Chapter 68: Becoming a Fan
The summer wind brought with it a little heat when it blew through the room.
Sun Mo walked around the bookshelves and would occasionally take a book out and flip through it.
Meanwhile, Zheng Qingfang sat on his wooden chair as he stared unblinkingly at the manuscript on his hand. Subconsciously, his movements grew increasingly gentle, very different from his earlier absent-minded motions, like he was afraid to damage the manuscript.
Honestly speaking, when he first read the manuscript, Zheng Qingfang was filled with disdain. He felt that Sun Mo was talking big.
The paragraph was direct and accurate, but there wasn’t any literary talent. To speak bluntly, it was written in vernacular.
But as he continued reading, he felt the story growing more interesting.
A divine rock that gathered and absorbed the spirit qi of heavens and earth, eventually having a spiritual fetus within it. When the spirit monkey broke out from the stone and flew up to the clouds, Zheng Qingfang was completely stunned into speechlessness.
The main character was actually a monkey?
No? The monkey should be the main character’s pet, right?
The emergence of the main character was actually so novel and wondrous. Appearing from a rock? Zheng Qingfang had read books for several tens of years and had never read something like this before.
...
Zheng Qingfang could be considered as widely-read, but this opening passage alone made him give it 9 out of 10 points. He was very satisfied.
It was lacking by one point because the writing style seemed a little too crude and simple.
Thinking of this, he wanted nothing more than to modify the words himself. He felt that the literary style had messed up the opening to this piece of godly work. But as he read on, Zheng Qingfang couldn’t care less about other things. He got completely immersed in the story.
Heading to the west, the Monkey King was born!
Trading to the edges of the oceans, looking for the art of longevity!
Zheng Qingfang touched his beard with joy when he read that this monkey was playing around with the monkeys in the mountains. From entering the Water Curtain Cave, to subduing the other monkeys, to self-proclaiming he was the monkey king... After that, when the monkey king saw his subjects aging and dying, he was badly shocked. The monkey king then decided to travel to distant lands by crossing the oceans and seek out the secret of eternal life. When Zheng Qingfang read until here, he couldn’t help but reveal sorrow in his eyes.
Eternal life?
How hard would it be to achieve that?
On his path, the monkey king suffered a lot and was the butt of many jokes. He created many troubles as well. Zheng Qingfang couldn’t help but smile when he read through its exploits.
He finally heaved a sigh of relief after reading that the monkey managed to find the Slanted Moon Three Stars Cave on Fangcun Mountain after roaming around for many years.
However, at this point, Zheng Qingfang began panting as he began to feel nervous. Because how could there be any cultivation art for eternal life in this world?
Nevertheless, the plot didn’t disappoint Zheng Qingfang. The wild monkey gained the name Sun Wukong and even learned the Seventy-Two Transformation. It also got a cloud that could travel 108,000 miles with a single somersault.
At this moment, this 70-year-old elder, Zheng Qingfang, couldn’t help but clap his hands and call out in excitement. He recalled his younger years.
Lu Zhiruo squatted at the side, wanting to read it again after this old man finished it. However, the old man didn’t even release his hold on the pages that he had finished reading. How infuriating!
...
After that, Sun Wukong did all the unthinkable things. He was fighting the myriad of demons and seizing back the Water Curtain Cave, heading to the eastern sea and obtaining the Ruyi Golden Cudgel, invading the underworld and forcefully changing the contents of the life-and-death book, and even fighting against the generals and soldiers of the celestial court!
He read that Sun Wukong was eventually captured and placed within the alchemy cauldron of the Supreme Elder Lord and Zheng Qinfang’s heart couldn’t help but be filled with worry. Yet, thanks to that, Sun Wukong managed to gain the golden eyes technique. In the end, Sun Wukong wreaked havoc through the celestial court and made so much trouble that the celestial court was turned topsy-turvy.
This time around, Zheng Qingfang could no longer control himself. He stood up and forcefully smacked the table as he shouted, “Imposing!”
...
Time slowly passed. Zheng Qingfang was completely immersed in the story, accompanying Reverend Tang and his three disciples to the west to collect the holy scripture.
Unsuitable writing style?
Sorry, Zheng Qingfang had already forgotten about that. In his mind, there were only the four main characters and the 81 calamities!
All of a sudden, Zheng Qingfang’s hands were empty. (Where is the manuscript? It’s finished? There’s actually no more?) He turned his head and glanced at Sun Mo. His hoarse voice rang out.
“Where’s the latter part?”
Lu Zhiruo, who was at the side, jumped in fright and retreated a few steps back in alarm.
Sun Mo didn’t reply.
Zheng Qingfang hurried over toward Sun Mo before impatiently grabbing his hand. “Where’s the latter part of the manuscript? Sun Wukong actually destroyed the Renshen Fruit Tree? He’s most probably about to engage in a battle with the Zhenyuan Grand Immortal, right?
Sun Mo smiled and pulled his hand away from Zheng Qingfang’s grab.
“Please say something!”
Zheng Qingfang was so anxious that he almost died.
“Was it a nice read?” Sun Mo counter-asked.
“Yes!”
“Very good!”
“Too damn good!”
Zheng Qingfang affirmed it three times while stroking the draft paper with his right hand. It had truly been a very long time since he had read such a good story. It felt like drinking an excellent cup of wine.
“Right? Right?”
Half of Lu Zhiruo’s body was hidden behind the bookshelf. She smiled widely and was extremely excited. “Didn’t I say that Teacher Sun would surely be able to write a great work?”
The papaya girl felt extremely honored now.
“Teacher Sun?” Zheng Qingfang surveyed Sun Mo. “Which school are you from?”
“Central Province Academy!”
Sun Mo formally introduced himself.
Zheng Qingfang invited Sun Mo to sit down and personally brewed a cup of tea for him. Even Lu Zhiruo who accompanied Sun Mo managed to get a cup of tea too.
“I apologize. It has been a long time since I read such an amazing book and I have forgotten the time.”
Seeing that it was already quite late at night, Zheng Qingfang felt extremely awkward.
“In that case, could you publish 1,000 books?” Sun Mo asked with a smile.
“Yes, absolutely yes!”
Zheng Qingfang immediately nodded. After that, he shook his head. “Could you polish this literary work a little more?”
“Nope.”
Sun Mo’s answer was clean and concise. What a joke, he naturally wouldn’t be able to polish this classical work with his standard.
Actually, Sun Mo’s literary talent wasn’t too bad. He had published a few articles and poems a couple of years ago. However, in the eyes of the people of the ancient era, he was sorely lacking.
“Ai, what a pity!”
Zheng Qingfang sighed as he cast a deep glance at Sun Mo. His meaning was very simple. This was such a good story, how good would it be if the writing style could be polished even more?
“Forgive me for being blunt, but why did you want to write this novel?” asked Zheng Qinfang.
Sun Mo didn’t want to be looked down on; hence, he retaliated.
“What do you think my purpose is, by writing it using this style?”
Zheng Qingfang smiled but he didn’t reply.
“By writing in vernacular, even the old aunties in the countryside can understand it. This is then the best style for this story.”
Sun Mo shrugged.
Zheng Qingfang was stunned. For a while, he didn’t know how to rebut Sun Mo’s words. That was right. This was a novel, and the purpose of a novel was to be read and enjoyed. It wasn’t those classical articles written by the sages and saints, where only those who were learned could understand it.
Sun Mo drank his tea.
Lu Zhiruo also learned from him and lifted her cup. She felt very happy when she saw the bookstore’s boss being stunned into speechlessness by her teacher!
Ding!
Favorable impression from Lu Zhiruo +5.
Prestige connection with Lu Zhiruo: Friendly (183/1,000).
“Uncle Zheng. Look, it is already quite late...”
Sun Mo didn’t say the latter part of the sentence, which was ‘I want to sign the contract and leave with the money.’
“Oh, I was too careless!”
Zheng Qingfang opened the drawer and took out a bell, shaking it.
Very soon, an old servant walked in from the backyard.
“Go, prepare a sumptuous banquet.”
Zheng Qingfang prepared to chat with Sun Mo through the night. He had to dig out the content of the story from the other party by hook or by crook. “Oh ya, also withdraw 1,000 taels of silver over!:
The old servant was very well trained and capable at his job.
Very soon, a table full of delicacies was set up.
After coming to Jinling, Sun Mo hadn’t even gone to a restaurant to eat a meal yet. Just from the looks of the dishes, he knew that the prices weren’t cheap.
There were also trays of silver ingot placed on the table. There were 50 taels of silver in a tray and a total of 20 trays. The ingots shone with luster under the glow of the candlelight.
“This is the famous brew that has been stored for many years from Laohuai Lane. Give it a taste!”
Zheng Qingfang poured a cup of wine.
“Thank you Uncle Zheng for your hospitality.”
Sun Mo drained the contents of the cup in a single gulp and also toasted Zheng Qingfang. After that, he placed the cup back on the table. “I apologize, my tolerance for alcohol isn’t great!”
Zheng Qingfang was a generous person, and he didn’t feel that Sun Mo was a sissy because of his actions. He said sure and began to enjoy the wine himself.
It was extremely rare for him to see such a good book. If he didn’t get thoroughly drunk, he felt that he would basically have let down [Journey to the West].
“Don’t feel so restrained!”
Seeing that Lu Zhiruo was still very shy, Sun Mo passed a piece of beef to her plate.
“Mn!”
The papaya girl felt warmth in her heart. However, she was very obedient. When she saw that Zheng Qingfang’s cup was empty, she hurriedly took the initiative to pour wine for him.
Zheng Qingfang was very casual. At the banquet table, there was no need to follow too many rules. It was good if everyone could enjoy themselves.
After he drank his third cup of wine, he placed the trays of ingots before Sun Mo. “Look at my bad memory. From now onward, these silver taels belong to you.”
“I said it before, I won’t sell my manuscript.”
Sun Mo rejected. This amount of money was quite a lot, but it was not enough to purchase the copyright of Journey to the West.
“Look at what you are saying. Even if I was blind, I wouldn’t think that just 1,000 taels of silver would be enough to purchase the copyright of this book. This is the living expenses I’m giving you. I hope you won’t be troubled by the necessities of life and let them delay your writing.”
Zheng Qingfang explained. “As for the cost of publishing, we will calculate that separately.”
“I can’t take it all!”
Sun Mo pushed the trays of ingots back as he ate a mouthful of food.
“Sun Mo, let me bank on my seniority and call you little friend.” Zheng Qingfang looked at Sun Mo as his emotions flowed forth. “It is simply too hard to get a good book. It is even tougher to get a book I like so much that I don’t want to let it leave my hands. Little Friend Sun, please accept my goodwill, alright? I only hope that I’ll be able to see the latter part of the story as soon as possible.”
Ding!
Favorable impression from Zheng Qingfang +10.
Prestige connection with Zheng Qingfang unlocked. Current state: Neutral (10/100).
Sun Mo was speechless. The system notification already rang out and this meant that Zheng Qingfang truly admired him. This wasn’t a trick for him to get the manuscript of Journey to the West. However, wasn’t the speed of him becoming a fan a little too quick?
(It wouldn’t be too late if you show your goodwill after finishing the entire story, right?)
(By doing this now, I’ll feel very proud!)
Although there were no major changes to the plot, the words were written by him. Thus, some details and characters were slightly modified based on his thinking. It couldn’t be considered plagiarism, right?
Honestly speaking, as a teacher, Sun Mo had a very low tolerance for plagiarizing. If it wasn’t for him needing money, he wouldn’t have chosen to write Journey to the West.
However, from another point of view, it was also considered a good thing to let the people of Middle-Earth Nine Provinces read a classic from his previous world.
Zheng Qingfang pushed the trays over. After that, he took up the manuscript in his hands again and began to read. He couldn’t help but give his praise once more. It was truly a very good read!
But after that, his expression turned into one of disappointment. Sigh... if he couldn’t find another work of this quality to read in the future, wouldn’t life lose all its meaning?
Actually, Zheng Qingfang had other intentions in his mind by giving Sun Mo money. Other than wanting to read the latter part of Journey to the West, he also wanted to read [Dragon Ball] and [Transformers]. From the quality of this book, the other two books most probably wouldn’t be too bad either.
By thinking of the books, Zheng Qingfang who treated books like his life suddenly felt extremely excited. He wanted nothing more than to grab Sun Mo and make him write out the books for him now.