Literary Master 1918: Starting with New Youth

October 27th.

Printers were busy early in the morning in front of the Beijing Daily newspaper office.

Liang Shouming walked heavily into the newspaper office, went straight through the lobby and up to the second-floor editorial office. As soon as he opened the door, he smelled a familiar tobacco scent.

The two old men were hiding behind their desks, engrossed in their work, with wisps of smoke curling above their heads, giving them an ethereal, otherworldly air.

Wu Zizhen was younger and had better hearing. Hearing the sound of people coming upstairs, she looked up briefly, then lowered her head again as if no one else was there, leaving only one sentence:

"What brings you here today? Please have a seat."

Due to the shrinking of the Beijing Daily's business, the two chief editors are quite busy on weekdays. They have to edit manuscripts, select suitable articles, and be responsible for typesetting and distribution. They often eat in a hurry.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be here so early in the morning to work.

Liang Shouming was the same. Yenching University was busy with its affairs, and he also needed to study philosophy constantly, so he could only squeeze in time to come to the newspaper office.

Liang Ji finally heard the noise, removed his pipe from his mouth, looked up and saw the envelope under his son's arm, and immediately asked:

"But has there been a result for Wu Zhu's new manuscript?"

"Your son came to see you, but you only care about Wu Zhu. Why not let your younger brother take care of you in the future?"

With a sour tone, Liang Shouming sat down at Liang Ji's table and handed the envelope to his father:

"What do you two think of Wu Zhu's new work?"

"Me too."

Upon hearing that Wu Zhu had produced something again, Wu Zizhen immediately perked up, moved a stool to sit at the table, and spoke with some impatience.

But Liang Shouming seemed to be deliberately keeping everyone in suspense, raising his hand to press down on the envelope, and advising:

"Let me make this clear in advance: Wu Zhu's new work is quite harsh. If you two chief writers finish reading it, please remain calm and don't get involved. He's definitely not targeting you."

His expression was very serious.

After returning home to Waiyingzi Hutong last night, he couldn't wait to finish reading the remaining chapters of "The Bao Family".

As for my thoughts after reading it... it really shows no mercy to traditional Chinese learning. I'm afraid that after reading it, those two old Confucian scholars might do something rash.

This is also why he advised Wu Zhu to be "kind" when urging him to finish the manuscript.

However, as a key figure in "New Youth," Wu Zhu might not be able to produce any good works if he lost his critical edge in the name of "benevolence." Therefore, this is a dilemma: once someone submits a work, it's hard to say anything.

Although Wu Zhu did not target the two Confucian scholars, he would inevitably be affected.

He was genuinely terrified that Liang Ji and Wu Zizhen, unable to cope, would commit suicide.

A pen can also be a knife! To kill someone's mind is the most deadly way.

His actions and words created a momentary awkward silence.

"We old men have lived a lifetime, what haven't we seen? Open it up."

Wu Zizhen pushed Liang Shouming's hand away, pulled out the letter, spread it on the table, and sat down to read it with Liang Ji.

"The Bao family... the Imperial Academy in the capital... isn't this another 'Kong Yiji' story?"

"Just look down and you'll see."

The two of them turned on the lights, and the editing room suddenly became quiet, with only the noise from outside being heard.

The first two sections were read quickly. The two chief writers had no expression on their faces, but they were not relaxed either, and their facial muscles were trembling slightly.

"This is how you deal with these new women!"

Once Guo Chun arrived home, he took off his overcoat, straightened his tie in front of the mirror, and then glanced at the tin stove burning brightly in his study. No matter how enthusiastically Bao Guowei spoke, he seemed not to hear him, only calling out to this and that.

But Bao Guowei decided to wash his face, so he went to the washroom. He was as familiar with it as if he were in his own home... There were plenty of things there: hair growth oil, face cream, perfume, cologne, and a jar of Morgan's products.

So he applied the imported hair wax to the comb and combed his hair... For some reason, he always felt that a young scholar...

But if he stood a little further away from the mirror, he would feel a chill. He always wore the same old, grayish-blue silk robe! The stiff, starched collar rubbed against his neck! His head, his attire, was a perfect replica of—

"How pathetic! He looks like a poor scholar from a remote village! He can't even afford a decent wolf-hair brush!"

Bao Guowei rushed out of the washroom as if fleeing, slamming the door shut.

When they saw the group arrive at Guo Chun's house after harassing the women, witnessing the luxuriousness of the Guo family home and Bao Guowei applying hair wax, admiring himself in the mirror, and thus having the illusion of being a "young scholar," the expressions of the two men turned gloomy.

Liang Ji could no longer contain himself and clicked his tongue in amazement, commenting:

"The Guo family claims to be a family of scholars, but they act more like salt merchants and textile manufacturers. And Bao Guowei's vanity is hardly the behavior of a true scholar. A gentleman values ​​virtue and knowledge, not greasy hair and powdered face."

"Such a love for luxury and disdain for poverty, such a pursuit of foreign goods and luxuries, has not grasped even a fraction of the essence of traditional Chinese learning, and has instead become tainted with the habits of a spoiled brat! How lamentable, how pathetic!"

He recalled the scions of prominent families he had encountered during his studies, who always spoke of "national essence," yet whose behavior was remarkably similar to Bao Guowei's.

Wu Zizhen shook his head with a wry smile:

"Kuro Takeshi's ability to portray people is truly remarkable."

"In my opinion, this is exactly what a young Kong Yiji would be like!"

The two men felt powerless in the face of Bao Guowei, who was both pitiful and hateful.

Upon entering Guo Chun's study, the two men, seemingly joking with Bao Guowei, were enthusiastically discussing writing implements and the merits of Xuan paper and Huizhou ink. Guo Chun opened a cabinet and took out several brocade boxes for Gong Deming to see.

"This is a set of brushes made during the Qianlong era, imitating Song dynasty styles. They are made of wolf hair, and the handle is made of purple bamboo."

"Guess how much this set cost."

"Forty yuan!" But Guo Chun only glanced at him.

[Then Guo Chun and Gong Deming talked about the writing implements and the first-year student Lü Dengnan...and they weren't finished even when lunch was served.]

Bao Guowei kept a close eye on Guo Chun, barely paying attention to his meal... He wanted Guo Chun to remember that he, Bao Guowei, was also there, so he deliberately made noise with his bowl and chopsticks.

"What are you going to do with her?" Gong Deming asked.

The storyteller chuckled: "What do you mean, 'whatever'! Once they're hooked, they'll give you a little kiss, have some fun, and that's it! Anyway, they're all about 'freedom' these days, so it saves us the trouble! Didn't Mr. Wang often teach us that 'the elegance of scholars has been natural since ancient times'? We can discuss his affairs privately."

Suddenly Bao Guowei burst into laughter, his whole body trembling: "Truly the elegance of a renowned scholar! Brother Guo Chun, you—you you!"

This time, Guo Chun was clearly pleased: his eyes lingered on Bao Guowei's face for a while longer.

[“Brother Guo Chun, what a mouth you have! You’re really—damn it, really… truly a character from ‘A New Account of the World’!”]

Others talked about their experiences with women, and Gong Deming said he had been with five women, all from the alleyways. But Guo Chun had a dozen: they weren't necessarily in the business, and he still had to pay them to get intimate with one. One of them cost him over five hundred yuan.

"People say you had a relationship with Song Jiaxuan..." Gong Deming drew on the table with a toothpick.

"Yes, it's her!" Guo Chun stood up, speaking in a low voice. "Damn it, she got pregnant. Her family wouldn't let me get away with it. Later, after some coaxing and cajoling, they gave her five hundred yuan, and that was it."

The plot retains the original structure, but is veiled in traditional Chinese culture.

Instead of exchanging academic ideas, the group in the study discussed refined literary objects and matters of romance, using the excuse of "the elegance of famous scholars" to justify their disgraceful acts of visiting prostitutes and playing with women.

Bao Guowei, lacking "experience," couldn't join the conversation, but secretly longed for this kind of material life.

Morgan's hair cream, a top-quality wolf hair brush, a beautiful female companion...

This is Bao Guowei's ideal picture of the life of a "scholar," which has nothing to do with scholarship.

Upon seeing this, Liang Ji was overcome with rage and his blood boiled.

"You bastard!"

"What is the meaning of distorting the words of sages and the dignity of teachers? It not only defiles scholarship but also tarnishes the very word 'renowned scholar'!"