Today, Mr. Lu from Sahara Publishing made a trip to Jiangcheng to visit Yang Yi, but his main purpose was to deliver the letters readers had sent over the past half-month.
"Reader letters?" Yang Yi had checked Qiyue’s comment section once before, found it full of trolls, and never visited again. Any feedback from readers usually came through Qiangzi. Seeing these traditional letters now felt refreshing, so he opened one to read.
"Well, a considerable number of readers of the physical books might be older, so they still prefer this old-fashioned way of communication, where seeing the handwriting feels like meeting the person." Mr. Lu sat on the sofa across from Yang Yi, hands resting on his knees, looking a bit nervous.
Yang Yi read them seriously, finding these letters quite endearing. Opening a few, he noticed not only were there no trolls, but the readers had earnestly written about their feelings after reading the book. Every stroke of the pen showed their sincerity.
After reading several letters, Yang Yi even felt the urge to reply to a few!
Of course, he couldn't reply to all of them—Mr. Lu had brought a whole sackful. If Yang Yi had a stamp-collecting hobby, he could probably fill several albums with them!
Midway, Yang Yi happened to look up and saw Mr. Lu sitting awkwardly and bored on the sofa, being curiously stared at by Xixi, his neck stiff from the tension!
He couldn't help but laugh and said in Cantonese, "Mr. Lu, why so tense? Relax, make yourself at home!"
To ease Mr. Lu's discomfort, Yang Yi remembered something and went back to his study to grab a stack of printed drafts, handing them over.
"Since you're here, I'll trouble you, as a professional, to take a look and see if this collection of fairy tales has publishing potential," Yang Yi said with a smile.
This stack was a compilation of fairy tales Yang Yi had recently organized—stories he'd told Xixi, dozens of them, big and small. He'd originally planned to publish them but had put it off until Mo Fei wanted to see them, so he finally sorted them out.
Of course, Yang Yi didn't know the state of fairy tale publishing in this world, and many of these stories were improvised based on frameworks he knew. He wasn't sure how they'd compare to the originals!
With Mr. Lu here, it was a good chance to get his opinion!
Mr. Lu was surprised, looking at Yang Yi and asking, "Mr. Yang, you write fairy tales too?"
That was incredible. Forget the themes of Yang Yi's previous books—just looking at his build, his muscles, a burly man writing fairy tales seemed as unreal as a fairy tale itself. Wasn't this like the legendary Zhang Fei doing embroidery?
Yang Yi didn't mind and smiled lightly. "These stories are actually ones I make up and tell my daughter. She likes them, but she's just a kid, so I don't know if they're any good. I'll have to wait for your opinion, Mr. Lu."
Xixi, overhearing her dad call her a kid, pouted a little in displeasure! But she didn't interrupt—Dad was working!
Mr. Lu wasn't a manager specializing in children's literature, but he'd been in the industry for a long time and had worked as an editor for a considerable period, so he had a good eye.
Half an hour later, after reading just a few stories, he noticed Yang Yi's eager gaze and reluctantly put down the drafts, smiling apologetically. "These stories are worthy of Mr. Yang. Even a man in his forties like me can get hooked!"
Mr. Lu gave high praise. "Whether individually or as a whole, Mr. Yang's stories are far more captivating than the fairy tale books currently on the market. I'm not just flattering you—I'm a father too. My son is past the age for fairy tales, but if he were still young, I'd definitely buy a book like this for him."
"But..." Mr. Lu hesitated, stammering, "Sahara Publishing doesn't have much advantage in children's literature. We've never published this type of book before..."
He was truly an honest man, even considering advising Yang Yi to find a more specialized children's literature publisher! It was a good thing Fu Jun, an ambitious boss, was in charge, or such a candid manager would have been fired long ago!
"No problem!" Yang Yi waved his hand, satisfied. "Let's go with Sahara Publishing. I'll send the drafts to your email later, and you and the editors can handle the rest."
He couldn't let Mr. Lu take the printed drafts back—they were originally meant for Mo Fei to read.
...
After seeing Mr. Lu off, Yang Yi welcomed a "rare guest."
"Long time no see! Finally showing your face, huh?" Yang Yi smiled, teasing him.
"Ah, don't even mention it. Ever since that TV interview, my dad grounded me." Guo Ziyi's face had rounded a bit, likely from eating well at home, but he'd also grown taller, making his figure seem "slimmer."
At sixteen, a young man was in his growth spurt.
Yang Yi knew Guo Ziyi had been grounded. After seeing the chubby kid's TV interview, Yang Yi thought he'd been a bit too flashy. Sure enough, before Yang Yi could say anything, Guo Ziyi's dad had given him a good scolding and confined him at home to reflect.
Yang Yi didn't know how effective the reflection was, but Guo Ziyi, a chatterbox, was definitely going stir-crazy without his phone or computer at home!
"Today, my acceptance letter arrived, so my dad let me out for some air!" Guo Ziyi said, a bit shaken. Being grounded was truly torturous.
"Good to be confined for a bit. It'll temper your personality. You're about to start college—can't be so unreliable!" Yang Yi, used to being a dad, spoke in a lecturing tone.
"Alright, alright, Yang Ge, stop teasing me!" Guo Ziyi said gloomily. "I came to show you my acceptance letter and give our cutest Xixi a birthday gift!"
"Huh? Xixi gets a gift?" The little girl, nestled in her dad's arms, perked up, asking happily.
"Yeah!" Guo Ziyi shot Yang Yi an annoyed look. "Your dad is so mean—didn't even tell me about Xixi's birthday. Otherwise, I'd have an excuse to get a day off from my dad. Ahem, I mean, to give Xixi a gift!"
"Call her Xixi!" Yang Yi corrected sternly. "You're an uncle, not a brother!"
"Hehe, Uncle Guo!" Xixi chimed in, giggling along with her dad.