Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 428: Lure the snake out of the hole? NO, go into the hole and catch the snake!

(Please give me a ticket at the end of the month, thank you)
"Lin, I'm very disappointed in you! Do you still remember your promise? You said that you would make Zhang Chao fall from the altar from now on, and he would never have a chance to turn over again.

Now, it seems that you have placed Zhang Chao on a higher pedestal! I need an explanation!"

Morgan's voice on the phone was so cold and ruthless that Lin Chusheng felt as if his ears were frozen.

He held the phone in silence for a long time before explaining, "This is indeed completely beyond my expectations, but I think there should be a way to remedy it."

Morgan snorted on the other end of the phone, obviously not believing it, but in the end he couldn't help but asked, "Tell me about it."

Lin Chusheng didn't expect Morgan to actually question his excuses. He was at a loss for a moment, and after a while he said with difficulty: "We can continue to find a few people to attack Zhang Chao, saying that he is putting on a show, and use this method to divert attention;

Then we will find some bloggers on the Internet and ask them to follow up on this topic; and there are also forums..."

Lin Chusheng's voice became smaller and smaller. In the end, even he himself didn't believe it anymore and simply stopped.

Unexpectedly, Morgan said, "Your plan is feasible, let's start implementing it right away!"

Lin Chusheng simply couldn't believe his ears. The method he made up casually actually got Morgan's consent. This change was really a bit weird, and he couldn't accept it for a while. He couldn't be sure whether Morgan was serious or mocking him.

Morgan waited for a while on the other end of the phone, and found that Lin Chusheng didn't say anything, so he emphasized again: "I said, your plan is feasible, start implementing it immediately!"

Lin Chusheng finally reacted and said quickly: "Okay, okay, I'll contact the person right away. As for the funding..."

Morgan sneered, which chilled Lin Chusheng's heart. He heard Morgan's cold voice on the other end of the phone: "Funds? Do you think the higher-ups will approve these expenditures after seeing the report on this 'operation'?"

Lin Chusheng felt a chill on his back, thinking, are you going to ask me to pay for it? This is a big operation! Even if I can get a discount for using my face to get someone to write a negative article, it's not something my wallet can afford.

So after hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "If there is no funding, really...really..."

Morgan calmed down a bit and said, "Okay. Funding, I'll think of a way. But it certainly can't be done according to the previously set standards... at most one... one-fourth."

Lin Chusheng became anxious upon hearing this and said quickly: "One quarter is too little."

Morgan chuckled and hung up the phone without giving Lin Chusheng any chance to fight back.

Lin Chusheng put down his phone dejectedly and stared at the sky above his head for a while. He was puzzled. Why did he become a soldier who charged into battle when he was supposed to be a military advisor waving a feather fan?
Morgan in Hong Kong was also very busy at the moment - busy packing up and preparing various financial documents.

It was already the end of October 2008, and the US presidential election on the other side of the ocean was drawing to a close. If nothing unexpected happened, the mixed-race child born in Hawaii would ascend to the throne.

The entire system will face a reshuffle by then, and he now needs to return to the United States to find a better position for himself - his current position, as Hong Kong people say, is really bad in feng shui.

Operations require funds, where does the money come from?

This is why he asked Lin Chusheng to continue to carry out the so-called plan - no matter what, he needed to let the people above see that his people were "moving".

Otherwise, even the financial information on hand will become a pile of waste paper.

Although NED has always been a big black account holder in the system, with many projects such as spending $300 million to teach villagers in villages without electricity in Laos to use the Internet, at least it has to be perfunctory in order to save face.

As for the results...after all, man proposes, God disposes, and Napoleon couldn't win battles every day.

As he thought about it, Morgan's mind reappeared with Zhang Chao's harmless-looking young face, and his temple began to ache slightly.

The actions against Zhang Chao have become a big joke within the NED over the years. Whether it was using the IWP (International Writing Program) to win over Zhang Chao or using other methods to attack him, the end result was to serve as a stepping stone for Zhang Chao.

Although they had tried to bypass Zhang Chao and support several young writers in China, they almost all failed.

Under the dazzling light of Zhang Chao, no matter what international awards those young writers won or what magazine covers they appeared on, they could hardly create even the smallest splash among the young people.

Because their reference is Zhang Chao.

What is even more troublesome is that almost all of the best young writers in mainland China are authors for Youth Magazine, and they have either signed contracts or have close relationships with them.

Even a large number of young people in Hong Kong and Taiwan are attracted to Zhang Chao.

This huge magnetic effect makes it very difficult for Morgan to spread any cultural concepts among young people in both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, and the results are minimal.

Although Zhang Chao had never actively targeted him, what often happened was that the activities and interviews that were painstakingly organized would be inadvertently overshadowed by the public opinion storms created by Zhang Chao.

It's okay if it happens once or twice, but I can't stand it happening again and again!

Morgan thought that it would be more cost-effective to hire a top international assassin to kill Zhang Chao with the money he had spent on him over the years...

Thinking of this, he shuddered - after all, he was a cultural graduate from Yale, and he went to work to make money. There was no need to actively involve himself in it.

As for the success or failure of Lin Chusheng's action, he no longer cared.

His latest report reads:

[As the most influential young writer in the Far East, we estimate that Zhang Chao's influence on Chinese-speaking young people has surpassed that of Orhan Pamuk on the Turks and that of Kenzaburo Oe, Haruki Murakami and others on the Japanese young.

……

It is unwise to continue to invest money in "destroying Zhang Chao". Instead, we should return to the path we took four years ago and continue to win over Zhang Chao instead of treating him as an enemy.

……

He is still very young. As long as we are patient enough and continue to show goodwill to him, he will eventually accept the American ideas, which is far more realistic than destroying him.

……

In the previous stage, we successfully used a pre-prepared article to pass a "good ball" to Zhang Chao, helping him complete a great "literature-sociology" experiment and allowing him to gain new honors. This is a good start.

……

In the next stage, we plan to form a further tacit understanding with Zhang Chao, but this requires more financial support. Zhang Chao is not only the best, but also the richest Chinese writer. It is a long-term task to win him over, and it requires continuous investment to form a true friendship...

I believe that as long as we persevere, Zhang Chao will definitely recognize our values ​​and work for us.]

After writing the report, Morgan felt very satisfied.

If this plan can be approved by his superiors, then whether he stays in this position and continues to work, or exchanges it for resources, it will be a good bargaining chip.

Lin Chusheng had no idea that his "plan" had completely changed in Morgan's opinion, and he was still gritting his teeth and relying on his old face to see if he could get a few articles published.

If it really doesn't work, then just like the last time I wrote the article "The Darkest Day", do it yourself and have enough food and clothing!
As soon as I returned to the office, I saw editor Xiao Zhou waiting for me, so I asked, "What's the matter?"

When Xiao Zhou saw Lin Chusheng, he immediately said, "Editor Lin, the editor-in-chief asked you to go to his office as soon as you come back."

Lin Chusheng said "Oh" - probably because he had been on the phone and the editor-in-chief couldn't get through to him - he straightened his clothes and went to the editor-in-chief's office.

In the office, Zhuang Shenzhi, the editor-in-chief of Southern Metropolis Daily, saw him coming and handed him a newspaper, pointed to the article on it and said, "Lao Lin, take a look at this one."

Lin Chusheng took it and took a look. It was an article in the supplement of Guangming Daily, titled "Zhang Chao's Cocoon-breaking Experiment: A Writer's Self-Rebellion against Idol Worship"

He quickly glanced at the contents, and the more he read, the more frightened he became.

[While “The Man in the Shell” caused nationwide anxiety, Zhang Chao was clearly watching another more hidden cage—the readers who cried and cried for his works were weaving a new ideological cocoon with their fanatical love.]

[This writer has long discovered the absurd paradox of the literary field: the more readers shout "Zhang Chao's novels make us sober", the more they fall into the dependent worship of the author. Thus, an unprecedented sociological experiment quietly started.

The fire of criticism that he had ignited with his own hands finally, under his guidance, burned towards the holy icon that deserved to be burned the most—himself.

The cruelty of this experiment lies in the fact that Zhang Chao not only had to endure external attacks, but also had to witness the "betrayal" of his close comrades. When the editors of Youth Pie wrote "A Criticism of Zhang Chao: A Cultural Poisoner in the Age of Globalization", they had to dig deep into the writer's "black material" in order to enhance the persuasiveness.

This mental tearing is comparable to Luo Zhi's collapse when he discovered that Zhou Yingying might be manipulated by the algorithm. But it is this kind of pain that makes the experiment so shocking that it touches the soul. 】

[When all critical articles deliberately avoided the essence of literature and focused on the moral flaws of the writer, Zhang Chao successfully diverted public attention from the work to the trial of personality.

When readers were busy arguing about whether Zhang Chao was a hypocrite, they had already unconsciously broken away from the complete acceptance of the writer's thoughts.

In an era when commercial writing is in vogue, Zhang Chao’s choice of self-destructive experiment is truly heroic. While other writers are busy consolidating their personal images, he is willing to endure the infamy of being a “hypocrite” and a “speculator” just to verify a hypothesis:

In a communication environment where sales are paramount, is it still possible to break the group frenzy? 】

This thrilling self-criticism experiment is more about Zhang Chao’s collective redemption of intellectuals than his education of readers. When we debate whether writers should demystify themselves, we have already stepped into the ideological battlefield he set; when we are on guard against becoming the next Zhang Chao admirer, it is the best evidence of his breaking the information cocoon.

This writer interprets the ultimate theme of "The Man in the Shell" in the most decisive way: true freedom is never about breaking a specific cage, but about maintaining the courage to break through the walls. 】

The end of the article made Lin Chusheng's eyes pop out -

[And the starting point of everything is the article "The Darkest Day of Chinese Science and Technology in the 21st Century". The Southern Metropolis Daily published this anonymous article with great courage, providing a model for all critics.

As for who is the author of this article, I believe the answer is obvious - except for Zhang Chao himself, there is no other writer or critic in China who can make criticisms with such profound views, such a resolute attitude, and such a tricky angle.

From "Ding Feng Bo" to "Ru Meng Ling", Zhang Chao once again used his outstanding ideas to interpret the fictional novel into a grand social collective thinking! 】

Lin Chusheng's mind was buzzing at this moment - people had only speculated before, and Zhang Chao had never officially admitted that he had written the article "Darkest Day".

This article is not only the first to insist on this point, but it probably also expresses the thoughts of many people.

At this time, Zhuang Shenzhi smiled and said to Lin Chusheng: "Have you finished reading it? I was wondering why you refused to say who Ding Fengbo was, and even used your own reputation to guarantee that he must be published. It turns out that he is Zhang Chao. I was wondering how the article was written so well!

You, why didn't you say so earlier! Although Zhang Chao has some conflicts with the people at the weekly magazine, it doesn't mean he has conflicts with us! In the future, you should strengthen your contact with Zhang Chao and try to get more manuscripts.

I remember he used to write commentaries, didn't he? He also published a book, what was it called? "Undercurrent Collection"? "

Zhuang Shenzhi kept talking, and seeing Lin Chusheng's bitter expression, not saying a word, he couldn't help but feel unhappy - we are old colleagues, why are you pretending? Can't you hear the hidden meaning?

So he interrupted his story, coughed, and then said, "I say, Lao Lin, Zhang Chao can submit such an important manuscript to you, the relationship between you two...

You see, this matter has been very popular recently, and readers are paying close attention to it - how about you contact Zhang Chao and arrange an interview?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chusheng could only groan inwardly. If he said that "Darkest Day" was not written by Zhang Chao, he would have to tell Zhuang Shenzhi who the real author was; if he didn't, he would have to take over the interview.

But he and Zhang Chao had never even met each other, let alone have a friendship; what's more, Zhang Chao is now notoriously difficult to make an appointment with. It is said that even "Xiao Cui Says Things" didn't invite him last time.

After careful consideration, Lin Chusheng decided to choose the lesser of two evils and agreed to Zhuang Shenzhi's arrangement for an exclusive interview with Zhang Chao.

After all, if he failed to make an appointment with Zhang Chao, he would only lose face; if he revealed that he was the author of "Darkest Day", he would face accusations of abusing public resources for personal gain and disregarding the "safety" of the newspaper for his own selfish desires.

Of course it’s best not to have an appointment!
After leaving the editor-in-chief's office in a daze, he sat behind his desk for a long time in a daze. Then, using the most blunt language, he sent an invitation email to Zhang Chao's public mailbox, and that was considered the task completed.

When the editor-in-chief asks about it, I can use excuses like Zhang Chao is too busy.

What he didn't expect was that when he got home from get off work, had dinner and watched TV, he saw Zhang Chao's face that kept him awake at night.

Zhang Chao said to a reporter who blocked him at the entrance of Chaoxi Culture with a serious face: "I'm sorry, the article "The Darkest Day of Chinese Science and Technology in the 21st Century" was really not written by me!

I would also like to know who wrote it.”

Zhang Chao paused and said something that made Lin Chusheng feel desperate: "If possible, I would like to ask Southern Metropolis Daily to facilitate a dialogue between me and the author of "Darkest Day".

The entire process can be organized, recorded and published by Southern Metropolis Daily.

I promise that this dialogue will be friendly, peaceful, and full of goodwill!"

Lin Chusheng felt numb all over, his eyes were dull, and he couldn't put the piece of meat he was holding with chopsticks into his mouth for a long time!

(End of this chapter)