My book friend Long Aotian

Chapter 140: Long Batian, participating in the competition with dignity!

Many years later, when Nalan Wenbo, who had already achieved success and served as a naval marshal, looked back on the past, he would always remember the afternoon when he was transported to Huazhou by the Lingyu Sect as a piglet.

To commemorate this event, he wrote an essay imitating the style of that adult.

"When the Tianhe Division was first established, the structure was different from what it is now. It was roughly divided into three departments, and the new navy soldiers were assigned according to their qualifications."

"Since the sixth year of Qingtian, I was sent to Huazhou to follow Li Zhongtang and work in the Tongwen Bureau because I lent money to my brother to practice martial arts and owed a debt to the Lingyu Sect."

"Soon after we arrived that day, we took a shower and had a meal, then we were called to the lobby of the bureau and sat down. We were given a test paper and asked to fill it out on the spot."

"There were multiple choice questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, judgment questions, reading comprehension questions, and essays. The content was wild and imaginative, but to the point. The papers at that time were far from being as meticulous and perfect as they are today, but they were drawn up by Zhongtang himself. I still remember the good papers that day. Until now, I have never seen papers as good as that day again."

"After filling out the papers, the Lord Zhongtang personally reviewed them, and we waited outside. One by one, we were called in for interviews. After answering a few questions, we were assigned our positions."

"When it was my turn, the Lord said that my writing was good and my thoughts were clear, but my writing was too messy and I couldn't get the point across. I was afraid that I couldn't write a ghostwriting and couldn't serve the discerning readers."

"He thought about it and decided where I would go."

"Say, go and be a data worker who controls reviews."

"I am still especially grateful for the cultivation of Lord Zhongtang. I still remember that if I posted an effective post, the bureau would provide bonus subsidies. This mechanism has continued to this day. The price has been raised several times. At that time, Li Zhongtang was still the governor of Huazhou. It was difficult to start a business. The bureau didn't have much money, so the price was set..."

"Five cents!"

The clerk announcing the policy read out the words to a group of bewildered temporary workers: "For a post that sparks discussion, the basic bonus is five coins, which can be increased depending on the influence..."

The young Nalan Wenbo sat among the crowd, his eyes shining.

He was not good at martial arts, so he could only go to school, so he had some knowledge of literature, but he was not very good at taking the imperial examination. He was caught here to work as a temporary worker, not because he owed a debt to the Lingyu Sect, but because he was smart and worked with local sages and fellow villagers to get a small loan from a foreign sect.

The times are changing, people's hearts are getting worse, there are too many scammers and not enough fools. Small gangs from other places who want to make some financial money are sometimes cheated by worldly-wise scholars. In front of the fellow villagers in the villages and towns who are full of martial virtues, they sometimes can only swallow the bitter fruit.

At least that’s what Nalan Wenbo thought.

He thought he could make a fortune, enough to cover the examination expenses for the next few years. However, he did not expect that with the development of the times, the means of fighting against scammers have been upgraded, and the means of scammers to fight back have also been upgraded.

The foreign gang that suffered a loss gritted its teeth and stomped its feet, then packaged up the loan debts of the entire village and town and sold them at a discount to the debt collection company affiliated with the Lingyu Sect.

In front of the affiliated sects of the six major sects, Nalan Wenbo's reliance and means are simply not worth mentioning.

The debt collection company came to conduct an on-site inspection and came up with a suggestion for how to deal with the situation.

The villagers in the village were forced to use the loans they had obtained to buy the large bioenergy farm machinery of the Lingyu School and began to repay their debts with their labor. However, as a scholar with very poor martial arts skills and the main culprit, he could not get much money from them and was originally going to be sent to the southwest to open up wasteland. Unexpectedly, a transfer order changed his fate.

Tongwen Bureau, navy.

Good salary and comfortable working environment.

In addition to the advance payment of the first month's salary, they also received two sets of decent uniforms, clothes and shoes, clean bedding, and basic living supplies.

As well as script manuals and reference materials.

Opening the manual's catalog, the rhetoric seems to be divided into "reasonable" and "irrational".

There is a sub-catalog under "Unreasonable", including various magical powers such as Dian, Xiao, Ji, Le, Bang, and Ying. When he flipped through it and took a quick look at the specific content, he felt his blood boiling.

"You must learn this mantra by heart, but you must also integrate and even improve it in actual combat. The governor is merciful and does not require you to fight with your lives, but requires you to fight the enemy with your souls. Your enemies are not insignificant, and your mission is extremely important..."

The clerk from the Tongwen Bureau who came to manage these new navy troops was obviously not very professional and his eloquence was not very good.

At least that's what Nalan Wenbo, who convinced his fellow villagers to join him in making money, thinks.

Compared with these, he was more interested in the rhetoric tutorial in his hand.

The pleasing admonitions continued.

"I don't need to emphasize where you are from, because I also owe money to the Lingyu Sect. I can tell you seriously that working here is much more comfortable and relaxed than working in the farms and mines! Therefore, you should thank the governor and work wholeheartedly for him..."

Hearing this, Nalan Wenbo curled his lips.

He was very grateful to the governor, he just felt that the official who came to teach everyone was a weakling.

Instead of repeating such repetitive questions, it would be better to directly ask questions like "Who gave you the clothes on your body? Who gave you the money in your pocket?" and then let everyone answer the questions repeatedly every day.

It would be best to compose a song so that everyone can sing together at dawn every day.

Nalan realized long ago that repetition is the best form of self-persuasion and hypnosis.

"The mission of the data workers is to serve as the eyes and mouthpiece of the Tongwen Bureau, using all means such as newspapers, posters, storytellers and even teahouse discussions to create the atmosphere of public opinion that the governor wants and guide people in the direction the governor wants... Your tasks will be quantified and your achievements will be judged!"

Upon hearing this, Nalan Wenbo nodded secretly, thinking that this should have been ordered by the governor himself.

"Your first mission is to defend "Legend of the Imperial Battle of Heaven" under the malicious slander and criticism of the enemy, manipulate public opinion to the limit to reduce the living space of the little black fans, and make the popularity of this book continue to rise, so that everyone in the streets and alleys of Huazhou will discuss and read this book!"

The clerk from the Tongwen Bureau clapped his hands when he reached this point.

Several officers came in carrying piles of books.

"You don't have much time. In a few days, you must quickly read the manual of speech, understand your mission, and read the legend of Huangji Zhantian. Then, go to the streets and alleys, and fight the invisible enemy in the desks and teahouses. Grasp the twisted snake of public opinion in our hands and point our fangs at the enemy!"

The clerk crossed his arms and said coldly, "Now, I'll give you half an hour to read the first volume carefully... Start now, don't play tricks, and obey orders!"

He thought for a moment and added, "Although you are all in debt and were just working slaves in the hands of the Lingyu Sect with limited freedom, there are no such restrictions in Huazhou. You can move freely. This is the trust of Governor Li... You'd better not let this trust down."

Nalan Wenbo shrugged, took the book "Legend of Huangji Zhantian" and opened it.

He read the text carefully and soon became absorbed in it.

It seemed like someone came in and walked around a few times. He was vaguely aware of it, but he was attracted by the story in the book and did not look up until half an hour later, when the clerk said, "Stop."

Many people looked up and breathed a sigh of relief.

The clerk did not speak, but waited. Not long after, an officer came in and pointed at the people in the field: "You! You! You! And you! Get out!"

The few people showed panic, and before they could move, they were caught by the officer one by one and thrown to the ground like chickens: "The governor gave you a chance to live, you lazy bastard, but you didn't cherish it! I only asked you to read a book, but you didn't even read it!"

Several people cried out loudly, and the clerk came up and asked them about the content of the second chapter of the book.

Everyone was speechless.

"The governor has sharp eyes. If he comes over and takes a few glances, he will know that you are lazy and unruly."

The clerk sneered, "If they don't even want to sit and read, how can you entrust them with important tasks! If you don't like the governor's courtesy, go back and get whipped by the supervisor." He shook his head and said, "Take them away and send them to the Lingyu faction's branch. Say they don't want to be the governor's subordinates."

Those people were frightened and begged for mercy loudly, but they were pulled sideways and dragged away.

Manuals, materials and books were scattered on the ground.

The officer who came in said a few more words to the clerk, and the clerk pointed at a few people and said, "You, you, and the two of you, the four of you, have seen the most deeply and carefully, so you will temporarily serve as the team leaders!"

Nalan Wenbo was promoted inexplicably, and only then did he realize that Governor Li had just come over for a few rounds.

"Get up, we will assign you dormitories, and the team leader will be in charge of management. In the future, when something happens, don't shout 'sir', shout 'report to the government'! In the next few days, your first task is to read "Legend of the Imperial Battle Sky" and understand the Huazhou female channel's public opinion tactics, and then start actual combat operations and compete with them!"

The past few days had been full of twists and turns. I thought I would be sent by Lingyu to the border to open up wasteland, but I didn't expect that I really came to the prosperous Huazhou in Jiangbei and became a "data worker" in a regular fourth-rank government office.

Alas, everything here is good, except that the names and positions are a bit strange.

Holding the clothes and books distributed to him, Nalan began his new life working at the Tongwen Bureau.

It's getting late, but I'm still grounded.

I can sleep well tonight.

Looking at the "Legend of Huangji Zhantian" that fell on his clothes, he had to admit that he was indeed attracted by the plot, so he made a decision quickly.

——Read a few more chapters before going to bed at night!

The night was deep, and after a busy day, ０文 also closed...呸, it was closed for business.

Chen Baitang and other managers finished settling today's accounts. After both sides met, they told the waiters to go to bed early and returned to their rooms.

His family hasn't come to pick him up yet. After all, he needs to travel light to start a business in Huazhou. The opening of the bookstore today can be regarded as the fulfillment of a dream he had long ago. He also suddenly remembered a promise.

I told you before that I will sell your masterpiece to more distant places in the future.

The old thief seemed to have promised him that if he sold more, he could write more.

But there has been no news of this deceased person for a long time.

This suddenly made Chen Baitang feel a little uneasy.

The last time we met was the night of the raid by the brigade, which was the deadline for submission of the fourth volume. What happened after that was so fast that we were even involved in a major event.

So, I haven’t seen the old thief for nearly a month.

The long wait between the release of the first four volumes was nothing unusual, but now, he felt a little uneasy. Chen Baitang suddenly realized that during these days, no matter how worried or concerned he was, he had never thought that "the old thief would not appear again". Long Batian would definitely come to hand in the manuscript. This self-evident belief was like the rising sun, and there was no need to doubt it. But now, his heart began to waver.

Perhaps it was only after the dead of night and the hectic pace of life that he realized the flaws in today’s day.

The bookstore opened, books were sold in Huazhou, Jie Yuanlang supported me, and many adults came...but there was one person missing, as we had promised.

They are all sold to Huazhou.

The fantasy of youth, the agreement made casually with Long Batian, clearly he had been pursuing such a goal and had achieved it, clearly his wish had been fulfilled, and he had also sent someone back to the Chen Family Bookstore in Lin County to leave a message...

"Boom boom boom, boom boom."

Three long and two short.

A familiar rhythm.

Chen Botang's body shook violently.

He hurriedly picked up the lantern and walked quickly to the door, but did not dare to answer for a moment.

Because there is a door between them, the person on the other side might be a dream that could be shattered at any time, and he might be awakened by a sound...and maybe that person is not the one he is thinking of.

But, I still hold a glimmer of hope.

So, after a moment, he whispered in disbelief and trembling.

"Fight... Fight to break the sky."

"You've already come to Huazhou, what are you talking about?!"

The door was roughly opened, and the person outside said impatiently: "Collect the manuscripts, idiot!"

Ah, it's him.

The dream ended here, as if it was a continuation of that day.

Boss Chen trembled slightly and smiled: "Welcome back——"

A stack of manuscript paper was thrown in his face: "——Idiot, you've watched too many female videos!"

The next morning, Zheng Xiuyuan was woken up again and again.

"Old Zheng! Old Zheng!"

Boss Ye's voice made the president feel a little uneasy. For several days, this guy didn't seem to bring any good news... He was even a little reluctant to get up and meet him.

But I went anyway.

Boss Ye's name is Ye Cha. At this moment, he waved a copy of Huanjiang Daily and said angrily: "Li Bailong is not a good son of man! Hu Jinxi is an accomplice of the tiger!"

"what happened again……"

Zheng Xiuyuan was feeling a little listless. He discussed with everyone the whole night yesterday about mobilizing public opinion and blocking "Legend of Huangji Zhantian". He was just waiting for public opinion to ferment today. He stayed up half the night and felt a little overwhelmed.

Boss Ye shouted angrily, "Look here! Look here, damn it!"

Zheng Xiuyuan looked at it intently and slowly opened his mouth: "Is this okay? Is this fucking okay?"

There was only one line of big words written on the front page.

“The Four Ones Loyalty Award Essay Competition welcomes the first submission!”

"The fifth volume of "Legend of the Imperial Battle of Heaven", a famous family from Lin County who participated in the competition, was wronged by Feng Lin and then cleared of the charges, and was reborn from the ashes, composing a song of gratitude to the court for their loyalty!"

(End of this chapter)