Chapter 49

That night, before starting to write, Xiao Fei read the newspapers Wu Aizhen had brought him for a while. He noticed that three of the articles he had submitted to the H Province Daily had been published, and each was prominently placed, either at the top of the page or in the center. Moreover, they were accompanied by illustrations. This indicated that his articles were treated as significant pieces in the edition.

At the end of the 1990s, the evening and metropolitan newspaper systems of the future had not yet been established, and the provincial daily was undoubtedly the top voice in the province. As far as Xiao Fei knew, the H Province Daily had a subscription base of over 300,000 within the province, and almost all government agencies, factories, schools, and enterprises were required to subscribe.

Therefore, its influence was astonishing. An article published in the H Province Daily could spread its influence across the entire province within a few days. Compared to the Z City Evening News, the provincial newspaper had a much greater impact. This was the main reason Xiao Fei chose to submit his articles to the H Province Daily. He was eager to expand his influence and reputation, so it was inevitable that he would choose a larger platform.

Not only did he submit articles to the H Province Daily, but he also sent pieces to the literary supplements of several newspapers in the capital, such as the People's Daily, Beijing Evening News, and the PLA Daily. However, none of these had been published yet.

The articles Xiao Fei was now submitting were all Liu Liangcheng-style rural essays, focusing on unique characters, events, landscapes, meaningful proverbs, and customs in the countryside. He used simple, calm, rich, and precise language to describe them, delving deep to explore the true meaning of life. Because he wrote about scenes around him and was familiar with Liu Liangcheng's narrative style, he had a deeper understanding of life, fate, and the struggles of survival under the sky and on the earth. Therefore, he wrote quickly, producing several articles each day.

After receiving Xiao Fei's new batch of submissions, Liu Zelai, the editor of the Z City Evening News, quickly sent a letter, telling Xiao Fei that these short essays were very well-written, profound, and had a lasting aftertaste, making them high-quality works. He would publish them in Xiao Fei's column one by one. With this affirmation, Xiao Fei's anxious heart finally settled.

After some thought, he submitted five articles to the Dahu Supplement of the H Province Daily, edited by Zhang Chenggong, and then tentatively submitted one article each to the literary supplements of several national newspapers.

Actually, this scatter-shot submission method was not ideal. For an essayist to become famous, it was better to have a column. Opening a column in a highly influential newspaper would lead to publishers approaching to discuss book publication. Other media would also start to request articles. This was how one gradually became famous.

However, Xiao Fei knew that with his current influence, it would be difficult to open a column in a national newspaper. He could only submit articles freely and capture the territory first, and then see what happened later.

Moreover, Xiao Fei did not plan to write short articles for a long time. These were just temporary measures. To shock the literary world and gain fame, he needed to produce significant works, which was essential!

Xiao Fei flipped through several issues of the H Province Daily and glanced at his published articles. He was quite satisfied. The sample newspapers Wu Aizhen had brought him were complete issues, and as he casually flipped through them, he noticed something interesting.

What was it?

He found that someone had severely criticized him on the same page where his articles were published. The critic was named Yuan Yanshen, and his article included a note explaining that he was the deputy dean of the H Province Literary Institute.

Xiao Fei knew Yuan Yanshen; he had met him twice in his previous life and had been patted on the shoulder and encouraged by him, but they had no further interaction. Xiao Fei had heard that Yuan Yanshen's character and literary integrity were questionable, and he had done many things that disgraced the literary world.

Xiao Fei did not expect that in this life, as soon as he emerged, Yuan Yanshen would strike him with a heavy blow. The title of Yuan Yanshen's article was: "How Has Inspirational Soup Become Poisonous Grass?"

In the article, Yuan Yanshen fiercely attacked Xiao Fei, accusing him of maliciously denouncing inspirational articles and listing ten major crimes against him.

1. Seizing on the so-called flaws in some inspirational articles and condemning all of them, when in fact, most of these articles have historical positive significance.

2. Ignoring the artistic refinement of literature, selectively forgetting the merits of inspirational articles, and exaggerating their flaws, which is purely a sign of being full and bored, opposing mainstream social culture.

3. Seeking attention with hollow arguments, opposing for the sake of opposing.

4. Having sinister intentions, attempting to disrupt the development of socialist new literature...

In short, the article was filled with accusations, as if determined to criticize and denounce him to the point of death, with a self-righteous and judge-like tone.

Xiao Fei thought to himself, "What the hell! I don't think I've ever offended you, have I?"

Why go to such lengths to attack me?

Moreover, the article was truly empty, filled with aggressive rhetoric and self-righteous criticism, but it did not hit the mark.

However, although Xiao Fei was frustrated, he did not take it to heart. Instead, he felt a bit pleased. In the literary world, if your work is published and no one pays attention, it is not a good sign. Only when there is heated debate and opposing views does one's reputation gradually grow.

Xiao Fei thought that if other famous writers in the province joined the debate, it would be even better. He only wished the controversy was bigger.

Xiao Fei slowly finished reading all the newspapers Wu Aizhen had brought him and found several articles that criticized his work. Lu Jin, the editor in charge of the cultural section of the Z City Evening News, published a counter-critique in the cultural section.

Lu Jin refuted each point in Yuan Yanshen's article. The title of his article was "Beware of Inspirational Soup Turning into Poisonous Soup."

Lu Jin believed that Xiao Fei's series of anti-inspirational articles were actually quite comprehensive. Xiao Fei was warning people to be cautious of the degradation of inspirational articles, not that all inspirational articles were poisonous.

However, with the proliferation of inspirational articles, many authors, even famous ones, used novelistic techniques, disregarding reality, and fabricated a large number of so-called inspirational articles. These articles could not withstand scrutiny, and many of them had fundamentally flawed and one-sided content.

At first glance, these false inspirational articles seemed enlightening, but upon closer examination, they were not so.

Lu Jin also provided several examples of inspirational articles, analyzing them to expose their false nature. In summary, Lu Jin's article was quite convincing.

In addition to Lu Jin's article, the Z City Evening News also selected and published dozens of reader letters, reflecting on inspirational articles.

Xiao Fei noticed that the major media outlets in the province were already engaged in a heated debate about whether to oppose or support inspirational articles, and his name was repeatedly mentioned.