The literary era since 1979

Chapter 332: Heaven Does Not Give Birth to Dialects
March 3th, Chengdu.

During the days when Wang Fulin and others were looking for the stone, Fang Yan was alone and busy visiting major publishing houses in Sichuan.

With the help of the editorial department of Sichuan Literature and with the consent of Mr. Ma Shi Tu, the two finally paid a visit.

Along the way, you can see people sitting on benches and playing cards in the alleys. It is not noisy, but comfortable and peaceful.

Fangyan, carrying gifts in both hands and a briefcase under his arm, walked shoulder to shoulder with Zhu Lin to the courtyard with green tiles and gray walls.

You can see the high eaves and carved window edges, which are quite typical features of western Sichuan architecture.

"Dong dong dong."

Zhu Lin knocked on the door, and soon a white-haired old man with a cane opened the door.

"Hello, Mr. Ma."

Fangyan bowed politely and greeted Ma Shi Tu, who had a slightly hunched back.

"You are Mr. Mao's disciple, Fang Yan, right?"

Ma Shi Tu looked him up and down, then cast a scrutinizing look at Zhu Lin.

Zhu Lin introduced himself, "Mr. Ma, I am an actor from Emei Film Studio..."

Ma Shi Tu looked at them for a few more times, then invited them into the house, and said as they walked:

"I have read a lot of your novels, and my favorites are "Insidious" and "Dark War"."

"Mr. Ma also likes this kind of spy novels?"

Fangyan pretended to be ignorant even though he knew the truth. The person in front of him was a senior underground worker, and being a writer was just a side job for him.

"When I was young, I was also a 'Yu Zecheng'."

Ma Shi Tu recalled the past, "In order to work more safely, I often had to change my clothes. The front and back of my hat and coat were different colors, so I could wear them the other way around in an emergency... When the great man came to Shancheng for negotiations, I was also one of the responsible persons!"

Awesome Glass!
Fang Yan and Zhu Lin looked at each other in awe.

"With courage comes strategy, with strategy comes law, with law we can turn danger into safety." Ma Shi Tu smiled, turned around and asked his daughter Ma Wanmei to make tea.

Zhu Lin volunteered, "Mr. Ma, I'll go and help."

"Sit down, sit down. You are a guest. How can I let you do that?"

Ma Shi Tu shook his head and waved his hands, then looked at the gift in Fang Yan's hand with a reproachful look, "You're here, what else do you want to bring?"

"A small gift is not respectful."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "This one is from my heart, and the other one is entrusted by someone."

As he spoke, he took out a sample issue of Science Fiction World from his briefcase and handed it over. "Do you still remember Science Fiction Literature?"

"How could I not remember? I wrote the inaugural article for Science Fiction Literature and Art."

Ma Shi Tu recalled carefully, "It should be called "Blessing the Combination of Science and Literature"."

"You have a good memory!"

Fangyan said: "You said in your article that without fantasy, great literary works cannot be born, and without fantasy, great scientific inventions cannot come into being. Therefore, science fiction creation is the combination of science and literature, and its development prospects are unlimited."

As soon as these words came out, the distance between them was shortened. Ma Shi Tu was quite pleased and said, "Did the comrades from the editorial department of Science Fiction Literature and Art tell you?"

Fangyan nodded and said that it was the editor-in-chief Yang Xiao who said it himself.

"Yang Xiao?"

Ma Shi Tu looked confused. He didn't expect that the editor-in-chief of "Science Fiction Literature and Art" had been replaced.

What is even more unexpected is that the name of the magazine in front of me is no longer "Science Fiction Literature and Art", but has been changed to "Science Fiction World".

"You must be aware that 'spiritual pollution' has had a significant impact on science fiction literature, and many science fiction magazines have been shut down."

Fang Yan said: "The building is about to collapse, and Editor-in-Chief Yang was appointed in a critical moment. In order to survive and develop, he has to make some reforms."

"Things change all the time. I didn't expect that after a movement, only one in ten science fiction magazines would survive."

Ma Shi Tu understood very well, "Science fiction, what is the current situation of the science fiction world?"

"Make a fresh start and start over."

Fangyan told the truth, especially about the series of plans made by himself and the editorial department of Science Fiction World.

From "establishing the Galaxy Prize" to "applying to host the World Science Fiction Conference", everything was said without hiding anything.

"Okay! Okay!"

Ma Shi Tu slapped his thigh and praised highly.

Mr. Mao has accepted a good disciple!
Watching Fangyan being praised and encouraged, Zhu Lin smiled without saying a word. Even though he couldn't say a word, he didn't feel bored at all.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Ma Shi Tu smiled knowingly.

Fang Yan said, "I really can't hide anything from you, Mr. Ma. In fact, Chief Editor Yang and I do have an unwelcome request. That is, can we set up a science fiction literature committee under the name of the Sichuan Writers Association?"

Ma Shi Tu was very surprised and asked about the purpose of establishing the Science Fiction Literature Committee.

Fang Yan said: "If there is such a science fiction literature committee, it will not only restore the confidence of science fiction writers, but also with this official status, it will be easier to compete with other countries for the right to host the World Science Fiction Convention in the future."

Having said that, Ma Wanmei came over with a teapot and poured tea for the three of them.

Ma Shi Tu encouraged: "Xiao Fang, go on."

Fang Yan said, "Moreover, at the beginning of the year, the 'Notice on the Implementation of Self-Financing for Periodical Publishing' was issued. Without subsidies, publishers will definitely move closer to popular literature in order to earn funds, publishing martial arts, romance, mystery, military and other themes to attract readers."

He blew on the tea and said, "In this situation of vigorous vitality and development, how can science fiction be absent?"

"I understand what you mean."

Ma Shi Tu looked serious and promised to discuss the issue with other people from the Sichuan Writers Association.

Fang Yan said: "That's great. If the comrades from Science Fiction World knew this good news, they would definitely be excited."

"What about you? Let's talk about you."

Ma Shi Tu casually flipped through the magazine and saw the serial "The Ring" on the front page.

Fang Yan said: "This is a novel I published in Japan, and the response was very good."

"Really!"

Ma Shi Tu was surprised and said, "But you should know that if we want to revive science fiction literature, it is far from enough to rely on just one or two novels. We must have more science fiction works and science fiction writers who continue to create, otherwise everything will be in vain."

"Teacher Fang has been conceiving a new science fiction novel recently."

Zhu Lin replied that this novel would be a work for all ages, especially for teenagers and children.

"What is this novel about?"

Ma Shi Tu was more and more surprised and cast an inquiring look.

"It's just a preliminary idea at the moment. I want to include artificial intelligence, computer revolution, the Internet, big data, etc." Fang Yan said, "as well as renewable energy and new energy vehicles."

Ma Shi Tu was very interested in these new words.

Especially, the concept of "new energy vehicles".

Fang Yan said: "Compared to catching up with the automobile industry that has been leading in Europe and the United States for many years, it is better to directly seize the initiative in the emerging new energy vehicle field. Combined with artificial intelligence, I believe there is great potential. We will definitely be able to overtake others and achieve leapfrog development. Perhaps we can directly skip the blockade and restrictions of Western fuel vehicles..."

After taking a sip of tea, he said, "I hope this work can help more children plant the seeds of their dreams for artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, and chips and semiconductors. Maybe one day in the future, these children will accomplish these things themselves and make them bear fruit."

"The more you say that, the more I look forward to this work!"

Ma Shi Tu’s eyes lit up.

Fang Yan said: "I'm afraid it will take some time. You can watch the movie "The Ring" first."

Ma Shi Tu's eyes were full of admiration, and then he talked about the recent developments of Sichuan literature, and couldn't help but sigh that there were signs of decline.

After all, Sichuan has always been known for its reputation of "literary masters have come from Sichuan since ancient times" and "Shu women have been beautiful and talented since ancient times".

It’s a pity that in today’s literary world, the Sichuan Army’s presence is getting smaller and smaller. Not to mention the Imperial Guards, they are even inferior to the Guangdong Army, which is currently in its heyday.

In my impression of dialect, the only song I remember is "Dust Settles" by Alai.

"This is also what I am most worried about. There is a lack of successors."

Ma Shi Tu shook his head helplessly. It would be great if General Fang was just a "young general" of the Sichuan Army, or even just a "son-in-law".

Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, Fangyan changed the subject and said, "I'm here for one thing. Do you want to tell me, or should I?"

"I'll do it."

Zhu Lin understood what he meant and said that he represented the Emei Film Studio and hoped to adapt one of his novels into a movie.

Ma Shi Tu was very interested. "Which novel?"

"The Story of Stealing an Official from the Ten Tales of the Night."

Zhu Lin glanced at Fang Yan and saw him secretly waving his hand, his eyes seemed to hint at him not to say that it was his idea.

Ma Shi Tu's eyes lit up, "I didn't expect that your Emei Film Studio has such a unique vision!"

Fangyan showed a mysterious smile. The only pity was that it couldn't be filmed into Jiang Wen's version of "Let the Bullets Fly".

It could only be filmed as "The Bandit County Magistrate", which is the old version of "Let the Bullets Fly", letting the "bullets" "fly" for 25 years first.

(End of this chapter)