Reborn Cultural Empire

There is no ambiguous atmosphere as imagined, nor endless crowds, gentlemen in black suits and ladies in off-the-shoulder dresses, no toasting red wine, and no deep and soothing violin and piano accompaniment. A literary salon held in a hundred-year-old castle might as well be an underground secret meeting of a scientific cult. Well, perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it a gathering of saints. After all, the expressions of the participants are serious, not That mania.

And in this kind of somewhat solemn occasion, Yang Yi unconsciously remembered that Ji Tangdan once took him to the gathering of the Yuezhou Writers Association, which was also a writers' pen club, but in China, in many places. In an atmosphere of casual ears, it is unavoidable to be a bit utilitarian, especially the newcomers in the writing circle, who are either arrogant or arrogant, or under the seemingly self-effacing and amiable expression, they hide the groveling that is visible to the naked eye .Of course, Yang Yi also knew that he had not participated in many pen meetings, so he did not make a final conclusion, but in short, once some impressions were left, it was not easy to get rid of them.

When Yang Yi was a little distracted, in the castle hall, near the side of the closet, there was a man wearing round glasses, with a very rigid expression, but when he spoke, he could burst out from his dull pupils. The passionate middle-aged man is giving a loud and impassioned speech: "Yes, this is my opinion. In my opinion, Mr. Glass's "Peeling the Onion" has enough sincerity, that is Confession, please remember the words of the African Archbishop Dismond Tutu - we can only forgive what we know, and reconciliation without forgiveness is impossible! Do we all want to face an old man who faces the cruel process in his heart? Criticism instead of due understanding and encouragement? Yes. Some people do hope that when they accuse and shout, they can awaken the soul of the sinner. But please remember that once the power other than your own heart intervenes. Confession is no longer confession, but confession!"

More than 30 people were invited, some of them are well-known and famous writers in the European literary circle, some of them are young literary talents who have just risen but have already attracted the attention of many people, and there are also reputable literary critics, or speeches from national literary institutions in some countries. people, chairman.Including Yang Yi, there are a total of five people who have won the Booker Prize, and they have already won the Goncourt Prize.Or authors who have been nominated, there are even more, accounting for almost half of the number of authors participating in the party, and there is even one, the Portuguese writer Toze Salama who won the Nobel Prize for Literature last year.

Yang Yi couldn't help but come up with an evil idea, if something happened to this century-old castle, tomorrow's newspaper would definitely be out of stock?The entire European and American literary world must be in mourning.

And now, the author who is giving a speech, the question mentioned is about the German writer Grass.Regarding my memories of the history of the SS in World War II, the name of the memoir is "Peeling the Onion", which is an extremely clear and accurate summary, and only this kind of spicy food.Only when it is dissected layer by layer, will it exude a factor that makes people burst into tears.And once this memoir was released, it triggered a turbulent wave that should be said to be expected.People don't have to ask what the nature of that army is, and they don't have to go into detail one by one after he became a member of this army.Have you ever done those outrageous things, just joined the SS.And hiding that fact for 60 years is enough to justify any criticism of him.

But in the huge wave of public opinion, there are of course those who defend him, just like the one in front of him, it seems that as long as there are literati, he can always make the originally simple problems extremely complicated.

Yang Yi didn't know if he was a literati, maybe from the point of view of certain attributes, he was more inclined to be a businessman, but he was also a businessman with dreams.He could understand the conversations of these writers at the salon, but aside from his love for literature itself, young people are not very interested in arguing about such things, so at this moment he is more listening than listening. Get involved in an argument that has nothing to do with you.

Fortunately, this discussion did not last long. Soon, after the public topic ended, it became a discussion in small circles in twos and threes. When he was a little bored, an old man suddenly walked by, unlike those Like a young writer or a very few literary agents, he does not have any wine glasses in his hand, but only a stack of similar documents.This kind of attire, under the dark suits and empty-handed attire of everyone, is particularly eye-catching, but no one ignores or ridicules him in their hearts because of his status is too prominent ——Honorary professor of the French National Academy of Letters, vice-president of the Paris Normal School, dean of the Ulm Road College... This series of dazzling positions makes this old man named Juyon Foucault, even in this current The place where literary stars gather is so dazzling.

Institut Normale Supérieure, a school whose name does not sound very good, has in fact always been a famous university occupying the top three positions in France. , the decline in the overall education level in France, and the fact that Citigroup has been ranked first in the world all year round, and the rankings of all universities, middle schools and primary schools in that country are very high, which makes Paris Normal University not very popular in China. known.But anyone who knows a little bit about the situation will know that this school is the only institution of higher learning in France that integrates scientific research, culture and education. The School of Humanities and Languages ​​in it are not even worse than the specialized schools in Oxford and Cambridge.Therefore, in the case that French universities are almost all focused on science, the Paris Normal University has become a holy place for domestic literary youths, and there is no one.

But Yang Yi didn't know why he came to him, it was just out of the junior's respect for the elders, so he immediately tidied up his appearance and looked at Juyong Foucault politely.

"It seems that you are not nervous, cute boy." The old man nodded with a smile, and did not extend his hand to greet like ordinary people.Instead, after tilting his head to indicate the seat beside him, he and the boy sat on the sofa together.Only then did he begin to explain why he came here: "You know, I have been following you since half a year ago. To be precise, I should be the first reader to pay attention to your book "Stone". My boss at Random House My friend, Ms. Bradji Emma, ​​the head of the copyright affairs department, specially recommended this book to me before it was published, and I read it very carefully. I have to say, it is very good novel."

"Thank you for your compliment, in front of your grand approval. I only hope that the inspiration will not abandon me, but will allow me to write more and better works." Yang Yi didn't get it Before knowing the purpose of this gentleman's visit, he was quite careful in dealing with it.

"Haha, a cute little thing like inspiration will only hide when she is unhappy, and will never abandon you. And, according to my personal understanding, you are a hardworking young man, aren't you? "Juyon Foucault blinked, and then handed over the stack of documents in his hand: "Look. Here are all your works, as well as the relevant analysis of the works. I never thought that a best-selling author would To become a great writer, but as long as this kind of people observe the society more, think more about life, and have more understanding of fate, then each of them may change in a great direction. Okay, I admit My words are a bit too much. But in fact, the reason I say so much. I want to see a talent rising, not just a shooting star."

Yang Yi is so sweaty.I do have some talent in writing, but given the huge population base in the country, this kind of talent is not too surprising, at most it is first-class, not top-level.The achievements he has achieved now are just because he has kept in mind the painstaking efforts of those predecessors.Therefore, Yang Yi has never felt guilty and ashamed about his plagiarism like at this moment.

If one day, I can use my own work to gain the recognition of these people...

There must be such a day.

The fierce inner struggle was not directly reflected on the young man's face. After all, he was also a reborn character, and such a small skill could still be mastered.

After an embarrassed smile, Yang Yi shook his head: "You are being serious, maybe the me now is not worthy of your expectations, but I promise, I will not give up because of some small achievements now. I am so proud and complacent that I am hesitant to move forward. And I will keep your teachings firmly in my heart, but I can’t even guarantee what the future will look like.”

Yes, the reborn knows the future. If he follows the steps step by step, he can even clearly understand everyone's life trajectory, but rebirth requires changes. Under the flapping of his little butterfly's wings, some things are closely related to him. The fate of a person has changed, and even his own future has become unpredictable.

"Persistence is the greatest victory." Juyong Foucault gave a word of encouragement, and then he began to get into the real topic: "The reason why I came to you now is because I have a small suggestion, or something out of it." For my own selfish consideration, I hope you can listen to it, as for the final result, it depends on your own wishes."

"All ears." Yang nodded.

……

"You can serve tea now, but please keep in mind that your every move represents the honor of Azalina Castle and the Duamel family at this moment, so please be careful." The butler in the tuxedo said in the spacious The chef of the castle confessed very seriously that it is not 700 years ago, the era when the nobles were prosperous, and the servants in the family started to serve the master of the castle since they were young, because considering that the whole family did not People live here permanently, but because they only use the Elsaline Castle as a palace, so the servants of the entire castle add up, and only those servants in the manor signed a contract with the Duamel family. For those who have signed a long-term labor contract, as for the manpower to serve, they are often temporarily dispatched by the labor service company before the banquet in the ancient castle.

Therefore, in the face of this five-year literary event, the man who is the lifelong housekeeper of the Duamel family has to do this kind of thing himself, quietly thinking about the behavior of each service staff. (To be continued..)