Chapter 57

But may we all be blessed with longevity?

Though miles apart, we can share the beauty of the moon together.

Zhang Ye had finished reciting his poem, and the lingering sound still resonated. The audience, as if their skin was crawling, fell silent like cicadas in winter! The entire grand hall was filled with the echo of the microphone!

The moment the poem was recited, it stunned the entire hall!

Meng Dongguo was stunned halfway through!

Even the teachers from the Writers' Association, such as Da Lei and Xiao Hong Mushroom, were dumbfounded!

Not to mention them, the atmosphere in the entire hall made it clear that every single audience member was suddenly silent. Even the host Zhang Huo was so shocked that he held the microphone without speaking, and the female host Sun Mengjie, with wide-open eyes, didn't even notice when the microphone slipped from her hand and fell heavily onto the red carpet of the stage. Only when the microphone hit the carpet with a heavy thud did she come to her senses. Then, everyone was pulled back to reality by this sound, as if they had just climbed down from the moon in Zhang Ye's poem!

Wow!

The cheers suddenly burst out!

"Great poem!"

"Wow!"

"Heaven! What did I just hear!"

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

"Too amazing! This poem is just incredible!"

Some people even stood up involuntarily, shouting their approval!

Even Zhao Guozhou, the director, and Wang Xiaomei below were amazed!

Only to hear Aunt Zhou exclaim, "Such a great poem! Did Teacher Zhang really create it on the spot? My God! My Buddha! My Guanyin Bodhisattva! My Jesus! My Lord!" She seemed to believe in many religions, all kinds of them. "The poem 'The Seagull' was created on the spot, 'The Bird and the Fish' and 'A Generation' were improvised, 'Seeing or Not Seeing' was written at the time, and this one was also created on the spot? How is that possible! What kind of brain does this Teacher Zhang have?"

Whoosh!

No one knew who started the applause first! The applause was thunderous!

This is not an exaggeration! It was really like thunder, as if the ceiling of the entire hall was about to be lifted off! No other sound could be heard except for the applause!

What was so good about this poem? Many laymen might not be able to explain it, but they knew it was definitely good.

Only Meng Dongguo and Zheng Anbang knew the true level of this poem. It was written so brilliantly, revolving around the bright moon of Mid-Autumn, weaving the joys and sorrows of human life into a philosophical pursuit of the universe and life!

When did the moon first appear? Raising a cup to ask the blue sky.

I wonder what year it is in the celestial palace?

Each line was a classic, each line carried a divine charm. Some lines required repeated contemplation to understand their profound meaning! For example, the line "riding the wind to return," why use the word "return"? The few people from the Writers' Association didn't understand it at first, but as they listened, they gradually understood. The word "return" was a stroke of genius, expressing that the original author, Zhang Ye, did not consider himself an ordinary person but a celestial being, transcending the world, thus "returning" to the celestial palace rather than going to the celestial hall. It seemed arrogant, but the essence of the poem transcended the world, elevating it to a whole new level! Plus, the final line, the dozen or so teachers and writers from the Writers' Association were already stunned speechless!

Zhang Ye?

Who is he?

Who is this person?

Except for Meng Dongguo, Xiao Hong Mushroom, and a few others who knew a little about Zhang Ye, the other teachers from the Writers' Association didn't recognize him at all, and they had never even heard of him before. So they were all extremely shocked. How could someone who could write such a poem be an unknown? How could he be a newcomer they had never heard of? Moreover, they had prepared for this Mid-Autumn poetry recital for many days, but this person was called up on the spot! He had no preparation time at all! Just this one move! No one here felt they could do it! Not to mention writing such a stunning poem!

When did the poetry world produce such a formidable person!

The applause lasted for two whole minutes before it finally subsided!

"Zhang Ye!"

"Zhang Ye!"

"Zhang Ye!"

"Zhang Ye!"

Then, the shouts rang out in unison, many people shouting Zhang Ye's name, cheering for him, supporting him!

Why?

Because Meng Dongguo had been too bullying before!

Denying Zhang Ye in public? Saying he was an amateur? Calling him out to come up? Trying to point out his mistakes and teach everyone how to write poems and lyrics? Don't forget, this was the Beijing Radio Station, Zhang Ye's workplace. Seeing a colleague being bullied like this, everyone was a bit angry! Now, seeing Zhang Ye display such a divine poem, everyone was like they had been injected with adrenaline, cheering him on. On the surface, they were shouting Zhang Ye's name to cheer for him, but in reality, they were mocking Meng Dongguo and Da Lei and the others!

Deputy Director Jia's face darkened, and he stood up, clapping his hands forcefully. This was still a live broadcast, what were they doing!

Seeing the leadership step in, everyone stopped shouting and gradually sat down, waiting to see what would happen next!

Host Zhang Huo finally got a chance to speak, taking a deep breath, he said, "Teacher Zhang Ye, what is the name of your poem? Can you tell us?"

Zhang Ye smiled, "It's called 'Tune: Prelude to Water Melody.'"

Sun Mengjie said, "I don't know how to evaluate it. I'm a layman and don't understand poetry, but I didn't even notice when the microphone fell. You should know how much I love this poem. Really, I love it to death. This poem is beautiful to the extreme!"

Zhang Ye, who always liked to stir things up, said, "It's okay, you're a layman, but we have experts here, the professional teachers from the Writers' Association." Turning his head, he looked at Meng Dongguo and Da Lei, who had already returned to their seats, but Zhang Ye found them immediately, "Teacher Meng, Teacher Da Lei, the two teachers said my work lacks literary quality and that I might not be good at writing poetry. Yes, I admit I'm a beginner and an amateur. I humbly seek guidance from the teachers to help me improve. This is the poetry evaluation segment, can you give me some pointers?"

Zhang Huo almost burst out laughing.

Sun Mengjie was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Upon hearing this, Da Lei almost spat out a mouthful of blood, almost cursing. "You damn it! What guidance are you talking about!"

Find problems? Point out flaws? I haven't even fully understood this poem yet! Where am I supposed to find flaws for you! Although he was angry, this anger was more out of embarrassment. Objectively speaking, Da Lei had to admit that Zhang Ye's poem was perfect, and no one, not just them, could find any flaws. Zhang Ye was mocking them!

Meng Dongguo was even more direct, whispering to a young writer from the Writers' Association, pretending not to hear Zhang Ye's words.

The people who had been making a fuss before were now silent!

Faced with such a poem that moved heaven and earth, they couldn't say anything!

Seeing this, Zhang Ye also found it meaningless and saw no need to say more. He had already spoken through his work, and this was a live broadcast, with many listeners. Zhang Ye didn't want to say too much, as too much talk could lead to mistakes and put him in a passive position. Although the words he just said were clearly a counterattack, he had been careful, always admitting he was an amateur and a beginner seeking guidance. No one could say anything about it. So he handed the microphone back to the host and prepared to leave the stage.

Zhang Huo, being warm-hearted, said, "Teacher Zhang, although we have entered the second poetry evaluation segment, it is still part of the Mid-Autumn poetry recital. Your poem will definitely be voted on by the netizens. Do you want to campaign for votes?"

Zhang Ye turned and smiled, "No, it's fine."

No need to campaign for votes? Meng Dongguo and the others had all campaigned for votes, but you don't need to?

Zhang Huo didn't understand Zhang Ye's attitude and could only respect his decision.

Meng Dongguo, hearing this, narrowed his eyes. No need to campaign for votes? Campaigning for votes is actually fine. He believed he would still win first place.

There were two reasons. First, he thought his poem was also very good. He didn't admit that his "Thoughts on a Mid-Autumn Rainy Night" was much worse than Zhang Ye's "Tune: Prelude to Water Melody." He believed his work was a rare Mid-Autumn poem in recent years. Second, he had the advantage of time. Meng Dongguo was the first to recite a poem at the poetry recital, and the event lasted from 12:00 to 14:00, two hours. The longer this segment lasted, the more people would vote, which was indisputable. This was why Meng Dongguo was arranged to go first. As the vice-chairman of the Beijing Writers' Association and a leading figure in Beijing's poetry, if he only got second place, it would be embarrassing. Both he and the radio station would try to ensure he won the championship. Otherwise, Meng Dongguo probably wouldn't have participated, as it would affect his prestige.

But what about Zhang Ye?

It was already 1:30, meaning Zhang Ye had less than half an hour left!

Even if the netizens and listeners liked his poem and voted for him, how many votes could they cast? Definitely not more than Meng Dongguo, so he believed he had a sure win for the championship!

He thought this, and others thought the same.

For example, Da Lei and Xiao Hong Mushroom had the same thoughts. They knew that even if Zhang Ye's poem was good, he had no hope of winning the championship, or even placing in the top three. Twenty minutes was not enough to get many votes. Others had already received tens of thousands of votes, so Zhang Ye would be lucky to get a top ten place! When the results came out, no one would care about the process or the voting time; they would only look at the results. If the top three were all from the Writers' Association, and Zhang Ye barely made it to the top ten, it would save face for the Writers' Association led by Zhao Guozhou!

Ha, okay!

Your poem has literary quality this time!

We admit your poem is really good!

But what does it matter? You still have to be behind us. When everyone sees the results, you are still not as good as the professional teachers from the Writers' Association!

Writers are often stubborn. Perhaps because of a small conflict at the beginning, the grudge grew bigger and bigger, and no one was willing to back down. They were now at odds with Zhang Ye! This might also be a clash between the traditionally trained Writers' Association teachers and Zhang Ye, who had come from a different path, writing ghost stories, fairy tales, and poetry. They wouldn't stop until they had convinced each other!