Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 158 The best novel among chefs
Ordinary people in later generations always complained about adjusted holidays. Now there are no adjusted holidays, but there are indeed few holidays. National Day is the longest holiday in the year, but it only lasts three days, and the same goes for the Spring Festival.

During the National Day holiday, Lin Chaoyang did not go out to play, but was dragged by Tao Yushu to do a thorough cleaning of the house.

A popular phrase at this time is "Fighting Sunday".

There are seven days in a week, and only Sunday is a day off. We have to go to work on weekdays, and all the trivial matters in life are accumulated on Sunday.

For many people of this era, Sunday is a more tiring day than working.

The couple worked hard for the whole morning and finally managed to make the house look brand new.

Tao Yushu sat on the sofa to rest and couldn't help but complain about Tao Yumo who was not at home. He ate more than anyone else and disappeared when it was time to work.

Today, Tao Yumo ran out to play with her classmates early in the morning. After having a bicycle, her range of movement is much larger than before.

After lunch, the couple took a nap. After getting up, one read a book while the other wrote, enjoying themselves.

At around three o'clock, Li Tuo brought a guest to Lin Chaoyang's house.

Lin Chaoyang was no stranger to this guest, as they had met at the National Excellent Short Story Award Ceremony in March.

"Brother Jicai, long time no see."

Lin Chaoyang shook hands with Feng Jicai and greeted him warmly.

"It's good to be at home, it's good to be at home!" Li Tuo muttered, with a hint of relief in his words.

"Where else can I go if I'm not at home?" Lin Chaoyang asked with a smile.

"I'm afraid you'll go out to play during the National Day holiday!" Li Tuo explained, and then explained to Lin Chaoyang, "Big Feng came to Yanjing to revise his manuscript. He has only eaten in the cafeteria for more than half a month. Today I brought him to your place to have some meat."

"You treat me, and I bleed?"

Lin Chaoyang succinctly summarized Li Tuo's meaning, causing him and Feng Jicai to laugh.

"I just bought some vegetables." Li Tuo waved the vegetables in his hand towards Lin Chaoyang.

He added, "Besides, everyone knows you are rich. I heard from the people at Yanjing Literature and Art that The Wreath under the Mountain has sold more than two million copies, and you have made a lot of money from the royalties. We poor brothers are coming here to eat, but you can't chase us out, can you?"

After a few jokes, Tao Yushu poured a cup of tea for Li Tuo and Feng Jicai, and they started chatting.

Feng Jicai came to Yenching this time to write his latest novel, "The Magic Lamp", and handed the manuscript to Renwen Press.

He has a deep connection with Renwen Press. As early as 1977, Feng Jicai and Li Dingxing co-authored their first novel, "The Boxer Rebellion", which was favored by the leaders of Renwen Press and he was invited to Renwen Press to revise the manuscript.

At that time, secondment writing was popular. Feng Jicai stayed at Renwen Press for two years and only left Renwen Press last year.

Li Tuo and Feng Jicai met during the Fourth National Congress of Writers and Artists last year. Lin Chaoyang and Feng Jicai also met once, so they were no strangers to each other when they talked.

"Have you written any new works recently? Do you plan to continue writing stream of consciousness?" Li Tuo asked Lin Chaoyang.

"I'm still thinking about it, I haven't figured it out yet."

Feng Jicai said: "Your work "Lai Zi's Summer" is really well written. It is different from those foreign works in style, and it is also different from the works written by some of our writers, which have heavy traces of imitation. It has become its own style. I think you should really continue to write in this way."

Lin Chaoyang said with a smile: "I will definitely write if I can. But stream-of-consciousness literature is still not grounded enough. I will only write one more. If I keep writing this kind of thing, I will easily become out of touch with the masses."

Feng Jicai was somewhat surprised to hear his words. He did not have a close relationship with Lin Chaoyang and did not understand his consistent ideas.

At this time, Li Tuo laughed and said, "Jicai, you don't know, do you? Our goal in Chaoyang is to be a people's artist. The works we write must be both popular and elegant, so that intellectuals can applaud, and workers and farmers can also cheer!"

There was some praise in his words, but more of it was teasing.

Lin Chaoyang said with a relaxed expression: "People's Artist can be regarded as the ultimate goal and work towards this direction."

"Chaoyang has a good attitude."

Feng Jicai's eyes flashed with admiration. He had seen many of Lin Chaoyang's works and felt that he and Lin Chaoyang had some similarities in some aspects.

The underlying tone of Lin Chaoyang's works is always warm. He strives to bring positive energy to people and to tell stories to readers in a simple and easy-to-understand way, rather than pretending to be a profound and pretentious artist.

Feng Jicai himself always emphasizes that he is a "storyteller". He made his debut with Tianjin-style novels, and his language style and local characteristics are extremely strong. He can be said to be unique in the Chinese literary world.

The shared ideas made the communication between Lin Chaoyang and Feng Jicai smooth, and they even forgot about time.

When it was almost five o'clock, Li Tuo urged, "Stop talking now. I'm hungry. Let's cook. Da Feng is coming today. You have to show your best skills."

While Lin Chaoyang was cooking, Tao Yumo, who had been having fun outside all day, came back and started complaining about being hungry as soon as he entered the door.

"Oh, I'm starving!"

"You didn't feel hungry when you were playing outside, but you're hungry as soon as you come back?" Tao Yushu scolded.

When Tao Yumo saw that there were guests at home, he lowered his voice, but the excitement of going out for a trip was still there.

"Sister, let me tell you, I went to the Starry Sky Art Exhibition with them today. They had so many people there, it was so lively, and the influence was so huge."

The Stars Art Exhibition is an open-air art exhibition organized spontaneously by a group of young people, on the street outside the National Art Museum of China. Last year was the first year, with more than 150 works on display. Because there were several nude paintings among them, it caused a stir among the citizens of Yanjing.

Jia Pingwa published Wasted City in 93, and sold nearly million copies in one year just by virtue of the phrase "the author omitted XX words here". It is no surprise that several nude paintings at the Stars Art Exhibition sparked a heated discussion.

Tao Yumo excitedly recounted what he saw and heard at the Xingxing Art Exhibition during the day, and Feng Jicai asked curiously, "I also went to the exhibition yesterday."

Someone answered her question, and Tao Yumo became even more excited, asking, "How do you feel? Are you particularly shocked?"

Seeing her attitude, Feng Ji was hesitant to speak.

Lin Chaoyang saw Feng Jicai's embarrassment and asked, "What did you gain from the exhibition?"

"What did I gain..." Tao Yumo pondered for a long time before finally saying, "Western paintings are very avant-garde."

Lin Chaoyang shook his head and said nothing.

"Brother-in-law, are you not optimistic about the Stars Art Exhibition?" Tao Yumo asked.

"I didn't even go to see it, so how can I say whether it's good or not? I just think this phenomenon is not good." "Why is it not good?"

Tao Yumo was puzzled. According to her classmates, the Stars Art Exhibition was an important achievement of reform and opening up, and was the key to unlocking the conservative atmosphere in the country. It gave countless ordinary people the opportunity to get close to modern art, and it could be said to be the beginning of Chinese avant-garde art. Why did her brother-in-law seem to look down on it?
"How many of the works you saw today do you think have reached the level of professional painters?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

Tao Yumo hesitated for a moment, "How should I know? I'm not a fine arts major."

"Then how many people do you think are like you among those who go to see the paintings?"

Tao Yumo seemed to understand something, "Brother-in-law, what you mean is..."

“If we think from common sense, any art must first be a technique before it reaches a certain level.

I don't know how many of those painters have received long-term, professional training, and perhaps many of them are gifted.

But art is a profession that requires more than just talent, so I have reservations about the artistic level of most of the people and most of their works.

Let's talk about the exhibition itself. How many visitors really love art? How many are attracted by the gimmick? And how many are just following the crowd?

These works were exhibited openly and created such a big fanfare, but I have no idea how much real artistic value they have, or how much artistic appeal they can bring to the viewers.

But what I can be sure of is that there must be a lot of fiction and fabrication in it.

Some people’s so-called ‘art’ is nothing more than a misinformation gap. They only know the basics, but facing a group of ignorant audiences, they can speak freely. ”

After listening to Lin Chaoyang's words, Tao Yumo said, "Brother-in-law, you mean they are trying to attract attention? However, no matter what, you can't deny that the Stars Art Exhibition has indeed expanded the influence of painting as an art form, and has made many people interested in fine arts."

"I don't deny that. But is there a possibility that a group of people with little knowledge or even seeking fame are leading the public down a wrong path?"

"Brother-in-law, I think you are worshipping authority. Does art have to be about old scholars setting the rules and having the final say?" Tao Yumo said unconvinced.

“An old scholar is not necessarily a talented artist, but to become a talented artist, it undoubtedly takes time and works to accumulate.

A genius like Van Gogh, who painted for more than ten hours a day, did not achieve his full potential until he was over thirty-three.

Tao Yumo could not refute the example Lin Chaoyang gave, so she retorted: "He didn't say he was Van Gogh."

"But they want to hold an exhibition in the National Art Museum of China."

The original idea of ​​the Stars Art Exhibition was to be held in the National Art Museum of China, but a group of people applied but were not given permission, so they took another approach and chose to hold the exhibition outside the art museum.

Lin Chaoyang almost said that this group of people were "ignorant of the heaven and earth". Tao Yumo muttered, "Old antiques!"

"Okay. They're holding an art exhibition. What do you two have to argue about?" Seeing that Tao Yumo was getting more and more excited, Tao Yushu acted as a peacemaker.

After the debate was interrupted, Tao Yumo was somewhat unwilling to accept it, and looked at Feng Jicai again, "Brother Feng, do you also think that those works in the Stars Art Exhibition are just for show?"

Feng Jicai pondered and said, "I don't know much about Western art, and my level is limited. Some of the paintings in the Stars Art Exhibition are indeed not of high quality."

Feng Jicai's tone was very tactful and humble.

He had been interested in art since childhood. In the late 1960s, he and several painting friends went to write scripts for the comic strip group of Tianjin Fine Arts Publishing House. He developed excellent painting skills. His first novel, "The Boxer Rebellion", was also published during that period.

If we really talk about artistic level, Feng Jicai believes that his paintings are not inferior to some of the paintings in the Stars Art Exhibition.

But he did not dare to do what some people did, shamelessly labeling his own works as "avant-garde" or "pioneering", openly displaying them in front of the public, and making irresponsible remarks.

Because he knows that his level is only that of an elementary school student in front of real painters, but some people don't seem to understand this.

It is obviously just the level of a college student's exercise, but it tries to create the feeling of a future master.

Those who are complacent about the superiority created by the information gap and think they are pioneers are actually just frogs in the well.

This was also the reason why Tao Yushu hesitated when he asked Feng Jicai at the beginning.

It is difficult for him to agree with others on things he does not agree with.

What Lin Chaoyang said just now was very much to Feng Jicai's liking, and it was like he had said everything he wanted to say.

After being busy for more than an hour, Lin Chaoyang prepared four dishes.

At the dinner table, Li Tuo was the most enthusiastic. "Come on, Da Feng, try Chaoyang's cooking. I tell you, his cooking skills are absolutely unique in our industry."

"Just our business?" Lin Chaoyang asked back.

Li Tuo gave him an apologetic smile, then changed the topic to Feng Jicai and said, "That's indeed not accurate. He's the best cook among writers. He's the best novel writer among chefs!"

Facing Li Tuo's teasing, Lin Chaoyang smiled helplessly and shook his head. Feng Jicai couldn't help laughing when he heard it.

However, after tasting the dishes, Feng Ji agreed with Li Tuo's statement.

He also ate a lot of meals from writer and editor friends, and Lin Chaoyang's cooking skills were indeed first-class among them.

Li Tuo, who was enjoying his meal, shook his head and said, "I'm thinking about it. When our friends from other places come to Beijing, apart from our family, should they also come to Chaoyang to report and show up?"

Li Tuo has a cheerful and easy-going personality, and is a righteous and enthusiastic person. He is not only well-known in the Yenching writers circle, but also known by many writers from other places.

In the past two years, more and more writers from other places would come to Yenching on business trips or to revise manuscripts, and they would always stop by Li Tuo's house to "pay their respects."

Feng Jicai clapped his hands and laughed, "This is a good suggestion. Your family is the 'Imperial Study', and Chaoyang's family is the 'Imperial Kitchen'."

Lin Chaoyang objected: "The Imperial Study and Imperial Kitchen are all feudal dregs, too vulgar, it's better to call it Xunweizhai."

"You are too cunning. You must have thought of giving your house such an elegant name a long time ago?" Li Tuo said dissatisfiedly.

"No, absolutely not. I am just following your ideas, okay? You can also give your house a name."

Lin Chaoyang spoke so confidently that Li Tuo was speechless.

He thought for a long time, but racked his brains and still couldn't come up with a good name for his house, so he was depressed.

Tao Yushu, who was standing by, looked at their childish behavior and shook his head speechlessly.

(End of this chapter)