I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 66: Teacher Kitagawa, please, please join us in Kawade Shobo!
The car started slowly. Kitagawa Hide, who was sitting in the back seat, sat upright, waiting quietly for Kawaide Shizuko to speak.

He gently grasped the fabric of his trousers at his knees, feeling a little nervous.

After all, the woman sitting next to him is the boss of a super enterprise with more than a thousand direct employees and annual sales of over 10 billion.

In his two lifetimes, except for this time, Kitagawa Hide had never come into such close contact with such a rich person.

The other party doesn't look very old, but in a Japanese chaebol family that places great emphasis on seniority and seniority, he can actually become the top executive of the family business at such a young age. I'm afraid his skills and abilities are incredible!

Shizuko Kawaide was also secretly looking at her literary idol out of the corner of her eye. She had imagined the appearance of Mr. Kitagawa Hide countless times in her mind. Someone who could write pure literary youth romance novels like "Hear the Wind Sing" and "Ball" should not be too old.

But his writing skills and style are so mature and unique that it is easy to imagine him as a writer in his thirties or forties who is in the process of forming his style, or an old writer who is very old and has the ability to express himself in a variety of styles at will.

did not expect!
Mr. Beichuan is not an old writer in his fifties or sixties, nor is he a middle-aged writer in his thirties or forties. Instead, he is a young man who looks younger than himself!
So handsome.

Shizuko Kawaide felt a little ashamed. When she saw the idol she had admired for a long time, this was the thought that popped into her mind.

This is really blasphemous to Teacher Kitagawa!
She forced herself to remain calm, suppressed the turbulent emotions in her heart, suppressed the urge to sign, and tried to adjust her mindset, so she never spoke.

Just like that, in the eerie and quiet atmosphere, the car arrived at the Ginza Sakurahiwa Izakaya——

A top-notch Japanese food restaurant with a minimum per capita consumption of over 5 yen.

The driver Kinoshita and the bodyguard behind respectfully invited the two men out of the car and took them to a private room in the izakaya.

Kitagawa Hide followed Kawaide Shizuko and her group inside, and fell half a step behind them. He glanced around and immediately realized that this izakaya was much more upscale than the "Primrose Room" where he had invited Yumeko and Jabami Rei to dinner a while ago.

This was in 1995, and the layout, decoration and style of the izakaya made him feel as if he had gone back to the 20s!
Don’t worry about whether the other party has ulterior motives or not, at least when it comes to face-saving, she has done her best.

Kitagawa Hide gave Kawaide Shobo another 5 points in his heart and decided to listen carefully to the conditions that Kawaide Shizuko would offer in a while.

The two men walked into a private room called "Tamamonomae". All the bodyguards stood outside and helped to close the wooden door.

As soon as he sat down, Kitagawa Hide bowed slightly to Kawaide Shizuko and expressed his gratitude: "Thank you for the expense. I really didn't expect you to come to invite me in person. It's really unexpected."

"You are too modest. Mr. Kitagawa's talent is worthy of us doing this. This is nothing." Kawaide Shizuko also bowed slightly and said with a smile.

"Excuse me, what is the current situation between you and Kodansha?"

"I'm going to leave Kodansha." Kitagawa Hide said bluntly. He believed that with Kawaide Shizuko's initiative and Kawaide Shobo's thirst for talent, they must have found out enough information.

Getting straight to the point has always been Kitagawa Hide's favorite way of negotiation.

Shizuko Kawaide picked up the teapot and poured a cup of tea for Hide Kitagawa, who immediately held the cup with both hands and looked at her expression.

As calm and peaceful as ever, worthy of being the president of a major publishing house!

It looked like there was no ripple in his heart at all.

"I see." Shizuko Kawaide's hands under the low table tightly grasped the edge of her skirt, and her nails involuntarily stroked the black stockings on her thighs.

After saying this, she paused, then looked up, looking at Kitagawa Hide with clear and eager eyes: "Teacher Kitagawa, if you want to join a new publishing house, would you consider our Kawade Shobo?"

"Indeed, our overall strength is much worse than the other three. But we also have our advantages." Seeing his hesitation, Kawade Shizuko immediately leaned forward and said seriously, "For our contracted writers, we will never force them to do something they don't want to do, and we will do our best to train them."

“My business philosophy is that Kawade Shobo is first and foremost a home for me, my employees, and my writers, and secondly a publishing house that needs to make a profit and benefit the public.”

Beichuan Xiu nodded slightly: "Your business philosophy is admirable. I have also inquired about your company. Your company is indeed far ahead of the industry in the work of cultivating writers."

"I am deeply honored to receive praise from Mr. Kitagawa." Kawade Shizuko smiled slightly, seeming to be very proud of this, and then said solemnly to Kitagawa Hide, "If Mr. Kitagawa is willing to sign a contract with us, I can promise one thing."

"What's the matter?" asked Kitagawa Hide.

"Kawaide Shobo is willing to tailor a new contract for you that is different from all other writers. The details of the contract will be based on your opinions. As long as the requirements are not too excessive, we are willing to cooperate."

When Shizuko Kawaide spoke, her eyes were bright and her voice was gentle but powerful. It was obvious that she had done her homework before coming.
"It's not an excessive request. For example, if you have a conflict with the editorial department, as long as it does not involve issues of principle, I am willing to support your decision!"

Kitagawa Hide raised his eyebrows, now he was really interested in signing a contract with Kawaide Shobo.

In Japan's publishing industry, once even the top creators have disagreements with the editorial department, the publishing house will focus on the editorial department's needs and repeatedly send people to lobby and persuade the creators to obey.

This is an inevitable phenomenon when an industry reaches its peak and all processes have basically become assembly lines.

For example, some of the top comics that Hide Kitagawa knew in his previous life, such as "Dragon Ball", "Naruto", "Bleach", etc.

The first two were so popular that the editorial department wouldn't let the cartoonist finish them. Even if they finished, they would force you to frantically create sequels to make money. The latter one had a poor plot and its popularity dropped instantly, so the editorial department treated you like a stepmother, gradually reducing your salary, and even forcing it to be cancelled in the end.

Of course, literary writers have a higher status than cartoonists and have relatively more say, but they still cannot break free from the constraints of the editorial department.

Many times, when this kind of situation occurs, it would be good if the top management does not help you as a creator and at least not add insult to injury.

And what Shizuko Kawaide meant was simple and clear: if you have any disagreement with the editorial department, I, as the president, will support you.

This is an act of sincerity.

Judging from Shizuko Kawaide's previous actions, Kitagawa Hide even began to suspect that she might be his crazy fan, and not just helping him openly or secretly for the sake of the company's prospects and interests.

After thinking it over carefully, Beichuan Xiu calmed down and did not be led away by her immediately.

Never underestimate the tactics and rhetoric of these chaebols. Aren’t the Japanese best at saying one thing in front of others and another behind their backs?

"President Kawaide, if I ask to work with your company as a freelance writer, will you agree?" Kitagawa Hide dropped a bombshell.

As far as he knows, there are no more than 10 pure literature writers in Japan who can currently work as freelance writers with the five major publishing houses.

Even the former Kodansha mainstay Oshima Hikaru is not qualified.

All of those writers have been active in the Japanese literary world for a long time, and are top-notch writers in terms of reputation, sales, and social status.

In fact, there is no concept of "literary giant" in the Japanese literary world. Writers are generally distinguished by the terms derived from Miura Hideo's book, namely "upper class", "middle class" and "lower class".

In fact, above the upper-class writers, there is a very special and small circle. They are called "てんかいっぴん" by readers and literary critics. This saying comes from the Chinese idiom "天下一品", which means the best in the world, and the degree of excellence is so comparable that there is nothing else in the world that can compare with it.

In the Japanese literary world in this timeline, the first writer to be called "the best in the world" was Kume Masao, whose representative works include "Firefly Grass" and "The Broken Ship". He was a fellow student of Akutagawa Momo, whose name was used to name the Akutagawa Prize. In the current literary world, there are only less than ten people who are recognized as "the best in the world" by readers and officials, so they can submit their works to any publishing house at will.

I vote for you, it's your honor.

"No problem! If you don't want to sign a writer's contract, we'd like to have you work with us as a freelance writer, but there's one small requirement."

Shizuko Kawaide blurted out, as if she had anticipated this question.

If she hesitated before answering, even if she finally agreed, Kitagawa Hide would not give her any extra points.

But she agreed to it without even thinking about it.

Add ten more points!

"What are the requirements?" Kitagawa Hide asked curiously. In his opinion, being able to cooperate in this way was a huge benefit to him. It was highly feasible and he was willing to accept any request that was not exaggerated.

"After your serialized novel is published in physical form, its sales will rank among the top ten of the Oricon charts of the year." Kawaide Shizuko said truthfully, "Of course, it is based on sales in the first year after it is released."

"I understand. What about the issue about the contract details mentioned earlier?" Kitagawa Hide continued to ask. Being in the top ten of the year was nothing. "Hear the Wind Sing" published at the end of the first half of the year had already squeezed into the top three of the year. The big moves he would release later would only be stronger than the last.

If he traveled through time and space and became a plagiarist and still couldn't top the domestic sales rankings, then he would be too shameless!
"Everything remains the same! But there will no longer be any writer contracts. Instead, each exclusive contract will be customized for each of your books." When Shizuko Kawaide saw that he asked about the follow-up, she was delighted and applied a little force with her fingernails.

With a tearing sound.

The black silk stockings are snagged.

She quickly sat up straight and covered the embarrassing spot with the tablecloth.

"What about serialization?"

“You can choose any journal and page of Literature and Art, and you can decide the number of words in the serial. If there is a conflict with other writers’ serials, we will give priority to your book.”

"I might consider bringing my own editor." Kitagawa Hide thought of Saito Rena. When he ran away this time, the first person to be pitted was his former boss. Although she had been promoted to deputy editor-in-chief, who knew whether his job change would affect her.

If Saito Rena is willing, Kawaide Shobo can also offer her a position, and he will ask Saito Rena for her opinion.

"That's not a problem. Excuse me, but I learned from my subordinates about your relationship with Editor Saito. It's not an exaggeration to say that she is your mentor. If your cooperation with us will affect her work, Kawade Shobo happens to have a vacant position for deputy editor-in-chief."

Shizuko Kawaide smiled and said, if they could attract a top new writer like Kitagawa Hide to "Wenyi", what would be wrong with having one more deputy editor-in-chief?
Now Kitagawa Hide feels that if he gets more points, the opponent's score will probably reach 100 points.

The conditions offered by Kawade Shobo were so generous that it seemed like a dream.

However, Kitagawa Hideya could understand Kawaide Shizuko's behavior.

With the changes and progress of the times, Kawaide Shobo, which was originally at the bottom of the list, gradually faded out of people's sight and finally fell to the level of a quasi-first-tier publishing house.

The key to this result is that Kawade Shobo does not have a top-notch writer who can take on the responsibility, and keeps spending its efforts and money on middle and lower-level authors.

After the millennium, e-reading materials emerged. Hechu Bookstore had been weak for too long and failed to catch the best train. When traditional reading materials gradually withdrew from the stage of history, it also quietly withdrew.

She must have sensed the company's predicament and was ready to fight to the death.

"I understand." Kitagawa Hide didn't hesitate. Before the food was served, he took out "No Longer Human" from his bag and handed it to Kawaide Shizuko. "This is the new novel I'm going to publish. If Kawaide Shobo is willing to help me publish it..."

"Is this Mr. Kitagawa's new work?" Kawade Shizuko was immediately interested. She quickly took the book with both hands. When she found out that the title was "No Longer Human", she was slightly stunned. "This doesn't seem to be the final work of the Youth Trilogy?"

"Yes, I have already finished writing the final work, and I am going to serialize it in the latest issue of Gunzo. Sorry, this is something that cannot be changed."

Kitagawa Hide had no idea that Kawade Shobo would act so quickly and even offer such good conditions.

His original plan was to wait and see. Naturally, "A Wild Sheep Chase" had already been included in the latest issue of "Gunzo". The contract was there, and if he broke the contract and changed jobs, he would have to pay 60 yen in compensation. But if he wanted to run away with "A Wild Sheep Chase", that would touch the bottom line of Kodansha.

The Ministry of Justice will probably have to put in all its efforts in suing Kitagawa Hide.

"I see. What a pity." Kawaide Shizuko sighed and picked up the manuscript. "I apologize for my rudeness."

She opened the manuscript.

Uh, this handwriting is a bit eye-catching.

The beginning was actually a suicide note written by a man named Yan Jing Takuya.

The content of this suicide note is shocking, and Kitagawa Hide did not make any modifications or "mosaic" processing, directly pointing to the disgusting cult Aum Shinrikyo.

After reading the suicide note, Shizuko Kawaide had a rough idea of ​​what kind of book this would be.

Thinking that Kitagawa Hide might have recently fallen out with Kodansha, she instantly understood the whole story.

Is this a novel adapted from the real case caused by the Aum Shinrikyo cult?
Shizuko Kawaide found it a bit tricky just thinking about it.

But so what?
Asahara Shoko has been arrested.

Even if he was out there, He Dejia wasn't afraid of the cult.

She had heard some inside stories about Aum Shinrikyo, but for Kawadeji, this was nothing to be afraid of.

She read it carefully word by word, and then closed the manuscript solemnly.

Shizuko Kawaide's expression became noticeably more serious.

Kitagawa Hide looked at him quietly.

If she doesn't want to publish "No Longer Human", then change it!

There are always people willing to eat crabs
"Snapped!"

Shizuko Kawaide suddenly bowed, placed her hands on the manuscript, and said word by word in an extremely clear voice: "Teacher Kitagawa, please, please join our Kawaide Bookstore! I am willing to publish this book No Longer Human!"

(End of this chapter)