1985, the year of the great writer, began with Infernal Affairs!

Chapter 102, the prequel to Infernal Affairs, is now available!

Kyoto.

Editorial Department of Contemporary.

This issue will feature the prequel to "Infernal Affairs," and He Chongshan started preparing a month in advance.

He learned from the lessons of the previous two months.

When we first released the first half of "Infernal Affairs", we didn't expect it to be so popular. We had to reprint it several times to make up for the demand.

The second half was printed in advance, but it still wasn't enough; the phone lines were ringing off the hook.

This time, he contacted the printing factory in advance and ordered the first batch to be printed in quantities of 200,000 copies.

Two hundred thousand copies, double the number from last time.

Old Li from the distribution department even asked, "Editor-in-Chief He, isn't 200,000 too much?"

He Chongshan said, "Not many. This is a prequel, even more exciting than the first one. It will definitely only be more popular."

Old Li thought for a moment and then said nothing more.

The printing plant cooperated, with the machines running non-stop, and printed 200,000 copies before the end of the month, which were then sent to all parts of the country.

The first day.

He Chongshan woke up before dawn.

He lay in bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep, and unwilling to lie there any longer.

He got up quietly without waking Shen Jingshu, and went out after washing up.

I arrived at the editorial office at 6:30.

But when he arrived, he found the door was already open.

As I walked in, I found that several people were already in the office.

Old Li, Little Chen, Old Zhang, Sister Wang... they all arrived one by one, sitting in their seats, some drinking tea, some flipping through newspapers, looking just like usual.

But He Chongshan knew that these guys were all waiting.

He smiled, said nothing, and went into his office.

It's exactly eight o'clock.

The phone on my desk rang.

He Chongshan looked at the phone and counted in his mind: one ring, two rings, three rings.

He picked up the microphone.

"Hello, editorial department of *Contemporary* magazine."

A frail but strong voice came from the other end of the phone: "Is this Xiao He?"

He Chongshan was stunned for a moment.

He knew that voice all too well.

It's Professor Liu Wenyuan from Peking University.

He dedicated his life to literary research and is a leading figure in academia.

He Chongshan had attended his classes when he was young, and they later had work-related interactions. He always respected him.

"Old Liu?" He Chongshan's voice immediately became polite. "Why did you call personally?"

Old Liu chuckled on the other end of the phone: "Little He, I'm here today to ask you for a favor."

He Chongshan's heart skipped a beat, and he probably guessed what it was about, but he still said, "Tell me, as long as it's within my power, I will definitely help."

Old Liu didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Do you have any more copies of the Infernal Affairs prequel?"

He Chongshan was stunned for a moment.

Mr. Liu continued, "I got up very early this morning, thinking I would go to the newsstand to buy a copy, but when I got there, there was already a long line. By the time I finally got to the front, they were sold out."

He said this with a mix of helplessness and amusement in his voice.

"I went to two different stores, and they both said they were sold out. Then I thought, why don't I just call you? Surely you'll have some left, right?"

He Chongshan couldn't help but laugh as he listened.

Professor Liu, a distinguished professor at Peking University and a leading figure in academia, went to two newsstands to buy a magazine but couldn't find it, so he finally called to ask for it.

If this were told to others, who would believe it?

"Mr. Liu, please put it away. I'll keep a copy for you and have someone send it to you."

"No need to send it, no need to send it. Just keep it. I'll have someone pick it up this afternoon."

He paused, then asked, "Xiao He, is this prequel also divided into two parts?"

He Chongshan said, "Yes, two volumes. This issue will release the first volume, and the next issue will release the second volume."

Old Liu said "Oh," and then asked, "When will the second volume be published?"

"The first of next month."

Old Liu paused for a moment, then said, "Then I'll go queue up earlier next month."

He Chongshan smiled again: "Old Liu, you don't need to wait in line. I'll send you the second volume this afternoon."

"Haha, you really understand me. Thank you, Xiao He."

Before He Chongshan could say anything more, Old Liu had already hung up the phone.

He held the microphone, paused for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.

He hung up the phone, stood up, and walked to the window.

On the streets outside, long queues can already be seen in front of some newsstands.

Some people were standing, some were squatting, and some were pacing back and forth.

They held change in their hands, their eyes fixed on the small, unopened window of the newsstand.

Looking at those people, He Chongshan suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

A novel that can make so many people line up early in the morning, make an old professor like Mr. Liu call to ask for it, and make readers all over the country follow it.

Xie Lu is truly an amazing kid.

He turned back to his desk, took out a newspaper he had kept in advance from the drawer, and placed it aside.

In the afternoon, Old Liu sent someone to pick it up.

Then he sat down and waited for the phone to ring again.

He knew this was just the beginning.

The phone outside was ringing, one call after another.

The sounds of Xiao Chen and his colleagues taking phone calls outside could be heard one after another.

"Hello, editorial department of *Contemporary* magazine... Yes, the latest issue, sold out? Where are you from?"

We've printed more copies, and they're being shipped out to various locations. Please wait a little longer...

The phone kept ringing.

Xiao Chen had just hung up the phone and hadn't even had a chance to take a sip of water when the phone rang again.

He answered with a forced smile, but had to keep his voice enthusiastic: "Hello, editorial department of *Contemporary* magazine..."

Old Li was also on the phone, jotting something down in his notebook as he spoke, saying, "Yes, it's been reprinted, it's already on its way... Don't worry, you'll definitely be able to buy it."

Sister Wang is in charge of the reader letters section, but her phone is always ringing off the hook.

It was either bookstores urging for delivery, distribution stations asking about the progress, and several veteran authors calling to inquire about this prequel.

The office was bustling with activity, but no one complained.

He Chongshan sat in his office, listening to the commotion outside, feeling at ease.

A little while later, the phone rang again. This time it was a direct call to his office.

He picked up the microphone: "Feed?"

"Editor-in-Chief He, it's me, Lao Liu." Lao Liu's voice came from the other end of the phone. "I'd like to report to you that feedback from the distribution stations in various places is coming in one after another. In Shanghai, all 10,000 copies were sold out within half an hour of opening this morning."

Tianjin, about the same, 8,000 copies, 40 minutes.

The situation in Guangzhou was a little slower, but they've still sold most of their stock.

He Chongshan listened, and the corners of his mouth turned up.

Old Liu continued, "Now everyone is urging for the goods, requesting that the second batch be sent urgently. The batch we reprinted is already on its way and should arrive in the next day or two."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard work at all," Old Liu said with a smile. "With products selling so well, it's energizing to keep working."

After hanging up the phone, He Chongshan leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

Two hundred thousand copies, it seems, is not enough.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Xiao Chen pushed the door open and came in, holding a stack of papers: "Editor-in-Chief He, this is part of the transcript of the phone call just now. Some of the readers' feedback is quite interesting. Would you like to take a look?"

He Chongshan took it and flipped through it.