“Mr. Pokbi, here are 280,000 Euros for next year's funding. As per our agreement last year, it will cover at least 30 articles, totaling over 300,000 words!” In a Parisian cafe, Danzhu handed a bank card to a plump, middle-aged man with fair skin and a receding hairline.
“No problem!” Mr. Pokbi patted his chest and smiled. “We’ve been cooperating for so long, I’ve decided to give your foundation two bonus articles this year, each exceeding 10,000 words daily!”
“Really?” Danzhu’s face lit up with surprise. He had been working with Mr. Pokbi for over three years. In the past, Pokbi had always been dismissive, trying to raise prices and reduce the number of articles. This year, he was surprisingly offering extra articles. It was truly astonishing.
“Of course, it’s true!” Pokbi grinned, then added with a more serious tone, “The articles you’re requesting us to publish might face a lot of obstruction in the future, and our magazine will be taking on increasing risk. It’s possible our magazine might even refuse to take on your business in the future.”
“Mr. Pokbi, aren’t we cooperating well? Why would you refuse to work with us!” Danzhu’s expression turned anxious, worried that Pokbi was trying to renegotiate the price again.
“It’s not that we want to refuse, but I need to inform you of the potential issues. Otherwise, you won’t have any time to react, and you won’t even know why you were refused!” Pokbi chuckled.
“Mr. Pokbi, you hold a high position in your magazine. You must have a way to help us, right!” Danzhu immediately said.
“There is a way, though it might not be a guaranteed solution. You know, we in the West are a society of contracts, and we value contracts immensely. If you sign a long-term cooperation agreement with our magazine now, say for five years, then even if our boss wants to go back on it in the future, it would be impossible. At the very least, we would have to pay you a large sum in damages for breach of contract!” Pokbi said.
“Sign for five years? At the current rate?” Danzhu inquired.
“Yes. You know, with inflation getting worse in the future, the cost of publishing articles in our magazine will only increase. So, signing for five years at the current price is definitely not a loss!” Pokbi said with a smile.
“So, is the payment 280,000 Euros annually, or…”
“Not annually, it must be paid upfront. Five years would be a total of 1.4 million Euros. You need to pay this sum to our magazine all at once, otherwise, this cooperation will be very difficult to achieve!” Pokbi stated immediately.
“A lump sum of 1.4 million Euros? Mr. Pokbi, you know there’s a crisis going on. Our foundation doesn’t receive much funding from the US. Asking me to pay 1.4 million Euros upfront, this price is really…”
“I know you’re having difficulties, but this is a really good opportunity. How about this: I’ll make the decision. As long as you sign now, I’ll give you an additional five articles each year, guaranteed to be over 10,000 words each!” Pokbi said calmly. “Think carefully. If you delay signing this contract, and the editor-in-chief’s order comes down, you won’t have any opportunity to cooperate even if you want to.”
“Okay, I’ll go back and discuss it!” Danzhu nodded helplessly.
A few days later, Mr. Pokbi strode into the editorial department and plopped down in the editor-in-chief’s office, helping himself to the editor-in-chief’s coffee.
“Pokbi, you’d better give me a reason not to throw you out!” The editor-in-chief entered, seeing Pokbi lounging and drinking his prized civet coffee, his face contorting.
“1.4 million Euros. Is that reason enough?” Seeing his editor-in-chief’s anger, Pokbi remained unfazed and grinned.
“A mere 1.4… Wait, what did you say?”
“1.4 million Euros,” Pokbi repeated, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
“Come, tell me in detail how this 1.4 million Euros came about. I’ll make you another cup of coffee.” The editor-in-chief opened his rare civet coffee and, while grinding beans, asked impatiently.
Of course, if Pokbi couldn’t provide a satisfactory answer, the editor-in-chief would likely throw the entire cup of civet coffee on him.
“It’s that Indian fellow we’ve been cooperating with. After my persistent persuasion, he agreed to sign a five-year long-term cooperation agreement with us and pay 1.4 million Euros upfront for the collaboration.” Pokbi said proudly.
“Really? Didn’t you tell me that Indian fellow was particularly stingy, arguing with you over matters of a few thousand Euros?” the editor-in-chief asked curiously.
“Of course, it’s true. He is indeed a very stingy person, but precisely because of that personality, if you give him a little extra benefit, he’ll pour all his resources into it to get a good deal. So, I promised him an additional five articles each year. Oh, I almost forgot, I haven’t reported this matter to you yet, and the additional five articles haven’t received your approval, so I accidentally violated company regulations.”
“If you don’t agree, then I’ll tell him the cooperation is canceled right now,” Pokbi said with a smile.
“It’s fine, it’s just five articles, even ten articles. My dear Pokbi, you’ve done a great service to our magazine. I will definitely apply for a large bonus for you from headquarters!” The editor-in-chief was also beaming, seemingly unbothered by his subordinate’s overreach.
This was not because the editor-in-chief was exceptionally magnanimous, but rather due to the current market situation. Due to the subprime mortgage crisis, although Jack Weekly was a leading magazine in France, its advertising sales performance had plummeted. The advertising revenue for the past three months combined was less than 1 million Euros, barely enough to pay the staff’s salaries.
Moreover, there were rumors from the head office about significant layoffs and cost reductions. The editors-in-chief themselves were even speculated to be included, as they were the highest-paid individuals in the company, and laying off one could save the salaries of at least five people. The editor-in-chief was currently in a state of utter distress.
Therefore, this 1.4 million Euro deal was a lifesaver for the entire magazine. At the very least, it would show headquarters their profitability and the editor-in-chief’s leadership ability, allowing him to survive this terrible crisis.
With the editor-in-chief’s full backing, the contract signing proceeded very quickly. Within a week, the 1.4 million Euros had been transferred to the magazine’s account.
Soon, the new issue of “Jack Weekly” was released. Danzhu excitedly bought a copy, his eyes immediately searching for the title he had been anticipating on the cover.
However, he scanned it multiple times and found nothing.
Thinking the title might be hidden in the table of contents, he flipped through it again and again, but still found no trace of what he was looking for.
Enraged, Danzhu immediately called Pokbi. Pokbi was also very surprised by this news. He rushed into the editor-in-chief’s office to question why the editor-in-chief had gone back on his word. To his surprise, the editor-in-chief who loved civet coffee was no longer there. His coffee machine and a large number of personal belongings had also disappeared.
In their place stood an elderly woman wearing somewhat unusual clothing, with delicate light makeup on her face, but exuding an air of strictness.
“Chantal, how can you be here!” Pokbi was shocked. He recognized this woman as the editor-in-chief of another famous French weekly, “French Beauty.” Because “Jack Weekly” relied on lowbrow humor and satire to attract readers, it had always been at odds with “French Beauty,” which championed women’s rights and feminism. Furthermore, since they were not part of the same company, the two magazines frequently engaged in various verbal skirmishes, and their editors and editors-in-chief were arch-rivals. Pokbi never imagined that this woman, whom “Jack Weekly” most desired to rival, would appear in their editor-in-chief’s office.
“Allow me to introduce myself!” Madam Chantal proudly lifted her head, looking at the balding middle-aged man. “Starting today, I am your immediate superior, the editor-in-chief of ‘Jack Weekly’!”
“What?!” Pokbi was stunned. The editor-in-chief of “French Beauty” becoming the editor-in-chief of “Jack Weekly.” Could there be anything more comical in this world?
“Furthermore!” the female editor-in-chief continued, tossing the article Pokbi had submitted, which smeared China, onto the desk. “I must tell you very seriously, you are not allowed to write such articles in the future, or I will be the first to fire you!”