Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 211 Artificial "Zhang Chao": A farce about "literary genius"
In Xia Island, Fuhai Province, in an old apartment with a Nanyang style, a middle-aged man wearing black-framed glasses is talking to an old man with a slightly bald head and a cunning look in his eyes.

"Is what you said reliable?"

"Of course it's reliable. Think about it carefully. How did Zhang Chao, a rural high school student from Fuhai, suddenly become a famous writer? Don't you think it's suspicious?"

"But, but isn't 'Teacher Fang' also from Fuhai? ... And, I am also from Fuhai..."

"Uh... sorry, I didn't know you were from Fuhai country, too. But Teacher Fang is different. Teacher Fang is a top student who passed the college entrance examination and was admitted to the University of Science and Technology of China. He was the top scorer in the province that year, and later went to the United States for further studies. How can he be compared with a Westerner like Zhang Chao?"

"Is there any concrete evidence?"

"Evidence? To question something, one must first make a bold assumption, and then carefully verify it. Besides, if the truth is that the father and son are covering for each other, how could they leave evidence for outsiders?"

"I still find it a little unreliable. This is a very serious accusation against a writer. Will 'Teacher Fang' really follow up?"

"Mr. Fang's main focus is to expose fakes in the scientific community and debunk pseudoscience, and he often has no time to expose fakes in the literary community. We must first invite Zhang Chao to defend himself. The more he speaks, the greater the probability that he will make mistakes.

When he has enough flaws, 'Teacher Fang' will strike him dead with one strike."

"Then why...why did you look for me? I'm not very famous."

"What we want is to not be famous. Zhang Chao is too famous now, and many interests are involved. If we attract attention too early, the Writers Association and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles may cover it up.

Your current fame is just right, so you can let the public opinion ferment from small to large for a while. When more and more people get involved, it will not be so easy to cover up. This is also the reason why "Teacher Fang" can't take action too early. "

"Oh...what if the post is still deleted?"

"Hehe, doesn't that just give us a reason to build momentum? Wasn't it that the post in which Zhang Chao questioned the New Concept Essay Contest was deleted by someone from New Sprout magazine? As a result, it became the basis for his second questioning article.

So I'm not afraid of him deleting it, I'm afraid he won't delete it. Have you thought about it? If you can bring down Zhang Chao, you will become famous overnight. If you don't want to do it, then I'll go find Han Han, he must be very angry with Zhang Chao. "

"I do, I do...but apart from this, is there no other...any other support?"

"What support?"

"You know, our income from writing columns is not high... The payment for Southern Weekend has not been raised for many years, and it is still 150 per thousand words. The two books published in the past few years were also made at a loss.

You, don’t you all have funding?”

"Funds? Funds must be used to buy traffic for your articles! Who will read them if you don't buy them? Nowadays, bloggers with over a thousand followers all have a clear price tag. How about you pay for it?

Besides, this time there will be international media following up.”

"...I...Okay. I'll think about the article when I get back."

"What are you still thinking about? I'm telling you, I've researched it all. All the information about Zhang Chao is here. The breakthrough point to revealing his true face lies in his father..."

More than half an hour later, the middle-aged man put his notebook full of words into his bag, bowed to the old man and left. The old man looked out the window at the middle-aged man's figure disappearing at the alley, and then he smiled with satisfaction. Then he dialed the phone:

"...He has agreed. The article will be published when Zhang Chao is least prepared!"

"But... he is also a well-known person. He said that Zhang Chao is now a youth idol protected by the domestic government, so attacking him is very risky. If the matter gets out of hand, he may not be able to stay in the country. If he wants to hide from the limelight, he wants to go to Japan, but the cost is not low..."

"He initially asked for $5, and after I persuaded him for a long time, he agreed to lower the price to $3... Yes, this is the lowest price."

"What? Just 5 US dollars? And another 5 US dollars for resettlement expenses in Japan? ...Okay, okay...I'll look for it when the time comes and try to give you a formal receipt."

After hanging up the phone, the old man took out a handkerchief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking to himself, you are still cruel.

Zhang Chao bought a 280-square-meter apartment in the newly delivered "Park Hyatt International" next to Chaoyang Park. The price was 1 yuan per square meter, which was of course much more expensive than ordinary residential houses. After all, the housing price in Chaoyang at that time was less than 8 yuan.

At that time, the wealthy people in Yanjing were more interested in large villas, or were willing to invest in courtyard houses, and were not particularly interested in large flats. However, Zhang Chao did not have any villa complex, nor did he want to make a fortune by speculating in real estate. In his opinion, large flats were the ceiling of the living experience.

The good thing about this house is that it is delivered fully furnished, so there is no need to worry about decoration. When the time comes, just pick out the furniture and appliances and put them in the house. The house has five bedrooms, which are basically all suites, so it will be very convenient for parents to stay there.

After choosing a house and paying the deposit, the salesperson took care of the rest for him. Zhang Chao did not take out a loan as usual, which saved him a lot of effort.

After finishing everything, Zhang Chao devoted himself to the preparation for the graduation works review meeting of the "Writer Graduate Class" of Yanshi University.

It was unlikely to have the same grand momentum as the last Yanda defense live broadcast, and Yanshi University did not want to be outshined by Yanda, so under Zhang Chao's matchmaking, a special column was opened on Xinlang.com. The section first uploaded the essence of the graduation works of the writers' class students for trial reading, and then opened a special section for each student, which was a display of their past works.

The review process of the graduation work is actually similar to the defense, but it is not as serious and sharp as the defense. It is more like a 30-minute work discussion. It will be recorded and uploaded to the column.

Although this approach does not have the same sensational effect as a live defense, it is more lasting.

On June 2006, 6, Zhang Chao welcomed the review of his graduation works in the "Writers Graduate Class". As the class teacher and instructor, Yu Hua naturally had to avoid suspicion, and the review was presided over by Professor Liu Yong of the School of Literature of Yanshi University.

Professor Liu Yong is a leading figure in the study of modern and contemporary literature at Yanshi University and a Yangtze River Scholar. He is well-known among students for his erudition and forthrightness. More than a decade later, he became quite famous for his sharp comments on "modern new women".

Professor Liu Yong held the thick manuscript of Zhang Chao's "Crime Police Glory" in his hand and asked him the first question: "I think your novel is very modernist, from the technique to the theme, it belongs to pure literature. But why did you give it such a 'vulgar' name - do you want to gain both word of mouth and sales?"

After he finished speaking, he laughed, and the other teachers at the meeting and Zhang Chao also laughed.

After everyone calmed down, Zhang Chao said, "I came up with this name when I was first thinking about this novel. I talked to the policeman Lao Yu who provided the material. Later, I couldn't think of a more suitable name while writing it down.

In fact, the title of this book is an irony to the protagonist Captain Cheng. At the beginning of the novel, when Cheng Bing appeared in front of the readers, he was no longer a criminal policeman. At the end of the novel, although he caught the fugitive, he resorted to fighting with the other party... He also had no glory..."

In such a relaxed atmosphere, Zhang Chao talked freely and unraveled this work into which he had poured his greatest efforts.

On the same day, a blogger named "Lian Yue" uploaded an article titled "Artificial 'Zhang Chao': A Farce about 'Literary Genius'" on Xinlang Blog.

The beginning of this article is particularly sharp:
[When Zhang Chao set off a "trend" again and again, we might as well think calmly that there are too many suspicious things about this "miracle" - before the third year of high school, he had never published any literary works in any famous newspapers or magazines, but just five months before the college entrance examination, he suddenly became famous by criticizing his peers on the literary platform, and became China's most famous "young writer" along the way. ]

[This article will tell you the real secret behind this "miracle" with exclusive, solid facts and rigorous logical deduction.]

Then, the article was divided into three parts to expose Zhang Chao’s “true face”:

[1. Zhang Chao’s father Zhang Weiguo, keyword: shaping] (I still have to come up with a name in the end, which is tiring)
[According to public information, Zhang Chao's father graduated from the Chinese Department of Xiamen University, the highest institution of higher learning in Fujian Province, in the early 80s. He was a typical "old third-generation" student. Through thesis websites such as "HowNet" and "Wanfang", it can be found that Zhang Weiguo wrote many papers during his time at school, two of which were highly cited and were related to Lu Xun. We all know that the "full-score masterpiece" that Zhang Chao wrote when he took the college entrance examination was exactly about Lu Xun.]

[In addition, according to public reports and multiple verifications, Zhang Chao only scored over 300 points in the first provincial college entrance examination simulation test. Except for the Chinese language subject, the rest of the scores were terrible. We know that the grades of senior high school students usually do not "plummet". There must be a process. As an old Xiamen University student, will Zhang Weiguo be calm when he sees that his son cannot even get into an ordinary undergraduate program? ]

【More than two years ago, the only way for a "biased" teenager to go to a good university, apart from various math, physics and chemistry competitions, was the "New Concept Essay Competition" held by "New Sprout" magazine. However, Zhang Chao made it clear to the media that he had never submitted an article to this competition. As Zhang Chao's father, Zhang Weiguo's considerations were naturally more thorough than Zhang Chao's. Looking at his son's poor grades and those high school students who relied on their writing skills to enter universities, would he be at peace?】

【We know that there was a beautiful "miss" in the history of the "New Concept Essay Contest". 17-year-old Han Han missed the rematch because he did not receive the rematch notice of the first contest. However, the "New Concept Essay Contest" held a make-up contest for him out of love for talent. The topic of the make-up contest was "New Sprout" editor Li Qigang threw a ball of paper into a water cup. In just over an hour, Han Han wrote the famous "Seeing People in the Cup" without any modification. 】

[In a hurry, facing a tricky topic, he wrote an amazing article - this is true talent. Although Han Han was not admitted to a famous university in the end, his legend has been created. Zhang Weiguo saw that Han Han, whose grades were worse than his son's, had gained fame and fortune. Would he be willing in his heart? ]

【Zhang Weiguo was a famous university student in that era. For unknown reasons, he was assigned to teach in a township middle school in his hometown, Changfu County, after graduation. Later, he moved to many schools but never got the opportunity to display his talents. This was undoubtedly a heavy and lasting blow to Zhang Weiguo, who was once known as the "pen" in the Chinese Department of Xiamen University.】

【By consulting the information, we know that some of his classmates became scholars, some became writers, and some rose through the political ladder and held high positions. College students in that era were rare, and famous universities like Xiamen University were even more favored. It was natural for people to sympathize with each other. If Zhang Weiguo found these scholars, writers, and officials and asked them for help for the future of his children, would they refuse?】

[You must be wondering - Zhang Chao, an ordinary senior high school student with only a few subjects, who had not published a single word of his work in any famous newspaper or magazine in the past 18 years of his life, and whose highest award was only the first prize in the city or county student essay competition, how could he suddenly open up his writing skills and write three articles with great critical power and power just five months before the college entrance examination?]

[At this time, the truth sank, and Zhang Weiguo floated up. ]

This first point is already very hurtful. It lists a lot of facts but does not clearly state what the author's own inferences are. It is all left to the reader's imagination, but the implication is already very clear.

[2. Huacheng Society, Chunfeng Society, Keyword: Packaging]

[If you want to artificially create a "literary genius", it is not enough to have someone to write, you also need someone to package it. ]

[The cooperation between Huacheng Publishing House and Zhang Chao began in 2004, and the process was very dramatic. As the largest publishing house in Guangdong Province, Huacheng Publishing House actually lowered its noble head and was fooled by the fledgling Zhang Chao. It not only gave Zhang Chao an exaggerated first print run, but also an extremely high royalty ratio. Why did it do this? ]

[We also want to ask, can a 19-year-old student like Zhang Chao come up with such mature business tactics? ]

【By checking the operating conditions of Huacheng Publishing House in recent years, we know that the sales of Huacheng Magazine, one of the "Four Major Actresses" of pure literature, has been very bleak in recent years, and Huacheng Publishing House is also facing huge economic pressure. In the field of literature, the most effective sales drivers are undoubtedly those star authors. But when those "famous authors" have lost their starlight, what is the best way? Of course, create another star. And what is the type of writer who has sold the most books in recent years? Of course, it is youth literature writers like Han Han and Xiao Si! 】

[Speaking of Chunfeng Press, they are even more of an expert in youth literature. In order to create young star writers, they set up a special youth literature studio called "Bohu". In addition, Xiao Si, the best-selling youth literature writer before Zhang Chao, had a very close cooperative relationship with Chunfeng Press. Chunfeng Press even invested resources in Xiao Si and let him set up his own literary magazine team. With Xiao Si's success as a lesson, it was reasonable for Zhang Chao and his son to choose to cooperate with Chunfeng Press later. ]

【Later, Zhang Chao and his son expanded their literary territory to Changjiang Publishing House. Was it to express the meaning of "rain and dew are equally shared"? Then, under the temptation of huge interests, would packaging Zhang Chao become a kind of consensus in the entire publishing industry?】

[We can also see that Zhang Chao quickly changed his style after joining different publishing houses, from early social criticism to commercial writing. Although there are occasional miscellaneous reviews and pure literary works, it is obvious that he is no longer the Zhang Chao of the past! ]

【So the truth sank, and the publisher floated up! 】

(End of this chapter)