It was the first day of work after the new year. School at Yanda University had not started in the past few days, and the library was still very busy. Lin Chaoyang started thinking about a new novel again.

With the purchase of a house, his recent creative motivation has been unusually strong.

However, there is really no rush when it comes to creation. He had finished writing a 200,000-word novel in less than half a month. Now that he wants to write a book after less than a month, he feels a little empty in his mind.

.

This feeling was very familiar to him, just like the feeling every time after plowing the land.

Therefore, writers still have to accumulate materials, techniques, inspiration, monthly tickets... these things must be abundant, so that the writer's creative motivation can be strong.

After holding the pen and turning around for a long time, he decided to read more books. He found a copy of "Les Misérables" on the bookshelf, picked it up and started reading.

He has read the novel "Les Misérables" more than once. In 1977 and 1978, the Humanities Society did a "reprint of famous works", including "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina", "Don Quixote", "The Big Brother"

David Copperfield" "Old Man Goriot" "Dead Souls"...

More than 40 kinds of foreign classics have appeared on the shelves of Xinhua Bookstores in major cities across the country for a long time, triggering panic buying among readers. There are even scenes of readers queuing up all night to grab books.

It caused a sensation in the domestic literary circles and reader groups, and also started a reading craze in the country from the late 1970s to the 1980s.

"Les Misérables" is Hugo's representative work and the pinnacle of French literature. It has moved and nourished millions of readers in the country.

As the saying goes, opening a book is beneficial. Even if you read a book you have read, you will always find surprises that you have not discovered before.

After getting off work, Lin Chaoyang couldn't get enough of it, so he borrowed the book and went home, planning to continue reading.

When I got home, I saw Mr. Zhu sitting leisurely on a chair at home, drinking tea.

As soon as he saw Lin Chaoyang coming back, he greeted him: "Come on, let's play a few games of chess."

"I don't have time, I have to read a book."

Zhu Guangqian glanced at the cover of the book and said, "Junior high school diplomas don't read this anymore, right?"

When Mr. Zhu opened his mouth, it still felt the same.

"I always read classics and they are always new. It's hard to explain to someone as talented as you."

Lin Chaoyang retorted without showing any signs of weakness, "You can't spoil this old man. The more you spoil him, the worse his temper will be."

"Have I exhausted my talents?" Zhu Guangqian seemed to have heard a big joke and looked at Lin Chaoyang with contempt, "You kid, don't think that publishing a few novels is enough. Your level is still far from enough!

"

Lin Chaoyang laughed and said: "Just because my level is not high, it doesn't mean that you are!"

"Okay, okay!" Zhu Guangqian swung his walking stick, frightening Lin Chaoyang to the point where he almost thought the old man was angry and wanted to kill him, so he quickly took a step back.

"Come on, come on, I will teach you a lesson today, let you know what it means to respect the elderly!"

Lin Chaoyang was relieved that he wanted to teach himself a lesson, and happily ran to sit next to Mr. Zhu.

He said he was disrespectful to Lao Zhu, but that was because they were familiar with him.

He still admired Lao Touer Zhu's education and talent.

The old man has a lot of titles, including esthetician, literary theorist, educator, and translator, but there is another title that not many people know about: essayist.

"Twelve Letters to Youth" and "Talking about Beauty" written in his early years can actually be regarded as prose in a broad sense, such as "Flower Club" written in his middle age.

It describes the grand flower festival in Chengdu in March. The article writes that Chengdu people, men, women, old and young, go out in groups for spring outings, "taking advantage of the warm wind and warm weather to exhale the filthy city air."

The writing is smooth but not slick, elegant but not remote. It embodies emotions as you move from scene to scene, making it a rare masterpiece of prose.

Unfortunately, the political climate was turbulent after the 1950s. At that time, a large number of poets, novelists, and essayists were affected by this and suspended literary creation. Zhu Guangqian was among them, and instead focused more on professional research.

Zhu Guangqian pointed to the "Les Misérables" that Lin Chaoyang brought back and said: "Let me ask you, do you think these French novels have any ideological and cultural significance in them?"

"Well..." The old man wanted to give him a blow. Lin Chaoyang replied thoughtfully: "It should be said that they have provided motivation and nutrients for the knowledge structure and humanistic literacy of the new generation of domestic readers. This motivation and nutrients may eventually be

It will evolve into an ideological and cultural trend, which may affect all aspects of Chinese society in many years."

Lin Chaoyang felt that his answer was good, but the old man scoffed at it, "It's just a big talk, a general statement, a big ambition but a lack of talent!"

"Then let's talk about it," Lin Chaoyang said excitedly.

The old man put down his crutches, and there was a glint in his eyes.

“When reading a book, you must not only look at the words, but also the author, the society, and the culture behind it.

Whether in France or in other European countries, people engaged in literature can be roughly divided into three categories: the scholastics, the newsprinters, and the authentic literati.

The scholastic school is an academic school, and its greatest role is firstly to enable readers to have a deeper understanding of literary works; secondly, to maintain the inherent tradition of a country.

The newsprint faction pursues catering to the interests of the public, and their role is to promote literature.

The authentic literati school has the training of the scholastics, but not their staleness; they have the novelty of the newsprint school, but not their glibness and superficiality. These people are the most important force in the literary world.

China's literary world is lacking exactly this kind of people.

The vitality of a nation is most directly revealed in its literature and general art. The ideological and cultural significance of French literature is that it fully reveals the cultural vitality of the Gallic nation.

And if we put it in our country, young people will read French classics and be deeply influenced by it in their thinking. Behind this is the ebb and flow of cultural vitality.

Chinese literature has been undergoing a period of intense transformation since modern times. The ancient prose and poetry cultivated by literati for more than a thousand years have withered away, and the damage done in the past few years has been profound enough.

Some time ago, the Chinese Department wrote an "Overview of Contemporary Literature", in which a word was used very accurately - New Era Literature.

After more than half a century of destruction and destruction, during this period we should make our new era literature closer to folk literature and art and draw vitality from it..."

Zhu Guangqian spoke eloquently and with great energy. At the end of the speech, he frowned and looked at Lin Chaoyang with a bit of disgust.

"It's a shame that you who are engaged in literary creation don't study how to strengthen the cultural vitality of local literature all day long, but blindly admire foreign literature and imitate it everywhere.

Don’t forget that the style and form of literature are rooted in a nation’s thoughts, habits, and character. Blindly advocating for the West will only make you look incoherent and make people laugh."

The old man talked for a long time, and Lin Chaoyang tasted it carefully. Didn't it mean what he said? He highly suspected that the old man was just taking the opportunity to curse.

"I didn't realize that if you were sixty years younger, you would still be an angry young man." Lin Chaoyang teased.

He went on to say: "What you said is just an afterthought. If you say this, the vernacular literature is fundamentally incorrect."

The old man glared and said, "Aren't you just trying to make a point? I'm telling you not to blindly imitate Western literature. That's a narrow path."

Lin Chaoyang laughed again. What he said just now was a bit joking, and now he said seriously: "I understand. Literature must take the path of appreciating both refined and popular tastes. In the West, it must be like Homer and Shakespeare, and in China, it must be like Cao Xueqin and Tang Xianzu.

This kind of thing. By the way, there is also this kind of thing like you.”

Lin Chaoyang did not forget to flatter him at the end. Unfortunately, the flattery was a bit too blunt and ironic, which made Mr. Zhu glare at him fiercely.

However, the old man was very pleased with Lin Chaoyang's agility and insight. Being able to name four people, including Homer, Shakespeare, Cao Xueqin, and Tang Xianzu, proved that he had a clear understanding of the nature of literature.

"I'm just a little stupid, but I can still save myself!"

This kind of evaluation is already a high evaluation in the mouth of Lao Zhutou'er.

However, the old man is a venomous person, and his attainments in literary theory and aesthetics are first-rate, so he could ask for more advice.

He was even thinking about whether he could cut off the cigarette on Lao Wu's side first and give it to Lao Zhu to refill it.

Tao Yushu, who had been listening for a long time, now said: "Uncle Zhu, he just reads blindly all day long. If you have time, you should explain it to him carefully to prevent him from going astray."

Lin Chaoyang silently gave his wife a thumbs up.

However, Zhu Guangqian looked disgusted and said, "His level is too low. Teaching him would be worse than teaching those undergraduates."

"You are looking down on me. In two days I will also be an undergraduate student at Yan University."

Zhu Guangqian glanced at him sideways again, "You mean the correspondence course? That's also called a college student?"

"What's wrong with the correspondence course? I have a certificate!" Lin Chaoyang said confidently.

Tao Yushu added: "Uncle Zhu, no matter how poor Chaoyang's level is, he is definitely better than the average undergraduate. It was he who came up with the term 'new era literature' you just mentioned."

Hearing this, Zhu Guangqian looked slightly surprised, "Really?"

His eyes glanced at Lin Chaoyang, "She's quite knowledgeable."

"Come and play two games of chess!" the old man invited again.

Two days later, Lin Chaoyang came to the Huayuan Village Overseas Chinese Apartment again.

Years ago, Du Feng helped arrange a meeting with Lin Fugui to discuss the house. Lin Chaoyang was about to return to Northeast China during the New Year, so he postponed it until after the New Year.

When they met again, Lin Fugui's attitude was much softer than before, but Lin Chaoyang quoted a price of 8,000 yuan, which really made him almost flip the table.

"How can you bargain like this? I'm not selling cabbage!" Lin Fugui said angrily.

“A house is not based on the price when you buy it, but on the market.

I heard Du Feng say that you have searched all over the city to find out where the courtyard houses are for sale. You must also know that the price of 12,000 yuan and a little more money can be enough to buy a house with three square meters.

If I give you 8,000 yuan, it won’t be a big deal to buy two sets of courtyards with one entrance."

Lin Fugui caught the loophole in Lin Chaoyang's words, "Didn't you also buy a courtyard house? The living conditions of my house are first-class in Yanjing."

"You think I don't want to buy it? Didn't I find the right one?" Lin Chaoyang said half-truthfully.

Hearing this, Lin Fugui was a little suspicious. He had heard from Du Feng that Lin Chaoyang had considered buying a courtyard house before.

After finally meeting an interested buyer, he didn't want to let Lin Chaoyang run away.

Negotiation is a psychological game. Lin Fugui is determined to replace the property, so his mentality is naturally more urgent than Lin Chaoyang.

The two parties negotiated for a long time, but they were stuck on the price of 10,500 yuan. Lin Fugui refused to make any more concessions. This had reached his psychological bottom line.

Lin Chaoyang observed his expression and felt that the heat was almost there.

"Okay, then ten thousand five hundred yuan. To pay in installments, I will give you four thousand yuan first. Then I will give you three thousand five hundred yuan after half a year, and the last three thousand yuan will be given after one and a half years."

Lin Fugui said with a bitter look on his face, "It's already 1,500 yuan cheaper. The last payment won't be for a year and a half. It will be around this time next year."

Lin Chaoyang pondered and said, "That's okay."

No matter how anxious the negotiation process is, everyone will always feel better after the results come out.

After returning home in the evening, Lin Chaoyang finished explaining the situation to Tao Yushu, and she jumped into Lin Chaoyang's arms with joy.

He asked Tao Yushu: "Is it time to talk to my parents about the house?"

Tao Yushu thought, "We should really tell them."
Chapter completed!