Tokyo Soft Rice King

A few seconds later, Hijikata Isamu, with a pair of panda eyes, opened the door, hunched over and asked in a half-dead voice.

"Oh... Mingzai... what time is it now?"

"It's already nine o'clock in the evening, Hijikata-san. You're a little later than usual."

"Grass!"

After a classic Chinese curse, Mr. Hijikata scratched his head which looked like a bird's nest, and his relaxed expression was once again filled with anxiety.

"Damn it! I just wanted to take a nap, but it's already nine o'clock... Damn it! We're going to miss the delivery time!"

Although he wanted to run back to the computer immediately, Hijikata Isamu still thanked Kuroba Akira in a friendly manner. If he hadn't woken him up, he would probably have to work frantically for the next three days.

"Luckily you called me, otherwise I would have been doomed today. So what's up, Mingzai?"

Hei Yuming handed over the plate of watermelon in his hand.

"There are melons to eat."

"Where did the melon come from..."

"The old woman bought it and asked me to come up and share it with you and Miss Tashiro."

Looking at the plate of watermelon, Hijikata Isamu's face was filled with emotion. Tears welled up in the middle-aged man's eyes, and he wiped them with the back of his hand.

"Oh, Grandma Xiaolin... She is simply a living Bodhisattva."

"It's because of Grandpa Xiaolin's last words that the old woman is so concerned about us 'Wanderers in Another World'."

"I know, but even so, it's remarkable that she's done this, considering she's not even related to us... If it weren't for her, I might have died on the street."

Who isn't...

Although Hei Yuming always called her "old woman", it was not a sign of contempt, but a friendly name, just like how Grandma Kobayashi called him Baizi.

In fact, he was also very grateful for Grandma Kobayashi's unconditional dedication.

However, the relationship between Kobayashi's mother-in-law and her son does not seem to be very good. Kuroba Ming has been living in Kobayashi's house for nearly half a year, and her son has never visited her even once.

But seeing that she was still able to borrow things that her granddaughter had used before, it shouldn't be to the point of severing ties.

But if things remained like this, Kuroba Akira thought that he would take over from Grandma Kobayashi's son and take care of her in her old age.

Although Grandma Kobayashi doesn't seem to be short of money at all, for the elderly, companionship is more important than money.

After handing over the watermelon, Hei Yuming asked.

"Hijikata-san, can I borrow your laptop?"

This was not the first time that Hei Yuming had come to borrow a computer. In the past, in order to learn about various information in this world, in addition to reading books in the library, he would also use the computer to search for various information.

As a hardcore netizen who had learned to surf the Internet in the second grade of elementary school in his previous life and had been online for more than twenty years, Hei Yu knew that if he only read one side of the news, it would be easy to fall into misconceptions and be used as a tool by unscrupulous media who took things out of context.

Although this world is not as full of information cocoons and provoked rhythms as the Internet era of the previous life, Hei Yuming, who already knows what a monster the Internet is, still habitually screens information rigorously.

A piece of information cannot be obtained from only one source. We need to look at information from all sides and then look at it dialectically. This is the dialectical materialist way of thinking and understanding the world.

Hijikata Isamu usually uses a desktop computer for work, and his laptop is a backup, used for dual-line operations or when slacking off.

Hijikata Isamu moved aside and invited Kuroba Akira into the house.

"Okay, come in."

"No, I won't go in. Just lend me your laptop."

"Ah? But my room is the only one in this house that has an internet port. It was Grandma Kobayashi who installed it for me. Even Wi-Fi isn't popular these days..."

"I don't need to go online. I just want to use the office software."

"Oh, okay, wait a moment then."

Hijikata Isamu turned back to the room, walked through the messy pile of junk, took the laptop and charging cable from the computer desk, and handed them to Kuroba Ming.

"Just don't delete my backed-up work data... Well, I don't think I need to remind you."

Hijikata Isamu and Kuroba Akira smiled at each other. This was the tacit understanding between the old men.

Although Hijikata Isami is much older than Kuroba Akira, there is no generation gap between them. Many popular Internet memes from previous lives are now only known by Kuroba Akira and Hijikata Isami.

Although Miss Tashiro is also a time traveler, it seems that she rarely went online in her previous life. She is rarely seen, and even if she is seen, she will not participate in their chats.

"Thanks, Hijikata-san. When I make some money, I'll treat you to a nice meal."

"Ha, then I'll wait. I've become a waste in this world, so don't be like me."

Hijikata Isamu smiled self-deprecatingly, then yawned, rubbed his face, cheered himself up and went back to his room to continue working.

Kuroba Ming knew that Hijikata Isamu was having a hard time, mainly because of financial problems. He seemed to owe a lot of money, but Kuroba Ming was also a pauper and could not help much.

Moreover, Hei Yuming knows nothing about programming, and he has no intention of developing in this direction. After all, programmers are all cultivators, and they start to reach their peak after they are over 30. Hijikata-san's hairline is getting higher and higher.

Not every time traveler can live a life like the one described in the novel after traveling through time.

Did you escape from the sea of ​​suffering after crossing it? No, you just fell into another sea of ​​suffering.

At least the three time travelers in the Kobayashi family all have their own difficulties.

But now that I have been reborn, I must never make the same mistakes again. I must live a relaxed and easy life in this life!

The time traveler who has died once is not afraid of suffering!

After getting the laptop, Hei Yuming returned to the living room. Zi Zhimiya was following Xiao Lan's lines and had learned them quite well.

Hei Yuming didn't disturb her, but just sat down at the table beside her, plugged in the power and turned on the computer.

The familiar and retro win7 system boot screen appears, but this is already the latest operating system in this world.

Hei Yuming borrowed the computer not to play games, but to use office.

In his previous life, he was a screenwriter and copywriter, spending most of his time dealing with keyboards and WPS.

I wrote novels in the library before just to practice my handwriting and to recall novels that were suitable for copying.

If you really want to get serious, you have to use the computer.

So... start creating!

Chapter 69: Classic Themes of Light Novels

Before deciding what to write, the first thing to do is to decide which publisher to submit it to.

It is not easy to become a light novel writer. Even if Kuroba Akira has professional experience, he may not be able to defeat all the newbies and get the opportunity to publish.

In this world, novels about other worlds haven't become popular on a large scale, mainly because smartphones haven't yet appeared. Most ordinary people don't have the habit of reading novels on their phones, so websites like "Become a Novelist" that publish online novels haven't yet entered their golden age of development.

There is no precedent for converting web articles into paperback publication. Most online serials are like forum posts or blogs, which are purely driven by interest.

This also means that the chances of newcomers making their debut are even slimmer.

If you want to become a novelist, you must first win the top few places in major newcomer awards or outstanding works awards before you can make your debut. It is actually the same as traditional literature. In fact, because writers are getting younger, the competition is even more intense.

Alternatively, you can submit your work directly to a publishing house and compete with a large number of other light novels. Only if it is noticed by an editor can you get the opportunity to be serialized. However, few people get the opportunity to debut after recommending themselves to the editorial department.

Shiori Shirai has already won awards and has publishing experience, so this time she will definitely submit her manuscript to a familiar publishing house. After all, the chances of getting a publishing opportunity will be higher.

It can be said that Hei Yuming was at a disadvantage from the start.

The first orthodox route was directly rejected by Kuroba Akira. Not to mention that there was no light novel grand prize being held recently, even if he really participated, the review time would be as long as several months. Just waiting for the results would exceed the one month agreed with Shiori Shirai.

Furthermore, this kind of open-ended essay contest usually needs to be reviewed by many people, and there are too many uncertainties in the process. Who knows if it will be screened out because of the personal preference of an editor.

Therefore, Hei Yuming could only choose the second path, which was to recommend himself and submit his manuscript to the publishing house in order to get the opportunity to publish.

That is why choosing a publishing house is a crucial step.

But in fact, Hei Yuming already had an idea about which publishing house to choose.

In order to make money by copying books, Kuroba Ming had previously conducted research and found that there was a new publishing house called "Hurricane Bunko". After its establishment, it had discovered a large number of new talents, and the rate of new talent debut was higher than that of other publishing houses.

After all, as an emerging publishing house, if it wants to gain a foothold in this industry, it can only continue to explore new sources of blood, in addition to drinking the leftovers from the old publishing houses.

Moreover, Hurricane Bunko's mainstay work in recent years, "Misfortune Does Not Cry", has just entered the final stage, but there is no new mainstay to continue this work, so submitting your work now will give you a better chance of being noticed.

Of course, Kuroba Akira never intended to take over the main stage in one go, but the lack of a main stage also means that the editors are eager for interesting new works to appear, which will be more widely accepted, and they are also willing to give newcomers more opportunities.

Kuroba Akira first found the address of the publishing house on the Internet and copied it down in a notebook. After that, he just had to complete the work and mail it to this address.

In fact, you can submit your manuscript directly to the email address, but directly submitting the original manuscript will be taken more seriously, so this superficial work should also be done well.

If Hei Yuming didn't have the money to take a bus to the editorial office, he would be willing to visit with his works.

I can only say that the submission method in this world is still very troublesome. When web writing becomes popular, you can just go online to find the official homepage of Hurricane Library, leave your name and phone number, and you can directly participate in the essay contest.

But by then, it will be even more difficult to stand out from the surging number of works...

So now is a rare and good time.

Next, it’s time to decide what to write.

This is actually the most difficult part. After all, everything is difficult at the beginning. Only by choosing a good subject can you lay the foundation for success.

Hei Yuming has rich experience, but this has brought him difficulty in making decisions.

He has seen so many good works, and the variety of his works is so rich that it covers almost all genres.

But every era has its corresponding works. Works that are too advanced will only be regarded as aliens and freaks, and people will only reject them instead of appreciating them.

So we have to write things that are in line with the times.

Half a year after Hei Yuming traveled to this world, he also felt the social atmosphere of this alien world.

The Japanese in this world are not living a very frustrated life. Perhaps it is because they have not experienced the collapse of their bubble dreams due to a piece of paper agreement. The overall atmosphere is still positive.

But to be honest, Hei Yuming still doesn't quite understand what everyone likes to watch.

The almost intuitive perception of heat and wind direction that I developed through long periods of reading in my previous life is completely useless in this world.

There is a discrepancy between what Kuroba Ming considers "interesting" and what the public considers "interesting." As a time traveler, he is "out of touch with reality."

This was also the biggest problem that Hei Yuming faced when he wanted to carry out the plagiarism plan.

Writing a level-up story? A story about traveling to another world?

It will probably fail.

The story of this type of novel is relatively weak, relying entirely on illustrations and exciting points, and the content is not really that good.

Moreover, if this type of novel does not have "popularity" to support it, it will probably be difficult for it to catch the attention of traditional editors.

So are there any enduring themes in light novels?

Have!

That is, sister!

That’s right, stories about sister control will definitely be popular!

This kind of youth-themed emotional light novel, which contains family disputes, sad love stories, and focuses on the relationships between characters, is sure to attract the public's attention!

Moreover, the work "Oreimo" that sparked the sister-control craze has not yet appeared in this world, which means that Kuroba Akira can seize the initiative.

Because it was a work he watched during his student days, Kuroba Akira almost forgot how the plot unfolded later and only remembered a few key characters, but he still remembered the gimmick at the beginning very clearly.

A younger sister who debuted as a hottie in middle school, with a hidden hobby of making butter, was discovered by her older brother, who then began a secret relationship with her. The older brother then started looking for friends with similar hobbies for his younger sister, and she ended up meeting a lot of people. But when the older brother started getting closer to other women, he started getting jealous, and the younger sister went from being a proud girl to a spoiled brat...

Wow, what an imaginative start to the story.

Tsundere has not yet disappeared from the scene, and the feeling of slowly conquering a tough character will make people feel more involved. When you see the other person open their heart and show their shy side to you, you will feel that all the previous efforts are worth it. So people who like tsundere actually like this feeling of bitterness before sweetness, which is hard to stop.

This is the essence!

Having watched many sister-con works, Hei Yuming can now tell at a glance whether there is "something fishy" in it.

It is necessary to write that kind of ambiguous, near yet far feeling so that people will feel itchy and want to see how the story will unfold.

Very good, then the theme is decided.

Kuroba Akira typed 'Subject: Sister' into the document.

Next comes the creative outline.