Chapter 289: Half masterpiece and half perfunctory
Judging from Gu Lu’s knowledge, the best short story adaptation in terms of copyright is Stephen King’s “Children in the Cornfield”, which has been filmed in seven or eight films. .
After Gu Lu read the plot of "Lottery" in his mind... Hey! Gu Lu found that the cores of the two short stories were somewhat similar. Shoe cults, evil rituals, and closed locations have always been cornfield writers who stacked up more buffs.
"Teacher Gu, this is the innovation of our Xinhua Bookstore." The store manager dressed in an old but youthful style.
He is old and young, wearing a dark-colored striped Polo shirt, which is tucked into his pants, revealing a conspicuous black belt. I don’t know if it’s the Seven Wolves.
The belt does not have a key chain attached to it. The lower body is in slim suit pants, but the shoes are Anta blue sneakers. Just...weird.
There must be some story behind this outfit, but Gu Lu was not interested in knowing it. No one is a female (male) classmate without a story.
After the ribbon-cutting, the store manager took Gu Lu for a tour.
On the third floor of the bookstore, looking across the bookshelves, the southwest corner seems to be a children's paradise. The small wooden bench and even the bookshelf are smaller than others. From a distance, they still look like foam plastic.
It displays all Gu Lu’s works so far, as well as some cultural and creative peripherals produced by the publishing house.
When buying peripherals, you should still visit Sisyphus Bookstore. Books occupy one-third of the space in the store, and peripherals occupy two-thirds. There may also be a Sisyphean cafe next to it. Together with Miniso, they are known as the four killers of shopping mall wallets!
“This is our Gu Lu children’s area.” said the store manager.
Mainly focus on Gu Lu’s works, and then supplement them with other children’s works. After all, even if one book occupies one column of Gu Lu's publications, the three pink bookshelves in the corner cannot be filled.
"Xinhua Bookstore is promoting minimally invasive reforms. Our store is the only bookstore in the country with a Gu Lu children's section." The store manager introduced.
Gu Lu seemed to have some impression of this matter in his previous life. There was a Jin Yong special area, but it failed later. Because it is of no use to sales and is just too fancy.
Gu Lu didn't say anything because it was good for him. There are three places where you can see his books in the entire bookstore, the bestseller section, the children's sales section and the Gu Lu Children's Corner.
It also helps sales.
After shopping around, the store manager kindly invited Gu Lu to have dinner with him in the evening, saying that he wanted to thank Gu Lu for taking time out of his busy schedule to help.
"No, no, I have writing plans after I go back today." Gu Lu refused.
It’s good to be famous.
Even if the store manager wanted to make friends with the great writer, he never tried to persuade him.
"It's my first time to cut a ribbon. It's quite interesting. Can I keep these scissors?" Gu Lu took out the scissors from his pocket and asked.
"No problem, of course no problem." The store manager agreed.
When Tian Xiao asked him to help throw away the paper with typos, it was an experiment. If the composite is returned, the work will disappear.
Before Gu Lu left, he bought two books before leaving.
The opening of a new store is still a good sign.
“It’s not in vain.”
Gu Lu stretched himself and went out to buy groceries. As usual, I put my MP4 in my pocket and put on my headphones.
But what is playing inside is not music, but English words. This is still a little trick summarized by Li Guyuan. Put on the headphones and listen to the words repeatedly.
"Occupation (occupation; possession), profession (occupation; profession), photography (photo; taking pictures of...)..."
Regardless of whether you are serious or not, he thinks it is just like listening to a song. After listening to it too much, you will naturally sing a few lines. As for words, if you listen to them too much, when you learn them, they will feel familiar and you will get twice the result with half the effort.
After the actual experience of King Guru, it is quite useful.
I bought some meat from the vegetable market, and then put the kimchi that the fat boss gave me earlier into it and fried it together. I don’t know what this dish is called, but it’s quite delicious!
Finish the day's work after dinner.
What is worth mentioning is that Sato, the vice president of Neon Baitongshe, wants to work harder and asks Gu Lu for a manuscript.
Some people have their eyes open but they are already asleep, such as when they are trying to catch a fish at work.
Some people close their eyes, but he is still awake, as if Gu Lu is reading a book in his mind.
"Lottery" is half a masterpiece and half a masterpiece. Why is it almost the same as when he wrote online novels in his previous life? Gu Lu read all 25 of the short stories about the Gothic Queen that he had drawn. The wonderful chapters are so scary to think about. Watching it late at night, Gu Lu felt more and more chilled all over his body as he thought about it.
At this moment there is a strong man taking back his jiojio.
Even though Gu Lu didn't see anything that was Gothic, he was indeed capable.
Although at least ten of the articles were fake or pretentious, Gu Lu still maintained the principle of making slight changes as much as possible. If the topic is really inappropriate, just omit it.
For example, "The Witch". It doesn't look like something a Chinese could write, and there are remnants of witch-hunting culture in it. The most important thing is that Gu Lu is not sure whether this article will be banned because of bloody violence.
"The Possibility of Evil", "Lottery", "Go Home, Louisa", "Random Thoughts" and other chapters are all very good.
“Let’s start short stories.”
“I don’t want to prove how great I am, but I must get back what I lost. Contest the main article!”
...
Okay, just kidding, the title of the challenge is not important. Because even if there is a fixed group of readers who like to reply to questionnaires, as time goes by, no matter how good-looking the article is, it will not be so impressive.
Not to mention the magazine publication, readers who have new subscriptions may not have read the main article.
So there is no need to be persistent. Gu Lu has a deeper plan and will wait until the serialization of the dozen or so lottery articles is finished. Just sort out the short stories and publish a collection.
With Yao Xiaoju here, there is no problem in translating it into English. This type of work is still more popular in Europe and the United States.
"The Queen of Goth is here, can Stephen King be far behind?!"
Stephen King's short stories are all of high quality!
Gu Lu fell into sleep.
Thinking day by day, dreaming at night, so King Guru dreamed that he would get rich.
The next day, Gu Lu took a nap and was woken up by Zhou Lin's phone call, so he went out physically.
Gu Lu, who didn't know his destination, followed Zhou Lin in confusion. In addition, he was a little sleepy at first, as if he was being led out of the house and confused.
The school agreed to lend her for two days, and today is the first day.
“A secret?” Since the other party didn’t say anything, Gu Lu didn’t ask and just sat there peacefully.
Ten minutes by car, we arrived at a fly shop.
[Li Su Restaurant], the owner’s name is Li Su. But it looks like the name was wrong. The boss is fat and probably only eats meat dishes.
Gu Lu was confused. The chefs who cut vegetables in small restaurants were all chefs themselves. This kind of all-round chef was very tiring. Forget about being thin, why can't you maintain an average figure?
It is opened on the first floor of a residential house. The kitchen is placed directly outside the store and is open-air. It's not very in line with the rules, but it's only been a year or three, and the management isn't that strict.
Compared to other fly restaurants, it can be seen that the owner is very clean. There is no dust on the top of the freezer and no grease on the stove.
You don’t need to be so mysterious about inviting me to dinner, right? Gu Lu just thought this in his heart.
I saw a familiar person - wait for it, there are several familiar people.
Chen Na, Zhao Juan, Jiang...what are they, I forgot, they are junior high school classmates anyway.
A total of seven or eight people gathered around the round table. There are cold dishes such as sad jelly and cucumbers on the table. As for hot dishes, the boss outside is still cooking!
Chen Na and Jiang Meiqi, who were sitting there, saw Gu Lu coming and stood up directly.
"Why are Gu Lu here?" "Long time no see." The two greeted Gu Lu.
What is the situation! Gu Lu turned to look at Zhou Lin.
Zhao Juan will move in two days, so today is a farewell meal for her close friends.
There are three girls I don’t know, they are Zhao Juan’s high school classmates.
"Is he Gu Lu?" "That great writer who graduated from No. 37 Middle School and then studied at No. 8 Middle School?" "A living person, I finally saw a living person." Zhao Juan's high school classmates were a little bit naive Excited.
It is similar to the reaction of ordinary people when they suddenly see a celebrity. They want an autograph whether they like it or not.
Zhao Juan didn't invite Gu Lu, just like when she was a child, she went to play at her grandma's house in the countryside. When you want to say goodbye and leave, you must not let grandma send you off. Because it will be very, very uncomfortable when you are separated from someone you care about very much.
She looked at Zhou Lin, who winked at her playfully.
"Did I come at a bad time?" Gu Lu asked, looking at the scene.
Why is it not the right time? Chen Na immediately said, "Didn't I tell you before? Juanzi is going to another province with her parents. Today is a farewell party. Originally, Juanzi wanted to invite you, but she was worried about you. I don’t even dare to say this if I don’t have time.”
Don’t dare to say anything? This doesn't quite resemble Zhao Juan's character. Looking back on the third grade of junior high school, Zhao Juan had a conflict and couldn't help but play straight ball to express her personality.
"Right, I think Gulu and Juanzi are such good friends. It would be unscientific if they couldn't see each other before leaving." Zhou Lin said.
Zhao Juan thought that it was Chen Na who invited Gu Lu here, but she never thought that it was Zhou Lin. Zhou Lin should have seen her behavior at Gu Lu's birthday party... "Let's sit together." As the host tonight, Zhao Juan asked Gu Lu to sit down. She also followed Chen Na's words to ease the embarrassment.
Then again, after entering high school, there is no guarantee that your personality will change. Gu Lu withdrew his gaze, and he and Zhou Lin took their seats.
It is true that his old classmate is leaving, and Gu Lu really wants to come and see him one last time.
Nowadays, there are high-speed trains and airplanes, but everyone knows that Zhao Juan’s family has gone to other places. There is a high chance that I will be outside in high school and college in the future. I don’t know when we will meet next time.
We were seated, and the table for ten people was full.
Except for Gu Lu, all the others are female classmates.
Because of Gu Lu’s participation, the focus of the chat became how to write novels.
As expected, at least eight of the ten students have written their own. It's just that there are very few that can be published. This does not involve whether the writing is good or not, it is simply because I am too shy to show it to others.
“When I was in junior high school, before Gu Lu was so famous, I thought he was different.” Zhao Juan was very talkative.
"Really? I don't believe it!"
"When I was in junior high school, Gu Lu seemed to have no sense of existence in the first and second grades of junior high school."
"Yes, yes, I remember it too, It was only when I was about to graduate that I became famous.”
……
After chatting for a while, the dishes were served one after another.
The main dishes include shaved pork soup, double dry pot and Maoxuewang.
Xiaoxun also has several meat dishes.
In addition, most of them are girls, which is completely enough.
“Boss, we didn’t serve this dish.” Zhao Juan pointed to the last plate that was served.
"I heard about it just now. This is Gu Lu, the one who wrote "The Little Prince", right? My sister's child likes this book very much. If he knows, Gu Lu will come to my place for dinner , I will definitely be envious. This stir-fried kidney is my specialty and it was given as a gift. He was happy that a great writer came to the store.
Gu Lu also succeeded in brushing his face and quickly thanked his boss.
Towards the end of the meal, the joyful atmosphere began to dissipate.
Because parting is always accompanied by sadness.
But the banquet will eventually disperse, and Zhao Juan goes to pay the bill.
"Sister Nana, you and I will send the classmates back later." Zhou Lin said.
"Ah? Oh, no problem, I have experience in this area." Chen Na seemed to understand. She felt that Zhou Lin was a good person.
So, when Zhao Juan paid the bill and came back, only Gu Lu was left at the door. Gu Lu also understood that this was done deliberately to keep him and Zhao Juan together.
He looked at the shop owner Li Su and thought he wanted to take a photo or something, but after all, he delivered the food. But they didn't mention it at all, they were just happy.
The two of them walked forward along the path.
We walked for several minutes. Although we didn’t say anything, we weren’t too embarrassed. After all, the path is also quiet.
"Long time no see, you've grown taller!" Zhao Juan gestured, and she said, "I want to look up to you."
This height is definitely not just about height.
More accurately, it refers to Gu Lu's reputation. As soon as he appeared, he attracted everyone's attention. Even the boss, whom he had never met before, took the initiative to deliver food.
Gu Lu suddenly stopped, squatted down again, and looked up at Zhao Juan, "What about now? I'm looking up to you."
Zhao Juan was amused, and then said seriously , "Get up quickly. As an old classmate, I definitely want you to be as high as possible, preferably higher than everyone else."
It was very easy to tell from the tone that Zhao Juan's blessing was sincere.
"Why am I so tall? I am not Yao Ming. I want to represent the country." Gu Lu said.
"Then I also hope you will grow very tall." Zhao Juan waved her hands to the sky, "How powerful is my Chinese youth who has no borders with the country!"
Gu Lu said, " Then I hope you can be tougher. Don’t refuse when someone asks for help.”
“I have changed a lot since the last time, really!” Zhao Juan said immediately.
"I believe you. In fact, I admire you. You are very selfless." Gu Lu said, "I can't be a volunteer like you and help others at the same time."
"It's not a big help either. My mother told me that if you help others more, you will become more beautiful and your mood will be better," Zhao Juan said.
Is that so? Gu Lu was noncommittal.
The two of them talked to each other, walking from the path to the street, and then to the intersection.
Originally, Gu Lu wanted to send Zhao Juan into the car, but the latter disagreed.
"After all, I am the one who is treating you today. Guests can do as they please." Zhao Juan said.
Then Zhao Juan put Gu Lu into a taxi.
Zhao Juan didn’t look back until the vehicle sank into the road where vehicles were passing by.
……
It took several days after the farewell party.
"Deputy Editor Xue, we are having a dinner together later, are you going to go?"
In the editorial department of Xinrui Reading Magazine, Editor Wang, who has just joined the job, came over to ask. He is twenty-six years old, unkempt, and has a hairstyle that depends on how he sleeps at night.
The overall sluggishness of the physical publishing industry, the success of the reform of "New Reading", and the competition mechanism have made both internal and external full of vitality.
It is one of the very few magazines that not only cuts editors, but also expands its editorial team.
"In a moment?" Xiao Xue looked at the time, "It's still early, you go ahead, I'll finish reviewing the private manuscript."
It's already past 5:50, and they are getting ready to get off work.
But his immediate boss was off duty... Editor Wang hesitated, and he exchanged hidden glances with his colleagues.
Do you want to stay and deal with it too?
“Oh, you want to go to eat. If you want to have a dinner or something, you don’t have to wait for me.” Xiao Xue said, “I usually eat at eight or nine o’clock. Besides, I voluntarily work overtime, so don’t worry about me.”
This sounds like a lie. Even though he is new to the workplace, he will not take the polite words seriously. Editor Wang tossed his hair and shook his head quickly, wanting to say that he also volunteered to work overtime. But before he could say anything, he was grabbed by a colleague next to him.
"You should have a good rest," Xiao Xue said, "You are the future of the magazine. Drink less alcohol tonight."
After Xiao Xue reminded him, he lowered his head and prepared to read the private manuscript.
If you work as an editor for two more years, you will definitely have private articles. Because after dealing with the author for a long time, you will definitely become familiar with it. I can only say that the quality of private manuscripts has its ups and downs. The ceiling for the quality of Xiao Xue's private manuscripts is that he is the number one student writer in China. It's a pity that it has transformed and can no longer stay true to the horror and supernatural business it originally started out as.
"Then Chief Editor Xue, let's go", "Chief Editor Xue also needs to take care of himself", "Then we will leave first"...
As he said this, the newly hired Editor Wang was greeted by his colleagues They pulled them away.
It wasn't until he left the office building that Editor Wang, whose hair style and expression were dull, asked incomprehensively if he would be wearing a shoestring.
"Brother, you have just come to the company and you are not used to it. Let me ask you, when did you see Editor Xue leaving before us?"
Editor Wang has been at work for two weeks. If you think about it carefully, It seems like there really isn't.
“Don’t think about it, it’s definitely not the case.” A colleague said, “In our editorial department, Deputy Editor Xue is always the last one to leave. Editor-in-chief Xue is always the first to open the door of the company.”
"Yes, I remember that the president asked Editor Xue to work less overtime. But it was of no use, not at all."
"He's the earliest to come and the last to leave. Although I don't like that everything he does is like giving chicken blood, I am absolutely convinced when it comes to work."
Hearing this, Editor Wang was greatly shocked and unconsciously asked a question, "Is Editor Xue the illegitimate son of our magazine boss?"
"Probably not, Editor Xue said. How can you be promoted if your boss doesn't promote you. So, Vice President Dong, you know "It seems that he was promoted by Editor Xue." Top notch.
Yes, that makes sense. Editor Wang feels that he should learn from Editor Xue.
Well, let’s start from tomorrow!
A little common sense, when you make up your mind to do something. Once you start not immediately but at a certain moment, half the battle is lost.
People who work hard may not have good luck, but they can catch the opportunity when it comes, just like Xiao Xue who is still struggling in the editorial department.
(End of this chapter)