I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 230 You are really strong, but unfortunately, your opponent is me! (Two in one)

The news that "Killing Commendatore" had been successfully approved soon reached Kitagawa Hide via email.

Half a year ago, the Internet email business was still in its wild era, but now it has taken on a whole new look under the management of several large Internet companies such as Yahoo Japan.

Mengzi's social account is specifically used to handle various business cooperation information. Such emails are also sent to her for review, and the readers' letters that were originally sent to her are transferred to the private website "Kitakawa's Little Bookstore".

The literary criticism circle manipulated by the print media criticizes Kitagawa Hide every day, as if they do not take him, the "best in the world", seriously at all. However, on the Internet, the situation is completely different.

Whether it is the Yahoo Japan forum or major online platforms, the reputation of "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" almost overwhelmingly suppresses "The Burmese Harp".

Netizens have sharp eyes. After a period of fermentation, they gradually understood the difference between true anti-war and pseudo-anti-war, and began to feel disgusted with the behavior of Arima Yoshiyoshi's novels that carried political agenda.

As a result of the reversal of word-of-mouth, the sales of the August issue of "Wenyi" gradually widened the gap with the August issue of "Literary World".

On September 9, the day when "Gunzou" was released, Oricon, who was eager to join in the fun, suddenly announced a new set of data.

This data table on the sales of pure literature magazines released by Oricon shows that the August issue of "Bungei" has sold a total of 8 million copies across Japan. With three days left until the one-month deadline, it seems entirely possible that the sales will exceed 221.8 million copies.

However, the August issue of "Literary World", which was initially highly anticipated, gradually declined. It was originally thought that it would be no problem to break through the monthly sales of 8 million copies, but now it is still stuck at around 200 million copies.

Tomorrow is the release date of the new issue of "Literary World". If Bungeishunju wants to achieve the achievement of 200 million copies, it probably can only manually "brush" the data.

In fact, after several discussions, Toru Ueno did give this secret order to the company, asking employees and relatives to take action, and then asked the Finance Department to allocate funds to purchase the remaining copies of "Literary World" on the market. In the end, the 10 copies were barely replenished in this way.

The sales war between Kawaide Shobo and Bungeishunju had just begun. After the first round, Bungeishunju's cooperating newspaper had already started writing articles overnight, promoting the emergence of "the best in the world" Arima Yoriyoshi, and the magazine sales had exceeded 200 million copies as expected!
Oricon is the only third party that got involved in this matter. After announcing the data of the two, it did not forget to bring out "Gunzo" and give it a good beating - the August issue of "Gunzo" sold 8 copies, which is almost a fraction of "Wenyi". It is really cause for celebration!

After Sawako Noma's death, Kodansha replaced its senior management and simply gave up on "Gunzo", shifting all its funds and focus to the comics industry.

Even so, this critical blow from Oricon still made Kodansha feel ashamed and it once again became the laughing stock of the industry!

These messy things did not affect Kitagawa Hide's writing state.

After returning from Izu, he was filled with inspiration. He first locked himself in the room for ten days and ten nights. After coming out, he wrote the second half of "The Strange Bird Record: The Thief Magpie" and the first half of "The Assassination of the Knight Commander: The Apparition Concept".

Afterwards, he went to the filming base of "Long Vacation" and inspected the filming situation of the crew - it's not that he is keen on making TV shows, but this TV series is fully funded by Beichuan Entertainment. The first three episodes have been filmed, with a total cost of about 1.5 million. If it fails, he will cry to death!

So even though he had no interest in making TV dramas, Kitagawa Hide always took Yumeko with him to supervise their work, and even occasionally inserted some acquaintances to play cameo roles to cut costs.

Iwai Shunji's team was both in awe and speechless about the chief screenwriter and big boss.

It was the first time for them to see such a dignified "No. 1 in the World" come to teach the actors how to understand the script without any tact, and it was also the first time for them to see such a stingy celebrity!
Speaking of money, Kitagawa Hide finally understood what it means to be "when you have a certain amount of money, the speed at which money makes money is beyond your imagination."

At the end of June, he had a total of 28 billion yen in his bank account. After two months of July and August, after deducting various expenses, his total savings still soared to 7 billion yen, and it was still increasing at a rate of several hundred million yen per month.

Moreover, the books written this year have not yet been developed into sections. If they also generate various types of income, Kitagawa Hide's monthly income may reach an astonishing 10 billion yen!

Even though the Japanese yen has been depreciating, 10 billion yen can still be exchanged for 900 million US dollars, which is nearly 1 million US dollars a year. If you work hard like this for ten years, you can almost reach the entry threshold of the lowest-level conglomerate in Japan.

From this perspective, those conglomerates that survive by sucking the blood of the people and the country are really making money!
On the other hand, Tsuburaya Productions has officially started filming "Tiga".

Because the script was written by Kitagawa Hide, a famous "number one" in the Japanese literary world, Tsuburaya also gained a lot of popularity by playing with his fame.

So before filming began, President Tsuburaya Ichi (the only son of the "God of Tokusatsu" Eiji Tsuburaya) called and gave the casting power to Kitagawa Hide, and also privately stated that he would give an additional 10% of the TV series' profits as remuneration to thank Mr. Kitagawa for his strong support!
If Kitagawa Hide is willing to reveal his identity as the main screenwriter, he would even be willing to raise the ratio to 30%!

To be honest, when Kitagawa Hideko heard this dividend ratio, he was really moved.

But soon, he rationally rejected this tempting condition.

He won't be short of money in the future, but if he really appears in a special effects drama, he will definitely be attacked countless times for this in the future.

In comparison, that little bit of profit is nothing.

He wrote the script for "Tiga" purely to fulfill a dream he had as a teenager in his previous life.

As for the casting issue, Kitagawa Hide made a few suggestions based on his memory, for example, the male lead Daiko must be played by Nagano Hiroshi from the super popular group "V6" of Johnny & Associates.

The heroine Lina is of course still played by Yoshimoto Takami, and the captain Iruma Megumi is played by Takagi Rei, etc.

He said it was a suggestion, but to Tsuburaya it sounded like Kitagawa's personal designation.

Therefore, although the asking price of "V6" was frighteningly high and this was the first time that a well-known idol was invited to star in a special effects drama, Tsuburaya Hajime still gritted his teeth and signed Nagano Hiroshi.

The leading actor Gao Shuling was the most shocked when he received the notice.

She is 37 years old this year. Since her debut at the age of 1981 in 22, she has been working in the entertainment industry for fifteen years. During this period, she has acted in movies and TV, taken photos, worked as a model, and released records, but she has always been tepid.

Nowadays, she is called "senior" by polite juniors, and called "outdated woman" in private by impolite juniors.

But no matter how uncomfortable she felt, she was definitely out of fashion.

Gao Shuling never thought that he would be invited to act in a national hit drama one day - although it was a special effects drama, people in the industry knew that the screenwriter was most likely the literary master Kitagawa!
There is no need to say much about Mr. Beichuan's name. People working in the entertainment industry almost worship him as a god.

Among the few film and television works he has participated in, "Agara" and "No Longer Human" which have already been released are both hit movies of the year, and "Long Vacation" which is currently being filmed is star-studded and is almost certain to be the most popular movie of the year.

Is it really possible for me to have a second spring in my career?

After inquiring for a long time and spending a lot of money, Gao Shuling finally found out that the role of "Iruma Kei" was chosen by Mr. Kitagawa to be played by her, which made her deeply moved and shocked.

After hesitating for several days, she bought a lot of Hide Kitagawa's books and studied hard. Then she plucked up the courage to pack her gifts, said hello to her agent, and drove to "Peter Cat".

This kind of private visit is common in the entertainment industry, but when a female artist visits alone, it is like your girlfriend agreeing to get a hotel room with you, which means something.

The 37-year-old Gao Shuling is mature and attractive, more popular and likable than when she was young. She knows that Mr. Beichuan already has a girlfriend, but she is not sure what this man who is 13 years younger than her is really thinking, so she can only walk and watch.

If he really made any request, she would be willing to satisfy it.

However, when she walked into the cafe, she saw only a bunch of beautiful girls in maid costumes walking back and forth inside. The famous female singer Izumi Sakai was actually performing here!

The store has good business and no one recognizes her as a former actress.

After some questioning, Gao Shuling learned that Kitagawa Hide and his girlfriend went to Ginza for shopping.

As for her visit, Teacher Kitagawa seemed to have had a premonition. The head maid who called herself Kaoru accepted the gifts on her behalf and then told her to relax and just act well.

Gao Shuling looked at the innocent maids and Izumi Sakai who sang loudly and received applause from fans, and became even more curious about Kitagawa Hide.
Kitagawa Hide and his companion, who were doing large purchases in Ginza at the time, were unaware of Takashu Rei's visit.

After finally having a lot of money in his pocket, Kitagawa Hide believed that enjoying life is the true meaning of living, and he dragged Yumeko all the way from the bottom floor to the top floor, packing up all the things they liked, including clothes, shoes, socks, cosmetics, necklaces, earrings, watches, etc., and took them away. It all came down to one word - you can be willful if you have money!
Kitagawa Hide himself has no interest in shopping. The happiest time in his previous life was staying at home and playing games, and the most painful time was going shopping with his girlfriend.

Now that he has money in his pocket, he gradually feels the joy of shopping, or perhaps it is the pure joy of spending money.

After all the spending, I didn’t know how much money I spent, but I felt relaxed and adjusted in my mood, and Mengzi returned home with a smile on her face.

The two did not go back to the cafe tonight, but went to their new home, a large flat located in the Aoyama Building, which was ready for them to move in. When the sales lady, Ito Hatsuyo, learned of their arrival, she hurried over to greet them. She was very happy to hear from Yumeko that they had really gone to Izu and used the luxury package she had given them.

Thanks to this business, Ito Hatsuyo was successfully promoted to department leader and had the possibility of making a name for himself.

When she talked about this, Kitagawa Hide was very surprised.

Although this kind of large flat is quite expensive, it doesn't mean that you can get a promotion just by selling one, otherwise the real estate company would have been overcrowded long ago.

After listening to this, Ito Hatsuyo smiled and said, "Yes, this order itself is not big, but the person who buys the house is you, Mr. Kitagawa!"

"The best in the world" Kitagawa Hide and his girlfriend moved into Qingshan Building. Just this slogan alone can stabilize the falling housing prices, not to mention the subsequent commercial value.

When Ito Hatsuyo said this, his eyes lit up, and he truly admired and thanked Kitagawa Hide.

It was also that moment.

Kitagawa Hide felt what Mr. Bean felt.

Rolls-Royce once specially made a customized Rolls-Royce for the British national treasure actor Rowan Atkinson who played "Mr. Bean", and advertised that "it is the honor of Rolls-Royce that you can drive a Rolls-Royce."

At this time, Hidetoshi Kitagawa is to Aoyama Building as Rowan Atkinson is to Rolls-Royce.

On the second day after Kitagawa Hide and his wife moved into their new home, the September issue of "Bungakukai" was first released, and the streets of Tokyo were once again deserted.

Mengzi also got up early, but before she could go downstairs to buy magazines, all the famous magazines and newspapers today had been neatly stacked at the door of her house.

This is one of the benefits for VIP residents of Qingshan Building.

The building’s service staff will prepare the day’s newspapers and magazines and place them at residents’ doorsteps every day. Whether they read them or not, these services will be in place!

The two of them held a copy of "Literary World" and read it side by side on the bed.

Arima Yoshiyoshi's writing style has been solidified after decades of development. It is obvious that "The Harp of Burma" was not written on a whim and should have a complete outline and detailed outline.

So after reading the latest episode, the two had the same reaction.

To sum it up in one word, it’s “stable”!
Solid writing style, solid plot content, solid beginnings, developments, turns and endings.

If the book continues to be written in this direction, "The Harp of Burma" will surely be a great success, allowing Arima Yoshiyoshi to make a smooth debut.

"It is worthy of being the 'best product in the world' in the past." Kitagawa Hideya sighed from the bottom of his heart.

But what a pity!
His opponent is Kitagawa Hide who is ahead of his time!

Just two days later.

The September issue of "Wenyi" is also officially launched.

During this period, Kitagawa Hideya learned about the sales of the September issue of "Bungakukai" and the final battle results of the two major publishing houses last month through email.

The August issues of "Wenyi" and "Literary World" were evenly matched.

The total sales volume of "Wenyi" reached 235.7 million copies, setting a new historical record and raising the sales ceiling of pure literature magazines to a level similar to that of comic magazines!
"Literary World" is slightly inferior, with total sales of 201.3 million copies, and the only difference between it and "Wenyi" is "Group Portrait".

The critics in the literary criticism circle seemed to have a collective climax and put the blame on other writers in "Literary World".

The implication is that if this were a basketball game, Kitagawa Hide and Arima Yoshiyoshi would both be at Jordan's level, but Kitagawa Hide's teammates are from the NBA and Arima Yoshiyoshi's teammates are from the CBA.

The online reputation of these two magazines and the two "best people in the world" is exactly the opposite.

As expected, the September issue of Literary World did not continue the glory of the previous month on its first printing day, with sales dropping from an astonishing 9 copies to 14.2 copies.

Actually, it’s not a big deal.

Most readers just read the early stages, and those who follow all the way to the end are die-hard fans.

Moreover, most of the authors themselves are "good starters but poor finishers", and the content gets worse as it goes on.

This drop is completely acceptable. Even with such a strong Internet opinion and such a bad response, Arima Yoshiyoshi's novels can still sell so well. They are really strong!
pity.

There is no harm without comparison.

Early that morning, Mengzi changed out of her indoor shoes as usual and ran to the door in her pink pajamas, but was shocked to find that among the pile of newspapers and magazines, only "Literature and Art" was missing.

There was also an apology letter from the service staff inside.

The gist of the letter was that she ran to buy the magazine as she did before, but when she arrived at the bookstore, "Wenyi" was sold out!
Many people queued up overnight and waited all night to buy their beloved "Wenyi".

As someone who went to buy books so early in the morning, she naturally couldn't buy anything.

Speaking of this, we have to talk about Japan's poor express delivery service industry.

There are currently only three companies in Japan that can engage in transportation: Japan Post Holdings Co., Ltd. (also known as Japan Post Office), Japan National Railways Transportation, and Yamato Transport.

The transportation company under Yamato Transport is the very famous "TAKURA BIN". In 1996, "TAKURA BIN" had more than 5 employees, and its scale was comparable to that of Japan National Railways.

but!

TA-Q-BIN's labor costs are too high, so most of the goods transported are large items.

Japan Post Holdings has a partnership with the newspaper industry, so newspapers are delivered to your door.

Magazine publishers do not have such strong connections, nor can they set up their own special distribution companies to deliver goods, so they have to let readers buy physical books themselves in bookstores.

This situation did not improve much until 20 years later, and readers only had two choices: either go to the store to buy the physical book or read the electronic version online.

The food delivery industry is also in trouble - only pizza, fried chicken and hamburger fast food restaurants have their own delivery staff, and the delivery fees and labor costs are shared equally by the customers.

Therefore, in Japan, you will find that the real economy is still quite developed in the Internet era. The reason lies in the issue of labor costs in Japan.

After understanding this, you can see how incredible it is that Qingshan Building has specially equipped employees to buy newspapers and magazines for VIP residents and deliver them.

At this time, the service staff most likely went to other places to buy "Wenyi".

Kitagawa Hide was stunned when he heard the news.

If he remembered correctly, the September issue of "Wenyi" had an initial print run of 9 copies and a backup of 5 copies.

There are 10 copies in total, and they are sold out right after the store opens?!
(End of this chapter)