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The official publication and distribution of Chapter 41, Volume 1

Chen Jianjun got completely drunk that night.

His face was flushed, his eyes were shining, and he was clutching a wine glass in his hand, repeating the same few phrases over and over: "My son has made something of himself... he's a great writer... and he even got into Jiangnan University, which is a top-tier school..."

His voice was tinged with drunkenness, but also with a sense of triumph he had never felt in his life.

Zhang Hui supported him from the side, feeling both sorry for him and amused, but her heart was also filled with sweetness, as if she had drunk honey.

The next morning, the Chen family held an ancestral worship ceremony.

In an instant, the clanging of gongs and drums resounded, the crackling of firecrackers continued, and wisps of smoke mixed with the smell of gunpowder rose up, creating a grand spectacle that attracted almost the entire village, young and old.

People crowded around, layer upon layer, watching the spectacle and discussing it animatedly.

Chen Zhiyuan undoubtedly became the absolute protagonist and focus of this ceremony.

Dressed in neat clothes, he stood tall and composed beside his elders. Countless gazes, some open and some hidden, fell upon him, some curious, some admiring, and some undisguisedly envious.

The villagers gathered around, their eyes fixed on the scene, discussing it with great interest:

"I watched Zhiyuan grow up! He was always clever from a young age, and he's definitely going to amount to something!"

"Incredible! The first person from our village to get into Jiangnan University—this is like a literary star descended to earth!"

"He's not just good at studying! I heard that the wildly popular 'Those Things About the Ming Dynasty' in the Jiangnan Daily was written by him! A great writer indeed!"

"Jianjun is truly blessed. His ancestors must have accumulated good karma to have such a good son. We can't help but envy him..."

Amidst the noise, Chen Zhiyuan quietly absorbed everything.

For some reason, he has recently felt a significant improvement in his physical fitness, with his muscle lines becoming clearer and smoother, and even his vision and hearing have become exceptionally sharp.

The slight nearsightedness I had before has long since disappeared, and now, when I look into the distance, I can clearly see even the newly sprouted buds on the treetops.

His hearing was even more "abnormal"—in such a noisy and bustling environment, he could clearly hear the whispered conversations around him, which amazed him.

The entire ancestral worship ceremony lasted for two or three hours, becoming the most sensational event in the village during this period.

Overjoyed that his grandson had achieved such success, bringing unprecedented glory to the entire family, Old Man Chen Yougen decided to slaughter pigs and sheep and hold a grand feast.

At noon, more than a dozen tables were set up in the Chen family courtyard for a feast, with chicken, duck, fish and meat, and the aroma of homemade rice wine filled the air. The atmosphere was lively and abundant, and the laughter and chatter almost lifted the roof off.

After spending three days and two nights in his hometown, Chen Zhiyuan drove his parents back to the residential area of ​​Shuguang Machinery Factory.

Even though he had returned to the familiar city environment, Chen Zhiyuan still couldn't help but smile slightly when he recalled the grand and warm scenes in the countryside, feeling a sense of comfort and satisfaction.

It's not just about the vanity of returning home in glory, but also the warmth of family bonds and the recognition from neighbors.

Chen Jianjun's condition was even more obvious.

He seemed to have been injected with new vitality, walking with a brisk pace, his face always beaming with a smile, radiant with health, and in a state of constant bliss.

The phrase he uttered most often had become, in various variations, "My son is so successful, he's made me proud," his pride almost overflowing.

Our focus shifts to the provincial capital, to the Jiangnan Publishing Group.

In the past few days, the most important thing for the entire group has been the official publication and distribution of the first volume of "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty".

Vice President Wu Shuhan boldly approved the initial print run of 50,000 copies. The books were printed overnight at the printing plant, and the freshly printed books, still exuding a rich aroma of ink, were quickly distributed to the shelves of major Xinhua bookstores throughout the province.

In fact, Wu Shuhan was a little hesitant at one point, and even wondered to himself: Is printing 50,000 copies for the first time too risky for a new author?

Therefore, he specifically instructed his subordinates to closely monitor the book's sales and to report back to him in detail every day.

Meanwhile, in different corners of the world, some readers encountered this book.

Xu Song is a senior at Jiangnan University. After a short summer vacation back to his hometown, he returned to school early.

His greatest hobby is browsing bookstores. One afternoon, during his free time, he strolled into his usual Xinhua Bookstore.

His gaze slowly moved along the bookshelves, and he soon noticed that the new book section seemed to have many "new faces".

Soon, his gaze was firmly drawn to one of the books—the same cover, hundreds of them stacked up, neatly arranged in a prominent position, hard to miss.

He walked over and picked up the top book.

His gaze fell on the cover—"Those Things of the Ming Dynasty"—and the title made his eyes light up slightly.

After opening the cover and reading the preface and the first few pages, his eyes brightened, and he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "Interesting! History can be written like this? This book... is really good!"

He quickly became engrossed in the book, leaning against the bookshelf, completely forgetting about time.

When he was suddenly jolted awake from the story of Zhu Yuanzhang's uprising, he raised his wrist to check his watch and realized that more than an hour had quietly slipped away.

Without hesitation, he closed the book and went straight to the cashier—he had to buy this book, take it home and read it carefully, at least three or five times.

Another reader, Zhao Xinshun, has a much more unique background.

He is a professor at Peking University, a renowned historian, and a recipient of the "Yangtze River Scholar" title.

A few days ago, he was invited to Jiangnan University for academic exchange.

By chance, he came across this serialized novel in the Jiangnan Daily. After reading a few issues, he was immediately impressed: the author had a solid foundation in history, yet his writing style was novel and interesting, making serious history so vivid and readable.

So, reading the Jiangnan Daily became his "must-do" for the next few days.

Besides browsing the news, the most important thing is to keep up with the serialization of this novel.

He even asked his colleagues at Jiangnan University to help him collect old newspapers that had previously published the novel, intending to organize them and study them carefully.

Unfortunately, he couldn't collect all the newspapers, so the serialization was incomplete, which he found quite regrettable.

Even more regrettably, the exchange is over, and he will be leaving Jiangnan Province this afternoon to return to Beijing.

The flight is in the afternoon, so there's still plenty of time.

To kill time, he strolled into a Xinhua Bookstore near the airport.

While aimlessly browsing, he was pleasantly surprised and could hardly believe his eyes—on the bookshelf, there was a physical copy of "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty"!

He strode forward, picked up a book, and carefully flipped through it to confirm.

That's right, that's it!

The excitement in my heart was indescribable, even more so than winning the lottery jackpot.

Turning to the first page and seeing that familiar and interesting beginning again, Zhao Xinshun felt that his trip to Jiangnan was now complete—discovering this book was perhaps the greatest reward of his trip.

Without saying a word, he took ten books in one go.