“I’m not here to expedite the printing of these books. You just need to finish the printing on time.”
Fang Qiu walked straight to Zhang Xingjie’s desk, put the printed manuscript on the desk, and said, “I’m here to give you the manuscript.”
“Huh?”
Zhang Xingjie was surprised as he stared at Fang Qiu. “You have… finished writing?”
“Yes.”
Fang Qiu handed the manuscript to Zhang Xingjie.
Zhang Xingjie immediately grabbed the manuscript, opened it, and began to read.
He read it for quite a while.
“Mr. Fang.”
Zhang Xingjie smiled wryly and asked, “Is this book really written by you?”
“Yes.”
Fang Qiu nodded affirmatively.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way.”
Zhang Xingjie hastened to explain. “I do not doubt your professional level. I mean that I thought you would write a biography or an essay collection, but I didn’t expect that you would have written something like this.”
“Is there any problem with this book?”
Fang Qiu was confused.
“What does he mean?”
“There’s a big problem, buddy!”
Zhang Xingjie immediately nodded, and with a serious look and a faint, wry smile on his face, he said, “I’ve been in the business for so long. Although I have accomplished nothing remarkable, I have gained rich experience. According to my experience, it is very likely that this book will be censored and banned after it is published…”
After that, he cast a stealthy glance at Fang Qiu, fearing that Fang Qiu could not accept his words.
“I’m not afraid of censorship.”
Surprisingly, Fang Qiu smiled and said, “Just publish it. I’ll buy all the copies if you can’t sell them.”
Fang Qiu planned to buy all the copies and give them as gifts to others if the publisher couldn’t sell them.
“This…”
Zhang Xingjie hesitated for a moment.
After all, he was engaged in the book publishing business, and as expressly stated in the contract, Fang Qiu was entitled to the royalties on the first 500 thousand copies of the book. If this book were really censored and banned as soon as it was released to the market, his efforts would go to waste, and he would even suffer a loss of millions.
Fang Qiu said that he would buy them, but Zhang Xingjie could not bear to let Fang Qiu suffer the loss.
However…
As a senior manager of a publishing company, he could foresee that once this book was published and released to the market, it would definitely become an instant hit.
He could feel that this book would be an astonishing one!
However, it was also likely that the book would be directly censored and banned after it was published!
“Should I publish it or not?”
Zhang Xingjie was struggling to make a decision.
“Without Fang Qiu, my publishing company will go bankrupt. Even if it can survive for a while relying on the big order of the six million copies, it surely won’t hold on for too long.”
“If the book is banned after publication, my publishing company will also be finished.”
“Now that the result will be the same, why not give it a try?”
When thinking about this, Zhang Xingjie gritted his teeth and said, “Okay, I’ll publish it!”
Seeing that Zhang Xingjie had made up his mind, Fang Qiu didn’t say anything else, but he asked one question.
“When will this book be published?”
“It will take at least one month, so it will be published in the middle of December according to the rules of the ‘three reviews and three checks’ system.”
At this point, for fear that Fang Qiu didn’t understand, Zhang Xingjie added, “This system means that a book requires three rounds of review and three rounds of check before it is copied and published. In addition, there are other procedures to be completed. The most important thing is that the illustrations in your book have to be drawn by designated personnel. For these reasons, it will definitely take at least a month for the book to be published.”
Fang Qiu thought for a while, and then nodded and said, “A month is okay.”
“Then I’ll come back two days later to get the books.”
Zhang Xingjie immediately nodded and said, “No problem, there will be enough of them.”
Fang Qiu left the publishing company directly.
After Fang Qiu left, the staff of the publishing company immediately gathered around Zhang Xingjie, who had just come back to the office after seeing Fang Qiu off.
“Mr. Zhang, is Fang Qiu here to hand in the manuscript this time?”
“I saw it too. He seemed to be holding a manuscript in his hand.”
“It’s just been over ten days. Has he really finished a book in such a short time?”
The staff asked various questions.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Zhang Xingjie coughed and raised his right hand to signal the staff to be quiet. After everyone became quiet, he took a deep breath and said, “We have to work overtime for a month. Let’s work together and see if we can perform a miracle in the publishing industry!”
Though he didn’t give a direct answer, upon hearing Zhang Xingjie’s words, everyone understood the situation right away.
“Fang Qiu indeed came here to hand in his manuscript. Our publishing company is going to be very busy with publishing Fang Qiu’s book!”
Thinking of this, everyone felt energetic, and their eyes lit up.
“Okay!”
Everyone shouted in a determined manner at the same time.
After leaving the publishing company, Fang Qiu immediately took out his mobile phone and called He Gaoming.
“Hello?”
The phone rang a few times before it was answered. He Gaoming asked, “What’s up? I’m quite busy now. Don’t disturb me in the next few days. I’m busy improving my strength.”
“Well, is it okay for me to disturb you this time? Only one time!”
Fang Qiu chuckled and asked, “I asked you to keep an eye on someone. How is it going?”
“Did you ask me to keep an eye on someone?”
He Gaoming froze for a moment and then asked, “Who is this person that you’re referring to?”
“The person that all people in his village hated and was released from prison four years ago. You investigated him when I asked you to take the order for the first time.”
Fang Qiu reminded him.
“Oh, are you referring to Wei Dong? You gave him 300,000 yuan and asked him to do good deeds.”
He Gaoming remembered.
“Yes, it’s Wei Dong.”
Fang Qiu nodded.
“Well.”
He Gaoming smiled and said, “He’s a typical good person now. Let’s put it this way. If there still were a living saint nowadays, he would be the saint in my eyes. Do you understand?”
“Okay, I got it. Thank you.”
Fang Qiu thanked He Gaoming, asked him to send Wei Dong’s address to him, and then hung up.
The moment he received the address, Fang Qiu was surprised.
He didn’t expect that Wei Dong still lived in the basement. Even though Wei Dong had 300,000 yuan, he didn’t even find a better place to live in.
He had been doing good deeds all the time.
He Gaoming sent the addresses of all the places where Wei Dong might go, to Fang Qiu.
Back in Jiangjing.
Fang Qiu started to look for Wei Dong according to the addresses.
Unexpectedly, he saw that in the afterglow of the setting sun, Wei Dong was riding a tattered tricycle loaded with a lot of rice and oil and sending these daily living supplies to the elderly people living alone in the slums.
Wei Dong caught sight of Fang Qiu.
He looked surprised and then smiled suddenly.
Fang Qiu smiled back. Without saying anything, Fang Qiu went over to Wei Dong and helped him unload the supplies.
Just like that.
The two of them did everything silently.
Walking while steering his tricycle, Wei Dong took Fang Qiu to the basement where he lived.
It was still dark, as usual, in the basement. The only difference was that there was one more pot used to cook noodles.
This place was very shabby.
Wei Dong found a stool, wiped it clean, and then handed it to Fang Qiu.
“Thank you.”
Fang Qiu took the stool, sat down on it directly as he didn’t think it was dirty at all, and then asked, “How have you been recently?”
“Quite well.”
Wei Dong found himself a seat and sat down. With a smile on his face, he said, “I spend every day feeling fulfilled. I never thought that I could live such a fulfilling life. Thank you for your help.”
“You’re welcome.”
Fang Qiu shook his head, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, “Now there is another opportunity. Are you willing to help more people and more children?”
“Of course, I am.”
Wei Dong immediately nodded and said, “My life is saved for atonement.”
“Good.”
Looking at Wei Dong, Fang Qiu said, “I have six books, and there are one million copies of each book. Now I need someone to donate and distribute them to the elementary schools in poor mountainous areas, so that the children there will have books to read. Some children cannot go to school because their families cannot afford the tuition, and there will be some other supplies to be donated to them in the future. Can you do it?”
“Me?”
Wei Dong was stunned. He didn’t expect that Fang Qiu would come to him for such a big matter.
He thought for a while, shook his head, and then gave a bitter smile.
“To be honest, I admire you very much and want to thank you for your trust. But I am afraid I can’t do it well and may cause trouble. You know that I used to be a jerk…”
Fang Qiu interrupted him, stared into his eyes, and said, “But you have the heart to do it better than anyone else, including me.”
“Only you can do it, and only you can do it well. I only trust you.”
Wei Dong fell into silence.
Instead of disturbing him, Fang Qiu gave him some time to think about it.
Fang Qiu knew that he wanted to do it, but he just doubted his own ability. He didn’t dare to undertake it, for fear that he couldn’t do it well.
After a long time, Wei Dong suddenly raised his head, nodded hard, and asked, “Okay, I’ll do it! When should I start?”
“As soon as possible.”
With a smile on his face, Fang Qiu said, “You’d better set off in a couple of days.”
“Okay. I happen to have some things to send to some elderly people. I’ll send them tomorrow morning. I should be able to go in the morning of the day after tomorrow,” Wei Dong said.
“Okay.”
Fang Qiu nodded and said, “I’ll come to you then. Get yourself ready.”
“Okay.”
Wei Dong nodded.
The two of them did not talk about other matters. Fang Qiu trusted Wei Dong, who trusted him as well. They understood each other, and there was no need for them to say anything at all.
Fang Qiu got up, said goodbye, and then left.
The third episode of “Run Wild&Survive” was broadcast that night.
The audience acted exactly the same way as they watched the last two episodes.
Countless people were waiting for this episode in front of the TV.
Although they had watched the last two episodes, they were looking forward to the third episode more eagerly.
It was all because of the preview played in the last episode’s trailer.
Treasure, bats, and python!
They were all particularly attractive.
As a result, the third episode of the show attracted a lot of attention, not only from the audience but also from the industry peers. They wanted to have a look at the treasure worth billions and see if it was just bragging!
At 7:45 p.m.
The show was aired just when Fang Qiu returned to the dormitory.
The sponsors’ commercial advertisements were played.
After that, the audience watched a review of the last two episodes, which lasted for only about one minute.
“What the f*ck! Is it really going to rain?”
Liu Qingshi exclaimed.
The third episode officially began.
“Whoosh, whoosh…”
In the sky, the wind was blowing wildly.
Everyone gathered together, and the messages from the show’s crew were completely open to the public. After all, this was a good thing for both the director’s team and the show’s crew.
The director’s efforts were not in vain.
All the audience began to praise the show’s crew when they heard the director say that he would lead everyone out of the uninhabited island.
However, the MCs and the guests all chose to stay and rise to the challenge.
Seeing this, the audience was even more moved and thought that it was a very positive attitude!
“Let’s cheer for the MCs!”
On the screen, led by Fang Qiu, all the people entered the jungle to find a shelter from the rain.
Finally, they found a cave before the heavy rain fell.
The moment the audience saw the cave, they couldn’t help criticizing.
“How could they find such a cave? It is lame, isn’t it?”
“Obviously, this cave is prearranged by the show’s crew. Is there any need to look for it? They found it easily on the way, as if they already knew where it was.”
“Yeah, it’s too fake!”
“Although it’s fake, at least they have a shelter from the rain.”
However…
As the heated discussion went on among the audience, Fang Qiu entered the cave and then roared loudly.
A large group of bats immediately flew out of the cave like crazy.
The audience was taken aback by this scene.
“Who just said the cave was prearranged by the show’s crew? Who?”
“There are so many bats in the cave. How can they stay there?”
“There must be a lot of worms inside the cave. It’s so terrifying.”
“It would be too heartless for the show’s crew to arrange such a place for them to stay.”
“For those who said that it was prearranged by the show’s crew, I just want to ask you one question. Where do you think the crew can buy so many wild bats to make the arrangement?”
This time…
All those who doubted the authenticity of the scene all shut up.
