Chapter 44

It was morning.

The atmosphere in the office area was extremely strange.

Tian Bin's face was filled with jealousy, and Jia Yan, the once spirited newcomer, was also feeling uneasy, with a sense of foreboding. The sudden surge in "Old and Young Story Time" had put immense pressure on them. Wu Datao was also frustrated that "Daily Entertainment" had been unprecedentedly pushed to second place under his watch!

Zhao Guozhou had not appeared in the office all day. Everyone thought that the leadership must have known about Zhang Ye's performance, but no one spoke up. They all maintained a silence, making it hard to discern their attitudes. According to the rules, whether a program was canceled or not depended solely on its ratings. Programs with consistently low ratings would be cut. However, there had never been a case where a program's ratings suddenly surged after being notified of its cancellation. How should this be handled? Cancel it? Not cancel it? The leadership remained silent, and no one could provide an answer. But not saying anything could also be a signal!

Xiao Fang called out, "Teacher Zhang, the recording studio is ready."

"Alright, thank you for your hard work. I'll be there right away," Zhang Ye turned off his computer monitor.

As soon as he stood up, Teacher Feng, who shared a desk with him, gave him a thumbs up, "Good luck, write another good story. The success or failure will be decided in the next two days." Old Feng had seen a glimmer of hope; perhaps this young Zhang could indeed bring about a miracle!

"I understand," Zhang Ye replied.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhang Ye went to the recording studio.

Zhang Ye had his own guesses about the leadership's intentions. Jia Yan was a relative of Deputy Director Jia and would definitely receive special treatment. Zhang Ye, on the other hand, was like a rootless reed and had even offended the station leadership, so he would not be treated favorably. This meant that if the ratings of the program dropped significantly over the weekend, the leadership would definitely cancel "Old and Young Story Time." However, if the ratings remained at 2.40% or even increased, the situation would be different. With the results there, no one could touch him!

How could he maintain the ratings?

Zhang Ye did not rush to record but spent a long time thinking in the recording studio. The current situation was good. Through the promotion of "Little Rabbit, Be Good" and the red-headed document from the education department, a large number of parents and listeners had flocked to his program. Zhang Ye's task was to retain these people and not let the enthusiasm fade. He also needed to lay the groundwork to keep his program!

Got it!

Serialize it!

In this world, serializing fairy tales might still be unfamiliar to many. To them, a story was a story, and once told, it was over. However, in Zhang Ye's world, serializing was quite common, with countless famous serialized stories.

Why choose serialization?

First, Zhang Ye wanted to gather popularity through serialization. For example, some sitcoms have each episode as a separate story with little continuity, which reduces the enthusiasm for watching. People can watch any day without missing much since each story is independent. However, with a serialized story, if one episode is missed, the story cannot be followed, which naturally increases the enthusiasm for listening. Second, the station had announced that his program would be canceled on Sunday. Zhang Ye deliberately chose a serialized story that would not be finished by Sunday, making it clear that he would not hand over the program, thus putting a stumbling block in front of the station. You can play dirty with me, but I can also play dirty with you!

This move might be a bit unethical, but Zhang Ye didn't care. If others treated him well, he would treat them well, but if they repeatedly tried to ruin him, he wouldn't care about professional ethics!

Which story to choose?

Zhang Ye's eyes twinkled, and he opened his game ring to check his reputation points, which were still plentiful. He had accumulated 200,000 reputation points from "Ghost Blows the Lamp" and the "Little Rabbit, Be Good" essay contest. The daily reputation points from "Midnight Ghost Stories" were not much, mainly due to the popularity from the essay contest. Spending 100,000 points on a "Memory Search Capsule" didn't hurt. After taking it, Zhang Ye immediately recalled the complete long fairy tale.

This one!

Start recording!

"Chapter 1: The Cyclone. Dorothy and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em lived in the middle of the great Kansas prairie. Uncle Henry was a farmer, and Aunt Em was his wife. Because the wood to build the house had to be brought by wagon from several miles away, it was not easy, so their house was small, with four walls, a roof, and one floor. Inside the house, there was a rusty stove for cooking, a cupboard for dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and two beds."

Yes, the fairy tale Zhang Ye chose was "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"!

Why choose it? Because Zhang Ye grew up reading this story. Although the translated name might cause some reading barriers, history had shown that it was not a problem, and children could fully accept it. The classic nature of this fairy tale goes without saying; almost no one in Zhang Ye's world didn't know it. Another reason Zhang Ye chose "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was that, unlike "Little Rabbit, Be Good" and "The Emperor's New Clothes," it was not limited to children under 12. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was a fairy tale suitable for all ages!

Boys? Girls?

Adults? Seniors?

All ages covered! This was extremely rare in fairy tales!

Zhang Ye still remembered that when he was a freshman in college, he and his parents enjoyed watching the animated and TV versions of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." His mother also liked it.

Some people might say "Snow White" is also...

Actually, it's different. "Snow White" is also a story that appeals to all ages, with many animated and movie adaptations. However, these are adaptations, like "Snow White and the Huntsman" and "Mirror Mirror," which are vastly different from the original. To be frank, the original "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" translated into Chinese is not the original, which is quite bloody. Let's not go into that.

From this perspective, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is rare in its inclusiveness across age groups!

If there had to be a flaw, it would be that "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was originally a play, not a fairy tale novel. This was indeed a bit risky, but risks had to be taken.

Zhang Ye was very clear that if "Old and Young Story Time" relied solely on children for its ratings, it would not be enough. For example, yesterday's program was mostly listened to by parents. If parents only listened to tell stories to their children, it would be too passive. It could work for a day or two, but in the long run, it would have drawbacks. Therefore, Zhang Ye had a big idea: he wanted to turn the parents into fans of his stories, telling a story that they would also enjoy. This would make the ratings of his program more stable!

"Chapter 2: The Council with the Munchkins."

"A sudden and violent shock awoke Dorothy. If she had not been lying on the soft bed, she might have been hurt. The shock made her hold her breath and anticipate that something had happened."

...

At noon, the program aired.

Many colleagues who were having lunch in the office all listened to "Old and Young Story Time" without exception. They had not paid much attention to this program before, but Zhang Ye's momentum was too strong. He was the top essayist, and the education department had helped promote him, resulting in a terrifyingly high rating. Everyone was curious, naturally, and wanted to know what was so special about Zhang Ye's fairy tales. Why were they so popular? They were just fairy tales, weren't they? How could they be different from what other children's literature authors told? Even the veteran fairy tale masters couldn't save the industry, which was declining. How could he do it?

However, after listening, almost everyone was amazed. They finally understood why Zhang Ye's essay had won first place in the education department's contest!

"Too good!"

"This young Zhang is amazing!"

"Is this a fairy tale? Why do I love it so much?"

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? Another original story by Teacher Zhang? I wonder how his brain works. He can write poetry, ghost stories, and fairy tales so well!"

A few female colleagues chatted together.

After a long discussion, a woman found Zhang Ye, who was eating his lunch, "Teacher Zhang, what happens next in 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'? Can you tell us in advance?"

Zhang Ye smiled awkwardly, "No, Sister Zhou, you can listen to it tomorrow."

Sister Zhou said, "We can't wait. My daughter already knows you're my colleague. She called me after listening to the program and asked me to get the next part from you. If you don't give it to me, I won't be able to explain to her when I get home. You decide what to do."

Zhang Ye scratched his head, "I really can't, Sister Zhou. I haven't even thought it through yet. You know I don't have a script. I just say what comes to mind. I haven't planned the next part yet. You can listen to it tomorrow." He found an excuse and managed to get rid of the women.

Some praised, and some shook their heads.

Jia Yan was one of those who did not approve. He secretly listened to Zhang Ye's program while having lunch downstairs. The story was decent, but... serialization? You're playing with serialization in fairy tales? Are you kidding? Even the fairy tale masters Tao Xueru and Xiao Hong Mushrooms wouldn't dare to do that! Do you think children's patience is the same as adults? Making children wait for a story to be finished? Is that possible? Children are impulsive; you're thinking too simply!

However, Jia Yan was happy. The more mistakes Zhang Ye made, the more it benefited him. He couldn't let his program fail to air; the time was set