Fame Is Best Won Young

Ever since the day media was born, only its form had changed; its essence had not changed at all.

The little essay Chen Qi had written was no different from what content creators posted on Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douyin, and Bilibili: they all steered the narrative, stirred up emotions, attracted traffic, and thereby achieved their own ends.

He had taken the emotional-content creator route, the kind that left men silent and women in tears.

In his little essay, he had dissed the No. 2 Plastics Factory. By the standards of later years, the factory should have done some PR and damage control. Handled well, it could even have turned its bad reputation around and made a bundle selling goods on livestreams.

But things were different now.

People did not have that way of thinking, and the environment did not allow for it either.

"I must have had eight lifetimes' worth of rotten luck to end up with these workers!"

At the No. 2 Plastics Factory, the factory leader held the newspaper, looking as twitchy as Wu Lao'er next door, his heart full of grievance.

He really did have reason to feel aggrieved. In terms of procedure, there was nothing wrong with "holding a meeting to study the matter." These days, the working class were the grandfathers! Would everyone stand for workers being disciplined over a piddling little matter? It was not something he could decide on his own.

They had to study it.

But before their study had produced a result, the other side had refused to play by the usual rules and delivered a direct KO.

"Now that it's in the papers, we're famous, and once we're famous, the higher-ups will take notice... That's it for us. Never mind those boys-even I won't get off easy!"

"Then what do we do now?"

"What else can we do?"

The factory leader fumed. "Our leadership team will examine our mistakes immediately. We'll hold a meeting, make a serious self-criticism, and submit a written report. The higher-ups will definitely send someone to investigate.

"As for those boys, suspend them from work first. They can wait for disciplinary action!"

After saying that, the factory leader thought for a moment, then suddenly picked up his coat. "I'll go there myself and have a proper talk with the Dashilar Subdistrict!"

Qianmen, on the east side of the Archery Tower.

It was noon, and twelve of the young tea sellers were taking turns resting. Why twelve? Because a certain individual had fucking skipped work again.

After several days of practice, they had quickly gained experience. For instance, they poured the tea out in advance and covered it with panes of glass while it cooled. That way, it was warm enough for customers to drink right away, and it was also protected from windblown sand.

Sales were increasing by the day as well. Yesterday, they had actually sold three thousand bowls.

"Oh, I'm exhausted!"

Following a certain individual's example, Huang Zhanying broke open a bun and stuffed it with pickles, making herself a giant pickle burger. "It feels like there are more and more people. We can barely keep up."

"Yeah, it was noon in the blink of an eye... Hey, where did Chen Qi run off to?"

"He said his stomach hurt, so he's resting at home."

"Why does his stomach always hurt?"

"He's slacking off, that's why!"

Huang Zhanying took a sip of water. "The reporter came to interview us yesterday and said it would be in today's paper, but we've been so busy we haven't had time to look. I'm definitely buying a copy after work."

"Mm-hmm, I want one too. We took a big group photo yesterday. I'll show my mom, so she'll stop saying all day that I'm good for nothing."

"I wonder what he wrote. He was so mysterious about it..."

"Ah! Stop pushing!"

A scream interrupted them. Huang Zhanying sprang to her feet, thinking someone was causing trouble again. But when she went over to look, a good number of people had crowded around the tea stall at some point. The men and women were all young, and they did not look like they had come for tea. Every face was curious and eager.

"This is the place, right?"

"It is. There's only one tea stall in Qianmen!"

"Ah, so this is where Comrade Chen Qi works? Our cooperative makes bedding, and I thought we had it hard enough. I never expected your conditions to be even more basic. You're out in the wind and sun without even a shelter."

"..."

Huang Zhanying was full of question marks. "What are you all here for? If you're not drinking tea, don't crowd the front!"

Who would have thought her shout would cause an even bigger commotion? "Excuse me, is Comrade Chen Qi here?"

"We'd like to meet him!"

"I read the paper and came all the way from Haidian!"

"He... he's sick. He took the day off!"

"Huh? What illness? Is it serious? How did he suddenly get sick? Where does he live? Can we visit him?"

"Yes, yes! I have a bellyful of things I want to say!"

"It's not serious. His mom and dad are taking care of him, so it wouldn't be appropriate for you to visit. I'll pass your good wishes along... Thanks for coming all this way. Come, have a bowl of tea!"

Huang Zhanying's eyes darted, and she waved her hand. Her companions fell into step with practiced ease and briskly began pouring tea.

"As the Chinese saying goes, 'You're already here!'

"-Einstein"

They were already here, so of course they had to drink some tea. And once they had drunk it, they could hardly leave without paying. Huang Zhanying went through the motions of refusing before reluctantly accepting the money. She had thought there would only be one group, but more and more people kept coming.

They were all looking for Chen Qi.

Some even brought letters for Huang Zhanying to pass on. She was like a star's agent, dealing with a bunch of brain-dead fans on her master's behalf.

"Two bowls!"

"One for me too!"

"Your work isn't easy either. Our cooperative is over in Dongcheng. We're all revolutionary comrades-in-arms, so let's support one another!"

"Line up, everyone, line up! Don't push!"

It was supposed to be their lunch break, but they ended up run off their feet. As they rushed around in circles, everyone was itching to know: I have to buy a newspaper and see for myself after work!

"Whoa!"

"Another whole sack!"

At the China Youth Daily offices, it was nearly time to get off work when an editor brought in another sack of letters and dropped it on the floor. "Young people are so enthusiastic!" the editor said in disbelief. "It only appeared in the paper today, and hundreds of people have come by to submit letters, all discussing that article!"

"Are they for us or for the author?"

"Both!"

"Get Lao Sheng to come have a look!"

A little while later, Sheng Yongzhi came over. He rummaged through the letters and pulled one out at random. It read:

"Dear comrades at the newspaper,

"I read the article 'The road of life-how should we walk it?' in your paper today and was deeply moved. I could not resist sharing my thoughts, though I beg you to forgive me for overestimating my own abilities.

"The author mentioned building a spiritual home of one's own. Though this is certainly reasonable, I must respectfully disagree.

"I feel that confining one's ideals to inner self-fulfillment is too narrow. We are all young, in the prime of our lives. We should aim to realize our own value, and in turn create value for society as a whole and for our motherland..."

"Not bad. Young people really have their own ideas."

Sheng Yongzhi nodded. "Since this topic is so popular, why don't we select letters expressing different viewpoints and publish some in each issue? That way, everyone can express their views and create a space for discussion."

"Good, that's what we in the editorial department were thinking too!"

"We haven't seen an atmosphere like this in years!"

"As the saying goes, a new era brings a new atmosphere!"

For a time, everyone was jubilant. They were all intellectuals, and the years that had just passed stirred the deepest feelings in them. In fact, many people had things to say, but no voice with which to say them.

Sheng Yongzhi came back carrying a stack of letters and instructed, "Xiao Yu, keep an eye on that tea stall. A leader may go inspect it later. Remind me when the time comes."

"Mm, got it!"

"Follow up with the author too. See if there's any other news."

"Sure!"

Yu Jiajia readily agreed.

"My son!"

"I only just found out how much you've suffered!"

Meanwhile, after Yu Xiuli got off work, she came through the door and threw her arms around her eldest son, weeping and wiping away tears. Chen Jianjun stood nearby, both gratified and heavyhearted.

Chen Qi rolled his eyes. He had discovered that his mother was a bit of a drama queen, while his father kept his passions hidden. Chen Qi had published an article, and it would have been one thing for them to cry in the house, but why had they come out into the courtyard to do it?

Wasn't it just to show off to the neighbors?

It worked very well. Everyone stopped cooking and gathered in a crowded semicircle around their house, with Chen Qi on display like a monkey.

"Xiuli, this is such a wonderful thing. Don't cry!"

"Yeah, your boy can even get articles published in the newspaper. He's much better than mine. Mine touched a girl's hand yesterday and nearly got hauled in!"

"Hey, Xiao Chen, did you get paid for the article?"

"How did the reporter interview you?"

"Oh, do you think a leader will come to inspect?"

"I always said this child was good at writing essays from a young age. Going to the countryside held him back."

"..."

Listening to the neighbors all talking at once, Chen Qi's heart was as still as water. He was as indifferent as a passenger on a streetcar, as blind as a husband sleeping in the living room, as deaf as a colleague in the tea room, and as heartless as a parent bringing a teacher home to give their child extra lessons...

If this had happened to another young person, they might already have had their head in the clouds.

But he knew clearly that he did not yet have the corresponding social standing. He had only written a letter, and it was all fleeting fame. Still, it was a good start. Fame was best won young!

(End of chapter)