Chapter 108: Scumbag
In a hurry, Zhang Dening came to the Chengnan District Cultural Center again.
Although she was ready to go find Cheng Xuyuan immediately when she went to work in the morning, she was caught by Zou Yanlai and taken to a meeting when she was leaving.
The matter of looking for Cheng Xuyuan can only be put off to the afternoon.
Facing the old man Li who was sitting in the reception room, Zhang Dening said with a smile: "Hello, Uncle Li, do you still recognize me?"
Seeing Zhang Dening, Old Li was also very happy and said: "Girl, aren't you Editor Zhang of Yenching Literature and Art? How could I forget you? You came here this time..."
"I'm here to see Cheng Xuyuan. Is he here?" Zhang Dening said bluntly.
Old Man Li said, "Xiao Cheng just came back a few days ago. He told me a while ago that if anyone looks for him, I should say he's not here."
"But girl, you are an editor, you are not an ordinary person, how can I hide it from you!"
"Xiao Cheng is in the office, just go in and find him."
Uncle Li’s words brought warmth to Zhang Dening’s heart.
She was finally able to charge forward with her face! When she arrived at the writing group's office, she saw Cheng Xuyuan writing something, while the young female comrade sitting opposite him was knitting a sweater.
The two of them were talking intermittently, as if they were talking about something.
"Teacher Cheng, you seem quite leisurely!" Zhang Dening pushed the door open, walked in, and sat down opposite Cheng Xuyuan with a smile.
Cheng Xuyuan saw that it was Zhang Dening. After a moment's pause, he smiled and said, "It's Editor Zhang. Hello, please take a seat."
"I'll get you some water."
As he spoke, he picked up the white porcelain cup for guests and made a cup of tea for Zhang Dening.
This time he did not use Qin Yewei's tea leaves, but used his own.
Zhang Dening greeted Shi Xuehong, who had some impression of him, and said solemnly, "Teacher Cheng, you are finally back!"
"Do you know that before the New Year, I had the idea of going to your hometown to look for you!"
Cheng Xuyuan smiled and said, "Editor Zhang, I have read all the telegrams you sent. It has not reached that point."
"However, I am still very grateful for the work of our editorial department."
Zhang Dening took a sip of water and said, "Teacher Cheng, our work is not just what I wrote in the telegram, there is a lot more to it!"
"For example, my colleagues and I have to deal with several large packages of letters from readers every day."
"If you want to talk about it, this is also your business."
"But what makes me sad is that you didn't even come to our editorial office when you returned to Beijing. Do you know how sad this makes me?"
Cheng Xuyuan thought, I don't have much money anymore, why should I go to you? But he couldn't say these words on the surface, he could only smile and say, "Editor Zhang, this is only my second day at work."
"As you know, I haven't been to work for a few days. I have a lot of things to deal with."
"I plan to report to our editorial office tomorrow."
Cheng Xuyuan thought there was nothing wrong with this excuse.
However, Zhang Dening pointed out directly: "Teacher Cheng, do you just sit in the office and chat?"
Cheng Xuyuan blushed, he couldn't continue making up stories.
I could only smile and say, "Editor Zhang, you didn't come here just to find me and call me to task, did you?"
Seeing that he had the upper hand, Zhang Dening stopped pressing and said in a deep voice, "Show me what you wrote in your hometown over the past month."
"If the quality is acceptable, then forget it."
Cheng Xuyuan hesitated for a moment and said, "Editor Zhang, I wrote a novel, but you can't publish it."
Hearing this, Zhang Dening's eyes widened.
This Cheng Xuyuan just published a novel and he's so proud of himself! Who are you looking down on?
If we can’t publish it, then who can?
"Teacher Xu Lingyun, are you looking down on us?"
Although Zhang Dening's words were calm, his eyes contained a threatening tone.
Cheng Xuyuan spread his hands and said, "You mainly publish short stories and novellas, and I'm writing a novel this time."
Long article!
Then it’s not a big deal.
But Zhang Dening was not ready to give up. She rubbed her hands and said, "Teacher Cheng, let me take a look first."
"Even if we can't publish it now, it's always okay for you to read it first, right?"
Cheng Xuyuan couldn't refuse Zhang Dening, the editor who had given him practical help, so he took out the manuscript he was revising.
Zhang Dening took the thick manuscript paper and estimated based on his own experience that the manuscript was at least hundreds of thousands of words, maybe even two hundred thousand.
Our own magazine has rarely published any novels.
She felt regretful in her heart while looking at the manuscript paper.
There were two big characters written on it: "Desire"! "Desire", what did it say?
Zhang Dening continued to read and saw the words: "For the beautiful female worker Liu Huifang, she is now very distressed. She has two suitors, one of whom is..."
When Zhang Dening saw this beginning, his heart moved.
This beginning seemed to have caught her attention instantly!
A beautiful female worker, two suitors, one is a hardworking worker, the other is a college student who came to reform...
Who should Liu Huifang choose? As a senior female editor, she suddenly had a lot more ideas about the following plot.
However, her professionalism made her not feel embarrassed.
Choose, pick up the child, and decide to raise Xiaofang...
The appearance of each character made Zhang Dening feel like a vivid person came alive before his eyes...
Just when she was immersed in the plot, a gentle knocking sound woke her up.
The one knocking on the table was Cheng Xuyuan.
It wasn't that he wanted to disturb Zhang Dening from reading the novel, it was just that it was getting dark, and if Zhang Dening continued reading like this, he would not be able to get off work on time.
"Teacher Zhang, it's time to get off work. It's getting dark."
Zhang Dening, who was about to get angry, noticed that the surrounding environment had become dim after hearing this.
At this time of day, she would ride her bicycle and leisurely head home.
But now, she is still in the South District Cultural Center.
"Teacher Cheng, I'm sorry, I'm so fascinated by it." Zhang Dening said embarrassedly.
Cheng Xuyuan waved his hand and said, "Editor Zhang, there's nothing to apologize for. To be honest, this is your greatest recognition of my work, and I can't thank you enough!"
Zhang Dening gently folded the part he saw, and then said in a deep voice: "Teacher Cheng, I will take this manuscript over and finish reading it tonight."
“I think that we at Yenching Literature and Art can also make some appropriate breakthroughs.”
Cheng Xuyuan said: "Editor Zhang, isn't this a bit too difficult? I think if it is difficult, I'd better not let you worry too much."
Zhang Dening was stunned when he heard this.
She felt that there was something else behind Cheng Xuyuan's words!
"Teacher Cheng, we are friends, just talk about anything."
"If you hide it, it will become out of place."
Cheng Xuyuan said, "Editor Zhang, I plan to submit this manuscript to People's Literature. They can publish long stories, and the royalties are high!"
Zhang Dening looked at Cheng Xuyuan's serious expression and suddenly understood something.
She smiled and said, "Teacher Cheng, I understand how you feel."
"But there is a saying that goes, clothes are better when new, and people are better when old."
"We've been working together since you started writing. Would I let you suffer any loss?"
"How about this, I'll take this manuscript to the person in charge of our editorial department to see if it can be published."
"It's fine if you can't publish it, but if you can, I'll fight for the highest remuneration for you. Also, how about two months of paid revisions?"
Zhang Dening felt no pressure at all to get Cheng Xuyuan the highest remuneration, which was seven yuan per thousand words.
Not only because Cheng Xuyuan's current work "Desire" is very well written, but also because of Cheng Xuyuan's current fame and status.
It is only right to pay the highest possible remuneration for the work.
Cheng Xuyuan was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that the young editor Zhang in front of him was so courageous.
Seven yuan per thousand words is already the highest price stipulated.
The key is that they also give two months of paid revision work.
This is a subsidy of 120 yuan.
I don’t have any acquaintances at People’s Literature.
Seven yuan per thousand words might be negotiable, but paid manuscript revision may not be easy.
Just when Cheng Xuyuan was struggling, Zhang Dening glanced at the sky and said, "Teacher Cheng, Sister Xuehong, you haven't eaten yet, right?"
"Come on, I'll treat you to some food."
"I've been reading manuscripts all afternoon and I'm hungry."
When Shi Xuehong heard Zhang Dening mention her, she was stunned.
She didn't expect that she would be included in the dinner.
The reason why she hadn't left yet was because the guest Zhang Dening hadn't left yet, and she wanted to see how long Zhang Dening would stay.
"Editor Zhang, I won't go. I..." Shi Xuehong waved her hands and declined.
But her refusal seemed to lack sincerity.
Zhang Dening put his arm around her and invited her warmly, "Sister Xuehong, let's go together."
"Just eat some dumplings or something. Let's make it clear first. I'll pay for the meal, but you guys have to pay for your meal tickets."
After Zhang Dening said this, Shi Xuehong readily agreed: "Okay, then I'll take advantage of it."
I, the invited guest, haven't even opened my mouth yet, but you've already agreed on my behalf, aren't you taking over the show a bit?
Although Cheng Xuyuan was complaining in his heart, since Shi Xuehong agreed, he didn't want to spoil the fun, so he said, "Editor Zhang, I'll pay for the meal."
"After all, you've been busy with my manuscript, so I should treat you."
Hearing Cheng Xuyuan say this, Zhang Dening thought to himself, you did say something honest.
If it weren't for the manuscript of "Desire", I would have asked you to treat me to this guest position.
But the manuscript has not been completed yet. If I ask you to do it, what should I do if you don’t give me the manuscript? So Zhang Dening waved his hand and said generously: "Sometimes our editors can reimburse some of the expenses for collecting manuscripts, so I’ll do it this time."
"If you feel bad about it, Teacher Cheng, you can wait until next time."
"After your "Desire" is published and you get the royalties, you can treat us to a nice meal. What do you think?"
Zhang Dening has said so much, Cheng Xuyuan has nothing more to say.
He smiled and said, "Okay, then you'll have to pay for this meal. I'll treat you to the next one."
Looking at the smile on Cheng Xuyuan's face, Zhang Dening felt helpless.
But then she comforted herself that a good editor would definitely take the authors out to dinner when collecting manuscripts.
However, what Cheng Xuyuan ate today, she will definitely eat double next time.
The key now is the manuscript of "Desire", she must get it.
After coming out of the office, Cheng Xuyuan and the other two walked towards the front door. Just as they went down the stairs, they happened to meet Luo Danian, the head of the folk art group.
When Luo Danian saw Cheng Xuyuan, he immediately smiled and said, "Xiao Cheng, when are you leaving for college? I'll see you off later."
Hearing this, Zhang Dening was stunned for a moment, then looked at Cheng Xuyuan.
The second update is here today. Thank you all for your support. There will be no additional updates today.
(End of this chapter)
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