1987 My Era

Chapter 44, Bureau
Competition among peers is the most sensitive.

As soon as she heard the name of Harvest magazine, Chen Xiaomi immediately understood what was going on.

This "December" should have submitted the same manuscript to multiple publications, but I'm not sure how many publications he submitted it to in total?

Although she was very angry at the other party's shameful behavior, it was not the first time she had seen such behavior after working in the industry for so long.

After all, new writers have no resources or channels, and don’t quite understand some of the unspoken rules in the industry.

Moreover, the writing techniques of new writers’ first books are generally not very mature, and the chances of rejection are very high.

Therefore, driven by an urgent psychological need to publish and to become famous, some new writers will secretly submit the same manuscript to multiple places in order to increase their chances in order to avoid putting all their eggs in one basket.

Chen Xiaomi had thought about this possibility before, but she still held on to a sense of luck.

But now, that glimmer of hope is shattered.

She didn't know how the call ended. Her mind was a little stiff and her whole body was shrouded in a haze.

Zhou Chunlan, who had been eavesdropping, saw her standing there and immediately asked in a false tone:

"Xiaomi, what's wrong? Is it not going well?"

Chen Xiaomi suddenly felt a strong disgust towards her and almost cursed at her, but she finally held it back. After smiling and saying something perfunctorily, she went straight to the door of the editor-in-chief's office.

"Dong dong dong..."

"Come in!"

After pushing open the door and entering, Chen Xiaomi said to Zhou Mingwei straight away: "Uncle Zhou, I have to go to Shao City."

Hearing this, Zhou Mingwei, who was writing something, looked up at her, then put down his pen:

"Are you having a problem?"

Regarding such a rare masterpiece as "To Live", Chen Xiaomi did not hide anything and directly told the story of "December" submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals.

What kind of storms and waves has Zhou Mingwei not experienced? To be able to be the editor-in-chief today, his mentality is not comparable to that of ordinary people. After listening to it, his face remained unchanged without any ripples.

If it were other works, he would be too lazy to care about them and just let his subordinates do it.

But this is "To Live"!

Even though he has been in the industry for decades and has read a lot of books, he can't find many works that can touch the depths of his soul, but "To Live" did it.

His rich experience told him that this was a work that would make him famous.

An intuition deep in his heart told him that if he missed this opportunity rashly, he might regret it in the future.

Thinking of this, Zhou Mingwei asked: "How many words are there after this?"

Chen Xiaomi replied: "In December, it was said that it was about 9 words."

Zhou Mingwei asked again, "What is your most direct impression of this writer over the phone?"

Chen Xiaomi pondered for a moment and summed it up in two words: "Confidence! Love of money!"

Confidence is the right thing!
If someone who can write such a work is not confident, it would be a bit lacking in meaning, and Zhou Mingwei might not be so excited about the follow-up of the work.

As for the love of money, it varies from person to person. He did not make any comments until he saw the real person. He pondered for a while and authorized: "Within the scope, you have full authority to handle this matter."

Chen Xiaomi was waiting for these words, and immediately said, "Okay, I'll leave right away."

Zhou Mingwei nodded solemnly and warned: "The opponent is not weak, it is indeed better to act sooner rather than later. Be careful on the road."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhou."

After getting the imperial sword, Chen Xiaomi was anxious and did not dare to delay for a moment when thinking about the possible actions that his old rival, Harvest magazine, might take.

After simply tidying up the things on her desk, she hurried to the door of the editorial office.

"Hey, Xiaomi, where are you going in such a hurry?"

Sister Liao usually had a good relationship with her, so she shouted for her curious colleagues. Chen Xiaomi glanced at Zhou Chunlan and replied, "I have an appointment with December, so I have to make some preparations."

The editorial department is full of veterans, and they could tell something was not simple in this simple sentence. Uncle Dai encouraged them:
"Xiao Chen, I wish you immediate success! When you come back, treat me, an old man, to a drink."

"Thank you for your good words, no problem."

After leaving People's Literature, Chen Xiaomi went straight to the post office and sent an urgent telegram to Shao City.

Then I found a public telephone booth and called a friend of my father to get a ticket, either a train ticket or a plane ticket.

...

Shao City, No. 1 Middle School.

Li Heng used the same method and the same means on a male editor of "Harvest" magazine, leaving the editor stunned.

When he put the red receiver back in place, the English teacher asked, "Can you really succeed if you play like this?"

Li Heng pondered and said, "It's hard to say now, but we'll know the effect in a few days."

The English teacher sat cross-legged on the sofa, took a sip of tea and asked, "You are a new writer. What will you do if they don't pamper you and just give up on you?"

Li Heng was confident: "No! I know what I wrote."

Seeing that she looked doubtful, he added, "After the scholarship exam, if there is still no response from the two magazines, I will try submitting to Contemporary and October. This time I won't play tricks and earn my royalties honestly."

Hearing this, Wang Runwen's eyes stayed on his face for a long time, and asked in confusion:
“Shao City is such a big place with so many intellectuals, but in recent years, no one has become a great writer, nor has anyone been able to publish a novel.

Just like Teacher Wang Qi and others, they would show off a piece of tofu the size of two fingers in the newspaper for a long time.

You are less than 18 years old. Why are you still not satisfied with your achievements? Why are you so obsessed with money? "

Li Heng calmly shook his head: "I worked so hard to write a book, but I only earned a few hundred or a thousand. What should I be content with?
I have no other source of income right now, so I have to maximize my profits.”

After hearing this and thinking of his poor family background, Wang Runwen did not continue arguing with him on this topic.

After slowly finishing a cup of tea, she looked at her watch and said, "Let's go. There's no cooking at home. Let's go out for a bite to eat while we still have time."

Li Heng asked naturally, "Am I eating for free?"

Wang Runwen smiled slyly and asked, "Why not call it a gigolo?"

Li Heng subconsciously glanced at her chest, which was indeed soft enough.

Seeing this, Wang Runwen directly threw the empty cup in his hand.

Damn it!

Fortunately, he dodged quickly, otherwise his head would have been hit hard.

After a standoff of about ten seconds, Li Heng decisively raised his hand and said, "This is too brutal. I surrender."

Wang Runwen glanced at him with a half-smile, picked up the wallet on the coffee table, and walked out first.

With the teacher accompanying him and the security guard not making things difficult for him, Li Heng was able to go outside the school without any hindrance for the first time during the school closure.

Looking at the Fat Brother Restaurant across the street, he asked expectantly, "Teacher, are you treating me to a big meal?"

Unexpectedly, Wang Runwen ignored him and walked towards the fried rice stall next to him.

Li Heng was very disappointed: "I thought I was going to eat something delicious, but I was almost crushed to death."

Wang Runwen said coldly: "My salary is not high. If you think egg fried rice is unpalatable, just eat steamed buns."

The buns were good, big, soft, and white. Li Heng was so angry that he stretched out his hand and shouted, "Boss, add an egg to the fried rice!"

"Okay, please wait."

(End of this chapter)