Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 72 Aftershocks
"Zhang Chao, you're really great! You didn't bring shame to our dormitory!" After returning to the dormitory, Zhang Hongjie was still very excited.

In this kind of advanced training class, roommates in the same dormitory often form strong friendships. Yu Hua and Mo Yan became friends in the writer graduate class at Yenching Normal University.

Hu Xuewen and Pang Yuliang were also very happy, but they were older and calmer, and did not act as exaggerated as Zhang Hongjie.

"Come on, brother will treat you to a meal! Everyone come!" Zhang Hongjie waved his hand, showing his generosity.

Pang Yuliang joked: "Xiao Zhang's royalties and sales, didn't you read the news? How dare you pretend to be rich in front of him?"

Zhang Hongjie said nonchalantly, "It's different. No matter how high the royalties are, they belong to him. I'm treating him to a meal because he has brought honor to our dormitory. I'm happy!"

Hu Xuewen also smiled and said, "Then it shouldn't be you who should treat us. It's us three elder brothers who are treating Zhang Chao, the younger brother, together."

In the following days, the aftermath of this literary salon was still shaking the public opinion and university circles.

Lu Xun Academy contacted the media and sent a briefing of the salon to reporters. Immediately, a news article titled "Lu Xun's Connoisseur Born in the 1980s - A Glimpse of Lu Xun Academy's Advanced Research Class" was enthusiastically reprinted.

After the full-score essay was published by the Fuhai Examination Institute, it caused quite a stir. This "Salon Incident" only added fuel to the fire.

The praise for Zhang Chao once again overwhelmed the doubts. Now most people no longer doubt his talent, but have begun to appreciate the timely changes made by the education sector, which prevented Zhang Chao from being "drifting" to Hong Kong Island.

As for the question of whether education is fair or not, and the flags set by Zhang Chao in his first three articles, they are already “celebrity anecdotes” rather than “face-slapping collections.” Perhaps this is the power of success—very realistic, and also very cruel.

Only then did Zhang Chao understand the deep meaning of what his father had said to him: "Once you have chosen this path, the rest will be like climbing a mountain, with each step taking you to a new level. There is no way back."

Only by taking one step forward, can he calm people's criticism of him. One step back, there is an abyss.

The students from the Chinese Department of Yan University who went out to defend Zhang Chao from the Weiming Lakeside Forum won a great victory with the help of regular media reports. In forums such as Tianya, Dongsi Hutong, and Darongshu where literary youths gather, the IDs that mocked and questioned Zhang Chao all began to remain silent for a while.

Another impact, even Zhang Chao himself did not expect -

The sales of "Complete Works of Lu Xun" in bookstores have quadrupled year-on-year in a short period of time.

This kind of classic generally has a very stable sales volume. In the past, it would only sell a little more during the school season. Who still wants to watch Mr. Big now?
But Zhang Chao is so magical.

Now people in the publishing industry have privately begun to call Zhang Chao a "money printing machine."

Huacheng Publishing House had been discussing the details of the publication of the single volume of Your Name with Zhang Chao in a leisurely manner before, but now they were extremely anxious. They immediately finalized the deal: 15% royalties and a first print run of 40 copies.

This royalty and first print run is simply unbelievable for a novel that has just been published in its entirety in a magazine!

Magazines cost less than 10 yuan, while novels cost at least yuan. Wouldn't it be more attractive to buy magazines? What if all readers buy magazines but don't buy novels?
But Huachengshe still made this decision. Even if it meant losing a little, it would tie this "money printing machine" to itself tightly.

Zhang Chao didn't want his best-selling record to end, so he came up with an idea - let Huacheng Publishing House find Xia Da immediately and commission her to draw a cover for the novel, and then add about 20 illustrations to increase the selling point of the novel, and also make up for the problem of the novel having fewer words and being too thin when printed.

Zhu Yanling agreed immediately, saying that she would complete the design, typesetting, and proofreading of the single volume of Your Name as soon as possible, and strive to complete the publishing procedures before the Shanghai Book Fair. Time passed quickly during the class, and it was already mid-July. Zhang Chao took a day off to pay the full price for the house that Professor Zhao Tong wanted to buy, and to complete the transfer procedures.

Zhang Chao had already entrusted Li Wandong to complete some of the preliminary procedures and paid him 3000 yuan as a reward, which was almost more than 3% of Li Wandong's monthly salary, so he was not unhappy about it. He just helped to run around several departments with the materials.

Since the purchase was made in full and no mortgage was required, the procedures were relatively simple. Zhang Chao and Professor Zhao Tong signed a formal purchase contract, transferred the money to the bank, and then went to the relevant department to handle the transfer of ownership, and received the property certificate on the same day.

Looking at the bright red house certificate, Zhang Chao was somewhat emotional. In his previous life, he had struggled for more than ten years and could not even afford a small house in the most remote area of ​​Shenzhen. After his rebirth, he only spent half a year to buy a 100-square-meter three-bedroom apartment in the core area of ​​HD District in Yanjing.

I never dared to think about this kind of thing when I was writing online novels!

Professor Zhao Tong took Zhang Chao back to his home, where he had lived for nearly ten years, for the last time. The books and other personal belongings in the house had been packed up and moved away, making the space seem much emptier. The remaining furniture and appliances were left to Zhang Chao.

Professor Zhao Tong said to Zhang Chao, "If you want the remaining things in the room, keep them. If not, throw them away. I have asked someone to check the circuits, heating, and water supply in the past few days. There should be no problem. The telephone and Internet fees for this quarter have been paid. You can continue to use them, but they will be terminated when they expire. You'd better apply for another one in advance. And..."

Professor Zhao Tong continued to introduce the lecture in a rambling manner. In fact, a lot of things had already been said, but Zhang Chao understood his mood at the moment and did not interrupt him.

Professor Zhao Tong finally said, "I will take a plane to Guangdong Province tomorrow morning. I will leave this key on the table in your study. Living here is both a blessing and a pressure for you as a student.

But I saw a report about you a few days ago. Although I don't understand literature, after meeting you, I think you are a polite and promising child. Before we part, I wish you all the best and hope you will reach greater heights! "

Zhang Chao sincerely thanked Professor Zhao Tong and bowed deeply. When he went downstairs, the sky was already dotted with stars and the streets were crowded with people, but Zhang Chao felt that his steps were particularly brisk.

He couldn't move into the house so quickly. He planned to hire a housekeeping company to clean the house thoroughly, repaint the walls, and wax the wooden floor. As for the furniture, most of it was in good condition, but he would replace the bed with a new one. He wasn't used to the old professor's patinated rattan chair either...

So he had to move in in August at the latest. At that time, the assessment of the "Postgraduate Writers Class" had just ended, and the postgraduate class had a 8-day vacation. It would be more natural for him to move in after the vacation.

When he returned to Luyuan, as soon as he walked to the door, he saw Uncle Wang in the guard room called him and handed him a note with a phone number and a signature of "Director He" on it.

Uncle Wang said, "Today this man came to Luyuan looking for you, but you were not there, so he left this number. He asked you to call him back as soon as you come back."

Zhang Chao took the note, thanked him, and dialed the number on the note. The phone rang for a long time. Just when Zhang Chao was about to hang up, a drunken voice answered the phone.

"Hello, who is it?"

"I'm Zhang Chao. Are you here to see me at Luyuan today? What's the matter?"

"Oh, you are Zhang Chao. I've been waiting for you for a long time. My last name is He, so you can just call me Director He. Please come to Room 10 of Xinqiao Hotel at 2301 o'clock tomorrow morning. I have something to discuss with you. Don't be late."

Zhang Chao simply said, "I'm busy!" and pressed the hang-up button.

Soon his cell phone rang. Zhang Chao pressed the hang-up button again and added the number to his blacklist.

(End of this chapter)