Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 223 I don't understand his good intentions
"The Chess Master" is the new novel published by Lin Chaoyang in "Yenching Literature". The full text is 130,000 words and is a novella.

The novel focuses on the growth of chess fanatic Jiang Nansheng, telling the story of Jiang Nansheng, who was obsessed with chess and sacrificed his life for his country when his country was destroyed and his family was ruined in Shanghai after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War.

When writing the novel, Lin Chaoyang had already anticipated the controversy that the plot might cause. This issue had also been raised by editors such as Zhang Dening, but Lin Chaoyang ultimately insisted on his own opinion.

The reason and purpose for his persistence was very simple, which was to allow more people to read the novel.

In his opinion, appropriate debate will actually promote the influence of the novel. As a person of later generations, no one understands this truth better than Lin Chaoyang.

Tao Yumo ate and drank for free at Lin Chaoyang's house. He was very familiar with the creative process of "The Chess Master" and was also present when Lin Chaoyang and Zhang Dening discussed problems with the novel.

She knew why Lin Chaoyang arranged this plot, but others did not. Listening to the argument beside her, Tao Yumo wanted to stand up and explain to the two people, but she did not do so.

"Brother-in-law, why do you have to write like this? It's totally a thankless task!"

"It's not a thankless task. If the novel is written this way, there will definitely be some self-proclaimed rational readers who will find fault with it. This will arouse discussion among readers and trigger widespread debate.

At the same time, such a plot arrangement can easily arouse the readers' patriotic feelings of sharing the same hatred for the enemy. The plot becomes popular, which greatly lowers the reading threshold of the novel, and more readers will read this novel. "

The conversation between her and her brother-in-law flashed through Tao Yumo's mind. As she listened to the conversation between the two, she understood in her heart that this was exactly the effect her brother-in-law wanted.

The distance from Yanjing to Beidaihe is not far, and the train takes more than three hours to get there.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Beidaihe has been famous as a sanatorium for leaders. In the past few years of reform and opening up, outbound tourism has gradually become popular, and Beidaihe has become a resort in the north. Many people from Yanjing come here to escape the heat in the summer.

Tao Yumo and others got off the train and did not look for a guesthouse. They carried their luggage and did not even bother to eat lunch, but ran directly to the seaside tourist area.

Although Beidaihe was also a tourist area at that time, there were few travel agencies, hotels and restaurants, and there were not as many people as in later years. When everyone arrived at the beach, looking at the sea not far away and stepping on the beach, they felt relaxed and happy.

Li Junling comes from a wealthy family. This time when she traveled, she brought her family's camera, a Seagull 120 camera.

When she arrived at the beach, she immediately took out her camera and took a few beautiful photos of the sea. Then she took photos of several classmates, and everyone happily posed in front of her camera.

After wandering around the beach for an afternoon, everyone was hungry and exhausted, so they started thinking about finding a place to stay.

Not far from the beach is the Beidaihe District Government Guesthouse. The conditions there are very simple, with about ten people living in a large house, and they have to go to the yard to use the toilet.

Tao Yumo was spoiled at home and was not used to such accommodation conditions. But there was no way out. This was the reality. If she didn't stay in the district government guesthouse, she would have to stay in her fellow villagers' homes. It was said that the conditions were much worse than those in the guesthouse.

The district government hosts all the canteens, and since they entertain foreign tourists, the food conditions are quite good, provided you are willing to spend money.

When you come to Beidaihe, you must eat seafood. The cafeteria has just the right amount of crabs, 50 cents a pound.

Tao Yumo originally wanted to order two for himself, but when he saw that Guo Jianmei and Liu Zhenyun didn't order any, he ordered one more and gave one to each of them.

Guo Jianmei and Liu Zhenyun were born in rural areas and their family conditions were not good. They saved money for a long time before going on this trip with everyone and were reluctant to spend money on food.

Tao Yumo was considered a wealthy woman among her classmates. She didn't need to spend money on meals at school, and she would ask her parents for some pocket money on weekdays. She even asked her eldest brother Tao Yucheng for money, saying it was tuition for her two nephews.

In addition, she also sorted letters for her brother-in-law Lin Chaoyang. She saved nearly 200 yuan in this semester alone, so she was naturally happy to spend money when she went out.

After dinner, it quickly got dark. There was no night view at the beach at this time, only endless darkness, so everyone could only stay in the guesthouse and play poker.

The card game ended at 8:30. Yu Hui still picked up Tao Yumo's copy of "Yenching Literature" to read, while Tao Yumo fiddled with the Seagull camera brought by Li Junling.

It would be nice to have a camera, she thought to herself, and she would buy one when she returned home.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen.

"Ouch!" Tao Yumo cried out, holding her stomach.

"Yumo, what's wrong with you?" Guo Jianmei asked.

"My stomach hurts so badly." Tao Yumo frowned and said through gritted teeth.

"Did you not eat the crab well?"

"Didn't you eat it too?"

Guo Jianmei thought about it and it made sense. It would be fine for everyone to eat crabs.

"No!"

Tao Yumo endured for a while, then ran to the toilet in the yard with toilet paper between his buttocks.

After more than ten minutes, she dragged her heavy steps back to the room.

Several female classmates asked with concern: "Yumo, are you okay?"

"It's okay. Just diarrhea. You won't die."

Tao Yumo lay down on the bed, and just after resting for a few minutes, the abdominal pain came again, and she had to run to the yard again.

This happened three times, and Tao Yumo returned to the room with a pale face and weak legs.

"Yumo, take some medicine quickly."

Guo Jianmei handed her two pills, and Tao Yumo asked, "Where did you get these?"

"I asked the comrades at the guesthouse for it."

Tao Yumo nodded, swallowed the medicine with water, and leaned over on the bed, like a frost-bitten eggplant, completely different from his energetic state during the day.

She looked at the other people who were talking and laughing without any harm, and felt angry. "I had pooped like this, but they were fine. I should have not eaten that crab."

It would be a shame not to eat crabs when you come to Beidaihe. Forget it, let's eat shrimps tomorrow.

She fell asleep with her mind wandering. After a while, she heard a sob beside her ear. She opened her eyes dazedly and glanced to the side, and found that it was Yu Hui with tears on her face.

"Why are you crying?" Tao Yumo asked.

"Nothing." Yu Hui replied.

Tao Yumo was very sleepy. He didn't care about Yu Hui and turned over and fell asleep again.

The next morning, she got up and was full of energy again.

"You're in such good health. I was worried that you couldn't get out of bed last night," said Guo Jianmei.

"It's just a little diarrhea. Can it delay my sightseeing of the beautiful rivers and mountains of our motherland?" Tao Yumo said complacently.

It is hard to understand her self-satisfaction, which is probably just like elementary school students competing to see who can pee farther.

After breakfast in the morning, everyone went to the scenic spot with maps in hand. Yesterday they visited Tiger Stone Park and Jieshi Garden on the seaside, and today they were going to Lianfeng Mountain in the west.

On the way, Tao Yumo suddenly remembered what happened last night. She asked Yu Hui, "Why did you cry last night?"

"Nothing." Yu Hui felt a little embarrassed.

"Has someone bullied you?" Tao Yumo asked.

"No, stop talking nonsense."

"Then why are you crying?"

Tao Yumo kept asking questions, and Yu Hui said helplessly: "I read it from a novel."

"Why cry when reading a novel?" Tao Yumo said, then realized, "Are you reading The Chess Master?"

"Ah."

Tao Yumo immediately understood. Some of the plots in "The Chess Master" were indeed tear-jerking, such as the description of the people's miserable lives after the war, and the little beggar being slaughtered by the Japanese...

Of course, the most tear-jerking part is Jiang Nansheng’s heartfelt death in the end.

Whenever Tao Yumo thought of the scenes in the novel, the words spoken by Tan Sitong always came to his mind.

"Every country's reform is achieved through bloodshed. Today, there is no bloodshed in China due to reform. This is why the country is not prosperous. If there is, please start from the next generation."

In that era when the country was destroyed and families were ruined, although many people of noble character and lofty ideals rose up to resist foreign invasion, there were still countless people who faced the invasion numbly, or even assisted the evil.

Jiang Nansheng knew that he was powerless and that his flesh and blood were powerless against the invaders' guns and cannons.
But he still chose to move forward, because he knew deeply that if everyone was muddle-headed, chose to protect themselves, and trembled under the invaders' guns, then what future would China have?

The destruction of the nation and the extinction of the race are imminent, and only passion and sacrifice can awaken the resistance spirit of our compatriots.

He used chess as a weapon. Although he could not kill the enemy on the battlefield, he could strike a blow to the arrogance of the Japanese. This was the only thing he could do.

Tao Yumo couldn't help but think of his brother-in-law again. Against the backdrop of Sino-Japanese friendship, he chose to write a work like "The Chess Master", which could be said to be going against the trend of the times.

Doesn't he know how much opposition and criticism a work like "The Chess Master" will attract after writing it?
Given the current climate, even the mainstream media might ridicule him.

But he still wrote the novel according to his own ideas. Even when the editor raised objections to the plot, he still insisted on his point of view.

The purpose is to let more people read this novel and let more people not easily forget the numerous crimes committed by the Japanese and those ancestors who sacrificed their lives and shed their blood.

"What do you think?" Tao Yumo asked Yu Hui.

Yu Hui recalled her feelings when she read the novel last night. "It's very well written! The character of Jiang Nansheng is brought to life. He goes from being a chess fanatic who doesn't care about worldly affairs to a chess master who sacrifices himself for his country. It's very touching."

"What do you think of the final plot of challenging the Japanese chess player?" This is the question that Tao Yumo is most concerned about.

"It's very good, very moving, full of heroism and epic feeling. When I watched it, I even felt that there might have been a person named Jiang Nansheng in history."

Listening to Yu Hui's praise, Tao Yumo felt a surge of joy in his heart.

My brother-in-law is right. Ordinary readers will not look at the plot of challenging the Japanese chess player with a magnifying glass. Only a small number of people will find fault with it.

In this way, the dissatisfaction of a small number of people provoked controversy, but most people still had a positive impression of the novel, which not only created discussion and influence, but also guaranteed the reputation and evaluation of the novel.

My brother-in-law is tall!

"But I think it's a bit of a pity," said Yu Hui.

"What's a pity?"

"Your brother-in-law should actually stick to the creative style of "Lai Zi's Summer" and "The Death of Van Gogh", which are more advanced. The narrative and style of "The Chess Master" are too Chinese and not Western enough."

Tao Yumo secretly complained, "If you want to write something advanced, my brother-in-law can write better than anyone else. You guys don't understand his good intentions at all."

Chatting along the way, the group of people visited Lianfeng Mountain and then went to Dove Nest in the east.

When they passed by the seaside in the afternoon, they met a fisherman selling crabs at 35 cents a pound, and the processing fee was 5 cents, which was 10 cents cheaper than the canteen of the guesthouse.

Tao Yumo shouted: "What a huge loss!"

Everyone bought a few more pounds of crabs. Tao Yumo hesitated, but still couldn't resist his greed and ate another crab.

She waited tremblingly until night, and when she found out nothing happened, she laughed heartily.

After playing in Beidaihe for three days, she went to the beach to buy 10 kilograms of crabs before leaving and brought them back to Yanjing for her family to taste.

(End of this chapter)