Chapter 200: The Grand Finale - The Future Will Always Get Better...
In the classroom of a middle school.
After finishing his meat bun, Zhang Sancao opened his daily novel newspaper as usual. Ever since he used the money he earned from selling newspapers to finish primary school, and then skipped a grade from high school due to his hard work, he caught the eye of a kind-hearted person who sponsored his middle school tuition and living expenses on the condition that he would work in a designated shop after graduation.
Zhang Sancao, who has completely changed his life, has not forgotten the path he started on. He buys whichever newspaper published the article about a small fish as soon as he has enough money, day after day, month after month, year after year without fail.
"Huh?"
Zhang Sancao looked at the eye-catching headline on the newspaper and uttered a questioning monosyllabic sound. He remembered that today was not the day to publish an article about a little fish, but the little fish still appeared in this newspaper. Recalling the various evil deeds of Mr. Little Fish that he had heard about before, which he did not believe at all, even before seeing the main text, he could smell the storm brewing.
Zhang Sancao carefully looked at the newspaper, but after a while, a blank look appeared on his face. His classmate next to him noticed something was wrong and patted him on the shoulder several times to wake him up. After confirming that Zhang Sancao was alright, he asked him why he was acting this way.
"Today's newspaper published Mr. Little Fish's autobiography,"
Zhang Sancao had worked as a newspaper boy and was usually very eloquent, but his classmate was bewildered by what he said. He knew that Zhang Sancao really liked the works of a little fish, and he liked them too, but no matter what had happened, there was no reason to be so surprised.
"Mr. Little Fish is a woman."
Zhang Sancao talked with his companions for a while, and finally felt that it was not a big deal, so he told them what he had just seen.
"What?!"
Zhang Sancao looked at his companion, who was even more speechless than he had been. Although he didn't say anything, little question marks kept popping up above his head.
Didn't you just tell me not to get so worked up? How come you're acting even more exaggeratedly than him now?
...
A corner of Shanghai, a printing factory.
"Ninth Sister, Ninth Sister..."
A young woman came running towards them carrying a newspaper. Shi Yuan was startled and her hand trembled. Her work, which had been going smoothly, suddenly came to a standstill. She frowned and looked at her unsteady assistant, preparing to give her a hard time if she couldn't come up with a good reason.
"The little fish that wrote the diary is a woman!"
Shi Yuan wasn't bad at processing information, but she was still momentarily stunned by the news, her mind going blank. Just as she was about to ask something, her assistant, as if she could read minds, continued speaking:
"It's not fake news, it was published in the newspaper, and Xiaoyu wrote it herself!"
Shi Yuan stared at the printed layout in front of her in silence for a long time: Ever since the diary broke the precedent of printing an unfinished book and still selling well, and even after some people overseas actually gained a foothold with it, there has been an unspoken rule that the copyright of this book is released every six months. She was able to snatch the copyright of the completed version not only because of the favor of being the first to try it, but more importantly because many people felt that it had already sold enough and there was no profit left.
"are you sure?"
Shi Yuan looked at her assistant, who kept emphasizing the authenticity of the news and waving the newspaper in front of her, and asked her question word by word. When the assistant nodded without hesitation, Shi Yuan finally made up her mind.
"The agreed-upon print run is void."
Shi Yuan addressed the factory owner, and before anyone's anger could flare up, she continued:
"I plan to print more, at least this many."
The assistant looked at the factory owner, who was stunned by the huge order, and then looked at Shi Yuan, whose eyes were firm. She thought she might not be fully awake yet: Shi Yuan had said before that she would be conservative with printing. If this number were to be stuck in her hands, the school would run out of funding!
"Don't worry, we can sell them."
Shi Yuan comforted the young girl who hadn't experienced many hardships, glancing at her autobiography in the newspaper and smiling.
"With Little Fish Girl's own account, this number might not be enough to sell."
From "Little Fish Author" to "Little Fish Girl," Shi Yuan's title changed quickly and well. The assistant hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to believe Shi Yuan.
"I hope you've left me enough wages."
The assistant uttered a harsh remark that was hardly anything, then turned around and went back to running the program. Shi Yuan didn't have much free time either, as different printing quantities couldn't be decided just by talking; there were many things that needed to be changed.
...
West Sound Newspaper Agency.
“Mary, your writing is as beautiful as the silk of your country. Why not try submitting your work and let your inspiration become those black printed words?”
Smith had asked this question countless times, and Mary was already able to answer it fluently.
"Sir, I am a woman. How many truly famous female authors have you met in China?"
Mary is satisfied with her current life and does not believe that there is fertile ground in the country for women's education to flourish, at least not in the literary world.
real.
“Little Mary, you always like to use that as an excuse to brush me off. I hope that one day this country will actually produce a famous female writer, then you won’t be able to use that excuse to refuse me anymore.”
Smith collapsed onto the carpet, looking like a sack of sad potatoes, when the door was kicked open and his good friend David came in gleefully, stomping on his toes.
Merlin's underwear, Smith has paronychia!
Wearing thick boots, David paid no attention to Smith's contorted face on the carpet; he simply slammed the newspaper down in front of Mary.
“Little Mary, you can’t keep using the excuse that there are no female writers in the country to reject submissions. Our favorite author, Little Fish, has made a declaration that she is a woman!”
Mary snatched the newspaper and her eyes widened as she read the contents. She really liked Little Fish's work and couldn't deny her fame—after her diary about her life abroad was published, The West Sound contacted the editorial department and reprinted the work in English, where it became extremely popular. She just never imagined that Little Fish's author was actually a woman!
“Mary, your talent shouldn’t be buried. Give it a try.”
After seeing that Mary had finished reading the newspaper, David tried to persuade her again. This time, after hesitating for a long time, Mary finally did not refuse and nodded. David cheered happily and went to find a fax machine to send the news that Xiaoyu was a woman overseas, so that his friends would also be shocked.
Smith, who got his ingrown toenail stepped on: Hey, isn't anyone going to speak up for me?
...
The news that "Mr. Xiaoyu is a woman" has been spreading and causing a series of chain reactions. Many people cannot accept Yao Xiaoyu's true gender, but more influential women have spoken out for her: Yao Xiaoyu standing there, even if she has nothing to do with them, is a light illuminating the way forward for many women, giving them more choices in life.
As Yao Xiaoyu's gender became known, the various smears against her crumbled on their own—because matters of sex are the most difficult to clarify, and they put the most effort into this area. Abandoning his wife and children was practically a label welded onto Xiaoyu. Then Yao Xiaoyu came forward and said that she was actually a woman...
The extent to which these people were ridiculed was comparable only to that of the Japanese who rushed to publish articles claiming kinship. In fact, they were not even as ridiculed as the Japanese, since Yao Xiaoyu denied the smear campaign as a unified long story, while she used three whole sentences to distance herself from the so-called Fusang.
[I am not Japanese! I don't write Japanese books! I won't move to Japan!]
It is said that on the day they saw Yao Xiaoyu's confession, the Japanese high command smashed a lot of things, and many people chose to commit seppuku. As for the rest... it cannot be said, it cannot be said.
After Xiaoyu's identity was revealed, the Yao family also suffered a lot of harassment. The wealthier they were, the more calculating they became. Some creditors knew the average income from royalties and even came to demand interest—you have more money, so you should give more. But most of them chose a relatively milder approach: they thought Yao Xiaoyu was a very suitable wife candidate and wanted to arrange a marriage for her.
Yao family: ...
Yao Xiaoyu's exposure of the turmoil caused by gender lasted for a long time, supporting many tabloids. During this period, even the smallest things about a small fish would be reported in the newspapers. Yao Xiaoyu would often take a look when she had nothing to do, and she would tacitly agree with what she liked and take the initiative to fight against what she didn't like.
One classic example is how to address a little fish. After a back-and-forth struggle, the newspaper article condescendingly announced that they had bestowed the title of "Mr. Little Fish" upon her, as a reward for an exceptionally outstanding woman. Yao Xiaoyu disliked this title and told readers that they could call her "Lady" or "Ms."
Why is it that only women who are exceptionally outstanding are addressed with the same titles as ordinary men?
This sentence in Yao Xiaoyu's article about the issue of addressing others stirred up a new storm. However, at that time, Yao Xiaoyu did not focus all her attention on the bloody battles in the newspapers. She was enjoying her first love.
The uproar caused by Yao Xiaoyu revealing her identity was so great that the Novel Daily gave her an unprecedented break. After realizing that Ye Junshu couldn't be of much help with the next few books, Xiaoyu Girl took advantage of this free time to break down the veil between her and Ye Junshu. Ye Junshu accepted Yao Xiaoyu's ideas well, and after a two-year ambiguous period, the two officially entered the stage of being boyfriend and girlfriend.
Eating at banquets, strolling along the streets, watching movies, doing crafts... Before the two could even finish doing all the things couples do, Pi Kangxiu came to break them up—the turmoil had been so severe before that the newspaper had to reluctantly give Yao Xiaoyu a leave of absence. Now that the storm had finally subsided a bit, if they didn't bring this little fish back after her six-month-long hiatus from writing, what if she developed a habit of taking time off again!
Under Pi Kangxiu's watchful eye, Yao Xiaoyu could only regretfully leave her boyfriend and return to her daily routine of frantically working on her manuscript. Fortunately, she had already completed the outline of her new article during her free time, so rebuilding it was not difficult.
The new book is a food novel with a simple main plot: the quirky female protagonist constantly learns from masters and becomes an all-around culinary goddess. If there's any personal touch mixed in, it's that all the food in the book was tasted by Yao Xiaoyu herself, so it can also be considered a recommendation book.
This was originally a menu map that Yao Xiaoyu prepared for herself, but some curious people followed the map and actually found the restaurants and eateries where the dishes originated. The owners, seeing the soaring turnover, directly designated Yao Xiaoyu as a top-tier VIP who would give her a free meal. The vendors even lingered at the entrance of Wutong Courtyard every day—getting a single sentence from this lady in her article was enough to keep their business going for a while.
Those who didn't get their articles published wanted to be included, and those whose articles were published wanted to be featured a second time. With so many people involved, conflicts inevitably arose. At first, it was just words, and later it escalated into physical fights. Yao Xiaoyu was fed up with it all, so she simply handed over the prepared manuscripts and took Tao Xiaoxiao and the others out to Shanghai to find food.
The group set off in mid-July and traveled south, finally arriving in Jiaxing at the end of July. Yao Xiaoyu chartered a small boat, enjoyed the scenery of Nanhu Lake, ate boat food, and greeted the woman in a cheongsam at the bow of the boat. After returning, they tasted several more meat dumplings before reluctantly embarking on their journey back to Shanghai to prepare for their university entrance exams.
Yao Xiaoyu originally wanted to be among the first batch of female college students to enroll in 2019, but she couldn't get a way in. Last year, no universities admitted women at all. This year, the policy has been relaxed, and Yao Xiaoyu meets the requirements. She is not prepared to give up this opportunity.
The exam results were very satisfactory. On the first day of school, Yao Xiaoyu wore a flamboyant red dress, a rare occurrence, and walked into the university as a freshman along with other girls who had passed the exam.
The university wasn't strictly closed off during this period, but entering as a tourist felt different from being a student. The girls who had enrolled with her chatted excitedly, and Yao Xiaoyu occasionally chimed in, but mostly listened quietly. Amidst the wide-ranging conversations, Yao Xiaoyu's inspiration for her new book quietly emerged.
She wanted to write a story about the twelve zodiac animals returning home, a story about cultural relic protection and restoration, a story that is both heartwarming and slightly somber.
But there's no rush. Right now, she needs to go through the enrollment process with the girls and prepare them for the exciting years of campus life to come.
As the sun gradually climbed higher and the temperature rose, Yao Xiaoyu smiled brightly as she watched her teacher approach in the increasingly bright sunlight.
No one can predict what the future holds, but things will definitely get better.
-----------------------
Author's Note: This story is finished. What follows are some scattered side stories. A new story will be released on March 1st. The new story is below. It's a food-themed story. Please add it to your favorites if you like it.
——————
Snack stalls in the 1990s
Synopsis: In order to prolong his life, Jiang Hengxing signed a contract with a system and transmigrated into a novel set in the 1990s, replacing a minor character who ran away after learning of his tragic fate.
After completing the initial storyline and successfully integrating into the world through the nodes, Jiang Hengxing packed her bags and ran away to Ancheng, a city where seasonal ingredients were gathered. She was empty-handed and could only save up some capital to set up a small stall.
***
A small food stall with an unclear location appeared near the gate of Ancheng University. The owner, Jiang Hengxing, sells pastries one day, braised food the next, and wontons the day after. The food is exceptionally delicious, attracting students in droves.
The other stall owners lined up, feeling a pang of envy, thinking that such an uncertain stall would eventually fail. But as they waited, Jiang Hengxing became too busy and hired help.
They continued to wait until Jiang Hengxing rented a shop and turned it into a snack shop, no longer exposed to the wind and rain.
After waiting and waiting, Jiang Hengxing bought the shop. From then on, the only expenses for the house were water and electricity, and he also built a small second floor.
Other stall owners: ...
ps:
1. Daily food articles, about eating and drinking and enjoying my own little life.
2. Male protagonist's background
————
————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
