Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 117 A commission for an article in Le Figaro

Inside the embassy, ​​a group of people sat in the dining hall eating bread and flipping through today's French newspapers. The embassy had sent them the morning's papers: major French newspapers such as *Le Monde*, *Le Figaro*, and *Le Parisien*, along with some tabloids.

"Yimin, the French are really good at taking photos!" Li Xiaolin said with a smile. In the newspaper, Liu Yimin walked out of the lecture hall with a beaming smile, his face radiating confidence and composure.

Liu Yimin smiled and glanced at the small print below the picture: "[AFP Report]". AFP's performance was as stable as ever.

"These French newspapers almost all have their eyes on Liu Yimin. It seems that Liu Yimin is about to win the favor of the French people." Xu Chi flipped through several newspapers, and they all featured Liu Yimin.

Apart from Ba Jin, the rest of the group members were referred to as "the other six".

"French newspapers will support whoever wins and write about whoever can bring them sales. The senior figures are all well-known, and they can no longer get readers' attention from you, so they can only turn their attention to me, a greenhorn."

"Whoever wins, they'll help them?" Li Xiaolin turned his gaze to Liu Yimin, showing great interest in this statement.

Liu Yimin put down the bread in his hand, wiped his mouth and said, "I'll tell you a story. There's a joke about a French newspaper reporting that Napoleon returned to Paris."

Day 1: "The Corsican Monster Lands in Port Joan"

The next day: "The man-eating devil advances towards Grasse."

Day Three: "The Usurper Enters Grenoble"

Day 4: "Bonaparte Occupies Lyon"

Day 5: "Emperor Napoleon is approaching Fontainebleau"

Day Six: "His Majesty will arrive in his faithful Paris today."

"Within a week, Napoleon was called the Corsican Monster and then His Majesty the Emperor."

Everyone burst into laughter after hearing it. Xu Chi laughed so hard his hands trembled, and he dropped his chopsticks. Ba Jin wiped his mouth and smiled at Liu Yimin; he had heard this joke before when he was in Paris.

Ambassador Han peeled an egg and put it on Liu Yimin's plate: "Hahaha, that's how the French media are. They always use shocking words to attract readers' attention. Yimin, you'd better watch out. These newspapers won't let you off the hook."

“That would reduce the pressure on us old men a lot.” After saying that, Luo Sun took a bite of bread, found it difficult to chew, and said sullenly, “The French have really good teeth; they can eat something this hard.”

Liu Yimin took a bite of bread and then a sip of millet porridge, finding it too dry: "Luckily we're only staying here for three weeks, and at the embassy no less. If we were to stay for a month, I'd be dreaming about the boiled cabbage at school."

"That night I'll have the comrades make you boiled cabbage," Han Da joked.

The second day's itinerary included attending a reception hosted by the French branch of PEN International. Many of Ba Jin's old friends were present at the reception, and as soon as he entered the venue, many people immediately came over to surround him.

Liu Yimin and Li Xiaolin flanked Ba Jin, helping him fend off the enthusiastic welcomeers. Suddenly, someone's hand slapped Liu Yimin's face. He glanced at it speechlessly, but ultimately couldn't find the culprit.

"Teacher Ba, you're being way too enthusiastic!"

"It shows they still consider me an old friend," Ba Jin said to Liu Yimin in a low voice.

At the writers' gathering, Ba Jin's old friends kept asking him how Paris was different now compared to before. Ba Jin could only say that it was more prosperous and larger than before.

The Frenchmen became even more pleased with Ba Jin's praise.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone began to discuss Ba Jin's works. Some people believed that, like Cao Yu, Ba Jin's works in the first half of his life were better than those in the second half, and that he never wrote a full-length novel again later on.

Ba Jin said with a smile, "Because I don't want to keep immersing myself in criticizing the old era. My works need some new content, but the transformation of an author is a difficult thing."

After the conversation, someone specifically mentioned Liu Yimin. Yesterday at Paris Dauphin University, Liu Yimin presented a copy of his book, and several French writers, especially Perec, specifically asked someone to look at the book and translate and explain the stories in detail.

"Liu, in your book you told a story about a brave and strong old man and his dog. What do you think are the differences between this brave and strong old man and Santiago from Hemingway's story?" a Frenchman asked.

Santiago is the fisherman in "The Old Man and the Sea," a story about his struggle against sharks at sea. A famous line from the book has inspired many Chinese people: "A man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated!"

Liu Yimin looked at the other person and calmly said:
"Thank you for the question. What Lao Xue and Santiago have in common is that they are both brave people, warriors who wrestle with nature, braving water and fire, tough guys who have forged themselves in harsh environments. I think that people who dare to fight against life are people who love life."

The difference between them lies in the fact that one acted for a living, while the other acted for the country and its people; this is the biggest difference between them.

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, another Frenchman said, "Liu, I heard you talked a lot about realism at the Ninth University yesterday, but planting trees in the desert is clearly not realism, it's more like romanticism. Planting trees in the desert? What a brilliant idea!"

After the Frenchman finished speaking, a chorus of snickers, tinged with mockery, rippled through the room. Ba Jin remained unfazed, but Li Xiaolin was already growing anxious.

She glanced at Liu Yimin several times in a few seconds, her heart filled with worry, fearing that she might say something wrong and have it published in the newspaper.

"So Lao Xue is a hero, a warrior, and there are many Lao Xues in our country. This is a true story. If any of you come to China, I would like to take you to visit the place where Lao Xue planted trees. We have a large number of comrades working hard in these remote forest farms, and they have already achieved results."

As soon as he finished speaking, a buzzing sound filled the hall again. The people below looked at each other, whispered among themselves, and then shook their heads in unison after speaking.

Seeing that they still didn't believe him, Liu Yimin took out several photos from his bag and showed them to the Frenchmen. Some were taken by Yu Jiajia, and others were sent to Liu Yimin later by the Saihanba Forest Farm.

"Society is a book, and facts are the textbook. If you ever come to China and are willing to see for yourselves, I would be happy to go with you. The efforts our country has made in environmental protection cannot be buried by so-called 'sandstorms,' and I thank you all for your willingness to learn about China."

When Liu Yimin spoke, he also quoted the French philosopher Rousseau. The writers of PEN International France gained a new appreciation for Liu Yimin's erudition. The left-wing writers, upon hearing Liu Yimin's words, stood up and applauded to express their support. Their impressions of China are polarized, and these left-wing writers are constantly promoting China.

As the pen pal gathering drew to a close, Liu Yimin gave away several more books, but unfortunately there were too many people, so he also gave away a few folding fans. He received a collection of Rousseau's works and a 30g silver coin.

The reporters from Le Figaro borrowed photos from Liu Yimin. They had heard Liu Yimin speak and wanted to write a report about tree planting, hoping to show readers the real China through the photos.

A reporter from Le Figaro glanced at Liu Yimin and tentatively asked if they could commission him to write a report on tree planting in China. Liu Yimin, fearing the reporters might take things out of context, agreed, but without setting a deadline.

On the way back, Liu Yimin told Ba Jin about it, and Ba Jin encouraged Liu Yimin to write boldly. After he finished writing, Ba Jin personally translated it into French.

"The comrades in Saihanba sent me a lot of materials. I will just briefly talk about the establishment of Saihanba Forest Farm and its success to date. When foreigners read it, it must also conform to their cultural habits."

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, Li Xiaolin interjected, "Just now on stage, my palms were sweating from nervousness. I didn't expect Yimin to handle it so easily. Judging from his expression, he seemed quite at ease. Yimin, you are not only suited to be a writer, but also a diplomat."

"It's a pity that Yimin became a writer!" Xu Chi joked.

Liu Yimin humbly said, "I am only familiar with the contents of the book. There is a reporter from China Youth Daily named Yu Jiajia who wrote an in-depth report about Saihanba, and we exchanged information. It's like when I was on an exam, the question happened to be one that I had prepared."

"We may seem to be here to receive praise from our French counterparts, but in reality, we're like high school students answering questions, and they're the examiners. They're still reluctant to ask me, an old man, any sharp questions, but it's a different story with Yimin, so we still need to be careful."

Ba Jin reminded Liu Yimin, and the others also agreed.

After visiting the Rousseau statue in the afternoon, Ba Jin returned to the guesthouse. The embassy told him that someone had been looking for him. When Ba Jin met him, he learned that the person was the great-grandson of a French literary giant he greatly admired, who had come to find him after hearing that he had come to Paris.

The rest of the delegation returned to their rooms, where Liu Yimin pondered how to complete his article for Le Figaro. He decided to start with the background of Saihanba, avoiding excessive exaggeration and striving only to faithfully reflect reality.

In fact, the idea of ​​planting trees in a freezing cold place was already considered a fantasy by the French. If it were any more exaggerated, they would probably treat it as science fiction.

On their third day in Paris, after visiting Paris III University, the faculty and students of the Chinese Department held a welcome party for them. At the party, students from Paris III University performed to express their welcome to the delegation.

After the performance, two French students came to the center of the stage and began to recite Ba Jin's "Random Thoughts" in French and Chinese respectively.

"I never expected that there would be readers of 'Random Thoughts' in Paris."

After the reading of "Random Thoughts" was finished, the French students picked up newspapers and began reciting Liu Yimin's "Motherland, My Beloved Motherland!"

However, when she read it in Chinese, something was off. She was too nervous and couldn't keep up with her breathing. Fortunately, Liu Yimin could understand her.

Liu Yimin then presented the French student with another book. The French student asked Liu Yimin why he wrote such deeply affectionate poems to express his love for his motherland.

Liu Yimin smiled faintly: "Because I only have one motherland!"

"Anyone who loves their country deserves respect!" A professor from Paris III University stood up and applauded.

The delegation will stay in Paris for about a week. The next leg of their trip will be Nice-Marseille-Lyon-Sardogiri, before returning to Paris and boarding a plane back to China.

The day before his departure for Nice, Liu Yimin finally finished writing his report on Saihanba and handed it to Ba Jin, asking him to translate it. The report, which was over two thousand words long, could be considered a non-fiction news report.

Liu Yimin did not want to trouble Ba Jin. Due to health reasons, he wanted Xu Chi to translate for him, but Ba Jin firmly disagreed.

"Jiabao's students are my students too. How can a teacher trouble others when they're here? Don't worry, I can handle it. I'll rest tomorrow. My train to Nise is tonight. I'll make sure the translation is finished before I leave."

We saw the newspaper just before we left France; let's not let the newspapers mislead us.

"Thank you, Teacher Ba!"

The next day at noon, Ba Jin told Liu Yimin that he had finished translating. Liu Yimin then called Le Figaro and asked them to come and pick up the manuscript.

"Liu, it's very well written. I'm going back to the newspaper now. If the editor-in-chief approves it and decides to publish it, we will pay you a fee of no less than fifty francs per thousand words. I will definitely deliver the fee to you before you leave France."

Fifty francs for a thousand words, one hundred for two thousand words, and that's the lowest price. Liu Yimin gasped; this price was higher than what he paid for his novel "Romance on Lushan Mountain," which was over ten thousand words long.

Capitalist money is so easy to make, damn it, I wrote too few words!
Le Figaro is a high-quality newspaper, unlike typical tabloids. Their readership consists of upper-middle-class individuals, and a single copy is relatively expensive. They have the financial strength to attract contributors with high-standard fees.

That evening, the group left Paris by train, where they would spend the rest of their days in hotels or even apartments with friends.

They only stayed in Nice for two days. On the second day, they attended a reception hosted by the Sino-French Friendship Association. The banquet lasted very late, and Ba Jin, feeling exhausted, had to leave early.

Taking the opportunity, Liu Yimin helped Ba Jin leave the venue, as he was very uncomfortable with the noise at the reception.

Two days after Liu Yimin left Paris, Le Figaro published his article, "Chinese Planting Trees Here: A Group of Heroes in the Desert," along with a photograph that Liu Yimin had given to Le Figaro.

French readers witnessed for the first time the efforts of the Chinese people in combating desertification, and saw the phrase, "They turned the impossible into the possible, therefore they are heroes of realism."

This report, coupled with other media coverage of Liu Yimin, significantly boosted the sales of this issue of Le Figaro. While other media outlets were collaborating with Liu Yimin to generate buzz and traffic, Le Figaro truly grasped the essence of traffic generation.

(End of this chapter)