I am a literary giant in Japan

Evint's evaluation of The Crucible is the same as that of most of the world's literary leaders.

In the eyes of these old writers of the old era, only those pure literary novels with the most rigorous writing style and extremely serious content are worthy of being called "novels".

The rest of the novels, whether they are essays, popular literature, poetry, or the newly emerging Japanese light novels, can only be classified as "playful works" of literary lovers and cannot stand the test of scrutiny and the times.

So Ewendt didn't focus on The Crucible at all.

He believed that he had come all the way to Tokyo, Japan, to compete with Kitagawa Hide's new novel which would soon be serialized in the pure literature magazine "Wenyi".

As for what the novel would be about and whether it would be able to reach the peak of Kitagawa Hide's writing career again, Ewendt didn't care.

When he wrote "The Story of Ulov", Kitagawa Hide's father was probably still in his infancy, and when he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1974, Kitagawa Hide was only 2 years old.

One is a young boy who has just been weaned, and the other is a famous figure in the world and Swedish literary circles. There is no comparison between them at all.

Ewendt's attitude towards Kitagawa Hide is also the attitude of a large number of proud and complacent white people in the Western world towards Eastern literature.

Unlike Western writers such as Knut and Ma Yueran who are relatively close to Eastern writers, this group of people want to completely destroy Eastern literature and let Western literature dominate the world literature!
The first step in attacking Eastern literature is to serialize novels in pure literature magazines in Japan, and then defeat the "number one in the world" in their local literary world!
Before coming to Tokyo, Evint did a lot of homework. He first read a lot of novels that were "the best in the world" in Japanese literature, and then he studied Kitagawa Hide's books for a while.

In Evint's eyes, those so-called "best writers in the world" are just despicable imitators who try their best to plagiarize Western literature.

As for Kitagawa Hide.

He admitted that "Remembrance of Things Past", "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "The Old Man and the Sea" are indeed quite good works, especially "One Hundred Years of Solitude", which is quite to his taste.

But those works with a strong Japanese local style have received mixed reviews.

Of course, since he chose to come to Tokyo, Japan, to help Seiji Maehara fight Kitagawa Hide and to vent his anger for his close friend Arno, he would also try to write some works that incorporate local elements.

Anyway, in his opinion, his fame and strength far exceed those of the current Japanese literary world, just like the Dream Team led by Michael Jordan that swept the Olympics in the early 90s.

His arrival in the Japanese literary world is like an NBA star attacking the NCAA (National College Basketball Association). The only question is how to win more beautifully.

"I feel relieved if you say that." Seiji Maehara had an inexplicable respect and admiration for these high-ranking white people.

Like most post-war Japanese, their backbone was completely broken after World War II.

In the post-war era ruled by General MacArthur, a five-star general and the Japanese emperor, the Japanese hated the Americans for dropping two atomic bombs on them, but at the same time they studied and worshipped them crazily.

During that period, Japan was filled with a "Westernization" atmosphere from top to bottom, a bit like the Meiji Restoration era, and also a bit similar to the Republic of China next door.

Growing up in such an environment and family, Seiji Maehara has always envied those classmates who were able to study abroad. He fantasized that one day he would be able to go to the West for further studies and then return to Japan to launch a dimensionality reduction attack on his compatriots.

Therefore, his nature is different from that of Naoto Kan and others.

Naoto Kan and others firmly believed that Kitagawa Hide, the "number one in the world" in Japanese literary world, was worthy of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The fact that they didn’t win the prize the first two times means there is something wrong with the Nobel Prize Committee and the Council. There is definitely no problem with Mr. Kitagawa’s work.

However, Seiji Maehara believed that no matter how well Kitagawa Hide wrote, he was just the "dregs" of Japanese literature that were bringing forth new ideas, and would always be a child trying to learn to walk by imitating Western literature.

How could my son possibly beat me?
"Don't worry, Mr. Maehara. Since I promised you and Mr. Arnault, I will definitely fulfill my promise and prove to the world that Kitagawa Hide is just a rising star and is totally unworthy of the title of Nobel Prize winner in Literature."

Evint gently put down the copy of "The Masses" in his hand and began to conceive his new work in his mind.

In 1987, he announced his retirement from writing in the Swedish literary world, and it has been almost twelve years since then.

During these twelve years, literary celebrities and readers wrote to him from time to time, hoping that he would return to writing his unique first-person travel novels.

Previously, Evandt declined these invitations on the grounds of old age and declining writing skills.

But this time, since he had decided to make his debut in Tokyo, Japan, and in order to give a blow to the popular Kitagawa Hide, he simply asked Seiji Maehara to notify a large number of old friends in the literary world and asked them to do pre-promotion for him online and offline in their personal names.

Although the novel was to be published in "New Wenxiang", Evindt was targeting the whole world, not just the small country of Japan.

"I will do as you say. Money, women, food, etc., as long as you need it, I can get it. I will definitely let you write your book without any worries."

Another important reason why Seiji Maehara stayed in the Ci Ai Group was that the continuous profits generated by the Ci Ai Group could provide blood for his private businesses.

He owns more than a dozen wineries, high-end restaurants and izakayas engaged in gray transactions in Japan.

These industries can bring him a personal net income of nearly 5 million yen every year!

The reason why Seiji Maehara was able to sit firmly in the second-in-command position of the New Democratic Party at the age of 36 was due to the influence of the Maehara family, the support of Saburo Shiroyama, and the fact that he had his own sufficient funds.

"The money spent on those MPs and civil servants every year is at least over 1 million. Otherwise, how could they willingly vote for me and cheer for me?"

Maehara Seiji gritted his teeth and clenched his fists secretly.

In order to save the Ci Ai Group this time, he asked many people for help and sent people to kill several troublemakers. In addition, several physical education teachers from the Ci Ai School for the Deaf and Mute "pleaded guilty and accepted the punishment", and he barely got through.

Of course, the final fate of the Ci Ai Group will depend on the outcome of this arm wrestling match between him and Kitagawa Hide.

After all, the final say comes from the Ministry of Justice and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, both of which are currently firmly controlled by the Americans and are something that neither of the two major parties can interfere with.

As for what the Americans’ attitude is, it was very clear from what happened last time.

They only invest in winners and don't care about the truth of the matter or the attitude of the prime minister's cabinet.

"Kitagawa Hide, I will make you regret going against me!" Maehara Seiji really hates Kitagawa Hide now.

After all, the latter has been constantly attacking the Ci Ai Group, forcing him to spend a lot of money to maintain and protect the company.

Sooner or later, he will make Beichuan Entertainment return this money!
1999 1 Month 6 Day.

Oricon announced the first-day data of the January 1999 issue of "Dazhong" as scheduled.

The new editor-in-chief Yasujun Ishida, who got the internal data first, was initially worried that "The Crucible" would not be able to continue the glory of "Hanzawa Naoki" and "White Tower".

It's because these two novels were so popular. One broke the century-old gap between popular literature and pure literature, and the other completely changed Japan's medical system and medical environment.

In fact, after these two novels, the endless stream of workplace novels has made readers a little tired, and they also want to see something new in Dazhong. Unfortunately, Dazhong’s goal this year is to catch up with Xinwenxiang and Beichuan, and join hands with some newly emerging light novel libraries to completely absorb the online market.

So even though readers have repeatedly called and written to complain, the novels serialized recently are basically all homogeneous "workplace-related" works.

Mr. Kitagawa wanted to take a different approach, and Ishida Yasujun agreed wholeheartedly.

Fortunately, Dazhong was originally a supplement of Beichuan, and all the shares held by the board of directors combined were not as many as Mr. Beichuan's personal holdings, so the directors' objections were suppressed.

After "The Crucible" began serialization, its popularity was so great that all those idiots who were just sitting there doing nothing and only talking with the money in their pockets shut up!
Sometimes it is really hard for Yasushi Ishida to understand why the board of directors of every large company is filled with fat, short-sighted idiots.

Apart from money, they really have nothing!
If it weren't for Mr. Kitagawa holding the power, he really thought that "Dazhong" might become the next "Gunxiang".

"The first print run sold 91.4 copies, once again breaking the first print run record for a popular literature magazine. Congratulations, Editor-in-Chief Ishida."

The person who came up was Sawamura, who had been promoted to deputy editor-in-chief.

When he was the editor-in-chief, he wholeheartedly supported Ishida Yasujun, but was then constantly made things difficult for by the parachuted-in editor-in-chief.

At one point, Yasujun Ishida thought that Sawamura would not be able to bear it and would be forced to resign.

Unexpectedly, "Hanzawa Naoki" became a hit, allowing Sawamura to enjoy the wonderful feeling of "the inferior overthrowing the superior".

To this day, both Sawamura and he have become the indispensable pillars of "Mass".

Seeing that he was worried, Sawamura, who was eating chocolate, smiled and added: "I have submitted your appointment to the board of directors again.

If nothing unexpected happens, you will be promoted directly to assistant to the deputy editor-in-chief after this month, and when I am transferred to the Osaka branch as the director, my position will belong to you."

"Hmm." Ishida Yasujun had already known about these personnel appointments from Kobayashi Tomoyo.

My fiancée Tomoyo Kobayashi and Mrs. Kitagawa are close friends of the University of Tokyo, and I can always get all kinds of secret information about personnel transfers from their small circle.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Sawamura, who is almost 45 years old, has basically no hope of becoming the editor-in-chief of the "Mass Magazine" headquarters due to his qualifications and academic qualifications. Therefore, his alternative is to become the director of the newly opened "Mass Magazine" branch in Osaka.

In terms of position, the branch director is at the same level as the editor-in-chief of the headquarters, with better treatment and greater power, which is exactly what he wants.

After Sawamura left, the vacant position naturally belonged to Yasujun Ishida.

From joining the company in 1998 to the beginning of 1999, it took Yasushi Ishida less than a year to complete a journey that countless peers and predecessors in the publishing industry would have to travel in their entire lives.

As the deputy editor-in-chief of one of the leading publishing houses in the publishing industry, he is just 30 years old this year. It is no exaggeration to say that he has a bright future.

At this rate, once he has enough experience, he will most likely become the editor-in-chief of Dazhong at the age of 1200, a high-income white-collar worker with an annual salary of million yen!

This may not be his limit.

If everything goes well, he can become the editor-in-chief before he turns fifty, and may even become a director of the board of directors in the future.

For Ishida Taijun, who came from a rural background, such a high position was tantamount to a real class leap!
Director Hiroki Ryuichi, who previously joined the board of directors of Hakusensha with "The Little Namiya General Store", was able to "rise" from an ordinary person to the middle class with his family in this way.

Tomoyo Kobayashi, who was still studying for her doctorate, often complained to him that it would be more difficult for this batch of PhDs in the Faculty of Literature to find jobs in the future, and that they were not as good as the batch from ten years ago.

As for their cohort of graduates, they either passed the examination to become civil servants or worked as white-collar workers in the six major conglomerates. The highest annual salary now is estimated to be less than 600 million yen.

From a failed doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Literature at the University of Tokyo to a winner in life today.

Although Yasujun Ishida has become the "other people's child" in the eyes of others, he cannot be happy.

After watching the extremely depressing film "The Crucible", he felt that reality and society were so divided.

In the novel, Kitahara Hiroshi is troubled by the "two hundred thousand" donation.

His senior, the former university beauty Mako Kitajima, has become a single mother and is long gone from her youthful beauty.

Good people don't live long, and disasters last for thousands of years.

The principal, the administrative director, and the physical education teachers of the Charity School for the Deaf and Mute are all fat and wealthy, driving luxury cars and living in mansions.

Everything they have is built on the suffering of deaf and mute children.

"You don't seem excited at all. Come to think of it, Ishida, didn't you say you were going to marry your girlfriend? Take advantage of the low housing prices and buy a house in a better area of ​​Tokyo. Being a Tokyo resident is much better than being a resident of other places."

Sawamura patted his shoulder and said earnestly,

“You have to know that after the bubble burst, it was hard for everyone to find a stable job. Your life is already perfect, so sometimes you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.

I know you are targeting Mr. Beichuan, but there is a gap between humans and gods."

He gestured with his fingers, trying to tell Ishida Yasujun that as ordinary people, there was no need for them to compare themselves with the god-like teacher Kitagawa.

That would be a very painful life.

"I understand that I don't want to be like Mr. Kitagawa. I definitely have this self-awareness."

Yasujun Ishida glanced at the latest issue of "Mass" on the table. The cover of "The Crucible" showed Mr. Kitagawa holding a deaf-mute little girl. His eyes were deep and firm, just like the protagonist Kitahara Hiroshi in the book.

That kind of person and that kind of life are what he wants to pursue.

"I think." Ishida Taijun looked at Sawamura.

Sawamura also looked at him, waiting for what happened next.

"I want to be transferred to Yamanashi Prefecture to 'open up new land'. Can you please, Senior Sawamura, talk to the board of directors? Please!"

Ishida Taijun suddenly bowed ninety degrees.

At this moment, he seemed to have found his long-lost self in The Crucible. (End of this chapter)