Chapter 28

A week later.

Zhang Ye was forcibly given a break by a vice-director of the cultural frequency. The leader almost laughed and cried as he ordered him to rest for two days, not allowing this guy to come to work. Why? Because for this week, Zhang Ye had been working like a madman. Every day, he would first book the daytime recording studio, and if he couldn't book it for too long, he would book the night studio. He would find the relevant person in charge, get the key, and work overtime at night, recording more than fifty episodes of "Ghost Blows Out the Light." Adding the previous episodes, he had already completed over sixty episodes of the recording work, and it was almost finished.

During this time, each episode that aired on schedule brought Zhang Ye a total of 200,000 reputation points. Then there were the click rates of several poems that spread online, continuously contributing reputation points, totaling about 300,000. Zhang Ye used all of it to buy "Memory Search Capsules," a total of three capsules, which allowed him to solidify his memory of all the text in "Ghost Blows Out the Light," not missing a single word. The recording naturally went smoothly, and he delivered the entire script from memory. In seven days, his colleagues at the station had already gotten used to this "freak."

From shock to surprise, from surprise to amazement, and from amazement to numbness!

In the end, everyone had become accustomed to Zhang Ye's astonishing performance!

There were only a few more episodes left to record. In the world Zhang Ye originally came from, after "Ghost Blows Out the Light" became a bestseller, radio stations also recorded the novel, which took about four to five hundred episodes. Why did he only need less than a hundred episodes to finish? The reason was that in the previous world, the ghost story program was called "Midnight Surprise," which was a half-hour program, meaning it was about twenty minutes or even less when put into the novel. However, in this world, "Midnight Ghost Stories" was a one-hour program, and Zhang Ye's speaking speed was much faster than the average person, so the number of episodes naturally shortened.

...

Early in the morning.

Zhang Ye brushed his teeth and washed his face. Seven days of continuous overtime and disrupted sleep schedules left him in poor spirits. He smoked a cigarette to stay alert but still yawned frequently.

There was no need to work so hard.

But why did Zhang Ye work so hard? There were four reasons.

First, he had to live up to the leadership's trust!

Second, he had to live up to the listeners' love!

Third, finishing the recording early meant getting the bonus sooner!

As for the fourth... well, the fourth point was that the first and second points were actually not important at all!

After checking his online bank account for the salary and bonus that had just been issued, Zhang Ye immediately felt more energetic. Thinking that he hadn't been home for a long time, he went downstairs, took the subway, and headed home.

His parents lived in Cai Shi Kou, in a not-so-new, not-so-old neighborhood.

As soon as he walked to his building, he ran into a few old neighbors.

"Hey, isn't this Xiao Ye? You're back? We haven't seen you for a long time," an old lady said.

Zhang Ye greeted her, "Good morning, Aunt Zhou. I moved out last month and have been busy with work, so I haven't come back."

"Your parents said you started working at the radio station?" Another old man waved his fan. "That's a good place, a government job. Work hard."

"Sure, I will," Zhang Ye chatted for a bit before going upstairs.

He pressed the doorbell, and his mother opened the door, looking a bit unhappy. "It's been a month, and you still remember to come home?"

Zhang Ye quickly put on a smile. "I just wanted to come back after achieving something. Where's Dad? Is he off today?"

"He's reading the newspaper," his mother kicked a pair of slippers to him.

Zhang Ye bent down to put them on and entered the living room, where he saw his father sitting on the sofa with the Beijing Evening News. "Dad, I'm back. Are you and Mom okay?"

His father, who rarely spoke, asked, "How's your work?"

Zhang Ye was quite pleased. "It's going well. This month's salary has been issued, and with the bonus, it's 18,000 yuan."

"What?" His mother perked up, her worries turning to joy. "That much? You're still in the probationary period, right? You haven't even been officially hired yet?"

Zhang Ye smiled. "The salary isn't much, but the bonus is. Five thousand is for contribution, and eight thousand is for performance. With the salary and allowance, it adds up to that much."

"My son is doing well," his mother beamed. "I always said my son would be successful!"

His father sternly said, "Don't be proud. This is nothing."

His mother winked at Zhang Ye and nodded. "Listen to your father. He listens to your show every night. Sometimes he wakes me up in the middle of the night, and he won't lower the volume. He also listened to the episode where you saved a girl with modern poetry. He kept praising your modern poetry skills and even memorized a few of your poems. I didn't understand them, though."

His father's face changed. "Are you always so talkative?"

His mother huffed. "I'm just telling the truth. Why are you glaring at me? Do you have big eyes or something?"

Zhang Ye chuckled. The recognition from his family was the greatest encouragement for him. "It's almost noon. Dad, Mom, let's go out to eat today. I finally earned my first month's salary, so I definitely have to treat you both. Let's go!"

His mother was pleased. "Okay, I'll let my son treat me."

His father initially said he wouldn't go, worried about spending too much money, as their financial situation wasn't that good. But with Zhang Ye and his mother persistently urging him, he eventually changed his clothes.

Downstairs.

His mother took out her phone. "I'll check if there are any good restaurants nearby."

Zhang Ye asked, "What are you using?"

"Review website. I just learned it from a colleague," his mother fumbled with her phone.

Zhang Ye scoffed, looking down on his mother. "Review website? You're so outdated. What era is this? That's not scientific or accurate. Watch me!" Zhang Ye took out a pen he had with him, threw it into the air, and pointed in the direction it landed, toward a restaurant across the street. "This one is good!"

His mother: "..."

His father said, "Can't you, a college student, stop being so superstitious?"

Zhang Ye stubbornly said, "Trust me, this one is definitely good. I've never been wrong with this method. Otherwise, how do you think I got such a high score on my college entrance English exam?"

The restaurant was quite large, and there were many people.

The three of them were led to a table by a server.

The female server politely asked, "What would you like to order?"

His mother casually said, "Son, you order. Don't get anything too expensive, it's not necessary."

Zhang Ye nodded. With a small fortune of 20,000 yuan, he was now a little rich man. What was the point of keeping so much money? It was for spending. Besides, he was somewhat of a public figure now and needed to maintain his image. So he said confidently, "What's the most expensive dish you have?"

The female server was surprised. "The most expensive?"

Zhang Ye nodded. "Yes, just tell me!"

The female server hesitated. "Sweet and sour mandarin fish is quite expensive. Depending on the size, it's usually around 200 to 300 yuan. We also have abalone, which is 120 yuan per serving. How many servings would you like?"

Zhang Ye snapped his fingers. "Very good, very good. I'll have... a plate of Kung Pao chicken, a plate of fish-flavored pork, and three bowls of rice. That's it!"

The female server almost fainted. After all that, you don't want it?

As soon as the server left, his mother was embarrassed. "Why did you ask if you didn't want it?"

Zhang Ye coughed. "I didn't expect it to be so expensive. You said not to get anything too expensive, right? We still have to live, so this is enough."

His mother was angry. "You're too stingy!"

His father interjected, "Isn't that because he learned from you? You two are both money-grubbers!"