Chapter 1218: Skyrocketing!
Chapter 1218: Skyrocketing!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
Beijing Television.
Central TV News Channel.
Shanghai Satellite Television.
And everyone else. On the same night, every television station was reporting this news!
Which family did not have a child? Which child did not need to go to school? The issue of education had always been of the greatest concern to the public. The national textbook curriculum revision was an even greater issue for them. Any news that was relevant to the public would naturally be given the widest coverage by the media and television stations!
"Physics textbook compilation fraught with difficulties?"
"English language textbook will see increase in number of vocabulary words included!"
"Huge changes to Chinese language textbooks!"
"Both 'Ode to Young China' and 'Tribute to the White Poplar' have been selected?"
Zhang Ye might become greatest beneficiary of Chinese language textbook curriculum revision!"
The Ministry of Education uncharacteristically gives Zhang Ye their approval?"
"Expert analysis: Having works selected to be included in the national textbooks will have a major impact on Zhang Ye's popularity and status!"
There was a heated discussion on Weibo.
"He was really chosen!"
"And it's even two his essays as entries?"
"Has Teacher Zhang been on steroids recently or something?"
"Yeah, selling that many copies of Fortress Besieged and taking the top honors at the most prestigious domestic literary awards. And now, he even has his works selected for the national Chinese language textbooks?"
"In the future, Zhang Ye's best-selling books won't be Ghost Blows Out the Light or Fortress Besieged!"
"Huh? Then what will it be?"
"It's going to be the elementary and middle school textbooks, of course!"
"Pfft!"
"Zhang Ye has boarded a rocket ship and can't be stopped!"
"All the latest headlines have been about him!"
"What is he trying to achieve here? Putting in so much effort? He couldn't have set his sights on one of those seven spots in the S-list, could he?"
"That can't be. Teacher Zhang's still far from reaching the S-list. He shouldn't be able to get there without at least another few years of hard work, right?"
"That's hard to say. Just look, how much has Zhang Ye's popularity grown over the past few days? There might not even be a need to wait a few years to see that happening. Those at the top should really start being wary of him!"
"That's quite unlikely."
"Yeah, you're exaggerating."
"I don't think it will happen anytime soon either. After all, those seven spots are too difficult to reach, and we've never seen a change in the rankings after so many years. But then again, looking at the current entertainment industry, if there's anyone who can replace one of those seven Heavenly Kings and Queens, it should only be Zhang Ye. Just look at his domestic celebrity ranking. He's been sitting comfortably atop the A-list and has been widening the gap on those who were almost even with him in just what? A month? Two months?"
"Supporting Zhang Ye's climb to the top of the entertainment industry!"
Of course, there were also voices of doubt.
"What's with this?"
"Is he even qualified enough?"
"Is it really a good idea to put the essays of someone with a temper like Zhang Ye's into the national textbooks?"
"What the hell is 'Tribute to the White Poplar'? It's just an essay written in vernacular!"
Among those who questioned the decision of the Ministry of Education, the representative figures of the group actually turned out to be several executives from Central TV Department 1.
Central TV Department 1's Deputy Director Jiang Yuan: "Education is a serious matter, and so are the textbooks used to educate our children. Putting the works of a historically tainted celebrity into the teaching materials is irresponsible to our children!"
There was a wave of scolding below that comment.
"Get lost!"
"It's Central TV Department 1 that has a tainted history!"
"Are you done trying to slander Zhang Ye?"
"Enough is enough! It was you people who didn't handle the matter properly back then that led to Zhang Ye suing you in court. You guys lost the lawsuit, remember?"
…
At home.
When Zhang Ye reached home, he heard his mom talking on the phone with her old colleague in the living room.
"Yes, didn't you watch the news? It's being reported everywhere!"
"Really?"
"Yes, his works were really selected to be in the Chinese language textbooks. One of them is for the elementary school textbook, and the other is for the middle school textbook!"
"Your son is amazing. You and Old Zhang have taught him so well! Everyone is envious of you two."
"Hahaha, when your granddaughter starts school, my son's essays will be in the textbooks. She might even be asked to recite them…."
His mother was bragging to other people again.
Zhang Ye was used to this, and his mother could not be controlled by anyone when it came to bragging.
"Hai, my son is home now, I'm going to hang up!" After his mother put down the phone, she said excitedly, "Son, you were really chosen! You've done us proud!"
His father also said with glee, "This is a good thing! It's an extremely good thing!"
His mother said, "You'll become even more well-known."
"It's not a matter of fame." His father said sternly, "Doing something for the cause of education is what truly matters. Using this to gain popularity is unconventional, so don't be so short-sighted."
Mom winked at her son. "Ignore him."
Zhang Ye laughed.
Congratulatory calls were also starting to come in one after another.
Zhang Ye's friends were also feeling very shocked by Zhang Ye having two of his essays selected for the national textbooks. All of them expressed their incredulity while offering their congratulations to him.
Hu Fei wondered, "What kind of trick did it take to pull that off?"
Zhang Ye said, "Haha, magic?"
Hu Fei said in amusement, "Since when were you so loved in the industry?"
Zhang Ye sighed. "I suppose everyone did give me some face."
The industry's opinion of Zhang Ye was improving as they felt he had a lot of potential. In the past, Zhang Ye always went around scolding and offending everyone. Not many industries were able to accept him and the industry insiders mostly did not want to acknowledge someone like him. Even though he hadn't changed his temper much, a lot of the mainstream was slowly starting to accept him. In fact, some of them even accepted that extraordinarily foul temper of his!
It was the literary field before this!
Now it was the education field's turn!
Zhang Ye was stepping onto the right path, and his place in the industry was slowly stabilizing.
At night.
His parents were asleep.
The buzz on the Internet started to die down.
Zhang Ye was lying in bed as he took out his phone to call Wu Zeqing. His first call did not go through, but Old Wu returned his call after 15 minutes.
Zhang Ye asked: "What are you doing?"
"I just finished bathing. I had to work overtime today, so I got home a little late," Wu Zeqing said with a giggle.
Zhang Ye blinked and said: "Two of my essays were selected for the national textbooks."
Wu Zeqing laughed: "I know, I saw it on the news this afternoon. That's a good thing. Your essays are absolutely good enough, so they deserved to be selected."
Zhang Ye asked: "Did you help me out?"
Wu Zeqing replied: "No, how could I be of any help? I'm heading the SARFT, so I don't really know about all the happenings in the education sector anymore."
Zhang Ye was amused. "You really didn't do anything?"
"Hur hur, you must've been chosen based on the quality of your essays," Wu Zeqing said.
Nonsense!
Elder Qian told me about it. You obviously asked your friend from Fudan University to help me out!
Zhang Ye knew what she had done. He understood that Old Wu knew that he wasn't someone who wanted to depend on others for help. Every time Old Wu asked if he needed her help on anything, he would always say "No, I'll handle this on my own." After knowing each other for many years, and being in a relationship for a long time, Wu Zeqing understood his temper quite well. This was why Old Wu had quietly handled this matter and even pretended not to know anything about it.
Perhaps this was the greatest tenderness of all?
Even one's own wife would probably not go this far for her husband?
And if you think about it, Zhang Ye found out about this by chance. If he didn't know Elder Qian personally? If Elder Qian didn't receive a call from his friend and find out? Then Zhang Ye would probably have never found out about what Old Wu had done for him!
And for similar things like this, how many times had it happened in the past?
How much more had Old Wu done for him without him ever knowing?
Zhang Ye felt warm and fuzzy inside. He and Old Wu were both the type that wasn't good at expressing their feelings. It was very difficult for them to say the words "I love you." Zhang Ye didn't know how to be romantic and wasn't good at getting into the good graces of a woman. Meanwhile, Old Wu wasn't the clingy type, nor did she know how to be all lovey-dovey. The way they expressed their affection for each other was very different from most other couples. But! Zhang Ye felt that it was great this way.
Yes.
It really was great.