Chapter 26: Are vulgar writers from the “lower class” qualified to talk about copyright?

Chapter 26: Are vulgar writers from the “lower class” qualified to talk about copyright?

Chapter 26: Are vulgar writers from the “lower class” qualified to talk about copyright?
After an extremely long and agonizing wait, Saito Rena finally saw three people walking out of the conference room.

Strangely, the three people had completely different expressions.

Editor-in-Chief Muramatsu was exhausted. After shaking hands with Kitagawa Hide several times at the door, he turned around and gave instructions to his secretary. Then he shouted to her inexplicably, "I'll leave it to you from now on," and ran to the elevator without looking back.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief An Yuan still had that stinky face, and it seemed even stinkier than before he came in. He walked straight past her and headed towards the editorial office area.

It was Kitagawa Hide, holding his "trump card" in his hand, looking at him with a smile on his face.

Saito Rena couldn't figure out the situation, but Kitagawa Hide was smiling, so things were probably going in a good direction.

The two left side by side, discussing the results in low voices.

Kitagawa Hide's goal of this trip has been basically achieved, and it didn't take much time, which made him feel quite relieved. After that, it all depends on Muramatsu Tomosuke's performance.

Because he had taken a whole day off, he was in no hurry to return to the company. He simply found a vacant room and pulled Saito Rena in to talk in detail.

After talking about the meeting, Kitagawa Hide took a sip of tea and looked quietly at Saito Rena's pretty face, which was a little out of control due to excessive surprise.

She needed some time to recover, and while she was catching her breath, Kitagawa Hide silently took out the draft paper from the envelope and placed it neatly in front of her.

The sequel to "Hear the Wind Sing" is here!

Saito Rena's soul suddenly floated back, and her thoughts were attracted by the manuscript in front of her.

When was "Hear the Wind Sing" submitted?

She thought about it and soon had an answer.

It was March 3th, because that day she was worrying about the tuition fees for her younger sisters who were in the fifth grade and the first grade.

In less than two months, Mr. Beichuan has actually finished writing half of the consecutive essays?
After becoming an editor for a year, Rena Saito felt that the most painful thing in her job was urging writers to submit their manuscripts.

Those weird writers under him can always come up with all kinds of weird reasons to delay updating, and it is common for them not to start writing by the deadline.

Writers who can submit their manuscripts on time are simply angels sent by God!

"Please wait a moment, let me take a look at the manuscript first." Saito Rena calmed herself down and picked up the manuscript paper skillfully.

The handwriting was still bad, but she had gotten used to it.

After a while, she was deeply attracted by the content of the novel.

Very well written!
Moreover, the writing style and quality have shown visible improvement compared to "Hear the Wind Sing"!

No wonder Mr. Beichuan said that the matter was done just now.

Once this "trump card" is used, Editor-in-Chief Muramatsu will surely be killed.

Saito Rena spent a full fifteen minutes reading the prologue, then put down the manuscript with a feeling of being unsatisfied, looked up at Kitagawa Hide, her eyes full of admiration and surprise.

"How is the manuscript, Mr. Saito?" asked Kitagawa Hide.

After calming down her fluctuating emotions several times, Saito Reina took a deep breath and said faintly, "Perfect. It's going to be even better than the previous work."

"That's good. Since the editors all think so, there shouldn't be any problem with the manuscript." Beichuan Xiu nodded and said, "Then what do you think of what I said?"

"As for the copyright contract, I'm not sure whether the Cultural Affairs Bureau will agree, but judging from the reaction of Editor-in-Chief Muramatsu, he will try his best to convince the company's top management that he will help you publish even if he has to give up the Cultural Affairs Bureau's support."

Saito Reina held the manuscript paper and looked at the title "Pinball in 1973". She felt that there was no reason for the editorial department to give up publishing "Hear the Wind Sing".
“I will also try my best to make this happen.”

"Thank you, Mr. Saito." Kitagawa Hide expressed his gratitude from the bottom of his heart. He had seen all the support and help that Saito Rena had given him along the way. It was the right choice to choose this female editor who was excluded by the editorial department because of her gender and poor performance!
On the other hand, as for Tanaka Aoi, forget it. Kitagawa Hide felt a little nauseous just thinking about her.

"You're welcome. Please don't call me teacher anymore. I, I'm not worthy of being called teacher by you." Saito Rena's cheeks blushed slightly. Before seeing this manuscript, she could still feel at ease being called teacher because of Kitagawa Hide's newcomer status.

Not anymore.

Calling him "Saito-sensei" all the time only made her feel embarrassed.

"Then, Mr. Saito, I'll leave the subsequent serialization of 'Pinball in 1973' to you." Kitagawa Hide took the envelope back from her and bowed slightly to her to express his gratitude.

"Okay, Kitagawa-san. What's your pager number, please? I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

Saito Reina touched the pager hidden at her waist. This was the "admission gift" her father bought for her when she first entered the University of Tokyo in 1990, before the bubble burst. It was still a rare item at that time. The family was not bankrupt, and her father and mother were still alive.
Kitagawa Hide scratched her head awkwardly, and her thoughts were interrupted by the words "Sorry, I didn't buy a pager."

Although the number of people using pagers has now exceeded 1500 million, the high price of 2 yen still makes Kitagawa Hide hesitate.

He didn't have anyone to contact, so if he wanted to buy one, he would have to buy one for Yumeko as well. Besides, in a few years, the era of computers and mobile phones would come, and these 4 yen would be like throwing them into a puddle.

"If Mr. Saito is willing, please call the administrator's office of the apartment downstairs. I can receive it immediately." Kitagawa Hide picked up a pen and paper and quickly wrote down a number for her.

In Japan, where people live by the motto of "try not to disturb others", this behavior is very annoying.

After all, the apartment manager’s job is to serve the residents. If they receive a call in the middle of the night, they have to come and inform you immediately. If they receive too many calls like this, they won’t be able to sleep!

But for Kitagawa Hide, who now lives in a rented house, is burdened with a large amount of debt, and whose first appliance in his life was a kotatsu, he has no choice but to not bother others.

When he was doing things these days, he found that life was full of obstacles. When he wanted to check the time, he felt his pocket and found no cell phone. When he raised his hand, he found no watch. When he wanted to go out, he never had suitable and decent clothes, and he didn't have his own car.

Not to mention food and accommodation, if it were winter, he would have to consider how to avoid starving or freezing to death.

So he needs money, enough money to support himself a decent life.

"Okay." Saito Reina knew that he was in financial difficulties now. After solemnly putting away the note, she said sincerely, "I hope everything goes well."

"Well, I hope so." Kitagawa Hide waved goodbye and walked out of the room.

8pm.

An Yuanxian got out of the Toyota car with a briefcase in his hand. He was in a bad mood and felt that everything had been going wrong recently. It really fits the old Chinese saying "When it rains, it pours"!
Outside the high-end izakaya "Sakurasuma", which was very prosperous during the bubble period but is now a little depressed, two female waitresses in kimonos wanted to greet him with a smile, but when they saw Yasuhara's extremely dark and stinky face, they quickly lowered their heads and dared not look at him, and only whispered "Welcome".

He didn't have the heart to reach out and pinch the tender buttocks of the two female attendants as he did before, and he pushed the door open and walked in. The lights in the pub were dim, and it was obviously cleared out tonight, and there was no trace of a customer downstairs.

When the proprietress Hanamori Miki saw him coming, she immediately smiled and took his hand, and went upstairs together: "Teacher Yasuhara, you are here, and the other teachers are waiting for you upstairs."

"Well, Miki-chan, isn't Section Chief Amuro here yet?" An Yuanxian hugged the plump proprietress, his hands groping inside her kimono, and finally a smile appeared on his face.

In order to prevent the foolish Muramatsu Tomomi from getting himself into trouble, Yasuhara Akira mobilized all his connections and finally got together a group of "like-minded" friends in the literary world. He also flattered himself and invited Sho Amuro, a senior official of the Agency for Cultural Affairs who was in charge of this publishing cooperation.

Everyone gathered at the "Primrose Room" pub, and he spent a lot of money, trying his best to clear himself from this matter.

"He said he would be here soon. I have already arranged for the bath ladies to wait quietly in the private room." When Hanamori Miki smiled, her eyebrows were like crescent moons, which were very captivating, and An Yuanxian was very excited.

But he knew that now was not the time to enjoy the gentle countryside, so he collected his thoughts and followed her to the private room on the second floor.

The first thing that catches your eye is a huge imitation wooden torii gate, and behind it are pavilions and terraces, which are lifelike. At first glance, it is obvious that it was a grand project during the bubble era when the economy was at its peak.

Five men in suits, aged between 50 and 80, hugged the giggling Fan Chunniang, toasted each other, and were having a great time.

"Teachers, are you having fun?" An Yuanxian put on a big smile, went over and hugged a girl, and joined in.

"Thank you for the expense, Brother Yasuhara." The 63-year-old Ishihara Shintaro laughed heartily, and Ikezawa Natsuki, who was sitting next to him, also laughed.

Both of them are the most famous pure literature novelists in the current Japanese literary world, and they have great appeal in the literary world.

But none of them are good stuff.

Shintaro Ishihara is a well-known right-wing hawk (a militarist bastard), and his family, the Ishihara family, is a major chaebol in the entertainment industry.

He just resigned from his seat in the House of Representatives this year. During his tenure, he was involved in scandals such as keeping a mistress, his illegitimate child participating in vote-buying, using tax money for lavish overseas tours, and openly visiting various entertainment shops.

Ikezawa Natsuki is a bit like a certain literary tycoon in China, who used his connections in the literary and publishing circles to win various awards for his daughter, who has no literary talent, is a voice actor, and is only 20 years old. Then he had her join the Japan Literary Society (similar to the Writers Association) under the pretext of holding an important position.

They haven't published a book for a long time, but they have a lot of titles, serve as visiting professors of literature at many universities, and maintain their own dense network of contacts in the literary world.

They both have another famous identity - permanent judges of the Akutagawa Prize from 1995 to 2011.

Oh, by the way, both of them have won the Akutagawa Prize, and the one won by Shintaro Ishihara was the most controversial.

His award-winning work "Season of the Sun" is filled with a lot of descriptions of sex and violence, which caused quite a stir at the time. He later promoted his younger brother Ishihara Yujiro to star in the film, and he and the heroine had real sex.

The other three were of similar quality.

They gathered here to discuss the publication of "Listen to the Wind Sing".

"Haha, a mere vulgar writer from the 'lower class' is qualified to talk about copyright?" After hearing what Yasuhara Akira said, Ishihara Shintaro immediately showed a look of disdain and ridicule.

"Mr. Ishihara, you're right. He just won the Rookie of the Year Award, and it happened to be a period of social depression, which helped increase the sales of Gunzo, and he lost his way."

An Yuanxian agreed with him very much and said angrily,

"When he raised his head today and said he wanted to get a royalty contract, he didn't care about the Akutagawa Prize and the Agency for Cultural Affairs at all."

"Just a newcomer. And that guy Muramatsu, what do you mean by not awarding the Akutagawa Prize? Is it a loss for the Akutagawa Prize? Is the Akutagawa Prize worse than the fried squid sold on the street?" Ikezawa Natsuki became famous thanks to the Akutagawa Prize. To belittle the Akutagawa Prize is tantamount to denying his achievements. How can he not be anxious?

"Brother Yasuhara, don't worry. He has absolutely no chance of winning the Akutagawa Prize this time. It is an insult to us to let a lowly writer from the 'lower class' win the prize."

Shintaro Ishihara comes from a chaebol family and has a strong sense of class.

What he called "underclass" came from the book "Underclass: The Emergence of a New Class Group" by Meiji University professor Hidetoshi Miura.

The word "downstream" in Japanese was originally a geological term and is almost a dead word. According to the Japanese dictionary "Kojien", it refers to the end of the lower reaches of a river.

Later, Hideo Miura applied this term in the field of sociological research, using "lower class" to refer to the lower class groups that had differentiated or fallen from the middle class society.

The concepts of "upper class", "middle class" and "lower class" have gradually formed in recent years and have slowly become popular in the Japanese literary world.

The "upper class" naturally refers to this group of "literary masters" and practitioners who have resources, discourse power and social appeal.

"Middle class" comes from "100 million middle class". During the bubble period, Japan's economy expanded rapidly. Under the lifetime employment system, about 90% of Japanese people considered themselves to be middle class, forming a social atmosphere of "consumption is a virtue" and "Japan is full of money".

The "middle stream" refers to a group of middle-class writers, mainly people like Oshima Hikaru who have emerged in recent years.

"Low-class" refers to most lower-middle class and grassroots writers, and specifically refers to "low-class people" like Kitagawa Hide who work in low-level professions and try to make a comeback by writing books.

Just like this twisted country, the Japanese literary world, which has not produced many literary masters in the past hundred years of development, is now in a mess and ruled by a group of inferior writers. It is most appropriate to describe them as "the circle is too chaotic".

Their deep-rooted class concepts make them look down on rising stars like Kitagawa Hide. What’s the point of rewarding newcomers? So what if it boosts sales?

Can you guarantee that one of your books will become popular?
Can you continue to be popular when your resources are cut off and you are targeted?
Can you become a best-selling author in Japan without the support of the Agency for Cultural Affairs?
Kitagawa Hide's behavior of fighting for his due interests is like an act of "the inferior overthrowing the superior" in the Japanese literary world, which emphasizes seniority and seniority. They absolutely cannot tolerate it.

"Don't worry, brother Yasuhara. When Section Chief Amuro comes, we will speak nicely for you." The other bald man who was hugging Miki smiled.

An Yuanxian felt much more at ease. In fact, the purpose of this trip was not only to remove himself from the matter, but more to destroy this newcomer who "did not follow the rules of the game".

He also read today's manuscript.

To be honest, if Hide Kitagawa had appeared a few years earlier, he would have chosen Hide Kitagawa and given up Hikaru Oshima.

But now Oshima Hikaru is the mainstay of "Gunzo" and is the new-age "middle-stream" literary giant he strongly supports.

There must not be a newcomer coming out to shine by breaking his record.

After tonight, he would immediately contact Hikaru Oshima, who was supervising the filming in the crew, and ask him to take action as soon as possible.

However, after listening to Kitagawa Hide's words today, An Yuanxian, who had calmed down along the way, thought of a better way to "destroy" him.

(End of this chapter)