Wait until they invite me themselves.

After a bit of effort spent correcting Burns' accounting methods, Li Dan Niu felt refreshed as he led his team back to America.

The two lead actors of the film, after disembarking, greeted Li Dan Niu briefly before dashing off, leaving only three members of the crew and Castro behind.

"If you have nothing urgent, you might as well go home and rest," Li Dan Niu said. "Helena, just help me contact a few reliable distribution companies."

Although Louis had promised to help, Li Dan Niu knew better than to put all his eggs in one basket and was eager to have a backup plan.

"No problem, boss." As the production manager, Helena wasn't really responsible for reaching out to distributors, but with only three employees—Curry the cinematographer and Seng the lighting technician—it was up to her to handle the task.

The group quickly disbanded.

Li Dan Niu, carrying his sample reel, sought out Louis.

"Your Majesty, you’ve finally arrived in America." Louis was exceedingly enthusiastic.

"If you’ve been looking forward to my arrival so much, why didn’t you come to meet me at the airport?" Li Dan Niu joked.

Louis laughed awkwardly. "Well… it’s just that your book has been selling so explosively, I really couldn’t leave."

Li Dan Niu nodded, not blaming Louis for missing the airport greeting. "How are things going now?"

"Things are going incredibly well." Mentioning The Lord of the Rings, Louis’s spirit soared.

"Yesterday, the first batch of thirty thousand sets of The Lord of the Rings that we printed was released to the market. Today’s statistics are in: thirty thousand sets sold in a single day. And today is the last day of the weekend, so sales should be even better than yesterday."

Li Dan Niu frowned. "You only printed thirty thousand sets?"

"Of course not," Louis replied. "I have another fifty thousand sets being printed now, expected to ship within three days."

When he discovered that the book could sell a hundred thousand sets without any promotion, Louis immediately ordered an additional fifty thousand sets, preparing a total of eighty thousand sets—essentially, the average half-year sales of a bestseller.

Li Dan Niu agreed that eighty thousand sets should be enough; no matter how strong the market was, at least there was room for maneuver.

"When will the global release plan be finalized?"

"We were just waiting for you to discuss it." Louis pulled a stack of documents from his drawer and placed them before Li Dan Niu.

"Your Majesty, since Sunshine Publishing started promoting, many foreign booksellers have approached us to acquire the publication rights for The Lord of the Rings. I’ve kept their offers and information, waiting for you to decide."

When signing the contract with Louis, Li Dan Niu had only granted Sunshine Publishing the right to publish The Lord of the Rings in America, and required Louis to keep track of any foreign publishers’ offers.

Li Dan Niu picked up the documents and browsed them casually; with Louis’s oversight, most of the offers were above fifty percent.

For Louis, since The Lord of the Rings had started from scratch—no reputation, no promotion, not even Li Dan Niu as an author displayed any potential for explosive popularity—a fifty percent split was already considered exceptionally high.

But for the foreign publishers now seeking rights, The Lord of the Rings had already been tested in the American market. With the rights in hand, publishing it in their own countries would save them much effort in promotion and could expect very impressive sales. The risk was minimal, nearly zero, so naturally, the bids were high.

Handing the documents to Castro, Li Dan Niu said, "There’s no issue here—it’s simply a matter of the highest bidder. My main purpose today is about the release of the film I’ve made. How are your contacts coming along?"

"Your film is finished?" Louis was astonished; it had only been about half a month since Li Dan Niu had mentioned making a film. How could a movie be finished so quickly?

"Of course. I’ve brought the finished cut." Li Dan Niu asked, "You haven’t made any contacts?"

"Of course I have," Louis replied firmly. Li Dan Niu was now his golden goose; even if it were a slapdash, amateur film, he would still pull every string for its release.

"I’ve already made contacts. I just didn’t expect you’d finish the film so fast. I’ll call them now and set up a meeting."

Sunshine Publishing’s standing in the American publishing world wasn’t top-tier, but its parent company, Sunshine Group, was another matter. Its subsidiary, Sunshine Media, was a well-known Hollywood company, involved in advertising and producing numerous films each year, with its own distribution capabilities.

After setting a time with them, Louis asked, "Your Majesty, do you have time available these days?"

"If you have something to say, just say it," Li Dan Niu replied. He had plenty of time, though he was also busy.

"Here’s the thing," Louis smiled. "To boost sales of The Lord of the Rings, we’d like to invite you to participate in a talk show. The program has a huge audience, and your participation would greatly help the sales."

"A talk show?" Li Dan Niu recalled the celebrities he’d seen on TV in his previous life, surprised at how quickly he had come to such an opportunity. "What’s it called?"

"‘Internet Celebrity Zero Distance,’" Louis explained. "It’s the hottest show online these two years. Each episode gets nearly ten million views."

What an absurd name! Li Dan Niu was thunderstruck; since when had he become an internet celebrity?

"I won’t participate." As a king, any talk show he attended must be high-end—at least one that had interviewed a US president. Anything less was out of the question.

Besides, ten million views was nothing compared to the network variety shows of Big TC; was it even worth attending?

This was Li Dan Niu’s mindset not yet adapted; Big TC’s online population far exceeded America’s, so the numbers were incomparable.

"But…"

Seeing Louis still trying to persuade him, Li Dan Niu refused firmly, "If I’m to attend a talk show, it must be the most prestigious—at the very least, one that’s interviewed a US president. Otherwise, it’s impossible!"

Interviewed a US president? Louis was stunned by Li Dan Niu’s bold declaration. In America, only one such talk show existed—Landes Talk Show, reigning for fifteen years and having interviewed three US presidents. Each episode’s viewership exceeded forty million; aside from the Super Bowl and similar events, it was the highest-rated show in the country.

"We… we can’t reach a program like that," Louis admitted awkwardly. Sunshine Group had considerable influence in America, but such shows only invited the most prominent figures; it wasn’t something you could just squeeze into.

Li Dan Niu waved his hand dismissively. "If you can’t make contact, don’t bother. I’ll wait until they invite me themselves."

Good grief! If not for Li Dan Niu being his golden goose and a king, Louis would have shouted: What makes you think they’ll invite you?