Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 189 A little shock
Zhang Chao's words obviously surprised Director Wang Shouguo. He looked at Liu Shiping of the Writers Association in confusion.

Liu Shiping pondered for a moment and said, "Shanxi has certainly produced good writers, not to mention Zhao Shuli. People like Li Rui, Cao Naiqian, Jiang Yun, etc., although they are considered the backbone of the industry, firstly, they mainly write novels, and secondly..." He refused to continue.

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "I'll be the bad guy. I don't know them anyway. Secondly, they are not well-known enough in the minds of the general readers, right?"

Liu Shiping nodded awkwardly.

Zhang Chao said: "The customs and culture of a province can only become famous if it is introduced by writers from other places. This is actually a very embarrassing thing for local writers - unless they are masters like Yu Qiuyu and Jia Pingwa."

Wang Shouguo complimented, "You too."

Zhang Chao nodded unceremoniously and said, "I don't deny that I am now famous. But what I want to ask is - has the tradition of writers in Shanxi really been broken? Since you said that Shanxi is a land of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, then the people and the land should complement each other.

Shanxi can’t produce a few young writers who can write about the mountains and rivers in such a way that readers all over the country are fascinated and willing to go there? "

Wang Shouguo and Liu Shiping were both silent after hearing this. Although Wang Shouguo was from the cultural field, he was not from the Writers Association; Liu Shiping was considered a writer in his early years, but now he has been in an administrative position for a long time and has a generation gap with the creative front line.

Seeing that the two were silent, Zhang Chao sighed and said, "Since you don't know, let me count the outstanding writers that have emerged in SX Province in recent years. Most of them are under 40 years old and have good prose writing skills—"

"Ge Shuiping - don't laugh, that's her real name - a female writer, about 40 years old, with columns in newspapers and magazines such as Yellow River, and has published works in People's Literature and Shanghai Literature many times..."

"Li Junhu, a male writer, is only in his early 30s. He published literary works at the age of 20. Later, he worked as an editor at Shanxi Daily. I don't know if he is still there..."

"Yang Yao, a male writer, is also in his 30s. He published his works in People's Literature, October, and Contemporary in the past few years, but he wrote more novels..."

"Yan Wensheng is a male writer in his 20s. He has published works in People's Literature, Huacheng, and Zhongshan, mainly essays, and a series of essays..."

"Dong Junying, pen name Xiaoan, is a female writer in her early 30s. Her works are mainly novels, many of which have been published in "Selected Novels" and "Selected Novellas", but there are also collections of essays..."

……

Zhang Chao listed the names and creative characteristics of more than 10 young and middle-aged writers from Shanxi in one breath, just like calling out the names of dishes, which stunned Liu Shiping and Wang Shouguo on the spot.

After Zhang Chao finished speaking, Huang Jiefu gently poked Zhang Chao's waist and whispered, "Boss, have you forgotten that there is another Liu..."

Zhang Chao glared at Huang Jiefu, then turned around and said, "Don't worry about him - I think the young writers who are suitable for writing about Shanxi's customs are mainly those mentioned above."

In fact, this is one of the data collected by Zhang Chao when he went to Shanxi to look for Liu. It lists the names, ages, genders, permanent residences, representative works of the more famous writers in Shanxi Province recently...

If there is a suitable candidate who is convenient for him/her, Zhang Chao does not rule out the possibility of visiting the person to discuss the writing commission, so Zhang Chao has been reading this information when he was free in the past few days.

But Liu Shiping and Wang Shouguo didn't know. You have to know that the banquet at noon was arranged at the last minute, and the topic of commissioning special articles was just brought up. It was ridiculous that Zhang Chao could list all the young writers in SX Province like the back of his hand.

This amount of reading can only be described as terrifying!
After being shocked, Wang Shouguo said cautiously: "I have only just heard of many of the writers that classmate Zhang mentioned. Their fame..."

Zhang Chao said: "Although they are not well-known enough, they have two advantages - first, compared with the old writers, they are at the peak of their creation, and their people and writings are more sincere; second, they are not yet worshipped by the Writers Association or the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and can still closely contact with today's Shanxi."

When Liu Shiping heard the word "second", he wanted to say something indignantly, but when he thought of Zhang Chao's performance just now, he consciously shut up. Zhang Chao continued: "They are not well-known, but do the old writers have it? - It is possible that Zhao Shuli lived first. We can mobilize their creative wisdom and creative power together to produce a literary series called "Sanjin Fengliu", which includes novels, poems, essays, and even movie and TV scripts.

As long as it is properly operated when it is published, the impact will be much greater than just me."

Wang Shouguo was also fascinated by the prospect described by Zhang Chao, but he quickly came to his senses and said somewhat embarrassedly: "This plan is a bit grand. I'm afraid the provincial budget for this area is not that large..."

Zhang Chao said, "How much money does it cost to publish a few books? What's more, we can also let the well-managed coal enterprises in your province participate in cultural construction!"

Wang Shouguo's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said repeatedly: "Yes, yes, they have money!" Then he added: "But I'm still worried..."

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "I'm worried about the sales of the literature series. As I said before, it really needs to be 'operated properly' - in this regard, we at 'Midnight Tide' have a lot of experience..."

The meal didn't end until around 3 p.m. and both the guests and the hosts enjoyed themselves very much.

After Zhang Chao's car disappeared from sight, Wang Shouguo turned around and said to Liu Shiping with emotion: "He turned a manuscript request into a project. This Zhang Chao doesn't look like he's in his early 20s..."

Liu Shiping was stunned for a while before answering the question irrelevantly: "As for me, I have been away from the front line for too long..."

Huang Jiefu was driving the car. Zhang Chao closed his eyes and rested for a while before asking, "Do you understand the key points of what we just talked about at the dinner table?"

Huang Jiefu answered without hesitation: "Who pays the money is the most important thing - those coal bosses in Shanxi, right?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "The coal industry is like a hot fire, with lots of money in their hands, so they have to spend it somewhere. If we can organize this 'Sanjin Fengliu' series of books well, we can dig out a lot of good topics from it.

How much money did "Qiao Family Courtyard" make? But you have to keep the bottom line, and keep a close eye on the financial and legal aspects. It's better to let the film and television companies take the lead. The more money, the better. Don't become someone else's tool..."

Huang Jiefu responded with an "OK" and asked a question: "Why didn't we mention Mr. Liu Cixin just now? Isn't he also a writer?"

Zhang Chao said viciously, "He is one of the most important writers of Midnight Tide in the next 10 or even 20 years, besides me! In the next three years, I will not allow any accidents to disturb his creation!"

Although he was a little puzzled as to why Zhang Chao attached so much importance to Liu Cixin, Huang Jiefu didn't know much about literature, so he didn't ask any further questions.

After a while, Huang Jiefu asked again: "What if the series of books you mentioned really can't be sold? You know, if the sales of the books planned by our "Midnight Tide" are less than 20 copies, it is a failure..."

Zhang Chao said: "Don't worry, it's just about fame, right? I have plenty of ways. The key now is to organize the writers I just mentioned and those I haven't mentioned as soon as possible and unify the ideas. I'll find time to do this..."

As Zhang Chao spoke, his voice became softer and softer until it was inaudible. Huang Jiefu turned around and saw that Zhang Chao was already fast asleep, snoring slightly.

Huang Jiefu sighed. He knew how tired Zhang Chao had been over the past year, with his studies, creation, and career... There was probably no other young man in his early 20s in the country who was as busy as he was.

Thinking of this, Huang Jiefu quietly turned up the temperature of the air conditioner and drove much more gently.

(End of this chapter)