[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of":3,"chapter-dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-9":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Dreaming Back to 1997: I Became the Forefather of Web Novels",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2348243,4589,"Chapter 9: The Idea of Publishing","dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-9",9,"\u003Cp>Two days later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Early morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the mist-shrouded sports field, Cao Sheng, wearing thin clothing, was running alone. In truth, there were other teachers and students doing morning exercises on the field, but he did not recognize any of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his original timeline, he did not have the habit of working out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When others told him that life lies in movement, he would always say that life lies in stillness, and would even cite the longevity of turtles as an example.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in his heart, he actually knew the benefits of exercise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was just lazy; he didn't want to move, didn't want to exert himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, he wanted to develop the habit of morning exercise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to possess a strong physique, wanted to have solid muscles, and hoped that the women in his future would blush, breathe rapidly, and swallow their saliva secretly when they saw his muscles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, he wanted to change his attitude toward life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A positive attitude toward life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, running was indeed very tiring; the more he ran, the more tired he became. In the chilly early morning, he managed to work up a sweat, and his legs were already aching and weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, he still gritted his teeth and persisted in finishing the one thousand meters he had scheduled for today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he returned to the dormitory covered in sweat, his seven roommates were still sleeping soundly in their beds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng smiled, picked up his washbasin, took his towel and soap, and grabbed his thermos to go to the washroom to freshen up. He took the opportunity to wash his hair and wipe down his entire upper body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although his body was quite exhausted, his mental state was excellent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After going to the canteen for breakfast and arriving at the classroom with his textbooks and notes, a few students were already scattered about the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were neither too many nor too few students in his class, totaling 42.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, 8 were girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of the 8 girls, only two could be called pretty, and that was only in comparison to the other six girls in their class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the girls in other classes at the school, the girls in their class were all very ordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let's put it this way! Among the 8 girls in their class, not a single one could surpass his high school classmate Tan Lei in appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was also because of this that Cao Sheng felt quite disappointed on his first day of university.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had originally thought that after entering university, the female classmates around him would be more numerous and prettier than in high school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who would have thought they couldn't compare at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made him regret choosing the accounting major.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As far as he knew, the major with the most girls and the most beauties at this Huizhou Teachers College was the Tourism Management major in the Tourism Department.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was said that the tourism class was practically a kingdom of women; the number of boys in each class could be counted on one hand, which was so blissful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, he found out too late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After entering his classroom, Cao Sheng chose a random empty seat in the back row and sat down. He flipped through the two books he had brought with him, looking uninterested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had long since grown tired of the accounting major.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He never wanted to be an accountant again in this life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, he had no interest in the courses he currently had to study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it weren't for needing to give his parents an explanation, he wouldn't even want to attend this university.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, he sat in his seat, frowning at his textbook. After looking at it for a while, his mind drifted away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought: Every time I spend a night at an internet cafe, it uses up three or four days of my living expenses. If this continues, my living expenses for this semester definitely won't last until the end of the term.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I must find a way to earn some money as soon as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't want to live frugally for the entire semester. As a transmigrator, if there was no meat in his food every day and he ate vegetarian meals daily, that would be a huge joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's just that...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before transmigrating, he was just a shut-in who spent his time typing away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from typing, he had very few skills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought about finding a small restaurant outside the school and using his spare time after studying every day to work part-time and earn some living expenses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he felt that earning money this way wouldn't yield much and was very tiring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not the best strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Find a wealthy girlfriend and live off a woman for a while?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This thought popped into his head again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't help but show a self-deprecating smile, thinking: Why do I always want to live off a woman? Is it because my stomach wasn't very good before I transmigrated?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, a fragrant breeze came to his side. When he smelled the fragrance and looked over, Wu Can, the prettiest girl in their class, sat down right next to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she sat down, she even turned her head and smiled at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This girl did indeed have some charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although she wasn't tall, looking to be under 1.6 meters, her skin was as fair and delicate as cream, and her face shape and features were quite good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was also quite fashionable, having dyed her hair yellow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In terms of dress and style, she was also clearly a cut above the other girls in the class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She seemed to come from a good family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she wasn't the type Cao Sheng liked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the original timeline, Wu Can had pursued Cao Sheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only did she often take the initiative to sit next to him during class, but she also asked him out in private, yet he had rejected her every time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, looking at Wu Can sitting beside him, Cao Sheng, who had just been wondering whether to find a wealthy girlfriend and live off her for a while, suddenly made up his mind: A real man would rather seek his fortune through upright means than beg for it through crooked paths! I will never live off a woman in this life, even if it kills me!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He discovered that he still couldn't get past that hurdle in his own heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he thought about having to please some woman every day just to scrape together three meals a day, he felt very resistant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Here! I bought an extra carton and can't drink it, could you help me finish it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, Wu Can placed a carton of milk on the desk in front of him and said with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng chuckled. He didn't refuse, reached out to take it, inserted the straw, and put it in his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thanks!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he had decided not to live off a woman, he wouldn't deliberately refuse Wu Can's milk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as he kept in mind not to live off a woman, that was enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Midnight that day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng came to the Starry Sky Internet Cafe again to spend the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today was the day he was updating the second chapter of his new book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would also take the opportunity to upload a portion of his saved drafts to his email.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the computer turned on, the first thing he did was log into Banyan Tree to check the status of the new book he had published two days ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Very quickly, he found his book, *The Days of Living with a Flight Attendant*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he expected, the current data for this book was dismal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Number of readers: 44.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there were 16 comments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng curiously read through these comments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is this for real? Did the author really live with a flight attendant?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Chapter one? Is there a second chapter? A third chapter? What happens next? Why isn't there a continuation yet?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is this a story? Or is it a diary?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where is the second chapter?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Living together? When are they going to live together?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Isn't living together illegal in our country?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading these comments, a smile appeared on Cao Sheng's face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He found it quite interesting that these readers couldn't even distinguish whether this was a story or a diary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This naive appearance made him laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought: Is this the reaction everyone had when the first web novel appeared?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking that these readers had waited for two days without seeing an update, and that they were quite pitiful, he didn't delay any further. He logged into his email, pulled up the draft for the second chapter, and posted it to Banyan Tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, he opened a document and began inputting the saved drafts from his manuscript paper into the file.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While typing, he thought to himself: This book probably won't be able to make money in the short term. Should I start another one soon that is suitable for publication? Try submitting it to a publisher in Wanwan to earn some royalties?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He remembered that in the original timeline, before the Qidian Chinese Network introduced a paid system, web novel authors who wanted to make money would submit their work to publishers in Wanwan for publication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around the year 2000, quite a few web novel authors made money by publishing in Wanwan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It's just that...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is now early 1998.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The book he was writing, *The Days of Living with a Flight Attendant*, could be considered the first web novel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The publishers in Wanwan probably hadn't started publishing web novels yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How about... submitting *The Days of Living with a Flight Attendant* over there and seeing what happens?\u003C\u002Fp>",1648,"2026-06-21T01:55:54.452Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","38f6359158edc6d7b43f8876bdcec6348d3d48ea775d6d04f1bdb4090a300e19","dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-10","dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-8",338,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-cover.jpg"]