Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 21 Better than Scars
Zhang Dening's voice called out a graceful female comrade in her fifties from the pile of manuscripts. Chen Jiangong greeted her and introduced Lin Chaoyang again.

"Teacher Zhou is the head of the fiction group and editorial board member of Yenching Literature and Art," he said to Lin Chaoyang.

Zhou Yanru waved her hand, indicating that he didn't need to mention it.

Chen Jiangong talked about Lin Chaoyang's manuscript, and first praised it, and then said: "It's a rare good manuscript, so I quickly brought him here."

Zhou Yanru was somewhat tempted by what he said, but the editorial department has its own rules. Chen Jiangong is the author under Zhang Dening's responsibility, so the authors he brought are naturally also under Zhang Dening's responsibility, and the first review of the manuscript must also be handled by Zhang Dening.

The librarian of Yanda University has a special meaning in the eyes of modern Chinese. Before reading the manuscript, Zhang Dening glanced at the author Lin Chaoyang implicitly.

Lin Chaoyang is not the kind of person who relies on his appearance to win, but he has his own sense of confidence.

After reading the manuscript, Zhang Dening was quickly attracted by the words on the paper and became obsessed with them.

When she looked up again, it was almost noon.

The sunlight coming in through the office window glass illuminated the room. Looking at Lin Chaoyang again, his image in Zhang Dening's eyes gradually overlapped with the tall, handsome and elegant Xu Lingjun in the novel, glowing with dazzling brilliance.

"De Ning, how about the manuscript?" Chen Jiangong asked.

Zhang Dening was in a daze for a moment, then came back to his senses, holding the manuscript in his hand, "It's really well written, worthy of being from Yanda!"

"You're too kind." Lin Chaoyang said modestly.

Zhang Dening's praise made Chen Jiangong feel like he was in the same boat. "I was right, wasn't I? Chaoyang's manuscript is of high quality."

"I think this novel is better than the one 'Scars' published in Wenhui Daily. But..." Zhang Dening praised the manuscript generously, but his tone was a little hesitant at the end.

During the summer vacation just past, Shanghai’s Wenhui Daily published Lu Xinhua’s novel “Scars” on August 8.

After the novel was published, there was a reading craze among readers in Shanghai. Wenhui Daily printed 180 million copies of the current issue in a short period of time, but it still could not meet the reading needs of the majority of readers.

The influence of "Scars" has expanded rapidly in China with readers' reading and discussion. Not only readers, but also literary and cultural circles have begun to discuss this novel.

In less than a month, it became popular all over the country.

But the fact that "Scars" sparked public opinion does not mean that its success was smooth sailing. Now there are endless discussions about "Scars" in newspapers all over the country.

In China over the past few decades, discussions about a literary work are usually inseparable from politics.

This critical juncture is a key node in reform and opening up.

A powerful emotional potential is also brewing throughout society.

The rain is coming from the wind!
In the heated discussion of "Scars" in the literary world, there is not only praise, but also criticism.

The main theme of the article "The Horse Shepherd" is exactly the same as that of "Scars". If it causes a certain impact after publication, it will inevitably face this situation.

Moreover, in terms of ideology and artistry, Scars is horrible. Many people in the literary world do not understand why this college student essay can cause such a big upsurge, and they do not like it. This is why Zhang Dening dares to say that The Shepherd is better than Scars.

If "The Horse Shepherd" is successful after its publication, it might cause another controversy by riding on the wave of "Scars".

The pros and cons were laid out before her. Zhang Dening was just a young editor at Yenching Literature and Art. Although she thought that The Shepherd was of very good quality, she did not dare to guarantee that the novel would be published.

After all, whether a work can be published in recent years often has no direct relationship with the quality itself.

Chen Jiangong probably guessed what Zhang Dening meant by hesitating to speak. He turned his gaze to Zhou Yanru and exchanged a glance with Zhang Dening. The two of them had a very good understanding.

"Old Zhou."

Zhang Dening called "Old Zhou" again and handed the manuscript of "The Shepherd" to Zhou Yanru.

Adding an "old" in front of the surname was my old style during the Yan'an period. Everyone in the editorial department called Zhou Yanru this way, and that is only now. It will not be applicable in the future. "Take a look at this manuscript first. The author happens to be here. I will give you the review comments later."

Zhou Yanru knew that Zhang Dening was able to hand the manuscript to her in front of the author Lin Chaoyang because either the manuscript was so good that she couldn't refuse it, or the manuscript was so bad but she couldn't refuse it because of the favor.

It is true that Chen Jiangong is a veteran author of Yenching Literature and Art, but it is impossible to say that his reputation made it impossible for Zhang Dening to refuse.

With a guess in mind, Zhou Yanru took the manuscript and started reading.

"He is the son abandoned by the rich - Victor Hugo, Les Misérables."

A sentence quoted at the beginning of the novel caught Zhou Yanru's attention and ignited her interest in reading the novel.

A good novel always makes people hooked from the very beginning, and "The Horse Shepherd" is one of them.

The protagonist Xu Lingjun was born into a wealthy family, but he did not benefit from it. His mother died when he was young and he was abandoned by his wealthy father.

After all the bad luck was finally over, he got married and had children in his thirties and lived a stable and happy life. Unexpectedly, the wealthy father who had abandoned him in his early years came back to find him.

After some mental struggle, Xu Lingjun gave up the opportunity to live in the United States and inherit a huge inheritance and decided to stay in the country.

At the end of the story, Xu Lingjun returned to his home and saw Xiuzhi standing at the door waiting for him.

She was wearing a white apron, and looked like a bright star in the soft and vast twilight.

He also saw a ball of fire, and it was his daughter Qingqing running towards him in a red dress.

He returned to his home.

Zhou Yanru was immersed in the story woven by Lin Chaoyang, her heart was filled with ups and downs.

"Xiao Lin!" Zhou Yanru paused, "Is it okay for me to call you that?"

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "Of course no problem."

“This article “The Horse Herder” is very well written. It has writing style, ideas, and stories, and it is highly unified from the outside to the core.”

Hearing this, Lin Chaoyang looked calm, but Chen Jiangong was very happy for him.

Zhou Yanru stared at Lin Chaoyang's expression and saw that he remained calm under her praise. She couldn't help but raise her evaluation of the young author in front of her to a higher level.

"But any work has its strengths and weaknesses. For example, there are too many psychological descriptions of the characters in the novel. The readers have no way of guessing the psychology of the characters, which is all given by the author.

Therefore, this kind of description carries the author's strong subjective emotions and can easily obscure the reader's attention to the plot.

For example, the treatment of Xu Lingjun and his son in the second half of the story implied to me that the father and son reached a reconciliation, but I don’t recommend you write it this way.

After all, Xu Lingjun was abandoned by his father, and because he inherited his father's bloodline, Xu Lingjun lived in misery for the first half of his life. Although he has matured in middle age and has let go of many things, he should also be a person who sticks to his own principles.

He can restrain his resentment, and even reconcile with his resentment and his first half of life, but he cannot simply reconcile with his father. Such treatment makes the character seem too thin..."

Zhou Yanru has been an editor for nearly twenty years and has developed a pair of sharp eyes. Lin Chaoyang thought carefully and found that most of the questions she raised were appropriate.

Lin Chaoyang has different opinions on some issues. After the two discuss them, Zhou Yanru will agree with Lin Chaoyang's ideas.

After more than half an hour, the two finally stopped.

"Overall, it's still a very brilliant novel. If it can be published, it should cause quite a stir!"

Zhou Yanru gave the final evaluation of "The Shepherd".

(End of this chapter)