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

Chapter 437 Romain Rolland! The Country Teacher and the Symphony of Fate!
As a Frenchman, Mr. Romain Rolland has been living in Switzerland for many years.

In the early 20th century, Romain Rolland was an extremely famous French writer.

In 1913, his novel "Jean-Christophe" won the French Academy Literature Prize.

In 1916, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

But even so, Romain Rolland still did not receive recognition from the French authorities, and even once prevented the Swedish Academy from awarding him the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Logically speaking, given his status, he should be listed as a national treasure-level writer by the French authorities.

Why is there such a strange contrast?

In fact, it is mainly because of the literary philosophy that Romain Rolland has always adhered to.

"Humanitarianism" and "pacifism"

It can be said that Romain Rolland was an extremely staunch pacifist, and his commitment to peace even transcended countries and nations.

To all mankind, Romain Rolland may be a great man, but to a country and nation, he is no different from a traitor.

For example, during World War I, Romain Rolland published an editorial in the Geneva Journal because he felt deeply about the pain of the war.

The title is "Above the Melee".

In the article, Romain Rolland declared that each nation and culture has its own inherent advantages and should respect each other.

This view caused a huge uproar against the backdrop of the hostility between France and Germany at the time.

For a time, Romain Rolland became the target of public criticism, being called a "spy" by the Germans and a "traitor" by the French.

But Romain Rolland remained unmoved and continued on his path of calling for peace.

"I'm back after all."

Romain Rolland, who had just got off the train, looked at Paris covered in snow and exhaled a puff of hot air from his mouth.

Nearly eight years have passed since he last came to Paris.

During these eight years, Romain Rolland hardly ever returned to France, and if he did, it was just by passing through on the train.

As for the city of Paris, there is no need to say more.

Today is December 1930, 12, the day after Christmas.

There is a very sad reason why I chose this day to return to France.

That is, Romain Rolland knew very well that he would not be welcomed by the French authorities and many people, so he tried his best to avoid returning at such a sensitive time as Christmas.

The day after Christmas was chosen because, on the one hand, there would be fewer people on the train and, on the other hand, the French authorities' supervision would be much more relaxed.

After all, he had come back with great difficulty, and Romain Rolland didn't want to cause too much trouble.

Fortunately, Bao masks have been invented nowadays. Infectious diseases are prevalent in winter, and almost everyone wears masks. For Romain Rolland, it also saves him from being recognized.

Walking on the muddy streets of Paris, Romain Rolland couldn't help but sigh that things and people here have changed.

Eight years have passed, and the streets of Paris have not become more prosperous, but more dilapidated.

Especially under the influence of the economic crisis, the streets of Paris are almost full of homeless people.

In the cold winter, you can occasionally see frozen bodies on the streets.

Seeing this, Romain Rolland could not help but feel heartbroken, and he was thinking about writing a commentary to criticize the French authorities.

"Why can a country sit back and watch its people fall into this situation?"

"Mr. Marx is right. Since the birth of capitalism in this world, every drop of its blood has been stained with filth."

When he saw the magnificent carriage passing by, in stark contrast to the homeless man in the corner of the alley, Romain Rolland's indignation reached its peak.

There were many thoughts in his mind.

"The Red Russia in the east might be right. They are conducting a grand social experiment, I think."

In a daze, he finally walked out of the city.

During this period, he spent almost all the property he brought with him, leaving only some money needed for travel and living expenses.

"It seems that my plan to purchase a property in the small town of Kramuxi will have to be put on hold for a while."

After buying all the newspapers and magazines from a shivering newsboy, Romain Rolland finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, sir. Your kindness will be blessed by God."

The newsboy bowed deeply, his face was purple from the cold, and it was so dark that it was impossible to tell whether he was a man or a woman. He held the francs tightly in his hands, his eyes full of gratitude.

“Will there always be poverty and hardship in this world?”

Looking at the newsboy staggering away, Romain Rolland couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart.

In fact, the world economy has been in a great depression in recent years, the whole of Europe has been having a hard time, people's living standards have declined, and consumption of books and newspapers has naturally decreased.

Competition in the newspaper and magazine industry is becoming increasingly fierce, and even the income of well-known writers like Romain Rolland has been affected to a certain extent.

Not to mention, Romain Rolland has always been actively involved in social activities and charity, so naturally he doesn't have much money left.

After all, not everyone is like Bao Guowei, who can make his books sell well in such an environment.

Of course, this is also related to Bao Guowei's writing style. Compared with traditional literature such as Romain Rolland, Bao Guowei's works are literary, but they are more like bestsellers in later generations, which attracts readers' attention.

In fact, even Romain Rolland often paid attention to Bao Guowei's works.

"Here is the key to your room, sir."

The front desk clerk at the hotel had obviously not seen any guests for a long time and was extremely enthusiastic towards Romain Rolland.

In this era, identity checks do not exist, and Romain Rolland didn't even take off his mask.

"Thank you."

Romain Rolland took the key and glanced at the deserted hotel. He could imagine how this place was doing these days.

However, he had no intention of helping the other person feel sad, because at this moment, Romain Rolland's mind was completely on the recent French news.

I bought a bunch of old newspapers and magazines from the newsboy earlier, and now I can't help but read them.

"Mr. Bao from the East! The Savior of Paris!"

"My economy needs a savvy Oriental!"

"Don't wait any longer, gentlemen! Bao's economics is about to change our lives!"

Various exaggerated headlines appeared openly in major French mainstream media.

Romain Rolland almost popped his eyes out.

This is actually a French newspaper headline?
Why are these people so exaggerated?

It looks like this Mr. Bao is Bao Guowei?

Romain Rolland naturally knew this Oriental man, and had even read many of Bao Guowei's works.

He remembered something. Some time ago, this gentleman made a speech in London, which almost brought the already fierce political struggle in the UK to a white-hot level.

Could it be that.
Just as Romain Rolland was reading a newspaper and walking upstairs, the receptionist suddenly called him.

"Wait a moment, sir, do you need some novels and magazines? We can provide other goods as well." Romain Rolland could understand this question. After all, the current situation was not easy, and which hotel would not sell some goods to increase its income?

Romain Rolland touched his pocket and was about to refuse when he heard the receptionist's endless introduction.

"I can see that this is your first time in Paris, right? Coming here after Christmas is a wise choice. You can see many celebrities that you don't usually see. They are all hanging out in the streets and alleys. If you are lucky, it is not impossible to run into a Nobel Prize winner."

When he heard this, the muscles at the corners of Romain Rolland's mouth twitched noticeably.

The receptionist was totally unaware of the customer's anomaly and continued to talk nonstop.

“Although Paris is not a wine producing city, it still gathers many high-quality wines from all over the world, such as Bordeaux red wine and Burgundy white wine.
Among the food, Brie-Savarin cheese, macarons, and crepes are all worth trying.
Cosmetics! Sir, you have your favorite lady, right? Our hotel also has Guerlain and Chanel perfumes. Bringing them back will surely help you have a happy marriage.
Of course, there are also some exquisite costumes.”

Seeing that the other party still didn't respond, the receptionist was still unwilling to give up the business opportunity. So he looked at the newspaper in the other party's hand and changed his tone.

"Of course, sir, if you like literature, we have many books here.

Mr. Marcel Proust's "Swann's Love", Mr. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "Night Flight" and various political commentary and social analysis books. "

The receptionist narrowed her eyes, lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "We also have the single volume of The Country Teacher that was very popular in the British some time ago. It's in French. You must have heard of Mr. Bao, right?"

The receptionist spoke excitedly, but found that the other party was still indifferent. She finally gave up and spoke in a teasing tone.

"Of course, if you want Mr. Romain Rolland's Jean-Christophe, we don't have it. You should know that few French people have this gentleman's works on their bookshelves."

Romain Rolland didn't pay any attention to the rest of what the receptionist said. He only noticed one key word.

"What did you say?"

Romain Rolland stopped, walked down the stairs and asked.

The receptionist was stunned for a moment, then felt that a business opportunity had come, and his face suddenly lit up with a smile.

"What do you need, sir? Wine? Perfume? Or jewelry?"

"No! Books!" Romain Rolland frowned, feeling a little tired of communicating with the receptionist.

The receptionist raised her eyes, pulled out several books from the bookshelf, and introduced them.

"Do you want Swann's Love, Night Flight, or something else? We've already agreed that we don't sell Romain Rolland's works."

Romain Rolland was a little speechless, and he spoke directly.

"Give me a copy of The Country Teacher."

"This is a perfect choice." Not surprisingly, the receptionist took out a beautifully bound book from another drawer and placed it on the table.

“This is an amazing work. It is almost out of stock in Paris. You are lucky to be able to buy it from us.
You can buy it for just 30 francs.”

It seemed that no one had been seen at the front desk for a long time, and the incessant chattering made Romain Rolland a little annoyed.

He took out the money and slapped it on the table, then immediately left with the book.

Looking at the customers fleeing down the stairs like the wind, the receptionist couldn't help but sigh.

"What a humorless guy!"

After finally getting rid of the "chatty" front desk clerk's sales pitch and returning to his room, Romain Rolland put the newspaper and the work together and began to read them attentively.

“Is this really Bao’s work?”

Romain Rolland stared at the exquisite book, and after reading some of its contents, he even doubted his own eyes.

On the one hand, he had never read Bao Guowei's science fiction works, and on the other hand, why was this science fiction work so strange?
It looked more like some kind of pirated book, combining two works under the name of a famous author.

Romain Rolland had naturally seen many pirated books of this kind, so he was worried in his heart.

Thirty francs is not a small sum.

Romain Rolland can be said to be a loyal reader of Bao Guowei.

From "To Live" to "Guns, Germs, and Steel" to the recent "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword", he has read almost every book.

But this book "Rural Teacher".
No matter how you think about it, it doesn't match the previous works of this literary giant~
This is also the reason why Romain Rolland wanted to see this work so much.

In his eyes, nothing is more important than reading the works of a good writer.

What's more, this is a talented writer who has almost no defective works and all of his books are excellent!
“I like this style of storytelling.”

After seeing the concise, clear and poetic narrative style in the novel, Romain Rolland couldn't help but sigh.

At this moment, he became extremely serious.

It was extremely cold in the room. Romain Rolland even forgot to turn on the heating. After his fingers were frozen, he kept blowing on them. But even so, it could not stop his enthusiasm for reading.

Gradually, as the perspective of the novel continued to change, Romain Rolland moved away from the rural world that made him feel a little uneasy and came to the vast universe.

Various different science fiction concepts appeared before his eyes.

But unlike his usual reading, these science fiction concepts were something he could understand.

As the perspective continued to change, Romain Rolland felt an unprecedented reading experience.

He thought of Beethoven and the time when he was writing "The Life of Beethoven".

The music of "Symphony of Fate" seems to ring in my ears!

Through music, Beethoven demonstrated the human spirit of perseverance and courageous struggle under the heavy pressure of fate.

In "Rural Teacher", the "teacher" is in a remote village, facing numerous difficulties, but still stubbornly imparts knowledge to the children. Isn't this a kind of struggle against fate? ! !
Romain Rolland felt the dramatic changes in rhythm and melody in the "Symphony of Fate", the intense beginning, the soothing contemplation in the middle, and the passionate victory at the end!
There are ten thousand kinds of Hamlets for ten thousand people. In Romain Rolland's eyes, this is the "Symphony of Fate" in the novel world!
Until the end, the children used the knowledge they learned to save the earth.

From the countryside to the universe, from backwardness to high-tech, from children to aliens.
This strong contrast created an extremely shocking impact for Romain Rolland.

By the time Romain Rolland finished reading the last word, the room was almost pitch dark.

He managed to finish reading the novel with the help of the light outside the window.

Even though his hands and feet were frozen, his stomach was rumbling, and his eyes were dry from reading for so long, it still couldn't stop the passion that was surging in Romain Rolland's heart.

“This is a.”

Romain Rolland had not yet finished his sigh when he heard a knock on the door.

"Sir! Sir! Please open the door! Do you need food? Please don't be depressed, this world is still beautiful! Sir, if you don't answer me, I will kick the door."

That was the front desk shouting anxiously.

Apparently it had been a while.

It seems that there are quite a few people committing suicide in Paris these days, so the front desk is so worried.

In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding, Romain Rolland hurried forward to open the door.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw the nervous expression of the receptionist.

"Sir, are you okay? I'm glad you're okay! I'm glad you're okay!"

"I'm fine." Romain Rolland smiled, and even in the darkness one could still feel his genuine happiness.

Then, Romain Rolland suddenly stretched out a hand and said to the front desk clerk in front of him.

"Thank you, sir, for recommending me an incredible work!"

(End of this chapter)