Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 229 Young people, don't talk about martial arts!

After watching Liu Yichang leave, Ma Jiahui also said to Zhang Chao: "Teacher Liu has explained it very comprehensively, which is better than my timid and cautious approach."

Zhang Chao said: "The old gentleman is indifferent to life, which is naturally different from us." Then he said: "In any case, I still hope to facilitate Hong Kong students to go north to participate in the competition. I hope to get your help in the media."

Ma Jiahui said: "This is actually a good thing, but it was just used as an excuse for bickering. If you need me to help, I will definitely help."

The two chatted for a while downstairs and then went their separate ways.

Zhang Chao returned to the hotel room, exhausted. He took a shower, changed into pajamas, lay on the bed, and turned on the TV to hypnotize himself.

Zhang Chao casually turned on a news channel to see what gossip was going on in the Hong Kong entertainment industry. But when the screen turned, he saw his own face hanging on the TV screen.

Zhang Chao: "..."

The female host reported the news in the exaggerated tone typical of gossip shows:
"Today, mainland young writer and multimillionaire Zhang Chao arrived in Hong Kong. He was picked up by a special person and went to Victoria Harbour to meet Lingnan University professor Xu Zidong. Accompanied by literary giant Pan Yaoming, he checked into the luxurious room of the Peninsula Hotel and enjoyed the supreme afternoon tea, fully demonstrating the elite temperament of the young rich man."

The screen then showed several photos of Zhang Chao entering the bookstore, getting into Pan Yaoming's car in front of the bookstore, and having afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel. The photos were taken from various angles and every photo was clear.

Zhang Chao was speechless. He didn't even know when these photos were taken, and he didn't notice that there were reporters following him. It can only be said that as a mainlander, he still underestimated the paparazzi culture in Hong Kong.

Xu Zidong, Pan Yaoming, Ma Jiahui and others are all intellectuals and have no experience of being pursued by paparazzi in their lives, so they did not think of reminding Zhang Chao.

However, Zhang Chao was still wary of the words used in the news - "multi-millionaire", "special person to pick up", "secret meeting", "literary tycoon", "luxury guest room", "elite temperament"...

This is obviously intended to arouse the "anti-rich psychology" of local Hong Kong writers and cultural figures, making them disgusted with Zhang Chao. After all, the situation of Hong Kong writers is generally difficult, and Zhang Chao felt this when he visited "Zihua" magazine today.

Then the host said: "Zhang Chao's visit to Hong Kong this time, his actions and accommodation have demonstrated the noble temperament of the new generation of 'Literary Prince' of the mainland.

It is reported that around 9 o'clock this evening, Hong Kong literary giant Liu Yichang rarely left his home. Pan Yaoming personally drove him to see him off and he did not return home until 11 o'clock.

Since handing over the editor-in-chief power of "Hong Kong Literature" in 2001, Liu Yichang has been out of touch with the world for many years. This mysterious trip should be to meet Zhang Chao. "

Zhang Chao was annoyed. Although he was famous in the mainland, he had never received such treatment. Hong Kong people were not interested in the literary world, and he was not a big star. There must be a purpose for investing such media resources in him.

The host concluded: "Zhang Chaogui is the 'richest writer' in the mainland. His visit to Hong Kong not only mediates the controversy over the recent students' participation in the 'New Concept Essay Competition' semi-finals, but also whether he is protesting against local grassroots writers is unknown.

Our station will continue to track Zhang Chao's whereabouts and bring the latest and hottest news to the general public."

"Bang!" Zhang Chao, in a very bad mood, turned off the TV and began to think about tomorrow's schedule and countermeasures.

According to the original plan, he would do two things in the next two days. One was to accept media interviews and express his ideas; the other was to have a discussion with the contestants in the semi-finals to dispel their doubts.

However, the Hong Kong media's biased reporting on him has obviously made the situation worse.

The locals are materialistic, but they also hate the rich's exaggeration and mistakes. Li Chaoren is often ridiculed. For example, in Stephen Chow's "King of Gamblers 2000", Luo Jiaying, who plays Li Chaoren, mentioned "Jianghu Villa" and "Niuzhange Unit" in his lines.

Zhang Chao couldn’t figure out how to change his image for a while - should he move into Chongqing Building and eat beef offal on the street?

"No matter how sharp Zhang Chao is, he has to be restrained when he comes to Hong Kong. Uncle Zhong's trick is on full display!" In a shop in Yau Ma Tei, a young man wearing black-framed glasses, bulging eyeballs and high cheekbones said in an admiring tone.

Opposite him was a middle-aged man wearing a black T-shirt, with a fat body and a stubbled beard. He sat cross-legged on a large Chinese-style mahogany chair, holding a piece of jade-like stone in his hand, playing with it.

Hearing the young man's compliment, the middle-aged man smiled slightly, took a sip of the Kung Fu tea in front of him, and then said leisurely: "Zhang Chao thought that he was rich, famous, and had good connections with the upper class, so he could decide everything. In fact, in Hong Kong, this is his biggest flaw."

The young man nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice when he heard this and said, "How can he understand the mentality of Hong Kong citizens as well as Uncle Zhong does?"

"Uncle Zhong" is Zhong Weiming, who is now drinking tea and relaxing in his own "stone shop". This kind of shop has always been doing business with regular customers, and it is often "closed for three years, open for three years", so it is quite random when to open for business.

Zhong Weiming said: "Hong Kong people have long been tired of bureaucrats who speak sweet words. Those 'adults' are either 'discussing economic policies' on the yachts of the rich or 'planning future development' in the mansions of the rich.

In the end, the common people still have to live in a 50-foot subdivided apartment and eat a 16-dollar plate meal. The cultural figures are also fighting over a few thousand dollars in publishing subsidies. Zhang Chao thought he could solve the problem by asking Pan Yaoming and Liu Yichang, hehe..."

The young man filled Zhong Weiming's cup of tea again and continued to ask, "Uncle Zhong, what will Zhang Chao do next?"

Zhong Weiming said: "What else can we do? We can just hold a press conference and talk about clichés like 'mainland-Hong Kong unity' and 'blood ties'. Then we can visit a few students' homes and promise some small benefits, hoping to impress the parents."

The young man asked, "What if the parents are interested? If they agree to go to Shanghai to compete, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?"

Zhong Weiming waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "Unless he can get all 12 students to participate in the competition, as long as one of them stays on the home ground, then all those who go will be 'traitors', and the remaining one will be a 'hero'. Who dares to bet?"

The young man raised his thumb and said repeatedly: "It's high! It's really high!"

Zhong Weiming said proudly: "This is called 'open conspiracy'! Learn from it!"

The young man asked in confusion: "'Open conspiracy', what is an open conspiracy? I have only heard of 'conspiracy'. Can there be yin and yang schemes?"

Zhong Weiming said: "I heard that your textbooks in Taiwan have deleted a lot of traditional Chinese culture? No wonder you don't even know about 'open conspiracy'. 'Conspiracy' means that the other party doesn't know what strategy you are using, and they fall into the trap unknowingly.

An 'open conspiracy' is when the other party knows exactly what you are plotting, but it is useless even if they know it, so they have to fall for it anyway. The most famous open conspiracy in history is Emperor Wu of Han's 'Enfeoffment Order'. My open conspiracy is actually based on human nature..."

The young man was listening fascinatedly when he suddenly heard a noise coming from the door and someone knocking gently. Zhong Weiming frowned. He clearly didn't make an appointment with anyone this morning, so why would someone come to his door?
However, it is not uncommon for individual tourists to come occasionally, especially during the summer vacation. Tourists from the mainland often knock on the door without courtesy, regardless of whether the store is open or not. But thinking of the purchasing power of mainland tourists who spend a lot of money... Zhong Weiming got up and walked to the door of the store, first opened the security door, and then pulled up the rolling door, ready to welcome the first wave of customers today.

But a burst of flashes blinded his titanium dog eyes, and for a moment he was unable to react.

Faintly, a familiar tall young man strode up to him, shook his hand, and said, "Boss Zhong Weiming, right? I've heard of you for a long time! I'm Zhang Chao."

Zhong Weiming finally came to his senses, pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted, and pointed at the reporters outside and asked, "What's going on?"

Zhang Chao shrugged innocently and said, "I heard that your 'Stone Shop' is here and usually opens at 10 a.m., so I rushed over. I don't know how these dogs... enthusiastic journalist friends followed us."

Zhong Weiming was annoyed and waved his hands, saying, "You and I are two different people. I don't want to argue with you. If you have any ideas or opinions, please speak to the media yourself. Don't come to me. I won't cooperate with you."

Zhang Chao said in surprise, "Boss Zhong, I'm not here to argue with you. I heard you have some good stones. I happen to be interested in stones and want to buy a good one for my own collection or as a gift.

As a businessman, how can you turn away customers? "

Zhong Weiming's brain short-circuited again - Zhang Chao? Come to buy stones? What kind of trick is this? All the gems sold in his shop are very valuable.

Of course, he believed that Zhang Chao had the spending power, but he didn't believe that Zhang Chao just wanted to spend. Zhang Chao's visit was obviously planned for a long time, otherwise how could he know that he was in the store, and how could there be so many reporters present.

Zhong Weiming took a deep breath and made up his mind to refuse Zhang Chao, so he said, "Today our store will not..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Chao interrupted him and said, "I came here today only to look at stones; if we want to talk, we will only talk about stones. If Mr. Zhong doesn't let me in, then I can only think that your stones are afraid of being seen."

Zhong Weiming loved stones all his life, and he loved literature more than anything else. How could he bear to hear Zhang Chao say that his stones were afraid of being seen? If he refused again, wouldn't that mean he was admitting that there was something wrong with his stones? At this moment, he suddenly thought of the "open plot" he had just discussed with the young man in the room, and a surge of blood welled up in his heart.

But it was too late to chase them away, so he just turned aside with a cold face and said, "Then please go in. But I would like to inform you in advance that all reporters should not enter. There are so many people and it is hard to say what happened if you bumped into anything or lost anything.

Besides, if you take this opportunity to talk about something else, don’t blame me for sending you away.”

Zhang Chao nodded, turned around and said to the reporters, "Dear journalist friends, Mr. Zhong is afraid of losing things, so please wait outside. If you can't wait, you can go back first."

This sentence made Zhong Weiming's blood boil again. He looked at the reporters again and found that they all had unfriendly expressions.

At this time, Zhang Chao had already strode into the store. The young people in the store were originally short in stature, and were squeezed by Zhang Chao's "momentum" and sat in the corner on their own initiative.

Zhang Chao did not know this person, but looked at the stone by himself and asked, "Boss Zhong, can you introduce your stone?"

Zhong Weiming said indifferently: "My 'Stone Shop' mainly deals in various gemstones and rare stones. This is the gemstone area, which mainly has chicken blood stone, agate, Bahrain stone, Shoushan stone, Tianhuang stone, cat's eye stone, etc.

This is the jade area, which mainly displays various jade materials, including Hetian jade, Lantian jade, Dushan jade, and jadeite.

This is the strange stone area, mainly various pictographic stones, such as this one, which is a meat-shaped stone. And this one, is a landscape stone..."

Zhong Weiming is a stone lover, and he easily gets carried away when talking about his own stones. So as he continued to introduce his stones, he gradually forgot to be on guard against Zhang Chao, and even picked up a bunch of corals that he was very proud of and handed them to Zhang Chao for his appreciation.

"Corals were valuable in ancient times, but nowadays it is easier to collect corals, so they are gradually becoming less valuable. However, once fine products emerge, the price becomes even higher. For example, this cluster of coral trees is pure red in color, which is still quite rare..."

Zhang Chao took a look and thought they were indeed beautiful, so he asked, "How much is this bunch of coral trees?" His voice was quite loud, and the reporters outside also heard it, and they all stretched their necks to hear it clearly.

Zhong Weiming glanced at Zhang Chao, then said cautiously: "In my heart, stones are spiritual. Especially corals, which were living things before they became gems, so they are more spiritual. So stones are not only bought and sold based on money, but also based on fate. I have no plans to sell this coral tree yet."

Zhang Chao put it down with some disappointment, but still asked, "Could it be that all the stones in your shop today have no fate with me?"

Zhong Weiming was speechless for a moment, and after a long pause he said, "Not really, not really. Go ahead and pick."

Zhang Chao looked around and said, "Boss Zhong, excuse me, how much are these stones worth?"

Whether it was the reporters outside or Zhong Weiming in the store, they were all shocked by Zhang Chao's words and took a deep breath. Everyone knew that Zhang Chao was rich, but was he so rich? He wanted to buy everything in one go?

Zhong Weiming said angrily, "Mr. Zhang, you underestimate my small shop. Although I don't have the kind of seed materials and jadeite that cost hundreds of millions of yuan, it's probably not that easy for you to buy them."

Zhang Chao said "Oh", and said quickly: "Don't get me wrong, I'm just curious. Alas, I really can't buy hundreds of millions, and tens of millions are not enough for me. I didn't expect that Mr. Zhong is so wealthy. Among the writers I know, there are almost no writers who are as successful as you! Awesome! Awesome!"

Zhong Weiming almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Zhang Chao had just been labeled the "richest writer in mainland China" last night, and today he proved in front of reporters that his wealth was similar to Zhang Chao's.

How can I maintain the image that I have created in the media as a voice for local grassroots writers?

Zhang Chao's sneak attack gradually disrupted his rhythm and thinking.

But Zhang Chao seemed to be calm and continued, "I am from Fuhai. The specialties of Fuhai are Shoushan stone and Tianhuang stone. You have both here. I want to buy one to play with. Can you tell me the difference between these two kinds of stones?"

Zhong Weiming managed to calm down, took out two stones from the counter, placed them in front of Zhang Chao, and said, "One is Tianhuang stone, and the other is Shoushan stone. Which one do you think is Tianhuang and which one is Shoushan?"

Zhang Chao shook his head and said, "I don't know." But he was very happy in his heart. As long as he put the stones out, he would have something to say.

(Two chapters in one)

(End of this chapter)