541: Chapter 541 The Writers' Association's Chessboard

Inside the office building of the China Writers Association on Chaoyangmen Inner Street in the capital.

The curtains in the top-floor conference room were half-drawn; the afternoon light sliced through the gaps, landing on the long conference table.

The dark tabletop was polished to a shine, reflecting the outlines of the row of chandeliers overhead.

Over a dozen Chairmen of the Writers Association from various provinces sat on both sides.

Steam curled up from the teacups; no one was in a hurry to speak.

The entire conference room was heavy with silence.

At the head of the table, Xue Hongchuan closed a document and set it aside.

He won the Kunpeng Award at the age of thirty and later became the youngest person to sit in the position of Chairman of the China Writers Association.

Now, having sat in this position for many years, the sharp edge between his brows had long since been tucked away into a calm demeanor.

Xue Hongchuan raised his eyes and swept his gaze across the people present.

"Everyone is here, so let's begin."

His voice was low, but as it fell into the conference room, everyone's attention was drawn back.

"The day after tomorrow is the public open day for the Kunpeng Youth Literature Award. You all know how important this matter is."

He paused. "This is the first time a major domestic literary award has written thirty percent of public reading feedback directly into the preliminary evaluation."

As these words landed, a few Chairmen in the conference room exchanged glances.

Thirty percent. This number had been repeatedly weighed in various circles of the literary world over the past few days.

Some said this was setting a new trend, while others worried that traffic and capital would seize the opportunity to reach in.

But those truly sitting in this room understood that once this rule was implemented, it would affect more than just this year's session.

In the middle section on the left, Director Zhou Ming set down his teacup and spoke slowly.

"Speaking of this new rule, I'd like to add a word."

He tapped his fingertips on the tabletop. "The reason this went so smoothly this time is that Huanyu Publishing Group Publishing Group put in a lot of effort. Technical integration, platform docking, data deduplication—the things Huanyu Publishing Group submitted were indeed useful."

"As for what they want to take in the process, we can also see that."

These words were spoken plainly, but none of those present were laymen.

As soon as the word 'Huanyu Publishing Group' was spoken, the expressions of several Chairmen changed subtly.

The Director seemed not to notice and continued speaking.

"President Zhao is a man with his own methods of getting things done."

His tone carried a hint of reminiscence. "As it happens, at the Literature Congress ten years ago, Old Master Zhao proposed a viewpoint."

He looked up at Xue Hongchuan. "Literature, the public, and the market—these three must sooner or later sit at the same table to talk. At the time, this was too ahead of its time; few people could listen."

The conference room went quiet for a moment. An older Chairman nodded slightly, as if remembering that past event.

Xue Hongchuan did not respond, merely picking up his teacup and taking a sip.

Everyone present understood the meaning of these words.

The new rule did not appear out of thin air; it had its origins and its sources.

Huanyu Publishing Group's enthusiasm this time was not only President Zhao paving the way for his own group, but it also happened to connect with the thread that the Writers Association had buried ten years ago.

Several Chairmen heard the meaning behind these words.

Huanyu Publishing Group thought they were handing over a knife, but everyone sitting here today knew who held the handle.

Huanyu Publishing Group's resources, Huanyu Publishing Group's channels, and Huanyu Publishing Group's business matrix were borrowed to become a tool for the authorities to push for reform.

Huanyu Publishing Group could provide the channels, but they could not decide where this reform would ultimately lead.

After the Director finished speaking, he picked up his teacup again, his posture relaxed.

Xue Hongchuan shifted his gaze from the tea. "This thread does indeed connect."

His voice was steady. "The older generation saw it long ago; literature cannot be forever locked in an ivory tower. Who are the readers? Who is the work for? This question cannot be avoided."

He put down his teacup. "That is why, for this session, we dared to take this serious step."

As his voice fell, a person at the end of the left side frowned slightly. It was Gu Changfeng.

"Chairman Xue, I agree with the direction of this new rule." Gu Changfeng spoke, his tone polite, but his point of argument did not retreat in the slightest.

"I do not oppose literature moving towards the market." He paused. "But I have a concern that I must voice."

Xue Hongchuan looked at him. "Old Gu, you have the longest seniority here; feel free to say whatever is on your mind."

Gu Changfeng pushed his teacup half an inch toward the center of the table. "The thirty percent public feedback score, falling specifically on this year's session, is not very fair to those children in the Qinglan Project."

As soon as these words were spoken, several Chairmen looked over. Gu Changfeng remained unhurried.

"Let's look at the facts. Shen Jiangping, the winner of the previous Kunpeng Youth Literature Award, has published three novels and two short story collections since his debut. You all know how many die-hard readers he has in his hands."

He counted on his fingers. "And those young authors who have already established themselves in the market all have their own reader base to some extent. As soon as they start writing, the popularity rises. This is something accumulated over many years."

Gu Changfeng's voice steadied. "But what about those thirty children in the Qinglan Project? The oldest is only nineteen. Their foundation is still shallow, and apart from that anomaly Lin Que, the influence of most of the remaining children is still confined to the Fu Zhi Yao Competition circle."

"Making them, just out of the training camp, take a thin layer of reader base and collide with the market appeal others have accumulated for years." He shook his head. "In this collision, they are clearly at a disadvantage in terms of data."

Someone in the conference room echoed in a low voice. "Old Gu's words make sense."

Gu Changfeng turned his gaze to Xue Hongchuan. "I am not saying I oppose the new rule. I just feel that, at least at this critical juncture this year, the weight of thirty points is too heavy for the children."

"No matter how solid their writing is, once they pass the preliminary evaluation, they have to enter the secondary evaluation carrying a set of ugly market data. When the judges see that table, they will inevitably discount them first."

This was exactly the trap that Shen Jiangping and his group had calculated. Gu Changfeng had spoken to this extent without explicitly naming Huanyu Publishing Group, but the meaning was already very clear.

Xue Hongchuan's fingers paused on the rim of his cup, his gaze moving from Gu Changfeng's face to the others.

On the right, the Chairman of the Lu Province Writers Association picked up his teacup. He had personally praised Lin Que at the Fu Zhi Yao Competition finals back then and knew the weight of this young man.

During the Fu Zhi Yao Competition finals, he had read 'the metamorphosis' and was the first to stand up and praise the young author for having a stylistic range as monstrous as a prodigy, proactively offering a special admission quota for the Chinese Department of Lu University.

He sipped his tea and laughed out loud. "Old Gu, you're feeling protective of the children."

Gu Changfeng turned to look at him. The Chairman of Lu Province put down his teacup, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.

"That child Lin Que came from your Jiangcheng, Su Province. As a parent figure, you are more attentive than anyone when it comes to shielding your own."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the conference room relaxed a bit, and several Chairmen laughed. Gu Changfeng did not deny it, merely waving his hand.

"I am protecting good seedlings, so they don't get accidentally injured by the rules just as they are emerging."

"I understand that." The Chairman of Lu Province nodded, though his smile faded slightly.

"But having said that, the things that are written must sooner or later be handed over to the readers." His tone slowed down, becoming earnest.

"Our generation was also ground down bit by bit by the market, by readers, and by rejection letters when we were young. Listening to too much applause makes one prone to getting carried away."

"This group of children in the Qinglan Project has been held up by the halos of their respective schools for too long." He looked at Gu Changfeng.

"Letting them experience the screening of real readers earlier is not necessarily a bad thing. Readers won't coddle you, and they won't go along with you."

"Readers will watch, and they will also turn away. Their sentence of 'I can't keep reading' is more direct than a long critique from the judges. They will have to pass this hurdle sooner or later."

The Chairman of Lu Province picked up his teacup. "Better to pass it early than late. While they are young, if they trip, they can still get back up."

Gu Changfeng was silent for a moment. "What you say is also right." He admitted. "But what I worry about is that if they trip, what gets hurt is not their morale, but the judges' first impression of their works."

"First impressions are the hardest thing to change."

The two went back and forth, neither convincing the other, but in that tug-of-war, it ultimately came down to how that group of young people should walk their path.

Just then, a loud voice cut in. "In my opinion, it's not that dire."