Literary Master 1983

Chapter 366 The Power of the Media

Civil aircraft in the 1980s were faster than those that came later.

Modern passenger planes generally have a speed of about 800 kilometers per hour, while the Boeing 720 passenger plane of the 1960s had a top speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour.

During the Cold War, countries spared no expense in pursuing performance to prove themselves superior, and this also affected civil aviation aircraft.

Europe's Airbus even built the Concorde, a supersonic passenger plane that could fly at twice the speed of sound. It could take only 3.5 hours to fly from New York to London.

Yu Qie took a nap during the flight.

When they woke up, they found that the sky had turned dark, which meant that they had indeed caught up with the sun.

"How fast is our plane?" he asked Gella's secretary.

"1200 kilometers per hour."

"Why is it flying so fast? That's faster than economic cruising speed."

Gela's secretary paused for a moment, then said, "Because you just said you wanted to see the sunrise again. We can't keep you here, so this is the only way we can express our respect."

The sentence was translated by a female comrade from the Xinhua Society.

She was clearly excited as she translated, and Shao Qi was even more excited after listening, his eyes shining.

Gela was already asleep. Not wanting to disturb the deputy prime minister, Shao Qi handed Yu Qie a note: "Professor Yu, I have material for my first report. It'll be called 'The Respect Chinese Writers Have Won't Obtained'."

Yu Qie smiled after reading it.

I haven't seen Shao Qi for several months. Why has she started writing story collections?

Soon after, the Frenchman discovered that they had followed suit and handed over a note.

It read: "Damn it! I forgot to turn on the recorder again!"

Chade discovered that one of his regrets as a journalist was that he had a conversation with George Johann Adam Schall von Bell when he was a reporter accompanying the French president on his visit to China, but he did not write it down.

At the time, the French wanted to sell the nuclear power plant to China for joint development, but no one knew how much the Chinese would buy.

The young man, unaware of the proper etiquette, asked Master Qiao directly, "How many do you want to buy?"

Mr. Qiao was not a Western politician; he did not look down on the young reporter's investigation, but rather gave a range of figures.

Chade was thrilled to discover that this was inside information only the president knew. He was so excited that he wanted to publish the report, but the newspaper rejected his story: Chade, we cannot publish your bombshell report because you have no evidence!
Evidence! Breaking news always needs evidence!
He became obsessed with the investigation, insisting on documenting everything, and became a rare European journalist who spent a long time in China.

Yu Qie replied to him on the note: "Don't worry about missing out on big news, there will be plenty of news coming soon."
-
At five o'clock, the group arrived at Madrid Airport. The sky was still a deep blue, without any light.

Reporters from more than twenty countries gathered here, while King Carlos I, dressed in royal attire, stood at a distance waiting.

The plane taxied slowly, followed by the laying of a long red carpet... Carlos waited patiently, showing no impatience.

Carlos was patient, but the Spanish royalists were unhappy. One journalist complained, "Why would the King come to pick us up? This is not in accordance with diplomatic protocol."

Another reporter was also puzzled upon hearing this: because the awarding of the Cervantes Prize doesn't require the King to pick someone up at the airport. Usually, it's the Deputy Prime Minister Gragan who handles such matters, or the Minister of Culture.

Sometimes there's no such thing as being picked up at the airport.

"Were there other Chinese people on the plane?"

"According to sources, there isn't any."

"Then why did Mr. Carlos come?"

"The king liked this writer and wrote him a letter."

"That's all..."

Another thing broke the reporter's nerves.

During the red carpet event, a Chinese photographer walked through the crowd and left the press area, standing only five steps away from Carlos.

He held his camera, ready to take pictures at any moment. Carlos chatted and laughed with him.

This person is, of course, Liu Xiangcheng of Time magazine.

Why do some people have this privilege?
Just because this person has the same skin color as the award-winning author?
The reporter, in a fit of impotent rage, exclaimed: "I curse the awards ceremony to fail! I can accept that a great writer is simply fortunate to have been born in his country, but I cannot accept that all his compatriots are more noble than me!"

"There are too many people there!"

The reporter was subsequently expelled for making racist remarks, which caused a minor uproar.

At 5:30, as dawn broke, Yu Qie and Gela appeared in front of the camera. Instantly, the flash illuminated their small area as if it were daytime.

The red carpet was short, and Gellar deliberately slowed down to take more photos.

Carlos waited and waited, feeling like an eternity, before finally seeing the tall and imposing Yu Qie. He couldn't hide his smile: "You are indeed as tall as the legends say, and yet you are a writer!"

Yu Qie knew that Carlos was most proud of his feat of driving back the rebels by telephone, so he reciprocated by saying, "Beneath your robust physique, I also see the indomitable soul of a poet."

This was exactly what Liu Xiangcheng had been waiting for; he picked up his camera and started snapping away.

Subsequently, Carlos and Yuche each delivered speeches at the airport.

Carlos said, "On November 22, 1975, when I was crowned king, I said in my speech to parliament, 'Today, Spanish history has entered a new phase!'"

"Now I want to repeat what I said: the history of the Cervantes Prize has entered a new phase! For the first time in history, an Eastern writer has profoundly understood Spanish literature and developed its techniques to new heights!"

"It is an honor for our time to live in the same era as such giants!"

Yu Qie then discussed the "chivalry" that everyone in Spain knows:
“When I was writing my novel, some people praised my pursuit of the murderer, saying that I demonstrated ‘chivalry.’ They said that I was similar to the hero Don Quixote, who was created in the 16th century and dreamed of becoming. We were both determined to take a more difficult path for our ideals.”

"Arrogantly fought three hundred rounds with that indestructible windmill."

"However, rather than talking about the chivalry of an Easterner, let's think deeper! In our human society, there are some virtues that transcend society and history, such as keeping promises, being helpful, and helping those in distress... Thus, Don Quixote, the originally comical character, has gradually been interpreted as a tragic hero who does what he knows to be impossible."

"Don Quixote accomplished nothing, yet the knight he emulated was the embodiment of all good. Dostoevsky said this was the most bitter self-mockery imaginable, because he knew it was us, both of us." "It was precisely for this reason that in 1908, a Chinese student in Japan, after reading *Don Quixote*, grasped this point. Thirteen years later, this student chose to use the most comical aspect of Don Quixote to awaken the Chinese soul: he created the universally known 'Ah Q'!"

"Courage itself is the most beautiful quality. From this perspective, Don Quixote did not deceive and numb himself like 'Ah Q.' From the moment he decided to embark on his journey, he was already a knight! Just like everyone here."

The Spanish national radio and television station broadcast Carlos and Yuche's speech live. Carlos stared intently at Yuche, his eyes full of admiration, even a hint of worship.

Many Spanish readers who knew only Yu Qie's books but not him as a person fell in love with him for the first time. Fan groups dedicated to Yu Qie's books suddenly sprang up in Spain.

On that day, Carlos hosted a large banquet in Madrid in the name of literature, which was attended by most of the local literary figures and celebrities.

Yu Qie was already used to these kinds of scenes.

He took the time to congratulate Liu Xiangcheng on winning the Pulitzer Prize, the highest honor an American journalist can receive.

Liu Xiangcheng was surprised that Yu Qie still remembered him. To repay the emperor's kindness, he immediately did everything he could to report to Yu Qie.

When the group transferred trains from Madrid to Alcalá, the award ceremony location, Liu Xiangcheng's report had already been published in the United States the following day. Alcalá had satellite signals from American television stations, and in every photo Liu Xiangcheng sent to the US, Yu Che appeared much taller than Carlos.

Carlos was like Yuche's little brother.

But if you insist that this photo is a dig at Carlos, well, it isn't.

Carlos is also very righteous and honorable, but for some reason he is always overshadowed by Yu Qie.

The photos stunned Yu Qie: "Liu Xiangcheng, did you do this on purpose or by accident?"

"It was an accident on purpose!" Liu Xiangcheng said proudly.

“Mr. Yu!” Liu Xiangcheng explained, “The photographer can play a very important role! I previously covered the entire meeting between Gorbachev and the US president in Iceland… Following the newspaper’s instructions, I could portray Gorbachev as an upright and tough guy at any moment! Or I could portray him as a shameless schemer in the next second!”

"It all depends on how I film it! Gorbachev has never changed; what has changed is the Gorbachev as portrayed in the media! Whether he is tough or weak is determined by my lens!"

"Even the two most powerful people in the world can't afford to offend us journalists!"

The King of Hell is easy to talk to, but his underlings are hard to deal with.

This truly showed Yu Qie Liu Xiangcheng's abilities. Chinese public figures often suffer in silence in these matters, but this time it was the King of Spain who suffered.

Shao Qi said he learned something new.

As king, Carlos certainly wouldn't be unlucky forever. Aside from Time magazine being found to have a traitor, most major media outlets portrayed Carlos in a much more glamorous light. He was dressed in magnificent robes, surrounded by numerous guards, and was also a handsome man; it was truly difficult to find anything about him that made him inferior to Yuqie.

Alcalá is a small town located 30 kilometers from the capital, Madrid. It boasts beautiful scenery and numerous historical buildings.

Spain wanted to make this place a cultural mecca for Europeans, so they invited Yu Qie and his companions to visit it in the following days. Yu Qie left behind several travelogues about Spain.

While each piece was indeed funded by the Spanish, Yu Qie was written for the English-speaking world.

Carlos has made headlines again these past few days. He heard from Deputy Prime Minister Gera that Yuche is a heavy motorcycle enthusiast, and Carlos himself is a heavy motorcycle fanatic (really!). He's itching to challenge Yuche to a motorcycle battle.

Yu Qie went to the scene to investigate the situation.

It wasn't that he was afraid Carlos would harm him, but rather that Carlos, in his erratic behavior, might cause him to run away and get himself killed. That would turn a joyous occasion into a tragedy.

Historically, Carlos had a relatively good reputation in Spain, ending Franco's dictatorship. He had only two flaws: one was that he had many mistresses and fathered numerous illegitimate children; the other was his various bizarre and unusual hobbies.

That's why they say he's a person of strong emotions.

He had so many hobbies that some people thought he relinquished the throne not because he couldn't handle it, but because he wanted to have more convenient ways to play.

The motorcycle race was held on a hilly area near Madrid, with very high-quality roads.

Yu Che and Carlos held a low-key competition, but both broke down due to running out of fuel. Yu Che took off his helmet to let some air in, and Carlos did the same. They looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Then Yu Qie could no longer laugh.

Carlos called his daughter Christina to bring gasoline. After the gasoline arrived, the two fought again, and Yuche ultimately "narrowly lost" to Carlos.

As the loser, Yuqie was required to send Christina back to the palace, and he did so.

Christina fell in love with him, and followed him wherever he went. Christina's feelings were obvious to everyone.

By this time, Márquez, Carmen, and the others had arrived in Alcalá. Yu Qie turned to Márquez, that old scumbag, for help: "How can I subtly tell her that I'm not interested in her?"

Márquez first said, "You're becoming more and more like a Spanish writer, really."

Then he offered his advice: "You should beat her up. In Latin America, there's nothing that fists can't solve."

Yu Qie didn't know what to do and finally declared that the method had no effect. "She seems to be even more infatuated with me."

Márquez shrugged helplessly: "Looks like she's a female Don Quixote too."

Carmen rolled her eyes at Marquez and offered to help Yu Qie with the matter. "I'll take care of it."

The night before the awards ceremony, Carmen returned confidently and said, "Cristina is a simple girl, a traditional Spanish woman. She has promised me that she will not bother you again."

"How did you manage to do that?" Márquez asked curiously.

“I told her that your charity work is genuine and that you will eventually donate even more wealth. She couldn’t accept that… She could only accept that you are a multi-millionaire and a future billionaire.”

Yu suddenly remembered that Christina was later apparently the first person to be expelled from the royal family—involved in numerous economic crimes. She was also the first member of the royal family to appear in court.

Previously, members of the Spanish royal family were either subjected to games like Candy Crush or actively indulging in pleasure; this is the first person to almost go to jail.

Carlos never inquired about the matter, and only a few tabloids in Spain reported on it sporadically. Shao Qi suppressed the story, believing it to be lowbrow and not worth writing about.

This is significantly different from when Glenn helped Yuqie chase the sun earlier.

In early May, witnessed by the King and Queen of Spain, Yuche received the Cervantes Prize in the auditorium of the University of Alcalá.

(End of this chapter)