Lin Chaoyang was depressed because he got up several times in the middle of the night last night to change his son's diaper, and Li Shifei was depressed because he was addicted to reading manuscripts.
When he saw Lin Chaoyang, his sluggish spirit immediately cheered up.
"Chaoyang, I just have a few questions to ask you."
He pulled Lin Chaoyang to the living room, "This novel you wrote is so interesting, but it's a pity that it hasn't been finished yet, so I can't see why. But I can see now that you designed a two-layer structure for the novel.
wrong?"
"That's right. One layer is faith and the other layer is science."
Seeing that he was right, Li Shifei clapped his hands happily, "I guessed it right. Through these two layers of structure, the ideal beauty of human nature and the cruelty in reality can be extended, but..."
He hesitated and said: "This novel contains a lot of religious content, and I'm afraid it will cause a lot of controversy after it is published."
In the past few years, all religious beliefs have been labeled as feudal superstitions. Although the mind has been liberated now, many people are still not interested in, or even disgusted with, religious beliefs.
"What I write is not simply about religious beliefs, but about philosophizing these religious beliefs.
For the protagonist Xiao Sanjiang, there is no difference between Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity. These religions are not so much the enlightenment of his faith as they are teaching him the philosophy of doing things.
What he finally learned was not faith, but consistent piety and awe."
Li Shifei listened to Lin Chaoyang's words and believed deeply.
"I have another question. In Xiao Sanjiang's narrative, you were trapped, right?"
Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "Did you see it?"
"You used a writer 'I', which is the first point of view, but you also used Xiao Sanjiang's perspective to describe a lot of content. It would be strange if there was no explanation.
And you also used this technique in "Shutter Island"." Li Shifei said proudly.
Lin Chaoyang nodded, "The mystery will be revealed slowly later."
Li Shifei rubbed his hands and said with some anticipation: "I really want to see the whole story sooner. The structure of your novel has too many hooks in the plot, and there are also all kinds of miracles described on the sea. I'm afraid they are all
Imagery, right?”
Lin Chaoyang smiled and did not answer him, "You will know after I finish writing."
The more he said this, the more Li Shifei felt pricked in his heart.
Yesterday, he stayed up all night to finish reading the novel. On the one hand, it was because he was about to leave Beijing and he was short on time. On the other hand, it was also because this novel really has the magic power that makes people want to put it down.
He slept for two hours the whole night before reading the novel quickly. Because he read it too fast, Li Shifei felt that there were many foreshadowings and clues in it that he had not read.
"When will it be finished?" Li Shifei couldn't help but ask.
"It's coming soon. I have some time recently. I can finish it in ten or eight days."
The new novel was written intermittently for several months, and the rest of the content was stored in Lin Chaoyang's mind. He said that eight days in ten days was not an exaggeration.
"So fast?" Li Shifei was a little surprised at first, but then he was happy.
"That's great, just in time for the first issue of our magazine."
"Flower City" is a bimonthly literary magazine, published on the 20th of every other month. The first issue in 1983 should have been on February 20, which is still more than fifty days away from now. In terms of time, it is very leisurely.
"This is no problem, I can assure you." Lin Chaoyang said firmly.
It is rare to encounter a Party A who is so happy to give money, and Lin Chaoyang's efficiency is gradually improving.
"Okay, okay."
Another important reason why Li Shifei is so happy is that he went north to compile a manuscript and met with no less than 20 writers.
Every day I am either making appointments or on the way to make appointments, but things are not going so smoothly.
Most of the writers he met this time were not previous contributors to "Flower City" and many of them were meeting for the first time. In this case, it was very difficult to compile a manuscript.
He has only received 2 manuscripts so far, and 2 more manuscripts are still being written, but the writer has made it clear that he can give it to "Flower City".
Other writers either have no creative ideas, or the works they have completed or are currently working on have been approved by a certain publication.
It has been more than half a month since I came out, and I have only brought back two manuscripts, one medium and one short. The weight of the manuscript is a bit disappointing for the strength of his editor-in-chief.
Now that he has Lin Chaoyang's novel, he feels confident.
Although the novel has not yet been finished, a glimpse of it tells the whole story. What's more, he has read most of the novel. He can responsibly say that this novel is definitely a very important work.
Moreover, the flavor of magical realism is too strong. Both the characters and plots in the novel are full of magic and weirdness, and supernatural phenomena constantly occur in the narrative and description.
It has both bizarre and fantasy artistic conception, as well as realistic plots and scenes, making it difficult to tell whether it is an illusion or reality.
This flavor of magical realism is purer than that of some damn Latin American writers!
The creative ability shown in this half of the novel cannot be developed overnight. It is impossible for Lin Chaoyang to follow the trend and write this novel because the magical realism genre became popular with the blessing of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Without a deep enough exposure and research into Latin American magical realism literature, it would be impossible to create such an excellent work.
He was extremely lucky to come to Lin Chaoyang to ask for a manuscript this time. With this novel, it was worth it even if he came back empty-handed from his trip to compile the manuscript!
The only thing he regrets is that the half of the novel he has now is not grand enough in terms of narrative perspective.
Li Shifei originally wanted to wait for Lin Chaoyang's current novel to be published to see the response, and then make an appointment with him for a draft according to his own ideas.
But then he thought about it, Lin Chaoyang was now very popular in the domestic literary world, and it was just the right time for him to get an appointment for the manuscript this time.
If he waits until this novel is published now, he may not be able to get another manuscript appointment.
With this thought in his mind, he thought for a moment and boldly made a decision.
"Chaoyang, what do you think of the work "One Hundred Years of Solitude"?"
Listening to Li Shifei's words, Lin Chaoyang immediately realized that he should be talking about "One Hundred Years of Solitude".
Nowadays, Marquez has only just become popular in China, and many of his works have not been introduced into the country. Even if some of them are introduced into the country, they are officially pirated.
The name "One Hundred Years of Solitude" was still the translated name in the official evaluation system in the 1970s. The translation of this novel in China has not yet been completely unified. Some people call this novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude".
"A masterpiece that will be handed down from generation to generation!"
Lin Chaoyang only answered Li Shifei with eight words, but his evaluation was unusually high, which was somewhat beyond Li Shifei's expectation.
His original intention was to use "One Hundred Years of Solitude" to suggest to Lin Chaoyang that he should also write such a magical realism work with a grand narrative angle and epic temperament.
In his mind, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is certainly an excellent contemporary literary work, but Lin Chaoyang praised it so highly that it made it difficult for him to speak.
Li Shifei was afraid that if he asked Lin Chaoyang to write such a work, Lin Chaoyang would mistakenly think that he was trying to embarrass him.
Seeing that Li Shifei was silent, Lin Chaoyang asked: "Old Li, if you have anything to say, you might as well say it directly."
Li Shifei then said: "Chaoyang, judging from the work you are creating now, your ability in the creative direction of magical realism is extremely powerful.
Have you ever thought about digging deeper and creating a masterpiece similar to "One Hundred Years of Solitude"?"
Hearing this, Lin Chaoyang had a look of surprise on his face.
I haven't finished the novel in hand yet, and I'm already planning for him to write another one.
This was the first time he had seen such an enterprising Party A.
Lin Chaoyang didn't think Li Shifei's request was too much. He hesitated and said, "A work like One Hundred Years of Solitude is not easy to write."
Li Shifei hurriedly said: "It is certain that it is difficult to write. Such a standard work is difficult for ordinary writers to achieve in their lifetime, but you are different. I believe in your ability. In today's Chinese literary world, if anyone has the ability to control such a work, except
You, I can’t think of anyone else!”
Li Shifei's flattery was too loud, even Lin Chaoyang's face couldn't bear it.
But then again, Party A is spending money to do things, so he has no reason to refuse.
The previous novels were "proposal essays", but now this one must be considered a "custom essay" anyway, right?
You have to pay more!
"It's so praised, so praised. Being able to write such a work is a lifelong pursuit for any writer, and it's also extremely labor-intensive. After years of hard work, it's hard to see results!" Lin Chaoyang's modest attitude
Said.
Li Shifei saw that he was just being modest but never refused outright, so he knew that an ambitious writer like Lin Chaoyang must also have such ambitions in his heart.
What he wanted to do now was to give Lin Chaoyang more motivation. Thinking of the time-consuming negotiation of the manuscript yesterday, Li Shifei's expression became solemn.
"Creating such a work is a huge challenge for all writers. The writer needs to devote himself wholeheartedly to it for a long time. The time and effort spent are immeasurable.
But if it can be achieved, it will be a great good thing for the Chinese literary world.
Chaoyang, you are the only one who can create such a work in today’s literary world.”
At this point, he paused slightly, and then said firmly: "Our magazine is willing to provide you with the greatest support. I dare not say anything else. I can give you a remuneration standard that has never been seen in the Chinese literary world!"
Li Shifei's words were full of lofty ideals and passion for idealism. Those who listened could not help but feel excited, but Lin Chaoyang was more concerned about the issue of royalties.
Later "Flower City" was famous for its generous royalties, and there was also news of "sky-high royalties". If Lin Chaoyang could be given a price that satisfied him, he would not be able to write a work according to the other party's requirements.
"The current standards of royalties in China are not high!" Lin Chaoyang said quietly.
The implication is that the standards are not high to begin with, and your so-called "unprecedented standards of remuneration" may not necessarily be really high.
Li Shifei gritted his teeth and said: "50 yuan for a thousand words! No one has ever set this standard, right?"
Lin Chaoyang's face finally became serious when he heard this, 50 yuan for a thousand words?
It’s not just that no one has published it. As of 1990, in the “Interim Regulations on Book Remuneration” promulgated by the National Copyright Administration, the highest standard for manuscript remuneration is only 30 yuan per thousand words. For those who are favorably paid, the standard can be raised appropriately. But it should not exceed 40 yuan per thousand words.
This was a new regulation on royalties enacted after the price explosion in 1987 and 1988. The fee of 50 yuan per thousand words was enough for Lin Chaoyang to see Li Shifei's sincerity.
"Lao Li, don't be joking. Can your publishing house agree to the price you give me?"
After all the words were spoken, Li Shifei certainly could not take them back. He looked resolute and said categorically:
"I am also the editor-in-chief after all, so I can still do this.
As long as your manuscript can meet my requirements and reach the level of the one I have now, I will have to force it on you if you don’t take the 50 yuan manuscript fee for a thousand words!"
Lin Chaoyang nodded slowly, "Okay! I promise you, a masterpiece of magical realism in the style of "One Hundred Years of Solitude", I will accept this task!"
Feeling the solemnity in Lin Chaoyang's words, Li Shifei couldn't help but hold his hand.
Li Shifei knew very well that it was extremely difficult for any writer to create a work that could meet the standards mentioned by the two of them.
If nothing else, the time investment alone is enough to put off most writers.
Two years is not too little, five years is not too much, or even longer...
How many five years do we have in our lifetime?
Thinking of this, Li Shifei held Lin Chaoyang's hand harder.
"Chaoyang, there is a long way to go!"
Chapter completed!