I am a literary giant in Japan

"Ratings? Do you mean to give novels a stupid rating system like they do with movies?"

A shareholder of a consortium who happened to be attending the regular meeting of the board of directors of "Kitagawa" today, after hearing what Kaoru said, first made an extremely exaggerated facial expression, then leaned slightly back on the chair and said this to her very rudely.

When Beichuan was first established, in order to survive the most difficult period of its founding, it raised a large amount of investment from the upper class of Japan through the convenience brought by the Beichuan Entertainment's wedding gift.

It’s not that Hide Kitagawa doesn’t have the funds to support the operation of “Kitagawa”.

After Senhara Masato returned from Thailand with a full load, the total assets of the Kitagawa family exceeded 200 billion yen, and they had the strength and ability to run a small publishing house.

But being able to survive and living a comfortable life are two completely different concepts.

In order to prevent Beichuan from dying out in its early days, Kitagawa Hide brought in a large number of famous industry insiders from the publishing industry, and used his connections to find many cross-industry investment consortiums for financing.

Their participation in the shares will not affect the operation of Beichuan, but their connections and resources can provide Beichuan with a safety net.

Just as Kitagawa Hide expected, with the help of the resources of these major shareholders, "Beichuan" smoothly became one of the top literary magazines in the publishing industry, and even surpassed "Xin Wenxiang" to become the second largest in the industry.

However, as the fortunes of Beichuan rose, these major shareholders gradually gained their own voices and influence within the company.

When a company becomes bigger and stronger, it is bound to have numerous factions and internal strife, just like when a country is first established.

Kitagawa Hide is the kind of boss who is hands-off and basically doesn't care about what's going on in the company. As a result, these major shareholders have become more and more arrogant and have recently begun to dictate to the editorial department.

“Director Kazama, it was not me who proposed the grading system, but Kitagawa-sensei.

As for why we proposed a novel rating system, it was because of this book, Children in the Dark. "

Kaoru doesn't like this kind of middle-aged bald uncle who is conceited, self-important, but actually incompetent.

But after all, the other party is the executive director of the company, and I am just a "temporary worker" who has not officially joined the company. It is not good to be overly disobedient to him.

She tried her best to explain the necessity of applying a rating system to "Children in the Dark" in a kind tone and in a way that the other party could understand.

However, she had only said half of her words when the other party interrupted her impatiently.

"Okay, okay, I get it, you don't have to continue.

It is precisely because it was Mr. Kitagawa who proposed this inexplicable grading system that I, an executive director with an hourly wage of 5113 yen, would talk so much to you, an intern with an hourly wage of only 284 yen!

I don’t care for what purpose Mr. Beichuan came up with this inexplicable rating system. In short, I will never agree to sell "Beichuan" in a graded manner!
Not only will I not agree to it, most of the shareholders on the board of directors and most of the senior executives in the editorial department will never agree to such a weird proposal!

Even if it was proposed by Mr. Beichuan, it won’t work! "

Director Kazama crossed his legs, his eyes full of contempt for Kaoru, and arrogance almost spilling out of his mouth.
“The reason why we are willing to invest so much money in Beichuan is not to feed a bunch of useless people like you who have no great value in existence!

But to earn more yen from it!

Little girl, can you understand?
Now "New Literature" has invited a Nobel Prize winner in Literature from overseas to serialize a new book!

This has never happened in the history of Japanese literature!

Even Mr. Ichiro Tanizaki, who is also regarded as the "number one" in the Japanese literary world, was only shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature once.

Although Mr. Kitagawa successfully defeated Mr. Ichiro Tanizaki and became the new leader of the literary world.

But he hasn’t won the Nobel Prize in Literature, has he?
Do you understand, you silly girl?

This is an unprecedented fierce battle!
If we don’t deal with it properly, not only will “Wenyi” be suppressed by “Xinwenxiang”, but our “Beichuan” will also be defeated and return to the starting point! ”

Director Kazama's roar almost echoed throughout the entire editorial department.

The editor-in-chief who was standing timidly beside him was Kaoru's immediate superior. At this moment, he did not dare to speak for Kaoru when Director Kazama was really angry.

The Kazama family is rooted in Sapporo City and is one of the top small industrial conglomerates there. In recent years, they have frequently invested in the entertainment industry and have acquired several small entertainment companies, and their momentum of advancement is strong.

This director Feng Jian not only holds a large number of shares in "Beichuan", but also holds some shares in "Dazhong" and "Wenyi". He is also a big figure in the publishing industry.

Although he knew nothing about pure literature and lacked love and respect for literary works, he had money.

Money can always make most people bow their heads.

Kaoruko was under an inexplicable storm and was educated by Director Kazama, an amateur, under the noses of many editors.

Seeing that she didn't say anything else, Director Kazama still didn't stop spitting shit, but continued to sneer and cross his legs: "But it's true. It's normal for an intern who only earns 284 yen an hour to not understand business operations and company management. If you can understand these, you would have been converted to a full-time employee long ago.

But using the cloak of stupidity to cover up your incompetence is not a good choice, little girl.

We at Beichuan don't need interns who don't even know this basic common sense. After listening to what I say, you can go directly to the Human Resources Department to settle the remaining salary.

Oh, by the way, although you don’t understand anything, but considering that you are the intern editor in charge of this novel, I will be merciful and tell you the reason. "

Director Kazama glanced at Kaoruko. This little girl was no more than twenty years old, but she had a delicate and beautiful appearance. I guess this was the reason why she was loved by Teacher Kitagawa.

All the intellectuals he knew were romantic and involved in prostitution.

He paused, then continued with a smile, "You heard it just now, right? Now is the time for us to fight to the death with New Literature.

In the publishing industry, there is only one indicator to measure who wins and who loses, and that is magazine sales!
With a Nobel Prize winner in literature, New Literary Image obviously doesn't have to worry about magazine sales.

And we, knowing full well that we would be at a disadvantage, actually had to sell magazines in tiered formats, cutting off our own arm!
Tell me, little girl, if this isn't stupidity, what is it?"

"This is not stupid. This is the most correct choice." Xunzi replied to him lightly, and then handed the manuscript in her hand to the editor-in-chief beside her.

She came today mainly to bring this news to the editorial department.

"Children in the Dark" is very complete and there is nothing that needs to be modified.

As for other things, Mr. Kitagawa also gave detailed explanations in the attached pages, so there is no need for her to repeat anything.

She had finally been admitted to Kyoto University, and she has been spending the last few months trying to adapt to the living environment in Kyoto, and then trying to bring honor to Teacher Kitagawa at school.

Teacher Kitagawa had already told her during that visit to the Asakusa Shrine that he hoped she could focus on literary research and creation during her four years at university and not take editing work too seriously.

Anyway, even if I want to be an editor like Reina Saito and the others, I have to wait until I graduate.

Kaoru has a high talent for literary creation.

After coming to Tokyo, she has published nearly twenty pure literary novels in the high school magazine and won the Newcomer Award at the "Japanese High School Student Kanto Region Literature Award"!
This is also the reason why Kitagawa Hide officially accepted Kaoruko as his apprentice after Aso Mayumi, Higashino Keigo, Dango Shiro, and Iwai Shunji.

Even in the distant future, perhaps the person who can inherit his mantle will be this girl who looks a little immature now.

Of course, Director Kazama knew nothing about these things. Even in the editorial department of Kitagawa, everyone just thought that Mr. Kitagawa favored Kaoruko and was trying to train her to be an excellent editor.

Indeed, compared to the high and mighty Director Kazama, Kaoru is nothing.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Kaoru didn't want to get too entangled with Director Kazama.

Judging from the current situation, a group of board members headed by Director Kazama obviously do not agree to sell "Kitagawa" in tiered formats.

But this is the top priority that Mr. Beichuan mentioned in the manuscript.

Since there is no way to set an example for others, I can only tell Mr. Kitagawa separately.

Kaoru bowed slightly to the two of them and quickly left the editorial office.

"This little girl looks so gentle, but I didn't expect she has such a bad temper. Does Teacher Beichuan like this kind of style?"

Director Kazama sneered at Kaoru's departing figure, then fixed his eyes on the pile of manuscripts.
"This is the book that will be serialized in the new issue on the 15th, right? You can start promoting it now and preheating it.

As for the so-called grading system, don't worry about it, we will naturally talk to Mr. Beichuan about it."

"Yes, Director Kazama, I understand."

The editor wiped his sweat, looked at the direction where Xunzi left, hesitated for a while, and whispered to him,
"Well, Xunzi is an intern editor promoted by Mr. Kitagawa, and her work ability is really good. If we just let her leave, will it be..."

"Huh? The loss of such insignificant little girls won't affect the operation of Beichuan.

Even if Mr. Kitagawa gets angry about this, can't I just get a few more back later?
As for work ability, do you think a mere intern can be more capable than you, the veteran editors who have been working for many years?
If that's the case, then what's the point of me hiring you?

Mr. Editor-in-Chief, I think it would be better to think about some things before speaking them out."

Director Fengjian patted his trousers and slowly stood up from his chair. He had several drinking parties tonight and didn't want to stay too long in this kind of ghost place.

"If there is nothing else, I will leave now. There is no need to submit the grading system to the board of directors.

If anyone asks, just say that's what I meant.

Don't let me down again, editor-in-chief. The overall economy of Japan is still in a sluggish state. There are many people eyeing your high-paying position that doesn't require much work.

I don’t want to come to the company one day and see you standing in the HR department like that little girl just now, begging your colleagues to help you settle the remaining salary.”

He patted the editor-in-chief on the shoulder and walked away with a swagger.

That afternoon.

After Kitagawa Hide coaxed Kitagawa Midori and Kitagawa Toru to sleep and spent some time with Yumeko, he returned to his study and continued writing "A Wonderful Journey", which would be serialized in the January issue of "Wenyi".

This little-known masterpiece by Yasunari Kawabata is his main counterpoint to the Nobel Prize winner in Literature.

"The Crucible" and "Children of the Dark" are more inclined towards popular literature. To those self-righteous overseas writers, they are ultimately "inferior works" that are popular in the box office but not well-received.

After Arnault's incident, this year's Nobel Prize in Literature had to be postponed, causing great trouble for the Nobel Prize officials in terms of lack of credibility.

In addition, a large number of lifetime judges have resigned and are unwilling to select and review future Nobel Prizes in Literature, which is also a very tricky and troublesome matter.

But even so, the Swedish Academy still retained Talina's status as a lifetime judge through "voting", and only drew a line between her and Arnault and the Arnault Club, but did not restore Kitagawa Hide's reputation and eligibility to run for election.

This time, Evind Johnson came all the way from Stockholm to Tokyo to support Seiji Maehara, and he must have been instructed by the Swedish Academy and the Nobel Prize officials.

Therefore, using a series of new works to slap them in the face is the best way for Kitagawa Hide to respond to them.

He never tolerates any enemy who wants to slander and defame him!

This time, he not only wants to completely settle the feud with the New Wenxiang Publishing House and pull the second-in-command of the New Democratic Party off the altar, but he also wants to make the Nobel Prize officials truly understand that he, Kitagawa Hide, is not a soft persimmon that is easy to deal with!

Just as Kitagawa Hide was typing on the keyboard, preparing to complete the setting collection of "A Wonderful Journey", the phone next to him suddenly vibrated.

He picked up his phone and saw that it was a text message from Kaoru.

[Mr. Beichuan, are you free now? I would like to discuss with you the rating of "Children in the Dark".]

【Can. 】

Kitagawa Xiu immediately sent her a text message back.

After a while, the cell phone rang. He pressed the call button and soon heard Kaoru's voice.

"Teacher Kitagawa, it's me."

"Congratulations, Kaoru-chan, you've been admitted to Kyoto University. That's really amazing." Kitagawa Hide first congratulated her.

For Japanese high school students, getting into prestigious universities such as the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, and Osaka University is as difficult as getting into Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and Jiaotong University next door. It is something that only the elite among the elites can do.

In this regard, this is indeed worthy of congratulations.

"Thank you, Mr. Kitagawa." What Kaoru wanted to hear most was Kitagawa Hide's congratulations. She felt satisfied when she heard it, and the slight feeling of displeasure that arose because of the little incident in the morning also disappeared.

"Okay, let's get back to business. The book "Children in the Dark" needs to be graded. Do you have any better ideas?" asked Kitagawa Hide.

Kaoru is not the kind of person who would easily reject other people's ideas. She called seriously and Kitagawa Hidetoshi took it equally seriously.

“No, I think your idea is very good and I agree with it. It’s just that…”

Kaoru paused and told Kitagawa Hide exactly what happened in the morning. (End of this chapter)