The Shelf Is Quite Large

In the provincial capital, at Dahe Publishing House.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Lu Dahe arrived at his office right on time. He first brewed himself a cup of tea, comfortably moistened his throat, and then picked up the latest newspaper to read.

Spending half the day drinking tea and reading the newspaper was Lu Dahe's unshakeable habit, and many people secretly voiced their disapproval.

But Lu Dahe never cared about such gossip. He was now second-in-command, so why should he bother with the idle chatter of those below him?

Moreover, Lu Dahe believed that studying the newspaper was his most important job.

In this era of constant change, even the most inconspicuous snippets of information in the newspaper could be the thunder before a storm. If a group of deaf and blind people couldn't hear or see it, wouldn't that just benefit Lu Dahe?

"Knock, knock, knock~"

The annoying sound of knocking disturbed Lu Dahe's reading.

Lu Dahe frowned and looked up at the wall clock.

It was only 9:10 AM. Which inconsiderate person was here to cause trouble? Didn't they know that Lu Dahe didn't like to be disturbed at this time?

As for the president of the publishing house, the only person who could disturb Lu Dahe at will, he never knocked. A quick call to his internal extension, and Lu Dahe would have to scurry over to serve him.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a young man wearing glasses walked in.

Lu Dahe glanced at the newcomer, took a sip of tea, and continued reading the newspaper with great relish, as if he hadn't noticed the extra person in the office.

The young man was very flustered. After blushing and hesitating for a few seconds, he finally said, "Hello, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Lu. I'm here to ask about the novel Latent and how we should proceed with it."

Lu Dahe raised his eyelids, glanced at the young man over the top of the newspaper, and said slowly, "How to proceed will be decided by the company after discussion. Why are you in such a hurry, young man?

In our line of work, you must never be impatient. You have to carefully screen it for the benefit of the broad readership."

The young man stood there, listening to Lu Dahe's lecture for a full three minutes. Then, seizing an opportunity while the latter was drinking water, he interjected, "But Deputy Editor-in-Chief Lu, we received the submission several days ago. We should at least give the author a reply, shouldn't we?"

Lu Dahe put down the newspaper and stared coldly at the young man. "Geng Zhi, how many years have you been with the company?"

The young man named Geng Zhi was taken aback and replied, "Three years, Editor-in-Chief."

Lu Dahe raised his voice and reprimanded, "Then do you think you are qualified to instruct me on how to work now?"

Geng Zhi suddenly became flustered. "No, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Lu, that's not what I meant..."

"Enough," Lu Dahe said, waving his hand sternly, as if shooing away a fly. "You can go. Do your own job, don't interfere with other colleagues, and certainly don't violate discipline by contacting the author privately."

"..."

Geng Zhi left the editor-in-chief's office with a stomach full of anger. He really couldn't understand what he had done wrong to offend his superior.

Last week, the publishing house had received a novel submission, which had landed in the hands of Geng Zhi, the responsible editor.

The responsible editor is the one who directly liaises with the author, reads submissions daily, determines if they have publishing value, and then reports to superiors to decide the final fate of the submission.

After Geng Zhi opened the submission titled Latent, he was immediately amazed and gave it the highest possible rating.

And it wasn't just Geng Zhi who gave it the highest rating; after peer review among colleagues, it also received unanimous praise.

However, to their surprise, after the manuscript was submitted, it inexplicably went silent.

Some of the more seasoned colleagues said that the novel's theme was too sensitive. Although it was very good and outstanding, it might not be allowed to be published.

But Latent was truly exceptional. How could Geng Zhi, who hadn't had any significant achievements for a long time, be willing to give up?

Today, Geng Zhi could no longer hold back, so he entered Deputy Editor-in-Chief Lu's office at an inappropriate time and was reprimanded.

Geng Zhi returned to his desk and sat down, lost in thought for a long time.

"Sigh, Xiao Geng, Xiao Geng?"

The older woman sitting opposite Geng Zhi suddenly called out to him softly.

Geng Zhi jolted awake and quickly replied, "Sister Xu, what's wrong?"

Sister Xu whispered, "Did you go to see Deputy Editor-in-Chief Lu to ask about Latent?"

Geng Zhi asked curiously, "Yes! Sister Xu, how did you know?"

"I can tell just by looking at you," Sister Xu said mysteriously. "Listen to Sister, just give up!"

"What? Give up?" Geng Zhi asked, shocked and anxious. "Sister Xu, you've read that novel too. It would be too much of a shame to give up."

"Speak softly," Sister Xu said, glancing around before continuing to Geng Zhi, "I mean you should give up, not the company."

Geng Zhi looked a bit foolish and asked confusedly, "Sister Xu, what do you mean? Can you explain it more clearly?"

Sister Xu pointed to the next office and lowered her voice. "According to reliable sources, Xiao Feng next door has already contacted that Seven-Inch Blade."

"What?"

"Why?"

Geng Zhi suddenly stood up, looking at Sister Xu in disbelief. The anger he had been suppressing erupted from his mouth and nose.

"Why? Why, Xiao Geng, don't you know?

It's because Xiao Feng is a university student, it's because Xiao Feng is handsome, and he's the editor-in-chief's daughter! Hey, Xiao Geng, where are you going?"

Before Sister Xu could finish speaking, Geng Zhi, seething with rage, stormed towards the adjacent office.

A man in black sitting in the corner put down his teacup and complained to Sister Xu, "Old Xu, don't stir up trouble! It'll be embarrassing for everyone if something goes wrong."

Sister Xu glanced at him and retorted, "Hmph, why didn't you stop Little Geng then? Besides, Feng Bo acts so high and mighty all the time, I don't believe you can stand him?"

The man in black chuckled, "Ha, I'm almost retired, what can I not stand anymore?"

Sister Xu looked at him with disdain, "Tch, you're the most cunning person in the whole office."

Geng Zhi barged into the adjacent office, startling the three colleagues inside.

Two of them immediately lowered their heads, pretending not to see Geng Zhi.

But Feng, sitting in the middle, looked up at Geng Zhi with his eyelids raised and said coldly, "What is it?"

Geng Zhi didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Did you contact Seven-Inch Blade?"

Feng Bo replied unhappily, "You should ask the editor-in-chief that question, not me."

Geng Zhi said angrily, "I'm asking you. Do you understand the rules? It was clearly my manuscript, but you insisted on snatching it?"

The rules Geng Zhi was referring to were actually some unspoken rules within the publishing house: whoever received the manuscript first owned it. Even if it was assigned from above, you should refuse.

But Feng Bo clearly didn't care about any rules; whatever he could get his hands on was his.

"Ask the editor-in-chief if you have the guts, or get out."

"Say that one more time if you dare?"

"I'll say it eight more times..."

"Ring ring~"

Just as the two were about to escalate, the office phone rang.

Feng Bo was the first to grab the phone, adjusted his tone, and said cordially, "Hello, Dahe Publishing House."

"Yes, I'm Feng Bo. Seven-Inch Blade? You're Li Ye, right?"

Geng Zhi immediately became anxious and reached out to grab the phone from Feng Bo.

But Feng Bo looked at Geng Zhi sternly and made a "shushing" gesture with his hand.

Geng Zhi gritted his teeth and forcefully stopped his movement.

Internal conflicts shouldn't be made fun of by outsiders.

Feng Bo smiled triumphantly and said into the phone, "Yes, our opinion is that you should bring the remaining manuscript over. After our analysis and research, we will decide whether to publish it."

"Why? Don't you know what's wrong with your own manuscript? Bring the full manuscript of the novel over, and we'll assign professional editors to help you revise it."

"You don't have time to come over? Why don't you have time to come over?"

Unconsciously, Feng Bo's tone had changed from the initial cordial and friendly demeanor to arrogance.

"What did you say? You're preparing for an exam, preparing for what exam... Are you really a high school student?"

Feng Bo's voice suddenly rose, and his last sentence was almost a shout.

Meanwhile, at the Qingshui County post office on the other end of the line, Li Ye was also very speechless.

[Weren't the editors of this era supposed to be very enthusiastic and warm?]

[Weren't the editors of this era supposed to be very righteous and open-minded?]

[But listening to the voice on the other side, this person isn't that old! Why is he so old-fashioned and putting on such airs?]