"Your bank card ending in 9527 has received a transfer of 74,087 yuan, leaving your account balance at 74,783 yuan."
December 5th.
That's when Lin Yuan received this sum of money.
At the same time, he also received a message from the company's finance department: "Your piece 'Life Like A Summer Flower' has been paid for its downloads and your monthly salary has been deposited. From now on, on the 5th of every month, your earnings from the song downloads and your base salary will be transferred to your bank account on time. If you have any questions, please consult the finance department."
Finally, he was getting paid.
Lin Yuan was a bit excited.
The late arrival of December meant that this year's rookie season had officially ended.
Thanks to the company's large-scale promotions in the middle of the month, the final download count for 'Life Like A Summer Flower' exceeded half a million, a record far exceeding that of previous rookie seasons, indirectly attesting to the quality of Lin Yuan's piece.
After deducting close to 10,000 yuan in taxes, Lin Yuan was left with over 60,000 yuan in his hands.
Along with his basic salary of 10,000 yuan, Lin Yuan's bank account balance finally topped 70,000 yuan—
Even though Lin Yuan technically had not worked for a month.
Perhaps this was a perk for new employees.
In his past life, a rookie songwriter's work would never have fetched such a high price, not to mention, Lin Yuan could look forward to additional earnings from the song.
In the future.
As long as there were still people willing to spend money to download 'Life Like A Summer Flower', Lin Yuan would continue to receive the song's download royalties.
No wonder there's a saying in the music industry: "One good song can feed you for a lifetime."
Even if Lin Yuan can't produce any other successful works in the future, the royalties brought in by 'Life Like A Summer Flower' alone would be enough to take care of his basic living expenses.
That being said.
The download count for 'Life Like A Summer Flower' will certainly decline over time. Since any work has an initial to saturation audience, the royalties will inevitably decrease gradually.
So releasing more songs is definitely the right move.
It builds reputation and makes money.
Lin Yuan couldn't help but anticipate the royalties that 'Big Fish' could bring him in the future.
The company alone would bring in over 600,000 yuan from the five million exclusive rights to the song, adding in the download royalties, it would certainly make a considerable amount.
Next.
He could finally do what he had always wanted to do since he crossed over.
Lin Yuan first called Zhao Jue and asked for a favor.
Then, after a deep breath, recalling the previous owner's communication with his mother in his mind, and ensuring he was ready, he made a call to his mother, who was teaching music back home.
The call was connected quickly.
On the other end was a somewhat tired voice, "Little Yuan, is it because you're short of pocket money? Mom will wire it to you right now."
"No."
Lin Yuan quickly replied: "I've got some good news for you."
Before Lin Yuan could finish, he heard a strange voice on the line, "Chen Jin, the shelves in the east are empty. Take the list and restock from the warehouse..."
The call suddenly hung up.
But Lin Yuan could imagine his mother hurriedly hanging up the call.
It was only after five minutes that his mom called back, whispering, "The call just now had a bad signal."
"Mom."
A sudden lump formed in Lin Yuan's throat: "Stop pretending, you've obviously taken a part-time job again."
"Well, I didn't really have anything to do at school today."
His mom said a bit guiltily, "You know, I'm just a music teacher. My class was taken over by Mr. Huang, the math teacher, today. So, I had to find something else to do, I mean, I'd just be idle otherwise."
Lin Yuan retorted, "Why does the math teacher always take your classes!"
His mother laughed and said, "Don't nonsense, the language teacher likes to take my classes too."
Lin Yuan felt helpless, "Can your health really handle all of this? Have you forgotten about the time you worked three part-time jobs at the same time and ended up on a drip at the hospital?"
"I just help out at the supermarket... Oh yeah, what was the good news you mentioned earlier?"
Mom tried to change the topic.
Lin Yuan did not expose her and said, "You know I switched to composing right? I learned songwriting and one of my songs caught on last month. So, I made a hundred thousand yuan."
"Hundred thousand? From songwriting?"
Rather than feeling excited, his mom was completely panicked, "Don't lie to me! Tell me, have you done something bad? Little Yuan, if something happens, don't be afraid, tell mom...you didn't sell your organs, did you?!"
Mom's voice even had a sobbing tone to it.
Lin Yuan was torn between laughter and tears, "How did we get to this? I really made some money from the song I wrote, 'Life Like A Summer Flower', have you heard of it?"
"Sounds familiar... I think someone from the office played it once... Is it written by you?"
"Yes, it is."
"You've never lied from childhood, so it's really your song?"
"Indeed, it's my song, the one that Xian Yu composed, and the one singing it is my senior."
"You... You..."
"If you don't believe me, I can ask our company leader to talk to you later. You know that I signed with Starlight in my first year, right? You even kept Ms. Zhao, my agent's phone number. She wouldn't deceive you, would she?"
"I believe... I believe... What about this hundred thousand..."
"Out of that hundred thousand, I need to keep twenty or thirty thousand for expenses. I'll transfer the rest to you. You won't have to work part-time anymore. I have money now, you don't need to provide for me!"
"Transfer it to me, transfer it to me."
Mom quivered as she spoke: "I'll keep it for you. If you fall ill again, we can afford the treatment and wouldn't need to bother our relatives."
"No."
Lin Yuan said, "I hope mom can pay off the debts at home. You've spent a lot of money on my treatments over the years, you never told us exactly how much you've borrowed."
"That's not urgent... I will pay off the debts, as long as I'm alive, I won't miss a cent. I will even calculate the interest!"
"Really?"
Lin Yuan felt a lump in his throat: "Mom, this song will continue to make money. Besides, I've moved to the composition department now, and I have a guaranteed monthly salary of twenty thousand. So, I can afford my own treatments. Can you tell me exactly how much debt we have?"
"Over a hundred thousand."
Mom tried to sound casual.
Lin Yuan said, "I'm serious."
Mom corrected herself: "Perhaps over two hundred thousand."
Lin Yuan hesitated, "You always taught us three children not to lie."
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
After several seconds, Mom's voice returned, sounding heavier, "With the interest, it totals to five hundred and twenty-eight thousand six hundred and thirty-six yuan."
"Okay."
Lin Yuan said lightly, "I will pay off this debt this year! You don't need to work part-time anymore. Listen to me! Pay off the debt first! You don't have to pay it all off, you can keep twenty thousand to improve your life a bit. I'll transfer more money to you later. I recently wrote a new song, and it should earn quite a bit."
"He."
mom chided him, "You kid, aren't you a bit too proud? It's a blessing that your song became a hit, do you expect every song you compose to do the same?"
"I have confidence."
"Okay, okay, you have confidence. But about the money, I should give some to your sister and break the good news to her. It's not easy for her since she just graduated not long ago. She has been using the same phone for five years without changing it." Mom seemed to be soliciting Lin Yuan's opinion.
"Let me handle it."
Lin Yuan laughed, "I will tell my sister and get her a new phone. She has been taking care of me all these years, it's about time I repay her."
"You do have a point."
Mom felt guilty towards Lin Yuan's sisters. Because of Lin Yuan, the two girls at home had to sacrifice a lot, "Remember not to forget."
"Okay."
They chatted for about half an hour, and Lin Yuan kept telling mom not to work part-time, before hanging up reluctantly.
After the call.
Lin Yuan opened his mobile banking app and transferred seventy-three thousand yuan to mom.
Mom received the money swiftly and then sent a voice message: "Be frugal with the remaining money. Two or three thousand yuan can't be wasted."
"I know."
Lin Yuan said with a smile.
Saying that he earned a hundred thousand was to make mom feel at ease, and the same went for the basic salary of twenty thousand.
In reality, he only had a little over a thousand left.
But a thousand yuan was enough to last him till next month.
...
After receiving the money, Lin Yuan's mom, Chen Jin, still felt apprehensive.
For a woman who never gave up on her son's treatment, the meaning of one hundred thousand yuan was not just about money itself!
After some hesitation, she called Zhao Jue to ask about Lin Yuan's situation.
Upon confirming the situation, she felt somewhat relieved.
Standing in the warehouse, lost in her thoughts for a while, tears suddenly fell from her eyes, shocking the workers nearby, "What's wrong with you?"
Chen Jin wiped away her tears, "I'm happy."
The worker laughed, "What kind of great joy would make you cry."
"Do you listen to songs?"
"What?"
"You should listen to the song 'Life Like A Summer Flower', it's really nice!"
"Ah?"
The worker looked a little confused, "Okay... sure..."