said, "Dad, our publishing house's highest record is only more than 38,000 copies sold. It's not even comparable to my younger brother's work in one day. Shouldn't we increase my younger brother's royalties?"

Zhou Zhengdong was originally quite happy that his nephew's new book was well received, and the publishing house had a hit, which could take it to another level, and even drive the company's other businesses.

But now, hearing his daughter's words, he suddenly had the urge to kick her out of the house.

Zhao Wanru couldn't help but shake her head when she heard this. This daughter actually dared to blatantly turn her elbow outwards… Well, fighting for benefits for her cousin doesn't seem to count as turning outwards.

She could only sigh and say, "Yesterday, I discussed with your dad that as soon as Xiao Fan's work rises, we will give the publishing house to you, and incorporate it into your joint assets, counting as half for each person."

As she spoke, she stood up and touched her daughter's head, "In the future, you will be the boss of the publishing house. You can give Xiao Fan as much royalties as you want. Your dad and I don't care."

Zhou Zhengdong stood up and pretended to run over to support his wife, "Madam, slow down, you are pregnant, you must be careful."

The two of them walked faster and faster, and disappeared at the entrance of the restaurant in the blink of an eye.

Only Zhou Yali was dumbfounded, pregnant? What does that mean?

Am I going to have a younger brother?

No wonder they gave me the publishing house, is this the rhythm of splitting up the family?