Chapter 76 of 100

Chapter 76

16 min read4,077 words

When Luoyang said he wanted to submit a manuscript, Luo Dashan couldn't help but laugh and said, "Don't be silly, you should focus on your studies. Uncle knows you want to help, but it's not as simple as you think. It's better for you to graduate steadily and find a good job in the future."

The tone of his lecture was just like his mother's. Luoyang didn't argue; he just smiled and said, "Alright, I understand."

After this topic, the two of them chatted about some trivial matters. Most of the talking was done by Luo Dashan, while Luoyang listened. From Luo Dashan's words, it was clear that he cared a lot about his nephew.

Five minutes later, the uncle and nephew found a restaurant to eat at. They ordered a table full of dishes, and Luo Dashan even added a bottle of high-proof liquor.

"Would you like to have a couple of drinks with Uncle?" Luo Dashan pointed to the bottle of liquor on the table and said with a smile.

Luoyang nodded, opened the bottle, and filled Uncle's glass first, then his own. "Uncle, I'll drink first as a sign of respect."

Saying that, Luoyang drank the glass of liquor without turning red or panting.

"Your alcohol tolerance is pretty good. When did you develop it?" Luo Dashan was quite surprised to see Luoyang easily finish a glass of liquor without even gasping for breath.

"Usually, I drink with my classmates," Luoyang said casually.

"Try to drink less in the future. You're the most promising kid in our family, and you can't end up like me," Luo Dashan said, falling into his usual talkative habit.

"I'll be careful," Luoyang replied. In fact, Luoyang hadn't met many people who could drink more than him.

Luo Dashan weighed the bottle of liquor, raised his glass, and drank it in one gulp.

However, Luo Dashan's alcohol tolerance was clearly not as high as Luoyang's. After one glass, he immediately sucked in a cold breath, and his face quickly turned red.

Seeing that Luo Dashan's alcohol tolerance was average, Luoyang was about to advise him to drink less, but Luo Dashan quickly refilled his glass and said to Luoyang, "Come on, let's have another one."

Luoyang had no choice but to pour more and continue drinking with him.

For a while, the two of them drank a lot but didn't eat much.

After a few glasses, Luo Dashan's head started to get fuzzy, and his speech began to slur. "Luoyang, when you enter society, remember to be more cautious. This world is full of treachery..."

Luoyang seemed to sense some unspoken troubles and asked subconsciously, "Uncle, did something happen?"

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or perhaps it was Luoyang's composure, but Luo Dashan's floodgates opened. "It's just the company's mess. If it weren't for someone causing trouble, I wouldn't be in such a difficult position, and I wouldn't have been transferred to this branch that's always on the brink of dissolution."

"Branch?" Luoyang was slightly taken aback.

He had thought that *Xiake Magazine* was just a small, individually-run publication, but it turned out to be a branch of a larger magazine.

"Our *Xiake Magazine* may not be well-known, but you must have heard of *Xiake Jianghu*?" Luo Dashan took a bite of stir-fried meat and said with a slurred tongue.

Luoyang nodded.

He had never heard of *Xiake Magazine*, but *Xiake Jianghu* was familiar to him.

*Xiake Jianghu* was a major magazine that serialized martial arts novels, and its annual sales had once ranked third in the country. However, with the decline of martial arts novels, it had gradually fallen.

But even a dying camel is still bigger than a horse. Although *Xiake Jianghu*'s sales had plummeted in recent years, it was still a well-known major magazine in the country, and martial arts novel enthusiasts still had a deep affection for it.

Luo Dashan said, "Our *Xiake Magazine* is a branch of *Xiake Jianghu*."

"This..." Luoyang was surprised that the shabby *Xiake Magazine* was actually a branch of *Xiake Jianghu*.

Luo Dashan explained, "The works serialized in *Xiake Jianghu* are all long martial arts novels, which have a high reader retention rate. Our *Xiake Magazine* specializes in short martial arts stories, but unfortunately, few people can write excellent short stories, so *Xiake Magazine* is struggling and faces the risk of dissolution."

Luoyang finally understood the reason.

It seemed that *Xiake Jianghu*, which once had extremely high sales, had ambitious plans, creating a branch magazine to focus on short martial arts stories.

Unfortunately, while long martial arts novels were not difficult to write, short martial arts stories were rarely well-written.

With the decline of martial arts novels, even long martial arts novels were no longer popular, let alone the less appealing short martial arts stories. This was destined to be a failed attempt.

"Who pushed you into such a difficult branch?" Luoyang asked.

"It's not exactly a push..."

Luo Dashan suddenly blushed, whether from the alcohol or embarrassment. He lowered his head and muttered, "I was provoked and impulsively volunteered to come here..."

Luoyang couldn't help but smile.

Or perhaps every martial arts enthusiast had a bit of a middle-schooler's mentality deep down?

"Then... do you want to go back?" Luoyang asked, but received no answer.

He heard a light snore and realized that Luo Dashan had already fallen asleep on the table, drunk.

"This alcohol tolerance is really something," Luoyang chuckled, seeing Luo Dashan sleeping soundly. He had encountered similar situations before, like when Liu Qin got drunk in front of him...

Or perhaps, having too good an alcohol tolerance was also a flaw?

Roughly estimating, Luo Dashan must weigh at least 160 pounds. If he was drunk, would Luoyang have to carry him back?

Well, the task was challenging, but with the help of the restaurant staff, Luoyang used all his strength to get Luo Dashan into a taxi.

Just as they returned to the shabby small magazine office, they ran into the editor-in-chief who had scolded Luo Dashan earlier.

"How did he get so drunk?" The editor-in-chief hurried over to help Luoyang support the swaying Luo Dashan.

"I didn't expect Uncle's alcohol tolerance to be so poor, and he kept pulling me to drink," Luoyang said, rubbing his sore shoulders and smiling bitterly.

"Ah," the editor-in-chief sighed. "He must be feeling down. Your uncle is capable, but he's being underutilized here."

"You..."

"My name is Zhou Hai," the editor-in-chief said.

"Hello, Editor Zhou. Please take care of my uncle," Luoyang said politely, sensing that Zhou Hai was a decent person.

Zhou Hai nodded and said, "I just received an order from headquarters. If our magazine doesn't improve next month, it will be forcibly dissolved. I've already resigned, and your uncle will become the new editor-in-chief, but it will probably only last a month... When the time comes, please try to comfort your uncle."

Luoyang was taken aback and then nodded thoughtfully.

(Thank you all for your support. I love you, and I also thank Shengsi Zhenjun and Wǒ Ài de Rén Píng for your encouragement. However, too many encouragement tickets can cause indigestion *^◎^*!!)

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