A widower's entertainment

Chapter 373 [The True Mystery Is Unknowable] (Please Subscribe)

Although Cha Hai-sheng understood what Lin You-cheng meant when he said that characters like Gu Xiaomeng in "The Message" and Yu Ze-cheng in "Lurking" were both "whistleblowers," he still didn't understand why Lin You-cheng didn't publish the story after "Plot Against." Of course, as Cha Hai-sheng had heard, there were rumors that "Plot Against" would be banned. Although this news might only be a matter of censorship regarding Lin You-cheng's writing about the current covert front, it might still have an impact.

"So, we really won't be publishing for the time being?"

Cha Hai-sheng still asked one more question, unwilling to give up.

Lin Youcheng nodded, looked at Cha Haisheng, and said, "We will not publish it for now."

In fact, compared to reader Cha Haisheng, Zhang Wei, the editor of People's Literature magazine, would undoubtedly care more about the completion of the novel. However, he also knew that the stories of the listeners and watchers in Lin Youcheng's "The Conspiracy" were already quite complete. Even if the story of the wind catcher was missing, it would not affect the stories of the listeners and watchers. Just as Lin Youcheng said, "Lurking" and "The Message" are actually stories of wind catchers.

Zhang Wei looked at Lin Youcheng. He knew there were still some sensitive reasons, but he couldn't help but say, "I just don't know if readers will accept that the story of 'Plot Against' ends with Huang Yiyi's death."

When Lin Youcheng heard Zhang Wei's words, he knew that just like Cha Haisheng would come and ask about the story of the Wind Catcher, so he couldn't help but smile and say, "The Wind Listener and the Wind Watcher are independent and complete stories."

Lin Youcheng was well aware of this. Whether it was the original novel "The Plot" or the TV series version of "The Plot", each character's story was independent and complete.

Although Cha Haisheng knew that Lin Youcheng was right, he was still a little surprised. After all, he was very curious about what Lin Youcheng would write next after Huang Yiyi's wonderful novel, The Listener.

Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "I will not publish the Wind Catcher part of 'The Plot' for the time being, but that does not mean I will not write other Wind Catcher stories."

After all, besides Gu Xiaomeng in "The Message" and Yu Zecheng in "Lurking," there are other "whistleblowers"—

Like that comrade in "The Kite"...

Of course, Lin Youcheng was also well aware that some stories were still somewhat sensitive, which is why news of the ban on "Plot Against" had spread. In fact, just like the TV series "No Regrets" filmed in the 1990s, which tells the story of tracking spies after the establishment of the Communist Party of China in 1949, this TV series was also banned for ten years.

……

Although Lin Youcheng himself said he didn't plan to write the sequel to "Plot Against" for the time being, there's no doubt that the literary circle and readers don't know the real reason. Most people just think that the novel was really banned and there was no sequel, which naturally caused discussion in the literary circle.

"The latest issue of People's Literature magazine really doesn't have Lin Youcheng's 'The Plot.' Does that mean Lin Youcheng only wrote the part about the listener and the observer in 'The Plot'?"

In Beijing, many students in the Department of Literature at Yenching University are also readers of Lin Youcheng's novel, "The Plot." However, the latest issue of "People's Literature" magazine did not publish any follow-up content, which will surely lead to discussions among readers, and some may even write to the magazine to inquire.

"That's possible."

A student wearing glasses said, "I called the People's Literature magazine and they said that 'The Plot' has been published."

The other students nearby, upon hearing this, naturally understood that "The Plot" had truly come to an end.

"Why? It only mentions the Listener of the Wind and the Watcher of the Wind. Although the stories are complete and have endings, I'm really curious about the story of the Wind Catcher! I have a feeling that the story of 701 isn't over yet!"

"I'm also very curious; I wonder what other geniuses 701 has."

"I heard that it was banned because Lin Youcheng wrote a spy story set in the 1950s after the founding of the People's Republic of China. These things are sensitive, so it was banned directly. However, it seems that Lin Youcheng originally only intended to write about the listeners and watchers in his novel 'Plot Against,' because he had already written about the story of the wind catchers before. His previous works, 'The Message' and 'Lurking,' were about the story of the wind catchers."

"I don't know if it's really because of the ban, but Lin Youcheng's words about the story of the Wind Catcher are not wrong. His first two spy novels can actually be said to be about the story of the Wind Catcher."

"On the contrary, I think Lin Youcheng's 'The Conspiracy' may just be about the listener and the watcher. After all, the stories of A Bing and Huang Yiyi are both very exciting. They can even be regarded as two novels, 'The Listener' and 'The Watcher.' Lin Youcheng just put these two stories together."

……

Just like the discussions and exchanges among these student readers, many readers who have read "The Plot" have now written to the People's Literature magazine to find out whether there will be any more installments of "The Plot". Of course, readers know very well that there will be no more installments, because if there were, they would usually be serialized in the next issue, rather than being discontinued.

Even knowing this, these readers still wrote to the People's Literature magazine one after another, expressing their love and feelings for the two stories of Abing and Huang Yiyi in the beginning of "The Plot" and asking about the Wind Catcher in the end of Lin Youcheng's "The Plot". Of course, there were also readers who called directly to inquire, like the students of Yenching University.

"Director Zhang, these letters are all addressed to Lin Youcheng, and they all seem to be about the novel 'Plot Against'."

Hearing what the comrade in the mailroom said, Zhang Wei nodded. Clearly, his editor was also aware that many letters had recently come asking about "The Plot." Even though the ending of Huang Yiyi and A Bing's story in "The Plot" had been explained, readers still wrote to ask if there would be any other stories, especially the story of the Wind Catcher in 701.

Zhang Wei nodded and said, "I know. I will take these letters to Lin Youcheng later."

Hearing Zhang Wei's words, his colleague couldn't help but laugh and said, "Director Zhang, I bet Youcheng is receiving quite a few letters too. After all, so many people really want to know the stories of the other members of 701." Zhang Wei smiled and said, "There aren't any now, but it's good that Lin Youcheng at least explained Huang Yiyi's ending. If he had just written half of Huang Yiyi's story and then stopped there, I'm afraid he would have been constantly criticized by the readers."

This is something that editor Zhang Wei is very clear about. Even if Lin Youcheng doesn't write the story of the Wind Catcher after 701, it can be said that the story is over. But if Huang Yiyi's story is written halfway and then buried, then the readers will probably be really angry. After all, it's like watching a TV series. You watch episode after episode, and when it gets exciting, it suddenly stops. The key is that it's not a commercial break, but it's really over. The ending of the story is not explained. How can the audience accept this? They will curse and complain to the TV station.

After all, this has piqued the public's interest, and then suddenly it's cut off, leaving everyone anxiously wanting to know what happens next. But if that's the case, then the public will definitely throw rotten eggs at them and hurl endless insults.

The other editors couldn't help but laugh when they heard Zhang Wei's words.

Clearly, they all knew that Zhang Wei's words made a lot of sense.

In fact, while readers were eager to know the story of the Wind Catcher in Lin Youcheng's "The Plot," and were discussing it enthusiastically, critics also expressed their opinions. Even if they didn't know the truth, they would still publish some commentary articles based on what they had heard or read about "The Plot."

Just like the literary critic Zhang Hui, who previously praised Lin Youcheng's portrayal of Huang Yiyi in the magazine "Works and Debates" for being quite moving, he published another article saying: "The mysterious 701, perhaps the Wind Catcher is even more mysterious than episode 701."

"Lin Youcheng's *Plot Against* was originally different from his previous spy novels. This time, it seems to be a groundbreaking work, writing a new genre of spy fiction. Now it seems that Lin Youcheng's *Plot Against* only has the listeners and observers. As for the story of the 'wind hunters,' it should obviously be a story like *The Message* and *Lurking*. However, Lin Youcheng doesn't intend to write about the 'wind hunters,' because he has already written about them. Of course, what thrilling stories the 701 'wind hunters' will have in the 1950s, or even now, are all mysterious and unknowable. Therefore, Lin Youcheng may have deliberately avoided writing about the mysterious 701 'wind hunters.' This may be the real mystery, because no one knows where the 701 'wind hunters' are or what they are doing..."

……

Besides the magazine "Works and Debates", another literary critic in the magazine "Writers' Review" also expressed his opinion, writing: "Lin Youcheng's novel is titled 'Plot Against'. In addition to telling the story of the genius in 701 decoding, it also alludes to the plot against geniuses in 701. This may be the reason for the rumors of censorship. As for not writing about the Wind Catcher in the later part, it may be that Lin Youcheng, the author, never intended to write about the Wind Catcher in the first place. After all, the unknown is the most terrifying."

The unknown is the scariest thing!

Without a doubt, such a statement is also quite frightening.

In fact, literary critics are often best at analysis and interpretation, or rather, commentary and speculation. They especially try to analyze the author's thoughts and intentions when they see the blank spaces left unsaid by the author. Of course, more often than not, they express their own opinions. Such analysis and interpretation can, to some extent, make the story itself more complicated.

Just like there were two jujube trees in front of Lu Xun's house, one of them and the other was a jujube tree, and people wanted to analyze why this expression was used.

Now, literary critics are naturally analyzing why Lin Youcheng didn't write the story of the 701 Wind Catcher. Some critics believe that besides rumors of censorship within literary circles, the reason Lin Youcheng didn't write about the Wind Catcher is more likely because the Wind Catcher of 701 is mysterious, and not writing about it would only make readers more curious about the Wind Catcher of 701.

After all, even the Wind Listeners and Wind Watchers in 701 are such incredible geniuses, so what kind of incredible talent must the Wind Catchers have?
This sense of mystery is truly mysterious and unknowable, like chasing shadows, completely unfathomable, a dark and unknown place.

Undoubtedly, such interpretations by literary critics can, to some extent, make Lin Youcheng's "The Plot" even more turbulent and unpredictable. It is unclear whether the novel "The Plot" originally only had listeners and observers, or whether it was truly banned. In any case, now that the People's Literature magazine has stopped publishing the later part of "The Plot," readers are obviously discussing it even more enthusiastically.

Various interpretations have emerged, and some people accept the view that "The Plot" was originally only about those who listened to rumors and those who watched them.

The discussion was quite heated, and Lin Youcheng, the author, was clearly surprised by the comments from some literary critics.

Of course, at least it wasn't criticism or questioning. Lin Youcheng naturally wouldn't care about other interpretations or questions. Putting down the magazine in his hand, he couldn't help but say to Xie Shuhua, "It seems that not writing about 701's Wind Catcher has made this story even more mysterious."

Originally, Lin Youcheng thought he would be met with a barrage of criticism, but he also knew that this kind of break was not a break in the middle; the story was independent from the start.

Xie Shuhua understood Lin Youcheng's meaning. She had also read some of the reviews in the literary magazine and couldn't help but say, "Literary critics will naturally have their own opinions."

Lin Youcheng nodded.

Just as Lin Youcheng and Xie Shuhua were talking, Lin Zhaoxi came into the study and said, "Dad, our Chinese teacher wants me to ask you why there is no mention of the Wind Catcher in your novel 'The Plot'?"

Upon hearing Lin Zhaoxi's words, Lin Youcheng raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips. He glanced at Xie Shuhua and couldn't help but laugh.

In fact, many people have asked Lin Youcheng this question recently. Some even called directly to ask, while others, like Cha Haisheng, came to ask in person. However, it is rare for people to ask through someone else. It is clear that Lin Zhaoxi's Chinese teacher is also a person who enjoys reading literature, otherwise he would not have specifically asked Lin Zhaoxi to ask this question.

Lin Youcheng glanced at the articles in the literary magazine on the table and said, "You can tell your teacher that the Wind Catcher is mysterious, unknowable, and ineffable."

This interpretation seems really good.

The mysterious wind catcher is mysterious and unknowable, unspeakable, as if silence is required! Or perhaps such a wind catcher is silently present among the people, after all, the wind catcher is neither a listener nor a watcher of the wind, but needs to remain in that cage-like place, 701...

(End of this chapter)