Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 414 All in the trap

The editors of literary magazines only have the right to make suggestions on authors' work, but not the right to make decisions.

And the more famous the writer is, the less power the editor has to make suggestions.

What Zhang Chao did was like a rally champion who was willing to be an ordinary taxi driver and let the passengers drive as he pleased.

Tell him to go left and he will go left, tell him to go right and he will go right...it's exciting just to think about it!

Zhang Chao really saved the best for "Youth"!

The editors now looked at Zhang Chao with a bit of "salacious" eyes - after all, this was a custom article written for them by a great writer!
Zhang Chao looked around at everyone and nodded with satisfaction, "Very good, very energetic!"

Ma Boyong's mind was more active after all, and he asked, "Is that all?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "That's all. As for voting, you can vote anonymously or you can discuss and come to a consensus. I will accept both. You can take turns with both methods. In short, I just want a result, I don't care about the process.

That is to say, in front of me, you are 'one reader', not 'multiple readers with different opinions'. Is that easy to understand?

Oh, if there is only one requirement, it is that 'all beings are equal', one vote is one vote, and no one's vote is more important than another's."

The editors looked at each other and finally nodded in agreement. This was the fairest way to do it, and even Ma Boyong couldn't influence everyone.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Zhang Chao greeted everyone, then slipped out of the editorial office to find Huang Jiefu.

He had more important things to discuss there.

As soon as Zhang Chao left, the editorial office exploded with discussion on how to participate in the writing of Zhang Chao's fourth novel. The discussion started from scratch and continued seamlessly.

"Do you think voting or discussion is better?"

"Of course voting is better! Discussion... at the end of the discussion, you can still talk a lot."

"Yes, if we discuss it, it's too easy for the minority to hold the majority hostage."

"Not necessarily. If we want to discuss something, we can talk about it in private first, and then talk about it together. The more we talk about a work, the more we understand it."

"If it's just voting, it's too 'black box' and I'm afraid my opinions will be ignored until the end."

"Yeah, at least there's a chance to participate in the discussion!"

……

Suddenly someone noticed that Lan Ting, the youngest person in the editorial office, was looking at the computer screen absent-mindedly. There was a manuscript on it, but her eyes stayed on it for several minutes. It was obvious that she was not reading the manuscript, but was in a daze.

So a familiar female editor gently nudged Lan Ting and asked, "What are you daydreaming about? Do you want to vote or discuss?"

Lan Ting came back to her senses and shook her head indifferently, "I'm fine with it. It's up to you."

At this time, someone said mischievously: "Lanting doesn't care. The entire "Your Name" was written according to her ideas, with nearly 100,000 words.

There are more than ten of us who can only share one short story. We can’t compare, we can’t compare!”

Lan Ting blushed, then returned to normal.

It is no longer a secret that "Your Name" was written by Zhang Chao at his own "request". It had long since spread from the forum of the Chinese Department of Xiamen University to the entire literary circle, and was even called "the romance of the beginning of the century".

Since she was in school, many people have teased her about this. Lan Ting is used to it, so she doesn't feel embarrassed.

She thought for a moment and said slowly, "Don't you think Zhang Chao must have his own reasons for doing this?

Whether he is doing something or writing an article, he has thought it through clearly before he starts, and it is not something he does on a whim. "

Lan Ting's words were like a bucket of cold water, poured on everyone's anger.

After the excitement subsided, the same doubts began to occupy my mind - yes, a writer usually has a comprehensive plan before writing a story.

Even if there are some influences and adjustments in the middle, I will never change my course, and I will never let others directly interfere with the creation.

What was Zhang Chao's purpose in doing this?
At this time, Ma Boyong suddenly laughed, attracting everyone's attention.

He waved his hands at everyone and said, "It's useless to overthink. No matter what wonderful ideas Zhang Chao has, whether we vote or discuss, we have to wait until he gives us the beginning of his novel, right?"

Everyone thought that this made sense. They hadn't even seen Zhang Chao's novel yet, so there was no point in saying more now. They returned to their workstations and started working, feeling a little discouraged but also a little expectant.

Ma Boyong and Shuang Xuetao exchanged glances, and both of them were actually full of doubts.

Is Zhang Chao writing a novel, or is he...

In the office in the main house of the courtyard, a pile of documents was placed in front of Zhang Chao, and Huang Jiefu reported to him one by one.

Two of these were the most important and had to be decided by him.

One is the equity distribution and option pool plan of "Tide Culture". Zhang Chao had actually asked Huang Jiefu to start working on it a long time ago, but he always felt that the moat of "Tide Culture" was not wide or deep enough, and the operation was in good condition, so he had not signed it.

Now that Weibo and WeChat are both on track, the plan has been revised several times based on actual conditions, and the lawyers have reviewed it again and again, and finally it is time for him to sign.

As long as Zhang Chao puts his name at the end of a few documents, it means that in the near future, several tens of millions or even billions of millionaires will be born in this courtyard.

Huang Jiefu was still chattering on and on, his tone clearly a little nervous - although he had repeatedly communicated and confirmed every term with Zhang Chao via phone and email, he was still nervous.

As he spoke, he suddenly recalled that afternoon a few years ago when the young man in front of him said to him in a tone that was almost like Satan tempting Adam and Eve:
"You are working for the future George Martin, JK Rowling and Akira Toriyama! The works you manage will become classics like A Song of Ice and Fire, Harry Potter and Dragon Ball..."

At that time, he thought that Zhang Chao was just bragging, and that he agreed to work at "Chaotide Culture" only because he was annoyed by Dongfang Xing's recklessness and arrogance, and at the same time wanted to find a place to transition.

Unexpectedly, this transition led to options, financing, and listing...

It really feels like a dream.

In a trance, Huang Jiefu saw Zhang Chao waving his hand: "Okay, actually we all know all this, there is no need to repeat it.

This plan is very reasonable, and it is also a recognition of everyone's hard work over the past few years. But I want to know, what about the future..."

Huang Jiefu was stunned. "Later"? He said hesitantly, "Later? The next step is to raise funds and improve performance. In two years, we can go public...

Of course, there are many places to choose from for listing, such as the United States, Hong Kong, and if that doesn’t work, China will also work…”

Zhang Chao shook his head and said, "That's not what I'm asking. Did you listen to my speech in Nanjing a few days ago?"

Huang Jiefu nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice and said, "Of course I have seen it... You mean, you are worried about us..." Zhang Chao leaned down slightly, stared into Huang Jiefu's eyes and said, "I have no doubt that "Tide Culture" can become a 'giant'.

But will it also become a 'monster'?"

Huang Jiefu had never seen Zhang Chao staring at him like this before, and he immediately felt terrified. He kept saying, "Of course not... No, absolutely not."

Zhang Chao smiled and asked, "What's the reason?"

Huang Jiefu thought about it and said, "We in Tide Culture are all young people... young people are always idealistic and not so utilitarian."

Zhang Chao shrugged and said, "Young people will grow old. Who among those people at the Internet Conference was not young? Who didn't have lofty ideals to change the world?"

Huang Jiefu's face turned red after hearing Zhang Chao's words. He hesitated for a long time before saying, "...We still have you! You have such an accurate view of the future. With you steering the direction, there is no way that "Chaotide Culture" will go astray..."

Zhang Chao retreated tactically: "Are you so sure that I won't change? If I do change, you will have to apologize to the people of the whole country!"

Huang Jiefu was shocked. Why did he have to apologize? So he asked cautiously, "Well, I don't know what to do. You tell me."

Zhang Chao sighed, thought for a long time, and finally said nothing. He picked up a pen and signed his name at the end of several documents.

What can he do? Even if he knows everything that will happen in the future, it is a rolling tide formed by the various desires of human nature, an unstoppable trend of the times.

To stop this tide? Regardless of whether he has the ability to do so, it would be equivalent to cutting off the development of society, and the consequences are chilling to think about.

So Zhang Chao could only use the pen in his hand to try to make the waves calmer and the waves smaller, so as not to sweep too many innocent people into the mud at the bottom of the river.

Huang Jiefu finally breathed a sigh of relief and put the documents away. Then he said, "There is one more thing that you have to decide."

Zhang Chao frowned and said, "You mean the Penguin acquisition? Didn't I say no to that?"

Huang Jiefu said: "Indeed, they have already rejected it. But they are not giving up and are still very sincere. If re-proposing the acquisition doesn't work, they will invest.

The money offered is high, the shares required are very small, and they promise not to interfere with our daily operations..."

As he said this, he handed over the letter of intent for cooperation sent by Penguin.

Then he pulled out a few more documents and said, "This is from Mr. Lei of Kingsoft... This is from Mr. Ma of Taobao... This is..."

Zhang Chao was overwhelmed and retracted his hand, saying, "I have signed the document for my stock option. Now you are all shareholders. You can discuss it among yourselves and tell me the result.

I don't think you'll sell out your bright future, will you? "

After saying that, he left his office in a hurry regardless of Huang Jiefu's anxious attempts to keep him.

He was not good at these things to begin with, and now he did not want to be good at them, and it seemed that there was no need for him to be good at them.

Wouldn't it be nice to just be a quiet handsome man who writes novels?

Next, Zhang Chao went to Li Wandong to check the development progress of several apps he proposed, and at the same time played with the prototype of the first Android phone sent by HTC.

This phone will be released in a month and has a 1-inch touch TFT screen with three physical function keys underneath.

However, the most special thing about this phone is that when you slide up the side of the screen, a full keyboard will appear, and the phone will instantly be upgraded to a "small computer".

Both Google and HTC had high hopes for this phone, and they certainly hoped that the most popular software on the iPhone would also appear in its app store. So they sent the phone over with extra care.

However, when Li Wandong saw Zhang Chao, he complained: "This Android system is nothing like Apple, it's a mess and very unstable.

Besides, this full keyboard is neither fish nor fowl. When designing an app for it, you have to consider adapting it to this broken keyboard..."

Zhang Chao quickly consoled him: "These are all new things, so they just need some practice...but this system has great potential."

Li Wandong was still a little unhappy and said, "Actually, Nokia's revised version of Symbian is also pretty good..."

Zhang Chao: “…” Don’t try to kill yourself!

So it took some earnest persuasion before Li Wandong finally put his mind at ease.

This cannot be blamed on him. No one could have imagined that after the rise of Android, Nokia would die so quickly and so thoroughly...

If Apple just dug a grave for Nokia, then Android was like using a shovel to shovel Nokia into the grave, then filling it with soil, and finally patting it down hard.

In addition to WeChat, Zhang Chao only allowed Li Wandong to open a few small games to kill time, such as hopscotch.

After all, the early Android mechanism could not make money through the official market...

Then Zhang Chao went to the animation department again. At that time, Xia Da was leading people to draw the manuscript of "The Exiled Children". He was very busy. After all, this was the first animation produced entirely by "Chaotide Culture" itself, and the difficulty was far beyond their previous imagination.

So much so that he didn't even notice Zhang Chao coming in.

Zhang Chao did not feel embarrassed, but thought it was a good idea, so he quietly left.

Standing in the courtyard of the quadrangle, looking at each room that is packed to the brim, and listening to the busy sounds coming from inside, I can't help but feel a lot of emotion in my heart:

"It seems like I need to buy another house? Siheyuan houses are a bit expensive these days..."

Zhang Chao left quietly without alerting anyone. For the current "Tidal Culture", his most important significance may be to continue to write influential works.

Whether Zhang Chao is the footnote of "Tidal Culture" or "Tidal Culture" is the badge of Zhang Chao, this is the best way to maintain a balance between the two.

After returning home, Zhang Chao quietly turned on his computer, created a new document, and then stared at the blank file.

In his previous three novels, he has used different methods to cause social shocks at different levels, but only he himself knows the feeling.

This time when writing the new novel, he plans to involve more people and let all participants experience the wildness of the "future world".

The content and theme of the writing also clearly emerged in my mind at this moment.

Zhang Chao raised his hand and placed it on the keyboard, moving his fingers up and down. After a while, the title of the novel appeared in bold, size 4 Song font, centered at the top of the document:

"The Man in the Case"

He wanted to use this novel to put the entire editorial department of "Youth" into his own shell.

(End of this chapter)