I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 35 Ready to go
"Yohoo! The delicious, hot fried squid is here! Please enjoy it slowly, both of you!"

The barbecue master, wearing a clean but somewhat bleached chef's uniform, ran over with his plates held high in both hands as he ran over with his usual enthusiasm.

"Hey, uncle, I think we only ordered six servings?" Kitagawa Hide, whose wallet had just become bulging, didn't know if it was because he had lived too hard when he first came here, and now he always felt that everyone around him was coveting the little money in his pocket.

He remembered that he only ordered six servings, so how come ten were served? Could it be a common restaurant scam in later generations, where they deliberately serve the wrong dishes, wait for you to eat them up in order to save money, and then ask you to pay?

"The other four are free for you two regular customers." The barbecue general looked at them with a smile, "It's not good for young couples to always quarrel."

"And you, boy, the look in your eyes just now showed that I was trying to cheat you out of your money, right? You bastard!"

Seeing that he was about to take the plate away, Kitagawa Hide quickly picked up the fried squid and stuffed it into his mouth, saying vaguely: "Uncle, I told you, we don't look like a couple."

"We didn't have an argument." Saito Rena also replied with a smile. She didn't know why, but every time she came here with Kitagawa Hide to eat barbecue and drink after get off work, she always felt comfortable and relaxed.

Before she was isolated by her colleagues at the company, she often participated in after-get off work dinners, but the atmosphere was never so comfortable.

"So, Kitagawa-san, do you have any good ideas? If not, I can secretly provide you with a few prefaces to previous supplements for reference."

Reina Saito also picked up a skewer of fried squid and started eating.

It tastes really good!

No wonder Kitagawa-san loves to eat so much.

"Has it reached the point where we have to issue a supplement?" Kitagawa Hide asked instead of answering her question while biting into fried squid.

A magazine supplement is a supplementary journal that contains additional topics or content based on the original magazine, and is usually added during the publication cycle of a regular magazine.

Next door, although the supplements are both periodicals sold by publishing houses, their quality is generally far inferior to that of the main journal.

Therefore, the supplement was not well received in many places and its sales were very poor.

But in Japan, the opposite is true.

Supplements of magazines and newspapers are generally used to publish albums, collections or commemorative special issues. They have extraordinary significance and collection value and are not easily sold to the public.

Especially the supplements with serialized nature, which are basically designed to make room for the best writers. They are serialized sections specially opened up for them, which can be said to be the highest level of treatment.

He had never thought that he would be able to serialize his novel in the supplement of "Gun Xiang" so soon. One must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.

Because of his extreme confidence in "Hear the Wind Sing" and the great writer Murakami, Kitagawa Hide did not panic even though public opinion has become increasingly negative recently and even the leader of right-wing writers, Shintaro Ishihara, personally came out to diss him.

He sticks to his consistent thinking that being black and red is also red. If Ishihara Shintaro were to live in the future, he would at least be a top star with millions of fans, while Kitagawa Hide is at most a young idol with tens of thousands of fans. Being dissed by him might even increase his popularity.

But when he thought about it these days, he could understand the uneasiness of Saito Rena and Muramatsu Tomomi. They did not have a God's perspective, just like when Saito Rena read "Hear the Wind Sing" for the first time, even if she recognized it as an excellent novel, she did not dare to say that it could win an award or even boost the sales of "Gunzo".

With more and more chips piled up on them, it is normal for them to want to fight back to save the situation.

"Yes, at least for now, I think this is the way to go." Saito Reina stood up and bowed to him 90 degrees, saying apologetically, "I'm sorry, Kitagawa-san, I should have discussed this with you in advance. I was really impulsive today..."

Yasuhara Akira originally had the idea of ​​praising Kitagawa Hide to death, and this was the intention of forcing the hardcover book "Hear the Wind Sing" to be sold.

Now she has added the finishing touch by having "Pinball in 1973" published in the supplement.

In her eyes, from Kitagawa Hide's perspective, it was like aiding and abetting the evil.

"Why do you want to apologize again? I think there is no problem at all." Beichuan Xiu quickly pushed her back, because the barbecue general's eyes were wrong, God knows what he misunderstood again.

If this continues, I'm afraid I won't be able to come here to eat fried squid anymore.

"Ah, I see that you don't seem to be in a very good mood. I thought you were like Editor-in-Chief Muramatsu and wanted to avoid their edge." Saito Rena glanced at him again and said in a low voice.

"Oh, it's true that I've been in a bad mood recently, but that's due to a variety of reasons. It has nothing to do with Saito-san or this matter. Don't worry." Kitagawa Hide picked up the latest issue of "Gunzo" beside him, "I agree with the idea of ​​a supplement."

The reason why he was in a bad mood was that his little wife was kidnapped by a bad woman and he didn't know when she would be able to return home;

First, I recently went to see some cafes and bars that were on the verge of closing down, and found that even if they were about to go out of business, I could hardly afford to buy them;

First, when I read the article “Tokyo Memories in 1973”, I felt a little complicated.

Because he inexplicably came into conflict with Oshima Hikaru, he made a point to study this rival he had never met before.

In terms of his personal resume, Fang Cai is more like a literary giant. He showed his talent at a young age and became famous in high school. Then in 1989, he won the Gunzo Newcomer Award for his first submission and was awarded the Akutagawa Prize of the same year, successfully debuting.

In the six years that followed, he gradually transformed from a newcomer into a best-selling author and a pillar of the literary world.

It's absolutely perfect.

Of course, Hide Kitagawa took the time to read his works, and he had two feelings after reading them.

First, it’s better than most of the shitty stuff on the market.

Second, there are a lot of traces of borrowing and adapting foreign literary classics, which basically confirms that he is a high-level porter and plagiarist.

The plagiarist's article was plagiarized by another plagiarist.

The feeling is really indescribable.

These reasons could not be explained in detail to Saito Rena, so in her eyes, she was probably angry about the supplement.

"That's good. What about what you just talked about?" Saito Rena asked again.

Kitagawa Hide quickly replied, "If it's not too much trouble, please let me have a look at it. I'm not very good at things like supplement prefaces and interviews."

"Okay, then I'll give you a few copies tomorrow." Saito Rena felt much calmer. She moved her eyes down, and when she saw the latest "Gunzo", she felt more confident.

It is an indisputable fact that Oshima Hikaru's new work is not as good as Kitagawa Hide's.

She dared to let Muramatsu Tomoshi go and persuade the top management at the risk of resigning because she firmly believed that as long as "Pinball in 1973" was published, the rumors and slander would be self-defeating.

As for whether readers will buy the hardcover paperback edition of "Hear the Wind Sing", we can only do our best and leave it to fate. In any case, issuing a supplement is better than doing nothing.

This is also what she learned from Kitagawa Hide.

"By the way, Mr. Saito, do you know any abandoned bars or cafes that are for sale?" After thinking about the supplement for a while, Kitagawa Hide put it aside for the time being and started thinking about running a jazz cafe.

If we can get things done before Yumeko comes back and give her a little surprise, then can we find the lost "football"?

"I don't know about that, but if Kitagawa-san needs it, I can ask for you in the company." Seeing his expression and serious look, Saito Reina thought he was looking for ideas and thoughts for his new book, and immediately replied enthusiastically, "I also know a lot of writers who like to drink and hang out in bars, and some even run cafes."

"Ah, thank you so much, Saito-san." Kitagawa Hidemasa was having trouble finding a store.

After all, he is just a bankrupt rich second-generation. All his family resources are gone. People he used to know now treat him as a ghost. His social circle has become fragmented, and he really can't find any good store resources.

I heard from Reina Saito that using Kodansha's vast network of contacts to search might be effective.

"You're welcome. It's my honor to provide some help to Mr. Kitagawa's new work." Saito Rena said with a smile.

"New work?" Kitagawa Hide looked at her.

Saito Reina asked in confusion: "Isn't it to find inspiration for writing a new work? I know that many writers like to stimulate their desire to create in places like cafes and bars, isn't it Kitagawa-san?"

"Ah, yes, yes." Beichuan Xiu thought that it was just a misunderstanding. Anyway, he had already established a character of being as productive as a sow. In her eyes, there was nothing wrong with him being a writing maniac.

"It's amazing. Mr. Kitagawa is indeed a writer who has both top talent and is hardworking enough." Saito Rena sincerely admires him. If "Hear the Wind Sing" is a work of talent, then the subsequent "Pinball in 1973" shows his talent and hard work at the same time.

How can a normal writer be so productive and produce such high-quality works if he doesn't put effort into writing?
This is also the reason why Rena Saito is willing to speak up for Hide Kitagawa many times.

Pure literature is a beautiful pure land in her heart and cannot be defiled by certain people.

"No way, no way." Kitagawa Hide knew his own worth and never really thought of himself as a unique literary giant.

The two drank for a while, and as it was getting dark, Rena Saito said goodbye first because she had to pick up her sisters from school.

As soon as she left, the barbecue master came over.

A cigarette was handed over.

In fact, there is no culture of passing cigarettes in Japan, and everyone has a strong sense of boundaries.

But this kind of behavior is still quite common among the lower classes, such as security guards and blue-collar workers.

In any country in the world, the bottom class suffers the same hardships and lives the same life.

After hesitating for a moment, Kitagawa Hide lit up the first cigarette in his life after traveling through time.

The taste is familiar and bitter.

"Are you working in the cultural industry?" While there were no customers, the barbecue general blew out a smoke ring and leaned against the warm curtain, his thoughts racing. He said to him leisurely, "It's great, a decent job, a decent life, and a respected social status."

"Actually, I'm a security guard." Kitagawa Hide said to him with a smile.

The BBQ General was stunned for a moment and looked at him: "First of all, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation. But you are actually a writer, and she is your editor and girlfriend, right?"

"She's really not my girlfriend." Kitagawa Hide spread his hands.

The BBQ General laughed: "Then make her your girlfriend, you little bastard. Her eyes are clearly sparkling when she looks at you, I can't be wrong. Asshole, don't think that just because I'm the BBQ General, I don't understand the thoughts of you cultured people!"

"Really?" Kitagawa Xiu smiled and decided not to explain.

The barbecue master sat down and lit up a cigarette: "To be honest, no matter who she is, if she is willing to always accompany you to eat at these roadside stalls, she is definitely a good girl worth cherishing. After the bubble economy burst, most of the women who were once praised to the sky are still living in dreams. It's rare to find a normal one..."

He began to talk in a babble, as if he was confiding something or talking to himself.

Kitagawa Hideno was able to feel the pain that ordinary people had to endure after the bubble burst, the desperate and long painful life, from this barbecue master named Tetsuo Yamada.

This is probably the norm for all the lower class people in this society.

".You, don't think I do this every day, I actually love reading books. I've been buying "Group Portrait", right? Books are indeed the best things to comfort people's souls. Hey, kid, what's the name of your book?"

Yamada Tetsuo ended his soliloquy.

Kitagawa Hide glanced at the stack of "Group Portraits" faintly visible behind the cart, then looked at him, thinking over what he had said, and suddenly knew how to write the preface to the supplement.

He picked up the copy of Group Portrait on the table and replied with a smile, "You won't believe me if I tell you this, but the novel I wrote was published in the last issue."

"Oh, he's actually a debuted writer?" Yamada Tetsuo really didn't believe it.

He knew that Kodansha was the largest publishing house in Japan and that Gunzo was one of the top five pure literature magazines. Writers who could publish their novels there were either rich or noble. Would they also come to the cart to eat with their editor?

"Yes, I just debuted not long ago." Kitagawa Hide nodded.

"That's great. I'll give you three more servings of grilled squid as a small blessing. I hope you can become a great writer in the future." Yamada Tetsuo stood up, smiled and patted his shoulder, "When you do, you have to write me into your book!"

Thank you again for your monthly tickets.

Thanks
400 points of reward from a book friend for "One Hundred Ways to Detect Men's Lies"

20210815095319261 200 points reward from book friends

Continuing to write about the sad baby book friend's 100-point reward

1 points of reward from a book friend in AD 500

Tan Ming's 100-point reward

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(End of this chapter)