Chapter 5: Finding Another Way

Another five days passed, and Xia Yu had completed an additional 230,000 words, bringing the total to 420,000 words. However, at this point, Xia Yu had lost the motivation to write.

After waiting so many days without any news, he was disheartened. His manuscript had been placed on top of the pile of submissions; logically, it should have been reviewed by now. Five days was ample time for them to get back to him, but he had heard nothing.

He couldn't believe that "The Legend of Xiang Shaolong" could be overlooked. The quality was there, and once read, it couldn't be ignored!

"Unless... they didn't even look at it because of my age," Xia Yu suddenly thought of a possibility. Considering the attitude of the reviewer, it seemed more and more likely.

With his current experience, he knew that there were many such people in society. It wasn't impossible that the editor at "The Eastern Daily" was one of them.

"I don't have time to waste. I should go check it out. If it really didn't get accepted, I'll get the manuscript back and try other options!" Xia Yu calmed himself down, made a decision, and set off for the headquarters of "The Eastern Daily."

Arriving again at the building of "The Eastern Daily," Xia Yu headed straight inside, found the office, knocked on the door, and walked in.

"Hello, has my manuscript been reviewed yet?" Seeing the middle-aged editor having tea with a younger person, Xia Yu went straight to the point.

Seeing Xia Yu again, the middle-aged man gave him a dismissive glance and then continued his conversation with the other person. He casually pointed to a large pile of manuscripts in the corner and said, "Not accepted, take it back yourself!"

After saying this, the middle-aged man didn't even look at Xia Yu and went on chatting with the other person.

Seeing the editor's dismissive attitude, Xia Yu felt a surge of anger but had prepared himself mentally for this, so he chose not to argue. It wasn't worth it. If "The Eastern Daily" didn't appreciate "The Legend of Xiang Shaolong," it was their loss. The real frustration was the time he had wasted!

He needed to retrieve the manuscript. After all, he had spent several days working on it.

Xia Yu walked over to the pile of manuscripts and quickly searched through it. Finally, he found his slightly wrinkled original manuscript at the bottom. Without saying much, he took the manuscript, put it back into his bag, gave the middle-aged editor a cold glance, and left without looking back.

There was no need to grovel to someone who had a cold attitude toward him. It was completely unnecessary. It wasn't like "The Legend of Xiang Shaolong" had to be submitted to "The Eastern Daily."

The different attitude of Xia Yu compared to other rejected authors surprised the two people chatting in the office.

The middle-aged editor felt somewhat embarrassed in front of his colleague and snorted dismissively, "A failure, can't even handle life and is trying to write novels! Hmph…"

While he insulted Xia Yu, he didn't realize that he himself was the one lacking in grace!

"Oh? He looks only about fifteen or sixteen and is trying to write novels. I'm curious about what he's written," the younger person said with a smile, intrigued by the audacity of a teenager attempting to write and submit a novel.

The younger person's curiosity made the middle-aged editor uncomfortable, and he disparaged Xia Yu further, "What's there to see? He hasn't even learned history properly and is writing about the Qin Dynasty. The protagonist seems to be someone named Xiang something. A modern person, and now he's messing around with time travel, just a mess."

Seeing the middle-aged editor's annoyance, the younger editor decided not to say more. After all, the senior editor had more experience, and it wasn't worth creating conflict over such a small matter. So, he quickly changed the topic.

However, the younger editor secretly thought, "A modern person traveling to the Qin Dynasty, it's interesting. Just this point makes me want to see it. Too bad he took his manuscript back…"

---

As for Xia Yu, after leaving "The Eastern Daily," he calmed his slightly turbulent emotions and focused on the problem at hand.

"Since 'The Eastern Daily' didn't work out, I can try 'Ming Pao.' But now, eight days have passed. And with the precedent of 'The Eastern Daily,' there's a risk that 'Ming Pao' might also be dismissive. If it takes another five or six days and still gets rejected, that would be troublesome!"

"Moreover, as a newcomer, the remuneration will definitely be very low. It might only be a few hundred dollars per thousand words. Even if it's at the highest rate, say twenty dollars per thousand words, 400,000 words would only yield 8,000 Hong Kong dollars. With such limited funds, it's difficult to make a significant impact in a short time."

"Considering this, submitting the manuscript alone won't solve my problem. Moreover, to fully benefit from 'The Legend of Xiang Shaolong,' I need to manage it myself. If I had my own newspaper, I could publish it directly!" Xia Yu thought greedily.

Although "The Legend of Xiang Shaolong" had come easily, Xia Yu wasn't going to waste its value.

A competent businessman would fully exploit the value of a product until it was drained!

It had to be said that, influenced by other memories, most of which were from top elites and capitalists, Xia Yu, though newly acquired, was unconsciously shifting toward thinking like a competent capitalist.

But this was a good thing!

"Now, I need to find another way to quickly obtain initial capital to complete the original accumulation of capital!" Xia Yu murmured.

"Let me think carefully and see if any of my memories fit this situation." Xia Yu thought as he boarded a bus.

As memories flickered through his mind, Xia Yu finally found the method he wanted just before reaching home.

As soon as he got off the bus, he revealed a smile and quickly found a small shop.

"Boss, give me a pair of dice and a deck of playing cards!" Xia Yu said directly to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper, an elderly man, adjusted his glasses and looked at the excited Xia Yu. He shook his head, handed over a pair of dice and a deck of cards, and after receiving the payment, he couldn't help but advise, "Young man, don't get involved in gambling. It can ruin your life!"

"I understand. Thanks for the reminder. I'm buying them for someone else," Xia Yu said with a grateful smile and then took the dice and cards, leaving the shop.

Watching Xia Yu's departing figure, the shopkeeper sighed and shook his head, lamenting another young person heading down the wrong path.

Returning home quickly, Xia Yu took a bowl with him and went outside. The sound of rolling dice was too loud inside the house and might draw his parents' attention, causing unnecessary trouble.

Finding a vacant area, Xia Yu closed his eyes and recalled memories and experiences. When he opened his eyes, he seemed to exude a different aura. He placed the bowl over the dice on a wooden board and began to shake them rapidly.

At first, Xia Yu was inconsistent, but soon a smile appeared on his face. Every time he opened the bowl, the numbers were quite interesting—ranging from three 1s to three 6s, or sequences like 1-2-3, almost always rolling what he wanted, as if he were a gambling god.

Next, Xia Yu took out the playing cards and played with them, growing increasingly skilled. His shuffling techniques became more varied, and his fingers grew more nimble, always dealing special hands.

After dealing the cards again, he revealed three Aces!

"Hahaha!" Xia Yu laughed heartily, filled with confidence. All the worries of the past few days had dissipated.

"Thanks to that expert's memory, I didn't expect that hotel had a gambling expert. This has been a great help!"

"Everything depends on tomorrow!"

Noting that it was getting late, Xia Yu packed up the dice and cards and headed home.

A new day was about to begin. Wishing everyone a happy life! And by the way, please vote for a recommendation. Thanks to all the big shots!