Li Shuguang brought the manuscript of "The Death of Van Gogh" back to the contemporary literature editorial office with the intention of giving it a sneak peek, but as soon as he returned to the office, he was surrounded by his colleagues.
Before he could read the manuscript, several colleagues started to reserve the right to read it.
Li Shuguang originally explained that the manuscript had to be returned to the editorial department of "Contemporary", but everyone did not care about this at all, and decided to cut it first and report it later, without asking for his consent.
At the end, I patted him on the shoulder and asked him to finish reading it early so that he could pass it on.
Li Shuguang smiled helplessly. He planned to finish the novel as soon as possible. Regardless of whether it was passed on to his colleagues or returned to "Contemporary", he wanted to throw this hot potato out of the way first.
As a result, Zhu Changsheng from "Contemporary" came to the contemporary literature editorial department before getting off work.
"Old Li, I went to pick up the manuscript from Mrs. Wei. She said that you have the manuscript of "The Death of Van Gogh"?"
On this day, Li Shuguang was reading "The Death of Van Gogh" without even taking care of his work. When he saw the exciting part, Zhu Changsheng came to ask him for the manuscript.
"Lao Zhu, lend me one more day. I'll finish reading it and send it back to you tomorrow."
"Old Li, it's not that I don't want to lend it to you. There are two editors in the editorial department who haven't even finished reading it. I've been getting calluses on my ears these past two days."
After Qin Chaoyang finished reviewing "The Death of Van Gogh", the manuscript was originally circulated within the editorial department of "Contemporary".
As a result, Wei Junyi heard from someone that day that a particularly good-looking novel was coming to "Contemporary", so she ran to the editorial office and took the manuscript away.
She is the editor-in-chief of the Humanities Society. She has the right to review every manuscript received by the Humanities Society, and has the final power of life and death. No one dares to stop the manuscripts she wants to read, but this is a pain for those in the editorial department.
An editor who has not finished reading the novel.
When Qin Chaoyang brought the manuscript back to the editorial office of "Contemporary", he once made this evaluation of "The Death of Van Gogh":
This is a nearly perfect novel!
You must know that Qin Chaoyang is not only a senior editor of the Humanities Society, but also a famous writer. He became famous as early as the 1950s, and his collections of works such as "On the Plains", "Happiness" and "Rural Notes" were widely popular at that time.
Able to write and review, Qin Chaoyang naturally has extremely high aesthetic standards and requirements for literary works. Being able to speak such high praise and praise shows his love and recognition for this novel.
Qin Chaoyang said that "The Death of Van Gogh" is a nearly perfect novel, but of course he does not mean that this novel has surpassed the level of many classics.
Rather, it means that this novel has reached an extremely high level in terms of creative techniques, plot and conflict settings, character creation, and many other aspects.
From the reader's point of view, it not only brings readers a suspenseful and fast-paced reading experience, but also perfectly explains the theme that the author wants to convey to the readers.
The novel achieves multiple balances of storytelling, literature and thought. Such near-perfect expression is very rare in contemporary literary works.
Therefore, even though "Contemporary" has always emphasized adhering to the path of "realism" since its inception, Qin Chaoyang still agreed to publish this work that does not seem so "realistic".
"When a work is excellent to a certain extent, it will inevitably break many barriers such as subject matter and style with its strong core. In my opinion, "The Death of Van Gogh" is just such a work."
Qin Chaoyang said this at a meeting of the editorial department to discuss the works published in January.
His statement was also recognized by colleagues in the editorial department who had read the novel. Everyone frantically praised the novel's brilliance, which also made colleagues who had not read the novel scratch their heads with curiosity.
For several days, the manuscript of "The Death of Van Gogh" was circulated in the editorial department of "Contemporary". It would have its turn anyway. Everyone was curious, but they were not in a hurry.
But no one expected that Wei Junyi would suddenly become interested in this novel.
Under normal circumstances, Wei Junyi usually only does final review of some key books in the agency and works that are difficult to judge by each editorial office.
She took the manuscript away, and the editorial staff had to wait for a few more days.
Finally, I was able to pick up the manuscript from the editor-in-chief's office today, but Zhu Changsheng was told that Li Shuguang had borrowed the manuscript.
Zhu Changsheng hurriedly found the Contemporary Literature Editorial Department. He had read the manuscript, but his colleagues in the editorial department were still waiting for help.
"I won't miss this day." Li Shuguang begged.
"The novel will be published in a few days. Will it be the same if I don't read it by then?"
"No, I can't stop reading this novel. I'll return it to you after I finish it."
Seeing that Li Shuguang refused to let go, Zhu Changsheng complained: "How can you be like this? This is our "Contemporary" manuscript."
Seeing that cheating failed, Li Shuguang played the emotional card again.
"Lao Zhu, don't forget, if it weren't for me, would you have been able to get Chaoyang's manuscript together?"
"Old Li, look at what you said..." Li Shuguang's words made Zhu Changsheng feel embarrassed. He sighed helplessly, "Okay, give it to me as soon as possible after reading it, otherwise I will have to deal with the editorial department.
Scolding someone who helps others."
Li Shuguang said happily: "No problem."
After Zhu Changsheng left, Li Shuguang devoted himself entirely to the novel world and remained motionless until after work.
It wasn't until after six o'clock, when it was completely dark, that the security guard Lao Zhai came to inspect the building and called him back to consciousness.
"Lao Li, aren't you going home?"
Li Shuguang glanced at the sky outside, then looked at his watch, "Hey! It's so late!"
He quickly packed up his things and left the Humanities Club building. On the way home, he rode his bicycle, and all that flashed through his mind was the plot of "The Death of Van Gogh."
After arriving home, everyone in the family had eaten, and his wife heated the meal for him. After a few bites, he sat down at the desk and took out the unfinished manuscript.
"Lao Li, go to bed early."
At around ten o'clock in the evening, his wife came over and called him.
"Um."
Li Shuguang responded with a nasal sound, but made no move at all.
He has the habit of taking manuscripts home for review on weekdays, and sometimes he often sees them at eleven or twelve o'clock at night.
Seeing that he was acting like this again today, his wife didn't urge him anymore and went to sleep alone.
The lamp on the table stayed on until late at night, and Li Shuguang just sat quietly, immersed in a period of time and space travel in nineteenth-century Europe.
He didn't know how long it took, but his eyes had been falling on the last line of the last page of the manuscript for a long time before he finally regained his energy and started to move his eyes.
After reading the novel, the shock in his heart could not calm down for a long time. After a while, he finally completely separated from the world of the novel.
"Alas! How can you write so well?"
Li Shuguang let out a long sigh and murmured to himself.
His sigh was not regretful, but filled with wonder and praise.
He has been working as an editor for more than 20 years and has seen many good works. However, when he recalled the works he had handled over the years, there had never been a novel that had given him such a strong and rich feeling.
He has edited many popular literary works that are known for their storytelling, as well as more serious literary works that are known for their literary and ideological qualities. He has also been shocked and moved by these different styles of works.
But one of the biggest differences between "The Death of Van Gogh" and the other works he produced in the past twenty years or so is that this novel strikes a perfect balance between literature and story.
It brings readers not only sensory stimulation, but also spiritual shock and ideological nourishment.
Li Shuguang recalled the content of the novel, and the words seemed to sparkle, forming one wonderful picture after another in his mind.
These pictures were engraved in his mind, like indelible marks. There are too many unforgettable plots and plots in this novel.
He could not forget the protagonist Aaron's desperate efforts in front of the fire, nor could he forget the monster that represented Van Gogh's talent, aloofness and fear.
What is even more unforgettable is that in the overlap of time and space, just like Zhuang Zhou's dream of a butterfly, Aaron and Van Gogh merged into one, leading Van Gogh to witness the greatness of Van Gogh that he had never seen before.
After thinking about it for a long time, Li Shuguang finally put down the manuscript in his hand.
He originally wanted to stand up, but he didn't want to lose the strength in his legs and feet. He sat in front of the desk for several hours, fully immersed in it, concentrating on it, rarely moving, and he didn't even know that his legs and feet were numb.
After finally moving his legs and feet, he looked at the time and saw that it was already past three in the morning.
From the moment he got the novel manuscript in the morning to now, except for the two meals and going home, he has spent all his time on the novel.
To read such a long novel with more than 200,000 words in such a short time can almost be said to be a swallow.
There were still about four hours before he went to work in the morning, so Li Shuguang went back to his room and fell asleep.
Before going to bed, he had another thought in his mind. After "Contemporary" was released, he must read "The Death of Van Gogh" carefully again.
Early in the morning, Li Shuguang was woken up from his deep sleep by his wife, feeling exhausted.
"You, please take it easy! You are no longer a young man. You are just reviewing a manuscript. Do you need to work so hard?"
With his wife's nagging ringing in his ears, Li Shuguang didn't defend himself. He washed his face and brushed his teeth silently, got dressed and ate, and then dragged his exhausted body to the unit.
He had just sat in the office for a while when Zhu Changsheng walked in.
"It's just a manuscript, what do you think?"
"It's not serious, just tell them."
Everyone in the contemporary literature editing room looked at Zhu Changsheng taking the manuscript from Li Shuguang, feeling disappointed.
The manuscript is gone. If I want to take a look, I have to wait a few more days.
"Hey, Lao Li, how do you feel after reading the novel? Is it really as good as the people in "Contemporary" made it out to be?"
After Zhu Changsheng left, his colleagues asked Li Shuguang.
Li Shuguang frowned, "How should I put it..."
Seeing his hesitation and embarrassment, his colleagues thought he felt that he was not worthy of his name after reading the novel.
Unexpectedly, it took a while before Li Shuguang said: "This novel is different from all the novels you have read so far. It will definitely become a classic in a few decades!"
"Ouch~"
Colleagues did not expect that Li Shuguang would give such a high evaluation to "The Death of Van Gogh". Such evaluation once again aroused everyone's curiosity about the novel.
When they think about how many days it will take for the new issue of "Contemporary" to be published, everyone feels itchy.
In addition to looking forward to it, everyone couldn't help but discuss it.
"According to what Lao Li said, "Contemporary" has found a treasure this time!"
"Then they also have to thank Lao Li. If it hadn't been for Lao Li's connection, "Contemporary" might not have been able to get Lin Chaoyang's manuscript."
"What I'm saying is that Lao Li is a hero of "Contemporary"."
Colleagues were laughing and joking, and Li Shuguang felt like there was something he had forgotten.
Hearing Lin Chaoyang's name, he finally remembered it.
I was busy reading novels and forgot about the real business.
Chapter completed!