Literary Master 1918: Starting with New Youth

creak creak-

The mule cart, which was wobbling as it walked, stopped at the entrance of Sanyan Well Alley.

Liang Shouming paid the fare, jumped off the donkey cart, and vigorously rubbed his buttocks.

Tie Niao Hutong is some distance from San Yan Jing Hutong, and the road conditions in Yanjing are too poor. The wheels of the mule carts are made of wood, making the ride quite bumpy. Even though the owner specially placed soft cushions on the seats, they did not provide much cushioning.

If someone has kidney stones, they can expel all the relics in one sitting.

"Sharpening scissors—sharpening kitchen knives—"

"Selling vegetables!"

The hawking cries in the alley were full of life. Liang Shouming followed the blue bricks and gray tiles all the way, and bumped into many students from Yenching University.

"Isn't this Professor Liang?"

"It's him, say hello quickly."

"Hello, Professor Liang!"

As Liang Shouming searched for number 59, he bowed to the students who greeted him.

"Excuse me, where is number 59?"

"Hey, just walk fifty meters straight ahead and you'll get there!"

With directions from the students, Liang Shouming finally found his destination.

Looking at the low-rise courtyard house, he was actually a little surprised.

I thought that the author who could write "Rickshaw Boy" must be someone who, even if not extremely wealthy, must have some reputation, and at least be quite accomplished in literature. He was probably a professor at Yenching University. Why would he be holed up in such a house, dealing with street vendors and poor students?

But only someone living in such a place could write such realistic works.

It's likely that the "guest from Yanjing" did it on purpose...

Liang Shouming finally found his logic to be consistent. Just as he was about to step onto the steps, the courtyard gate was suddenly pulled open with a "creak".

"Hurry up! I told you to get up earlier, but you kept putting it off!"

"Are you talking about Senyao? You woke up a minute earlier than me!"

"Sigh! Wu Zhu isn't here, Guo Xingang isn't here either, and neither of us has an alarm clock. We're definitely going to be late this time!"

Two students, dressed in suits and wearing Yenching University badges, were seen huddled at the entrance, blaming each other and holding copies of "An Introduction to Indian Philosophy," the course he taught.

He was also familiar with these two students, as they were both his students.

"Wang Kunlun, Chen Gongbo?"

"Ouch! Who's there!"

"Who else?! It's Professor Liang!"

Wang Kunlun was startled, but Chen Gongbo was the first to see who it was, and immediately stood at attention and bowed, the movements were done in one smooth motion.

It's just being late, is it really necessary to come and arrest someone personally?

Besides, how did Liang Shouming know where they lived?

Liang Shouming was somewhat embarrassed to run into his students while looking for someone, but he knew their literary skills were far from sufficient to write a novel like "Rickshaw Boy," so he immediately put on airs:

"Look at you two, you haven't even finished picking the sleep from your eyes! Where is the spirit and energy of a Yenching University student?"

Wang Kunlun and Chen Gongbo lowered their heads and didn't rush to leave.

Is there any need to rush now? All the professors are here; if you go early, you'll just be sitting there doing nothing...

Liang Shouming hadn't forgotten his mission and was figuring out how to get the two of them away, otherwise how would he find the guest from Yanjing? So he made way for them.

Wang Kunlun and Chen Gongbo were overjoyed and fled in a flash.

"What brings Professor Liang here?"

"I don't know. I don't think someone of our status would warrant him coming to invite us personally..."

"Looking for Wu Zhu?"

"It's possible. Didn't you have Wu Zhu submit it to the *Beijing Dialect Daily*? It's probably true!"

The two men, who had run fifty meters away, ran backwards back.

"Why aren't you two leaving yet!"

Liang Shouming was truly at his wit's end.

Wang Kunlun asked directly:

"Master Liang, you're here to see Wu Zhu, aren't you?"

"Huh? What does this have to do with him?"

"As you probably know, he writes novels. He recently wrote another one and submitted it to the Shanghai literary scene, but it was rejected. I recommended that he submit it to the Beijing Daily a few days ago, because I remember you seem to work there as well."

After hearing the explanation, Liang Shouming was filled with shock and disbelief.

Grass!

So "Yanjing Guest" is actually "Bamboo Gentleman"!

It seems that only a few people know this news, and even the people at "New Youth" magazine may not know it!

What could be more shocking than this news?

The next great general of modern literature is actually proficient in two writing styles and even secretly submits his work to foreign publications!

Judging from Wang Kunlun's words, Wu Zhu was submitting his work to the Songhu literary scene first. Was he trying to unify the literary world by doing this?

This young man is terrifying. He's only been in Yanjing for a few days, and he's already doing something so big without making a sound. He actually wants to become a literary emperor...

Seeing Liang Shouming standing there in a daze, Wang Kunlun cautiously asked:

"Master Liang, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Where is he?"

"He left early this morning, saying he was going to Professor Qian's place to organize documents; he should be spending all his time in the library."

"Let's go back to school together!"

......

Fifteen minutes later.

The third reading room on the north side of the first floor of the Red Building.

The room was full of students studying. Apart from the rustling of pages turning, there was no other noise. Even their breathing was very soft, as if the students were deliberately controlling themselves so as not to disturb others.

Liang Shouming rarely went into the reading room. He usually asked Li Shouchang, whom he knew well, to help him find books, and then he would just bring them to the philosophy office. Seeing how quiet the reading room was, he entered cautiously.

Since it was on the Yenching University campus, the students studying there simply nodded to show their respect when they saw him.

He had met Wu Zhu before and remembered the poor student vividly, so he easily spotted him and crept up to him:

"Wu...Zhu...."

The voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, and it even had a drawn-out tone.

Wu Zhu, who was engrossed in searching for documents, was terrified, thinking it was a ghost in broad daylight!

"It's me! Liang Shouming, professor of philosophy. We met a few times when you went to see Shizhi!"

"Oh dear, Professor Liang, you scared me to death! What happened?"

"Let's talk outside."

......

A short while later.

The two arrived at the shower room opposite the corridor of the third reading room.

Hot water wasn't available at this time, and no students came in to wash up, so the place was empty.

Liang Shouming was the last to enter. He peeked out to make sure no one was eavesdropping before locking the bathroom door from the inside.

Just as Wu Zhu was about to speak, he made a shushing gesture, mysteriously lifted the shower curtain, and made sure no one was in the bathroom.

"I'll just say it directly, you're 'Yanjing Guest,' right?"

"Well......"

Wu Zhu was speechless.

The new vest was just taken out, and before it was even used, it was ruthlessly exposed. What's the difference between this and dumplings that haven't even been put into the pot yet, but the filling has already overflowed?

No wonder Professor Liang acted like a spy; it turns out he was helping him conceal his identity...

"You don't need to worry about it, I understand your concerns!"

"We've read your 'Rickshaw Boy' and unanimously agree that it should be published in the 'Beijing Daily,' but there are some details we need to discuss with you."

"Firstly, there's the payment. If this were a short story, we'd be willing to pay at least five silver dollars per thousand words. But this one is far too long. The market for the *Beijing Daily* is shrinking these days, and we really can't afford such a high payment. So, could you perhaps lower it a bit?"

"The second issue is publication. Our *Beijing Dialect Daily* is a daily publication, and each issue has limited space, plus we have to publish other content. So, could you publish your novel on a daily basis?"

Liang Shouming spoke very quickly, like a secret agent making a contact.

Wu Zhu finished processing all the words.

Seeing that Liang Shouming's attitude was very good, and that he also knew about the situation of the Beijing Daily, he thought that as long as he could publish "Camel Xiangzi", that would be enough. If he didn't have much money, he could make up for it with quantity!

"The payment isn't a problem, but five yuan per thousand words is a bit much for such a long piece... How about two yuan per thousand words? That's my lowest standard. I've been writing this novel for a long time..."

"That's too little! Two and a half yuan per thousand words, no bargaining!"

"Forehead......"

Wu Zhu was preoccupied with recouping his losses as quickly as possible. He had initially tentatively raised his bottom price, but Liang Shouming readily agreed, as if afraid he might change his mind.

He does feel the price was too low and is considering backing out. What should I do? Could you please raise the price for me again?

But the words have already been spoken; I should have known better than to expose my bottom line...

Wu Zhu secretly lamented that he was still a greenhorn and that he must never make this mistake again!

To be honest, he was actually quite satisfied with the result. If we take 200,000 words as an example, and the royalty is 2.5 yuan per thousand words, the highest he could earn would be 500 silver dollars. Even if it was less than that, it would be close enough.

Besides, they're taking the risk of publishing it. If the sky falls, the first thing to get hit will be the Beijing Daily. Consider it a protection fee they've paid.

Let's make money together, let's cut down heads together...

With this money, I can significantly improve my life, have a prosperous New Year at home, and even renovate my old house!

In less than two months since arriving in Beijing, he had gone from being penniless to having half a thousand yuan, and he felt that his future was bright.

That vibrant scene of life, where everything flourishes, is still vivid in my mind!

"And what about the second one?"

"We will definitely follow your publication's plan and publish it serially, which I think will maximize profits."

"That's good. Actually, I have another request, and I hope you can listen to it."

"you say."

"Could you change Xiangzi's ending a little? I'm not saying we shouldn't use this ending, but some readers might not be able to accept it. We could write two versions of the ending and publish them both, so the audience won't feel so hopeless..."

Liang Shouming offered his suggestion cautiously, knowing that writers always have their own considerations when creating their works. He hadn't understood why the author wrote it this way before, but after meeting Wu Zhu, he suddenly realized that as a rising star who had written "Medicine," it would be illogical to arrange the plot differently!

As for writing style, it's a piece of cake for a writer of this caliber!

Unfortunately, he was overthinking it; Wu Zhu had absolutely no writing style whatsoever...

Wu Zhu, recalling the reception of "Rickshaw Boy" in his previous life, nodded in agreement:

"That's no problem, Professor Liang. You can decide for yourself when you get back. But I'm not responsible for the version you want. I suggest you change it to a happy ending, where Xiangzi rescues Xiaofuzi and the two elope, or you could change it to Xiangzi leaving Yanjing."

"Okay, I'll work overtime tonight to finish it, and it'll be approved for printing in the next couple of days!"

After Liang Shouming finished speaking, he was about to leave, but Wu Zhu called him back.

"What's wrong?"

"I also have something I'd like to ask Mr. Liang... As you know, I've registered with 'New Youth' magazine, and I changed my pen name because I was afraid of being called a traitor, so please keep this pen name a secret."

"I understand! We haven't met today!"