Chapter 421 After Taking Sick Leave, Lu Yao Wrote a Novel for the First Time
About 80,000 words, a novella.
The story takes place in Guanzhong area. Fang Minghua used a lot of Guanzhong dialect in the novel to add a sense of life to the novel.
As a native of Xijing, he was familiar with this.
The first draft was completed, and the first reader was of course his wife Song Tangtang.
In the evening, the couple went back to their parents, had dinner and visited their children, and returned to Xingfu Community at almost nine o'clock.
"Tangtang, help me take a look."
"Okay."
The wife went into the study and sat at the computer, looking at the novel on the screen carefully. Fang Minghua stood at the desk next to her, spread out the "Monument of Yu Gonggong", picked up the brush, and practiced seriously on the newspaper.
The unit subscribed to a lot of newspapers, but in the end they were all sold to the scrap collection station, so it was better to take them back to practice calligraphy.
After practicing for more than an hour, Fang Minghua felt a little sore in his wrist, so he closed the copybook and looked at the handwriting on the newspaper, feeling a little satisfied.
It tasted a bit like Ouyang Xun.
At this time, Song Tangtang had also finished reading, and she turned her head to look at Fang Minghua.
"Minghua, I think your writing style has changed."
"Changed?"
"I used to like to write avant-garde novels such as stream of consciousness. Although they are good, they are too obscure and difficult to understand. I think they are a bit showy. But this book is very plain and simple, with realistic feelings and cultural criticism. Is this the new realist novel you mentioned?"
"You can say that."
"Very good, it will be better if it is made into a movie. Minghua, didn't the director named Zhang Yimou make "No One Less" written by you? I think he is very good at filming stories about rural people. Let him make it into a movie. It must be very good."
Thinking so far?
"Let's talk about it after it is published." Fang Minghua smiled.
"Okay, you can think about some of the words and sentences in the novel." Song Tangtang stood up and stretched gracefully.
"I'm going to learn English."
After saying that, Song Tangtang left the study, and soon heard Song Tangtang's beautiful voice coming from the living room.
Stray birds of summer come to my window to sing and fly away. And yellow leaves of autumn, which have no songs, flutter and fall there with a sign.
(Summer birds fly to my window to sing, and then fly away. Autumn leaves, they have nothing to sing, they just sigh and fall there.)
Fang Minghua sat at the computer and revised it seriously.
In the following days, Fang Minghua revised the novel twice, and only printed it out and prepared to give it to Bai Miao when he was satisfied.
The next morning, Song Tangtang drove to the company, and Fang Minghua still rode his 28-inch Forever big bar to work.
This bicycle was bought by Fang Minghua when he first received his manuscript fee in this era. He has been riding it for eight years. Except for changing the chain once, nothing else has broken.
The quality is really good, and now I have feelings for it.
When he arrived at the magazine compound, Fang Minghua greeted his colleagues who were going to work, parked his bicycle in the shed, went up to the office building and came to his office, wiped the table, fetched water, and made tea. These are the three necessary steps in the morning.
Just after I made a cup of tea, someone knocked on the door. It was Bai Miao.
He held a stack of manuscripts in his hand and handed them to Fang Minghua: "Editor Fang, this is a short story written by Lu Yao. Take a look."
Written by Lu Yao? !
"Okay, sit down first and pour yourself some tea."
Fang Minghua said, picking up the manuscript and reading it carefully.
It was also a rule of law novel written in response to the call of the province. It is not long, only about 30,000 words. It tells the story of an ordinary grassroots judge who is brave enough to use the law to protect the rights and interests of ordinary people who have been wronged, but finally faces a dilemma between emotion and law.
The more Fang Minghua reads, the more he feels that it is a bit like a movie "Justice" released in the United States in the 1970s?
This movie tells the story of Arthur Kirkland, an upright and courageous lawyer, who tries to reform the corrupt trend of judicial corruption and seek justice for ordinary people, but falls into a dilemma between morality and law.
The film seems to have won an Oscar.
Has Lu Yao seen this movie?
It is possible. Although these films are not released in the mainland, as VCRs gradually become popular in urban families in the mainland, many pirated tapes have appeared. This kind of Oscar-winning movie is very popular.
Fang Minghua also came to this era and bought a cassette tape to watch at home, so he has some impression.
However, he did not say anything, but asked Bai Miao: "What do you think?"
"If it was written by another writer, it would be wonderful, but it was written by Lu Yao." Bai Miao did not hide his thoughts:
"This novel cannot be compared with his previous novels, let alone "Life". I think Lu Yao chose a legal theme that he is not familiar with this time, so it seems a bit forced."
This is true.
Fang Minghua nodded.
"Okay, leave the novel with me first. Lu Yao is going to visit Italy soon. I will talk to him after he comes back and let him revise it again." Fang Minghua expressed his opinion.
At the beginning of the year, the delegation of the Chinese Writers Association was invited to visit Italy and gave a quota to the Qin Province Writers Association. After several leaders of the Writers Association discussed it, they simply gave it to Lu Yao.
Going out to relax is more conducive to physical recovery.
Besides, they also have this qualification.
Of course Bai Miao knew about this, so he agreed. Just as he was about to leave, the office door was pushed open and he saw Lu Yao walking in hurriedly.
"Really talking about Cao Cao, Cao Cao is here." Fang Minghua said with a smile:
"Lu Yao, Bai Miao and I discussed discussing this novel with you after you come back from your overseas visit. I didn't expect you to be here now. Why don't we just talk about it now?"
Unexpectedly, Lu Yao said: "Let's not talk anymore. I don't want to publish this novel. I plan to take it back."
"Why? I think the writing is okay. I can publish it after revising some parts." Fang Minghua said.
"Forget it." Lu Yao shook his head: "I have revised this novel several times, and I don't know where to revise it. To be honest, I was inspired to write it after watching an American movie called "Justice". Now It seems that I overestimate myself a little. I am not very familiar with the profession of judge, and it is a bit too rigid. It is better not to publish such a novel, so as to prevent others from getting seriously ill, and now my body is good but my brain is broken. "
Fang Minghua knew that Lu Yao was struggling with this issue, so he didn't say anything more and returned the manuscript of the novel to him.
Lu Yao took the manuscript and said to Minghua again. "Minghua, I still think the idea you mentioned some time ago is good."
"Some time ago?"
"It was that time when we came back from China, you told that story, the happiness and suffering of several young men and women under an old locust tree on the Qinbei Plateau, it seems like Adam and Eve on the Loess Plateau wrote about the Loess Plateau, this is what I am familiar with of."
Oh my god, did you really write this?
Fang Minghua did say this. Before he came to this era, he saw a post on the Internet, saying that after Lu Yao finished writing "The Ordinary World", he chatted with a friend about the next subject he wanted to write about.
But it didn't happen, and Lu Yao died of illness soon after.
There is no way to tell whether the post is true or not. I didn’t expect Lu Yao to actually write this now.
Lu Yao left, saying that he would start writing after returning from his overseas visit.
Fang Minghua's "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit" was officially published in Yanhe in March.