Restart life

Chapter 134 0131 [There are also veteran internet users among famous writers!]

Most of the dozens of contestants waiting for autographs didn't bring their copy of "Those Things About the Ming Dynasty".

Some people even produced an invitation to the semi-finals and asked Chen Guiliang to sign it directly.

"No, brother, you could at least bring a small notebook," Chen Guiliang said with a laugh.

The other contestants burst into laughter.

The contestant didn't seem embarrassed at all; instead, he argued confidently, "Your signature is on it, so it can be kept together with the invitation."

Someone else asked, "Chen Guiliang, is Peking University fun? I'm also planning to apply to Peking University."

Chen Guiliang coaxed, "The Yuanpei Class is really fun. You can choose any course from the entire university and study whichever you want. If you can get into Peking University, you can apply for the Yuanpei Class."

"Really?" The unfortunate kid was intrigued.

We signed autographs and chatted idly, and after quite a while, it was finally over.

"Hi, senior."

A young girl helping out at the registration desk waved.

Chen Guiliang vaguely remembered: "Who are you?"

The young girl said, "My name is Zhang Yiwei. I won first prize in Group B last year, and I'm participating in Group A this year. I even went to support you at your book signing event in Shanghai a few days ago."

"Thank you," Chen Guiliang said.

The little girl took out another book: "This is a sample copy of my collection of essays, which will be officially published next month. I'm not just giving you one; I've already given away several copies today."

Chen Guiliang was slightly surprised and joked, "You're not even giving us a chance to buy books?"

The little girl said, "The first print run was small, and it's not available in many bookstores."

Chen Guiliang flipped through a few pages of the essay collection and found that the style was similar to Guo Jingming's. He casually said, "I'll recommend it to you on my blog."

"That's great!" the little girl exclaimed happily.

This young girl is currently a senior in high school and will enter the Philosophy Department of Fudan University this year. She later became a professor at Fudan.

"Chen Guiliang!"

A voice called out, and Chen Guiliang turned his head to see Cao Wenxuan, the deputy director of the Chinese Department of Peking University, calling him.

Besides Cao Wenxuan, there are other professors from prestigious universities.

They were all judges.

Admissions officers from various schools will also be here this year. However, it's unlikely they'll offer any lower admission scores. They'll all be including first-prize winners on their "priority admissions watchlist," and anyone who passes the cut-off score will be admitted.

Some students apply for independent admissions in advance. As long as they pass the written test and have won a New Concept Writing Competition award, they can generally pass the interview.

Chen Guiliang ran over to meet them.

Professor Chen, the head of the Chinese Department at Fudan University, jokingly scolded, "You're not a good kid. You stood me up last year and went to Peking University without a word."

“I didn’t stand them up,” Chen Guiliang protested. “Before I applied to Peking University, I even called Director Chen and Director Wang.”

Professor Xu from Nankai University said, "Your intranet post got circulated to our school right before the end of the semester. During the final exams, I heard a group of students chatting excitedly outside the exam hall. I thought they were discussing the final exam questions. But when I got closer, I found out they were discussing which girl to vote for as the school beauty!"

"Hahahaha!" The professors burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Professor Lin from Xiamen University said, "Our school hasn't selected a campus beauty yet."

"Professor Lin was the campus beauty back then," said Professor Cheng from Sun Yat-sen University.

Amidst laughter, Professor Lin said with feigned seriousness, "Don't laugh, if there had been a vote back then, I might have actually been chosen as the school beauty. I was incredibly fashionable and beautiful when I was young. Not anymore, I'm almost fifty now."

Chen Guiliang said, "After the new year, I will expand the campus network to Xiamen University as soon as possible. When the time comes to select the most beautiful girl in Xiamen University, I will open a special channel for Professor Lin."

Professor Tong from Beijing Normal University said, "You can't go back on your word; you have to do what you say you'll do."

Professor Lin waved his hands repeatedly: "Don't drag me into this."

A group of professors were waiting for the elevator there. The other contestants looked on with envy as they saw Chen Guiliang chatting and laughing with the professors.

Parents were even more envious, wishing Chen Guiliang were their own son!
It wasn't dinner time yet, so Chen Guiliang followed the others to a small hall upstairs to drink tea and chat.

Soon after, the writers' judges arrived, with a lineup similar to last year's.

As soon as Yu Hua saw Chen Guiliang, he said, "Damn it, I only get 12% of the royalties, and you get 15% for your first book."

Chen Guiliang corrected, "It's a guaranteed 15% tiered commission. Based on the current sales volume, we should be able to get 20% in the end."

"Is this human language?" Yu Hua pointed at Chen Guiliang, then turned to look at the other writers.

Su Tong said, "This kind of person deserves a beating. It's outrageous!"

Ye Zhaoyan inquired curiously, "With such high royalties paid to authors, do publishers actually make a profit?"

Before Chen Guiliang could answer, Ma Yuan laughed and said, "Would anyone do a losing business?"

Yu Hua said, "Next time I publish a book, I'll also use Chen Guiliang's publishing company."

This is just talk, of course; they won't easily switch publishers.

Cheng Cun said, "Your Three Kingdoms Kill game is pretty good. I even subscribed to a membership and have been playing it every day this month."

"You actually do it?" Chen Guiliang asked in surprise.

Last year, he asked for the contact information of some writers; some were willing to give it to him, while others gave him a perfunctory answer.

Chen Guiliang would send text messages to anyone who left their phone number, inviting them to play the card game "Three Kingdoms Kill".

But he never expected that Cheng Cun would actually go and play, and even recharge his membership.

After all, he's 50 years old, and his hair has turned completely white!
Cheng Cun said, "Why can't I play? Let me tell you, besides being the art director of Rongshuxia, I also became the chief moderator of 99shucheng last year, and the moderator of 'Niche Vegetable Garden'."

Chen Guiliang said, "I understand, you're a seasoned internet addict."

Cheng Cun said smugly, "I not only play Three Kingdoms Kill myself, but I also dragged A Cheng into it."

"The author of 'The Chess King,' Ah Cheng?" Chen Guiliang asked.

"Who else could it be but him?" Cheng Cun asked.

Chen Guiliang couldn't help but laugh.

The Three Kingdoms Kill is also a card game, so it's understandable that Acheng, the author of "The King of Chess," would play it.

Cheng Cun also complained, "A Cheng is too stingy. He earns so much in royalties, but he's reluctant to spend money on in-game purchases."

Well, still a freeloader. Yu Hua asked, "Is Three Kingdoms Kill really that fun? Chen Guiliang texted me, but I was too lazy to download it at the time."

Cheng Cun strongly recommends it: "It's really fun, I'm not kidding you. I haven't been writing books lately, I've been spending all my time on the forum, and when I get tired of posting, I play Three Kingdoms Kill."

"Then I'll download it when I get back." Yu Hua is also about to get hooked.

Chen Guiliang plans to send them physical cards another day, and maybe Yu Hua will even get Shi Tiesheng to play a few rounds.

Tie Yi wasn't interested in that, so she asked, "Chen Guiliang, are you a member of the Writers' Association?"

The "Writers' Association" mentioned here specifically refers to the China Writers Association, and he is undoubtedly currently the vice chairman.

Chen Guiliang asked, "Am I qualified?"

“Enough,” Tie Yi said.

"Then I'll go in." Chen Guiliang didn't care.

Tie Yi said, "When we're recruiting new members for the leadership transition, I'll have someone call you to let you know."

Chen Guiliang thanked him.

Cao Wenxuan said, "Why don't you just join the Beijing Writers Association too?"

Cao Wenxuan is the vice chairman of the Beijing Writers Association.

“Okay, I’ll come in too.” Chen Guiliang accepted all comers.

Anyway, he just needs to keep his distance from certain writers in the future, and he'll have to see if he has time to participate in the Writers' Association activities.

These professors and writers have been quite enthusiastic about Chen Guiliang this year.

It's definitely not just because of "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty"; Chen Guiliang opening two companies is also one of the reasons.

Of course, the sales momentum of "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty" and the royalties Chen Guiliang received were indeed enough to shock the literary circle.

They've been writing books for so many years, and I've never seen anyone take 20% royalties!
That night, Chen Guiliang was dragged into drinking by Yu Hua and Cheng Cun, and he went back to his room drunk and slept there all night.

The following day's activities were irrelevant to him; he only needed to attend the final awards ceremony. Media reporters would also be there, so Chen Guiliang was simply showing his support.

When the contestants went to compete, Chen Guiliang went straight to Dragon TV.

The show he's going to record is "Oriental Night Tales," China's earliest talk show, which is set to break viewership records this year.

Usually, celebrities are invited as guests, and Chen Guiliang is not qualified enough.

But with the Lunar New Year approaching, there are no films or TV shows to promote, so celebrities are busy with gigs or going home for the holidays.

At times like these, it's not easy to invite influential guests. Since Chen Guiliang's book is currently a bestseller, we'll invite him as a substitute for recording a segment.

The host's name is Liu Yiwei, and he used to host a food program on CCTV.

"Hello, fellow villager," Liu Yiwei said, speaking directly in the Sichuan dialect.

"Hello, fellow villager," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

"Don't call me my old flame."

“Phonetic puns will result in a deduction in pay.”

"Whose rule is that?"

The two chatted idly backstage.

Liu Yiwei said, "Don't be nervous during the recording. It's okay if you say something wrong; we'll cut it out in post-production. The show is 30 minutes long in total. The first 15 minutes are a talk show, and the last 15 minutes are our interview content. I might talk to you for half an hour, but half of it will be cut in the end."

“No problem. Do you have a script?” Chen Guiliang asked.

Liu Yiwei said, "There's no script. I'll just say whatever comes to mind."

Liu Yiwei's stand-up comedy was scripted, using humorous and satirical remarks to comment on current hot topics and social news. Later shows like "One Week with Li Bo" were just picking up what was left over from that program.

Chen Guiliang sat backstage in the studio waiting, idly playing Snake on his phone.

"Mr. Chen, it's your turn," a female staff member reminded him.

Chen Guiliang walked to the studio and sat down. It was quite simple, with just a table and two chairs.

"Don't sit so upright, be more relaxed," Liu Yiwei said.

Chen Guiliang readily agreed and sat cross-legged.

With everything ready, Liu Yiwei gave an OK sign to the front and politely asked Chen Guiliang, "How should I address you today? Writer Chen or Boss Chen?"

Chen Guiliang said, "I had a nickname in high school: Chen the Hero."

“When I was in school, I loved reading martial arts novels and dreamed of becoming a great hero one day. Which martial arts novel do you like?” Liu Yiwei asked.

Chen Guiliang said, "Gu Long's 'Happy Heroes'."

"I've read that book, but I've forgotten most of the plot. I just remember Guo Dalu and Wang Dong."

"And Yan Qi and Lin Taiping."

"Oh, right, I remember now. What have you been watching lately?"

"Wolf Totem".

"Wow, this book was a bestseller last year. I've heard so much about it, I'll have to check it out sometime."

"There's no need to look."

"why?"

"waste time."

"Huh?" Liu Yiwei instantly became alert. Although his first half of the stand-up comedy was sharp and humorous, it did not offend any specific person.

Chen Guiliang said, "After reading 'Wolf Totem,' my first thought was how the author got into the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as a graduate student."

"What do you mean?" Liu Yiwei asked cautiously.

Chen Guiliang said, "It's completely illogical, self-contradictory, and written like a primary school student."

Liu Yiwei said, "How dare you say that?"

Chen Guiliang said, "I remember your guest interview program's motto is: the most famous person, the most interesting person, the most interesting person...witty exchanges, subtle barbs hidden in gentleness...I'm not a celebrity, so I have to fill in the witty exchanges part."

Liu Yiwei, feigning seriousness, addressed the camera: "The following are solely the opinions of the guest and do not represent the views of the guest or this program. This is a disclaimer!"

(End of this chapter)