Literary Master 1983

Chapter 194 Call from Japan
Yu Hua had no choice but to call his girlfriend.

As soon as he got the call, his girlfriend scolded him: "How could you forget about food and sleep to write a novel? How can you still live?"

“I’m writing a novel.”

"Don't you write novels to make extra money? Now you live like an ascetic."

“Am I living like an ascetic?”

"Yes! I think they look alike!"

After hanging up the phone, Yu Hua didn't know whether he should go back or not.

Yu Hua often said, "I wrote novels to escape from work...", as if he just wrote novels casually. In fact, he has a burning literary fire in his heart, but he is unwilling to admit it.

He came down from his room in the guesthouse and asked what day it was. The staff downstairs pointed to the calendar and pointed to it - on it was a portrait of the actress Gong Xue, whom he had met on the train before.

November 11th.

It’s been more than a month!

Yu Hua was shocked. He hadn't noticed that time had passed so quickly.

Yu Hua ran and panted to the "October" magazine, but this time he found that the originally bustling editorial office was unusually quiet. When Zhang Shouren saw him come in, he made a "silence" gesture with his hand.

What about Yuqie?
Following Zhang Shouren's line of sight, Yu Qie was answering the phone. He was speaking some completely incomprehensible language, but it sounded very much like the dialect of some areas in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and very much like Japanese.

After listening for a while, Yu Hua felt:
It is Japanese indeed!
Yu Qie kept saying "Aligato, Aliligato".

Apparently there was someone in the October magazine who understood Japanese, because every time Yu Qie said a word, this person would quickly translate what Yu Qie said into Chinese, and another person would write down the words on paper.

What on earth could be so important?
Yu Hua felt his heart pounding, and everyone in the editorial office of October looked solemn, not making a sound. However, the protagonist Yu Qie himself saw him coming and smiled and greeted him - saluting like an American pilot, very coolly, without any nervousness at all.

Yu Hua came to the piece of paper with the conversation written on it, and the words on it made his forehead hot!
The dialogue comes from Toru Midorikawa, president of Iwanami Publishing.

"Mr. Yu, Happy Hunting has been a great success in Japan. Since it was released in September, 30,000 copies have been sold out. Our publishing house plans to print another 100,000 copies. This was originally included in the contract! Is this okay?"

Thirty thousand copies sold in Japan?
Yu Hua immediately understood why the editorial office was so quiet, and his breathing stopped at that moment.

"Thank you for the hard work of the Iwanami Publishing staff. I agree with your idea. Is there anything else you need from me?"

"Mr. Yu, we saw on TV that you received the King's Medal in Thailand. This is the first time for us Asians..."

Yu Qi interrupted him: "Boss, there's no need to be polite, just speak directly."

“Can we get the publishing rights for your works “A Way Out” and “Reunion” in Japan?”

“How to publish?”

"It will become a collection of single volumes, "The Way Out, Reunion", published in the 20th Century Famous Writers Selection - Chinese Writers Series, for readers all over Japan. In the past, Chinese writers such as Ba Lao, Shu Honglai, Cao Yu and others have been included in it, and the estimated number of copies is ..." Yu Qie thought in his mind, who is Shu Honglai?

Then I realized that Shu Honglai was the writer of "Camel Xiangzi" and "Four Generations Under One Roof", and this was his real name.

“Why not the New Reality series?”

Yu Qie originally thought that the main works of his that were introduced were his large novels, but he didn't expect that it was these two books that he had just completed not long ago.

At this moment, there was some panic on the other end of the phone.

Even the people in the editorial department were confused, thinking that something went wrong.

However, the next news was even more surprising.

After a few seconds, Midorikawa Toru said slowly: "We think that your new reality series is like the 1950s and 1960s before Japan's economic boom. It may be very popular in Japan, but the compilation of such a series of works... may take a year. We attach great importance to it and have invited a translator who has studied Chinese literature, so..."

"I understand." Yu Qie said.

"Iwanami Publishing will have someone replace Kobayashi, and this person will contact you from now on... Also, some writers admire your novels and suggest that we submit Happy Hunting to the Akutagawa Ryunosuke Award. If there is a chance of such a nomination or even winning, I hope you can come to Japan again in March next year."

"I understand. Thank you to the publishing house and thank you to President Midorikawa Toru."

The moment Yu Qie put down the phone, everyone in the editorial department looked at each other for a few seconds, as if to confirm the truth of the news. Yu Hua swore that he could see the pupils of a man named "Luo Yihe" sitting opposite him shrink visibly, and then Luo Yihe's face turned red quickly.

Luo Yihe was the first to shout out:
"Akutagawa Ryunosuke! It's Akutagawa Ryunosuke!"

What is the Akutagawa Ryunosuke Award? !
Yu Hua doesn’t know anything now. He only knows that Japan’s highest literary award is the Kawabata Yasunari Prize. Before that, he knew the author Ryunosuke Akutagawa, but had never heard of the “Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize.”

Can Chinese novels also be nominated for Japanese literary awards?
The editorial department of "October" is like a volcano erupting!

They all come from one of the most developed cities in the country, and no one of them is unaware of the Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize.

Dozens of people gathered around to look at the translation paper with the dialogue written on it, passing it around and making some subconscious movements that they didn't even know they were making, waving their fists, stamping their feet, opening their mouths wide... In the end, it all condensed into loud applause, chaotic but growing louder and louder. Yu Hua immediately understood why people used the word "waves" to describe this action:

Every time Yu Qie stretched out his hand to ask everyone to be quiet, within two seconds, there was an even louder applause, and then it continued, until after two or three rounds, there was a smell of restlessness in the air! People began to be dissatisfied with just clapping, and began to hug and scream. One person said, "Have you ever done this before? Is it the first time?" Another person stretched out his finger and shouted, "The first time, it's the first time!"

The others repeated the sentence and started clapping again!
This one said: "The Akutagawa Ryunosuke Award has always been one of the important indicators for observing the trends of Japanese literature! The popularity of the novel "Happy Hunting" shows that Yu Qie's Japanese novel creation has reached a first-class level!"

Another person said: "He is only in his twenties. Is he expected to break the record of the youngest winner? I need to look up some information... Is there any introduction to the works of the Akutagawa Ryunosuke Award in China? Why do we know so little about the Japanese literary world... This is Japan!"

"Comrades! Comrades!" Yu Qie shouted, "This is not about winning the award, nor about being nominated. It's just about being recommended. Will there be a chance? We don't know, and I don't know either!"

Everyone looked at Yu Qie who was "pouring cold water" and then continued to celebrate.

(End of this chapter)