Chapter 301 The stories told by Mo Yan and Yu Hua
"At that time, I remember that I was in the third grade of elementary school. The school once organized our class to visit a suffering exhibition. Under the guidance of the teacher, we spoke out Crying. In order to let the teacher see my performance, I couldn't bear to wipe the tears on my face."
"Haha, you are too thoughtful," Yu Hua said with a smile.
Mo Yan laughed "hehe" twice and continued: "I was crying and suddenly noticed that several classmates secretly wiped saliva on their faces to pretend to be tears, and there was also a classmate who had no tears on his face. There was not a single tear in his mouth, and he did not cover his face with his hands. He looked at us with his eyes wide open, showing an expression of surprise or confusion. "
"I saw this. After the visit, you know what I did?" Mo Yan asked.
"You're not going to report that classmate who faked crying, are you?" Yu Hua asked tentatively.
“You are right, so I reported this classmate’s behavior to the teacher. As a result, the teacher severely criticized the student, and the matter got worse and worse. As a result, the classmate was unable to study. I was taken home by my parents.”
“Look, what you did was not authentic.”
“Yeah, I didn’t understand much when I was young, but I’m older now. I understand a lot. I went home for the Chinese New Year and visited my teacher, and I felt quite regretful when I talked about it. "
"You know what my teacher said?"
"What do you say?" Yu Hua praised him loyally.
"My teacher said, in fact, you don't have to blame yourself too much. There was not just one person who came to him to talk about this that day, there were more than a dozen!"
"So many? !”
“Yes,
“And my classmate is dead and doesn’t even have a chance to apologize. "At the end, Mo Yan sighed.
"So I later concluded a sentence, that is: when everyone is crying, some people should be allowed not to cry. When crying becomes a performance, some people should be allowed not to cry."
"I am more open-minded about life and death than you are." Yu Hua continued his topic: "I will also tell you a story about myself."
"Oh, you said?"
< br>"I had a very good playmate when I was a kid. This guy liked to brag and wear flowery shorts. But one day he was beaten to death by his father."
"Beat to death by his father?" Mo Yan was a little shocked when he heard this.
"Yes, this guy is very naughty. My father often beats him, but that day he missed and punched him in the neck. Later, when I studied medicine, I found out that the place was the carotid artery, and he stopped breathing on the spot."
"You also know that it was very common for a person to die in the countryside in those days. No one was sad when talking about it, but his father felt unlucky."
"My playmate had six in his family. The child, he was the fourth child, neither a senior nor a junior, and the things he did after his death were very careless. He was buried in a low pile by the pond, and there was no tombstone. After several years of wind and rain, the small grave was absorbed by the earth. , even the boy disappeared, just like that, everyone forgot about him, and he disappeared completely."
"Even I couldn't find the place where he was buried when I went back last year." br>
“No wonder the Argentinian poet Borges once said this: When a person dies, it is like water disappearing into the water.”
Just beside the summer garden, the evening breeze was blowing, and the two of them were chatting casually about their own stories.
"What are you two talking about?" Suddenly a voice interrupted their chat. The two looked up and saw that it was Fang Minghua, walking over from another path.
"Editor Fang."
The two greeted.
"Editor Fang, Mo Yan and I each told a story." Yu Hua and Fang Minghua met in Shanghai in 1983. Yu Hua also laid the floor in his room, so they were familiar with each other. He smiled and said to Fang Minghua.
Tell a story?
Both of them will be masters of telling stories, no, telling jokes in later generations.
Fang Minghua suddenly became interested.
"What are you talking about? Can you let me hear it?"
So the two of them repeated the story.
Damn it!
Isn’t this the two people’s literary views?
However, Fang Minghua didn’t say much. Both of them are still young and in the early stages of creation. There is no need for him to give anyone a final conclusion.
Of course he came to find the two of them for a purpose, and the main reason was to find Mo Yan. "Mo Yan, your "Transparent Carrot" published in "Chinese Writers" last year was very shocking and received high praise from the outside world. Have you written any new novels recently?"
< br>
"Not yet." Mo Yan answered cautiously.
"Editor Fang, let me expose it." Yu Hua, who was standing next to him, suddenly said with a smile: "Mo Yan said he was brewing a novella."
"It was just brewing, I didn't Start writing." Mo Yan hurriedly explained: "Just now, Editor Fang asked whether it was written or not!"
"Oh, can you tell me the general idea?" Fang Minghua asked.
“It is a story about the local people’s resistance against Japan in our hometown of Gaomi, adapted from historical data.” Mo Yan said.
Isn't this "Red Sorghum"?
"Mo Yan, after you finish writing, can you submit your manuscript to "Yanhe" for me to read?" Fang Minghua asked.
Mo Yan hesitated.
"Editor Fang, it's not that I don't want to vote for "Yanhe", it's just that Zhu Wei, the editor of "People's Literature", came to me some time ago and said that if I have anything written, I can show it to him."< br>
“Have you signed any agreement?”
"That's not true."
Zhu Wei, I'm sorry.
Boss Wang Meng, you are now a minister and no longer the editor-in-chief of "People's Literature", and you will not care about these trivial matters.
Fang Minghua muttered something in his heart and said with a smile.
"Mo Yan, recently our editorial department launched a cooperation agreement for outstanding young and middle-aged writers. I call it the Great God Agreement."
Fang Minghua told Ge Fei again.
Mo Yan was a little moved, but still hesitant.
“What about the novel?” Mo Yan thought of another question.
“Our Yanhe Magazine, like People’s Literature, only publishes short and medium-length novels, so the agreement does not include novels.” Fang Minghua patiently explained: “But we can excerpt the highlights from your novels and publish them. , this is actually a kind of propaganda.”
That’s true.
Mo Yan nodded.
"Also, if you sign the Great God Agreement, I can recommend your novels to foreign countries! Translations will be provided for free! The "Selected Works of Outstanding Chinese Pioneer Novel Writers" published by the American City Lights Publishing House will be available to you Did you get it?" Fang Minghua used another killer weapon.
"Received." Mo Yan said quickly.
Last year, Fang Minghua and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, poet and president of Los Angeles and City Lights Publishing House, reached an agreement to publish novels by outstanding domestic avant-garde writers. US dollars.
Of course, this cannot be compared with the best-selling book. Lawrence Ferlinghetti paid 8% of the royalties according to the agreement, totaling 24,000 US dollars.
The average salary per writer is 2,400 yuan, not RMB, but US dollars!
According to the current exchange rate of 3.4 yuan for one US dollar, you can get 8160 yuan! After deducting personal income tax, it will be about 6,500 yuan.
This is equivalent to the royalties for a novel in China.
So now that Fang Minghua mentioned this, both of them showed gratitude on their faces.
Fame and fortune!
"Mo Yan, why are you hesitating? Look how good the conditions Editor Fang said are good. Besides, "Yanhe" is not much worse than "People's Literature", right? Just sign it." Yu Hua next to him said: "I They’re all signed.”
“You’re signed too?”
“Why are you lying to me, Editor Fang?”
“Yes, Yu Hua is the first one.” One signed." Fang Minghua said, secretly applauding.
Yes, this assist is pretty good.
So Mo Yan happily agreed.
(End of this chapter)