Chapter 207 The Work Will Find Its Own Readers

Chapter 207 The Work Will Find Its Own Readers

Chapter 207 The Work Will Find Its Own Readers

Later, Ning Chunyan said that she felt like she was living in a different world during Wang Zixu's absence. Five years later, Wang Zixu arrived at the door of Xinshang Magazine and found that the magazine had been completely renovated.

In other words, it has been renovated.

When Wang Zixu entered the room, he left footprints on a piece of paper. When he picked it up, he found it was a fan letter to the little prince. The content was so disgusting that even Wang Zixu's old face could not help but blush.

The magazine is quite respectful of fan letters, and no matter how shocking they are, they will be put away. There is a reason why this fan letter has ended up here, and it is not a special treatment.

Wang Zixu looked around and saw that, except for the ground, all the empty spaces that could be used to stack manuscripts were already filled with piles of white manuscripts. It was a spectacular sight, and their size silently denounced the oversaturation of the workload.

In this environment, it is understandable that some manuscripts that were not collected in time ended up in the hands of the public.

The prince folded the letter and continued to look inside.

In addition to the ubiquitous manuscripts, he also sensed a pure resentment of being a social animal, which was overwhelming him.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" Wang Zixu looked at Lu Qingxuan's face and asked, "Did you get beaten?"

Lu Qingxuan stared at him with swollen eyes: "Yes, I was beaten. I was beaten by the rubbish manuscript."

The bags under Lu Qingxuan's eyes were like two curved ditches, her eyeballs were bloodshot, and her skin was dry and rough. It was obvious that she had stayed up too late, which made her look pale.

"You're going to hit someone over a manuscript? What manuscript? I'll help you return it."

Lu Qingxuan was in no mood to chat with Wang Zixu, so she left with a cold face. From her back, it seemed that she was upset about Wang Zixu taking so many days off.

Diao Yiwen came over with a pile of manuscripts in her arms and started to scold:
"Wang Zixu, where have you been these days? Do you know how busy we are these days? Can you be more reliable?"

"So here I am."

The prince just kept giving her a perfunctory answer while looking for Ning Chunyan. Finally, he found her behind a pile of papers that formed a mountain.

Her beauty was not much better than Lu Qingxuan's. Her hair was disheveled, and she wore a pair of glasses on her thin and straight nose. She looked like a crazy female scientist. But she kept cursing.

"I can't stand it anymore. Why publish a magazine? I'm done with it! Close it down! Get out of here! Run away!"

Wang Zixu walked over and said, "If the company goes bankrupt, please pay me my salary first."

Ning Chunyan looked up and saw him, and immediately felt like he had seen a savior, but then his face turned cold again, and he waved at him listlessly, as if to shoo away a fly:

"I was counting on you to come two days ago, but your coming now is like a drop in the bucket."

"Has the situation come to this?"

"Do you think?"

"Even if there are a lot of manuscripts, we only publish one issue of the magazine. Why are you so busy?"

Ning Chunyan stretched out two slender fingers and said, "We have prepared two plans. If the little prince's manuscript can come, we will choose one set of manuscripts; if not, we will choose the other set."

"why?"

"It's human nature! You don't know how many authors are trying their best to publish in the same issue as the little prince. I can't do anything about it."

Wang Zixu smiled: "You're giving in to the trend? This is not like you."

Ning Chunyan knew that he was imitating her way of speaking and rolled her eyes at him:
"If their works are really vulgar, it would be easy to deal with. The key is that there are many good ones. If they are published together with the Little Prince's, we can make a great issue of "New Appreciation". "

Wang Zixu glanced around and asked casually, "Has the little prince submitted his manuscript yet?"

Ning Chunyan shook his head and said, "I haven't read it today. I have so many manuscripts on hand. The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment. If you don't want to be disappointed, make yourself stronger... Forget it, I'll still take a look."

After a while, a strange cry came from behind the pile of manuscripts:

"Oh my god! The little prince's manuscript has been sent!"

The prince retired after his mission accomplished. He walked leisurely to his seat, pushed aside the manuscripts piled on his chair, sat down and made himself a cup of tea.

Lu Qingxuan and Diao Yiwen hurriedly passed by him and came to Ning Chunyan's side, talking at the same time, making the place a mess.

"Print it out, print it out, and see..."

"Don't print it, just open it on the computer and read it. I can't wait..."

"I mean open it first, then print it..."

“Print 3 copies!”

Lu Qingxuan turned to look at Wang Zixu: "Don't you want to come and take a look?"

Wang Zixu drank his tea and said, "I'll watch it after you guys finish watching it."

"This is the original manuscript of the Little Prince, and you don't want to read it first?"

"The manuscript won't run away. It doesn't matter if you read it early or late."

Lu Qingxuan waved her hand and ignored him, turning back to look at the little prince's manuscript.

The title of the manuscript reads: "Annual Sacrifice".

……

When people die, they leave behind an inheritance. I am my mother's inheritance.

No one told me how to be a good legacy, just like no one told me that I had to wait until three days to say goodbye to the body. Before that, there is a process called wake.

On the second night, I climbed over the funeral home wall and fell into a ditch. Later I found out that it was not a ditch but a Fengshui pond.

Fengshui Pond is divided into Yin and Yang, which can suppress evil spirits, stabilize the world and ensure safety. Chen Hanbing told me that it was fortunate that I fell into the Yang Pond, which had no water. If I had fallen into the Yin Pond, I would have drowned. This is the function of Fengshui Pond.

Chen Hanbing also told me that most people would not run out of the funeral home during the wake, let alone run to the cemetery gate to pick up unlit firecrackers and set them off for fun. If someone came out to see me, they would be scared to death.

I think Chen Hanbing is a nagging and somewhat crazy woman. My reasons are as follows:
First of all, there is no water in Yangtan. It is not that Fengshuitan protected me. If it really wanted to protect me, it should not be there.

Secondly, the reason why she scolded me for picking up firecrackers to play with was because I picked up the firecrackers she wanted to pick up. If she could also set them off, she wouldn't say such nonsense.

Sure enough, after I gave her the firecrackers, we had a lot of fun. The old man who was guarding the grave came out at night wearing a military coat and was scared to death by us two kids.

That was the first time I met Chen Hanbing. The second time I met her was at my dad’s wedding.

……

……

After reading the manuscript, Ning Chunyan took a deep breath as if floating up from underwater, then met the gazes of Lu Qingxuan and Diao Yiwen, and was pleased to find that they were as excited as he was.

"How about it?"

"In a word: God."

Ning Chunyan could hardly use other words to describe this manuscript except "divine".

"I haven't read such an interesting story in a long time," Lu Qingxuan wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye with her fingertips, "There are so many twists and turns, and they are all reasonable. It's not a clichéd story at all."

"No wonder the little prince was so confident about this story. Before he sent me this manuscript, I couldn't figure out how to make it as he said, fragmented yet a complete story when put together."

Diao Yiwen said: "I thought the little prince would continue to strengthen his romantic character and put a lot of gorgeous sentences or romantic history in the novel, but there was none of that."

Ning Chunyan glared at her and said, "Your understanding of the Little Prince is very superficial. The Little Prince is quite serious about novels. You can compare his seriousness with the person next to him."

Everyone looked at Wang Zixu, who was still reading the manuscript with his legs crossed and a leisurely look on his face. He was more confident than usual.

People say that a cosplayer is most confident when she has makeup on. Even if she looks like an ordinary person, she can still look like a queen when she puts on a C costume.

For a writer, there is nothing more satisfying than having a work praised by everyone. If there is any, it is when those people who praise you don't know it was written by you.

Wang Zixu experienced the joy of being a cosplayer at this moment. This was the most confident moment in his life. He just wanted more compliments.

These five days were not wasted. The hard work I put in in that small rental house was not in vain.

Ning Chunyan said, "Hey! We've finished reading it, you should come and have a look too. It's really well written."

Wang Zixu lowered his head to review the manuscript: "Wait until I finish reading this manuscript."

"No, don't review it. Didn't you waste enough time taking leave a few days ago? Come and learn the writing skills of the little prince." "How are the writing skills of the little prince?"

Wang Zixu didn't have time to answer. Xiao Mengyin said the last sentence. Everyone looked up at the door.

Xiao Mengyin was dressed like a vampire cosplayer in gorgeous black clothes. She stood at the door, leaned over to adjust the hem of her complicated and gorgeous skirt, then walked in slowly with her head down.

"The little prince handed in his manuscript so soon? He writes so fast."

Ning Chunyan wrinkled his nose.

"What are you here for?"

"Nothing, just wandering around."

Ning Chunyan knew with his toes that this was a lie.

Xiao Mengyin is a person who is very purposeful in doing things and never just "shops around casually". If you run into her at the entrance of a supermarket, it means there must be a special sale, and it's an unprecedented one.

Sure enough, Xiao Mengyin instantly set his eyes on Ning Chunyan's laptop and moved closer without making a sound.

"Let me see what it says."

Ning Chunyan stepped forward and stopped her with a screen.

"We are in working hours now. We need to visit friends. Please wait a moment."

Xiao Mengyin's eyes rolled around: "Has my manuscript been reviewed? Any comments?"

"What can I say?"

"Let me see the little prince's manuscript."

"The Little Prince's manuscript is a commercial secret, and who told you that he sent it?"

"I just heard you talking about the little prince's manuscript."

Ning Chunyan finally lost his temper: "Are you born in the Year of the Dog? You have such a sharp nose! You came here just by smelling the manuscript as soon as it arrived?"

Xiao Mengyin shamelessly said: "I really am a dog. Let me see."

"I can't read it, it's a trade secret!"

Then Ning Chunyan and Xiao Mengyin started a 20-minute tug-of-war. If it were before, she would have definitely chased him away, but Xiao Mengyin's status was different now.

The last time the prince asked her to write a manuscript, it was of high quality and in a suitable style. It was almost certain to be one of the two top titles in the next issue of "New Appreciation". The other top title was the new work of the little prince.

Now that the Little Prince's new work is in place, it can no longer form a double-headed card, and can only be a single flower. Xiao Mengyin's piece is not bad either, and can be regarded as a small green flower to accompany it.

No matter what, Xiao Mengyin is no longer the same person she used to be, so she should be treated politely. Diao Yiwen and Lu Qingxuan could not get a word in, not daring to offend this Bodhisattva, so only Ning Chunyan argued with her.

As a result, Xiao Mengyin failed to succeed after trying many tricks, so she ran to Wang Zixu.

"Forget it. I won't look for you anymore. I'm here to see my editor."

Ning Chunyan raised his head sharply: "Who is your editor?"

Xiao Mengyin put her arm on Wang Zixu's shoulder: "Editor Wang invited me to write my manuscript, so of course he is my editor, what else?"

Ning Chunyan glared at her from behind a pile of papers that looked like a machine gun position. His glasses reflected a cold light on his face and his teeth were itching, but he could do nothing about her.

Xiao Mengyin threw a roll of newspaper onto Wang Zixu's desk and said, "Look, the first batch of reviews for your "Fire in the Stone" has come out. It's just as I expected."

Wang Zixu picked up the newspaper and saw a very scary headline at the top of the page:
"A brief review of the niche 'masterpiece' 'Fire in the Stone', is it really the Chinese version of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'?"

Wang Zixu glanced at Xiao Mengyin, who raised his eyebrows and motioned for him to continue reading.

Wang Zixu read as he looked:
"…Recently, a friend recommended to me a 'masterpiece' called 'Fire in the Stone', saying that it was highly praised by people in a small circle.

"I have always kept a respectful distance from this kind of 'masterpiece' produced by a small circle.

"Because this type of work generally retains a certain degree of childishness, and also has a group of extremely militant fans who dare not say anything or touch them, and dare not have any opinions. It's boring to watch.

"But my friend highly recommended it, saying it was the Chinese version of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Just for its spirit, I should read it. So I quickly read through it in three days, finishing the published parts. I had my own opinion, and I couldn't help but express it.

“This is a work whose ideas cannot support its ambitions.

"One Hundred Years of Solitude is the enlightenment of countless Chinese writers. Many of our authors have feelings for this work. Over the past few decades, many people have imitated or paid tribute to it.

"This author Wang Zixu is more daring. What he wants to do is not to imitate or pay tribute, but to challenge. He wants to challenge One Hundred Years of Solitude.

"My assessment is that the courage is commendable, but the strength is insufficient.

“China’s century-long history is indeed colorful, but history cannot replace a person’s depth. And this author obviously does not have this depth.

"He mistakenly regarded his own ambition and China's history as part of his own strength, and thus had the misunderstanding that he could challenge One Hundred Years of Solitude, which led to the birth of such a work, but the result was neither fish nor fowl.

"I looked up the author Wang Zixu, and sure enough, he hadn't published anything worth mentioning before this work. There are many writers who want to become famous overnight with a masterpiece, but I suggest you don't follow their example..."

Prince Xu put down the newspaper. His good mood for the day ended here.

"You know that's not what he said."

Xiao Mengyin crossed her arms and said, "Yes, I know."

Wang Zixu said: "His misunderstandings are too many and too deep. I don't know... I don't know where to start. I can't even find a way to refute him."

The smile on Xiao Mengyin's face became even more ironic: "Do you really think it's a 'misunderstanding'?"

Wang Zixu was surprised and asked, "Ah?"

Xiao Mengyin patted his shoulder and said, "Why do you give people the feeling that you are inexperienced in the world? Well, let me tell you, the first thing to do when writing is to stop internal friction. It's not that you have to refute every word of others' comments if you are unhappy with them. It's also not that you have to reflect on yourself for every word.

"If someone scolds you, you scold back. If someone makes you unhappy, you do everything you can to make them unhappy too. Do you think people really care about your work? No, the only one who cares about your work is you."

"What Xiao Mengyin said does make sense. You should listen to it."

Ning Chunyan continued, saying that she had come closer without knowing when. Others also gathered around.

Wang Zixu blinked and glanced at the bottom of the title: "Author, Wang Zhongxing. He's a relative."

Ning Chunyan said, "Oh, I know this person. He and Shi Tonghe are from the same association. They are fellow apprentices."

Xiao Mengyin said: "They are brothers, but maybe more like master and apprentice."

After saying that, she looked at Wang Zixu again: "Do you understand?"

"clear."

The prince rubbed his chin. Even knowing this, it was hard for him to feel better.

This was his first encounter with literary competition, and he knew from the first encounter that he did not like it.

What he hates is not being criticized unilaterally or being bullied. What he hates is seeing more dark things in this article: insidious, sticky, and mean. These are even more disgusting.

Xiao Mengyin asked: "I asked you this before, and I'm asking you again now, what do you think now?"

Wang Zixu said: "This is just what a critic said. Not many people will see this piece of tofu. If I respond, I will be at a disadvantage and may even stir up some controversy for him."

"Yes." Xiao Mengyin showed a teachable expression.

"So, now I can only do nothing." Wang Zixu said, "I don't need to do anything."

Xiao Mengyin asked: "What about the reputation of your work? Don't you care about it?"

"As long as you read my book, you will know that what this person said is not true. If you are influenced by him and don't read it, it's a pity." Wang Zixu said, "But a work will always find its own readers."

"You are quite frank." Xiao Mengyin said.

Diao Yiwen suddenly interrupted and said, "But your work has also lost its reputation among the people."

"what?"

(End of this chapter)