Parental Love: Jiang Weimin's Life of Lying Down

Chapter 311: Giving Up Royalties and Copyrights

After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became more intense, but the sadness of parting also quietly spread in the private room.

Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhao looked at each other, a hint of reluctance emerged on their faces, and then a bit of relief appeared.

Mr. Zhang was the first to break the silence, his voice slightly hoarse: "Xiao Jiang, now that you are gone, the mountains are high and the waters are long. I am afraid that we will not have many opportunities to meet again in the future. Old Zhao and I have thought about it and prepared a little gift for you."

As they spoke, they each took out a beautifully packaged box from their side and handed it to Jiang Weimin.

The box is not big, but it is wrapped in layers of silk cloth. You can tell at a glance that what is inside is definitely not an ordinary item.

"Open it and take a look, you will definitely like it!" Old Zhao urged with a smile, his eyes full of anticipation.

With curiosity and gratitude, Jiang Weimin gently took the box with both hands, carefully untied the silk cloth, and slowly opened the lid.

In an instant, the private room seemed to be brighter, and two quaint and elegant seals lay quietly in the box.

He gently picked up the seal and looked at it carefully. He saw that the seal characters were vigorous and powerful, and the engraving was delicate. It turned out to be the seals of two ancient painting masters!

Jiang Weimin's eyes suddenly widened, his face full of surprise and flattery, and his hands began to tremble slightly unconsciously.

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhao, this... this is too expensive! How can I accept it?" Jiang Weimin quickly declined.

These two seals are priceless treasures both in terms of artistic value and historical significance. He really couldn't accept this generous gift with peace of mind.

Zhang Lao waved his hand and said seriously, "Xiao Jiang, don't refuse. This gift is indeed precious, but we believe that you can cherish it and that you deserve this friendship.

However, we are giving you this seal for a favor.”

"What's the matter? Please tell me, elders! As long as it is something I can do, I will do it without any hesitation!" Jiang Weimin said hurriedly and solemnly.

Mr. Zhao sighed slightly and said slowly: "The porcelain and bronze wares we sold to you are all national treasures.

We handed them over to you over the years because we trusted you.

We hope you can ensure that these national treasures will not be leaked out at any time.

If one day the country needs them, we hope that you can hand them over to the country so that more people can appreciate these cultural treasures.

Of course, if you really don’t want to give them up, we won’t force you, but the bottom line is that we can’t let them flow abroad.”

Jiang Weimin listened to it, and without a second thought, he nodded firmly and said, "Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhao, don't worry! As long as the country needs it, I will definitely hand it over at the first opportunity without hesitation!"

Hearing Jiang Weimin's promise, Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhao smiled at each other. The worry on their faces instantly disappeared, replaced by full relief.

"With your words, we feel completely relieved. You can keep these two seals as a testimony to our fate." said Mr. Zhang.

Jiang Weimin carefully put the seal back into the box and rewrapped it, as if he was holding the most precious treasure in the world.

He silently planned in his mind that when antique collecting became popular in the future, he would definitely build a museum in Qingdao.

At that time, these national treasures will be placed in museums and displayed in bright display cases.

Show the world the long and splendid history and culture of the Chinese nation, so that more people can appreciate the charm of these cultural relics.

After graduation, Jiang Weimin stood at a crossroads in life, his heart full of entanglement and thought. He had to make a difficult choice between the two paths of painting and management.

This idea came mainly from Hua Junwu's narration of the comic book award selection process. Those words were like a heavy hammer, deeply touching Jiang Weimin's heart.

Looking back on his achievements in the comic book field, although Jiang Weimin has impressive sales, whenever he calms down, an indescribable guilt will surge in his heart.

He clearly realized that he was just a "plagiarist" who was just mechanically re-creating other people's works.

But I have never truly understood the spirit that the authors wanted to express in those copied comics.

From a work perspective, using publishing resources to draw comic strips and earn royalties is indeed not a problem for the rapidly developing Qingdao Publishing House.

But Jiang Weimin knew in his heart that as a manager, it was not appropriate to do so.

So, when he decided to return to Qingdao, Jiang Weimin resolutely made a series of important decisions.

Jiang Weimin plans to give up most of the comic strip copyrights and the corresponding royalties.

He only kept the copyright of his father's anti-Japanese war themes, because this comic strip recorded Jiang Defu's anti-Japanese war career, and it was also Jiang Weimin's own adaptation of the plot based on Jiang Defu's anti-Japanese war career. It was of great significance to him.

At the same time, Jiang Weimin rationally allocated the team that had been following him in painting, dividing them into several different departments.

Each department is responsible for the drawing of different comic strips.

Over the past four years, these teams have been continuously working together and developing.

Both their painting skills and teamwork are already quite mature and they are fully capable of taking on corresponding tasks independently.

Jiang Weimin himself will stand at a higher perspective, control the general direction of affairs, and devote himself wholeheartedly to the great process of promoting the internationalization of comic strips.

After everything in Beijing is done

Jiang Weimin returned to Qingdao and found Song Wenqing.

Later, when Jiang Weimin told Song Wenqing these ideas and decisions, Song Wenqing showed a gratified smile on his face and nodded continuously.

In fact, Song Wenqing had already made plans and wanted to find a suitable time to have a good talk with Jiang Weimin about the future development direction.

In Song Wenqing's eyes, Jiang Weimin not only has a long-term vision, but also has a high degree from Tsinghua University, which are his precious assets.

Now that Qingdao Publishing House is on the right track and developing well, Jiang Weimin should no longer limit himself to drawing comic strips.

With his ability and talent, the position of the head of Qingdao Publishing House will be handed over to him sooner or later.

At present, what Jiang Weimin should do most is to look further ahead and lead Qingdao Publishing House to continue to forge ahead in the fierce international market competition and open up a broader space for development.

Jiang Weimin's decision caused quite a stir within Qingdao Publishing House.

Many people were surprised, and even somewhat confused, by his decision to give up his high royalties and turn to management work.

After all, every comic book work of Jiang Weimin is well-loved by readers, with sales reaching new highs, and his income from royalties is also considerable.

Jiang Weimin's works not only occupy an important position in the domestic market, but also gradually open up overseas markets.

In the eyes of many people, Jiang Weimin can continue on the path of comic strip creation and become a top figure in this field.

However, Jiang Weimin chose another path - a management path full of challenges and unknowns.

In the following days, Jiang Weimin began to reform the painting department.

He divided the original painting team into four groups, each responsible for a different series of works. The first group was responsible for "Dragon Ball" and the second group was responsible for "Mecha Era". Both works were about updating comic strips that lasted for more than ten years.

The third group is responsible for "Wang Tieshan's Dream Returns to the Past", which has begun to be updated after the completion of "Bright Sword";

The fourth group is responsible for "Chinese Special Forces", a modern military-themed work.

After many reports and communications by Jiang Defu, he finally got the approval of the military district's top brass.

This is also the comic strip that Jiang Weimin promised to create for his father Jiang Defu.