Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 404 This detective is a bit unlucky (asking for guaranteed monthly tickets at the beginning of the month)
At this time, other editors also came over to watch the fun. When they saw Xu Changchang's screen, they had no idea what was going on and shouted out loud, "Zhang Chao's manuscript? Oh, it's called Painted Skin!"

This sentence resounded through the editorial office like thunder. Even the most senior editor who was as steady as a rock could not help but take off his reading glasses and stretch his neck to look over here.

Wang Zhanjun sighed and said, "Why can't you control your mouth?" No one would be happy if the big mouth spread the news before he even read the novel.

But seeing that he could no longer hide it, Wang Zhanjun could only admit: "I asked Xiao Xu to send a letter to Zhang Chao asking for an article, but I didn't expect to get a reply so soon - Xiao Xu, you are really our 'lucky general'!"

Xu Changchang's face was flushed, showing shyness and pride.

Wang Zhanjun said: "Please forward it to me quickly, I will read it now."

At this time, the editors couldn't help but clamor out of curiosity: "Editor-in-chief, print it out so that everyone can read it together!"

In addition to the superior-subordinate relationship, editors of literary magazines often have a teacher-student and friend relationship, so there are not so many concerns.

Wang Zhanjun thought about it and felt that the news could not be concealed anyway, so he said to Xu Changchang: "Okay, give everyone a copy - but take it back after reading it, the rules cannot be broken.

Oh, and, Xiao Xu, remember to reply to Zhang Chao’s email. Don’t be too excited and forget about it, or else people will laugh at us for being impolite.”

Xu Changchang nodded repeatedly. He first downloaded the document of Painted Skin, roughly arranged the layout, reduced the number of pages, and then clicked the print button according to the number of editors;

Then he began to carefully choose his words and email Zhang Chao back:

[Hello Zhang Chao:
I have received your manuscript...】

A group of editors had been waiting next to the large printer in the office. Every time a copy was printed out, there was no time to bind it, and everyone would scramble for it, creating a very lively atmosphere.

Wang Zhanjun smiled and shook his head, feeling a little relieved that the atmosphere in the editorial office had become unusually lively - this showed that the editors not only had a passion for literature, but also had deep feelings for the magazine.

So he simply said, "Take the printed draft, and let's go to the conference room to read it and express our opinions!"

Everyone agreed loudly.

Fifteen minutes later, the core editors of October magazine all sat in the conference room, each holding a copy of Painted Skin, and began to read.

"Painted Skin" is the most famous story in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", and it can even be said that it is the most famous one - not only is the story bizarre and terrifying, but it has also been made into movies many times. It is said that the version released in 1992 once scared the audience to death.

The original novel tells the story of a scholar named "Wang Sheng" who meets a beautiful woman of unknown identity and takes her home as a concubine. Later, he accidentally sees that the beautiful woman actually takes off her human skin and spreads it on the table to draw her eyebrows and eyes. Her true identity turns out to be a hideous evil ghost.

Soon Wang Sheng was eaten by an evil ghost. Fortunately, he was helped by a Taoist priest with great magical powers, who eliminated the evil ghost and brought Wang Sheng back to life.

Zhang Chao's novel is based on this, so there must be a connection in theme or content, and the editors began to read it excitedly.

At the beginning of the novel, everyone found that Zhang Chao's style had changed significantly -

I squatted on the moldy tile floor, my rubber gloves sinking into the sticky dirt of the drain. The old-fashioned flush toilet was like a dying monster, making a disgusting gurgling sound from the back of its throat.

"This is a big case." I muttered to myself into the toilet, the wrench tapping on the rusted pipe. The mirror reflected my overalls, with "Wanjiatong Pipeline Repair" printed on the back.

Suddenly, there was a dull thud of something heavy falling to the ground from upstairs, and I instinctively reached for my waist. Unfortunately, there was no gun there, only half a pack of Hongtashan and a half-eaten Jianbing Guozi. From the exhaust pipe of the range hood floated fragments of a couple's quarrel: "cheap man... vixen... salary card..." These words mixed with the smell of toilet ammonia, stirred into a turbid liquid in my nasal cavity.

"Master!" The frosted glass of the bathroom was suddenly slammed, and the landlady's sharp voice penetrated the door: "Are you here to fix the toilet or to perform a ritual? You've been tinkering with it for half an hour!"

I took out a miniature flashlight and shone it deep into the pipe. The beam startled a group of cockroaches: "Right away, right away." I deliberately lowered my voice when I spoke, just like Tony Leung in Infernal Affairs. In fact, I was indeed collecting evidence - condoms fished out of the U-shaped pipe of the toilet, a comb with long hair wrapped around it, and a soaked express delivery slip - I firmly believed that these things were hiding some unspeakable secrets.

There are some secrets that might earn you more money from the right person than you could make from unclogging a toilet a hundred times.

Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Li Mo, and I’m a private detective. 】

"This private detective is interesting." An editor laughed.

Who would have thought that Zhang Chao's opening story this time would be about a "private detective" who clears sewers? Many people couldn't help laughing when they thought that Zhang Chao had mixed these two completely unrelated professions together.

"Is he going to write a mystery novel this time?" another editor asked. After all, for most readers with rich reading experience, such an opening would subconsciously remind them of classic detective characters.

A private detective with sloppy appearance and financial difficulties is inadvertently involved in a major case. Despite everyone's neglect and contempt, he finally makes a splash and finds the real murderer through keen observation and careful reasoning. This is also a major cliché of detective novels.

Raymond Chandler's tough detective Philip Marlowe has similar characteristics, except that Raymond Chandler would never let his detective lie on the floor to unclog the toilet.

After a brief discussion, everyone couldn't wait to continue reading:
[When my phone vibrated in the tool bag, I was using a long-handled clamp to pick up a gold ring from the sewer. It was a fake, because it was covered with patina. But the inside of the ring was engraved with "2010.12.31". This discovery made me so excited that my hands were shaking, as if I had glimpsed a secret relationship and a philandering man full of lies.

So I didn't press the answer button until the phone vibrated for the second time.

"Is that 'Night Ranger Li Sir'?" The electric current sound was wrapped in a thick smoke-filled voice, which sounded like a mouthful of old phlegm that would burst out of the receiver at any time. "I heard that you are very professional?"

I stood up straight quickly, as if the other party was standing in front of me instead of on the phone. I threw the gloves stained with unknown mucus into the trash can: "If you question my professionalism, you can hang up now..." I was interrupted before I finished speaking. The quarrel between the couple upstairs suddenly escalated, and the sound of slippers hitting the floor shook the ceiling and dust fell.

"Where are you?" the other party asked vigilantly.

"This is a secret, and also the privacy of the client." I grabbed the wrench and knocked on the water pipe. The metallic vibration sound produced a surprising reverberation in the small space. "I don't have much time..."

After returning to the van, I turned up the volume of the stereo to celebrate. This Wuling Rongguang is my mobile office and bedroom. There is a hydraulic dredging machine and a folding bed in the back seat. In the glove box of the co-pilot is a Canon SLR camera, which is said to be a 5D2. In fact, it is just a showpiece. The lens has been worn out for a long time. Everything it takes is foggy, not as good as my mobile phone. But who made me a private detective? I only use a plunger to talk to the lens.

Of course, there is no such profession as "private detective" in China. It is not even included in the occupational classification list of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. There are a total of 1481 occupations and 2670 types of work in China, and there is no one called "private detective."

So whenever I register on a micro-loan platform, I will fill in "civil servant" or "teacher" in the occupation column; as for other occasions, I will introduce myself as a "business investigator."

As for the "Sir" after "Lee", it is to hint to others that I have a special background - of course this is not illegal, because "Sir" has never been exclusive to any profession. However, as long as you have watched Hong Kong movies, you will easily accept this hint.

Nowadays, it is not important who you are, but who you look like. The words and photos you share on Weibo and Moments; the 30-second short videos you post on video platforms; and even the social media avatars you choose...they are more important than your graduation certificate - or even your ID card.

"Talking with a plunger...hahaha..." Someone couldn't help it again.

"Is Zhang Chao trying to 'make amends'?" another editor joked, "to mend everyone's hurt feelings?"

"Who knows, this kid is really bad! He might stab you a few more times later. Don't be too happy too soon!"

The editors all laughed spontaneously, and the meeting room was filled with a happy atmosphere.

Wang Zhanjun, who was sitting at the head of the conference table, read the manuscript carefully while observing everyone's reactions. Generally speaking, literary editors are very silent when reading manuscripts, and many male comrades smoke one cigarette after another. They don't look like they are appreciating literary works, but more like husbands waiting outside the delivery room.

But this time, reviewing Zhang Chao's manuscript was different. After just reading the beginning, everyone stopped several times to chat and laugh. The atmosphere was completely different, especially the younger editors, whose faces were full of smiles.

Is this Zhang Chao’s magic?
Wang Zhanjun shook his head secretly, thinking that he couldn't keep up with the times. However, the character created by Zhang Chao at the beginning was indeed quite attractive, which gave him the motivation to read on.

[When I put my phone upside down on the desk, I found that the sweat from my palms left a foggy fingerprint on the screen. The central air-conditioning outlet was blowing directly at the back of my neck. Why did the four words "prepaid accounts" on the accounting voucher blur into a black ball in my field of vision?

"Xiao Jiang." The sound of the director's high heels stopped outside the partition, and my knees hit the inside of the desk with a "bang". The director stretched out her fingers painted with burgundy nail polish, holding the travel expense invoice she had just sorted out: "Let the sales department make up the excess accommodation fee. Don't use so much glue when pasting the invoice, or the tax bureau will think we are forging it if they check it."

I stared at the ticking 17:33 in the lower right corner of the monitor. The sweet steam from the Tremella soup cooked by Sister Wang next door mixed with the smell of ink from a dot-matrix printer was like a fish diving into my nose. The male intern behind me was secretly watching a movie. He thought that if he shrunk the player into a palm-sized size and placed it in the lower right corner, no one would notice it. The sound of Windows shutting down was heard next door. At this moment, everyone in the building had blurred vision and could not see anything clearly.

There are still twenty-seven minutes left, which is enough for me to complete three things: split the fifty thousand yuan embezzled last week into eight accounts receivable and payable, send an overtime text message to my wife, and neatly paste the director's travel expense invoice.

After finishing all these things, there are still two hours left.

……

Back at home, I opened the freezer and took out half a box of frozen dumplings. I suddenly remembered what I said in the livestream last week: "I only go to Sushi-ichi for Japanese food." When the water in the pot boiled, my phone vibrated. It was the exclusive notification tone of "桃之夭夭". I placed my phone on the top cover of the range hood and turned on "Youku Live" - ​​she was wearing Hanfu and spinning in front of the camera, singing an ancient song whose words I couldn't quite make out.

"Mr. Jiang is here, welcome Mr. Jiang!" When she made a heart shape with her hands, a cat-like arc appeared in the corner of her eyes. I huddled on the sofa with collapsed springs, and with a click of my fingers, I rewarded her with a "sports car". The moment the gift special effect exploded, I felt the U shield in my suit pocket getting hot. But soon this uneasiness was burned out by the "boss' generosity" in the comment area of ​​the live broadcast room.

You call me "Xiao Jiang" in the company and I don't argue with you, but what should you call me in the live studio? 】

"Zhang Chao finally starts writing about 'Internet anchor'?" The editor got excited when he saw this.

In his previous two novels, Zhang Chao had "predicted" the emergence of this new profession - anyone can start their own "live broadcast career" on the Internet platform, and the variety of options is enough to make readers in 2008 dumbfounded.

Pretty ones can shake their buttocks, and ugly ones can also shake their buttocks; talented ones can sing, dance, and draw, and those without talent can perform a meal that bankrupts a buffet restaurant...

These anchors, whether they are borderline, curious, or technically advanced, can almost all win some audiences, and these audiences can reward the anchors they admire with various virtual gifts.

From a rose that costs 1 yuan to a luxury sports car that costs 1 yuan - live streaming platforms and anchors have almost exhausted all the "forbidden techniques" in the field of human psychology in order to attract viewers to give them tips.

Hundreds of millions of people around the world are addicted to live streaming every day, making it an emerging industry with the highest economic value in the world.

Those anchors can even earn far more than big-name stars from sharing the gifts.

This bizarre future world is also a controversial part of Zhang Chao's novels - most readers think that Zhang Chao is too pessimistic, and no matter how developed the Internet is, it will only become another carrier of TV programs.

For decades, the audience's threshold for self-entertainment has been raised by television. How could they be easily seduced by a host shaking his butt?

Zhang Chao always briefly touches on the description of the "Internet anchor", which always leaves people with a feeling of wanting more. This time, he seems to be ready to reveal the "secret" of his predictions?
This makes people even more curious.

At the same time, Zhang Chao also used a very interesting technique to create the novel - the novel seems to be written in the first person "I", but in fact the characters are switched during the narrative process.

At first it was "Li Mo", and now it's "Jiang Zhu". Not only does it keep the plot going, but it also allows us to constantly discover new angles of the story from the self-narration of different characters.
At this time, an editor suddenly realized: "No wonder the novel is called "Painted Skin"! It turns out that in the future, everyone can use the Internet to cover themselves with a 'painted skin'?

A toilet cleaner can be a private detective, and the financial officer in a company can become the boss. "

Another editor said, "Doesn't that mean there are scammers everywhere?"

"Not all of them are scammers, right? For example, if you use Photoshop to make your photos more beautiful and post them on QQ, is that also scamming?"

"Stop arguing and watch the rest of the content, it's going to be exciting!" Wang Zhanjun saw that everyone's discussion was getting louder and louder, so he quickly reminded them.

The editors immediately shut up and read on, only to find that the subject of the narrative had changed again...

(End of this chapter)