74: The old sea is held fast, a new book sets sail.

Jiangcheng's night, unlike Jinling's dazzling splendor,

exuded a comforting sense of everyday life.

On the Lin family's somewhat old folding round table, plates were now piled high.

The braised pork was glistening, the sweet and sour ribs were stacked like a small mountain,

and there was also a steamed perch, its eyes wide and round.

"Eat! Eat more! Look how thin your face has gotten after just two days in Jinling!"

Comrade Wang Xiulian's chopsticks never stopped moving,

precisely dropping pieces of braised pork, both fatty and lean, into Lin Que's bowl,

creating a miniature pyramid.

"Mom, I really can't eat any more."

Lin Que looked at the mountain of meat in his bowl and helplessly raised his hands in surrender.

"I wasn't fleeing famine, I was competing, and I even had duck blood vermicelli soup..."

"How can outside food be as clean as homemade? That duck blood might be mixed with who knows what powder!"

Wang Xiulian glared at him, but her hands didn't stop,

and she put another rib into his bowl.

"Eat more, it's good for your brain."

She turned around, took the heavy Grand Prize trophy from the cabinet behind her,

and carefully wiped it with a brand new velvet cloth.

"Old Lin, look, the only one in the entire province! Our old Lin family's ancestral grave is smoking!"

Lin Jianguo sat opposite her, his face flushed an unnatural red,

clearly energized by the two liang of white wine he had just consumed.

He chuckled foolishly,

his usually furrowed brows now as smooth as an ironed shirt.

"What smoking? It's on fire!"

Lin Jianguo slurred, slapping the table.

"I knew my son was capable! He's... he's the Wenqu Star descended!'

Tomorrow I'll take this downstairs and show it off to all of them!"

Lin Que's hand tightened around his chopsticks.

The braised pork steamed, making his eyes sting.

In his previous life, he was busy surviving; such warm scenes had long blurred in his memory.

"Dad, Mom."

Lin Que lowered his head, took a large mouthful of rice, and hid the moisture in his eyes.

"From now on, our family will be even better."

Not just the trophy, not just the Mercedes.

I will make you the most envied parents in this world... After dinner, under Comrade Wang Xiulian's insistence that he drink hot milk, Lin Que finally escaped back to his 'territory'.

Lin Que finally escaped back to his 'territory'.

SOHO City, studio.

Closing the door, he cut off the outside noise.

Lin Que walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the myriad lights of the city below,

the warmth in his eyes gradually fading.

He skillfully turned on the computer, the mechanical keyboard emitting crisp clicks.

Logging into the Hong Guo Net backend.

The data for the human world is like a prison was still soaring.

Since the chapter "Boring Competition" was published,

the style of the book review section had completely shifted from "horror" to "meme-ing."

Lin Que casually scrolled through.

[Escaped Director from Mental Hospital: Thanks for the invite, I'm in orthopedics. After reading it yesterday, I thought Yang Jian's idea of "solving the questioner" was brilliant!

Today during the math exam, I went up and took off the invigilator's glasses, saying, "I'll grade the papers."

Now the teacher is discussing compensation with my dad, and I feel like my leg might not be saved.

[Ghost Bus Conductor: The brother upstairs is a ruthless one. But isn't the essence of this chapter the "Silence"?

Yang Jian: As long as everyone making noise is killed, the world will be quiet.

This is simply a blessing for the socially anxious! I suggest promoting it for family visits during the New Year!]

[Jian Shen's Dog: Am I the only one looking forward to where Yang Jian will go on the ghost bus next?

By the way, Great Dream Weaver, can you let Yang Jian visit The Miracles of the Namiya General Store?

I want to see Yang Jian dismantle Grandpa Namiya's mailbox to see if there are any ghosts inside.]

Lin Que chuckled softly.

"Readers' imaginations are always the wildest!"

He closed the comment section and opened his email.

An email from New Tide Magazine lay quietly in his inbox, sent by Editor-in-Chief Wang Dean.

The email was long, and attached was the sales report for the first week of The Miracles of the Namiya General Store's single volume.

The numbers were astonishing: three million copies in the first print run, sold out in seven days.

This was a miracle in today's declining print media.

Until he saw the end.

[Also... there's something I feel I should confess to Teacher Jian Shen.]

The text here seemed to hesitate.

Lin Que didn't reply; he picked up his phone and directly dialed Wang De'an's number.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

"Teacher Jian Shen?"

Wang De'an's voice was a little hoarse.

The other end of the line was very quiet, followed by the crisp click of a lighter's flint wheel.

Lin Que lowered his voice and turned on the voice changer.

"Editor-in-Chief Wang, still working overtime so late?"

Lin Que put his phone on speaker and threw it on the table, leaning back in his chair.

"I've read the email. Besides the money, what else did you want to say? Why are you still being so hesitant with me?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, followed by the crisp sound of a lighter igniting a cigarette.

"Teacher Jian Shen, I'll be direct."

Wang De'an exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice bitter.

"This afternoon, Editor-in-Chief Fu Bencai of 'Suyin' Magazine specifically came to Jiangcheng."

"Suyin."

Lin Que quickly ran the name through his mind.

The leading literary journal in Su Province, backed by the Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles,

its circulation and influence were indeed more than a notch higher than New Tide.

If New Tide was Jiangcheng's signboard, then Suyin was the face of the entire Su Province.

"What did he want with you?"

Lin Que asked.

"For you."

Wang De'an gave a wry smile.

"Editor-in-Chief Fu is a straightforward person; his words might not be pleasant to hear, but... the reasoning is sound.

He said that The Miracles of the Namiya General Store is no longer just a book;

it's a cultural symbol, a banner for Su Province.

He also said that New Tide's capabilities are limited, and its audience is confined to the Jiangcheng area.

If you continue to stay here,

it would be restricting your development and wasting your talent.

You should go to a bigger stage, to Suyin, or even to publications in Jingcheng."

"He said... as a friend, I shouldn't hold you back for a bit of personal gain and prevent you from soaring."

Wang De'an's voice grew softer and softer, carrying a deep sense of powerlessness.

This was the most brilliant open strategy.

Not coercion, not temptation,

but standing on the moral high ground, using the words "for your own good" to attack your heart.

Wang De'an was a pure literati; he cherished talent,

which was why he ran around to get The Miracles of the Namiya General Store published.

Precisely because of this, Fu Bencai's words accurately struck his weakness.

He was afraid.

Afraid that he would truly become the sinner who obstructed a genius from shining.

"So, you plan to package me up and send me to Suyin?"

Lin Que's voice betrayed no emotion.

"Teacher Jian Shen, Editor-in-Chief Fu showed me all his cards. He's even biting people.

Going to Suyin means top-tier royalties, full provincial distribution channels... These resources, I truly can't give you right now, and..."

"Editor-in-Chief Wang."

Lin Que suddenly interrupted him.

"Do you think I'm the kind of person who needs others to bestow a stage upon me?"

"Ah?"

Wang De'an was stunned for a moment.

"The Miracles of the Namiya General Store became popular because it inherently is popular.

It's not because it was published in New Tide, nor because it was published in Suyin.

The platform is just a container; whether the wine is fragrant depends on the winemaker."

Lin Que stood up and walked to the window, looking at the myriad lights of Jiangcheng outside.

"Editor-in-Chief Fu wants to commission a manuscript? Sure."

Wang De'an's heart sank. As expected, people always strive for higher things... "Tell him to come find me himself."

Lin Que's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Don't let him pressure you with those grand principles.

Tell him that I'm nostalgic and protective of my own.

If he wants to cooperate, he needs to learn how to speak like a human first."

Wang De'an fell silent.

"The so-called grand stage is never given by others."

Lin Que's tone rose slightly.

"If Fu Bencai really had foresight, what was he doing before? His mouth is biting people.

Now that the fruit is ripe, he wants to come pick peaches, and even calls it 'for my own good'?"

"This kind of moral blackmail is useless to me. It shouldn't be useful to you either."

Wang De'an took a deep breath, the despondency in his voice swept away,

replaced by a long-lost boldness.

"I understand."

There was a two-second silence on the other end, then Wang De'an's voice deepened, imbued with a fierce determination.

"I'll retract the email.

As long as you are still with New Tide, I will fiercely defend this old sea!"

Wang De'an's voice was trembling with excitement.

"Wait."

Lin Que stopped Wang De'an, who was about to hang up.

"Since The Miracles of the Namiya General Store has concluded, we can't let New Tide's sales drop. Prepare the contract for the new book."

"New... new book?!"

Wang De'an almost dropped his phone.

"You already have an idea?"

"Of course."

Lin Que looked at the newly created document on the computer screen, his fingertips lightly tapping the keyboard.

In this world, people had grown accustomed to pain, accustomed to confusion.

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store gave them a tree hollow to confide in.

So next,

it was time to find a guide for those souls lost on the edge of life and death.

"Ding-dong—"

Before Wang De'an could recover from his emotion,

the new email notification sound drew his gaze back to the screen.

[Jian Shen: This is the outline for the new book.]

[Jian Shen: Since it's the old sea, The Miracles of the Namiya General Store alone isn't enough.]

Wang De'an's hands trembled as he opened the file.

On the first page of the document, three bold, black characters, piercing through life and death with their chill.

the ferryman...