Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 179 Destined to Become a Classic
Li Shuguang brought the manuscript of "The Death of Van Gogh" back to the contemporary literature editorial department, intending to have a sneak peek at it first. However, as soon as he returned to the office, he was surrounded by his colleagues.

Before he had the chance to read the manuscript, several colleagues began to reserve the right to read it next.

Li Shuguang originally explained that the manuscript had to be returned to the editorial department of Contemporary Magazine, but no one cared about that and made the decision without consulting him first or asking for his consent.

At the end, he patted him on the shoulder and asked him to finish reading it as soon as possible so that it could be passed on.

Li Shuguang smiled bitterly and helplessly. He had originally planned to finish reading the novel as soon as possible, regardless of whether to pass it on to his colleagues or return it to Contemporary. He just wanted to get rid of this hot potato first.

As a result, before the end of get off work, Zhu Changsheng from "Contemporary" ran to the editorial department of Contemporary Literature.

"Old Li, I went to get the manuscript from Old Lady Wei. She said the manuscript of The Death of Van Gogh is with you."

On this day, Li Shuguang was slacking off and reading "The Death of Van Gogh" and didn't even take care of his work. When he was reading the exciting part, Zhu Changsheng came to ask him for the manuscript.

"Old Zhu, lend it to me for another day. I'll return it to you tomorrow after I finish reading it."

"Old Li, it's not that I don't want to lend it to you. There are two in the editorial department that haven't been finished yet, and I'm almost getting calluses from hearing them these past two days."

After Qin Chaoyang reviewed "The Death of Van Gogh", the manuscript was originally circulated within the editorial department of "Contemporary".

As a result, that day Wei Junyi heard from someone that a particularly good novel had been published in "Contemporary", so she ran to the editorial department and took the manuscript away.

She is the editor-in-chief of Renwen Press. She has the right to review every manuscript received by Renwen Press and has the final power over life and death. No one dares to stop her from reading a manuscript she wants to read. However, this has caused trouble for those editors in the editorial department who have not finished reading the novel.

When Qin Chaoyang brought the manuscript back to the editorial department of Contemporary Magazine, he made the following comment on The Death of Van Gogh:
This is a near perfect novel!

You should know that Qin Chaoyang is not only a senior editor of Renwen Press, but also a famous writer. He became famous as early as the 1950s, and his collections of works such as "On the Plain", "Happiness" and "Rural Notes" were widely popular at that time.

Being able to write and review, Qin Chaoyang naturally has extremely high aesthetic standards and requirements for literary works. The fact that he can speak so highly of this novel shows that he loves and recognizes it.

When Qin Chaoyang said that The Death of Van Gogh was a near-perfect novel, he certainly did not mean that the novel had surpassed the level of many classic masterpieces.

Rather, it means that in many aspects such as creative techniques, plot and conflict setting, and character creation, this novel has reached an extremely high level.

From the reader's perspective, it not only brings readers a suspenseful and fast-paced reading experience, but also perfectly illustrates the theme that the author wants to convey to readers.

The novel achieves a multiple balance in storytelling, literary quality, and thought; such near-perfect expression is very rare in contemporary literary works.

So even though "Contemporary" has always emphasized the path of "realism" since its founding, Qin Chaoyang still agreed to publish this work that does not seem so "realistic".

“When a work is excellent to a certain degree, it will inevitably break through many barriers such as subject matter and style with its powerful core. In my opinion, The Death of Van Gogh is such a work.”

Qin Chaoyang said this at a meeting in the editorial department to discuss works to be published in January.

His opinion was also recognized by colleagues in the editorial department who had read the novel. Everyone was madly praising the novel, and also made those colleagues who had not read the novel very curious.

For several days, the manuscript of "The Death of Van Gogh" circulated continuously within the editorial department of "Contemporary". Anyway, everyone was curious, but no one was in a hurry.

But no one expected that Wei Junyi would suddenly become interested in this novel.

Under normal circumstances, Wei Junyi usually only makes final reviews for some key books within the company and works that the editorial offices are not sure about.

She took the manuscript away, and the people in the editorial department had to wait a few more days.

After finally getting to the editor-in-chief's office to pick up the manuscript today, Zhu Changsheng was told that the manuscript had been borrowed by Li Shuguang.

Zhu Changsheng hurried to find the editorial department of contemporary literature. He had read the manuscript, but his colleagues in the editorial department were still anxiously waiting for help.

"It wouldn't cost you one more day." Li Shuguang pleaded.

"The novel will be published in a few days. Wouldn't it be the same if I read it then?"

"No, I can't stop reading this novel. I'll give it back to you when I'm done."

Seeing that Li Shuguang refused to let go, Zhu Changsheng complained, "How can you be so mean? This is our Contemporary manuscript."

Seeing that playing tricks didn’t work, Li Shuguang played the emotional card again.

"Old Zhu, don't forget, if it weren't for me, would you have been able to get the manuscript for Chaoyang?"

"Old Li, look at what you said..." Li Shuguang's words made Zhu Changsheng feel embarrassed. He sighed helplessly, "Okay, give it to me after you finish reading it, otherwise I will be scolded by those people in the editorial department."

Li Shuguang said cheerfully: "No problem."

After dealing with Zhu Changsheng's departure, Li Shuguang immersed himself completely in the world of novels and did not move until the end of the work day.

It was not until after six o'clock, when it was completely dark, that security guard Lao Zhai came to patrol the building and called him back to his senses.

"Old Li, aren't you going home?"

Li Shuguang glanced at the sky outside, then looked at his watch, "Wow! It's so late!"

He quickly packed up his things and left the Renwenshe Building. On the way home on his bicycle, all that flashed through his mind was the plot of "The Death of Van Gogh".

When he got home, everyone in the family had already eaten. His wife heated up some food for him. He ate a few bites and sat down at the desk, taking out the unfinished manuscript.

"Old Li, go to bed early."

At around ten o'clock in the evening, his wife came to call him.

"Ah."

Li Shuguang only responded with a nasal sound, but did not move at all.

He usually had the habit of bringing manuscripts home to review, and sometimes he would read until eleven or twelve at night. Seeing him do this again today, his wife did not urge him anymore and went to bed alone.

The desk lamp stayed on until late at night, and Li Shuguang sat there quietly, immersed in a time travel through 19th century Europe.

I don’t know how long it was, his eyes had been fixed on the last line of the last page of the manuscript for a long time before he finally regained his spirit and his eyeballs began to move.

After reading the novel, he was so shocked that he couldn't calm down for a long time. After a long while, he finally pulled himself out of the world of the novel.

"Oh! How can you write so well?"

Li Shuguang sighed and muttered to himself.

His sigh was not one of regret, but one filled with wonder and praise.

He has been working as an editor for more than 20 years and has seen many well-written works, but when he thinks back on the works he has handled over the years, there has never been a novel that gave him such a strong and rich feeling.

He has edited many popular literary works that excel in storytelling, as well as more serious literary works that excel in literary quality and thoughtfulness, and has been shocked and moved by these works of different styles.

But the biggest difference between "The Death of Van Gogh" and his previous works over the past twenty years is that this novel achieves a perfect balance between literature and story.

It brings readers not only sensory stimulation, but also spiritual shock and intellectual nourishment.

Li Shuguang recalled the contents of the novel. The words seemed to sparkle, forming one wonderful picture after another in his mind.

These images were engraved in his mind like an indelible mark. There were too many unforgettable plots and scenes in this novel.

He could not forget the protagonist Aaron's selfless courage in front of the raging fire, nor the monster that represented Van Gogh's talent, arrogance and fear.

What is even more unforgettable is that in the overlap of time and space, just like Zhuangzi's dream of a butterfly, Aaron and Van Gogh merged into one, leading Van Gogh to witness the greatness that belonged to Van Gogh and he had never seen before.

After savoring it for a long time, Li Shuguang finally put down the manuscript in his hand.

He wanted to stand up, but his legs and feet were too weak. He sat in front of the desk for several hours, fully immersed in the work and concentrating. He hardly moved and didn't even notice that his legs and feet were numb.

After finally getting his legs and feet moving, he looked at the time and it was already past three in the morning.

From the time he received the manuscript of the novel in the morning until now, except for the two meals and going home, he has spent all his time on the novel.

Reading a novel of over 200,000 words in such a short time can almost be said to be swallowing it whole.

There were still about four hours before work in the morning, so Li Shuguang went straight back to his room and fell asleep.

Before going to bed, he had another idea in his mind: after "Contemporary" was published, he must read "The Death of Van Gogh" carefully again.

Early in the morning, Li Shuguang was woken up from a deep sleep by his wife, looking exhausted.

"You, take it easy! You are not a young man anymore. It's just a manuscript review. Do you have to work so hard?"

With his wife's nagging ringing in his ears, Li Shuguang did not argue. He quietly washed his face, brushed his teeth, got dressed, ate, and then dragged his tired body to the office.

He had just sat in the office for a while when Zhu Changsheng walked in.

"It's just a manuscript. Is that what you want?"

"Whether it's that serious or not, you can tell them."

Everyone in the contemporary literature editorial office looked at Zhu Changsheng taking the manuscript from Li Shuguang, feeling lost.

The manuscript is out of stock, so if you want to see it, you’ll have to wait a few more days.

"Hey, Lao Li, how do you feel after reading the novel? Is it really as good as those people from Contemporary Magazine say?"

After Zhu Changsheng left, colleagues asked Li Shuguang.

Li Shuguang frowned, "How should I put it..."

Seeing his hesitation and difficulty, his colleagues thought that he felt that the novel did not live up to its reputation after reading it.

Unexpectedly, after a long while, Li Shuguang spoke up and said, "This novel is different from all the novels you have read so far. It will definitely become a classic in a few decades!"

"Oh~"

Colleagues did not expect that Li Shuguang would give such a high evaluation to "The Death of Van Gogh". Such an evaluation once again aroused everyone's curiosity about the novel.

When they thought that it would take a few days for the new issue of "Contemporary" to be published, everyone felt itchy.

In addition to looking forward to it, everyone couldn't help but start discussing it.

"According to what Old Li said, Contemporary has really found a treasure this time!"

"Then they should also thank Lao Li. If it weren't for Lao Li's help, Contemporary Magazine might not have been able to get Lin Chaoyang's manuscript."

"That's right. Actually, Lao Li is a contributor to Contemporary Magazine."

While his colleagues were laughing and joking, Li Shuguang felt like he had forgotten something.

When he heard Lin Chaoyang's name, he finally remembered.

I was so busy reading novels that I forgot about my important work.

(End of this chapter)