200: Chapter 200 Liu Qingshan, Treated as a Paid-Off

Three days after "Wukong" was released, its view count exceeded 200 million.

The trending topics related to "journey to the west" on the search lists remained consistently high.

Although Zhongdian Literature had taken it down, screenshots of the segments posted by readers were everywhere online.

The more it was banned, the more popular it became; the more people criticized it, the more others wanted to see it.

Jiang Fan sat in his office, his computer open to the Arrangement software.

He had already built most of the Arrangement framework for the two songs for Su Yuyan's concert.

He was adjusting the string orchestration for the chorus of "puppet play" when his phone vibrated.

It was a message from Song Siyi.

"Check the Weibo trending list."

Jiang Fan switched to his phone; on the Weibo trending list, a new entry was hanging in eighth place.

#Xinghua Publishing House Announces Suspension of All Cooperation with Jiang Fan#

He clicked on it, and it was an official statement posted by the Xinghua Publishing House account.

"In view of the huge controversy currently surrounding "journey to the west" on the internet, and in the spirit of being responsible to readers, Xinghua Publishing House has decided to suspend publishing cooperation negotiations with Mr. Jiang Fan. We call on creators to respect traditional culture and resist harmful content."

Jiang Fan tossed his phone onto the table.

The people at Xinghua had quite peculiar thought processes; just a few days ago they were actively pushing to cooperate, and after being rejected, they started getting angry out of shame.

In the comments section, Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan's supporters had already started celebrating.

"See that? The mainstream publishers have started speaking out!"

"This kind of trash book should be swept into the dustbin of history!"

"What's the use of singing a song well? It will never be presentable."

Jiang Fan read a few of them and turned off his phone.

These people wouldn't be able to jump around for much longer; the sample books sent to the education department a few days ago should be finished with their review process soon.

— —

Kyoto, National Education Book Review Center, third-floor conference room.

Several beautifully bound sample copies of "journey to the west" were laid out on the table, the smell of ink still fresh.

An old man in his seventies sat at the head of the table.

With gray hair and wearing reading glasses, he was Zheng Huaiming, the chairman of the Writers Association and a leading authority in the field of education.

Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan's title was nothing in front of this man.

There were many other people sitting in the conference room, all of them veteran professors from the Chinese departments of various universities.

They were usually responsible for the final review of extracurricular reading materials for primary and secondary schools.

No one spoke; there was only the sound of pages turning.

Zheng Huaiming read slowly, from when the immortal stone on Flower-Fruit Mountain cracked open, to The Monkey King learning his craft from a master, and then to the havoc in heaven and being pressed under the Five Elements Mountain.

He took off his reading glasses, placed them on the table, and rubbed his temples.

"Who sent this book?"

The director of the review center next to him handed over a document.

"Qitian Culture Media Co., Ltd. They said they want to donate one million copies to primary and secondary school libraries nationwide for free, and they need us to issue a compliance review report."

Zheng Huaiming put his glasses back on and tapped his fingers on the cover twice.

"This book is written well."

He scanned the several veteran professors present. "What do you think?"

Sitting in the second chair on the left was a professor from the Department of Classical Literature at Kyoto University, sixty-seven years old, who had spent his whole life researching mythology.

He closed the book in his hand and took off his glasses.

"Old Zheng, it's breathtaking. The construction of the mythological system inside is seamless. The hierarchy of the heavenly court, the operating mechanism of the underworld, the checks and balances between Buddhism and Taoism—this isn't just random fabrication; it's an extremely grand reconstruction based on traditional culture."

Another professor continued: "The writing foundation is very solid, and it's easy to understand. Especially the spirit of resistance and the values of punishing evil and promoting good contained within, which are very suitable for primary and secondary school students to read. Even those of us who have spent our lives in literature can read a lot of depth into it."

Zheng Huaiming nodded.

He remembered the commotion on the internet over the past few days.

"I heard Little Liu is leading the charge on the internet to criticize this book?" The "Little Liu" in Zheng Huaiming's mouth was Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan.

The director felt a bit awkward.

"Yes. Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan says this book alters traditional mythology and poisons the youth."

Zheng Huaiming let out a cold laugh.

"What does he know about traditional mythology? He's like a frog in a well. This "journey to the west" is not only suitable for primary and secondary school students, but even for us old bones, it's worth reading word for word with a magnifying glass!"

None of the professors in the conference room said a word.

He picked up the fountain pen on the table and signed his name on the review opinion form.

"Notify the departments below; give it the green light. Whatever amount Qitian Culture wants to donate, we will accept."

He paused for a moment, then screwed the pen cap back on and placed it on the table.

"Also, have the office arrange for Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan to come over later. The atmosphere of the association needs to be rectified."

— —

Jiang Fan's phone vibrated again; it was another message from Song Siyi.

"Jiang Fan! The education department's review has passed! Chairman Zheng Huaiming of the Writers Association signed it himself! Green light all the way!"

After reading it, Jiang Fan placed his phone face down on the table, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Zheng Huaiming, the person who really called the shots in the Writers Association; Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan was a joke in front of him.

Jiang Fan opened Word and started typing.

A few minutes later, an announcement was finished.

"Announcement Regarding Qitian Culture's Donation of One Million Copies of "journey to the west" to Primary and Secondary Schools Nationwide"

The main text was just a few sentences—

"Qitian Culture Media Co., Ltd. has decided to print one million copies of "journey to the west" at its own expense and donate them free of charge to primary and secondary school libraries across the country. Schools in need can apply by sending an email directly to the address below."

He saved the file and sent it to Song Siyi.

"Post it using Qitian Culture's official Weibo account."

— —

In the office of Qitian Culture, Song Siyi sat in the boss's chair and clicked on the document Jiang Fan had sent.

One million copies; calculated at cost price, including printing and logistics, it would burn through at least over ten million.

Song Siyi paused on the keyboard for a few seconds.

It was true that she had been an editor for five years, but this way of burning money was truly beyond her scope of understanding.

She bit her lip, copied the content of the document to the backend of Qitian Culture's official Weibo, and clicked publish.

Two minutes later, Jiang Fan's personal account reposted the announcement.

— —

Forty minutes later, in Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan's study.

He stared at the computer screen, looking at that donation announcement.

The purple clay teapot on the table was bumped by his elbow and fell to the floor, shattering into several pieces.

Public welfare donation, one million copies.

Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan's temples throbbed twice; this kid was crazy.

Not selling the books? Giving them away directly?

No. Sending them into schools meant exposure to tens of millions of students.

By then, when they released the official retail version, would they have to worry about it not selling?

This move was too vicious.

Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan grabbed the landline and dialed Vice President Zhou Ming's number; it rang six or seven times before being answered.

"Vice President Zhou Ming! Did you see it!"

"I saw it." Vice President Zhou Ming's voice sounded listless.

"Hurry up and think of a way! Stop this batch of books for me!"

"Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan." Vice President Zhou Ming paused. "I can't stop it. He went through public welfare donation, and the education department has already stamped it. We can't just go against the education system."

Vice President Zhou Ming continued: "And I just received news that the person who signed the review opinion form... is Zheng Huaiming."

Both ends of the phone fell silent simultaneously.

Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan's hand gripped the receiver, his knuckles turning white.

Zheng Huaiming, his direct superior.

If this matter had been personally approved by Zheng Huaiming, then the Weibo posts that Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan had made earlier weren't just criticizing Jiang Fan—they were slapping Zheng Huaiming in the face.

Vice President Zhou Ming's voice sounded again.

"Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan, we are actually preparing to promote a few new books and hold some offline events to divert attention elsewhere. I suggest that during this time... you should look out for yourself."

Beep—beep—

The phone call ended; Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan listened to the busy signal, sitting in his chair without moving for a long time.