Chapter 70: The Overused Novel "The Real and Fake Heiress"
Yao Xiaoyu mailed Miss Catherine's letter and, as usual, circled the number two weeks later on the calendar. She planned to revise and rewrite the article and publish it on another platform if she didn't receive a reply by that day—it was easy to set a trap for the Japanese, but the sooner the schistosomiasis was detected, the better.
Her articles about the disease weren't targeted at Shanghai, but rather were intended as educational content for other places: when she recalled the snail eradication campaign of the 1960s and 70s, she bought a lot of white paper, carved lettering stamps out of radishes, and became a human printer.
At first, Yao Xiaoyu honestly copied everything by hand, but that was not only inefficient, but the tiny characters were also easily overlooked. Fortunately, the biggest difference between humans and animals is that they can create and use tools. With a flash of inspiration, the stamp appeared, improving efficiency and even allowing the stamping work to be outsourced.
Tao Xiaoxiao slept more than she was awake each day. After Yao Xiaoyu determined that Tao Xiaoxiao didn't have the objective conditions to study for the time being, she had her recognize her own and Yao Xiaoyu's names, as well as five keywords: indenture and servant. After memorizing the Yao family's address, Yao Xiaoyu stopped forcing her to study.
Holding a pen like a broom clearly indicates poor handwriting skills, but stamping templates is no problem, it's just the handwriting...
[The cause of the bloated belly disease is Ding Luo]
Looking at the seven misspelled simplified Chinese characters that filled the entire page, Yao Xiaoyu felt guilty but also felt that she had done her best—carving is really difficult!
After the human printing was completed, Yao Xiaoyu threw the radish into the stove to destroy the evidence. She stuffed the white paper into clinics all over Shanghai. For the extras, she randomly selected lucky newsboys, cigarette sellers, flower sellers, and shoe shiners, gave them a few copper coins, and asked them to give a few copies to customers they liked.
She wasn't a doctor, nor had she researched pharmacies that treat schistosomiasis; this was all she could do.
...
Holding a flag with a small fish in it, Pi Kangxiu was very proactive. Before the newspaper containing the ending and the statement of termination of cooperation was even distributed to the newsboys, he had already successfully joined the Novel Daily. By the time his colleagues realized something was wrong, Pi Kangxiu had already taken all his personal belongings from the Novel Daily and started making contact with his new colleagues.
Yao Xiaoyu is a trustworthy author. After reviewing Pi Kangxiu's work, she delivered the opening chapter of the new book right before the deadline. Pi Kangxiu, who was already panicking like a screaming groundhog, didn't bother with pleasantries and started flipping through the manuscript.
Yao Xiaoyu, having experienced a thesis deadline, knew the immense psychological pressure Pi Kangxiu was under, so she didn't disturb him. While chewing on the snacks on the table, she observed the editorial department of the Novel Daily. If she met the editor's surprised gaze, she would calmly give him a friendly smile.
A small fish wrote two books that were wildly popular in Shanghai. In the face of absolute strength, gender and age are not things to care about.
...
Having changed employers, Yao Xiaoyu needed to demonstrate her abilities. Since she couldn't use the original outline for the infinite flow genre, she racked her brains and came up with the least likely-to-go-wrong trope: the real and fake heiress. Even the innovative points in it had been written by countless people: the one who was transferred to the farming family was the real heiress, while the one in the wealthy family was the fake young master.
Because this trope had already been overused by writers from various angles, Yao Xiaoyu didn't try to be original. The story begins with Master Du passing through a village on his way to do business. Suddenly, a chubby little boy with tears streaming down his face runs towards him, screaming. His wildly animated features startle Master Du's horse, which lets out a long neigh and kicks off its hooves. Master Du, who was leaning out to watch the commotion, is thrown off balance.
Mr. Du was originally quite fat, but half a year ago, when he was rubbing his wife's hair ornaments, he used too much force. After a month of recuperation with his left hand on the left and his right hand on the right, and his left leg raised and his right leg kicked, he learned his lesson and gradually lost weight. However, the size of the window did not shrink accordingly, so Mr. Du not only flew out very neatly, but also bounced very far.
Mr. Du, whose mind was racing through his thoughts, luckily stumbled into a mud pit and was pulled out like a radish. In the blink of an eye, a clod of dirt fell off Mr. Du, who looked at his savior and found that it was the woman who had been chasing after the chubby boy, wielding a bamboo branch that made sonic booms.
But that's not the key point. The key point is that Master Du discovered that the woman had the same peach blossom eyes and thin lips as him, and the same willow-leaf eyebrows, high nose, and oval face as his wife.
Those who frequently read stories about real and fake heiresses know that once a character appears with keywords such as "same," "similar," "familiar," or "identical," then that person's identity becomes quite obvious.
"What exactly is the relationship between that woman and Master Du?"
Pi Kangxiu put down the manuscript and asked somewhat anxiously.
Yao Xiaoyu: ...
Okay, she forgot that this isn't the future where there are more writers than readers, and this kind of plot where you can predict what will happen next just by reading the beginning is still a novelty.
"She is Master Du's biological daughter."
Yao Xiaoyu didn't hide anything. This article was written in a hurry, with only about 100,000 words in total. The ending was just a habitual writer's block. The girl's identity will be revealed in the next draft. Pi Kangxiu only knew the plot a little in advance, so it's not a big problem.
"Doesn't Master Du only have one son and one daughter?"
Pi Kangxiu asked subconsciously, "Master Du's life story has already summarized the first half of his life: a gentle and polite eldest son, a well-read youngest daughter, a childhood sweetheart and a wife of equal social standing, and a life of extravagance where he ate gold and jade. It's practically Versailles within Versailles. How come there's another daughter... No way!"
Pi Kangxiu suddenly realized a possibility, and his eyes widened. He stared blankly at Yao Xiaoyu. The moment the girl in front of him nodded, Master Du's face instantly became repulsive.
"He and his wife have such a good relationship, yet they have an illegitimate daughter?"
"The children in the family are fake."
The two voices rang out at the same time. After hearing what the other said, they looked at each other with disbelief, feeling that the scene was familiar.
"What illegitimate daughter?"
"Could the child be fake?"
Because of their different speaking speeds, the two opened their mouths and stopped at the same time again, which not only intensified the awkward atmosphere but also made the sense of déjà vu even stronger.
It seems like she/he has experienced something similar?
Yao Xiaoyu looked at Pi Kangxiu blankly. Although she didn't know where her editor's train of thought had gone, it didn't stop her from repeating the core idea:
"I wrote a story about real and fake heiresses."
Although Yao Xiaoyu wrote about real heiresses and fake young masters, just like how the game "Love Nikki" only distinguishes between "Nikki Mom" and "Male Nikki Mom," the series about real and fake XX doesn't distinguish between gender, race, or age; they are all categorized as the initial real and fake heiresses.
"Wait, let me sort this out."
Pi Kangxiu raised the index finger of his left hand, which was in a headache, and placed his right hand in a palm shape above his left hand, making a pause gesture. Yao Xiaoyu could even see the special effect of his rapid thinking.
[My head is so itchy, it feels like my brain is growing out.jpg]
"...So this girl is Master Du's biological daughter, and all the children in the family aren't his?"
After a while, Pi Kangxiu finally figured out the logic. Yao Xiaoyu nodded, and Pi, the editor, gasped. This conclusion was still a bit too shocking for a man who had only ever read "The Prince Replaced by a Civet Cat".
"What happened next?"
With her doubts resolved, her curiosity was piqued, but Yao Xiaoyu didn't reveal any further plot details. She only asked about her royalties. As for whether it would be published, she hadn't even considered that question—the story of the real and fake heiresses was a classic tale that had survived the test of time. If the Novel Daily couldn't even appreciate such a work, they would be doomed sooner or later.
"Two yuan and fifty cents."
Yao Xiaoyu recalled her royalties for writing about Miao Youjin, and then calculated the average income of authors during that period. She could only sigh that the Rolling Stone principle applies everywhere. Just as she was about to nod, she realized that her lack of reaction just now seemed to have given Pi Kangxiu some wrong hint. After struggling, hesitating and pausing, he stomped his foot and got up from his chair: [1]
"...I'll take you to see the editor-in-chief."
The manuscript fee for long novels on the market is mostly one to two yuan per thousand words. Pi Kangxiu originally thought that two yuan and fifty cents was already a very good reward. Now some authors can get five or six yuan, or even more than ten yuan per thousand words, but that is the treatment that only nationally famous people can get. Moreover, most of those who can get that price are short stories, and long stories generally do not exceed ten yuan.
Yao Xiaoyu's first book earned her 80 cents per thousand words, her second book earned her 1.4 yuan, and her third book earned her 2.5 yuan. These were three consecutive leaps in royalties that most people wouldn't even dare to dream of. However, when the topic of "The Real and Fake Heiress" came out, Yao Xiaoyu fell silent. Pi Kangxiu felt that the royalties were still a bit meager. After thinking it over, he decided to take some people to find the editor-in-chief.
Perhaps Yao Xiaoyu simply didn't realize what was happening, but he didn't dare to gamble.
The editor-in-chief of the Novel Daily was a woman in her forties. She wore a long gown, her hair was neatly tied back, and her expressionless face had the air of a headmaster. However, her voice was very gentle, and she showed no unusual reaction to Yao Xiaoyu's gender or age. She only said that she was a young prodigy who would surely have a bright future, which almost made Yao Xiaoyu swoon.
After reading Yao Xiaoyu's work, the payment was promptly raised to three yuan per thousand words, a one-fifth increase in the blink of an eye. Yao Xiaoyu felt too embarrassed to continue haggling. She told the editor that she could provide a list of books from her home, and that lending out four books at a time without time restrictions would be perfectly acceptable.
With the payment agreed upon and the contract signed, Yao Xiaoyu left with Tao Xiaoxiao. The editorial office was so quiet that even breathing was barely audible until the footsteps of Yao Xiaoyu and Tao Xiaoxiao could no longer be heard on the stairs, at which point it became as noisy as boiling water being poured into a frying pan.
"Is that a small fish?"
This is unbelievable.
"A little fish is actually a girl?!"
This is the type who doubts their own eyes.
What works did she bring this time?
This is the reader type.
"To be able to write such a good book at such a young age, what's the difference between me, at my age, and a good-for-nothing!"
This is the self-pitying type.
...
The barrage of questions overwhelmed Pi Kangxiu like a tidal wave, and he could only pick out the answers he could make out.
"She's just a little fish, and she really is a little girl."
"This article is particularly good, but we have to wait until it's copied out before we can read it."
"If possible, try to keep it a secret; she's reluctant to reveal her true identity."
...
"call?"
He answered all the other questions readily, but when he heard this one, Pi Kangxiu hesitated for some reason. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke:
“She said she wouldn’t call me ‘sir,’ but rather ‘Ms. Little Fish.’”
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The author says: [1] The rolling stone effect: It comes from the idea that in the workplace, you should be a rolling stone. You can get higher wages than normal by changing jobs. In this context, it means that you should submit your work to different platforms to get higher royalties than normal.
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Are there any alternative names available? The author is terrible at naming things [crying emoji]
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