Rapid Progress

"System, does it have to be a writer? If not, a celebrity with some fame will do." Zhang Yang silently tried to communicate with the system, hoping to negotiate.

If the scope is unlimited and any celebrity will do, then the difficulty of completing it will be even lower.

Bite!

The mission content has been changed.

Task: Please help select five popular authors to be guests on the live stream.

The list is as follows:(··)

Zhang Yang cursed inwardly, feeling that he was really getting the better deal while pretending to be innocent.

Now that's great, the system has directly increased its own strength.

What if they can't invite the designated person? Then my dream of exchanging property for another person would be ruined!

"Chairman Zhang, what's wrong?" Bai Xiaomi, who was standing nearby, noticed that Zhang Yang's expression seemed a bit off and quickly asked in a low voice.

"It's alright, your suggestion is great." Zhang Yang pinched Bai Xiaomi's cheek and said with a smile.

That evening, Zhang Yang carefully studied the new task, mainly focusing on the five writers to be selected.

Yes, they are all popular authors.

And coincidentally, these individuals' books are also available in the product showcase of Good Goods Selection. A live marketing campaign could be a win-win situation, and it shouldn't be too difficult.

With the task at hand, Zhang Yang wasted no time and immediately communicated with Chi Menglu that same day.

As the company's current Daikin investor, his words naturally carry considerable weight.

"Chairman Zhang, we've actually considered the idea of having guests on our live stream before, and we've even invited some, but the results haven't been great," Chi Menglu said on the phone.

"What author? Is he a popular author?" Zhang Yang asked.

"Uh... it's because of our positioning. The books we sell are relatively niche, with a stronger literary focus, and the authors themselves aren't very well-known. Of course, we also sell the big-name works, but truly established and popular authors won't come to our platform to promote themselves."

Chi Menglu's words essentially mean that the platform isn't well-known, and truly famous writers don't need to come here to promote themselves.

If the number of online viewers in a live stream room really does break 100,000 or even 100,000 in no time, those people will naturally be scrambling to join.

"Let's try again. I'll give you a list, and I'll get Zhou Zhaodong to help you later." Zhang Yang didn't even bother to consider whether this was really suitable for the Good Goods Select platform.

Right now, all I can think about is getting the task done.

After all, once the mission is completed, according to the system's usual practice, the industries that can be exchanged might be quite substantial.

That's much faster than sitting around waiting for Good Goods Select to slowly grow.

Therefore, it is acceptable to force growth even if it means pulling up seedlings to help them grow faster.

"Okay, since Chairman Zhang has this idea, we will definitely cooperate fully." Chi Menglu agreed almost without thinking.

In the following days, at Zhang Yang's request, Zhou Zhaodong and Good Goods Select began to connect, and the two sides began to work together to complete the matter. As for the invitees, they were naturally the writers on Zhang Yang's list.

This time, things went surprisingly smoothly.

With the coordination of the relevant publishing houses, several authors have confirmed their participation in the Premium Goods.

To make this event a success, Good Goods Selection has specially arranged a special event for good books, planning a major book sale.

"In the blink of an eye, four people have been confirmed."

Zhang Yang sat in his office, enjoying Bai Xiaomi's shoulder and back massage while keeping up with the latest developments of the Premium Goods Reading Festival, feeling incredibly relaxed.

Only one final confirmation is needed for the task to be completed.

That Mao Roast Duck shop can be used as a replacement.

What industry will he exchange it for this time? Zhang Yang wasn't greedy; the bottom line was already very low, so no matter what he exchanged it for, he would still make a profit.

The next few days were quite peaceful.

Zhang Yang's days were filled with fulfillment and excitement: working with Bai Xiaomi and spending his free time with the sweet and charming Bei Wei. Back in Hangzhou, Xiang Xiaotian would send him a message every few days, always reminding Zhang Yang not to forget her birthday.

Zhang Yang is the kind of person who always keeps his promises. Besides, Xiang Xiaotian's birthday happens to be close to the start of preparations for the web series, so Zhang Yang's trip there is a win-win situation.

That day:

"By the way, Tian Chuxi said she wanted to revise the script, but there's been no word on it yet?" Zhang Yang muttered to himself, and couldn't help but send a message.

"Okay, I was just about to give it to you," Tian Chuxi replied.

"Are there big changes?" Zhang Yang asked.

"You'll see when you read it," Tian Chuxi said mysteriously, tossing over an electronic copy.

Zhang Yang opened it and glanced at it; it seemed that nothing had changed.

"Print it out for me." Zhang Yang waved to Bai Xiaomi, giving her something to do.

"Yes, Chairman Zhang." Bai Xiaomi obediently went to do it.

Next to the printer, paper was constantly being spit out.

Bai Xiaomi looked at the page numbers, arranging them page by page, and asked, "What is this? It looks like a script?"

She muttered to herself, her curiosity getting the better of her, and couldn't help but take a closer look. Then, she inevitably saw some words that made her heart race and her face flush.

"Hiss... tsk tsk tsk, Chairman Zhang is looking at this?"

She didn't dare look too long, touched her slightly flushed cheeks, carefully organized and bound the printed materials, and sent them into the office.

"Chairman Zhang, everything is ready."

"Okay, you can put it down." Zhang Yang picked it up and flipped through it. "By the way, you didn't see it, did you?"

Faced with Zhang Yang's gaze, Bai Xiaomi dared not lie.

"I... I just glanced at two pages by accident."

"Oh, so be it. Don't take it out," Zhang Yang casually instructed. "By the way, do you still want to see it?"

"I want to," Bai Xiaomi said weakly.

"Then let's watch it together." Zhang Yang patted his thigh.

Bai Xiaomi blushed and obediently wrapped her arms around Zhang Yang's neck, sitting on his lap.

After a short while, the two watched and discussed, completely immersed in the story.

"Chairman Zhang, how could this female lead be so foolish? She'd rather choose this male lead than a five-star hotel heir. He's nowhere near as good as the male supporting character."

"Hmph, hypocritical. She's all that with the male supporting character, but then she turns around and gets entangled with the male lead."

"Chairman Zhang, this interaction with the male supporting character is quite vividly written."

Upon seeing a explicit description, Bai Xiaomi covered her mouth and whispered, "I still prefer the interactions with the male supporting character; I have absolutely no feelings for the male lead."

Zhang Yang looked at the description Bai Xiaomi had pointed out and immediately fell into deep thought.

Tsk tsk tsk, so it really has been changed.

For example, many of the interactions between him and the male supporting character, although the plot direction remained the same, originally focused mainly on psychological descriptions.

The female protagonist's struggle ends at the level of words and psychology.

However, after the changes, there are now many more interactions between the two characters.

In particular, there's a scene where the female lead loses her memory and the male supporting character takes advantage of her vulnerability. That scene was... well, it's hard to describe. Anyway, there was a lot more description of it.

To be honest, Zhang Yang's heart raced when he saw it.

"What do you think of the writing?" Zhang Yang asked Bai Xiaomi.

"To be honest, it's so melodramatic, it makes you want to curse. But if it's made into a movie, it'll probably be a minor hit. Chairman Zhang, is this really the script? Did our company invest in it?" Bai Jingyi couldn't help but keep asking.

"If this is really the one we want to vote for, could you please give us some feedback? This ending is absolutely terrible; how could they choose the male lead?"

"How about the male lead?" Zhang Yang shook his head and smiled. He was quite satisfied with Tian Chuxi's revised version of the script and had a strong urge to give it a try.

"This show has nothing to do with our company, just pretend you never watched it."

"Okay." Bai Jingyi nodded with slight doubt, obediently putting aside what she had just seen.

In the morning, Zhou Zhaodong came to report on the situation.

"What? That last writer has been refusing to communicate?" Zhang Yang couldn't help but be quite surprised.

"Yes, she's completely unresponsive, and then she refuses to answer the phone," Zhou Zhaodong said helplessly. "I heard that she has a habit of seclusion when she's writing, and she's currently preparing for a new book, so she doesn't want to be disturbed by the outside world at all."

"Chairman Zhang, should we send someone to invite him in person, or should we just find someone else?"

"Change to another one? I'd like to," Zhang Yang muttered to himself, his eyes falling on the last author's introduction.

Pen name: Su Xiaoran

Real name: Xie Shuting

Representative works: ··

This Su Xiaoran mainly writes youth literature and urban romance. She became famous at a young age, and several of her works have been adapted into film and television works. She is a well-known beautiful writer in the industry.

"Where is she?" Zhang Yang asked.

"It seems she opened a guesthouse at the foot of Wuyuan Huangling. She usually goes there when she goes into seclusion," Zhou Zhaodong said.

"Okay, I understand. Here's what we'll do: wait for my reply. Don't rush to start the reading festival at Premium Goods." Zhang Yang nodded and gave the instructions.

A moment later, in the office.

Zhang Yang first skimmed through Su Xiaoran's work. Sure enough, the writing had that literary and artistic flair, and the delicacy was typical of female authors.

"Never mind, let's make a call and see."

He muttered something to himself, glanced at the number, and decided to make a private call to check it out.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

A slightly cold voice came from the phone.

Hello? Where is this?

"Hello Ms. Xie, I'd like to discuss a collaboration with you. Is this convenient..." Zhang Yang hadn't even finished his sentence.

"This is never going to end."

Then, the call was disconnected.

Zhang Yang held up his phone and chuckled to himself.

No... it really is just as Zhou Zhaodong said, completely unyielding, giving no chance to communicate at all... Is he really that... that willful?

Since it concerned one of his businesses, Zhang Yang naturally couldn't give up. So, he looked into Su Xiaoran more closely and found that she was still updating her social media.

Yes, the interaction with book fans is quite active.

The latest update is today.

[Amidst the romance of nature, I wait for someone at the Wuyuan Red Dust Inn]

The accompanying picture shows the charmingly arranged Hui-style villages in Wuyuan, shrouded in mist and rain.

The location is Wuyuan Huangling.

In the comments section, some readers joked, asking who she was waiting for, and she replied seriously:

[Preparing for a new book, finding my footing, waiting for inspiration.]

"Or perhaps we should go in person to show our sincerity," Zhang Yang muttered to himself after observing for a while.

To get to Wuyuan from Magic City, you would typically fly to Jingdezhen Airport and then proceed to Wuyuan.

This matter should be addressed promptly; the sooner it's settled, the more at ease we'll be.

So Zhang Yang called Bai Jingyi in.

"Chairman Zhang, what can I do for you?" Bai Xiaomi asked as she walked in.

"Book me a plane ticket to Jingdezhen Airport," Zhang Yang arranged. "The sooner the better."

"Okay, by the way, Chairman Zhang, do you need me too..." Bai Xiaomi asked, sounding a bit eager.

"Never mind, it's just me alone. I'll take you on a business trip next time." Zhang Yang shook his head, thinking it was better to go alone this time and travel light.

To be honest, Zhang Yang hadn't really encountered many female literary youths in his life.

Zhang Yang's entire impression of the female literary youth was that she was imaginative, out of touch with reality, detached from worldly affairs, arrogant, and regarded money as dirt.

Of course, Zhang Yang felt that the label of "treating money like dirt" was debatable. They might not love money, but the kind of spiritual perfection and freedom they pursued would be impossible without some material support.

"Alright then." Bai Xiaomi had no choice but to book a plane ticket for Zhang Yang alone, feeling rather dejected.

The earliest flight is tomorrow morning. It goes to Jingdezhen, then to Wuyuan Huangling. After all that travel, it'll be almost afternoon. But there's no other way. The reward for this mission might just be another billion-dollar industry, so all the trouble is worth it.

That afternoon, Zhang Yang didn't go anywhere. Instead, he calmed down and studied Su Xiaoran's work more carefully.

After all, if you don't know anything about the other person's work when you start talking to them, won't you get kicked out?

I watched until well past midnight.

The book's popularity is undoubtedly due to its merits, including its character design, writing style, story, and some scenes, which are indeed beautifully and movingly depicted.

But it's not that you can't get over it.

The reason Zhang Yang stayed up so late was that Su Xiaoran had written several books, and even reading them quickly would take quite a while.

"That's about it. When we start talking, I'll be able to explain things in general." Zhang Yang put down his phone, breathed a sigh of relief, went to the balcony to enjoy the river breeze for a while, and relaxed his mind and body.

Reading these books of hers is so emotionally draining.

As a reader, he felt anxious for the protagonists in the book, reading about the complicated entanglements between men and women and the regrets of unrequited love.

I'm so tired.

"I hope Su Xiaoran herself isn't such a twisted person." Zhang Yang couldn't help but light a cigarette, feeling that he had only himself to blame.

They could have just found five authors at random, but they insisted on haggling with the system, and now the difficulty has increased.

It is often said that a work of art is a reflection of the author himself.

Given the character Su Xiaoran in the book, it's unrealistic to assume she wouldn't be conflicted in real life.

Zhang Yang shook his head, turned around and went straight back to his bedroom to sleep.