Chapter 42: Ambition

Competition among peers is always sensitive.

The moment she heard the name of *Harvest* magazine, Chen Xiaomi immediately figured out what was going on.

This "December" must have submitted the same manuscript to multiple publishers, though it remained unclear how many places in total.

Although she was extremely furious at such a shameless act, having been in the industry for so long, this was hardly her first time encountering it.

After all, newcomer authors lacked resources and connections, and had little understanding of certain unwritten rules in the industry.

Moreover, a newcomer's first book usually featured less-than-mature writing techniques, making the probability of rejection very high.

Driven by an urgent desire to be published and a desperate craving for fame, some new writers secretly submitted manuscripts to multiple places simultaneously in order to avoid putting all their eggs in one basket, the sole purpose being to increase their chances.

Chen Xiaomi had considered this possibility before, but she had been holding onto a shred of wishful thinking.

Now, that shred of wishful thinking was shattered.

She did not know how that phone call ended; her mind felt somewhat numb, and her entire being was shrouded in gloom.

Zhou Chunlan, who had been pricking up her ears to eavesdrop, saw her standing frozen in place and immediately asked with hypocritical concern:

"Xiaomi, what's wrong? Did things not go smoothly?"

A deep wave of revulsion suddenly welled up inside Chen Xiaomi toward her. She almost cursed out loud, but ultimately held it back. Maintaining a perfunctory smile, she walked straight toward the editor-in-chief's office.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

"Come in!"

Pushing the door open, Chen Xiaomi went straight to the point with Zhou Mingwei: "Uncle Zhou, I need to make a trip to Shaoshi."

Hearing this, Zhou Mingwei, who had been burying his head in writing, looked up at her and then laid down his pen:

"Are you running into a difficult problem?"

Given that this concerned a rare masterpiece like *To Live*, Chen Xiaomi held nothing back and directly explained the situation regarding "December" submitting the manuscript to multiple publishers.

What kind of storms had Zhou Mingwei not witnessed? Having reached the position of editor-in-chief today, his mental fortitude was far beyond that of ordinary people. After listening, his expression remained unchanged, without a single ripple.

For any other work, he wouldn't even bother and would just let his subordinates handle it however they saw fit.

But this was *To Live*!

Even with his decades in the industry and extensive reading, he could barely find a few works that could touch the depths of his soul, yet *To Live* had effortlessly achieved just that.

Rich experience told him that this was a work capable of bringing eternal fame.

A deep intuition in his heart told him that if he rashly missed this opportunity, he might regret it for the rest of his life.

Pondering this, Zhou Mingwei asked, "How many words are left?"

Chen Xiaomi replied, "December said there are about 95,000 words remaining."

Zhou Mingwei asked again, "Based on your phone conversation, what is your most direct impression of this author?"

Chen Xiaomi pondered for a moment and summed it up in two phrases: "Confident! Obsessed with money!"

Confidence hit the right note!

Someone capable of writing such a work would lack a certain something if they weren't confident. Zhou Mingwei probably wouldn't have looked forward to the rest of the work nearly as much.

As for being obsessed with money, well, that varied from person to person. Since she hadn't met the author in person yet, she wouldn't make a premature judgment. After a brief internal deliberation, Zhou Mingwei gave her the authorization: "Within reasonable bounds, you have full authority to handle this matter."

Chen Xiaomi had been waiting precisely for these words, and immediately declared, "Understood, I'm setting off right now."

Zhou Mingwei nodded solemnly and urged, "The competitor is not weak; indeed, the sooner the better. Be careful on the road."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhou."

Armed with this imperial sword and thinking of the potential moves their old rival *Harvest* magazine might make, the anxious Chen Xiaomi did not dare to delay even for a second.

Tidying up her desk briefly, she hurried toward the exit of the editorial department.

"Hey, Xiaomi, where are you rushing off to in such a panic?"

Sister Liao usually got along quite well with her, so she voiced the curiosity of the other colleagues.

Chen Xiaomi glanced sideways at Zhou Chunlan and replied, "I've arranged to meet with December, and I need to go make some preparations."

The people in the editorial department were all veterans; they sensed something extraordinary from that simple sentence. Uncle Dai offered words of encouragement:

"Xiao Chen, wishing you a triumphant return! Buy this old man a drink when you get back."

"May your words bring me luck, absolutely no problem."

Leaving People's Literature Publishing House, Chen Xiaomi first rushed non-stop to the post office to send an urgent telegram to Shaoshi.

Then, she found a public phone booth to call a friend of her father to secure tickets—train tickets or plane tickets, either would do.

...

Shaoshi, No. 1 Middle School.

Using the exact same method and tactics, Li Heng pulled the same trick on a male editor at *Harvest* magazine, bamboozling the man completely.

As he placed the red receiver back onto its cradle, the English teacher asked, "Playing it like this, can you really succeed?"

Li Heng pondered and said, "It's still hard to say right now. We'll see the results in a few days."

The English teacher sat cross-legged on the sofa, picked up her teacup, took a couple of sips, and asked, "You're just a newcomer author. What will you do if they refuse to coddle you and simply give up on you?"

Li Heng said with absolute confidence: "They won't! I know what I've written."

Seeing her expression of disbelief, he added, "After the scholarship exams, if there's still no word from either publishing house, I'll try submitting to *Contemporary* and *October*. No more tricks this time; I'll honestly earn my royalties."

Hearing this, Wang Runwen lingered her gaze on his face for a long time, and asked with profound confusion:

"In a place as big as Shaoshi, with so many intellectuals, we've never seen anyone become a major author all these years, nor anyone with the ability to publish a novel.

Take Teacher Wang Qi and the others, for instance—they make a huge fuss and show off for the longest time just over publishing a tofu-block-sized article in the newspaper.

You're not even eighteen yet, why aren't you satisfied after achieving such a huge success?

Why aren't you satisfied with earning two or three thousand yuan for a single book? Why are you so obsessed with money?"

Li Heng calmly shook his head: "Writing a book with my heart's blood and only earning a few thousand yuan—why should I be satisfied?

I don't have any other sources of income right now, so I have to rely entirely on this. Therefore, I must look at practical benefits. I don't think earning two thousand yuan for a book is any great glory.

Besides, aren't you aware that an author's peak period has a time limit? Throughout history, who has ever produced masterpieces continuously throughout their life?

Taking advantage of my youth when I'm still daring enough to defy the heavens, and while I still have the passion to test the waters of book royalties, why shouldn't I do it?"

Indeed, the reason he set up this scheme to lure the editors from both publishing houses over was precisely to gamble on the possibility of a royalty-based contract.

Although he felt the chances were slim, he simply had a sudden urge to try it out.

After all, in his past life, he had seen big money; his vision and ambition far outmatched his peers. Since Wang Shuo could pull this off in his past life, he wanted to see if there was even the slightest possibility of doing it two years earlier.

If it succeeded, then he would have accomplished a monumental feat, and with that status, he could swagger freely through the literary world, earning the goodwill of all literati.

If it failed, it was no big deal either—he would just tuck his tail between his legs and scurry away, turning right back to a publishing house to honestly earn RMB.