Chapter 59

"Mad! They're all mad!"

"How many votes did she say just now! I didn't hear wrong, did I?"

"Is this real or fake! Is this going to break out into the universe?"

"How can there be so many! It's not scientific! It's too unscientific!"

"Fifteen thousand? This time, the Writers Association has entered more than ten works, meaning that Zhang Ye's votes are more than the total votes of all the Writers Association members combined?"

"It's really true! One person against more than ten! A complete victory?"

"The total number of votes from all the teachers in the Writers Association is less than his? Damn!"

Too many people couldn't believe their ears; it was really impossible to believe! Fifteen thousand or more votes? What kind of concept was this? This was simply defying the heavens! Others might not understand this field, but could the people from the radio station not be clear? Because of the special nature and limited attention of the poetry meeting, every year's Mid-Autumn Poetry Meeting was not broadcast on TV but was live-streamed by their radio media. In the previous year's Beihé Province Mid-Autumn Poetry Meeting, the first place was taken by an elderly member of the Beihé Province Writers Association, who won with a narrow margin of 23,000 votes. In last year's Jingshi Mid-Autumn Poetry Meeting, the champion was a performing artist from the Jingshi Quyi Association, who won with an uncontested 37,000 votes for his performance of a moon-themed opera!

More than 20,000!

More than 30,000!

Every year, the number of votes for the champion never exceeded 50,000!

But what was the situation with this year's Jingcheng Mid-Autumn Poetry Meeting? Okay, even if Jingcheng has more people and a greater cultural influence than Jingshi and Beihé Province, and the coverage of the Jingcheng Radio Station is a bit wider, covering most of the Jing-Jin-Ji region, it still shouldn't be this absurd!

Fifteen thousand?

Are you guys on steroids!

And what shocked everyone the most was that the voting time for "Shuidiao Getou" was only about twenty minutes! Less than half an hour! Fifteen thousand votes! This was completely beyond everyone's imagination and understanding; no one had even considered such a possibility! Because it was simply unrealistic! But the fact was that Zhang Ye had done it! "Shuidiao Getou" had done it! Zhang Ye, with a poem created on the spot, had performed a miracle that defied the heavens!

No one doubted the authenticity of the votes; everyone knew this couldn't be a counting error because there were two notaries present, who had supervised the entire process!

Da Lei was silent!

Xiaohong Mushroom and Zheng Anbang fell silent!

Meng Dongguo was also speechless, his lips moving but unable to say a word!

Zhang Ye—this person whom Meng Dongguo and a few others from the Writers Association looked down upon, calling him incapable of writing poetry and understanding literature—had slapped all of them in the face with "Shuidiao Getou"! And it was a continuous series of slaps! Their faces were truly swollen! Meng Dongguo had only received 40,000 votes! The remainder of Zhang Ye's votes was more than 10,000 higher than his! Zhang Ye's votes were more than all of theirs combined! Was this not enough to slap them in the face? Describing the current situation as them being whipped while hanging from a tree would be an understatement! It would even be considered too light!

Is Zhang Ye an amateur?

Are they the professionals?

Meng Dongguo and Da Lei's previous boasts still echoed in their ears. Thinking about this, the other members of the Writers Association who came with them also felt their faces turn green; they had lost face along with Meng Dongguo! They had lost face on a grand scale! They had been unfairly implicated!

"Who is the amateur?"

They seemed to see today's evening newspaper headline!

Speaking of which, Da Lei still didn't understand why "Shuidiao Getou" had received so many votes. He admitted that the poem was written perfectly, but it couldn't be that exaggerated, could it? Fifteen thousand votes? Almost half of the people who listened to the Mid-Autumn Poetry Meeting program had voted for "Shuidiao Getou"?

Zhang Huo was very pleased and even more delighted. He was very happy to see this situation. Someone needed to stand up and curb the arrogance of these so-called experts and teachers. Because of the reckless and baseless remarks of some experts and teachers, how many social incidents and public controversies had been triggered in recent years? Perhaps because Zhang Huo was in news broadcasting, his philosophy was that as a public figure, one must respect the facts, have a sense of propriety, and not speak recklessly, otherwise, it would be a misleading act that could cause great harm!

Because of their casual words, how much criticism had Zhang Ye endured? They had almost destroyed an excellent and great poet! If Zhang Ye didn't have such good psychological resilience, he wouldn't have been able to create this poem today. Zhang Huo firmly believed that if "Shuidiao Getou" had been stifled in its infancy for various reasons, it would have been a loss to the entire cultural world! A loss to the entire republic!

Fortunately, Zhang Ye was very determined and wasn't defeated by these rumors and gossip. Instead, he became even more resilient. Zhang Huo gave Zhang Ye a big thumbs up in his heart!

Well done!

He really brought glory to our Jingcheng Radio Station!

Zhang Huo raised the microphone, "Let's congratulate Teacher Zhang Ye for winning the championship with an overwhelming number of votes, 'Shuidiao Getou'! He truly deserves it!"

Applause erupted!

The female host, Sun Mengjie, said, "Next, please invite the top three teachers of this Mid-Autumn Poetry Meeting to the stage and say a few words to our listeners."

Zhou Dajie laughed, "Little Zhang, go quickly!"

"Calling you, go on, go on!" Aunt Sun urged.

A colleague patted his shoulder, excited for him, "You're really something! We thought you wouldn't even make the top ten, but you ended up in first place!"

Zhao Guozhou also smiled, "Go on, Little Zhang, go up and say a few words. This is the honor you deserve."

Zhang Ye had no choice but to squeeze out and walk to the stage from the back of the hall.

But when he stood on the stage, he saw Meng Dongguo in the front row shaking his hand at the host, clearly not intending to go up!

Seeing that Vice Chairman Meng wasn't going, Zheng Anbang, the third-place winner, also decided not to go up and embarrass himself. Was third place even an honor? In their eyes, it was a disgrace and humiliation! Zheng Anbang also waved his hand at the host, indicating that he wouldn't go up either!

Zhang Huo didn't care about Meng Dongguo and the others, smiling and saying, "Then let's have the champion of this event, my colleague Teacher Zhang Ye, say a few words."

What to say?

Zhang Ye, who held grudges, glanced at Meng Dongguo and the others, knowing they were already in a bad state, but he still added a final blow, "Actually, there's not much to say. Just thank everyone for their support. I started writing poetry halfway through, so I'm indeed an amateur. I don't know if my poetry has literary value or is an art form. I don't consider these things. As long as everyone likes it and recognizes me, I think that's enough!"

What is adding fuel to the fire?

This is adding fuel to the fire!

What is rubbing salt in the wound?

This is rubbing salt in the wound!

Meng Dongguo and Da Lei's faces turned red and white, not expecting this new Zhang to bring up the matter again! Still holding onto it!

Zhang Huo was clearly not satisfied, "Teacher Zhang, say a few more words."

"Yes, I see that the listeners' comments want to hear you talk about literature, such as creation and the value of literature," Sun Mengjie also said.

Really say something heartfelt?

Zhang Ye couldn't help but feel a headache.

He was very talkative, having studied broadcasting, and relied on his mouth, which was his profession. How could he not be able to speak? But he mostly spoke in a rote manner, as he had learned in college. Or he would joke around or curse, and he was good at that. But when it came to speaking seriously and discussing serious literary topics, he was at a loss. He simply didn't have that ability.

What to do?

The value of literature?

Ah, Zhang Ye had a sudden idea!

Zhang Ye thought about it and decided to use the Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan's acceptance speech from his world, almost word for word, "Alright, then I'll say it seriously again. I want to thank my family and friends. Their friendship and wisdom shine in my works."

This was Mo Yan's original words.

These words might mean nothing to others, but to Zhang Ye, they had a deeper meaning.

Then he continued with Mo Yan's speech, "Regarding the value of literature, my personal understanding is actually very simple. Compared to science, literature indeed has no practical use. But the greatest use of literature, perhaps, is that it has no use." He nodded, "Thank you all, I'm done."

Meng Dongguo was stunned.

Da Lei and Xiaohong Mushroom also exchanged surprised glances!

Zhang Huo's eyes lit up, exclaiming, "Teacher Zhang Ye always says he doesn't understand art and is an amateur, but the last sentence of his speech precisely reveals his literary素养. This should be the most thought-provoking speech I've heard in recent years. Let's give another round of applause to Teacher Zhang!"

Applause erupted, and many people were deep in thought.

Some didn't understand, but some did!

The greatest use of literature, perhaps, is that it has no use? Some of the Writers Association teachers, who had been looking at Zhang Ye as he walked off the stage, became interested in him for the first time. A broadcaster who could write "Shuidiao Getou"! An "amateur" poet who could outperform their senior writers! A young man in his early twenties who could deliver such a speech! What Zhang Ye showed made it impossible for them not to pay attention!

In the middle and back rows of seats.

When Zhang Ye returned, everyone started chattering!

"Congratulations, Teacher Zhang!" an editor said.

"You've made our cultural frequency famous!" Aunt Sun was very pleased.

"I told you Teacher Zhang is great. Look at how philosophical his words are, though I didn't quite understand what he meant," Zhou Dajie laughed.

Wang Xiaomei, who had her eyes closed, suddenly opened them and said, "What Teacher Zhang meant by 'useful' might refer to the creative power in reality, the tangible influence and effect on the material world, such as how science can build high-rise buildings and dams, while literature cannot serve such a purpose. However, the greatest use of literature is that it has no use. This means that because literature does not have the same material influence as other cultures, it does not bring great material satisfaction. It is not bound by the material world but can infinitely elevate the spiritual realm and open up the soul. This is precisely its greatest use. At least, that's how I understand it."

"Deep and profound."

"Ah, I see."

"If Teacher Xiaomei hadn't analyzed it, I wouldn't have understood."

Zhang Ye actually didn't agree with Wang Xiaomei's interpretation, not because literature is seemingly useless but actually useful, but because its very uselessness makes literature great—this was what he wanted to express, and perhaps Mo Yan did too. However, Zhang Ye didn't contradict or explain. If you understand, you understand; if you interpret it differently, that's fine too. There's no need to argue, as different people see things differently. If literature could be so straightforward, it wouldn't be called literature.

Zhao Guozhou was clearly very interested in this statement, "Little Zhang, your poetry is excellent, and your speech was also excellent. Today, not only did your poetry surpass everyone else, but your understanding of literature also surpassed everyone else! Rest assured, no one will ever say you don't understand art again!"

Aunt Sun sighed, "Little Zhang is amazing. He can write ghost stories, fairy tales, modern poetry, and ancient poetry. Look, even a simple acceptance speech can shock everyone. What can't you do?"

Zhang Ye quickly said, "You're all flattering me. I just said a few words, nothing too serious."

A good speech?

Of course!

Who is Mo Yan? People in this world don't know him; no one from the republic has won the Nobel Prize in Literature yet. But in his world, Mo Yan is a household name, a true literary giant. He is a true master of literature, and it would be strange if he couldn't speak well!

A single speech made him stand out again!

In short, Zhang Ye had his moment in the spotlight today!