While everyone was talking and laughing, two more guests came to Chen Rong's house. They were Liu Xinwu and an old man in his sixties.
After Liu Xinwu introduced Lin Chaoyang, he found out that the old man was actually Tan Mu.
Qin Mu is from Guangdong and lives and works in Guangdong all year round. However, he also worked in Yanjing for two years in 1977 and 1978, so there were also several acquaintances of his present, such as Yang Mo and Wang Meng.
He greeted everyone, and when he greeted Lin Chaoyang, his face was full of smiles.
"Comrade Chaoyang, I have heard about your name for a long time, and today I finally see you in person."
"You're welcome, Mr. Qin. I grew up watching your works."
Lin Chaoyang's words caused everyone to laugh again.
Liu Xinwu said: "Speaking of which, Lin Chaoyang and Mr. Tan have some connections."
Hearing this, Lin Chaoyang and Qin Mu both nodded.
After "The Crossing Boat" was published last year, Qin Mu also published an article in "Literary Review" praising the novel.
Of course, the author he praised more was Lin Chaoyang.
In the article, Qin Mu highly praised Lin Chaoyang's eclectic creations, saying that he brought vitality to the Chinese literary world.
With such a connection, the relationship between the two is naturally very harmonious.
After chatting for a while, Lin Chaoyang learned that Tan Mu was here for the publication of his collection of essays.
As for being with Liu Xinwu, it’s because the publisher of his collection of essays happens to be Yanjing Publishing House.
Tan Mu suddenly said: "Chaoyang is amazing!"
Everyone was chatting happily, but when he suddenly said something like this, everyone didn't know how to answer.
Qin Mu looked at everyone's expressions and asked with a smile: "You're all curious, right? What I said has no beginning or end!"
Everyone nodded in unison, even Lin Chaoyang was a little curious.
"Actually, these words were not said by me, but by Su Chen."
Most people present did not know Su Chen, but they had all heard of his name.
Chen Rong and Yang Mo are very familiar with Su Chen, and they have a good relationship with Huacheng Publishing House.
"Chaoyang's last novel was given to "Flower City", and Lao Su is just selling melons and boasting about himself!" Yang Mo joked.
When Qin Mu heard this, he shook his head, "Su Chen was not talking about Chaoyang's last novel, but the current one."
Now this one?
Everyone looked at Lin Chaoyang. According to Qin Mu, Lin Chaoyang has written a new work?
Li Tuo looked at Lin Chaoyang excitedly, "Chaoyang, have you finished writing your novel?"
He was a frequent visitor to Lin Chaoyang's house, and he would go there for a meal whenever he found an excuse. Naturally, he knew that Lin Chaoyang had been writing a large novel in the past six months.
Because he was afraid of disturbing Lin Chaoyang's creation, he even reduced the number of times he went out to eat in the past six months.
Regarding this new novel, Li Tuo had communicated with Lin Chaoyang, and he roughly knew the plan and content of the novel. He also knew that if such a novel could be written according to Lin Chaoyang's expectations, it would definitely shock the entire literary world.
Therefore, when he heard that Lin Chaoyang's novel was finished, he was extremely excited.
"I just finished writing it a few days ago."
Just as Li Tuo was about to continue questioning Lin Chaoyang, Chen Jiangong stopped him and said, "Don't interrupt yet. Listen to what Mr. Tan has to say."
Only then did Li Tuo realize that he had lost his temper and had taken the lead from Tan Mu. He smiled apologetically at Tan Mu, and Tan Mu smiled back.
Qin Mu continued what he just said: "Chaoyang's new novel has a high conception and a grand perspective. It has both serious and profound ideological content and a fascinating storyline. It is of an astonishing level. It is rare in the field of Chinese literature in half a century.
A magnificent work."
After saying these words, Qin Mu showed a sly look on his face and emphasized: "I didn't say this, it was Su Chen who said it to me when he paid New Year's greetings."
Qin Mu and Su Chen are both well-known figures in the Chinese literary world. It is extremely rare for them to give such a high evaluation to a novel.
Although everyone has not seen Lin Chaoyang's new novel, they will not think that Su Chen is talking nonsense.
It's just that it's hard for everyone to imagine what kind of novel can actually make an old publisher like Su Chen, who has been immersed in literature and editing for decades, give such high praise.
After recalling what Qin Mu said, everyone felt as if there were cat claws scratching their hearts, and they wished they could see it now.
"Chaoyang, tell me, what is the content of your novel? How did you write it?" Wang Meng made a request to Lin Chaoyang.
"You'll see it when the novel is published! How can I retell such a long novel?"
"Please tell me briefly first, tell me briefly." Lin Jinlan also urged him.
Not only the two of them, but everyone else's eyes were also looking at Lin Chaoyang. Everyone's attitude was so earnest that Lin Chaoyang had no choice but to pick up the important plot from the novel and tell it to everyone.
"In 1904, winter came earlier in Zhangqiu, Shandong than in previous years. Zhangqiu was originally a place with outstanding people and was the hometown of Li Qingzhao, a female poet in the Song Dynasty. It had abundant springs and outstanding scenery.
However, there are no eggs left after the nest is overturned. Due to successive years of disasters, crops have failed, leading to rampant banditry and starvation all over the land..."
Lin Chaoyang's voice was gentle and eloquent, making everyone indulge in the story without even realizing it.
For a long time, his voice was the only one in the room, and the others listened attentively and with great interest.
When the brothers Liang Zuo and Liang Huan came back, they saw such a strange sight.
When Liang Zuo saw this, he didn't let his sister say anything. The two of them put down the things gently, and then came to the crowd, intending to listen curiously, but they were also fascinated by it.
After more than an hour of this, Lin Chaoyang's mouth was dry and his throat was aching as he told it, and he was only halfway through the story.
It's not that he doesn't want to tell it faster, but the story of "Crossing Guandong" is too rich and has too many details.
Sometimes he deliberately ignored some plots and characters, and everyone felt that something was not right. They would interrupt him from time to time and ask him these detailed questions.
Over and over again, the efficiency of storytelling will naturally not improve.
Lin Chaoyang's story stopped halfway, and everyone couldn't help but feel more uncomfortable than if they hadn't listened to it.
"Chaoyang, please continue talking. Do Xian'er and Chuanwu know each other? Is Chuanwu okay? How is Chuanjie doing? Can the bad guy like Fifth Master Pan not succeed?"
Chen Jiangong asked several questions in succession, which represented the common aspirations of everyone, but Lin Chaoyang did not answer his questions.
Wang Meng criticized Lin Chaoyang and said: "You said you only talked about novels, so why did you leave a hook? We are not your readers."
Lin Chaoyang took a sip of cold tea to moisten his throat, "I've been talking for more than an hour, but I haven't seen any of you pour me a cup of hot tea. What's wrong with leaving some hooks? I'm thinking of buying a novel later!"
When everyone heard this, they complained, "How can there be anyone like you!"
After everyone tried to attack him, Lin Chaoyang became a target and stopped talking about life and death. There was nothing anyone could do against him.
Liu Xinwu recalled what Lin Chaoyang had just said, and felt a little emotional in his heart, "The basis of novels is storytelling. Although we have not read the text of Chaoyang's novel, we can already feel the soul-stirring and heart-warming content just listening to his narration. Fascinating and unmistakable.”
Deng Youmei strongly agrees with Liu Xinwu's remarks, because what he values ​​in writing novels is stories and characters. His masterpieces such as "Na Wu" and "Smoke Pot" are all in this style.
"The novel Chaoyang really feels like a fusion of China and the West. It has the style of magical reality and the charm of a legendary novel."
"I think what Chaoyang does best is to reflect the richness of history. This should be due to the multi-perspective writing method. However, this writing method is too difficult to master. I can't write well. Which character If you can’t stand it, it will be a failure!”
Everyone hasn't read the novel yet, but they are all experts at writing novels anyway.
As the saying goes, an expert will know if something is there as soon as he makes a move.
Not to mention anything else, the novel’s huge and complex narrative clues and structure are beyond the reach of ordinary people.
What's more, when everyone listened to Lin Chaoyang's narration, they didn't feel any clutter or redundancy at all. It was obvious that this was something that Lin Chaoyang could only do if he had mastered the story.
You can never go wrong with a novel like this.
Everyone thought about what Tan Mu had just said about Su Chen’s comments, and it seemed that what he said was true!
The three topics most talked about at writers' gatherings are literature, philosophy and history. Today, Lin Chaoyang's novel was the topic, and everyone had a great time talking about it.
Time flew by and it was noon. Chen Rong and a few others went to prepare lunch. Lin Chaoyang originally wanted to go, but was stopped by Li Tuo.
He quietly asked Lin Chaoyang: "I remember you have a manuscript there, right?"
"Where is the manuscript? I have sent it to the editorial department."
Lin Chaoyang was about to leave as he spoke, but Li Tuo didn't let go and glared: "Don't fool me! Pretend I don't know, right? Which novel manuscript do you not keep? The ones you sent out were all transcribed copies!"
Lin Chaoyang said sarcastically: "You have been digging holes in our house all day long. If you lose something tomorrow, I will come find you!"
Li Tuo ignored his sarcasm and said, "Don't change the subject. Lend me the manuscript to read, and I'll return it to you after reading it. Otherwise..."
As he spoke, he glanced at the colleagues around him who were discussing the novel animatedly, with an obvious threat.
"The novel has not been published, so how can I let you read it casually? What if it is leaked?"
Lin Chaoyang continued to find reasons.
Li Tuo stared into his eyes and made a concession, "Well, I'll come to your house to take a look. Is that okay?"
"You just want to eat at our house, right?" Lin Chaoyang teased.
Li Tuo said angrily: "Am I that kind of person?"
Lin Chaoyang looked directly at him, as if asking: Aren't you?
After all, because he was feeling guilty, Li Tuo changed his tone and said, "I'll bring my own dry food this time."
"Okay." Lin Chaoyang said reluctantly.
"That's right! I just wrote a good novel and I'll give it to you!"
The treacherous plan succeeded, and Li Tuo did not forget to return Lin Chaoyang's sarcasm.
Lin Chaoyang was too lazy to meet him, so he went to the kitchen and was about to help, when Liang Zuo came over again.
"Master, your novel was published too late!"
Lin Chaoyang glanced at him and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it!"
Liang Zuo narrowed his eyes and laughed, "I heard Li Tuo talking to you just now, and you still have the manuscript."
It’s really endless!
"There is only one manuscript, you two can study it by yourselves."
Liang Zuo was overjoyed when he heard this, "Thank you, Master!"
He turned around happily and was grabbed by his sister Liang Huan. The two of them whispered for a long time.
Liang Zuo expected Ai Ai to come over again, "Master, can I take my sister to see it later?"
Lin Chaoyang glanced at Liang Huana. The little girl looked at him with admiration in her eyes. She looked at him and immediately turned away shyly.
Another literary young woman!
Chapter completed!