newbobooks Chapter 84 My Mom Was a Literary Master in the 1990s
Chapter 84 My Mom Was a Literary Master in the 1990s
"Dear passengers, we are about to arrive at our final destination, Yunxian North Station. Passengers who are getting off the train, please take your belongings with you and disembark safely."
As the train announcer announced, Si Chenglin picked up his luggage and got off the train.
After exiting the train station, I took a taxi and went to the Yunxian Hotel to book a room.
Si Chenglin plans to rest for a while and set off early tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, the Huashi Youth Daily and Huashi Evening News, which had set off earlier, had already located Wangjia Village, where Si Yan was located.
Although neither of the two newspapers knew Si Yan's exact address, they could pinpoint the village, making it easy to find her.
The last time they made such a big splash in the provincial newspaper, the editors-in-chief from both newspapers set the same goal in mind.
We absolutely must sign Si Yan this time.
"Hey, Uncle, can I ask you something? Does Mr. Si Yan live in this village?"
Editor-in-Chief Yang of the Huashi Youth Daily asked an elderly man sitting under a tree who was chatting.
"Mr. Si Yan? No, our Si Yan here is a little girl."
The seventy-year-old man smiled and replied gently.
A girl? Could it be that the author of that science fiction article was a woman?
impossible?
Editor-in-Chief Yang of Huashi Youth Daily and Editor-in-Chief Chen of Huashi Daily exchanged a glance and then asked a question.
"Uncle, how many people in our village are named Si Yan?"
"Just one, what's wrong? What do you want with Si Yan?"
Hearing them keep asking about Si Yan, and knowing they were complete strangers, the old man couldn't help but become wary.
"Uncle, we're from a newspaper, we're here to commission articles from writer Si Yan."
Seeing the old man's wary expression, Yang, the editor-in-chief of the Huashi Youth Daily, hurriedly explained.
"The newspaper? You also know that Si Yan from our village had her article published in the provincial newspaper?"
The old man smiled, his eyes crinkling with pride.
Just then, Village Chief Wang happened to pass by, and the old man reached out and called out to him.
"Jianquan, someone here is looking for Siyan. They say they're from some newspaper."
"You should talk to him; he's the village chief of our village."
Upon hearing the shouts, Village Chief Wang turned and walked over.
After looking the two people up and down, he asked a question.
"What business do you have with Si Yan?"
"Hello, village chief. These are our work IDs. We are editors from Huashi Youth Daily and Huashi Evening News, respectively."
Village Chief Wang took the work permit, examined it carefully, and couldn't see anything wrong with it.
"Come with me, I'll take you to her."
With that, Village Chief Wang led the two towards Si Yan's house.
Meanwhile, the aunties who had been too shy to speak earlier started chatting enthusiastically again.
"Hey, do you guys think Si Yan is about to turn her life around?"
"Yes, we used to say that her life would get worse and worse after she was dumped."
"I heard them say they saw Gu Cheng on the street the other day. He was wearing a leather jacket and looked very stylish. Do you think Gu Cheng would regret it if he knew?"
"Who would have thought that the girl behind Gu Cheng, who was supposed to be a college student, was dressed like that I couldn't even look at her."
While the villagers were still chatting enthusiastically under the big tree, the village chief had already led two editors to Si Yan's house.
"bang bang bang"
Village Chief Wang stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Siyan, are you home?"
Hearing the knock on the door, Si Yan put down her pen, got up, and went out.
"Village chief, is there anything I can help you with?"
When Si Yan opened the door, she saw Village Chief Wang and two strangers standing outside.
Upon seeing Si Yan, the two editors-in-chief of Huashi Youth Daily and Huashi Evening News stared wide-eyed in surprise.
They knew Si Yan was a woman, but they didn't expect her to be so young; she looked to be under thirty.
"Siyan, these two are editors from the provincial capital. They have something they want to talk to you about, so I brought them along."
Thinking about the real reason for his trip, Yang, the editor-in-chief of Huashi Youth Daily, also suppressed his surprise.
"Hello, Comrade Si Yan, we are editors from Huashi Youth Daily and Huashi Evening News. We are here to commission an article from you."
"A commission for an article? Isn't your newspaper in the provincial capital? Why are you coming here to commission an article from me?"
Si Yan had a moment of doubt; she didn't think she had ever submitted any articles to either of these organizations.
"We saw your submission to the provincial newspaper and thought your articles were well-written, so we came here specifically to find you."
Editor-in-Chief Yang of the Huashi Youth Daily stepped forward and said gently.
"In that case, let's all come in and talk. It's not good for us to just stand at the door."
After Si Yan finished speaking, she looked at Village Chief Wang.
"Village chief, please come and listen. I live alone, and your presence will help avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings."
"That's no problem. I would have gone anyway even if you hadn't told me."
Village Chief Wang smiled and nodded, then followed them into the courtyard.
"Comrade Si Yan, our Huashi Youth Daily mainly focuses on science fiction novels. In this field, our reputation is greater than that of the provincial newspaper. We can offer a starting fee of ten yuan per thousand words. We hope you can sign us for your next science fiction novel."
Editor-in-Chief Yang of the Huashi Youth Daily was the first to speak.
Following closely behind, Editor-in-Chief Chen of the Huashi Evening News also spoke about the strengths of his own newspaper.
“Our Huashi Daily also has a special section for science fiction. If Comrade Siyan has any ideas, we can give priority to her. We can offer a starting fee of 20 yuan per thousand words.”
After finishing speaking, Editor-in-Chief Chen glanced smugly at Editor-in-Chief Yang of the Huashi Youth Daily.
The article that was drastically altered is from our Huashi Evening News.
I don't believe Si Yan wouldn't be tempted by this price. She's just a female writer from a village. She'd probably be overjoyed the moment she heard her offer.
Turning around, he saw that Si Yan's face was calm, and he could not see a trace of excitement.
Editor-in-Chief Chen was displeased. Si Yan wasn't even tempted by twenty yuan per thousand words; she must have a big heart.
"Comrade Si Yan, I'm certain that our Huashi Evening News is the newspaper that offers the best price. Don't be ungrateful; you'll miss this opportunity if you don't take it now."
Editor-in-Chief Chen, who had been putting on an act the whole way, couldn't help but scoff. Seeing how young Si Yan was, he no longer took her seriously.
A woman, especially a young woman, isn't she easy to fool?
The newspaper originally quoted her 25 yuan per thousand words, so giving her 20 yuan was already a great favor.
Si Yan, who was busy participating in the Taipei City essay competition, had planned to politely decline their offer, but before she could even open her mouth, this person dumped a huge burden on her.
Si Yan's expression immediately turned sour.
"I'm sorry, I'm currently preparing for an essay competition in Taipei City, so I don't have time to commission any more articles."
"Please leave, both of you."
Although the other editor-in-chief, Yang, from the Huashi Youth Daily, was very polite, he clearly agreed with Chen when Chen spoke.
Sorry, Si Yan won't tolerate them.
Village Chief Wang's expression also darkened upon hearing Editor-in-Chief Chen's words.
So what if he's an editor-in-chief from a big city? He just started being aggressive because he didn't reply promptly.
"You two should go. Since you're so capable, you can go find other writers to commission your work. Maybe we can even treat you two like royalty."
Editor-in-Chief Yang and Editor-in-Chief Chen walked out with grim expressions.
"Comrade Si Yan, I advise you to think it over carefully. If it weren't for our appreciation of your writing, most people wouldn't get this opportunity."
"Really? Then I should thank you."
"I'm not so lucky. I wish you two the best in finding a writer you're satisfied with and signing him soon. I won't keep you company any longer."
With a bang, the door closed.
The two editors could only leave with grim expressions.
"Si Yan is too arrogant. Did you hear what she said? She even went to participate in a competition. My cousin is a judge for the Taipei City essay competition. I'll mention it to her and see what award she gets."
Editor-in-Chief Chen said in a fit of exasperation.
Even if Si Yan begs him on her knees, he still won't accept her manuscript.
The two returned to the hotel with dark expressions, only to bump into Si Chenglin, who was going out for dinner.