"What is this?" Yang Feng asked Chu Kuang through his messaging app.
Lin Yuan, upon seeing the message after finishing his meal, replied, "Isn't this the manuscript your company requested? You Rong, the person who requested it, claimed to be the editor-in-chief of 'QuRead' magazine. Did I encounter a scammer?"
Lin Yuan felt a sense of relief.
Luckily, he was quick-witted and sent the manuscript to Yinlan Library, the editor in charge of "Net King", Yang Feng. If the person claiming to be You Rong wasn't from Yinlan Library, then Lin Yuan wouldn't have suffered any loss.
"He is not a liar," Yang Feng replied with a complicated expression.
Seeing that Chu Kuang hadn't replied again, Yang Feng stood up from his position and called the editor-in-chief. "The editor-in-chief must handle this. You Rong unexpectedly arranged a meeting with Chu Kuang behind our backs!"
"What?" The editor-in-chief at the other end of the phone was agitated, his tone full of anger. "It's hard to guard against thieves in broad daylight. He... You Rong dares to arrange a meeting with Chu Kuang while representing our Youth Fantasy Department. Does he have no respect for us? Deal with this internally. Go to the magazine department and find him afterward!"
Many companies have annual leave.
However, there are still people on duty at Yinlan Library for the New Year. Those who work are locals in Sioux City, and the salary is five times the usual. Under this kind of reward, many people are still willing to work during the Spring Festival.
The phone call ended.
Lao Xiong, the editor-in-chief of the youth fantasy department, went directly to the magazine department. At a glance, he saw the head of the magazine department, You Rong. "Lao You, aren't your actions a bit disrespectful? You arranged a meeting with Chu Kuang behind our backs."
"Old Xiong, that's quite an accusation," You Rong responded calmly. Since Chu Kuang said he had sent the manuscript to Yang Feng, You Rong knew something was wrong, so he had prepared his mind in advance. "I was going to inform you, but you're already here. Sit down and have a cup of tea. We're all colleagues."
"Don't play dumb," Lao Xiong retorted, ignoring the strange glances from the employees around him. "Chu Kuang's 'Net King' has been delivering 200,000 words every month. You know the high sales of this book. Yet, you still want to request a manuscript from him now. Won't this affect his writing?"
"I am not to blame," You Rong was also anxious. "Even if I didn't ask Chu Kuang for a draft, he would still publish short stories on the Tribe himself. I am very optimistic about the quality of the short stories he wrote. Instead of offering them for free on the Tribe, why not publish them with us? 'Fun Reading' is our company's flagship magazine, after all."
"He acted on impulse," Old Xiong grew more and more angry. "But you encouraged his interest in writing short stories. After all, people's energy is limited. After writing short stories for your magazine, how much energy will he have left to update 'Net King'?"
"He volunteered," You Rong coughed.
This kind of thing should indeed have been discussed beforehand, but You Rong knew that Lao Xiong mostly refused to ensure the stable update of "Net King", so he had thought about acting first and apologizing later. Unexpectedly, the result was self-defeating.
"Did you deliberately poach talent?"
"How do you justify stealing from a company?"
"I think you're envious of our performance!"
"Old Xiong, you're going too far with this."
The two editor-in-chiefs were ablaze with anger this time, quarreling in front of the employees. In the end, someone called for the editor-in-chief, and the two sides stopped temporarily. However, the editor-in-chief also had a headache. "Don't yell. Show me the manuscript."
Soon, Yang Feng sent the manuscript to the editor-in-chief.
This manuscript was called "The Maggie's Gift", which was only three thousand words short, so the editor-in-chief would be able to read it very quickly.
But what puzzled Lao Xiong and You Rong was...
After reading this manuscript, the editor-in-chief was surprisingly silent.
Taking a closer look, both of them were stunned.
Because the editor-in-chief, who was always unsmiling and known for his authority, had slightly red eyes at this moment, and he even wiped away tears quietly.
Was the editor-in-chief angry?
Both of them were shocked.
You Rong said nervously, "Editor-in-chief, what's wrong? It's the Chinese New Year. Didn't we have a minor conflict? There's no need to be so upset."
"Yes," Old Xiong didn't dare to dismiss it. "It's just a draft. Since Chu Kuang has agreed, I won't say anything more. If he's confident, then let him handle both."
The two had never seen the editor-in-chief like this.
The editor-in-chief stood up, ignoring the two of them, and made a call with a slightly hoarse voice. "Book me a ticket to go home immediately. I want the earliest flight."
"Editor in chief..."
Old Xiong and You Rong panicked completely.
The editor-in-chief had originally said that he wouldn't go home during the Spring Festival this year, but it turned out that the two of them were so angry that they were crying!
I don't even care about work!
The editor-in-chief glanced at the two with red eyes and said, "Do you know how difficult it was when I first started a business?"
"What?" The editor-in-chief ignored the confusion of the two, and said to himself, "I remember the worst time, my wife and I could only afford a day's worth of steamed buns with boiled water. Later, my wife found a cleaning job in the school cafeteria, so I went there every noon. Just for the chance to see her, I drank free soup. It tasted so fragrant."
Old Xiong subconsciously said, "What happened later?"
The editor-in-chief smiled softly. "Later, my wife lived in a luxurious villa and ate all kinds of delicacies - but she had to take care of my parents in the villa. Do you think we were happier before or now? It's the Chinese New Year - I want to be with my wife, to spend time with my family. You locals, please work harder, please."
After speaking, the editor-in-chief bowed slightly, then turned and left.
You Rong yelled in a daze, "Editor-in-Chief..."
The editor-in-chief suddenly paused. "Well, by the way, ask for a signature from Teacher Chu Kuang and tell him that I am a fan of his books.
This time, the editor-in-chief really left.
But while Lao Xiong and You Rong looked at each other, they faintly realized that the cause of this incident was not the conflict between the two.
Because the editor-in-chief had been in Yinlan Library for so many years, it was the first time that he publicly admitted that he was a book fan of a certain author under the company.
Fiction! is a novel!
The two suddenly recovered and did not quarrel anymore, but each let Yang Feng send out a copy of "The Gift of Maggie".
This may be the source of the editor-in-chief's change of thought.
After the old bear left.
You Rong couldn't wait to open "The Maggie's Gift". He wanted to see what was written in this novel, even though the editor-in-chief ignored his work.
The novel is very short.
While reading the novel, You Rong didn't have any particular reaction.
But when he saw the end of the novel, You Rong suddenly couldn't help but cover the temples on both sides of his forehead and let out a painful cry:
"What!"
Now he fully understands the editor-in-chief's anomaly. The power of words is terrible. People who have had similar experiences will always look at other people's stories and shed their own tears, especially in the face of "The Maggie's Gift". Such a bursting ending in the novel!
"Boss, what's the matter?"
Some employees couldn't help but care.
You Rong slumped in a chair. "Chu Kuang said that I would make a quote after reading the novel... Do I dare to quote a novel like this..."