Teacher Yang listened to the classmates' discussions and couldn't help but give a wry smile.
"Classmates, listen to me, there is evidence," he said. "The Zhonghai Daily is a given, with his report. And our most authoritative newspaper, the China People's Daily, also reported on Zhang Tianxing. The news in Zhonghai also covered him, on the day they reported on the top scorer of the Zhonghai college entrance examination. No one achieves success easily."
Hearing Teacher Yang's words, the students were stunned. They were relatively interested in topics like the top scorer of the college entrance examination.
"Exactly! I've seen it. Now that Teacher Yang mentions it, I remember. I said to myself, why is crayfish so familiar?"
"I've got nothing else to say. When I get home, I'll ask my mom to buy some crayfish to boost my brain. I feel like I've been lacking motivation lately. Maybe eating some crayfish will give me the drive to study."
Hearing the students' reasons, Teacher Yang was a little amused and bewildered. This was great; he was now indirectly promoting crayfish for Zhang Tianxing for free.
"Alright, if you want to eat them, go ahead and buy them. But when you see Zhang Tianxing in college, remember to collect an advertising fee for me. As a teacher, I don't advertise lightly."
"Hahaha!" A burst of laughter erupted.
"So, what I want to say is, you write well, which proves your Chinese is good. But this is just a single subject's score. Even with a good score in one subject, getting into Zhonghai University is difficult. Only well-rounded students have a greater chance of getting into a good university than a single-subject prodigy."
"Especially you, Zhou Han. Your subject imbalance is so severe that I don't know what to say. Your good Chinese is not something to criticize, but I still hope you can study math well. Perhaps one day, you can go to Zhonghai University and meet this senior who organized the crayfish essay contest."
...
The publication of the crayfish essay contest in newspapers also caused a stir.
"Have you heard about that crayfish essay contest?"
"Heard of it. If you ask me, it's the hottest contest in the literary world this year. There's no other way, they're offering a lot of prize money. Everything else is mediocre. Great rewards will certainly bring brave men, so the crayfish essay contest took advantage of this."
"But honestly, I thought it was quite good. After all, the judges they invited are all seasoned veterans in the newspaper industry. With them vetting the entries, I've read a few, and they're quite well-written."
"Alas, let me say this. Crayfish are good to eat, but what's the meaning of a 'Crayfish Essay Contest'? What are they trying to do?"
Wang Zui Pao's questioning voice resonated with many.
"It's just someone selling crayfish. What are they trying to do? And it's the first one. It's just those few who have no integrity, willing to do anything for a bit of recognition, who eagerly went to be judges. What quality can it have? And what help can it bring to the literary world!"
"You've found the right place to voice your opinions, Wang Zui Pao. I was initially unconvinced of your reputation, but hearing your doubts today, I deeply sympathize. I was wrong to have misjudged you, Brother Zui Pao. Come, let us join forces and launch an attack on crayfish."
Wang Zui Pao had reason to be angry. With his great reputation, why wasn't he invited? Why were those obscure individuals chosen?
It was heard that the judges weren't working for free, each receiving several boxes of crayfish. Money aside, that spicy crayfish was indeed quite delicious.
But why weren't they inviting him? If they weren't inviting him, he would definitely show these crayfish the power of Wang Zui Pao! He was not someone whose fame was undeserved.
Let them see the consequences of not inviting him. Without envy, one cannot stand firm, especially in the literary world.
However, to be fair, under significant reward, there are bound to be masters. Those few articles were indeed well-written, much better than what he himself had written. But he couldn't admit that in public.
That's what literary jealousy is all about.
...
The discussion stirred up by the crayfish essay contest exceeded Zhang Tianxing's expectations and was quite effective.
Just when Zhang Tianxing thought the effect would be limited, a voice of doubt from the literary world made the reputation of crayfish even more prominent.
What was going on? Crayfish were already in short supply, mainly due to a large portion of their orders coming from international trade fairs.
Zhang Tianxing was currently unable to develop new markets. However, life is like that; when you least want something, it comes knocking on your door in droves.
Due to the widespread fame of crayfish, many people came seeking cooperation opportunities.
Zhang Tianxing didn't have time to entertain them. He simply arranged for them to go to the restaurant, served them two basins of crayfish, and said, "You're here to cooperate, aren't you? Finish the crayfish first and show your sincerity, then we can talk about other things."
The visitors were invariably won over by the taste of the spicy crayfish.
Crayfish were subtly becoming the leading specialty of Yangcheng.
At this time, there were only a few patents related to crayfish. Zhang Tianxing originally thought that no one else had registered any.
However, during his search, he unexpectedly discovered that someone had registered the trademark "Qi Wei Crayfish."
This person has foresight. Good. Zhang Tianxing secretly gave the person a thumbs-up. The strength of one person is limited. To make the market big and strong, we need the collective strength of the market.
He benefited from the advantage of being reborn and knowing the development history of crayfish. He stood on the shoulders of giants to achieve his current success.
He never expected that there were talented people among the common folk. Just as he was starting to register his trademark, someone else already had. It seemed he had underestimated the heroes and talents of this world.
He knew that he was facing the elite of the market. In the market, there's no room for sentimentality; it's survival of the fittest.
It seemed he needed to accelerate his pace of making money. Otherwise, with his nature of operating haphazardly, he might just open a few stalls.
If the capital chain were to break, everything he had done would become someone else's dowry.
Therefore, Zhang Tianxing set a goal for himself: he must not expand blindly. If he did, once his crayfish business matured, he might be able to enter the ranks of the first generation of the wealthy.
At the very least, he would achieve his small personal goal first.
...
One day, Wen Qing suddenly asked Zhang Tianxing in the shop, "Do they really eat crayfish together at long tables wearing hats at the crayfish festival in Dan Country?"
Zhang Tianxing nodded. That had a history of several decades. For Dan Country, crayfish in China were just little siblings, only just beginning.
Before Zhang Tianxing could reply, Wen Qing's question followed, "Then why don't we hold a crayfish festival here?"
Hearing Wen Qing's words, Zhang Tianxing was suddenly stunned. Yes, why wasn't he holding a crayfish festival? That way, he could promote crayfish even better.
In that case, crayfish would be directly launched into space, flying out of the universe. The planet would no longer be able to satisfy the market for crayfish.
It was as if a single sentence had awakened him from a dream. He was still painstakingly thinking about how to promote crayfish, and the method was right before his eyes.