Chapter 53 Attending the Writers Association Exchange Meeting

"Is that really a thing?" Chen Jiang found it somewhat unbelievable.

"Yes, quite a few of the ones I know are like that," said Pea.

At that moment, the invited authors began to arrive one after another.

A few people clearly recognized Pea and came over to greet him.

"I can't believe you're actually attending this seminar."

Just then, a young man in a white hoodie walked over and sat down beside Pea.

"Yeah, well, it's within Guangdong Province anyway, and it's not far. They cover the high-speed rail tickets, food, and lodging, so I just treated it as a two-day trip to Shenzhen."

"Let me introduce you. This is the traffic king of the web literature circle—Sweet Potato."

"And this is the undisputed number one of the Yuedian platform, Rivers and Oceans," Pea introduced, gesturing toward him.

"This friend of mine used to write traditional literature, and recently he's started learning how to write web novels too."

"You're the great Jiang He?" The young man in the white hoodie looked at Chen Jiang with some surprise.

"That's me," Chen Jiang nodded.

The young man in the white hoodie enthusiastically said, "Hello, Big Boss! I've been following your *Lord of the Mysteries*. It's written so well!"

"Thank you for your support," Chen Jiang smiled.

As expected, younger people are much more receptive to new forms of literature like web novels.

He glanced at the name tag of the man in the white hoodie—Wang Eryue.

"I actually thought you traditional literature folks would be quite repulsive toward web novels," Chen Jiang said with some surprise.

"Those old fogies definitely are, like that bald guy in the third row," Wang Eryue said, pointing toward a rather conspicuous bald middle-aged man in the front rows.

"The guy has never achieved much of his own, and with the decline of traditional literature, he can't make any money anymore."

"Now, every day on online social platforms, he mocks web novels and acts all arrogant. Among the Writers' Association crowd, he's the one making the most fuss."

Chen Jiang glanced at the person he pointed out. Out of the whole crowd, he was indeed the most conspicuous with his shiny bald head.

Just then, several middle-aged men walked up to the conference stage.

Among them, a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses immediately caught Chen Jiang's eye.

Chen Jiang had seen his photos online before.

He was the Vice President of the Writers' Association—Ning Fengyun.

"Fellow authors, good afternoon. I am Ning Fengyun..."

After a string of polite pleasantries, Ning Fengyun read his speech from a draft.

The general message was about daring to innovate, promoting positive energy... and finally, he touched upon web novels, stating that they would be the mainstream literary channel for a long time to come and acknowledging the tremendous contributions web novels have made to the dissemination of national culture over the recent years.

At the end, he invited Chen Jiang and Sweet Potato, the two representative figures of web novels who had been notified in advance, to come up on stage and deliver a speech.

This had been arranged beforehand, and Chen Jiang simply read the content from the script provided to him.

Experiencing this feeling for the very first time, with so many literary celebrities sitting in the audience listening to him speak, was quite surreal.

After he finished, it was Sweet Potato's turn to take the stage.

Before going up, he handed his phone to Chen Jiang, asking him to record a video for him.

***

After Sweet Potato finished his speech, Ning Fengyun invited a certain leader from Shenzhen to take the stage for a speech.

When the speeches concluded, the attendees engaged in free socialization and networking.

Chen Jiang was pulled by Ning Fengyun into a corner of the conference room:

"Jiang He, let me introduce you. This is Shanchuan, the author of *The Begonias Never Wither*."

"Mr. Shanchuan is the honorary president of the Guangdong Writers' Association."

"Hello, Mr. Shanchuan. I've read your books," Chen Jiang said politely to the middle-aged man before him.

Chen Jiang had indeed read his works. This Mr. Shanchuan was a towering figure in the Chinese literary world, and his representative masterpiece, *The Begonias Never Wither*, was a genuine classic full-length novel in this world.

Back in middle school, Chen Jiang had already read his books with great admiration; they were truly exceptionally well-written.

"Is that so? It is an absolute honor," Mr. Shanchuan said graciously, shaking Chen Jiang's hand.

"I heard you are the top figure on the leading web literature platform. I've been quite interested in web literature as a new literary form."

"Literature should be close to the masses, not high and mighty."

Mr. Shanchuan held a very favorable view of web novels, which aligned perfectly with Ning Fengyun's philosophy.

Chen Jiang finally understood why Uncle Ning had introduced him to this person.

After exchanging phone numbers, Chen Jiang found Sweet Potato and the others.

"President Ning really thinks highly of you, even introducing Mr. Shanchuan to you," Pea Shooter said with a hint of envy.

"Of course, Brother Jiang He was even personally invited to join the association by Vice President Ning himself," Sweet Potato chimed in.

Chen Jiang just smiled without a word, and the group proceeded to exchange their respective understandings of the new trends in web literature.

Chen Jiang's insights left the other three gaping in astonishment.

After the seminar concluded, the four of them agreed to grab a hearty meal together that evening.

***

In the evening, Chen Jiang drove to the hotel arranged by the Writers' Association and picked up the three of them.

After driving around for a bit, they finally selected an open-air street food stall as the dining venue.

They ate for nearly an hour, and just as they were preparing to leave, two of the four were already completely drunk.

"Brother Jiang He, you are my own dear brother!"

Sweet Potato grabbed Chen Jiang, insisting on becoming sworn brothers right on the spot.

Muttering incoherently, he chanted, "Not asking to be born on the same year, month, and day, but hoping to die on the same year, month, and day."

This left Chen Jiang feeling rather bewildered and at a loss for what to do.

Back when they were drinking, this guy kept shouting, "Brother, let me finish this glass first!"

Chen Jiang had actually thought his alcohol tolerance was impressive.

It seemed not every northerner was good at holding their liquor.

That stereotype definitely needed to be updated.

Wang Eryue was in a slightly better state; he was just tipsy and didn't throw any drunken tantrums.

***

Chen Jiang and Pea Shooter joined forces to support the two of them outside and hailed a taxi.

"Brother, next time you have a chance, come to Shunde, and I'll treat you to authentic Shunde roast duck!"

"Alright."

Chen Jiang waved goodbye. As the ride-hailing car drove off into the distance, he pulled out his phone and found a designated driver service online.

They had been drinking Baijiu that night; although he hadn't consumed as much as Sweet Potato, he was still feeling quite buzzed.

This Sweet Potato looked so refined and scholarly, yet he was built like a giant, standing close to 1.9 meters tall. It was a good thing Chen Jiang regularly worked out, otherwise, he genuinely wouldn't have been able to haul him around.

Returning home, Chen Jiang took a shower, dried his hair, and promptly collapsed into a deep, exhausted sleep.

***

Waking up the next day, he checked the time—it was already approaching noon.

Chen Jiang felt as though his head had been pricked by acupuncture needles.

A dull numbness still lingered.

It seemed he shouldn't drink too much Baijiu in the future; his alcohol tolerance was simply too poor.

Checking his phone, Yi Yunxue had sent a message asking if he needed to come home for lunch.

Chen Jiang replied that he had just woken up, then got out of bed and walked into the bathroom to freshen up.

After washing his face, Yi Yunxue replied to his message:

[I'll make some honey water. Come over to my place later and drink it.]

[I won't cook a full lunch; I'll just make some congee for you.]

How thoughtful of her!

Chen Jiang felt a warmth spread through his heart and replied with a simple "Thank you."

Just as he was about to head upstairs to Yi Yunxue's place for food, Chen Jiang suddenly remembered that Sweet Potato seemed to have been dead drunk yesterday.

He asked Pea, only to find out that Sweet Potato had actually woken up bright and early this morning, even earlier than he had.

Chen Jiang checked Sweet Potato's newly added WeChat Moments.

Sweet Potato: [Video]

Accompanying caption: [Invited to attend the National Writers' Association seminar, fortunate enough to be invited on stage to give a speech (fist bump)]

Chen Jiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So that was why he had asked him to record that video yesterday—just to post it on Moments.

***

Shortly after finishing lunch and returning to his own apartment that afternoon.

Just as Chen Jiang was getting ready to write a few chapters, he suddenly received a phone call from Sweet Potato:

"Brother Jiang He, hurry up and look at the post I forwarded to you!"

His tone carried a hint of urgency.