I really don't want to be a novelist

Chapter 192 Big Brother, What You Say Makes sense

"Little brother……"

Ji Zhuo walked forward, thinking about the book,

The sharp-eyed people on the side of the road recognized Ji Zhuo.

Ji Zhuo turned his head and saw that it was a barbecue stand on the side of the road.
In front of the barbecue stall, a middle-aged man and a woman are busy in front of the stall,
The weather is fine today, and there are many customers sitting at the tables in front of the barbecue booth.
The middle-aged man was wearing an apron and was sweating from the work, and the woman was also constantly greeting the guests and holding some beer for the guests.

The middle-aged man saw Ji Zhuo, but smiled and stopped Ji Zhuo.

Ji Zhuo paused,

This middle-aged man is the owner of the barbecue stall who met once before and followed him out for a night.

Obviously he still remembered Ji Zhuo.

"Little brother, have you eaten yet? Sit down first. I'll go and grill two skewers."

"No need, I've eaten."

The middle-aged man greeted him enthusiastically, but Ji Zhuo hurriedly stopped him.

"I've eaten, little brother, sit down first, sit down for a while."

The middle-aged man brought Ji Zhuo to the empty table next to him, beckoning Ji Zhuo to sit down,

This time Ji Zhuo did not refuse, and just sat down here.

"Brother, go and do your work, don't delay your business."

"Hey, I'm not too busy. It seems that the business is good, and the barbecue I want is almost done."

"Sit down, little brother. I'll cook two skewers for you. Although I've eaten it, you can take it back later. I'll have a supper tonight."

"Eh, no need..."

Ji Zhuo stopped, didn't stop the enthusiastic barbecue stall owner, a middle-aged man,

"Daughter-in-law, get this little brother a bottle of water."

The middle-aged man turned around and walked to the grill, and shouted at the woman next to him.

"Eh."

He was responding to a table of women holding beer, then took another bottle of drink and walked towards Ji Zhuo.

"Little brother, here it is."

"Thank you."

Ji Zhuo reached out to take it, and didn't bother the couple anymore.
Just sit next to it and just take a look at this barbecue stand.

At the barbecue stand, there are several tables drinking and eating barbecue, and it is very lively between pushing cups and changing dishes.

Talking different things at different tables, yelling and drinking in six rooms, and drinking two bottles of beer from time to time,
There are those who drink hot and lift up their skirts to reveal their beer bellies, and those who drink blushing and talk about brotherhood.

The owner of the barbecue stand, the middle-aged man was still busy in front of the barbecue stove, roasting plates of barbecue handed over by his wife from time to time.

Ji Zhuo sat down like this.

Just sat for almost an hour,
The middle-aged man came over several times to apologize, and even brought some barbecue to the table in front of Ji Zhuo.
Ji Zhuo just said to let them busy with their own work, if he delays them, then he will leave.

Ji Zhuo just sat like this, listening to the sounds of the market, it was lively, but he didn't feel it was noisy.

sat for about an hour,

It's getting late, and there are fewer people at the barbecue stand.
The middle-aged man was busy, and walked towards Ji Zhuo's table with a plate of barbecue.

"Little brother, I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting for a long time. I've neglected you."

"I didn't have anything to do at night, and here I have barbecue and entertainment, so there's nothing to be negligent about."

Although he was full, Ji Zhuo still had a few snacks from the barbecue brought over by the middle-aged man earlier.

Hearing Ji Zhuo's words, the middle-aged man also laughed heartily,
"Then there's more here, little brother, if you like to eat, you can eat it openly. After eating, brother will bake it for you. I'm treating you today."

"That can't be done, I'm really full now."

Ji Zhuo waved his hand, and saw the wife of the middle-aged man next to him, taking money from the customer at the last table next to him, and then walked over.

"...Hey, daughter-in-law, this is the little brother I mentioned earlier, the little brother who accompanied me to an all-night stand that night."

"I was really uncomfortable that night. My heart was full of pain...it was this little brother who comforted me..."

This middle-aged man remembered Ji Zhuo very deeply.

At that time, Ji Zhuo just wanted to see what was going on at the barbecue stall on a whim.
After listening to what the middle-aged man said, in fact, the later writing of "Seven Sins" was also influenced by this stall owner.

"Little brother, thank you."

"No, I just met by chance, and I was on a whim. I'm going to trouble my brother to forget about it."

Ji Zhuo said hastily.

The middle-aged man smiled and greeted again,

"Little brother, eat barbecue, eat barbecue, do you want to drink something, let me accompany you for a drink?"

"No need, really no need, I ate a lot at night, and I ate some more just now."

Ji Zhuo is really fed up, he still hasn't digested it yet, after rejecting the kindness,
Turning his head again, he looked at the barbecue stand and left the tables where the guests hadn't cleared away.

"Brother, business has been very good these two days?"

"It's not bad, it's better than when you came here before, little brother. The weather is hot, and there are more people coming out to eat barbecue at night. This is how this stall sells barbecue, one after another, depending on the weather."

"If it's raining today, there must be few people. If it's cool and windy, there must be more people."

The middle-aged man responded with a smile.

"Sister-in-law's legs and feet are fine, aren't they?"

"The plaster cast was just removed a few days ago, and I asked her to rest in the house, but she was not happy, so she had to come out and suffer together. But it was all right, and there was no root cause of the disease."

"If I don't come out and follow, are you busy here alone? You're still stubborn."

The woman next to him said something to the middle-aged man angrily, but the middle-aged man just laughed.

"Little brother, why don't I get you another bottle of drink, it's all ice, it's a summer thirst quencher."

"It's really not necessary."

Ji Zhuo only showed some kindness at the beginning, but now the stall owner and his wife can't wait to reciprocate with ten times more enthusiasm.

Ji Zhuo shook his head again, but he still couldn't hold back the stall owner's wife.
The woman said that if she couldn't drink it now, she took it first, and then drank it when she was thirsty, but she still stuffed it into Ji Zhuo's hand.

Ji Zhuo could only hold it, then looked at the smiling middle-aged man, paused, and asked some more questions.

"Nalingtang, now..."

Hearing Ji Zhuo's words, the middle-aged man paused this time, and the middle-aged man's wife didn't answer, she turned to look at her husband,
However, the middle-aged man paused, and said relatively freely,
"Gone, half a month ago."

"Before I left, I didn't want to stay in the hospital anymore, so I went to bring her back home. I sat her down for a meal, ate, went back to the house, took a nap, and left."

"Sorry. My condolences."

Ji Zhuo listened, and didn't know what to say, so he could only say something like this.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's all over...my mother is so old, everyone is going to die. Life has to go on, don't you think so?"

The middle-aged man waved his hand, and seemed to be speaking casually.

Ji Zhuo didn't say anything more, just nodded.

I stayed with the couple again and talked for a while,
The middle-aged man talked about his two daughters again,
Speaking of his daughter, the middle-aged man is quite proud.

Let's talk about some trivial things.

Most of the time Ji Zhuo just listened, occasionally adding a word or two.

Finally, there were a few more tables of customers at the booth,
Ji Zhuo saw that it was too late, so he got up and left without delaying the stall owner's business.

"Then I won't keep you, little brother, let's chat some other day when we have time."

In fact, the two have met twice.

But the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, and next time they meet again, Ji Zhuo and the stall owner will be able to sit down and chat for a few more words.

when it's time to go,
Ji Zhuo said earlier that he couldn't eat the barbecue, but the stall owner still packed it up for him.
I asked him to take it away, saying that I wanted him to take it back for supper, and didn't ask for money.

Ji Zhuo didn't say any more, just took it.

……

Europa.

Right now, it's still afternoon.

A situation similar to that of the White Flag Country Literary Award judging took place again at the Booker Prize judging meeting.

The review committee members are composed of well-known writers, literary researchers, and publisher editors.

Gathered again in the conference room to vote on this year's Booker Prize winners.

However, compared with the voting for the White Flag Country Literary Award, the judges of the Booker Prize were much more unified in their opinions.

"The voting for the best novel for the Booker Prize begins now."

The person who presided over the review meeting said, paused again, and looked at the reviewers with a smile on his face,
"Of course, I believe that everyone already has the answer to the winning works of this award. If there is no accident, everyone's answer should be the same as mine."

The other judges also looked at the person who spoke, with some smiles on their faces.

The jury chairing the judging session was the editor-in-chief of North General Press, and it is well known that

Burt Press is a subsidiary of North Comprehensive Publishing House, and one of the final award-winning works is published by Burt Press.

The editor-in-chief of North Comprehensive Publishing House, who presided over the meeting, laughed because he had already read this book. He believed that unless the other reviewers were blind and couldn't see the difference between the other books to be selected and this book, otherwise, this book from their subsidiary would This book was definitely elected.

And the other judges laughed, it was a knowing smile, and it could be regarded as agreeing with the meaning of the editor-in-chief of North Comprehensive Publishing House.

They also liked the book.

"Then let's start voting. Please raise your hand to the judges who chose "Seven Sins" as the best novel award this year."

The editor-in-chief of North Comprehensive Publishing House said, raising his hand first,
Immediately afterwards, the judges gathered around the long table raised their hands one after another.

Until the last one, a professor in the field of literary studies.

He was a little hesitant because he was still a devout believer,

The introduction to The Seven Sins is somewhat sarcastic and dismissive of its master.

Another reason for his hesitation is that he has also read the content of this novel,
His professional knowledge told him that the other reviewers had a reason to choose this book.

"God loves the world, and if there is suffering like the one in the book, God will also have mercy on those who suffer."

It seemed that he had found a point of psychological balance, and hesitated for a while.

The judge still raised his hand.

The editor-in-chief of North Comprehensive Publishing House who presided over the meeting looked around, then said with a smile,

"Congratulations, we have reached a perfect consensus."

"In this way, at least there is no need to worry that this year's Baiqiguo Literary Award will compare with our Booker Prize. It's just a pity that the Baiqiguo Literary Award was awarded so much earlier than us."

"But we're at least before the Goncourt, aren't we?"

……

"Carol: Mr. A, "Seven Sins" won another award! It won the Booker Award for best novel this year, and it is also the most important award!"

"Carol: The Booker Prize has not yet been announced, but we have already obtained the result. The editor-in-chief of North Comprehensive Publishing House, the parent company of the publishing house, also participated in the review."

Ji Zhuo was walking slowly, and walked back to the downstairs of the community, and received a message from Carol in the gazebo.

Looking at the first message from Carol,

Ji Zhuo just felt a little numb, nothing too big.

If there are too many lice, I am not afraid of itchiness, and even the Baiqiguo Literature Award has broken through the target sales volume, so what if there are more awards.

In addition, although this award is famous, Ji Zhuo has never heard of it, so he searched it by the way a few days ago.

But I didn't feel too intuitive, and I didn't feel too excited.

And the second message from Carol,

But it made Ji Zhuo think... I'm afraid there might be an inside story.

The award-winning work has not been announced yet, and the editor-in-chief of North Publishing, the parent company of Bert Publishing, also participated in the review.

Then, Ji Zhuo was thinking,

I just told Carol a while ago that I was being interviewed when "Seven Sins" won a bigger award.

I always feel that this...is it too late for a slap in the face?

"Clumsy and uncommon: um... Got it. Thank you."

"Carol: Mr. A, we have started printing the new cover and promotional materials that we prefabricated in advance, and then the book binding will be done. After that, the publishing house will publicize the award after the news of the Booker Prize is fully announced.

Carol: This time, Mr. A, the sales of your works are finally about to explode, and Mr. A, you and your works will also step towards the throne! "

It feels strangely frenzied and excited.

But Ji Zhuo felt that he couldn't get excited, especially thinking about the loss, no, the 200 million that he didn't earn.

How many books do you have to sell to get it back.

Well, books published abroad are a bit more expensive.

The English version of "Seven Sins" is currently priced at about 12.9 pounds.

Converting the exchange rate, according to Ji Zhuo's current royalties, he can get about ten yuan for a book.

After deducting the tax, let's treat it as ten yuan.200 million probably needs to sell 120 million copies.

Hmm...it doesn't seem like much.

But this is just two months of incentive money...

But after thinking about it again and again, it still made Ji Zhuo a little bit excited, after all, he could recover some blood!
"Clumsy and extraordinary: thank you."

"Carol: It is an honor for our publisher and as editor-in-chief to publish such an excellent work in a career."

This is such a compliment that Ji Zhuo doesn't even know what to say.

I could only say thank you again, and then ended my communication with the excited and fanatical Carol.

Put down the phone in your hand,
Ji Zhuo turned his head again, and glanced at another figure standing beside the gazebo,
That little chubby man was standing next to Ji Zhuo, a little bit greedy for the barbecue Ji Zhuo was holding in his hand.

"...Do you want some?"

Ji Zhuo sat down on the bench under the gazebo, and passed the barbecue over.

Xiao Pangdun listened to Ji Zhuo's words, swallowed his saliva, but still raised his head, and shook his head stubbornly,
"The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water, I can't eat your things for nothing."

"It's as light as water, so there's no need to be so fussy, just eat what I give you."

Ji Zhuo took out a piece of barbecue from the packing bag, took a bite, and then handed over the bag containing the barbecue skewers to Little Fatty.

"Let's eat together."

"...Brother, what you said makes sense. Then I'll eat it."

Little Fatty's stubbornness still couldn't bear the temptation of barbecue, then he sat down resolutely, took out a barbecue from the bag,
Eating happily,

But Ji Zhuo looked at the little fat pier and ate big mouthfuls first,

As a result, he was a little annoyed while eating, and sighed.

"what happened?"

"Hey... I shouldn't eat barbecue anymore. I have already eaten two cakes, three chicken legs, two ice creams, a cup of milk tea, and three meals today... If I eat barbecue again, I will gain weight again."

This made Ji Zhuo feel silent.

Holding the barbecue, I ate silently.

If you are fat,
Do you think it's because of the BBQ?
"Hey, don't eat."

Little Fatty sighed, and quickly finished the skewers in his hand in a few mouthfuls.
Just sit to the side, it's a lump.

"... Let's eat, I've eaten so much, it's not bad."

Looking at the little fat pier, he kept glancing here.

"Brother, what you said makes sense...then I'll take two more bites...um..."

(End of this chapter)