1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 578 The Stone Collector

"Adults tend to favor numbers. When they chat with friends, they only talk about trivial things. They don't care if their friends have nice voices or what games they like to play; they only care about their friends' height, weight, and salary."

Adults believe that you can only understand a person through numbers.

If you describe a beautiful house to adults like this: 'A lovely red brick house, with geraniums in the windows and the gentle cooing of pigeons on the roof,' they will have absolutely no idea what it looks like.

You must say, "I saw a house worth 100,000 yuan." They will immediately exclaim, "That's a wonderful house!"

Liu Xinwu smiled knowingly when he saw this.

That's just how the adult world is.

They only care about practical benefits and have no interest in anything else.

This is a very ugly point, yet it is also very real, and Liu Xinwu has a deep understanding of it.

He recalled that two years ago, he had visited France with a delegation from the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and there was a special person in the delegation named "Butterfly Man" at the time.

At the time, he thought "Butterfly" was a professional writer from the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the two talked for a long time.

When asked where he lived, Liu Xinwu told him he lived in Jinsong Community and that he had been assigned a two-bedroom unit on the fifth floor.

At that time, only those who implemented the policy and a very small number of people who received special rewards were able to be allocated apartments in these new communities, so Liu Xinwu was quite proud when he told him.

To his surprise, when the meeting ended, "Butterfly" told him that he lived in Hepingli and welcomed Liu Xinwu to visit him when he had time. He also asked if he preferred tea or coffee, saying that he had excellent coffee. Finally, he left his phone number with Liu Xinwu, saying: "Be sure to call me before you come, because I might be staying at my place in the city."

That statement contains a lot of information.

Call up!
This "Butterfly Man" actually has a private phone at home!

Besides the phone call, what fueled Liu Xinwu's jealousy even more was that he actually had another residence in the city besides his place in Hepingli!
Well, because these days Hepingli is north of the Second Ring Road, it is considered "outside the city" and cannot be considered inside the city.

After inquiring further, I learned that "Butterfly" lived in Xinxian Hutong in the city. It was a courtyard house with a telephone and appliances such as a refrigerator, which were not commonly used in ordinary households at the time.

Liu Xinwu didn't harbor any fantasies or longings about such a beautiful house. Although "Butterfly Man's" words were clearly friendly and well-intentioned, a dark side arose within Liu Xinwu. He only remembered that he didn't dwell on it at the time.

"Mr. Butterfly" only created a script called "Miao Qingniang", and its influence can't compare to his "Class Teacher"!

Shortly after that conversation, the story of "Butterfly Man" quickly became a sensation around the world. I won't go into details here, as it's all very mysterious. In short, "Butterfly Man's" husband was definitely shattered. He had been in a relationship with "Butterfly Man" for over twenty years, and the two even had a child together, yet he never discovered that "Butterfly Man" was a man.

Back at Liu Xinwu's home, as he looked at the words before him and recalled the darkness in his heart at that time, he suddenly felt that the adult world was truly ugly, and he couldn't help but feel disgusted and repulsed.

And what seemed to soothe his heart was only Jiang Xian's words before him:

"You know, when someone is sad or upset, they like to watch the sunset."

"I once visited a planet where there lived a red-faced man. He knew nothing of the fragrance of flowers or the stars, and he had never loved anyone. He spent his days just burying his head in his accounts, saying from morning till night, 'I'm doing serious work, I'm doing serious work.' He always thought he was something special, but he was just a mushroom!"

"If someone falls in love with a flower—a flower that is unique in the world, that grows only on one star—he will feel very happy when he looks at the starry sky. He will say to himself, 'My flower grows on one of those stars.' But if a lamb eats this flower, then all the stars will lose their light in his eyes."

"To truly understand her, one shouldn't just listen to what she says, but rather observe what she does. She exudes fragrance and brings sunshine into my life. I should have realized the tenderness behind her little tricks long ago. But how foolish I was back then, only remembering her 'tiger's claw' words. Flowers are always so two-faced. It's a pity I was too young then and didn't know how to love her."

"Love is not gazing at each other, but looking in the same direction."

"If you fall in love with a flower that grows on a certain planet, you will feel very sweet when you look up at the night sky."

"You can only see things clearly with your heart; what is important cannot be seen with your eyes."

"If you want to tame a person, you have to risk shedding tears."

"I have always believed that if a person can live a simple and innocent life, it must be because countless people around them have paid a much higher price to protect them."

"The stars shine so that one day everyone can find their own star."

"."

After reading the last line of the novel and seeing the last illustration, Liu Xinwu closed the book and fell into deep thought, his nose twitching slightly.

Everyone says this novel is good.

But he never expected it.

Jiang Xian can write so well.

He never imagined that he, a writer known nationwide for his novel "The Class Teacher," would one day be so moved by a children's novel.

Every word is precious!

Liu Xinwu felt that using this idiom to describe "The Little Prince" was not an exaggeration.

He remembers the first time he saw the dedication in the novel, the line "All grown-ups were once children, but only a few of them remember it." He thought that no matter how well-written such a line was, it was ultimately outside the scope of the novel and could not be regarded as part of the novel's content.

But I only realized this after reading the novel.

Such evocative and meaningful words actually filled Jiang Xian's entire novel!
Almost impatiently, Liu Xinwu read the novel again from beginning to end, and the second reading brought him many new insights.

Like the saying, "What makes the desert beautiful is that it hides a well in some corner."

This is an insight I gained inspired by The Little Prince.

This is also a sentence that Liu Xinwu overlooked during his first reading.

The mystery of the desert stems from the hope in the unknown.

Liu Xinwu saw a deeper meaning in this statement.

Jiang Xian was referring to more than just the desert.

There is also life.

"Life is like a journey through the desert, and the meaning of life lies in those springs hidden somewhere, those springs are hidden in the seemingly barren daily life, waiting for people to explore them with their hearts."

Liu Xinwu silently wrote down his insights from this trip.

There's also the fox's saying, "If you say you'll come at four in the afternoon, then I'll feel happy from three o'clock onwards, and the closer the time gets, the happier I'll be."

When Liu Xinwu saw this, it was as if he had been hit on the head.

Does he understand this principle?

clear.

But he never realized it.

This principle is hidden in life, but many people don't understand it or realize it.

"Waiting itself is a rehearsal for happiness!"

"Because of this person, every minute and second of waiting will feel weighty!"

How clearly must one see life? How keenly must one experience life to be able to articulate such truths and express such insights!
Liu Xinwu felt he couldn't do it. There were also alcoholics on that planet who drank to forget their shame, and what they were ashamed of was their alcoholism.

Isn't this the very spiritual dilemma many people are facing today?

Using avoidance to solve problems only leads to sinking deeper into a quagmire, creating a vicious cycle that only makes one more and more mired in trouble.

There is still
In short, Liu Xinwu had a very strange feeling that reading "The Little Prince" was like reading a collection of many fables.

Fables are a very old literary genre in China. They use metaphorical stories to convey profound truths and inspire people. These stories are short but concise.

Examples include "The Mantis Stalks the Cicada," "Lord Ye Loves Dragons," and "The Old Man Lost His Horse."
You can gain some inspiration and insights from these stories.

Liu Xinwu had to admit that Jiang Xian's "The Little Prince" truly possessed such magic.

He perfectly integrated the genre of fables into children's literature, so much so that every part and every sentence of his "The Little Prince" has a profound meaning that is well worth exploring.

Or rather, children's literature should inherently possess this attribute.

Children's literature should not only carry a simple story, but also hide its deeper meaning behind the story, leaving it for children or adult readers to slowly understand.

Liu Xinwu flipped through the manuscript rapidly, then continued to jot down notes on a piece of paper.

Reading this novel wouldn't take long, but writing it took him a long time. When he briefly detached himself from the novel, he found himself with a sore back and aching muscles. He looked at his watch and realized it was already past 2 a.m. He hadn't even noticed the passage of time or felt sleepy at all.

Therefore, this novel is truly a masterpiece that keeps you up all night!
Liu Xinwu stretched, recalling the state of mind he had when he first opened the novel.

From the moment he turned the first page, it was like opening the door to a new world; every word seemed to possess a magical quality that made him unable to put it down.

In addition, the plots written by Jiang Xian are intricately linked, and the characters are incredibly vivid. These characters are people you often see around you, so when you read the book, it feels like the characters are right next to you.

In addition, there are those crudely drawn but childlike illustrations.

In short, the immersive reading experience is simply amazing!

Liu Xinwu increasingly felt that going to Children's Literature to ask for this manuscript to read was the right decision.

It would be such a shame to not have read this novel at least once!
But as Liu Xinwu slowly came to his senses from the novel's beauty, he suddenly realized a very serious problem.

How can this novel be written so well?!

It should be noted that before this, he had already made a lot of outrageous remarks about this novel to many people, even in front of Jiang Xian, belittling it as worthless.

"When all that's left of Chinese literature are your children's stories, then you'll have achieved your goal!"

"He hasn't written anything in so many years, and now he suddenly wants to write about truth, goodness, and beauty? I think he's afraid that writing other things will interfere with his official career!"

"They're just short stories to pass the time for kids."

"."

Liu Xinwu's face still burns when he thinks about the words he uttered.

How could I not blush?
They wrote such a good novel, turning it into a valuable spiritual treasure for the nation.

After all that, he still stood there questioning the quality of the novel?

What's this called?
This is just being blind to talent!

Thinking about this, Liu Xinwu felt increasingly uneasy, as if ants were crawling all over his body.

This led to his inclusion in "The Little Prince," where he became a classic character, alongside the king, the lamplighter, the businessman, and the vain man.

—A narrow-minded person.

Liu Xinwu chuckled self-deprecatingly, even conjuring up a story in his head:
The story goes that the Little Prince flew to a planet and met a stone collector who had been collecting stones on his planet and carefully putting them in his bag after he finished.

The little prince asked him, "What are you picking up?"

This person said, "I'm finding a treasure."

The Little Prince said that these were just ordinary stones, which were everywhere on every planet, so what was there to pick up?

But this person disagreed and stubbornly continued picking them up.

Just then, a meteor streaked across the sky above the planet, leaving a dazzling trail of light that instantly illuminated the entire sky in a spectacular display.

"Ah!" the little prince exclaimed, "Look! What a beautiful shooting star!"

The man hurriedly covered his blurry eyes with his hand and said angrily, "It's that worthless astronomical phenomenon again! Its light always distracts me from finding my treasure!"

Yes, there are beautiful things right above him, but he is blind to them, he is blind to their beauty, Liu Xinwu thinks that is him.

Of course, the story he came up with himself was definitely not as good as the one Jiang Xian wrote.

Because in a child's eyes, aren't stones of different shapes also treasures?

In short, it's fortunate that Jiang Xian didn't write about this aspect, otherwise he would be extremely ashamed right now.

But that's it.

What good is feeling ashamed?

If you keep dwelling on your shame, won't you just become an "alcoholic"?
Jiang Xian has truly brought this character to life.

Liu Xinwu tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, and accidentally woke his sleeping wife several times, earning him a lot of complaints.

The next morning, Liu Xinwu arrived at the editorial office of Children's Literature magazine with the manuscript of "The Little Prince".

The editor who saw him yesterday immediately smiled and came over.

"Teacher Liu, you've come over."

"Yes, I was afraid of delaying your work, so I brought it over to you as soon as I saw it."

"Have you finished reading the novel? What did you think of it?"

"Um"

Liu Xinwu seemed to have been asked an awkward question, and coughed twice, saying, "Okay, it is indeed very well written."

"right."

The editor, oblivious to Liu Xinwu's odd behavior, exclaimed excitedly, "All the editors in our department have read this novel and think it's exceptionally good. How could Comrade Jiang Xuan write it so well?"

"Cough cough."

Liu Xinwu coughed twice more. "Editor, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you."

(End of this chapter)