Nominal: Who isn't a son-in-law?

The door opened, revealing Wu Fangli, Han Yongming, and their secretary inside.

"Oh, Lao Chu, you've finally arrived! And Shi Jun, it's been a long time!" Wu Fangli said with a smile.

"You've arrived first today," Chu Shengyuan said, glancing at Han Yongming beside him. "Old Han's here too?"

"Old Wu, this is outrageous. You didn't even tell me that Old Han was coming. What if I was delayed and was too late?" Chu Shengyuan said with a hint of complaint.

This also reveals the closeness or distance in the relationship between the three.

"When you made the call, Comrade Yongming was in my office," Wu Fangli's lips twitched. He didn't want to either, but the person next to him shamelessly got into his car, practically acting as his driver.

At this moment, Han Yongming, who had been pretending to be stupid, stopped pretending and stepped forward to pull Chu Shengyuan and Chu Shijun into the private room. "Come in and sit down. What kind of behavior is it to stand at the door?"

After saying that, he instructed his secretary to prepare the dishes.

The group sat down at the main table, while the secretaries sat to the side.

Less than two minutes later, the people at the table had just changed their titles when the food and drinks were served.

Looking at the exquisitely presented dishes on the plate, Chu Shijun knew that the price probably wouldn't be cheap.

However, this situation is very common now and in the future, and it's not time for strict regulation yet.

To be honest, these issues about food and drink are minor. Even if you eat delicacies every day, as long as you can get things done after you leave the table, that's good.

Chu Shengyuan took a bottle of Moutai, opened it, and poured four glasses. "Old Han just said that Shijun can drink a lot. Let's drink until we drop today."

"I promise to keep you company to the end." Chu Shijun certainly wouldn't spoil the fun.

He's a student now, so he doesn't need to pay too much attention to these things. But once he starts working, he'll have to be more mindful of them.

Being too aloof is undesirable; it's better to blend in with the world appropriately, as long as you have a sense of proportion.

"Come on, Uncle Chu, Uncle Wu, Uncle Han, let me toast you all."

Chu Shijun picked up his wine cup, clinked it against his own, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Goodness, Old Han was right. I guess I'll be leaving here in a bed today."

Wu Fangli watched as Chu Shijun finished the entire glass without changing his expression, then blinked. It seemed that he had the worst alcohol tolerance among them.

It would be great to go out lying down!

Han Yongming's eyes lit up; he'd make sure to get him a few more drinks later.

"Don't worry, Lao Wu, I'll explain to your wife."

"Go away, go away, I won't get drunk unless you fall down."

"Hahaha……"

The group laughed.

The secretaries at another table, sipping their tea, glanced at Chu Shijun, who was much younger than them, chatting and laughing with their boss. They exchanged a look, all seeing the envy in each other's eyes.

At that age, they had to think twice before speaking to a town mayor; you can't compare people.

……

After several rounds of drinks, the hot dishes were served.

"Shijun, tell them about your new book ideas too. Whichever of these two publishes it, our Writers' Association will fully cooperate and support you." Chu Shengyuan's face was flushed; after half a bottle, he was a little drunk.

Upon hearing this, Wu Fangli and Han Yongming immediately perked up their ears and shook their heads.

"Alright, Uncle Wu, Uncle Han, my new book has two main themes and different writing styles. The first one is about the three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty..." Chu Shijun said slowly, making sure the two could hear him clearly.

After listening for a while, Han Yongming immediately slammed his hand on the table and said, "Great! I think both of these books can be published in our Great Xia Daily."

"Bullshit! You won't even leave one copy for our Daily News?" Wu Fangli's face turned red upon hearing this. No matter how good their relationship was, even if it was Daxia Daily News, he couldn't stand this insult today. Wasn't this bullying an honest person? If word got out, how could he continue his work?

Seeing that Wu Fangli, emboldened by alcohol, seemed ready to start a fight at the slightest provocation, Han Yongming quickly changed his tune, saying, "How about this then? I think this novel piece can be published in your Handong Daily, one copy for each of us, how about that?"

"That's more like it..."

Upon hearing that each person would receive one copy, Wu Fangli nodded, but as soon as he spoke, he realized something was wrong. Wasn't this just bullying honest people?

"Hey, Lao Wu, let me analyze this for you. This is definitely for your own good," Han Yongming filled their glasses. "Come on, let's clink glasses first. If you're not satisfied with what I'm saying, then we'll do it your way."

At this moment, Wu Fangli's blood was rushing to his head, and he was also drunk. He nodded and said, "I'll wait for your explanation."

After saying that, he picked up the wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and slammed it down on the table with a 'thud'.

"Look, your Handong Daily is just a regional newspaper, right? But our Great Xia Daily is a national newspaper with branches in other countries, and it has a lot of influence. Would you like to see the Handong Daily gain more influence under your leadership, just like us?"

"think!"

Wu Fangli nodded.

*Slap*

Han Yongming clapped his hands. "That's incredible! Look at Shi Jun's new book. It's published with a fresh writing style, and with his title as the author of 'The Rise of a Great Power,' it's bound to be controversial. Controversy creates buzz, which means more people will buy it. Plus, the spread of his new writing style will definitely attract followers. With that momentum, won't your Handong Daily be selling like hotcakes all over the country? Won't your reputation as the editor-in-chief spread far and wide?"

"Our Great Xia Daily doesn't need this kind of influence. We are already the biggest, and this is also to support you. Besides, with your influence, you could publish another book, but it wouldn't sell many copies, which would damage Shi Jun's personal interests. So it's most appropriate for our Great Xia Daily to publish this."

"Tell me, does this make sense?"

Wu Fangli swirled his wine glass, and after a long pause, nodded. "That seems to make sense..."

"That's settled then, it's settled then," Han Yongming interrupted, looking at Chu Shijun and saying, "Shijun, Lao Wu also agreed, you heard that, and Lao Chu will also be a witness. A man's word is his bond, if he goes back on his word later, you will have to be my witnesses."

"I'll testify, but I can't control if he hits you."

Chu Shengyuan and Chu Shijun exchanged a glance and then said with some amusement.

Actually, he wanted to say that it was unnecessary. He had already discussed it with Chu Shijun on the way here: one copy of the Handong Daily and one copy of the Daxia Daily.

However, if the two wanted to fight, they were happy to watch the show.

In any case, the final result is the same.

"Alright, Shijun, what are your thoughts on the order in which these two books are read? We'd like to make arrangements as soon as possible," Han Yongming asked again. By this time, Wu Fangli was already quite drunk; as expected, he had the worst alcohol tolerance.

"Let's write about the Ming Dynasty first, and then release the other book after the book signing event for the complete 'Rise of a Great Power'."

After a moment's thought, Chu Shijun made a decision.

"Okay, it's settled then. Let's sign the contract in the next couple of days, and I'll try to get you the best terms," ​​Han Yongming said with a smile.

"Come on, let's have another one. Shi Jun, sit down with your two books, and you'll also be taking a position in our Writers' Association. It's a win-win situation," Chu Shengyuan filled several more glasses, patted Wu Fangli on the shoulder, and said, "Old Wu, wake up, have another drink."

"Dry!"

The next day, Wu Fangli, still hungover, woke up and rushed to the Writers' Association without even having breakfast.

After finding Chu Shengyuan and asking him, and learning the result, he closed his eyes and exclaimed, "I've had bad luck meeting the wrong person! I made a mistake in choosing my friends!"

"Hey, it's just that Lao Han didn't come. I was planning to tell you the same thing. Our Handong Daily's influence is definitely not as great as Daxia Daily's. It's actually a good thing that this article has a novel style. Even if you get criticized at first, you still have me, the chairman of the Writers' Association, to keep you company," Chu Shengyuan comforted him.

Wu Fangli certainly understood this principle; his main concern was that he had something to say that he couldn't hold back.

He made up his mind to work on his alcohol tolerance; this kind of thing absolutely could not happen a second time.

……

Over the next two days, Chu Shijun made two trips to the Handong Writers Association and officially took up a temporary position as an honorary director and honorary writer of the Handong Provincial Writers Association, receiving a stipend for free.

In addition, contracts were signed with the Handong Daily and the Daxia Daily respectively.

The terms offered by both companies were exactly what established, famous writers were willing to pay, with the highest being 30 yuan per thousand words. (After checking, at this time, the average price is 6-20 yuan, and for established writers who have won awards, it's 30-50 yuan. So, I set the price at 30 yuan for the protagonist, and it will likely increase later as prices rise.)

Interestingly, the Handong Writers Association just published a statement in the newspaper welcoming Chu Shijun as a council member and honorary writer of the association.

In the northwest, Qin Province was in an uproar.

When the writers' associations of several neighboring provinces heard about this, they were all laughing at the Qin Province writers' association.

The provincial leaders even berated the leaders of the Writers' Association so badly they couldn't even lift their heads.

Speaking of this, the Qin Province Writers Association is also wronged; they were discussing inviting Chu Shijun.

The people of Handong over there don't care about martial ethics; they start by setting off thunder.

If it weren't for the influence of their local jurisdiction, Chu Shijun would have joined the Handong Writers Association by now, and their situation wouldn't have been as simple as just being scolded.

Therefore, the Qin Provincial Writers Association quickly sent someone over to finalize the matter with Chu Shijun.

Chu Shijun, of course, wouldn't refuse. It was his hometown, so he immediately joined the association, also holding the titles of director and honorary writer of the Handong Writers Association. (I checked, and you can't hold two titles simultaneously, and there are also restrictions on the place of affiliation, but you can choose not to join and still have honorary titles.)

Therefore, Chu Shijun's current titles are: member of Qin Province Writers Association, honorary director and honorary writer of Handong Province Writers Association, chairman of Han University Student Union and leader of Party group.