Chapter 353 Strive

The three of them walked to the gate of the military area and just caught a bus.

When Lin Anan was about to get in the car, she suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her.

She looked back and saw that it was Chen Lefang and several comrades from the medical company walking over. They seemed to be taking the bus as well.

When Chen Lefang saw Lin Anan, her expression changed slightly, but she still forced a smile and nodded politely.

Lin Anan smiled back on the surface, but in fact she had no interest in her and turned around and got into the car.

The bus started slowly. Lin Anan didn't pay attention to Chen Lefang and the others. She just quietly looked at the scenery outside the window.

Chu Minglan gently pulled Lin Anan's hand: "Sister-in-law, why am I a little nervous?"

Seeing Chu Minglan like this, Lin Anan couldn't help but chuckle, "It's okay, we'll go to the publishing house and sit for a while, and then sister-in-law will take you to buy watercolor pens."

Chu Minglan's face flushed and she smiled brightly: "Sister-in-law, my classmates all know that you are a great writer, and they even asked me for your new book!"

It's normal for children of this age to seek recognition from others.

"It's okay. The publishing house has a lot of sample books. You can bring some back later. But... this new book is not suitable for children."

"Okay, okay."

"You can give them the copy of 'Haruhi's Letter'."

Chu Minglan opened her mouth and wanted to say that she couldn't bear to do so. It was only a few dollars a copy!

But he nodded again, "Okay."

After I agreed, I felt that I was getting bolder and bolder. For the sake of face, I dared to give people such an expensive gift...

The little girl's thoughts were all written on her face, how could Lin Anan not see it?

"Xiaolan, don't feel awkward. In fact, the environment we live in is our own small society. It's normal to socialize and interact with others. Don't feel any psychological burden."

Chu Minglan subconsciously took Lin Anan's hand and squeezed it tightly, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

Chen Lefang sat in the single seat next to the two of them, listening with her ears perked up, and could always hear fragments of conversation.

Her face was droopy at this moment, full of unhappiness. Lin Anan looked prettier than a few days ago. Not only was she well-dressed, she was also glamorous and beautiful, and...she had even published a book? Didn't that mean she was a writer?

Chu Mingzhou and Lin Anan are well-known couple in the Northwest Military Region. Since Chen Lefang was transferred to the Northwest Military Region, he has heard a lot about them.

Chen Lefang clenched his fists, but said nothing. He just felt uncomfortable as if a stone was blocking his heart.

Not long after, the bus arrived.

Lin's mother greeted several aunts she knew in the car, and followed Lin Anan's footsteps to get out of the car.

Just as she got off the car, her eyes happened to sweep across Chen Lefang.

Mother Lin frowned, "An An, do you know the girl in military uniform sitting by the window?"

"Um?"

When Lin Anan turned around, the bus had already left.

Lin Anan didn't care, but Lin's mother felt something was wrong. The way this man looked at her daughter was like poison...

Lin Anan pulled her coat closer and said, "It might be a comrade from the military district. I didn't pay much attention to him."

She smiled and tried to comfort him, but Lin's mother's eyes, staring at the direction where the bus was going away, were clearly filled with vigilance.

Editor Liu was already waiting in front of the publishing house.

"Teacher Lin, you are finally here."

"Editor Liu."

"Auntie, you are here too? Come in and sit down. The editor-in-chief just gave me some good tea. I will make it for you."

Editor Liu politely welcomed the person in.

"Teacher Lin, several brother publishing houses from other provinces, as well as representatives from supply and marketing cooperatives, bookstores, book stalls, and cultural centers, are here for your new book," Editor Liu reminded.

Lin Anan paused and nodded, "Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Xie Qiangbei, the editor-in-chief of Yingyuan Publishing House, had already invited everyone to sit in the conference room. Although Lin Anan was a newly emerging writer, her works were of extremely high value and were currently considered a trump card of the publishing house.

In particular, the excellence of the new book can bring considerable profits to Yingyuan Publishing House.

In the conference room, the aroma of tea mixed with the smell of ink lingered.

The director of the supply and marketing cooperative patted the cover of "Shackles" and exclaimed: "Teacher Lin's book is so well written, it brings to life the hardships of our female comrades! Our supply and marketing cooperative is here to discuss exclusive matters. Editor-in-Chief Xie, please give me a definite answer!"

Some bookstore owners also echoed this, filling their notebooks with first print runs and distribution plans.

As soon as Lin Anan entered the meeting room, everyone's attention was focused on her.

"I'm late, sorry."

"This is An Xin, right?"

Editor-in-Chief Xie hurriedly introduced: "Yes, this is Teacher Lin Anan, also known as Anxin."

Mother Lin took Chu Minglan to sit in the row at the door, her eyes wide open. She had never seen such a scene before, leaders in formal suits, intellectuals holding pens, and directors wearing the uniforms of the supply and marketing cooperative, circling around her daughter like a revolving lantern...

Lin Anan was neither humble nor arrogant. She greeted everyone one by one and sat down on the left side of the main seat.

The people from Yingyuan Publishing House would naturally discuss the book placement. They would not let Lin Anan suffer any loss, let alone themselves. Lin Anan felt relieved to leave the matter to them.

"Teacher Lin, it's nice to meet you in person. I didn't expect you to be younger than I thought. The book "Shackles" is meaningful and informative. I like it very much."

"Yes, this book has a clear theme and uses an unexpected angle to highlight the inner suffering of our female compatriots. It is really wonderful."

"The writing style and theme of "Chains and Chains" are very novel. I can guarantee that it will have a bright future."

"......"

Lin Anan listened to everyone's praise and just nodded with a smile to express her gratitude.

When everyone said it was almost time, Editor-in-Chief Xie picked up the enamel cup, drank a sip of tea, and coughed lightly, "Now that everyone is here, let's talk about the details of the release of "Shackles" first."

He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and glanced at everyone present. "Teacher Lin's work focuses on the awakening of women. It is unique in the current cultural market, and the distribution strategy must also be unique."

The director of the supply and marketing cooperative slammed the table and said confidently, "I still say that our supply and marketing cooperative understands the people best! As long as you sign an exclusive agreement, I guarantee that the books will be sold at all the agency points in the province within half a month!"

She took out a yellowed sales report with dense ink writing all over the paper and said, "Look at the sales of "Female Workers' Style" last year. Our channels are not exaggerated!"

The other representatives were immediately furious.

The middle-aged man wearing glasses stood up with a bang, slamming his notebook on the table, shaking the tea leaves in the cup. "Exclusive? Isn't this destroying people's livelihood? Our Xinhua Bookstore is the mainstream cultural unit for book sales, and we have contributed to the typesetting and publicity of "Shackles". It is definitely not okay to give you an exclusive."

The representative of Tianqi Publishing House frowned and said, "We are not competing for the northwest market. We just want to cooperate with Yingyuan Publishing House to promote Teacher Lin's books in Shancheng. Our publishing house is well-known in Shancheng, and we guarantee that we can achieve good sales results."

The person in charge of the bookstall also stood up and said, "Only by being close to the people can we achieve sales. We have a total of 42 bookstalls in the northwest..."

His words were drowned out by the arguments that broke out one after another. The meeting room was in an uproar. Only Lin Anan sat upright in her chair, tapping the table rhythmically with her fingertips.