1978 Synthetic Writers

Who is Lin Bei in Chapter 521?

"Comrade Qizhi, this..." Jiang Xian was also dumbfounded.

Why is "Contemporary" magazine unsuitable?
As is widely known, the four most prestigious literary journals are Harvest, Flower City, Contemporary, and October.

Among them, Harvest is known as the "Old Lady" for its mature and prudent style, because they emphasize the literary depth of medium and long novels.

The magazine "Flower City" is known as the "Flower Girl" for its graceful and charming characters, as they are the most supportive of innovative and experimental writing.

"October" is known as "Qingyi" for its fresh and elegant style, because it is a comprehensive magazine that covers a variety of literary genres.

As for "Contemporary," they were called "Zhengdan" with a clear conscience because their articles focused on realist literature.

Therefore, Jiang Xian pointed out that it was inappropriate.

The novel "The Playboy" is clearly best suited for publication in "Flower City" or "Harvest," or even "October" would be fine.

But it shouldn't have been published in "Contemporary".

Your magazine, *Contemporary*, is a stronghold of realist literature, publishing profound, weighty, and thought-provoking realist works. As a result, *Contemporary* has become the most favored publication of the Mao Dun Literature Prize.

Later statistics showed that nearly one-third of the works that won the Mao Dun Literature Prize came from the magazine "Contemporary".

The Mischievous Master.
Do you think the novel "The Troubleshooters" could be nominated for the Mao Dun Literature Prize?
This is no joke!

"Comrade Jiang Xian, I'm not joking with you."

“Old He, you’re making a huge promise. Changing the style of a publication is no small matter,” Li Jingfeng chimed in from the side.

"Yes, I know it's not a small matter."

He Qizhi looked very serious. “Although I’m just a junior editor, I believe that if I go back and write a note to the editorial office, I will definitely get strong support from the company.”

"Don't mind."

Jiang Xian quickly stopped He Qizhi, saying, "Contemporary magazine has even changed its publishing style because of one of my novels. If word gets out, won't I, Jiang Xian, become a literary tycoon in other people's eyes? No, no, that's too outrageous."

“I can still send you a special issue,” He Qizhi said.

"Special number?"

Li Jingfeng was even more dumbfounded.

Contemporary is a bimonthly publication.

Publishing a special issue costs more than twice as much as a regular monthly magazine.

Do you really want Jiang Xian's manuscript that badly?

"In short, we at Contemporary Magazine are determined to have your article 'The Playboy'."

He Qizhi said, "Don't feel awkward. Although our magazine 'Contemporary' is both 'upright' and 'popular,' we have also published novels like 'Air Hostess,' which also caused quite a stir among readers, didn't they?"

"That's true."

At the time, Wang Shuo's "Air Hostess" first published a fragment in "People's Digest", and then immediately published in "Contemporary" the following month.

Jiang Xian had read this novel, "Air Hostess".

It tells the love story of a retired navy man, "I," and a flight attendant named Amei, with a touch of romanticism.

Moreover, the female protagonist, Amei, was only thirteen years old when she first met "me" in the naval force.

And from that encounter onwards, she fell in love with me with a dreamlike adoration.
Is this realism?
Even if you beat Jiang Xian to death, you can't say there's even the slightest bit of realism in this.

To be honest, this novel is quite realistic. After "I" was discharged from the army, A-Mei became a flight attendant, and the two met again and fell in love.

Then, "I," a retired navy officer, encountered setbacks everywhere in society and found it difficult to achieve my goals, but Ah Mei embraced "me" with her girlish innocence and love.

Unfortunately, due to the gossip among Amei's colleagues and friends, and my inner struggles, Amei and I broke up.

This is reality, but it has nothing to do with "realism".

The ending was melodramatic enough:
Two years later, I saw the news of the commercial airliner crash in the newspaper, and Amei was on that plane.
Although "Contemporary" magazine mainly features realistic themes such as rural and factory life.

However, this article, "Air Hostess," was indeed published in "Contemporary."

Jiang Xian didn't know why "Contemporary" published this novel. Was it because it reflected the lives of contemporary urban youth?

He remembered that Wang Shuo won the "Best Newcomer Award" in the "Contemporary Literature Award" held by Contemporary Literature magazine that year with this novel.

Judging from this, "The Troubleshooters" is not entirely without hope of survival in "Contemporary".

"Old Jiang, what kind of manuscript did you write? I'm getting curious and want to see it," Li Jingfeng said.

He was also curious. Although everyone wanted Jiang Xian's manuscript, he could tell that He Qizhi really liked Jiang Xian's novel. This made Li Jingfeng want to see just how good the manuscript was that made He Qizhi so persistent.

"The manuscript isn't with me right now."

Jiang Xian said, "I showed the manuscript to someone else, but I haven't returned it yet."

"That's a real shame," Li Jingfeng said.

"Ouch."

He Qizhi slapped his forehead and quickly took out a stack of manuscripts from his bag. "Haiyan asked me to bring them back to you. I almost forgot about it."

"Hai Yan also read it?"

"I was looking at your manuscript at his place."

"I see."

These days, reading other people's manuscripts isn't considered offensive. Many writers are used to sharing their manuscripts among their friends before publishing them.

Works like Wang Zengqi's "Receiving the Precepts" and Ge Fei's "Lost Boat" are examples of this.

After all, people are close to each other now, and everyone is simple-minded. No one would be so greedy as to publish this work under someone else's name in advance. No one would do such a thing.

On the contrary, because it circulates within a small circle, people in that circle will help recommend it to editors they know.

It must be said that the literary circles in Beijing are still quite humane at this time.

"Let me see."

Li Jingfeng took the manuscript and asked, "What's it about?"

"It's just a company whose main business is 'solving people's problems, helping people overcome difficulties, and taking the blame for others,' like a cola." He Qizhi summarized Jiang Xian's story.

"To relieve others' worries, solve their problems, and take the blame for them?"

Li Jingfeng was dumbfounded. "Is this a joke or a novel?"

"Just you wait and see."

He Qizhi chimed in from the side, "It's beautifully written."

Upon hearing He Qizhi's words, Li Jingfeng opened the manuscript and soon could no longer hear Jiang Xian and He Qizhi discussing "Contemporary" and "The Playboy," as he became completely focused on the novel "The Playboy."

Li Jingfeng didn't hear a thing about what Jiang Xian and He Qizhi discussed that night; he was completely absorbed in the novel "The Playboy." He remembered that the first novel he received from Jiang Xian was "Rice."

When he first read the novel "Rice", he thought it was a remake of "Rickshaw Boy". In this novel, society is rotten to the extreme and people's hearts are wicked without any bottom line. However, it does not have the "Beijing flavor" of Mr. Lao She's novel. The story is also set in the South.

He was puzzled at the time.

Jiang Xian, a native of Beijing, is writing stories set in the South.

This time, it's called "The Playboy".

Li Jingfeng could hardly believe that this was the same person who wrote the novel "Rice," a novel so evil it seemed to exude darkness.

"Rice" is the ultimate form of repression.

"The Troublemakers" is a film that goes to great lengths to satirize.

They write about people who are neither here nor there.

A carefree, grinning face can make people distrustful yet relaxed, frustrating yet joyful.

On the surface, he seems reckless and unruly, but in reality, he doesn't do anything truly bad.

They seem to live carefree lives, yet they rationally and logically constitute a reality.

And it even has a "Beijing flavor"!

Although the novel consists of a collection of fragments, Li Jingfeng believes that its narrative is relatively weak.

However, the main storyline is absolutely smooth, and the characters are all present throughout.

Take Bao Kang, who appeared at the beginning, for example. Even after a literary award ceremony that he directed and starred in himself came to an end, he still had a role to play.

When Bao Kang first appeared, there were already hints of him being "hypocritical," and this time he has directly exposed his true colors:
"I really don't like the person who came with you." Lin Bei lowered her head, clutching her handbag, and walked slowly alongside Bao Kang through the dense crowd. "They're so fake."

"I don't like him either. But you don't have to use liking or disliking to measure him at all."

"Is he really your teacher?"

"That's all there is to it. I can just ask a teacher to come up with a name without thinking. There are too many teachers in this world. How long have you known Yu Guan and Ma Qing?"

"Not long, not long at all, about the same time it's been since I met you."

"I thought you two were pretty close. What do you think of them?"

"It's pretty good, and quite funny."

"Didn't you realize that they are actually extremely bored and empty?"

“I noticed it a long time ago; I noticed it as soon as I came into contact with them.”

"Don't be fooled by their constant laughter and carefree attitude. They're not like that at all. I know them too well. They're incredibly frustrated inside, desperately wanting to do something but unable to. They're ambitious but lack the talent, so they just make silly jokes to appear like they know everything. These kinds of people are the most hopeless! Don't get involved with them; you won't learn anything and will only waste your time."

“I didn’t get involved with them. I just went to join in the fun. Don’t I know I should be studying harder and striving for improvement?”

"Don't deny it. I'm not blaming you, but I just think a girl as talented as you needs to be able to control herself. You're beautiful and innocent, and many people will flock around you. It's easy for you to slip down. Really, I'm saying this to you with all my heart. I can't bear to see you end up like some girls: scarred and homeless."

"I know."

"What do you know? You know nothing. You just follow people around every day, happy when they're happy, sad when they're sad, spending your time dressing up, eating snacks, letting your youth slip away unnoticed."

"You're absolutely right. But what am I supposed to do? I don't have any willpower."

"I'll help you. Would you like to learn how to write novels?"

"Oh, I really want to. But am I capable?"

"Take your time, I'll teach you."

"That's great, you kept your word. I've always wanted to write a novel about my eventful life, but I couldn't find anyone to teach me. Now that I have someone, I think if I write it, people will definitely love to read it. Don't underestimate me because I'm not very old, I've been through a lot, both pain and joy. Thinking about the past makes me want to cry."

"."

Jiang Xianzhen expressed his extreme disgust for Bao Kang, a hypocrite who appeared respectable on the surface but was actually filthy and despicable on the inside.

Yu Guan and Ma Qing helped him a lot, helping him realize his dream of winning a literary award.

But as soon as he turned around, Bao Kang betrayed Lin Bei, showing a complete lack of respect for his roots.

Speaking of the name Lin Bei, Li Jingfeng felt that it sounded familiar. After thinking for a while, he remembered that in Jiang Xian's other popular representative work, "Ferocious Animals," besides the female lead Milan, there was another character named Yu Beibei.

At the beginning, Yu Beibei hung out with the protagonist and his friends, spouting vulgarities and willing to grope anyone. She frequented the homes of petty thugs in the circle and eventually gave the protagonist a vivid lesson in ideological and political work:
"That won't do. You're so young, how can you want to do this?"

“If I let you have your way, you’ll feel good for a moment, but you’ll hate me for the rest of your life and say that I corrupted you. You’re still young and don’t understand feelings yet. When you get married in the future, you have to be worthy of your future wife.”

"—Just touch me."

Because of these outrageous words, coupled with the unique character portrayal, Li Jingfeng had a deep impression of the character at the time.

Therefore, when Jiang Xian wrote about Lin Bei, he immediately thought of this person.

"蓓" is not a common character, and the old Beijingers have never heard of this character being used much for girls.

It appeared again in Jiang Xian's novel.

This is enough to show that there was once a girl named XX Bei, and there was a story between her and Jiang Xian.

Li Jingfeng secretly speculated, and felt that his speculation was quite reasonable and logical, so he was pleased with himself for a long time.

Of course, besides such gossip, the novel's content was also enough to attract Li Jingfeng.

He finally understood why Ho Kai-chi was so obsessed with this piece, "The Playboy".

It's really well written.

Moreover, the language is so vivid.

Let's put it this way: Li Jingfeng felt that every paragraph and every sentence in this book could be extracted and used as a punchline.

for example:

The applause from the audience grew louder and louder, and even after the actors finished reciting their lines, a few people continued to clap and cheer enthusiastically. The "mother," feeling flustered by the applause, quietly asked her "daughter":
Are there any earthquake forecasts in the next couple of days?

"I heard the Chinese women's volleyball team won again."

And like:
"To be honest, people's living standards have improved. You didn't think meat was expensive in the past because you hardly bought any meat. You could make dumplings for the whole family with just two cents' worth of fat. If meat prices were still the same as they were a couple of years ago, even if the country turned the whole country into a giant pigsty, it still wouldn't be enough for you to eat to your heart's content."

"If your wife gets dizzy just looking at you, then give her some pills like 'Liuwei Dihuang Pills,' 'Jinkui Shenqi Pills,' or 'Guilingji Pills' to help her through the night. If that doesn't work, when you cook porridge at night, put some sleeping pills in your wife's bowl so she'll be full and sleepy. She won't even be able to keep her eyes open when watching Donald Duck. She'll go to bed without washing her feet and won't be able to concentrate on anything else. At most, she'll snore, but it won't endanger your health for the rest of your life."

Li Jingfeng truly didn't know how Jiang Xian's brain could be structured, capable of writing something as wicked as "Rice" and also coming up with such extremely satirical jokes. These were almost the two most extreme directions in literature.

After finishing the novel, he went to the editorial office of "Contemporary" magazine and found He Qizhi, asking him to take the manuscript back to Jiang Xian. He also inquired about the commission between "Contemporary" magazine and Jiang Xian.

"I've made plans."

He Qizhi beamed with joy, "I even arranged a discussion with him about my creative process."

(End of this chapter)