Chapter 092: So Pressed That He Spoke Chinese

At the summit of Mount Fuji, the wind howled and snow lay thick and white.

Above them blazed a fierce sun, beneath them stretched fields of snow, and at the foot of the mountain passed streams of lightly clad tourists.

At that moment, Zhang Tianfeng finally understood just how indulgent the life of the rich could be.

"Afeng, come over here and take a picture. What are you standing there for?"

Youth had its advantages. Gao Ran, who had not slept all night, still had boundless energy, following Li Qing around to find the best angles for photographs.

Perhaps because of what had happened before, Gao Ran had grown wiser and would not let Zhang Tianfeng take her picture anymore, lest the two of them end up unhappy again.

After taking photos and wandering around the mountain a couple more times, the girls’ energy was nearly spent, and they began the descent with their camera in hand.

"This place really is beautiful."

"You could write it into your novel, you know. Just the place, not the people."

"Ah, that’s a good idea." Gao Ran’s eyes lit up. In the next moment she stared at Zhang Tianfeng. "What about the second and third volumes of the Summer Love I asked for?"

"Let’s talk about it after this busy stretch. First, let’s find a place to rest."

After driving for most of the night, and only dozing in the car for a little while, Zhang Tianfeng was nearly dead on his feet with sleep.

Half an hour later, they came down the mountain and found a hotel in the county town below at random.

Gao Ran still had no intention of exposing her lie, so today she swallowed her own bitter medicine and ended up sharing a room with Zhang Tianfeng.

There was no living room, no courtyard, only a single room—and a water bed.

Gao Ran frowned at him and said, "I’m warning you, no funny business. Or I’ll cut you down to size."

"Relax. I’ll sleep on the floor and won’t fight you for the bed."

Gao Ran had intentions; Zhang Tianfeng did not. What was so appealing about romance when making money was far more enjoyable?

Besides, he still did not know Qin Lin very well and did not dare make any reckless moves.

He lay down on the floor and was asleep in less than a minute. Gao Ran called out to him several times, but he did not answer. Furious, she flung aside the blanket, curled up on the bed, and drifted off amid her muttering.

At three in the afternoon, the fully prepared group set out once more, heading for their destination: Aichi Prefecture.

"Hey, handsome, are you ready? How are you planning to talk to them?" Li Qing asked while driving.

They had been together for some time now, and she had discovered that Zhang Tianfeng was utterly unlike other people his age.

There was no arrogance in him, no swagger or flaunting, and unlike other young people, he was not impulsive. What he showed more often was steadiness and composure.

Well, except for the time he beat up Takeda Kinichiro.

"What else can I do? Of course I’ll hit them with money."

In 1993, many manga works that would later become huge hits were adapted into anime—Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk, Captain Tsubasa, and so on.

But Zhang Tianfeng’s money was limited, so he could only choose one or two first, and personal preference played the biggest role.

His plan was to secure Dragon Ball first, then negotiate for Slam Dunk, and after that pursue the rights to Captain Tsubasa and Touch.

Thinking of this, Zhang Tianfeng could not help but sigh that he still had too little money.

A pile of recent troubles had kept him from making money happily. Once he got through this hurdle, he would have to make a big move.

"How powerful is your backing that you can just smash them with money?"

"Just a nobody from the countryside, with no power or influence. I rely entirely on this face."

"I can see that—you are indeed a little handsome. No wonder Gao Ran fell for you. I just wonder..."

Before Li Qing could flare up, Gao Ran hurriedly covered her mouth, forcibly stuffing the rest of her words back in.

By evening, Zhang Tianfeng finally met the person he had longed to see in his previous life, inside a residential complex.

The artist in front of him was unmistakably a middle-aged man now—dressed in practical casual work clothes, his hair a little tousled, shy in manner, murmuring away in an animated exchange with Li Qing, and every so often glancing at Zhang Tianfeng.

A moment later, Li Qing turned to Zhang Tianfeng. "I asked for you. His manga rights really were bought by a television network, but only within the country. The overseas rights have not yet been sold, and there are no current plans to do so."

"Tell him I’m very optimistic about his work, and I intend to buy the domestic rights."

Li Qing turned back, spoke with him for a few more sentences, then said, "He can’t decide right now. He says he has never considered a plan for releasing overseas rights."

"Tell him that once he signs with me, the term will be at least fifty years."

"During that period, the amount I pay him each year will be twice what the television network is offering him now."

"If he agrees, I can pay two years of royalties in advance right now. If not, I leave immediately."

"You... that’s a little too blunt, isn’t it?"

Was that blunt? The truly blunt thing would be to place a drafted agreement directly on the table: sign if you agree, leave if you don’t. That would be called blunt.

Muttering under her breath, Li Qing turned back to continue speaking with the artist.

Not long after, the man looked at Zhang Tianfeng with astonishment.

"He agreed," Li Qing said. "He says he can sign the contract immediately, but he wants to see its terms first."

"I’ve already prepared it."

Zhang Tianfeng took out the contract he had prepared in advance and said, "Two copies. If you think anything is unacceptable, tell me and I’ll change it right away."

"This contract..."

"I wrote it myself and had it printed before I came. Is there a problem?"

Li Qing froze, then said angrily, "You understand the language here, and yet you still made me translate for you?"

"I wanted to see whether your friend would try to swindle me. Besides, what kind of boss comes in person to handle negotiations?"

"Fine, you win. I’ll settle accounts with you later."

Over these two days, Li Qing had not been the only one observing Zhang Tianfeng; he had been observing her as well.

In his view, this girl was lively and bold, and once she accepted someone as a friend, she could tolerate that friend’s mistakes to an impressive degree.

That was why he dared say such a thing directly.

With Gao Ran present, the girl would not go so far as to turn against him on the spot, but whether she would make things difficult for him afterward remained another matter.

Under Zhang Tianfeng’s money-driven assault, the answer came in less than three minutes.

"He agrees to the contract terms above, but there is one matter that must wait. He needs to find a professional to set up a company specifically for handling overseas rights, which may take two to three days."

"Do you see the signature line on the contract? There’s an intention clause. Ask him to sign that first, to show he has definitely decided to work with me."

"Once he signs, I’ll transfer the money to him, and there’s no need to rush the company setup. We can take it slowly."

Gao Ran, standing nearby, had stars glittering in her wide eyes.

This guy was too amazing. How could he foresee every situation and make preparations in advance?

He was becoming more and more mysterious, and more and more interesting.

After the artist confirmed the details and signed his name, the stone in Zhang Tianfeng’s heart finally fell away.

The price he offered was six million yen in annual royalties to Akira Toriyama, which converted to roughly three hundred thousand in domestic currency, with one opportunity to renegotiate the price each year.

On the surface, it looked as though Toriyama had struck gold, but Zhang Tianfeng was certainly not losing money.

How vast was the domestic market? What he had obtained was the exclusive domestic rights. Whether by making merchandise or, later on, riding the wave of the internet era to make games, it would all be a guaranteed profit.

At present, he still had about 1.2 million in starting capital. With the big prize of Dragon Ball already secured, he could press down the costs on the remaining titles and keep as much money on hand as possible, preparing for a future cash grab after returning home.

"Li Qing, tell him that if he can contact Inoue, Takahashi, and Adachi, and help secure the same kind of rights agreements, I’ll give him a hundred thousand yen as a hardship fee. In his country’s currency, mind you—don’t get it wrong."

Li Qing nodded and translated faithfully.

Soon after, Zhang Tianfeng heard something that shocked him: the artist actually used Chinese to say, "Boss is amazing," four words in all.

To force a legendary manga artist from the small island nation to speak Chinese, Zhang Tianfeng suddenly felt a little proud.

After settling the time for the formal signing and leaving contact information, the artist left in a hurry.

He needed three days to establish the company and contact his friends; by then, Zhang Tianfeng should already be finished with his business.