Chapter 58

In the audience.

Amid the attention of everyone, Zhang Ye returned to his seat.

The atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival was pushed to its peak by a rendition of "Water Melody," making everyone even more excited. They were also extremely interested in the final results of the poetry competition. Currently, the top ten spots were all occupied by members of the Writers' Association, and even the 11th and 12th spots were gradually being taken over by them, giving them a dominant advantage. However, Zhang Ye's sudden burst of performance made the competition results full of suspense and uncertainty!

"Teacher Zhang, you're amazing!"

"Great job! You didn't let our cultural radio station down!"

"The people from the Writers' Association aren't saying anything now, are they? Let them show off! They're all quiet now!"

"Ha ha, Teacher Zhang, remember to sign for me later, I'll keep it as a souvenir."

The people from the cultural radio station were all sitting in one area. When Zhang Ye returned, everyone gave him a thumbs up. Even those who didn't get along with him, like Tian Bin, Jia Yan, and Wu Datao, didn't dare to say anything negative at this moment. They were also stunned by the poem!

Zhao Guozhou, who was originally sitting on the outer side, patted a few subordinates beside him and swapped seats with them, "Zhang, you've made everyone look at you with new eyes once again!"

Zhang Ye replied, "Thank you for your recognition, sir."

Zhao Guozhou asked, "Why didn't you campaign for votes?"

"Isn't it unnecessary?" Zhang Ye felt it wasn't needed. "Actually, no one is stupid. Everyone has the ability to appreciate art. If they think my poem is good, they will vote for me. If they think others' poems are better, they will vote for them. Campaigning for votes doesn't have much meaning. This isn't a talent show but a pure literary exchange, so it's better to keep it simple and pure." This guy spoke with a grand and righteous tone.

Wang Xiaomei said, "You take it lightly."

Zhao Guozhou asked the people from the cultural radio station, "What do you think Zhang will rank? What do you think, Teacher Wang?"

"If I were to say, just from the quality and literary value of the works, Teacher Zhang is definitely the first. Of course, this is just my personal opinion. I don't know if the other listeners will agree. Vice Chairman Meng Dongguo's poem is also very good, and some might think it's even better. Both are possible," Wang Xiaomei glanced at her watch, "Besides, there are only about twenty minutes left."

"Twenty minutes?"

"Ah, right! The voting is almost over!"

"Oh, then there's no hope. It's too late to catch up!"

Everyone felt a bit regretful. What an amazing poem, but it couldn't get a good ranking due to the time issue!

Later, Aunt Zhou from the cultural radio station returned alone. To avoid blocking the view of the people behind her, she bent down and walked quietly, "Move over, Liu, Zhou, let Auntie through." She quickly reached Zhang Ye's side, "Oh, you're here too, sir?"

Zhao Guozhou nodded, "Where did you go?"

"I pretended to go to the bathroom," Aunt Zhou said, holding her phone, "Actually, I wanted to check the voting results for Zhang. There's no internet in the hall, so I had to go outside to check."

Aunt Sun asked, "How is it? How is it?"

Other people from the cultural radio station also turned their heads, very curious.

Aunt Zhou showed them the phone. Although there was no internet now, the information and web pages before the connection was cut off were still visible, "Zhang's 'Water Melody' has already caused a sensation. Three minutes ago, when he finished reciting the poem, the website staff added the voting option. 'Water Melody' already had over 900 votes. Look at the comments, the netizens are almost going crazy, the comments are boiling over!"

The phone screen showed a dense array of comments.

"God!"

"This poem is unbeatable!"

"Is it really that good?"

"Who is Zhang Ye? I've never heard of this teacher before."

"Did I hear wrong? I remember Meng Dongguo and someone from the Writers' Association were going to criticize Zhang Ye's poem, using it as a negative example? Now the poem is out, why isn't anyone criticizing it?"

"I'm laughing, I'm really laughing!"

"The Writers' Association is a bunch of clowns! Their faces are swollen from being slapped!"

"Ha ha, I've always supported Teacher Zhang Ye. I wonder who will dare to say that Teacher Zhang Ye can't write poems or that his works lack literary value now?"

"For the teachers of the Writers' Association, I can only show (XI) sympathy (WEN) for (LE) them (JIAN)!"

"If someone who can write 'Water Melody' doesn't understand poetry, then no one in the world understands it. Are the people from the Writers' Association lacking in brains? Even a vice chairman? I want to ask you, who doesn't understand literature, you or Teacher Zhang Ye?"

"Go vote quickly!"

"Right, no more talk, vote first, time is running out!"

"Water army, assemble! Although we might not catch up, the gap is too big, but we're not afraid of anyone! Even if we're few in number, we will contribute our share for Teacher Zhang Ye! Not for anything else, just for his spirit of fighting and not caring about others! We can't be cowards!"

"Here we come!"

"Water army, check-in!"

"Vote cast!"

"My sword is thirsty again!"

Zhang Ye's fans all came to support him, and many people who met him for the first time were also moved by "Water Melody" and supported him!

...

"Only 900 votes?" Zhao Guozhou frowned.

Aunt Zhou said, "It happened in just a moment, it's already a lot, right?"

"Wang, what's Zhang's current ranking?" Wang Xiaomei asked.

"Before I lost the internet connection, he had 925 votes, ranking 41st," Aunt Zhou spoke up for Zhang, "It seems low, but it's only been a few minutes. If we look at the rate of increase, it's definitely more than the people from the Writers' Association. Zhang is really impressive!"

41st? Zhang Ye wasn't very satisfied either.

Aunt Sun sighed, "Sigh, it's definitely too late to catch up. No need to think about it. They've accumulated votes for two hours, while we only have twenty minutes, the gap is too big. And those people from the Writers' Association have hundreds of thousands of fans, how many fans does our Teacher Zhang have? He can't compete in popularity."

Aunt Zhou said, "There's still hope. Many listeners just heard it and might not have had time to vote yet. There will be more and more. I think Zhang can fight for a top ten spot! No, a top six spot is also possible!" She took out her phone, "Look, except for the first place, Meng Dongguo with 37,000 votes leading by a wide margin, the votes for the others drop significantly. The sixth place has 11,000 votes. I think Teacher Zhang has a good chance to catch up! Even if not, the tenth place has 8,500 votes. If he can't make the top six, he should be able to make the top ten. I think it's no problem!"

An editor from the cultural radio station said, "Making the top ten is enough. At least it will break the monopoly of the Writers' Association members and bring glory to our station."

"Right!"

"Let's hope for the best!"

Everyone accepted this inevitable reality.

Aunt Zhou suggested, "I think we should take turns 'going to the bathroom.' Five at a time, five at a time, and vote for Teacher Zhang. The higher Zhang ranks, the more glory for our station! I've already voted for Zhang!" The older sister was quite enthusiastic.

Zhang Ye, sweating, said, "No, no, thank you all, really, it's not necessary!"

What kind of poem is this?

This is Su Shi's poem!

This is the world-renowned "Water Melody"!

Do we have to rely on colleagues pretending to go to the bathroom to cast a few votes to improve the ranking? That's too degrading, too embarrassing. If people from his world saw this, they would laugh to death! Zhang Ye can't afford to lose face! If people really can't appreciate this poem, can't appreciate "Water Melody," there's nothing he can do about the low vote count.

Forget it.

Let's leave it to fate and see the results.

Zhang Ye has done everything he could, put in all the effort he could. Now, whether this great work by Su Shi can help him turn the tide, whether it can help Zhang Ye stand up to the Writers' Association and clear his name, all he can do is wait. Everything will be decided by the public!

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

Time flew by. Even if Zhang Ye hoped for more time, more time for the listeners, the clock wouldn't stop. It was soon two o'clock!

"Alright, the voting is now closed," Zhang Hu announced. "We will wait for the staff from the notary office to tally the final votes. In the meantime, let's revisit some of the classic poems from earlier."

The recording started, and Meng Dongguo and Zheng Anbang's poems were replayed.

Soon, a man and a woman from the Chengdong District Notary Office came up with a book clip, "It's ready."

Female host Sun Mengjie smiled, "The notary office staff have already tallied the votes. I can't wait to know the results, I'll take a look first."

She immediately leaned in.

Zhang Hu was also very curious and looked at the ranking in the notary staff's hand.

This look was no small matter. Zhang Hu and Sun Mengjie were both stunned, completely shocked!

Seeing the hosts' reactions, the audience became restless, not understanding what was going on, and became even more curious!

"What's going on?"

"Are the results very surprising?"

"Is Vice Chairman Meng's poem leading by a lot?"

A female notary staff member held the microphone, "At 12:00 PM on September 8th, up to 2:00 PM, under the supervision of Chengdong District notary staff Li Hai and Zheng Meihong, the votes for the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival are fair and valid. Now I will announce the top ten!"

Zhang Ye was fully focused.

Zhao Guozhou and Wang Xiaomei were staring intently.

Meng Dongguo, Da Lei, and others were relatively relaxed, thinking there was no suspense.

"10th place, Xiao Hong Mushu, 'Aunt Moon,' with 9,300 votes!" the notary staff announced.

Upon hearing this, Da Lei smiled and congratulated, "Congratulations! This is a poetry festival, and you can still make the top ten with a fairy tale. That shows Teacher Xiao Hong Mushu's skill."

Xiao Hong Mushu said, "Don't flatter me."

The notary staff continued, "9th place, Da Lei, 'Untitled,' with 9,800 votes!"

Xiao Hong Mushu laughed, "See? You're better than me. Who said your poems have a small audience? Look, the listeners still recognize them."

Da Lei modestly waved his hand, "I'm not really satisfied with this poem. I didn't capture my style and atmosphere, so it's normal for the reaction to be low."

...

"4th place, Zhou Anyi, 'Looking at the Moon,' with 16,001 votes!"

By this point, the 4th to 10th places were all announced, and without exception, they were all members of the Beijing Writers' Association. Not a single netizen's poem made it to the top ten!

"It's time for the 3rd place!"

"Exciting, who will it be?"

"Why haven't we heard Zhang Ye's name?"

"Is he the 3rd place?"

"Probably not, he only had twenty minutes of voting time, it's unlikely."

Amid the audience's discussion, the female notary staff announced the 3rd place, "3rd place, Zheng Anbang, modern poem 'Thoughts on the Mid-Autumn Festival,' with 19,822 votes!"

What?

Zheng Anbang is 3rd?

Aunt Zhou was anxious, "Where's Zhang? Why isn't Zhang here?"

Tian Bin said, "No need to ask, he definitely didn't make the top ten."

"There's a conspiracy! There must be a conspiracy!" Aunt Zhou was angry, "Peng didn't even make the top ten? Who would believe it! What a great poem!"

"Ah, it's all for nothing."

"Yes, the time was too tight, otherwise, the result would have been different!"

The people from the cultural radio station were regretful, sighed, and were dissatisfied with the result!

But when the female notary staff announced the 2nd place, everyone fell silent, as if the sound had been muted, and the hall was suddenly quiet!

"2nd place, Meng Dongguo, 'Thoughts on the Mid-Autumn Rainy Night,' with 40,058 votes!"

2nd?

Meng Dongguo is 2nd?

The audience was already in an uproar!

Meng Dongguo was also stunned, how could this be!

Da Lei and Zheng Anbang exchanged glances, a sense of foreboding suddenly rising in their hearts!

Everyone at this moment also had a shocking thought: If Meng Dongguo isn't first, who is? Who is the champion of this Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival?

The female notary staff paused, then raised her voice, "The first place in the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival, Zhang Ye! 'Water Melody'! With... " At this point, the female notary staff's voice also carried a sense of shock. She and her colleague had already seen the votes and rankings, but now, she still found it hard to believe, "The votes for 'Water Melody' are... 158,600!"

158,600?

158,600 votes??

What the hell!

The audience was already stunned!

Page break for ads

Page break for ads end