Reborn Bao Guowei, I really didn’t want to be a great writer!

Chapter 422: Receive the Goncourt Prize! The craze caused by "The Country Teacher"!

The venue was suddenly bustling with activity.

Unlike other grand award ceremonies, this award ceremony held in a restaurant seemed more like an ordinary literary gathering.

From Bao Guowei's perspective, the format of this award ceremony even reminded him a little of the wedding banquets in his hometown, a small county in the 18th tier, in his previous life.

However, this did not bother Bao Guowei. He felt that the ceremony was not grand or casual. Instead, it had a kind of casualness that is unique to the French, giving people a down-to-earth feeling.

Perhaps this is the unique artistic atmosphere of France?

Just like the Montmartre hill in Paris, it was once just a small village full of vineyards and windmills.

Under urban planning, it became a district of Paris. Subsequently, its unique topography and rural scenery attracted countless artists to come and collect inspiration.

Over the past decade, masters such as Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh have all left their footprints here.

From an ordinary small village to a popular place for artists, it is enough to show the artistic atmosphere of the city of Paris at that time.

However, in Bao Guowei's view, the so-called art only exists in certain masters.

If you think all Londoners are artists, you'd be wrong.

Just like some reporters in the venue.

The reporters pounced on Bao Guowei like hungry wolves seeing their prey, and asked him questions in French.

"Mr. Bao, can you tell us about your work "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword", which has become a huge hit in France?"

"What are your thoughts on your winning work, "To Live"?"

The questions seemed normal at first, but gradually became outrageous.

"Could you please tell me about the theories related to Bao's economics?"

"You have made socialist speeches in London. May I ask if you have any connection with the Red Tsarist Russia? Are you engaged in related subversive work?"

"I heard that Mr. Bao brought a female companion and a male companion. Do you have a wider range of preferences?"

"."

Bao Guowei was speechless. He did not answer these rude questions. He pushed away the reporters in front of him and walked straight towards the judges' seats.

The reporters who were originally huddled together actually made way for them with a slight push from Bao Guowei.

The crowd was crowded and no one noticed that the young writer, who looked so weak, actually had the strength comparable to that of an athlete.

"Gentlemen, please make room for our award winner."

Chief judge Leon Hennick stood up and greeted Bao Guowei with a smile, and reminded the reporters who were gathered around Bao Guowei.

In fact, compared with the previous selections of the Goncourt Prize, the enthusiasm of these journalists was indeed a bit excessive.

But it’s not their fault.

After all, this is the first time that an Asian face has won the Goncourt Prize.

At some point, Gu Weijun was standing next to Bao Guowei. He had some conversations with the judges present and it was obvious that they knew each other.

The ten judges were among the best professors in Paris, and it was not surprising that Gu Weijun, who had previously been engaged in diplomatic work, knew them.

Wait until Bao Guowei stood in the center of the crowd, enjoying the spotlight and camera focus.

He shook hands with each of the judges present one by one.

The judges, who were basically all old, all smiled happily when they saw Bao Guowei, especially his young face.

"Bao, I really like your book The Old Man and the Sea, but it was published a little later. Compared to The Old Man and the Sea, To Live is obviously more popular."

"After the award ceremony, I guarantee you'll have to stay and have a good chat."

"History! I like your research on history. The Chrysanthemum and the Sword is also a very resonant work. I hope you can keep up the good work!"

Most of these judges are old enough to be Bao Guowei’s grandfathers.

When speaking, he also uses the tone of an elder.

Bao Guowei agreed to all of them.

Then, Chief Leon Hennick symbolically and in a tone that seemed very mysterious, as if no one knew, announced that the winner of the award was Bao Guowei.

Historically, the winner of the 1930 Goncourt Prize was Henri Fauconnier's Malaya.

Bao Guowei had no memory of having heard of this name, but he felt sorry for snatching the award from this gentleman.

"Mr. Henry, maybe you can stay until next term."

He thought so in his mind.

Unfortunately, although Bao Guowei thought so, in the subsequent developments, Mr. Henry waited for three consecutive sessions but was never nominated for the Goncourt Prize.

It is obvious who the culprit is.

Fortunately, Henri Fauconnier learned from his mistakes and, while not convinced by Bao Guowei, he seriously studied his works and transformed his research and creation into oriental folk literature, achieving results in the literary world that were far beyond what he had achieved in another time and space.

This is something.

My thoughts returned to the venue. After Leon Hennik announced the award winners, there was warm applause in the venue.

Many people were still eating heartily in the corner.

After hearing the noise here, I didn't understand what process was going on, but I stood up and cheered.

Bao Guowei received the Goncourt Prize winner certificate and the fifty francs of great significance from the chief.

As the chief judge of the jury, Leon Hennick naturally had to give a speech, which was not only a congratulatory speech for the work "To Live", but also the final verdict of the Goncourt Academy on the awarding of this prize.

In fact, the people who like to give speeches the most are the reporters present. After all, a large part of the press releases can be completed with the help of this thing.

Leon Hennik just coughed and said with a red face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we are awarding the Goncourt Prize to Mr. Bao Guowei for his book To Live.
It has created a new literary genre for us with its simple and profound writing style.
With his profound insight, Mr. Bao tells the life story of the protagonist Fugui. The rise and fall of the family, the departure of relatives, and social unrest.
This is a profound story that tells us an epic story of human existence.

Let us see the Chinese people who are completely different from the traditional concept!
They are tenacious and simple, and they taught us to persevere in life."

Each speech was carefully prepared.

Honestly, just listening to the rich rhetoric and the comments sound very much like the standard answers from school days.

Bao Guowei felt that perhaps the time the organizing committee spent studying his work might not be as much as the time they spent writing this work.

However, no matter what, my efforts have finally produced some results.

"To Live is an extremely popular book in France. In just a few months, sales have exceeded 300,000. It has become a phenomenal foreign book. It looks like it will definitely be the most popular foreign book this year."

Standing next to Bao Guowei, Gu Weijun became very emotional.

Gu Weijun had no idea how many times he had faced so many spotlights and cameras.

But today, he was still extremely excited.

I couldn't help but continue: "Bingwen, thank you."

Bao Guowei was stunned for a moment, and seeing Mr. Gu's reaction, he was a little surprised and replied.

"Sir, you are too kind. Guowei is just a wave in the era. If it can bring some hope to the people, that is our best hope."

"The waves of the times." Gu Weijun pondered this rhetoric and said with emotion. "It is a very clever metaphor. You and I are just insignificant waves in this era."

Bao Guowei glanced at the cheering people present, his eyes first fell on Zhang Nianyue who was also excited, and then saw the smug face of Cao Yanhai in the distance.

Finally, he focused on those faces, which were filled with jealousy, admiration, or joy.

Those were all French faces.

Bao Guowei said: "At least, it is good to be able to change the inherent perception of Chinese people in the eyes of these arrogant Westerners in France and even Europe." Gu Weijun glanced at the young man, nodded and said: "Bingwen is right."

I don't know how long it took, but the chief finally finished his speech and it was Bao Guowei's turn to speak.

Bao Guowei said this suddenly.

"Mr. Shaochuan, I want to set up a study abroad foundation using the royalties from the book To Live in Europe. No matter how much sales the book achieves in the future, all the income will be used to support Chinese students to study in Europe!"

After hearing this, Gu Weijun was stunned for a moment and was a little unbelievable at first.

Because the offer of funding for college students to study in Europe came from the mouth of a high school student who had not yet attended college.

It's really amazing.

But on second thought, with Bao Guowei's current achievements, he is definitely qualified to set up a foundation.

It was not surprising at all that Gu Weijun even served as a professor at some universities.

Not to mention the huge amount of royalties Bao Guowei received thanks to the best-selling works.

"I support you," Gu Weijun said without hesitation. "Don't worry, I can use my influence to help you in this matter."

"Thank you Mr. Gu."

Bao Guowei said sincerely.

In fact, Bao Guowei had already planned to set up a student aid foundation.

It's just that I can't find the right person to collaborate with.

Now that he had seen Gu Weijun, he thought that he might be the most trustworthy person he could find in Europe, and that he possessed great influence and could achieve this goal.

As for the source of the foundation's funding? That's not a problem at all.

Previously, Bao Guowei wanted to provide a few more works as a financial source for the foundation.

But after calculating the income of "To Live", he immediately gave up the idea.

In just a few months, the sales of more than 15 copies of the book "To Live" in France alone have earned him francs in royalties.

Converted into domestic silver dollars, the income is conservatively estimated to be 30,000 silver dollars.

This is enough to fund six Chinese students studying in Europe, including tuition, living expenses, etc. for four years.

Not to mention the revenue in the entire European region.

Sustainable funding for international students is definitely achievable.

"Bao, it's your turn to give your acceptance speech."

The chief came over and gestured.

"it is good."

Bao Guowei nodded, collected his wandering thoughts, and without preparing any script, walked straight to the microphone that had been prepared.

He glanced at the reporters and some well-known French writers in the audience and said with a smile.

“I am grateful to the organizing committee for giving me this impressive honor, the Prix Goncourt.

At the same time, I can also feel your enthusiasm. Many friends asked me why I was able to achieve results in multiple fields and why I was able to write unique literary works.

This brings me to my motherland far away in the East.
The long history and profound culture are the source of all my creations."

On the podium, Bao Guowei has long been accustomed to facing numerous cameras.

Unlike other Chinese people of that era, his confident and modest demeanor won the favor of most French people.

In particular, the history and cultural image of the Chinese people, which he mentioned in this speech, became the French people's first impression of the mysterious country far in the East for a long time to come.

"Bao allows us to see a different China."

This is the heartfelt sentiment expressed by many French people who have studied this speech.

On the other side, Bao Guowei was giving a passionate speech at the Drouin restaurant in Paris for his work "To Live" which won the award.

His other work, "The Country Teacher", is quietly fermenting throughout the UK and even Europe.

Amazing Stories Editorial Office, London.

James Howard, the editor-in-chief at the time, was furious in the editorial office.

He was waving a copy of the latest "Seaside Magazine" in his hand, and the latest sales statistics at his feet had been torn to pieces.

He shouted angrily at the editors present.

"Can anyone tell me where this bag came from? And why Seaside Magazine could find such a writer?!"

"In less than a day, sales reached over 40,000 copies, and even now it is still making history. All the machines in the factory are running for Seaside Magazine!"

Howard kept turning around in circles, almost pulling out all the remaining hair on his head.

He grabbed an editor by the collar and spoke hysterically.

"Mr. John, tell me why we couldn't get Mr. Bao's manuscript in advance and let The Strand Magazine find another Conan Doyle."

The editor shrugged aggrievedly and said, "Mr. Editor-in-Chief, we are not God. We cannot know when this Oriental writer will arrive in London. No one knows why this gentleman writes science fiction novels and accidentally sets off a science fiction craze!"

What the editor said was not an exaggeration at all. In less than two days, countless readers fell in love with the subject of science fiction because of the appearance of "The Rural Teacher".

Even the sales of many original science fiction works have increased.

It seems that the only one hurt by the event triggered by "Rural Teacher" is "Amazing Stories".

Due to the popularity of competing products, sales of "Amazing Stories" fell by at least 40% during the same period.

To the point that Howard didn't listen and shouted in the editorial office.

"Those damn British guys are stealing our money. This is unforgivable!"

In the editorial department, a young writer with an immature face opened his eyes wide and spoke involuntarily.

"It's Mr. Bao, I knew it would be him!"

Yesterday, Jack Williamson, a young American science fiction writer who had been in seclusion for a long time, just learned that the so-called trump card of "Seaside Magazine" turned out to be the work "Rural Teacher" by an oriental writer named Bao Guowei.

At first, Williamson was incredulous when he heard the news.

The work that I have been holding back on and wanting to surpass turns out to be the trump card of a competing magazine?

Even the most melodramatic space opera couldn't come up with a story like this.

But after seeing the editor-in-chief's reaction today, he has given up all hope.

Because only Mr. Bao Guowei, who taught him on the cruise ship, could write such a miraculous work.

At some point, editor-in-chief Howard wandered over to Williamson and spoke as if he saw hope.

"Mr. Williamson, I know you still have inspiration. Hurry up and write a work better than "The Country Teacher". We can still publish more books. There is still a chance!"

Surpassing "Rural Teacher"?
"Legions of Time", his most proud work to date, which he has spent a lot of effort on, was even inspired by Bao Guowei.

Now the editor-in-chief wants himself to surpass Bao Guowei?

Williamson showed a resolute expression on his face and replied: "Mr. Howard, you should know that this is impossible!"

Howard has the ability to appreciate works, how could he not know?

With a plop, he sat down on the ground dejectedly.

(End of this chapter)