The literary era since 1979

December 4, Yanjing Railway Station.

As soon as Yang Xiao received Fangyan's letter, he and Yao Haijun immediately rushed from Chengdu to Yanjing as quickly as possible.

Unexpectedly, General Fang came to greet them in person, especially by car.

Men love cars. When Yao Haijun saw the Citroen CX20, his eyes widened. "Teacher Fang, is this your car?"

Fang Yan smiled and nodded, "Please put all your luggage in the trunk."

Yao Haijun and Yang Xiao looked at each other in surprise. There had been rumors in the literary world that Teacher Fang was a "rich man", but they didn't expect him to be so rich!

Fangyan sat in the driver's seat and asked, "Science Fiction World has already published two issues. What's the situation now?"

"Okay! Great!"

Yang Xiao was very excited. "Our magazine and publishing house were able to come back to life thanks to you, Mr. Fang."

Fangyan inserted the key and said, "It looks like the results are good. How many copies of the magazine have been sold?"

"The average monthly volume is 41, and the number is still increasing."

Yao Haijun's face was filled with excitement. Even a radical like him could not believe that the magazine's sales had skyrocketed nearly 600 times from an average of 700 copies per month before the name change. Even radicals felt that they were too conservative.

"Not bad, not bad. After two issues, we have returned to the average sales level of Science Fiction Literature."

Fangyan congratulated while driving.

"This is all thanks to Mr. Fang. If it weren't for your serialization of The Ring, Science Fiction World wouldn't be what it is today!"

Yang Xiao's tone was full of gratitude.

"Yes, I often tell people in the editorial department that it is Mr. Fang's pen that supports half of the science fiction literature!"

"One person is worth thousands of troops!"

"..."

Yao Haijun praised him without hesitation.

Fang Yan shook his head and laughed, "That's an exaggeration. Science fiction cannot be created by just one person. It requires thousands and thousands of science fiction writers."

"You are right!"

Yang Xiao frowned and expressed his concerns.

At present, the sales of "Science Fiction World" are all supported by "The Ring". If one day "The Ring" is completed and there is no work comparable to "The Ring" to replace it, the sales of the magazine may drop again and no one will be interested in it again.

“What about other science fiction writers?”

Fangyan then asked about the source of the manuscripts for Science Fiction World.

Yang Xiao said that many veteran writers like Ye Yonglie have chosen to return to science fiction literature, but the quality of their manuscripts is hard to describe.

Fangyan asked: "Are there no young faces or fresh blood?"

"Yes, but not much. I brought all their works with me."

Yao Haijun said, "I'll ask Teacher Fang to help me pick out some writers and novels later."

Fangyan did not refuse, and couldn't help wondering in his heart, would there be any works by Liu Cixin?
…………

Once we arrived at the guesthouse and put our luggage away, there was still an hour until 5 o'clock.

During this time, Yao Haijun finally got the long-awaited new work of Mr. Fang and took a closer look:
"AI".

Yang Xiao also saw this term for the first time, and he just felt it was new. "Teacher Fang, what is artificial intelligence?"

"This question is a bit broad and complicated. It's not easy to explain 'artificial intelligence' in just a few words."

Fangyan gave them a mysterious smile and asked them to read the novel first.

Yao Haijun took out a thick stack of manuscript paper from his bag. "Teacher Fang, these are the manuscripts we received this month. Please take a look."

After Fang Yan took it, he flipped through it and found "Descendants of the God of War" and "Journey to the Dragon Palace"...

Looking around, most of the novels that appear to be science fiction are actually pseudo-science fiction or even fantasy novels. The works that can truly be considered science fiction literature can be counted on one hand, and among them is a manuscript called "The Collapse of the Universe".

As soon as you look at the author, "Xinjun", you know it is a pen name.

Looking at the protagonist of the novel, he is a physicist, "Ding Yi", who has the same name as "Ding Yi" in "The Three-Body Problem" and "Ball Lightning".

Could it be that the “new bacteria” is Liu Cixin?
With this idea in mind, I read the book from beginning to end. It is not long, but the content is quite complex and profound.

It says that after physicist Ding Yi created the unified field theory, he accurately confirmed that the universe, which had been expanding for 200 billion years, gradually stopped under the influence of gravity, and then gathered everything in the universe again and began to collapse, and time also collapsed with it.

That is, time flows backwards, just like a movie replay, people walk backwards, broken hearts are reunited, people come back to life...

After seeing the ending of the novel, Fangyan became even more certain that it was written by Liu Cixin. The ending is exactly the same as that of "The Three-Body Problem 3: Death Resurrection", that is, the universe needs to be restarted, and all the small universes need to return matter to the big universe.

Perhaps the biggest difference is that Cheng Xin secretly hid 5 kilograms of her real mass and raised a goldfish.

Sure enough, the saying “Kill the Virgin Mary first in troubled times” is definitely not without reason!

Seeing Teacher Fang's mouth corners sometimes raised up, sometimes pulled down, Yang Xiao said anxiously:

"Teacher Fang, what do you think of this novel?"

“The writing style is a bit rough and awkward, and it seems like the work of a novice, but the imagination contained in it is big enough, and the world view is also very hardcore.”

The dialect is amazing.

Yang Xiao was surprised, "Imagination?"

Fangyan explained it succinctly, "This person is a good seedling for science fiction literature and must be cultivated well."

Yang Xiao silently took note of it, "Then Teacher Fang, what does 'hardcore' mean?"

"Science fiction literature can be divided into three categories: 'hard science fiction', 'soft science fiction' and 'pseudo science fiction'."

Fangyan raised his first finger. "For hard science fiction, the emphasis is on 'scientificity'. It must be based on science and technology, with existing science as the theoretical foundation, and must rigorously predict the future development path to describe the impact of new science and technology on the future world."

Then he raised his second finger, "Soft science fiction is more relaxed, like The Ring, the subject matter and plot tend to be social, political, psychological, philosophical, historical and other issues, and it mainly uses science fiction to promote the development of the plot."

"As for pseudo-science fiction, it is a concept created out of thin air without any scientific basis and logic."

"For example, super powers, special abilities..."

"Just like Superman?" Yang Xiao said with sudden enlightenment.

"That's right!"

Fangyan nodded. Basically, all superhero movies like those from DC and Marvel are pseudo science fiction movies.

Yao Haijun retracted his gaze and asked, "Then Mr. Fang, is your work "Artificial Intelligence" considered soft science fiction?"

Fang Yan said: "Although it involves theories such as the 'uncanny valley', it is essentially a soft science fiction novel, mainly discussing the differences between robots and humans, whether robots can have human emotions, society's attitude and actions towards artificial intelligence, etc."

Yang Xiao couldn't help but sigh that this subject matter and story are indeed suitable for young people and children.

"Many of the science fiction elements in it are also quite hardcore, such as mobile phones, the Internet, companion robots..."

Yao Haijun said: "I think the wonderful ideas in Mr. Fang's manuscript are enough for others to write more than ten novels."

Yang Xiao found it hard to disagree, "Of course not, this is just like The Ring, both are world-class science fiction novels!"

Fang Yan raised his eyebrows and said, "The more you praise me, the more I feel something is wrong."

Yao Haijun smiled and rubbed his hands. "Teacher Fang, could you write an article about the concepts of 'hard science fiction', 'pseudo science fiction' and 'soft science fiction' that you just mentioned, and let us publish it in the May issue of Science Fiction World?"

"What Lao Yao said is exactly what I wanted to say." Yang Xiao said, "Teacher Fang, we hope to enable more writers and readers to have a more thorough understanding of science fiction literature."

"Please, Teacher Fang!"

Faced with the repeated requests from the two, Fang Yan pondered for a moment.

At this moment, gurgling sounds came from Yao Haijun's stomach, one after another.

"Hahaha, it's almost time for dinner. I'll take you to Yili Fast Food Restaurant."

Fangyan waved his hand and said, "Let's eat and talk at the same time."

…………

Yili Fast Food Restaurant is the first Western fast food restaurant in Yanjing. It opened not long ago at the west entrance of Xiruoxian Hutong in Xidan.

Even the leaders of Yanjing personally cut the ribbon for the fast food restaurant.

Since the first day of business, the restaurant has been packed with customers almost every day, with long queues, huge crowds of people and every seat taken.

The majority of people who came were intellectuals, and there was music, Western food, and gorgeous lights, all of which were the most fashionable things at the time.

It was the first time for Yang Xiao and Yao Haijun to see it. They felt it was very new and looked around. It was really an eye-opener.

Especially after seeing other customers wash their hands, there is a hot air blower next to the sink, which can dry their hands in less than 1 minute.

"This is my first time eating Western fast food." Yao Haijun looked like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.

There was a menu hanging behind the counter, listing dozens of dishes including red stewed mud sausage rice, vegetable salad, hamburgers, ham sandwiches, etc.

Fangyan washed his hands and said, "Let's just make do with it tonight and eat something simple, just a fast food meal."

Yang Xiao took a deep breath when he saw the price list. "Teacher Fang, this price..."

"I'll pay for this meal tonight."

Fangyan still remembers the warm hospitality given to him by the editorial department of Science Fiction World when he was in Chengdu.

"Well, that cost Teacher Fang a lot of money."

Yao Haijun was holding a tray with all the things placed on it. The cups, spoons and straws were all disposable.

Seeing the waiter operating the computer quickly and accurately, Yang Xiao's eyes lit up, "Teacher Fang, is this the 'computer' in your book?"

"The ones in the books are definitely more advanced and avant-garde than this."

Fang Yan carried the tray and led the two of them to a place that had just been cleaned and sat down.

While eating, Yang Xiao said, "Teacher Fang, I don't know what we just said..."

"A brief discussion on the classification of science fiction literature, right?"

After careful consideration, Fangyan finally agreed.

"Teacher Fang, I salute you!"

Yao Haijun was overjoyed and immediately picked up the cup and drank Coke instead of wine.

Fangyan took a sip of Coke and couldn't help thinking about the Coca-Cola shares he had been increasing his holdings.

Yang Xiao tasted it carefully, "Is this the taste of Coke?"

Fang Yan smiled and said, "How do you feel? Which is better, Tianfu Cola or Coca-Cola?"

"Tianfu Cola is not as sweet, but it is more refreshing and has a medicinal effect."

Yang Xiao said: "Drinking it is good for the human body."

When Fangyan heard the word "soft drink that is good for the human body", the name "Jianlibao" flashed through his mind.

Afterwards, the three of them started talking about "Artificial Intelligence" and then talked about the advertising placement in "Science Fiction World".

Fang Yan smiled and said, "The magazine is obviously a best-seller, so why is your publishing house so short of money?"

"To be honest, Mr. Fang, we were in a financial crisis before. We had tens of thousands of yuan on the books at that time, but the publishing house was actually in debt of more than 300,000 yuan, especially the debt to the printing factory, which has not been paid off yet."

Yao Haijun sighed, "Fortunately, we made a lot of money in these two issues, otherwise the publishing house would have gone bankrupt."

Fang Yan asked: "What would you have done if I hadn't been there?"

Yang Xiao said: "We have indeed discussed this and are planning to launch another children's book."

Fangyan raised his eyebrows, greatly surprised.

Yang Xiao said that nowadays many publishing houses and literary journals have adjusted their purpose of publishing and transformed into popular literature journals, so he planned to follow suit and publish a popular science book for children, and then all the editorial staff would ride tricycles to the streets and alleys to sell the books along the way.

"So do you have any plans to start a new publication?"

Dialect looks left and right.

"A new publication?"

Yao Haijun stopped eating and looked at Yang Xiao in surprise.

"Yes, for example, there are magazines focusing on mystery themes, and there are also miscellaneous magazines aimed at young people, which contain various types of stories."

Fang Yan said: "Just like "Story Club" and "Story King".

Yao Haijun slapped his thigh and said, "The children's book we wanted to publish at that time should be comparable to "Story Club" and "Story King"!"

"I would like to ask your publishing house for a favor."

Fangyan crossed his hands and looked serious.

Yao Haijun said: "If you have anything to say, just let me know."

Fangyan talked about the cooperation plan with Science Fiction World Publishing House, emphasizing the establishment of a special publication.

Yang Xiao and Yao Haijun were so shocked that they were unable to react for a moment.

"Teacher Fang, are you going to go into the sea too?"

"Cough cough!"

Fangyan coughed and said, "What do you mean by going into the sea? I am a serious person, why would I go into the sea?"

Then, he gave his reasons with some reservations: With the rise of Chinese mystery literature, it is our responsibility to take the lead!

Yang Xiao suddenly realized, "So Teacher Fang wants to promote mystery literature across the country."

"Our Chinese mystery novels are still at the stage of public case novels. We must take it to the next level."

Fang Yan said: "In the current crackdown situation, we need more mystery crime novels to support the propaganda."

Yao Haijun said embarrassedly: "But we are not good at mystery novels."

Fangyan vowed that the editorial department only needed to be responsible for general publishing work, and he would be responsible for the contributors to this special issue.

"Are you alone?"

"You don't want to take care of the content of an entire magazine by yourself, do you?!"

The two were shocked again. If someone else had asked one person to run a magazine, they would have thought that person was either crazy or stupid.

But if it was the man in front of me, that would be a different story.

Because with General Fang's creative ability, he is really just a person with a pen, which is equivalent to an army of thousands of horses! (End of this chapter)