Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 266: Kick on the nose and hit the face

"Just... give it to me?" Comrade Zhang Weiguo looked at the check in front of him, somewhat unable to believe his eyes.

The bright capital letters "Six Hundred Thousand Yuan" on the check reminded him that all this was true. Zhang Chao's mother also widened her eyes in disbelief.

Did the Zhang family really produce two writers?
Liu Boping, the editor of Fuhai Education Press, who came to deliver the check, was very enthusiastic and said to Zhang Weiguo: "The pre-sale of Mr. Zhang's book is very popular, and the current confirmed sales volume has exceeded 30 copies.

Our president has decided to pay you the first installment of royalties before the Chinese New Year, as a way of wishing you a happy new year. For good luck, we rounded it up to 60. There will be more to come depending on sales.”

Zhang Chao was very calm and went to the kitchen to make tea for everyone.

Zhang Weiguo calmed down and moved the check to one side of the table so that Zhang Chao could put the brewed tea in front of everyone. Liu Boping saw Zhang Chao serving him tea and did not dare to neglect it. He half stood up and took the teacup.

After Zhang Chao served the tea, he said, "You guys chat, I'll go back to my room and write something."

Liu Boping looked at Zhang Chao's back reluctantly until his sight was blocked by the door, and then he turned his attention back to Zhang Weiguo. He also knew that it was unlikely that he could recruit Zhang Chao.

But as a human being, you must always have dreams, otherwise what’s the difference between you and salted fish?

Zhang Weiguo didn't care. The meat was already rotten in the pot, so he said politely, "Why bother you to come here in person? You can just transfer the money."

Liu Boping quickly said, "It's different. Checks are more ceremonial."

These days, famous writers have many different ways of getting their royalties. Some prefer cash, some prefer checks, and some like to have the publisher exchange the money for them in US dollars, Hong Kong dollars, or British pounds.

Of course, Liu Boping did not come here just to deliver the check. He also had an important mission - to prevent Zhang Weiguo from being poached by other publishing houses!
Although Zhang Chao has notified all publishing houses not to disturb their family during the Chinese New Year, sending money to their doorstep is not one of them. This advantage cannot be replicated by other publishing houses.

The reason why Zhang Weiguo signed this book to Fuhai Education Press instead of other nationally renowned publishing houses that his son Zhang Chao contacted for him was mainly due to alumni relations.

After chatting for a while, Liu Boping got to the point and said, "The new book will be released on the eighth day of the first lunar month. The president hopes that you will accept an interview and participate in the book signing in the city."

Zhang Weiguo nodded, but he was a little surprised and asked, "Hasn't this been discussed before? Just send me the itinerary. The school will not start until after the Lantern Festival, so we have time."

Liu Boping said: "Well... Actually, in addition to you, we also hope to have a stronger publicity lineup, best, best..." As he spoke, he glanced at Zhang Chao's bedroom.

Zhang Weiguo said: "Then you'd better ask him directly. We are not sure how long he can stay this time. You know, he is much busier than the two of us."

Liu Boping nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, yes, we'll talk about it when the time comes." Contacting Zhang Chao directly was quite stressful for an ordinary editor like him.

Then he changed the subject and asked, "The sales of "I Teach My Son to Write" are so good this time. Is Mr. Zhang preparing for a new work? Our president said that as long as it is written by you, it doesn't matter what the subject is."

Zhang Weiguo's eyes lit up and he asked, "Really?"

Liu Boping saw his excited expression and felt something was wrong, but he still said, "Yes, it's true!"

……

Zhang Chao worked hard in his room for half an hour, but didn't even get a daily necessity. He closed the game in anger, thinking that the remastered version would not be released for another ten years, and felt extremely sad.

There are also "Black Monkey", "Give Him Love 5", "The Big Pimp 2", "Old Man Ring"... Not everything in Rebirth is good. After my appetite for games has been spoiled, it's really a wasteland when I open my computer.

Even watching game competitions is less fun because the results are known in advance - for example, Moon won the first season of WEG with a perfect record, and SKY won two consecutive championships in WCG 2005 and 2006.

Back then, he watched every broadcast in front of his computer and cheered along with the entire internet cafe. After his rebirth in this life, he no longer had the interest to watch...

In addition to games, the backwardness of mobile Internet and electronic digital products forced Zhang Chao to quit his Internet addiction.

Last month, Apple released the first generation of iPhone, which was a groundbreaking product. Everyone was talking about it. There were "minimalist design with only one button on the front", "exaggerated 3.5-inch screen", "epoch-making sliding touch", "you can shrink the picture by pinching your finger"...

Seeing these news or discussion threads, Zhang Chao couldn't say that he was calm, but he had no interest at all.

However, the popularity of this phone was so high that even Huang Jiefu excitedly called Zhang Chao and said, "Boss, the iPhone is on the market. I will go to the United States and bring one to everyone."

Zhang Chao only replied: "You guys can use it, I'll forget it. By the way, instead of buying an iPhone, why not buy some Apple stocks..."

The first generation of iPhone only had 2.5G network, no AppStore, and even no "copy-paste" function, which was too useless for him. In Zhang Chao's opinion, the iPhone 4 and 4s were the generation that provided him with a "user experience".

Before this, he preferred to use BlackBerry series or Nokia's E series business phones. Regardless of playability, from the perspective of information processing efficiency, they are more efficient than previous generations of iPhones.

As for Android phones, if you want to use them more comfortably, you have to wait until the 5.0 system (4.4 is actually OK). But at that time, the greatest fun of Android was actually rooting and then flashing the phone... Zhang Chao is really not interested in this now.

Zhang Chao finally discovered the main reason why he often felt empty after his rebirth - many of the hobbies he used to fill his free time have become a thing of the past. Before his rebirth, the things he liked and relied on had not yet appeared.

Zhang Chao wondered, how come those predecessors who traveled through time and space and were reborn were able to come up with these products many years in advance? It seems that this line of work still needs science students to do it...

While I was daydreaming, there was a knock on the door. My mother poked her head out and said, "The guests have left. You can come out now."

Zhang Chao knew that he must have something to discuss with him, so he informed him specifically. He quickly collected his thoughts and went to the living room. He saw his father still staring at the check in a daze.

Zhang Weiguo came back to his senses when he saw his son coming out. He sighed and said, "Writing books makes money quickly. I finally understand why you gave us that bank card with 20 yuan."

Zhang Chao picked up the check, glanced at it, and put it back on the table, saying, "A check is a check, and the money is money. You still need to take this check to the bank to transfer it, otherwise the money won't be transferred to your account. The procedure is quite troublesome, so let them transfer the money directly in the future."

Zhang Weiguo touched the check again, then handed it to his wife and said, "Let's go together tomorrow."

Zhang Chao's mother carefully put the check away and said happily, "Yes!"

Zhang Weiguo watched his wife return home with the check, and asked again, "This is the first time that our family has received so much money at once. Generally speaking, if there are hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars on the books, what do you do? Do you just save it?"

Zhang Chao knew that his parents had been earning a living for half their lives. Although they knew a lot of financial management methods, they were all suitable for saving small amounts of money. Zhang Chao estimated that his father's income from this book alone would not be less than 200 million in the next year.

This was a huge sum of money for ordinary people in 2007.

The safest way is to deposit the money in the bank and earn interest. I believe that as long as the publishing house transfers a few more royalties to Comrade Zhang, the bank manager will come to visit with gifts.

Zhang Chao doesn't need his parents to make more money. Now even if they just lie down and do nothing, the money will be enough for them to live on until they are old.

But in Fuhai, private bidding is too rampant, relying on friends, fellow villagers, and relatives to spread it, and it is almost omnipresent. Not to mention that you are rich, even if you are poor, you can easily be deceived and your retirement money will be taken away.

The news that my father's book was selling like hot cakes would not be kept secret for long. Sooner or later, someone would come to get close to him. Losing some money was not a big deal, but making my parents unhappy would be bad.

Therefore, you cannot keep too much of this money in your hands, and you need to find a safe investment channel for them.

Of course, he could ask his father to give the money to Huang Jiefu for investment. The US subprime mortgage crisis had already shown signs at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. Many banks and financial institutions were in a panic before the storm, trembling with fear but unable to do anything.

If things go "smoothly", banks on the other side of the ocean should start to collapse one after another during the Chinese New Year. The turmoil in global financial markets will not subside until 2009.

But this kind of money is too "fantastic" for parents, and they may not be able to accept it for a while.

As for stocks and funds, they are even more time-consuming and brain-consuming. He also doesn't want his parents to work from 9 to 3, watching the market all day, and being controlled by red and green lines. So, there is only one way left -

"Buy a house!" Zhang Chao said very solemnly.

"Huh?" Zhang Weiguo was stunned. He thought Zhang Chao would let him buy stocks. The stock market is very bullish now. It started to rise all the way two years ago and has increased several times.

Zhang Chao said: "It's best to buy a house. Let's go to Fuhai City to buy one. How much is the house price now?"

Zhang Weiguo recalled for a long time before saying, "Some time ago, an old colleague of mine bought a house in Oriental City. It's 120 square meters and cost more than 60 yuan. It's a lot more than last year!"

Zhang Chao said firmly: "Buy it! Definitely buy it! It just so happens that 60 has arrived in my account this time. Go to the bank to transfer it tomorrow. The day after tomorrow we will go to the city to buy a house."

Zhang Weiguo said in disbelief: "Are you in such a hurry? We don't want to move. We live well here."

Zhang Chao couldn't help but roll his eyes and said, "Who told you to move? Do you have to move after buying a house? After buying it, spend tens of thousands of dollars on a simple renovation, lay the floor, paint it white, connect the water and electricity, and then rent it out, right?"

Zhang Weiguo said: "Is this...appropriate? What if the housing prices fall?"

"Yes, yes, the stock market is so good, I didn't let your father invest money because I was afraid it would fall." Zhang Chao's mother put away the check and returned to the living room. When she heard the conversation between the father and son, she quickly interrupted.

Zhang Chao patiently explained: "In the next 10 years...13 years, the housing prices in Fuhai will only rise, not fall, so just buy it with confidence. When Dad receives some royalties in the future, you can buy a house.

If you get less, buy a smaller one; if you get more, buy a bigger one. Don’t take out a loan, just pay in full.”

Zhang Weiguo was shocked: "13 years? How can there be decimals and integers? Is it so precise?"

Zhang Chao was stunned for a moment, then said: "Don't ask why, just trust me. Anyway, it's not wrong to buy a house now! One day later, you will lose a little!" Well, this reason is really inconvenient to say.

Seeing that his parents were still hesitant, Zhang Chao gave them a shocking tip: "I have already bought nine houses in Yanjing, and I may buy another courtyard house this year. I am not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"

Zhang Weiguo and his wife were completely tempted. They looked at each other and finally made up their minds: "Okay, I'll listen to you! Houses are more resistant to price drops than stocks. If stocks can fall to zero, can houses also fall to zero?"

Zhang Chao nodded with satisfaction and added, "You should buy commercial housing in the city, and never buy villas, especially those recently built in the countryside or near scenic spots in Changfu. Don't even take a look at them, let alone buy them.

If you want to live in a ‘luxury house’, I will buy one for you when there is a flat over 200 square meters in Fuhai city.”

Changfu County is rich in mountain and water resources. In the past two years, it has become particularly popular to find a piece of flat land in the mountains near the highway, build a villa area, and trick wealthy people into buying it, using the banners of "negative ion oxygen bar" and "resort".

Later, they either ended up unfinished or became a gathering place for mistresses. If you really want to buy it, don't mention how disgusting it is.

Seeing his parents nodded in confusion, Zhang Chao finally felt relieved.

Buying a house now is not only a simple investment with a high rate of return, but also allows parents to avoid having too much liquid cash on hand and suffer losses. The most important thing is that it can also give them something to do after retirement.

After planning all this, Zhang Chao felt relieved to go out for a stroll. After he returned home, the number of relatives and friends who came to visit him increased significantly, and he was somewhat overwhelmed and incompetent in socializing.

Not to mention that many aunts and uncles see that he is 22 years old and not married, so they are eyeing him covetously and want to push the good girls they have to him, regardless of whether he is single or not.

So he would go out when he had nothing to do and usually come back at dinner time.

Besides, I have an appointment with some old high school classmates to meet and chat today. Chen Huan is back, so I can play basketball; Lan Ting and Song Shiyu can go shopping together again. It's better than being bored at home.

Seeing his son leave, Zhang Weiguo was a little absent-minded. He waited until his wife called him several times before he sighed and said, "Now in this family, he has to make the decisions on important matters."

Zhang Chao's mother said proudly, "Of course. He is our son! He is very smart! Do you know how much our house is worth now?"

Zhang Weiguo asked curiously, "How much?"

Zhang Chao's mother stretched out four fingers and shook them, saying, "Didn't the apartment on the 4th floor with the same layout as ours be sold to someone else a few days ago? I asked around and got this price. Theirs is still a bare-bones apartment that hasn't been renovated yet."

Zhang Weiguo was surprised and asked, "So we can earn tens of thousands of dollars if we live here for a year?"

Zhang Chao's mother said happily, "I've thought it through. The house prices in the county are so high, so the city can't be worse than the county, right? So my son is right, we have to buy a house with this money! The day after tomorrow is the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, and we haven't had a holiday yet. Let's go to the city to have a look and buy a house if it's suitable!"

Zhang Weiguo said "hmm" heavily and felt completely relieved.

Not to mention that Zhang Chao was making preparations for his parents' later years in Fuhai, far away in Yanjing, in an office with a sign that read "China Youth Education Research Association", a middle-aged man with a round face and thick eyebrows was sitting behind his desk, listening to a report from a young man in front of him.

"What? Are you sure Zhang Chao didn't respond at all?" The middle-aged man was a little unbelievable.

The young man was obviously a little nervous, but he still said with certainty: "Indeed, not at all. I checked all the major newspapers in the past week and searched all the major websites. Zhang Chao's last public statement was the open letter published in China Reading Newspaper. There has been no other news since then."

The middle-aged man still didn't quite believe it, and asked, "With his temper, can you bear it?"

The young man said cautiously, "Maybe, maybe he didn't see your article? After all, Education Newsletter is a professional journal and its social influence is not great."

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "You don't understand. For a person like Zhang Chao, if there is any news about him in the media, there will be people who will tip him off. It is impossible that he doesn't know about it."

The young man hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, could it be that he feels that..." At this point, he suddenly realized that he was about to say something wrong, so he quickly shut his mouth.

The middle-aged man laughed at himself and said, "Are you trying to say that Zhang Chao doesn't care and doesn't care, so he didn't respond."

The young man didn't dare to answer.

The middle-aged man waved his hand to indicate that it was okay, and then said: "He is in the literary world, and we are in the education world. It's normal to feel that it doesn't matter."

The young man said, "What should we do? It's the New Year, and everyone's attention is not on this right now. The school is also on vacation - how about we wait until school starts?"

The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "How can we wait for something like this? Now is the 'news vacuum period', so we have a chance to seize the position. Zhang Chao is a person with a lot of gossips. I don't know what he will do after the New Year, so I will ignore him."

The young man was embarrassed and asked: "What should I do then?"

The middle-aged man suddenly remembered something and asked, "Is his father going to publish a book soon? He even advertised it on TV."

The young man nodded and said, "Yes. It's called "I Teach My Son to Write Compositions" - it's really shameless. Just after criticizing "Harvard Girl Liu Yiting", he started promoting it himself."

The middle-aged man slammed the table and said, "That's it! I criticized him, but he didn't respond. What about me criticizing his own father? He didn't respond either?"

The young man was stunned and said, "This... Is this possible? Isn't this going to offend Zhang Chao to death?"

The middle-aged man said nonchalantly: "What are you afraid of? I just want to provoke him! He is a literary person and doesn't care about the education world. How can I, an educator, be afraid of him in the literary world?

I will contact the New Yanjing News right away for an exclusive interview!"

(End of this chapter)