Chapter 28

Xiao Fei originally intended to give Liu Xinmei some sincere advice.

But when he heard Wang Guizhi's words and saw the expression on Liu Xinmei's face, he wisely closed his mouth. What she needed now was praise, flattery, and compliments. Any good advice would be seen as nitpicking.

He had merely read Liu Xinmei's work a bit too quickly, which had already upset the two of them.

If he really criticized her, who knows how angry they would get.

Forget it, he thought, I'll just say a few polite words. After all, it doesn't cost anything to flatter someone.

Just as he was about to speak, Xiao Yang, who was standing beside him, became dissatisfied. How could this fat woman talk like that? She actually dared to say that my brother couldn't understand her daughter's writing.

My brother has already published articles in several well-known national magazines and just published another one in the Z City Evening News today!

Although Xiao Yang didn't fully understand the intricacies of magazine publishing, he knew that Chinese publications were divided into national, provincial, municipal, and county levels.

What's so great about publishing an article in a county-level publication?

"Aunt, what you're saying is wrong. How could our Xiao Fei not understand Xinmei's writing? You're really underestimating people, aren't you?" Xiao Yang glared at Wang Guizhi.

"Heh heh!" Wang Guizhi sneered. "I do underestimate him. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to bite me? If he could understand, why would he flip through it so quickly?"

"That's because Xinmei's writing is poor and uninteresting. Xiao Fei was just being polite, giving you some face. People should have self-awareness!" Xiao Yang spoke what was on Xiao Fei's mind.

However, Xiao Fei felt there was no need to argue with Wang Guizhi over such a trivial matter.

Arguing with a泼妇 (vulgar woman) would only lower his own standards.

Do you really want to argue with her in public without any dignity?

"Brother, let's just say a few less words and go home." Xiao Fei handed the He Yang Literature back to Liu Xinmei and tried to calm Xiao Yang down.

"Nonsense! My Xinmei's article is so long, one of hers is worth several of Xiao Fei's. If it were poorly written, would the editor publish it? It's clearly because Xiao Fei doesn't understand. Only someone who doesn't understand would say it's uninteresting. Do you even know what literature is? Is literature something that ordinary people can understand? You peasants, do you even deserve to read literary works?"

Wang Guizhi directly insulted everyone, her arms akimbo, ready for a big argument, with a look of disdain on her face.

The surrounding villagers were not at all offended; they laughed and watched the commotion, not trying to stop it.

Xiao Fei was both angry and amused by Wang Guizhi's words. A village woman who couldn't read much was actually talking about literature.

How absurd!

Probably because Xiao Fei hadn't shown enough reverence for her novel, and because Xiao Yang's words were too harsh, Liu Xinmei stood to one side, pursing her lips and saying nothing. She wanted her mother to stand up for her.

After publishing this 10,000-word novel in He Yang Literature, she suddenly felt that her writing skills were amazing. As her mother Wang Guizhi said, although Xiao Fei's publications were in higher-level magazines, his articles were all short, with the longest being only 3,000 words. How could they compare to her 10,000-word novel?

In her heart, Liu Xinmei believed that Xiao Fei's literary skills were inferior to hers.

His talent was not as high as hers.

He could publish in higher-level magazines only because of good luck. Given time, she would certainly achieve the same.

What's so great about it?

Hmph! He must be jealous of me, which is why he flipped through my work so quickly, insulting me. It must be that.

Xiao Yang laughed in anger. Although he hadn't read much, he wasn't stupid and knew that the quality of an article wasn't measured by its length.

"An article isn't good just because it's long. There's an old saying about bad articles: 'A lazy woman's foot-binding cloth is both smelly and long.' Have you never heard of it? Let's not talk about anything else. Wait until Liu Xinmei can publish her work in the same magazines as Xiao Fei, then we'll compare who has better articles. He Yang Literature is just a county-level magazine, with a low standard!" Xiao Yang's words were blunt.

"He Yang Literature is an unregistered, fly-by-night magazine. I heard from a relative at the county cultural center that even if you write something as bad as shit, you can publish it as long as you pay. And there's no payment for publishing in this magazine. The cultural center is just happy not to have to pay the authors." Someone in the crowd chimed in.

Xiao Fei glanced at the person.

He recognized him as his brother's good friend, Liu Mingxing.

The Liu family in Xili Village was another large clan that didn't fear the village chief Liu Zhenhai. It was said that several of his relatives held official positions.

"Nonsense! Liu Mingxing, you're talking nonsense! How can He Yang Literature not have a publication number? How can there be no payment? If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense!" Wang Guizhi screamed.

Liu Xinmei's face turned purple, and she quickly tugged at her mother's arm.

He Yang Literature is indeed a three-no product!

And her mother was still arguing with them.

How embarrassing.

"Ha ha!" Liu Mingxing laughed. "My cousin's son works at the county cultural center. Do you know more than I do? Besides, do you even know what a publication number is? I wrote novels when I was in junior high, filling a thick notebook with several ten thousand words. If you don't believe me, ask the other villagers; many have read my novels!"

"That's right, that's right! I read Liu Mingxing's book, and it was very naughty, all about men and women doing improper things. It was very interesting, and I read it in one go!" A young man in the crowd called out excitedly.

Several young men laughed, their faces full of amusement.

Hearing Liu Mingxing's words, Xiao Fei also remembered that this guy was indeed a talented but unconventional person. In junior high, he secretly wrote stories in his notebook, and the boys in the class were so engrossed that they even made handwritten copies. Of course, this was all according to his brother. He was amused; Liu Mingxing's timing was perfect, and Wang Guizhi's face must have been swollen from the embarrassment.

When Wang Guizhi heard Liu Mingxing's words, she still wanted to argue, but Liu Xinmei, in a panic, pulled her into the house.

The crowd gathered at Liu's door burst into laughter at the sight.

At this moment, Xiao Yang took out the Z City Evening News, which published Xiao Fei's article, and showed it to the villagers, boasting that although the article was short, it was published in a city-level newspaper, and he earned 50 yuan for such a short piece, which made the crowd envious.

Liu Mingxing looked at the newspaper and exclaimed, "Wow! Incredible, Xiao Fei actually has a column in the Z City Evening News! My cousin at the county cultural center also likes to write and submit articles. He said it's very difficult to get published in the Z City Evening News. He has been submitting to the Baihua Platform supplement for a year and hasn't had a single article published. I didn't expect Xiao Fei to have a column there. It's really a case of people comparing themselves to others and feeling inferior!"

"What's a column?" someone asked.

"It means that the newspaper publishes one of Xiao Fei's articles every day," Liu Mingxing explained.

"Wow!" someone gasped.

"Does that mean he earns 50 yuan every day? That's more than a county chief's salary, right?"

"How much does a county chief earn? Now it's only 500 to 600 yuan. Xiao Fei's monthly income is equivalent to three county chiefs!" Liu Mingxing exaggerated.

Thus, the crowd looked at Xiao Fei with even more admiration. He was only 19 years old! He could publish so many articles while studying and earn over a thousand yuan a month from writing. His future was limitless!

This made Xiao Fei feel very embarrassed.

Is this guy doing it on purpose? Even if he had a column, it wouldn't last for a year, and no column is published every day of the week.

Just then, Xiao Yan rushed over, looking anxious, and shouted, "Brother, Fei, Dad, Dad has been poisoned by pesticides. Mom asked me to go home and get a cart to take Dad to the township health center!"

Xiao Fei was shocked when he heard this.