Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 198 Cao Sheng's speech at the award ceremony
"Then why are you here again? What made you change your mind?"

The female host asked the question with a smile on her face.

The laughter gradually died down.

But everyone's eyes were still fixed on Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng looked at everyone, then at Zhu William who was smiling, and finally at the curious female host, and said with a smile: "Because Mr. Zhu told me on the phone that if I don't come to present the award, he won't give me any dividends this year!"

"Really?"

The female host was surprised and subconsciously looked at Zhu William in the audience.

William Zhu laughed.

Everyone at the scene also laughed.

The male host saw that Cao Sheng was joking and took over the topic with a smile, "Speaking of dividends, I just remembered that I should call you Mr. Cao, right? I think everyone should be curious, when did you invest in our website?"

Many people at the scene were indeed curious about this question.

Previously, Rongshuxia announced that Cao Sheng was a shareholder, which aroused the curiosity of many netizens and authors. Many people even suspected that Cao Sheng’s family background was not simple and he was not from the countryside as reported in the news.

During that period, there was a lot of discussion on the Internet.

But Cao Sheng never responded.

But today the host asked this question in public.

Seeing that everyone was curious, Cao Sheng did not hide anything.

"last year!"

Before he finished speaking, there was a sound of surprise at the scene.

The female host asked: "Did Mr. Zhu invite you to invest? Or did you ask Mr. Zhu to invest yourself?"

Cao Sheng looked at her and said, "Of course it was Mr. Zhu who contacted me. I didn't even have Mr. Zhu's contact information at that time."

Someone in the audience couldn't help but chuckle.

Male host: "Then, Mr. Cao, why did you decide to invest? Is it because you are optimistic about the future of our website?"

He was a host from a TV station who came to help, but he kept saying "our website". Cao Sheng wanted to laugh when he heard it.

"Of course!"

Cao Sheng answered concisely.

The female host spoke again, "In that case, then... Mr. Cao, how about you have a few words with everyone? For example, what do you think about the future of online literature?"

Male host: "Yes! To be honest, I also like to read your novels. I know your influence in the circle. I think many people want to know your views on this industry, so, can you say a few words?"

As he spoke, he gestured to Cao Sheng.

There was another round of warm applause at the scene, as if urging Cao Sheng to speak a few words quickly.

Cao Sheng smiled and did not refuse.

He walked up to the microphone on the stand and reached out to adjust the height of the microphone. While adjusting the height of the microphone, he considered his wording in his mind.

The scene gradually became quiet, and everyone was looking at him.

Including the leaders present, Zhu William, representatives from the publishing house, and the authors who wrote short stories and poems.

Cao Sheng was not nervous despite being stared at by hundreds of eyes. He had experienced many such scenes in the past two years and had become accustomed to being stared at by everyone.

He looked up at everyone and glanced at the cameras behind the crowd.

He heard that the award ceremony would be reported by TV stations.

Perhaps many people will hear what he says next.

So, he decided to speak the truth.

He smiled slightly, and said in a slightly low voice, "Thank you all for your applause! I also want to thank Mr. Zhu for inviting me to attend this award ceremony, giving me the opportunity to stand here and say a few words from the bottom of my heart."

As soon as the audience started to applaud, he continued, "I am very young, but I know that many people in the industry now regard me as a senior. When I first entered this hall, Jin Hezai saw me and the first thing he said to me was, 'I grew up reading your books'..."

"Ha ha……"

The crowd who had been listening to his speech attentively burst into laughter, and amid the laughter, there was applause.

Many people looked at Jin Hezai with smiles on their faces.

Jin Hezai was also smiling and clapping hard.

When the applause died down, Cao Sheng continued, “I know he was joking with me, but at that moment, I really felt like a senior.

As a 'senior', I have tasted some of the meat of this industry first. For example, my three works have been published in traditional and simplified Chinese. I even sold the film and television adaptation rights of my first book a few days ago, and even sold a script across industries."

As Cao Sheng spoke more and more, the scene became quieter and quieter. Many authors looked at him with unconcealable envy and jealousy in their eyes.

Cao Sheng continued, “But I know that my colleagues here have not earned much in royalties, let alone film and television adaptation rights and script fees.

What I want to tell you is that our industry has just begun to sprout. Some people may think that online literature will always be like it is now. Only the top authors in the industry can earn royalties, and other authors can only work hard and cannot earn a penny. Perhaps some of you colleagues here have already given up and want to change your career. "

After hearing this, many people looked at Cao Sheng with surprise.

Even Zhu William and other leaders had the same look.

Because no one expected Cao Sheng to talk about this topic on stage.

What on earth did he want to say?
Cao Sheng: "But I want to remind you that our total number of readers has been growing rapidly in the past two years from scratch! I don't know how many times it has grown, but I can see that the sales of my works are growing, and I can also see that more and more classmates around me are starting to read our works, and once they start reading, it is difficult for them to stop! This shows how strong the appeal of our online literature is."

Many people listened thoughtfully.

Zhu William's expression became more serious after hearing this. There was another round of applause from the audience.

Cao Sheng smiled and continued, "I am very optimistic about the prospects of our online literature! Our readers will continue to grow rapidly, and the number of our authors will also grow rapidly. When the total number of our readers reaches a certain level, I think all of my colleagues here today will have the opportunity to earn a lot of royalties, probably much more than I am earning now! Therefore, therefore..."

Having said this, he said "therefore" twice and was unable to say the rest.

Because when he said this, applause broke out again, and this time the applause was louder than the previous times.

Obviously, his vision for the future inspired many authors present.

This time, even the authors of short stories and poems couldn't help but applaud loudly.

Because Cao Sheng just mentioned all the colleagues present, which obviously includes them.

Cao Sheng waited for a long time before the applause gradually died down.

But when he saw that the atmosphere was already so heated, his interest in continuing to speak suddenly waned.

He spoke again and quickly finished his speech.

"Therefore, I hope that all my colleagues can hold on a little longer and never give up on this line of work before the dawn of hope. That's all I have to say. Thank you all!"

After saying this, he took a step back, bent down and bowed to express his gratitude.

The audience applauded again.

The subsequent award ceremony seemed much more dull.

Cao Sheng, who had already said so much in his individual speeches, seemed very concise when presenting the awards.

After taking the envelope from the etiquette lady, he lowered his head, pulled out the note inside and took a look at it, then announced with a smile: "The winner of this year's gold award for Xianxia and Xiuzhen themes is Jin Hezai's "The Legend of Wukong"! Congratulations to Jin Hezai! Congratulations to "The Legend of Wukong"!"

Amidst applause, Jin Hezai stood up in surprise and trotted to the stage.

Seeing this, Cao Sheng smiled, stepped forward and stretched out his right hand.

Jin Hezai hugged him tightly. Cao Sheng was startled, then laughed and hugged him too.

"Congratulations!"

Cao Sheng congratulated again.

Jin Hezai chuckled twice, let go of Cao Sheng, and said "thank you".

Cao Sheng took the golden trophy from the tray held by the etiquette lady with both hands and handed it to Jin Hezai.

This trophy is a bit sloppy in design.

It's a golden banyan tree.

But when Jin Hezai got it in his hands, he seemed to be reluctant to let it go. At the host's reminder, when he stepped forward to give his acceptance speech, his tone was still full of excitement.

A moment later, Cao Sheng walked off the stage with him.

The award ceremony is still going on.

Cao Sheng returned to his seat and put on his down jacket immediately.

Zhu William gave him a thumbs up and praised: "What you said just now was very good! I am not as beautiful as you said!"

Cao Sheng burst out laughing.

He just gave everyone a glimpse of the future of online literature.

I'm not just painting a rosy picture for you.

The award ceremony lasted for another half an hour before it ended.

Then the food and wine were served.

This is a must for almost every award ceremony.

We can’t let all the people who come to receive their awards leave hungry, right?
After the banquet started, some reporters left in a hurry, but a few reporters stayed and continued to take pictures.

People kept coming to Cao Sheng to toast him.

Fortunately, Wang Jing had anticipated this and prepared Sprite for him to impersonate white wine. However, Cao Sheng was speechless when he saw tiny bubbles hanging on the wall of the glass every time he poured wine.

I thought: This is too fake.

He noticed that several authors who came to toast him glanced at his wine glass several times. That strange smile made Cao Sheng couldn't help laughing.

Soon, a representative from a publishing house came over to toast him. Before he could say a few words, representatives from other publishing houses also gathered around with glasses of wine.

They surrounded Cao Sheng.

Their attitudes became more enthusiastic than each other, and their voices became louder and louder, making Cao Sheng's head buzzing, but he still had to maintain a polite smile.

It’s no wonder that the representatives of these publishing houses are so enthusiastic, since Cao Sheng just published his new book "The Linglong Tower of Heaven and Earth" yesterday.

He uploaded this book the night before yesterday.

But it only passed the inventory review yesterday morning, so to the outside world, his new book seemed to have been published just yesterday.

Moreover, no one has heard about which publishing house this new book will be signed to.

Cao Sheng has already proved his strength and popularity with his previous three works. Naturally, this new book is favored by publishing houses of all sizes.

Everyone wanted to sign the publishing contract for his book.

This scene was seen by other authors present at the scene. Even the authors who won the grand prizes today had envy in their eyes.

(End of this chapter)