The literary era since 1979

Chapter 313 Sadako's Resurrection
In Kyoto, snowflakes are falling and the cold wind is blowing.

Yoko Suzuki huddled in the kotatsu, peeling an orange, staring intently at the replay of the songs from the Red and White Songs Contest.

Akina Nakamori was seen singing "Girl A", switching between different styles such as cute, enchanting, gentle, and playful without any sense of disobedience.

Just when I was enjoying the show, Suzuki Shunjiro came over in a hurry and said, "Yoko, turn the channel to TBS."

"Hi!"

Yoko Suzuki picked up the remote control and switched to TBS TV.

At this moment, "uso japan" is being broadcast on the screen. This is a ghost talk show that specializes in investigating legendary supernatural events.

In each episode, the host will conduct field visits to investigate the truth and reasons behind the supernatural events.

In fact, it is equivalent to the Japanese version of "Science and Technology Approach".

It often opens with a ghost story, making people tremble with fear and nervously follow the progress of the story. Layer by layer, the plot is laid out and rendered bit by bit, which whets the audience's appetite and makes their hearts hang in their throats until the truth is revealed at the end.

The result is that the so-called "paranormal events" are all farce and a complete joke.

So much so that the audience had a sense of absurdity when watching to the end, "I took off my pants and you showed me In the In the Garden Babies"!
Especially in the later stages of "Science Approach", it becomes more and more absurd, and has absolutely nothing to do with science!
The same is true for "uso japan", and the special topic of this issue is exactly——

"The Bad News of the Horror Tapes, The Ring, Sadako's Resurrection".

"Eh?"

When Yoko Suzuki saw the title, she was shocked and immediately looked at her father inquiringly.

"Yes, this issue and the next one are both specially planned for "Midnight Ring"."

Suzuki Shunjiro said with some pride that Yuhikaku had become the biggest sponsor of this program.

"But the Ring written by Mr. Fang is fake."

Suzuki Yoko said in disbelief.

"What is true may not be true, and what is false may not be false."

Suzuki Shunjiro smiled and said, "What Fangyan said is very true, 'When the false is true, the true is false, and when the true is false, the false is true.'"

Yoko Suzuki turned up the volume on the TV and heard the female host in the studio holding the novel of "Midnight Ring" in her hand:

"Perhaps you have read or heard of a novel recently, which is "The Ring" written by Mr. Fang Yan."

"That is the Chinese movie that set a box office record of 13.3 billion yen, the original author of "The Village Postman"..."

"This book describes the horrific videotape, the horrific well, and Sadako who died with hatred."

“But these are not made up by the dialect teacher, but real stories!”

"The specific location of this well is in Tomisato City, Chiba Prefecture. There is a temple not far from the city. Next to the temple, there is a large courtyard with a well in it. Once upon a time, a girl named 'Tanaka Sadako' was unfortunately killed and her body was thrown there."

"It is said that since then, some supernatural events have been happening in that courtyard, and people have encountered Sadako's ghost one after another."

"There are even rumors in the local area that Sadako has been resurrected!"

Seeing that the program crew not only conducted on-site investigations, but also thoughtfully produced related "The Ring" film and television clips, Suzuki Shunjiro showed a satisfied smile. The sponsorship fee was indeed not in vain, and it can be predicted how popular it will be.

Yoko Suzuki asked, "Dad, was this your idea?"

"Of course I have contributed to this."

Suzuki Shunjiro said: "However, it is mainly thanks to Fangyan-kun. He is really the writer who understands business planning best that I have ever seen!"

Suzuki Yoko said: "Why do I feel like you are not praising Teacher Fang?"

"Of course I'm praising him!"

Suzuki Shunjiro praised him highly, saying: "A great artist like Picasso is also a genius marketing master. It is no exaggeration to say that Fangyan is the 'Picasso' of the novel world."

Suzuki Yoko shook her head and laughed, "The more you talk, the more wrong it seems."

"It doesn't matter if it's not right, the key is that it can sell well!"

Shunjiro Suzuki was very excited and was sure that "The Ring" had a good chance of becoming a bestseller like "Japan Sinks".

"Hi~"

Suzuki Yoko gasped.

"Japan Sinks" is one of the few science fiction novels in Japan with sales exceeding one million copies. The first volume has sold 221 million copies and the second volume has sold 184 million copies, totaling 405 million copies. It not only set a record for the highest sales of Japanese science fiction novels, but is also the best-selling book in the country in history.

“I believe that Fang Yanjun’s book “The Ring” will stand on par with “Japan Sinks”!”

Suzuki Shunjiro is confident that "it will greatly increase the popularity of science fiction in Japan."

"That's really nice."

Suzuki Yoko clapped her hands and said, "When I return to China, I will definitely tell Teacher Fang the good news." "Yoko, you have a more important mission this time."

"Dad, please give me your orders."

"Yuhikaku now only has the exclusive publishing rights for The Ring in Japan."

Suzuki Shunjiro said seriously: "This is far from enough. You must convince Fangyanjun to give us the worldwide distribution rights."

Yoko Suzuki said that apart from China, she is somewhat confident about the publishing rights in other countries and regions.

Suzuki Shunjiro was very surprised and asked the reason.

"Teacher Fang hopes to use this novel to revive Chinese science fiction literature."

Suzuki Yoko said: "So he specifically asked me to bring back more Japanese newspapers with news and comments about The Ring when I return to China, so that he can take them to the Chinese media to reprint the report."

"Look, I said Fangyanjun is a marketing master!"

Suzuki Shunjiro laughed, "Perhaps among the world-class writers, no one understands marketing better than him."

Driven by "Uso Japan", the sales of "The Ring" have seen a visible increase.

The first print run of 5 copies of both volumes has been sold out.

As the number of editions increased, circulation also soared.

As a result, the sales of "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" in Japan also exceeded 35 copies. Yuhikaku took advantage of the victory and increased its publicity efforts, causing newspapers to report on it in large numbers.

The Asahi Shimbun wrote that "The Ring refreshes the perception of Eastern horror novels."

The Daily News compared "The Ring" to mustard, which seems harmless but actually has a strong lasting effect.

Even the Yomiuri Shimbun called The Ring "the forefather of science fiction horror novels."

Yuhikaku also invited the author of "Japan Sinks", Sakyo Komatsu, to write a review of "The Ring" in the newspaper.

Words such as "dialect", "Oriental horror" and "science fiction thriller" frequently appear in the media along with "The Ring".

In the recording studio of the record company, Ezaki Mie, who is Matsuzaka Keiko's manager, was flipping through the newspaper:

"Sure enough, a genius can only be called a genius if he is multifaceted."

“Like the master Yasunari Kawabata, who was a novelist, playwright, journalist, filmmaker and actor.”

Okuyama is fused with The Ring, "and so is Fangyan-kun, apparently."

Jiang Qi Meihui asked, "Did the vice president take a fancy to this novel?"

Okuyama Rong said: "When I first heard about "Midnight Ring" from Fang Yanjun, I actually refused because I felt that science fiction can't be filmed just by saying so. After all, science fiction writers only need to let their imagination run wild, while we producers and directors have to think about a lot of things, the most important of which is the budget. I thought a lot of money would be spent on special effects."

Then he shook his head: "But now it seems that I was wrong, very wrong!"

Jiang Qi Meihui asked curiously, "But Shochiku has always been mainly engaged in romance films, why are they suddenly interested in horror films?"

“The movie companies are only interested in the money.”

Okuyama Rong corrected, "We want to get the film adaptation rights of "Midnight Ring", and we may need Keiko's help."

Mihui Jiang Qi glanced at Keiko Matsuzaka across the soundproof window and saw that she was recording her latest album in front of the microphone.

"How can I help?"

"Go to Huaxia to meet Fangyanjun."

Okuyama said: "Keiko will also be a part of Japan's 3000 youth plan."

Jiang Qi Meihui asked: "Will you also be a part of the movie "Midnight Ring"? "

"That depends on what Fangyan-kun means."

Okuyama Rong said: "But the most important thing right now is Keiko's new album. How do you think it is appropriate to promote it?"

"For example, hyping up the scandal between Fangyan-kun and Keiko-chan?"

Jiang Qi Meihui glanced at him and said, "A transnational love story between a Chinese national treasure-level writer and a Japanese national-level actress?"

Okuyama Rong was very surprised: "Are you serious?"

"Of course I was kidding, sorry sorry."

Jiang Qi Meihui laughed: "First of all, Qingzi-chan would not agree to this." Then she sighed, "It's such a pity. What a perfect publicity gimmick. And there is evidence. Qingzi-chan is the joint guarantor of Fangyanjun's mortgage."

"But you reminded me that I can let Qingzi take advantage of Fangyan-kun."

Okuyama Rongdao: "Now there are many TV stations doing special programs on "Midnight Ring". You can let Keiko participate as a special guest as a close friend of Fangyanjun. It is revealed that the Japanese female reporter in the novel is based on her. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)