Chapter 97: Sales Top One Million

Two days later.

At Huachengchubanshe, the head of the marketing department was listening to a phone call when his expression turned one of great surprise; by the time he hung up, his expression had become very excited.

He immediately left his office with hurried steps, walking quickly and almost jogging toward the general manager's office.

"Knock, knock!"

He knocked on the door of the general manager's office.

From inside came the voice of the general manager, Xu Zhiwen, "Come in!"

He pushed the door open and reported to Xu Zhiwen, who was looking down at documents, with an excited expression, "General Manager Xu! Good news! Incredible news! I just received word that the total sales of the book we published, *Living with an Air Hostess*, have officially topped one million copies today! One million! This is a truly remarkable achievement; these sales, these sales are simply fucking insane!"

Xu Zhiwen stopped his pen, frowned, and looked up at the department head with an unhappy expression, "Watch your language! If it's insane, it's insane—don't add extra words! Do you still want any professionalism?"

Before the other could reply, a smile appeared on Xu Zhiwen's face, "It really topped one million copies?"

The marketing department head nodded repeatedly, "Yes! Really! It truly topped one million copies!"

Immediately, he asked tentatively, "General Manager Xu, seeing as sales are this good, should we say something to the media we are familiar with? Let them help us promote it?"

Xu Zhiwen's eyes turned strange, "Does that even need asking? With sales this good, of course we must let the media report it! It can promote our publishing house, prove our capabilities to the outside world, and use this news to further stimulate the book's sales—a win-win situation, of course we must promote it!"

The marketing department head smiled, "General Manager Xu, that's what I thought too, but since Zhongyuan Yidianhui didn't agree to our request for a manuscript last time, I was afraid you might have an opinion about him and wouldn't want to promote his work!"

Xu Zhiwen laughed and waved his hand, "Those are two different things! Am I that petty in your eyes? Besides, when our publishing house faces new writers, the initiative is in our hands, but when facing a well-known writer like Zhongyuan Yidianhui, we are no different from a man pursuing a beautiful woman; we need to put in serious effort and do everything to please them, and only then, through our strength and sincerity, might we win the other's heart!

Now the initiative is in the other party's hands; if we throw a tantrum or give him attitude, that means we are completely out of the game and there will be no possibility of cooperation in the future, do you understand?"

The marketing department head nodded repeatedly, "General Manager Xu is wise!"

Xu Zhiwen laughed, "Alright, I know about this. I will call Old Wang from the publicity department over immediately. Subsequent promotion matters will be handled by Old Wang; you don't need to worry about it!"

Marketing department head: "Understood, General Manager Xu!"

The people of the country had just finished the New Year and the Lantern Festival and were still immersed in the lingering atmosphere of the holidays.

Dozens of domestic media outlets began reporting the news that the total sales of *Living with an Air Hostess* had topped one million.

Along with it, the two names "Zhongyuan Yidianhui" and "Cao Sheng" leaped into the eyes of countless people.

Old Zhang was a gatekeeper, and the unit's daily newspapers were always delivered to his guard room first.

Gradually, he developed the habit of reading the newspapers.

It was free anyway; might as well read it.

As a result, for over half a month, he could see *Living with an Air Hostess* and the pen name Zhongyuan Yidianhui in different newspapers almost every day, and occasionally he could even see the name "Cao Sheng."

When he first saw this news in the paper, he didn't pay it any mind.

When he saw the same news in several papers the next day, he sighed, "Newspapers these days are really messing around. A novel written by a young man not even 20 years old is being bragged about like this—aren't they afraid of the bragging blowing up in their faces!"

On the third and fourth day, when he saw this news in the *Dagong Bao*, *Jingcheng Daily*, *Guangming Daily*, and other newspapers, Old Zhang couldn't believe his eyes.

Even newspapers of this caliber are reporting this?

Could it be that the novel written by that young man is really that impressive?

Living with an air hostess...

Is cohabitation not illegal now? And it can be written into a book and sell like crazy? Which air hostess is so indiscreet? Can she still get married after this?

When he saw this report in different newspapers every day for over half a month, Old Zhang became numb.

Only occasionally, when he saw the news, would he sigh, "Young people these days are really something. To achieve such great success at such a young age, the ancestral graves must be emitting green smoke..."

Over half a month of continuous reporting made *Living with an Air Hostess* popular across the country once again.

It also made the name Zhongyuan Yidianhui known to countless people.

Under the influence of the media's competing reports, Zhongyuan Yidianhui had become the number one young writer in the country.

The news headlines were more exaggerated than the last.

Such as: "The biggest surprise in the Chinese literary world at the end of the 20th century!"

"*Living with an Air Hostess* looks down upon all rivals!"

"Peak at debut; his first book's sales topped one million copies!"

"If you haven't read *Living with an Air Hostess*, you're out!"

"Zhongyuan Yidianhui, the new flag-bearer of the literary world!"

"Sales top one million; a brilliant new star rises in the literary world!"

The sales of *Living with an Air Hostess* also, as Huachengchubanshe expected, hit new highs under the stimulation of these news reports.

For a time, various large and small publishing houses in the country once again vied to request manuscripts from Cao Sheng. The prices they offered were higher than the last.

But this also provoked a group of traditional writers and professors, who spoke out in the media one after another to criticize and condemn *Living with an Air Hostess* and Zhongyuan Yidianhui.

All kinds of criticisms were rampant.

A certain traditional writer: "University students today are too shameless. At such a young age, instead of studying hard at university, they are actually living with an air hostess. Living together is one thing, but to write such trash into a novel is simply a decline in public morals. Back when we were in university, we were all focused on studying hard!"

Another traditional writer: "I looked at this book for two seconds and couldn't go on! The writing is too plain! There is absolutely no aesthetic beauty to the prose. Furthermore, the opening is about two young people in the prime of their lives not working or studying seriously, but actually drinking and flirting in a bar. This attitude toward life is too negative; we must criticize it!"

A certain university professor: "Social atmosphere needs to be maintained by each and every one of us! When talented young people write things to prove their value, they must also be careful whether their works will damage our social atmosphere. It should be positive, healthy, and uplifting! Not relying on a bit of talent to write some novel about living with an air hostess. This is very vulgar! It is selling vulgarity to the masses with low cultural levels! Making dirty money!"

A certain professor who writes part-time: "I am very pained! Many of our old writers carefully select topics and pour their blood and sweat into creating good works that require self-funding to be published. After publication, the publishing house doesn't promote them well, and they simply don't sell. Yet, some vulgar, nutrient-less novels written by young people can be so popular, and the publishing houses promote them vigorously, and the media blindly sucks up to them without any integrity, propping up a love novel with no artistic or educational value to such a high level.

Is this a good thing?

If this continues, it will cause a phenomenon of bad money driving out good! It will also mislead many of our young readers. As for that Cao Sheng who wrote this novel, I don't think it's a good thing either! He is so young and has become famous and made big money so early—can he handle it? Perhaps he was only fantasizing about living with an air hostess, but now that he is famous and rich, he might actually go and live with an air hostess! This will ruin him!"