Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 66 A Big Shot Arrives in the Physical Book Industry

The ending of "The Village Corpse" had no twist, no Easter egg of "reappearing ten years later," and it ended abruptly.

Cui Hao let out a long breath and found that his palms were sweaty, but he still couldn't help but tease his friend: "How about it, wasn't it great value for money?"

Old Tang put the book in his bag, stood up, stretched, and said in a deliberately relaxed tone, "Anyway, I think he's better at writing science fiction. Let's just say this one... let's say he's experiencing life. Suspense fans are enjoying themselves so much, it's time for us science fiction fans to get something better too." But he took a couple of steps and stopped, turning back to say, "However, if his next book is also this kind of thing... I might as well read it."

Is it really that hard to admit that suspense is good?

Cui Hao never expected that such a pure and proud personality still existed in this era.

My friend Lao Tang, who usually argues fiercely and criticizes everyone in the book club, is actually so conflicted in private about "praising a suspense novel as good".

When Mingming was reading the climax of "The Village Corpse," both of them stopped breathing.

"It's so difficult, incredibly difficult."

Although Lao Tang didn't offer much comment, Cui Hao could tell from his expression—he seemed genuinely satisfied but was desperately trying to maintain his persona.

These suspense stories must have really struck a chord with him. For an old fogey who has been reading science fiction for twenty years and tells everyone that "science fiction is the future of literature" to show such an expression, this book, *Early Spring Tea*, is truly worthwhile.

A menacing cadre arrived at the editorial department of "The Records of Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty".

"Who exactly made the decision to print 30 copies?"

"Me," the associate editor asked weakly, "is it selling very poorly?"

Upon hearing this, the official in charge of liaising with the printing factory laughed in exasperation:

"You really should go out and see for yourself. Countless libraries across the country are out of stock right now, and I'm being pressured to order more. You guys should hold a debriefing meeting to thoroughly review how many mistakes you made, so you don't repeat these basic errors in the future."

what?

All 30 copies sold out immediately.

The editors around were all surprised, and those closest to them exclaimed, "30 copies sold out already?"

"Otherwise, I advise you to be more careful."

The editors around were in an uproar. Some started doing the math, some dug up the sales data for early spring tea, and some had already posted three exclamation marks and "Holy crap!" in the group chat.

The decision to print only 30 copies in the first batch was the result of a joint discussion within their editorial team—at the time, everyone felt that this number was already quite aggressive, given that the slump in the physical book industry was a well-known fact, and many established authors did not dare to exceed this number in their first print run of their new books.

They never expected that their first suspense novel, Early Spring Tea, would sell so well.

"If Heaven hadn't produced his early spring tea, the physical book industry would have remained in perpetual darkness."

The debriefing meeting hasn't started yet, but everyone knows that this is partly due to the inherent strength of "The Grocery Store." Every story in that book is like a hook, once you open it, you can't put it down, and its reputation has spread exponentially among readers.

Not to mention that almost all the traffic from the "child star scandal" was directed here—the young actor named Luo Jinnian, even during the darkest moment of his family tragedy, still did not forget to cheer for his friends on social media.

Many video websites are still analyzing the contributions of child actor Luo Jinnian and young writer Zaochun de Cha during the "child star scandal," allowing netizens to appreciate the genuine friendship between these two geniuses.

Even after announcing that everything was over, Luo Jinnian still made sure to market his friend's new book.

When the early spring tea edition of "The Little Prince" was released, the title page was filled with support for her friend.

A Great Friendship of This Century

Writer? Actor? Friendship can withstand the test of time.

Unveiling the untold stories of entertainment industry geniuses; the first couple is currently very popular.

Some people even gave them a name, something like "New Year Tea," tea that is nourished once a year.

When Luo Jinnian heard "Da Tang" say that his book was selling very well, he thought of his fans who had always supported him and decided to report it to them.

"I can sign 200 copies, which I will buy myself and then give away as gifts through a lucky draw on Weibo."

After hearing this, the authors at "Da Tang" were very supportive of his idea and said that the author wouldn't need to pay for the books; they could provide a batch of freshly printed books.

When Luo Jinnian appeared in front of Jia Bei, the top editor of "Datang", his mouth was so wide open that a fly could crawl inside it.

"Aren't you that child star...?"

Luo Jinnian laughed: "That was me, and it's me now. Both of us are me."

Is this even real?

At this moment, Jiabei's brain experienced a process similar to a system freeze. The author of Early Spring Tea, whose writing style was skillful, whose structure was precise, and whose work put countless adult authors to shame; the author of Early Spring Tea, who was packaged by the publisher as a "genius young writer"—was standing in front of him now, wearing a faded sweatshirt, with a shallow dimple when she smiled.

He knew Luo Jinnian was young, but he didn't expect him to be this young.

Luo Jinnian was used to it. Such a young writer was indeed quite unconventional, but he was just incredibly talented.

After a brief exchange, the two fell into a silent void. This was Luo Jinnian giving the other person time to process the information. Jia Bei was the first to recover; his professional instincts quickly switched his brain to work mode. He took a deep breath and said in a tone that said, "I accept reality."

"The office is right here. You can finish your bookmarks here. Is there any tea you'd like to drink? Just so you know, we don't have any good tea here."

"Anything is fine, but oolong tea is best."

"What a coincidence!" Jiabei slapped his thigh. "We happen to have some leftover oolong tea here. We brought it back from Wuyishan during our last team building trip. I don't know if it's genuine or not, but the label says 'Da Hong Pao'—and let me make it clear, it's definitely not from the original tree."

"I can do it myself." Luo Jinnian took the tea bag from his hand and walked naturally toward the water dispenser.

After exchanging pleasantries, he sat down, picked up his pen, and officially began his task—signing books.

The city outside the window was still bustling with activity, while inside, Luo Jinnian wrote stroke by stroke, the only sounds being the scratching of the pen on the paper and the hushed discussions of the editors in the distance.

Two hundred books—not too many, not too few. He wanted to write something different in each one.

It's not just a signature, but a short and sincere statement.

To that complete stranger, waiting in some corner of some city to open this book, perhaps a fan or simply someone joining in the fun.

Regardless, Luo Jinnian is grateful for their participation.