Chapter 26

Who is Xiao Fei? Yuan Yujun thought for a moment and realized that he was completely unfamiliar with this name, having no recollection of it at all. It must be a nobody.

A nobody was actually given the top spot on the Baihua Platform and even got a column.

There must be something fishy going on!

Yuan Yujun came to this conclusion after just one glance.

He skimmed through the article, which was rather mediocre in style and had a very unconventional tone. It was almost like a blanket criticism, sweeping away all kinds of inspirational and philosophical articles, which the author considered to be spiritual opium, misleading readers with seemingly plausible but actually harmful encouragement, lacking any practical significance, and even damaging people's hearts.

"An article like this can be published? Are the editors blind?"

"What's wrong with being inspirational? It encourages people, makes them think deeply, enlightens them, and helps readers see through the fog of confusion to find the right path. What's wrong with that?"

"What the hell is this? It's complete nonsense!"

Yuan Yujun shouted angrily.

When he saw the author's biography at the end of Xiao Fei's short article, he became even more furious. The author was just a 19-year-old kid! Liu Zelai would rather give a column to a snot-nosed brat than publish one of his articles.

What did I do to you?

Why do you treat me like this?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He picked up the phone on his desk and called Lu Jin, the editor-in-chief of the Culture Section of the Z City Evening News, to complain about Liu Zelai.

"Lu, there's something I need to talk to you about," Yuan Yujun said in a stern tone.

"Hehe! Professor Yuan, what is it?" Lu Jin was reading the day's newspaper when he received Yuan Yujun's call. Although Yuan Yujun's tone was harsh and he was clearly angry, Lu Jin didn't take it to heart.

As the deputy dean of the Literature College, Yuan Yujun had no authority over him, but he still maintained a polite demeanor.

"The editor in charge of the Baihua Platform has serious problems! Do you think such a person is suitable for the position of a supplement editor?" Yuan Yujun said sternly, as if he were interrogating someone.

"What exactly is going on? Could you please be more specific?" Lu Jin frowned. What was this? A deputy dean of a provincial literature college was accusing him without any basis. Did he think it was appropriate?

Feeling annoyed, his tone also became less polite.

"He actually gave a column to a 19-year-old kid and published a bunch of nonsense with skewed values. As the editor-in-chief in charge, how did you approve this?" Yuan Yujun, still in a rage, didn't notice the change in Lu Jin's tone and continued to criticize.

"Hehe! Professor Yuan, I approved that column. I read those articles, and I think they are quite good. They are substantial and make sense. Moreover, for a 19-year-old to write such articles, I think he should be highly praised. We need to support young people and cultivate young authors!"

"What? You actually think they are good?"

Lu Jin's response caught Yuan Yujun off guard. He thought, maybe that kid is Lu Jin's junior? Otherwise, why would he defend him so much?

Yuan Yujun had risen to his position through various connections and also placed great importance on building his network. So, he was judging others by his own standards.

"The writing is indeed good, far better than the average supplement articles, and even better than those written by many famous writers." Lu Jin no longer bothered to be polite and began to provoke Yuan Yujun.

You need to understand the situation.

I am not your subordinate, and you have no right to meddle in my work!

Lu Jin, being a writer himself, had a bit of literary integrity and could not tolerate Yuan Yujun's unreasonable behavior.

Yuan Yujun's nose was almost out of joint when he heard Lu Jin's words, but he had no way to deal with it. The Z City Evening News was directly under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Propaganda Department, and he had no influence there.

He felt a bit regretful.

It seems I made a mistake by calling Lu Jin.

He had intended to use his influence to get Liu Zelai in trouble through Lu Jin, but unexpectedly, the other party didn't give him any face at all.

This left him in a difficult position.

People like Yuan Yujun, who are inherently bullies, have no choice when the other party doesn't back down. However, he was not willing to let it end like this.

So, he softened his tone and complained again.

"Lu, I got carried away just now and lost my composure. If I offended you in any way, please forgive me."

"Haha! Professor Yuan, there's no need for that. I won't take it to heart." Lu Jin's tone was still a bit stiff. They were not close, and they had almost come to blows earlier. Moreover, Lu Jin looked down on Yuan Yujun and had no intention of mending their relationship. However, he maintained a facade to avoid offending a small person.

"Lu, I don't know if I offended Liu Zelai. A few days ago, I submitted two short articles to him, which I consider to be my best work. Unexpectedly, he rejected them today, saying that they didn't fit the style of the Z City Evening News supplement. I am a seasoned writer, how could he treat me like this? If he keeps doing this, who among the senior writers in the province will dare to submit articles to the evening news?" Yuan Yujun said with a grievance.

Lu Jin was taken aback.

Then he found it amusing.

The root of the problem was here.

It was just that the evening news published a young writer's article and rejected his. So, he was upset and called to vent.

Lu Jin secretly praised Liu Zelai. This young Liu had courage and integrity.

However, he said, "Is that so? I didn't know about this. I'll ask Zelai and see what he says. What do you think, Professor Yuan?" Lu Jin said with a smile.

After hanging up, Lu Jin called Liu Zelai to his office.

"Editor-in-Chief, you called for me?"

Liu Zelai stood straight in the editor-in-chief's office, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Zelai, sit down, let's talk." Lu Jin came out from behind his desk and sat on the guest sofa with Liu Zelai, even offering to make tea for him.

"Here's the thing, Yuan Yujun just called me and vented his anger." Lu Jin said with a smile.

"Oh? What did he get angry about?" Liu Zelai raised an eyebrow. He had rejected Yuan Yujun's poorly written article yesterday and knew it wouldn't end there.

"Don't worry too much about him, but Zelai, you did something wrong. Yuan Yujun is the deputy dean of the provincial literature college and a well-known writer. If he submitted an article to you and you thought it wasn't good, you should have delayed it and published it after some time. You shouldn't have rejected it. People like Yuan Yujun are best not to provoke, do you understand?" Lu Jin said earnestly.

"Editor-in-Chief, his article really isn't suitable for publication. I think publishing it would tarnish the reputation of our Baihua Platform." Liu Zelai defended himself.

"Damn! Is it that bad?" Lu Jin couldn't help but curse.

"I made a copy of his article, let me show it to you." Liu Zelai didn't waste words.

"Alright, show it to me." Lu Jin said.

Liu Zelai brought the article for Lu Jin to review. Lu Jin read it carefully, and the more he read, the more his frown deepened, as if he had swallowed a fly.

"What is this? The sentences are not even coherent, and it's full of pretentious profundity, making it hard to understand what he's writing about. Sigh! Forget it, Zelai, I won't blame you. I would have rejected it too. I really don't know how Yuan Yujun became a famous writer." Lu Jin threw the article on the table and said.

Liu Zelai breathed a sigh of relief.

He and Lu Jin seemed to have a good rapport. If it were another leader, they wouldn't be so tolerant.

"Editor-in-Chief, I have some good news to tell you." Liu Zelai said.

"What is it?" Lu Jin asked.

"Several other newspapers have already called me, asking to reprint the article 'Heartwarming Soup or Spiritual Opium.'"

"Oh? Which ones?" Lu Jin was very interested.

The article had just been published, and other newspapers were already calling to reprint it. This was a good sign, indicating that other newspapers also valued the article's content, and it had the potential to create a nationwide impact.

"Currently, the Qilu Evening News, Xinmin Evening News, Beijing Evening News, and Youth Digest have called." Liu Zelai said.

"Great!" Lu Jin clapped his hands and instructed, "Contact the author and make sure to continue the column!"

"Sure, Editor-in-Chief!" Liu Zelai was also very excited.

Why did the Z City Evening News' article attract reprints from other media so quickly? After all, the internet was not well-developed at the time, and there were no electronic versions of newspapers. Although newspapers and magazines exchanged copies, it would take at least two to three days for staff from other distant newspapers to see the Z City Evening News.

The reason for the quick response was related to Liu Zelai.

After editing the article last night, Liu Zelai directly faxed it to several media outlets with whom he had good relations...