Two-in-one

After talking to Xu Zhehua, Qin Yao stopped caring about her affairs and devoted herself to her work. The next month, the works of Zhong Yueshan and Lao Li appeared in the new issue, along with the old man's autobiographical booklet. The journal sales were hot and received a strong response, and the editorial department was flooded with letters from readers.

Not only did they write letters, but some even called to say, "I hope your editorial department can expand into more sections, and not rest on its laurels after success..."

“The new works and new columns are very good, I fully support them…”

…

Many loyal readers who buy every issue have almost become the "spiritual shareholders" of their journals. They are more afraid than the people in the editorial department that the journals will go bankrupt due to poor management. Under the supervision of these spiritual shareholders, everyone is full of enthusiasm.

"Next month's manuscript will be replaced by Zhong Yueshan's."

Qin Yao raised the corners of her mouth, unable to suppress the upward arc. In the past, there were few authors in the editorial department, and whether it was a novel or a short story, it was all written by her, Comrade Qin Yao, using three pen names, for fear that people would think it was too shabby to have only one author. She also had to revise her wording and sentence habits, which was extremely exhausting.

However, she couldn't find authors that suited her taste at the moment, and many columns had to rely on her own supporters. Now she could cultivate more outstanding authors and commission them to write articles, which would become easier in the future.

The journal was going to be published, and she didn't even want to write the manuscript, let alone be a hands-off manager! Give yourself a month or two of vacation!

She decided not to write any articles next month and just went to get off work and back home simply every day.

With this idea in mind, Qin Yao returned home in a hurry, feeling relaxed. Her mood was like a cloud floating on the sea, free and easy, with a heart as broad as the sea and contented.

For an author, life becomes extremely pleasant as long as he is not writing manuscripts.

Household chores just became a lot more fun!

When Gu Cheng came back with the two children, Qin Yao was cooking in the kitchen wearing an apron. She had just finished cooking the rice and was about to cut the meat and wash the vegetables. Compared with cooking rice, stir-frying is much faster. In order to avoid the situation where the vegetables are cooked but the rice is not, Qin Yao will cook the vegetables on time.

Gu Cheng was wearing a jersey, and the two little guys, who were almost four and five years old, were also wearing pocket-sized jerseys. Their snow-white sneakers were stained with mud, and their faces were all black from the sweat.

Qin Yao, wearing an apron, came out and took a look at the father and his two children. She took a deep breath and told herself to stay in a good mood. Raising a child is the same as raising a cat or a dog. You have to reject mysophobia and it is natural for them to be dirty.

Only by exposing children to more complex environments from an early age can they have better immunity - Comrade Xiao Qin tried hard to persuade himself in his head.

"Mom! I want a hug!" Mingming was sweating profusely. He wiped his face with his dirty little hands, which were covered with mud marks. Like a small coal ball, he opened his arms to Qin Yao and pounced on her with his short legs.

Qin Yao: “…”

When the child hugged my thighs, it felt like someone threw a pile of fresh cow dung at me. Why was it so hot? So soft? It's so wet and smells so bad!

Qin Yao cursed the brat inwardly, and her mother's good mood disappeared instantly. She took out her handkerchief and wiped his sweat. Seeing this, Gu Cheng and her eldest son stretched their faces over. She wiped three of them at once... The scene was like a sweeping robot cleaning up the broken soy sauce. Not only was it not clean, but it was all over the place.

"Aren't you playing ball? Why are there so much dirt? The floor needs to be cleaned..."

Gu Cheng: "After playing ball for a while, Lao Chen said that the vegetable fields he planted were ripe and asked us to go pick melons. Your son went to pick melons for others and ate a lot of food."

Qin Yao stared at her two sons' bulging bellies and asked curiously, "Did you guys go to the village to raid it? Did you take everything?"

"Except for the last needle and thread, we'll take everything else." Gu Cheng joked with a smile.

Qin Yao: “…”

"Hey, now you've been with that group of old foxes for too long, and you've become slick too. If Lao Gao and Zhao Mingjin heard you saying these things, their jaws would drop to the ground." Those new and old generals who were forced to learn all gathered together, just like performing a skit, and frequently uttered golden sentences.

"Go take a shower, I'll cook today." Qin Yao hummed a tune and found her previous happiness. "I won't write today, tomorrow, or next month. I'll be relaxed in the future and cook more often."

Gu Cheng laughed: "They also said that Zhong Yueshan should be locked up in the small dark room. I think you are the one who needs to be put in the small dark room the most."

Qin Yao snorted twice. What's the joy in writing a book yourself? The happiest thing is to urge others to write books!

There are a lot of magazines at home, every issue is available, all bought by Gu Cheng. He uses them to teach the two children to read in his spare time. The two children are almost five years old now, and have grown a lot more sturdy, but they are also clumsy and not likable at all.

The age when people are annoyed and dogs dislike you.

"Remember to give the old man a call. The album has received good response."

Gu Cheng put on another pair of slippers: "He is so happy now that he doesn't know what to do. Why does he need me to remind him? Let's block him immediately, lest he thinks of us again and does something else that will annoy you."

Qin Yao smiled and said, "He is indeed my grandson. Tsk, don't let your grandson dislike you in the future."

*

There were mountains of letters from readers in the editorial department, so Qin Yao specially recruited several people to handle the letters by category to show her attention to readers' letters. Many of the letters were written to Zhong Yueshan and Lao Li, so Qin Yao asked someone to sort them out and she would take them to school.

"So many?"

It would have been fine if I hadn't sorted them out, but once I did, it was really scary. There were more than a thousand letters. One letter is not a lot, but a thousand letters is a scary number. Assuming one letter has a thousand words, a thousand letters would be a million words. It would take most of the day to open the letters. They were piled up in the file box, which was a spectacular sight.

"Manager Qin, there are too many letters. One person can't read them all. Even we only read them hastily. It took several people so long. Hey, with so many letters, we can cook a meal with them."

Qin Yao patted him on the head and said, "Don't talk nonsense. This is a letter from a reader. It also represents their heart. We must not let them down."

"It's ready. A few people, come with me to carry it to school. The one who is close to the water gets the moon first. Other authors don't have this advantage. Lao Li and Zhong Yueshan are lucky."

In order to retain authors and urge them to submit their manuscripts, Qin Yao chose to "use any means necessary" and had to use "drastic measures" on several authors. These letters from readers, like the comments on online novels in the future, can bring great encouragement to the creators.

On the first day of the literature workshop, Qin Yao borrowed a car from her company and went there with the letter. At first, she didn't say anything and stayed in the back as an assistant to tutor and listen to the class. After the exchange class of the workshop was over, Qin Yao asked someone to carry the letter in.

"Oh my god, what is this?"

"Are these all letters? Why are there so many letters?"

"Lao Li, this is a letter from a reader. Take a look. It's more than ten pages long. I think it's very sincere, and it's from a girl."

"Look at this, Zhong Yueshan. This reader asked you to write more. He said that he would find your articles every day when he was taking a shit in the toilet. The journal was too big, so he tore off a few pages and stuffed them into the hole in the toilet. It was most convenient to tear them down and read them. He said that the characters you wrote were really wonderful - God! Is this a compliment or a scolding?"

"He also said that your book was so popular that after the paper was stuffed in the toilet hole for a few days, someone stole a page... Later, many people who used the toilet pasted more than ten pieces of paper on the mud wall, cursing the book thief!"

"Fortunately, someone else went to buy it and filled in the missing pages. Now everyone feels relieved. Haha, Zhong Yueshan, do you think this person likes you or hates you?"

…

Qin Yao, who was listening to them reading the letter, also had a dull look in her eyes. She had not opened it before and thought it was just a normal letter from a reader, probably something exciting or expressing likes. However, she did not expect that Zhong Yueshan's readers were all like this?

Thinking about it more carefully, I found that these readers were cleverly imitating Zhong Yueshan's lively and weird writing style and structure. They were as sarcastic as they could be, making people laugh and cry.

"Hahaha, this is very interesting, Lao Zhong. I think your reader is much better at writing than you are. He even has a beginning, a middle, and an end."

"You describe this hut so vividly that I don't want to eat today!"

…

After reading a few more letters, we found that there are quite a few naughty readers who write book reviews to Zhong Yueshan in this form. It is true that what kind of author you have, what kind of readers you will get.

The letters from readers on Lao Li's side were much more normal, but he still refused to accept it after reading it. "Are all his letters fake? Did you hire someone to write them?"

Qin Yao didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "The spontaneous letters from readers have nothing to do with the editorial department."

Besides, their editorial department couldn’t find so many unique talents.

Thinking of this, Qin Yao suddenly had an idea and realized that this was an opportunity to find gold in the sand.

“Stop reading, these are all my letters.” Zhong Yueshan dragged a large box of letters over, placed his hands on them, and stopped anyone from opening them. Even though he appeared indifferent, he actually felt quite happy.

He used to write novels and articles, most of which he sent to private friends for reading, and only occasionally published them to others. Most of the people who gave him feedback were "good friends" with whom he had a relationship in real life. They would praise him, point out his shortcomings, and express their own opinions... Most of them responded to him in relatively "formal" and "civilized" letters. When had he ever seen a reader give him feedback in such a playful tone?

It's so mean and funny! I don’t even know whether it is “love” or “hate”.

"I'll take these letters back and read them myself." In addition to fortune-telling for people, Zhong Yueshan thought that he had found a new hobby: reading readers' letters!

Qin Yao came over and said, "Zhong Yueshan, when you read the letters, please help me pick some interesting and well-written readers and recommend them to me."

Zhong Yueshan clicked his tongue a few times and nodded: "Amazing, you women are still amazing."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on it for you."

Zhong Yueshan guessed what Qin Yao wanted to do. She wanted to find talents. Zhong Yueshan suspected that Qin Yao's ambitions went beyond that. Maybe she wanted to publish a magazine about literary stories. Now was a good opportunity for her to discover and train talents.

"Laoshan, you have so many things? Should you carry them back?"

"If there are more, the dormitory won't be able to accommodate them."

"You can get a lot of money by selling waste paper!"

…

When the other people in the literature class saw that Zhong Yueshan and Lao Li received so many letters from readers, even if they didn't say it, they were extremely envious in their hearts and wished they could take their place.

Even if you regard money and fame as dirt, you can't help but be tempted at this moment.

If they really want to keep their works for themselves, why would they come to this literary workshop?

"Assistant Qin, can I write for your magazine?"

Qin Yao said generously: "If there is a suitable manuscript, please send it over."

"Okay, I'll bring it next time."

"I have also written a short story. Bring it here next time. Assistant Lao Qin will help take a look. If there are any shortcomings, please point them out in person..."

…

At this moment, Qin Yao became a rising star in the workshop, more dazzling than anyone else. These thousands of letters were really stimulating.

It is said that people who like literature are low-key, especially low-key in dreams! Who doesn’t want to be seen by more readers? Who doesn’t want to connect with more interesting readers?

After finally getting out of the encirclement, Qin Yao wiped the unnecessary sweat off her face and helped Yuan Lao move the documents to the office. Yuan Rongjin looked at her with a strange look, "Inviting you to be an assistant is like letting a rat fall into a rice jar. Be happy."

They are actually looking for "able-bodied men" in the workshop.

Qin Yao smiled faintly and changed the subject: "Old man, I wrote the beginning of my autobiography for you. Would you like to take a look at it? Don't worry, I didn't use your real name. I gave you a pseudonym. You can read it for fun."

"There are not many words at the moment, only tens of thousands. I finished reading it in a few days, and I'm not in a hurry to continue. You just take a look at it. If you agree to continue, please tell me earlier. I need to take a two-month break recently, and I won't write any manuscripts in these two months..." Qin Yao said this very happily. Of course, she was not happy about handing the autobiography to Mr. Yuan, but cheering for not having to write for two months.

No matter how much people love writing, they will also have a period of boredom with writing. Just like having their period, there are always a few days a month when they don’t feel like writing.

"I'll take a look when I'm free." Yuan Rongjin glanced at Qin Yao with disdain. He really didn't understand why this girl was so interested in writing an autobiography. He was just an ordinary "ordinary man", not an emperor or a general. What was there to write an autobiography about? His whole life could be explained in one sentence, so why would he write so much?

"random."

After Qin Yao handed the manuscript over, she waved goodbye and left. No matter how interested she was in Mr. Yuan's past, it couldn't outweigh the joy of not having to write for the time being.

This kind of instant happiness leads to rapid secretion of dopamine.

Qin Yao originally thought that after sending out the manuscript, it would take at least a week to get feedback. However, before the next day, Yuan Rongjin called her in the evening, and the young female soldier came up and asked her to answer the phone.

Yuan Rongjin: "You did this on purpose, didn't you? You only wrote a few pages to tease the kitten?"

Qin Yao: “…”

"It's already tens of thousands of words, old man. If you read it word by word, I guarantee it will take you a week."

Yuan Rongjin: "Bullshit, I've finished reading it now."

"Old man, you are using bad language. This is not something a civilized old professor like you should say."

Yuan Rongjin: "Stop talking nonsense and write more when you have nothing to do. Don't you want information? Come to my office tomorrow."

"Grandpa, there's really no rush. I don't plan to write in the next two months. I want to have a good rest. I won't write any manuscripts until I have gathered my energy!" Qin Yao said shamelessly.

Yuan Rongjin: “…”

This girl, why is she torturing him like this? It seems that the worst thing he has ever done in his life is to fall down.

*

After Xu Zhehua talked to Qin Yao that day, she could clearly feel Qin Yao's alienation towards her. In fact, she felt ashamed of herself as a third party who destroyed other people's families... This is no longer the old society. The system of monogamy is deeply rooted in people's hearts. She already has a husband, but she develops an extramarital affair with a man who already has a wife and children. Xu Zhehua really didn't know how cruel and cold the child's innocent big eyes would look at her after knowing the truth.

Xu Zhehua thought about Qin Yao's words and began to try to stay away from Jin Hao. This time, it was not a painful separation, but another kind of temptation. She had thought about separating from Jin Hao before, but failed every time, because the more she wanted to separate, the more profound the details of getting along with the object became, and the more it highlighted how rare such a relationship was. They had so many beautiful pasts...

While staying away from Jin Hao, Xu Zhehua tried to communicate more with her husband. Even if the other party was unwilling to listen, Xu Zhehua would chatter non-stop. In this life, one must always have someone to communicate with.

At first she had no hope, and she had no idea how long she could hold on. But after trying to talk to her husband a few more times, Xu Zhehua found that her husband's responses gradually increased, and they actually started chatting, sometimes they couldn't help but chat for three or four hours.

It turns out that the couple have not become strangers, and they can still communicate with each other.

Xu Zhehua began to invite her husband to walk at night. In the pitch black where they could not see their fingers, the couple walked forward hand in hand, only hearing each other's heartbeats... She suddenly felt inexplicably safe, terrified, scared, yet warm and at ease.

I spend more and more time with my family, and less and less time missing Jin Hao... It turns out that once a person comes out of a nightmare, those emotions disappear quickly.

The more sober she became, the more she realized that Jin Hao was not a good man. Even when they were in love, he was still flirting with the girl. When she asked him about it, he just said, "Don't get me wrong."

How could Xu Zhehua have the nerve to ask more questions? She is not the other person's wife, so what qualifications does she have?

If the man's wife knew about her relationship with Jin Hao, she would probably want to drink her blood and eat her flesh - Xu Zhehua was often awakened by such nightmares.

Now, looking at her husband beside her, living an ordinary and warm life, and no longer having to worry about anything else, she can finally sleep peacefully.

Xu Zhehua gradually got over this unspeakable relationship and distanced herself from Jin Hao, but Jin Hao refused to let her go. Xu Zhehua was not pretty enough, but she was an excellent person with a unique appearance and a charm that other women did not have. Jin Hao did not want to separate from her, at least he wanted to maintain an ambiguous relationship with her.

Xu Zhehua avoided him every time, which made Jin Hao feel ashamed and annoyed. He was the only one who rejected women, but no woman had ever rejected him. Xu Zhehua's active rejection made him extremely unwilling.

Jin Hao didn't know from the news he got that Xu Zhehua's recent changes were all due to something Qin Yao said to her. For this reason, he went to Qin Yao angrily.

"Assistant Qin, are you interested in me, that's why you resorted to such means?"

In Jin Hao's eyes, Qin Yao could only be interested in him, which was why she interfered and destroyed his relationship with Xu Zhehua in order to attract his attention.

Compared with other poets, his poems have quite a lot of female readers. Many young women are obsessed with his poems and cannot extricate themselves from him.