Training the Heavens

Chapter 53 Tea, Drink Tea, Drink Good Tea
Shaoxing Road is opposite the outpatient department of Ruijin Hospital. Walk 74 meters along this road covered with plane trees and you will see a small red-brick European-style building with the number hanging on the door. Next to it are the signs of Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House and the editorial department of "Story Club".

Gao Jialin walked in with the manuscript. He could clearly feel that the editors here were much busier than those of "Mengya", because the circulation of the two magazines were completely not on the same level.

The highest circulation of "Mengya" was just over 760 copies, and "Gushihui" now sells to million copies per issue. Next year, it will set a world record of million copies per issue, becoming the world's best-selling magazine.

The threshold for collecting manuscripts for "Story Club" is not as high as that for literary magazines, so you can imagine the number of manuscripts it receives every month. It is normal that their editors are busier than "Mengya".

There are so many manuscripts to read every day, so when editor Feng Jie sees someone submitting manuscripts, he is not as active as Niu Xinliang. There are so many people submitting manuscripts, and most of the stories they write have no highlights and are not attractive enough. Reading these manuscripts is a waste of time.

Feng Jie took a glance at the thickness of the manuscript and asked directly, "What is your story about?"

If it's interesting, you can take a look at it. If it's not, just let him go back.

"This is a martial arts story!"

"Hmm?" Feng Jie looked up.

"While paying homage to his late father and friend, the great hero Xiang, the young Emei warrior Li Xiaogang was poisoned by the flower-stealing thief Jiang Shangfeng. Fortunately, he was rescued by the Emei monk, Zen Master Dayong, who bestowed upon him the unique skill 'Golden Summit Divine Art.' This skill is so powerful that even the master can spit fire from his hands!"

A flower thief? A high monk? A young hero? Divine power? Hearing this string of gimmicky elements, Feng Jie immediately put down the manuscript in his hand and said, "Don't worry, teacher, please take a seat. Let's talk slowly!"

"To avenge her husband's murder, the scum of Emei, Black Phoenix, devoted herself to the Soul-Stirring Cult, learning the sect's unique skill - the Soul-Stirring Great Art. She then set traps everywhere to hunt down Li Xiaogang, bringing bloodshed to the martial arts world..."

"Li Xiaogang met the female hero Xiang Chunhua. Her husband was assassinated and killed on their wedding day. To seek revenge, she and Li Xiaogang traveled the martial arts world together. After experiencing many life-and-death struggles, they secretly fell in love!"

A widow? Feng Jie's eyes lit up even more. He quickly stood up, picked up the kettle, poured a glass of water and handed it to Gao Jialin, "Moisten your throat!"

"To thwart the lecherous Black Phoenix's plot, Li Xiaogang leads his men to the Ghost Cult's stronghold, befriending the Ghost Cult's princess, Jiaojiao. Together with her and Xiang Chunhua, they capture the Black Phoenix."

Wow, another beauty!
"Who would have thought that Black Phoenix would once again devote herself to her longtime lover, the Holy Hand Monster, and together they would join the Black and White Sect, a demonic sect in the martial arts world. Meanwhile, the Black and White Sect's leader, Xiuxiu, was deeply attracted to Li Xiaogang's handsomeness, righteousness, and chivalrous demeanor, and she vowed to marry him, threatening to lead her sect into war against the entire martial arts world..."

"In the end, in order to save the martial arts world, Li Xiaogang had no choice but to agree to the conditions of the Black and White Sect Leader Nanshan Xiu and give up the two beauties Xiang Chunhua and Jiaojiao!" If it were an online novel in later generations, he would definitely accept them all, and he would not dare to be so arrogant at the moment.

"Jiaojiao was taken away by her father. Xiang Chunhua threw herself into Li Xiaogang's arms, tears streaming down her face. She said, 'You're doing this to save the martial arts world. We've been almost inseparable these past few years. You're the spirit in my heart, you're my pillar of support. I truly can't live without you. You're my only family in this world. I yearn for those happy days day and night. But... for the safety of the martial arts world, to prevent another massacre, I... I support you in doing this.'"

If this passage were put into an online article, it would be absolutely poisonous, and readers would criticize the author to death. However, people in the 1980s were accustomed to sacrifice, and the idea of ​​giving up the self for the sake of the greater self was deeply rooted in their bones. After hearing this, Feng Jie not only did not find it poisonous, but was so moved that he almost cried.

At first, only Feng Jie was listening, but gradually, the entire office of editors gathered around, listening intently to Li Xiaogang's adventure. As the story finished, while the others were still lost in their sorrow, one of the first editors to recover had already laid eyes on Gao Jialin's manuscript. "Teacher, your writing is truly excellent. Are all the manuscripts here? Can I take a look?"

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? The teacher has already given me the manuscript! Why are you grabbing it?" Feng Jie quickly pushed his hand away, fearing that the manuscript would be snatched away by someone else.

"You can't even bear to give the teacher a sip of tea, and you still have the nerve to ask for someone's manuscript? Teacher, I've accepted your manuscript. Let's come over and talk in detail. I'll make you some tea. This year's new tea, I'm sure you'll like it!" The editor still didn't give up.

"Teacher, I have some West Lake Longjing tea that my friend just brought from Hangzhou." Feng Jie quickly opened the drawer of his desk and took out his treasured tea.

"Haha, what has happened since I came here reminds me of a folk legend." Gao Jialin laughed.

"What legend?" Feng Jie asked while making tea.

"This legend is about Zheng Banqiao: One day, Zheng Banqiao went to a teahouse to drink tea. The owner saw that Zheng Banqiao was dressed in plain clothes and casually said, 'Sit down,' and said 'Tea' to the waiter."

"After a while, someone came to talk to Zheng Banqiao. The shopkeeper heard that Zheng Banqiao was well-spoken, so he changed his words and said, 'Please sit down,' and told the waiter, 'Bring tea.'"

"After listening for a few more words, I realized that this was the famous Zheng Banqiao. I smiled and said, 'Please take a seat,' and told the waiter, 'Good tea.'"

"He also brought brush and ink to ask Zheng Banqiao to leave a calligraphy. Zheng Banqiao wrote it in one stroke. The first line was 'Sit, please sit, please take the seat', and the second line was 'Tea, serve tea, serve good tea'."

Some say this story is from Zheng Banqiao, while others say it is from Su Dongpo. Considering the history of the popularity of couplets, Gao Jialin thinks it is more likely to be from Zheng Banqiao.

The editors were embarrassed. Wasn't this story about them? They hadn't bothered to respond to people who came in to submit manuscripts, and now they were scrambling for them, just like that snobbish teahouse owner.

Feng Jie blushed slightly before returning to normal. What did being ridiculed for doing something wrong mean? As long as he could keep the manuscript, it would be fine.

He immediately clapped his hands and said, "Teacher, your story is really good. I'm sure readers will like it. Can you publish it in our Story Club? If you find it troublesome, I can help you write it. Don't worry about the payment. I will definitely not give you a penny less!"

"Okay! Then you come and help me write it! And I'll give you the manuscript too!" It feels good to get paid for scolding people. Gao Jialin also let go of the grudge in his heart. The other person has already done this, what else do you want?

"Okay, I'll take a good look at it right away!" Feng Jie smiled proudly at the other editors, took the manuscript and started reading it.

"Records of Revenge in the Jianghu"? This is a good title, it will attract readers.

Look at the pen name again, Tang San? What does this mean?
(End of this chapter)