Chapter 309: What Exactly Does He Want to Do?

Time flew by, and soon two months had passed.

Just as Akiwara Yuto expected, the book *All She Was Worth* was successfully shortlisted for the Uemura Prize and published in major newspapers.

However, unlike the last time he was shortlisted, for this time being shortlisted for the Uemura Prize, although the public expressed admiration, the degree of amazement was far less than before.

After all, in the past year, Akiwara Yuto had frequently appeared in newspaper news, which had made people a bit aesthetically fatigued.

And in the detective fan circle, the sales of his works had already proven his status.

In fact, many people now subconsciously think of the name Akiwara Yuto when they think of detective fiction.

So when seeing this news, a small number of uninformed people were still puzzled.

That guy Akiwara Yuto hasn't won the Uemura Prize yet?

Besides the public, many book reviewers were even more convinced that he would directly win the Uemura Prize.

After all, the other shortlisted works were far inferior to Akiwara Yuto's *All She Was Worth* in terms of reputation and sales.

But for some people, this matter was very bad.

Jingfan Publisher, Business Intelligence Department.

Reiko Shimoku looked at the news in the newspaper, her brows furrowed into a "chuan" shape, and her hand crumpled the newspaper into a ball.

She couldn't understand why Akiwara Yuto could be so productive?!

Generally speaking, even the most excellent writers only release 1-2 works a year, and not every one of them is necessarily a hit.

But Akiwara Yuto completely broke this common sense; in the nearly two years since his debut, the number of works he wrote was equivalent to the accumulation of other writers for more than ten years.

Not only that, every one of his works could sell well.

You know, a book with annual sales of more than 500,000 copies can support a medium-sized publisher.

And Akiwara Yuto had written so many books in these two years, occupying half of the detective publishing market.

By today, the other party was only one step away from the highest award in the detective literary circle, the Uemura Prize.

However, if there were no accidents, this award would still fall on his head.

At that step, it is estimated that there will be another bestselling work!

Seeing her superior's expression, her subordinate, Daizo Kakino, said: "Executive Shimoku, regarding the Uemura Prize, can our Keihan Publisher push for this award to be given to our own work? For example, by bribing the judges?"

In Kakino Daizo's view, the Uemura Prize was after all an award chosen by people; as long as Jingfan Publisher pushed it from above, maybe they could change the opinions of the judges.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Saime Reiko put down the newspaper and looked at her subordinate with disdain, suspecting that his brain had been kicked by a donkey.

She continued: "Bribe the judges?! What do you use to bribe them? If you can afford it, how much money do you need to spend? Do you think those old guys really only want money?"

As a member of the publisher, she knew the temperament of some writers very clearly.

For those old writers, fame and the prosperity of the school were what they pursued.

And if you took money to bribe others, you might even get spat in the face.

Saime Reiko looked at Kakino Daizo's seemingly disapproving expression, and felt even more angry in her heart.

"We are not the only publisher eyeing the Uemura Prize. If we do this, it will give other three publishers of the Kejiaoguan an excuse. Once exposed, it will be a huge news scandal!"

She paused and said again: "Have you forgotten the *Tokyo Literature* incident of Toei Publisher?"

After listening to the reprimand, Kakino Daizo subconsciously broke out in a cold sweat.

At that time, *Weekly Bunshun* exposed the ghostwriting incident of *Tokyo Literature*, which caused the magazine's sales to plummet, and even the TV series it cooperated with was cut.

As the publisher, Toei Publisher had to adjust the editor-in-chief and deputy editor-in-chief of *Tokyo Literature* to apologize to the public.

If Jingfan Publisher really bribed the Uemura Prize judges and was exposed, it might be worse than their fate.

"I was wrong!" Kakino Daizo lowered his head.

Saime Reiko sighed and asked: "Is there any feedback from the personnel arranged to Tsutaya Bookstore?"

Kakino Daizo nodded, then took out a document, handed it to Saime Reiko, and after the latter took it, he explained.

"Tsutaya Bookstore Publisher seems to be planning to open a second-hand chain bookstore?"

Saime Reiko was stunned. A second-hand bookstore, what is this?

Publishers publish first-hand books, which has nothing to do with second-hand bookstores.

And with the two major distributors reducing shipments now, Akiwara Yuto should also find ways to contact other medium distributors or do direct sales business.

She had been worried for a long time, but the other party was actually doing such an unprofessional business as a second-hand bookstore.

For a moment, she even suspected that Akiwara Yuto wanted to give in.

Kakino Daizo looked at his superior's face, finding it blue and white, so he said: "According to the personnel we arranged, Tsutaya Bookstore provided two plans,

One is to directly participate in training and be sent to other places to become a bookstore clerk under them, with an annual salary of about 3.5 million yen.

The second is to prove that you have a certain bookstore management experience, and you can get a low-interest loan of 5 million yen to become a cooperative chain store manager."

"That's all?"

Saime Reiko asked.

She still couldn't understand what Akiwara Yuto was thinking.

Could it be that he was optimistic about the future of the second-hand book market, so he wanted to get involved?

"Yes, that's all," Kakino Daizo nodded.

"However, one thing also happened, that is, the two distributors fed back to us that they encountered some problems when stocking the book *All She Was Worth*."

"Problem?"

Kakino Daizo replied: "Yes, in early November, the inventory of the two distributors was almost cleared, but when they ordered from Tsutaya Bookstore, they were told that each could only order 10,000 copies."

Hearing this, Saime Reiko's first reaction was that something was wrong.

Although giving each of the two 10,000 copies sounded like "revenge," in reality, it was also harmful to the publisher itself.

After all, most bookstores' stocking channels can only be distributors. If they can't get goods, they can only promote other works.

And as time goes by, readers themselves will lose interest in this book.

"Do Tokyo Hanbai and Nihon Hanbai have any opinions?" Saime Reiko looked at her subordinate and asked.

Kakino Daizo shook his head, "They think Tsutaya Bookstore wants to make this book a limited edition, so they are deliberately reducing the number of editions."

Hearing this explanation, Saime Reiko thought for a while.

Some writers and publishers, for special reasons, do indeed make limited or collector's editions.

But since Akiwara Yuto's debut, it seems he has never done so.

But it's hard to say, maybe he believes he will definitely win this Uemura Prize, so he wants to make a limited edition as a souvenir?

So is it really that she thought too much.

Saime Reiko became more and more puzzled, and her brows were squeezed together.

Damn it, what exactly does Akiwara Yuto want to do? ===== CHAPTER 310 =====