Chapter 67 We Found a Treasure
Chapter 67 We Found a Treasure
"Mr. Holmes" has a total of about 170,000 words, and about 50,000 words are just enough to complete the first volume of the story.
"It's finally here." Han Zang is a good editor, because he has already started thinking about how to reject the manuscript without undermining Gu Lu's self-confidence.
If Gu Lu was an adult, Han Zang would have told him directly that you had a more appropriate way of writing but you didn't follow it and insisted on changing your writing style. Isn't that childish? Isn't money more important?
But the other person was a junior high school student, oh no, a high school student. He was still at the age of having dreams, so Han Zang kept it to himself.
[Thanks to Zhang Yudong for giving me The Sign of Four, which allowed me to feel the charm of Sherlock Holmes again.]
The first sentence was an acknowledgement, which was normal and there was nothing much to say, so Han Zang continued reading.
The story begins with Holmes being 93 years old, moving slowly, and living in seclusion in a suburban estate. His only hobby in his old age is raising bees.
"Keeping bees..."
As a mystery enthusiast and the editor-in-chief of "Years of Mystery", he has read Sherlock Holmes many times.
It seems that it was mentioned in "The Second Blood" that Holmes kept bees on the Sussex Hills for some time.
Han Zang stood up and walked to the bookshelf on the left. The large bookshelf was basically a face-saving project, displaying classic mystery works from home and abroad.
He pulled out Sherlock Holmes and turned to "The Last Salute" and found that it was clearly written.
"It is indeed written in the original book that Holmes wrote 'A Practical Handbook of Beekeeping - A Study on the Isolation of Queen Bees'. It's interesting. It seems that Mr. Gu has read it thoroughly."
My interest in reading increased instantly, which at least shows that the author did not write it on a whim.
These 50,000 words explain that Holmes is only surrounded by his housekeeper, Mrs. Munroe, and Munroe's son Roger (a little boy).
As he read deeper, Han Zang frowned. The 93-year-old Holmes' memory was gradually deteriorating, so he took royal jelly every day to improve his memory.
He even came to China to look for Acorus calamus, which is said to have the effect of improving memory.
And Holmes also brought the calamus back to England.
Gu Lu made some changes to this branch line. The original story was about going to Neon to look for Iwazan pepper. The reason for the change was not to have something to do with China, but mainly involved the matter of the bullets in Changpingyuan.
Neon made such a big mistake in China, so why should they sigh about being hit by an atomic bomb? They deserved it!
The reason why editor Han Zang frowned was that he found it hard to accept that Sherlock Holmes, who was quick-witted, absolutely rational and rebellious, would become like what he described in the book.
"That's right. Watson is dead, his brother Mycroft is dead too, all the familiar people are dead, only an old man is left. Even Sherlock Holmes is just a man, not a god." Han Zang understood a little after reading it over again.
The books describe things in such detail that it seems as if Holmes really existed, and this was what his later years were like.
[The meadow full of flowers and the woods where no one has stepped on can be the direction you are looking for. If this cannot become the most important goal of mankind, then I believe that an era of true enlightenment will never come.]
[He didn't understand that the dead weren't really far away. They were just on the other side of the wall.]
[I've always been lonely... all my life. But my ability to think is a compensation.]
……
"It's hard to imagine that a high school student can have such unique insights into loneliness. Could this be the loneliness of a genius who is not understood?" Han Zang thought to himself.
If it was the story editor Lao Li, he would immediately think of family factors. Because the two people know different things, the direction of their imagination is also very different.
Han Zang finished reading more than 50,000 words in one breath and still felt unsatisfied.
Because the article lays out two hooks, the first and biggest one is: what is Sherlock Holmes' final case?
Because of the failure of the last case, Sherlock Holmes exiled himself and never solved a case again.
In the text, Holmes' memory has deteriorated and he can only remember fragments of words occasionally. This should be the main plot of the novel.
The other small hooks are the bees raised by Holmes, which died for no reason and no cause could be found.
"That's all?" Han Zang apologized for his previous thoughts. "As expected, Teacher Gu, who can change his writing style at will, has an inhuman creative ability that a mortal like me cannot comment on."
"Sign, must sign, these 50,000 words, even if it doesn't look like a mystery novel, it's no problem to write a sequel to Sherlock Holmes and publish it in a magazine!" Han Zang found Editor-in-Chief Gao. Editor-in-Chief Gao of "Years of Mystery" was introduced earlier. He is a super mystery fan who is more experienced than Han Zang and knows most mystery works by heart.
As it was related to the contract author, Chief Editor Gao put down his work. He read it very carefully, taking half an hour to read 50,000 words.
"Xiao Han." Editor-in-Chief Gao looked up and called out.
Han Zang listened attentively, "What is the editor's evaluation of the book?"
“Maybe we have really discovered an amazing person.” Editor-in-Chief Gao said, “The switching between the third-person and first-person perspectives in this book is very smooth. If it were a writer in his thirties or forties with rich experience, it would be normal.”
"But this author, Gu Lu, is only in high school, so he is a natural talent," Chief Editor Gao commented. "And his writing style changes almost without leaving any traces. His imitation ability is the best I have seen in more than 40 years."
Han Zang agreed with Chief Editor Gao's high evaluation. Apart from a few idioms, there was no trace of his style at all. This could only be described as talent.
“Such a good manuscript, with such a talented author. It would be a crime if we don’t sign it.” Chief Editor Gao made the final conclusion.
The serialization fee is 180 yuan per thousand words, and other conditions remain unchanged for help with publishing the book.
The day after Gu Lu sent the manuscript, he received the message.
"I'll send the contract back as soon as possible." Gu Lu said on the phone.
Han Zang asked, "No problem. Regarding the serialization time, does Mr. Gu have any preference?"
"Let's start at the end of August," said Gu Lu.
Ordinary high schools start school on September 1st or 2nd, but No. 8 Middle School starts a week earlier and conducts military training for freshmen.
Gu Lu arranged the mystery novels and fairy tales to be serialized after entering high school.
"No problem, we will coordinate the time. By the way, Mr. Gu, if you have time, you can come to our AC Forum 10th Anniversary offline party." Han Zang made an invitation, "Most of the contracted writers of "Time Mystery" will be there."
"AC Forum?" Gu Lu had never heard of it.
Han Zang explained that AC Forum is the A-po Forum. In the beginning, it was a gathering place for A-po's fans. Later, it gradually and spontaneously translated foreign classic mystery novels. It is the largest mystery exchange forum in China.
The AC Forum was founded by Gao, the editor-in-chief of "Years of Reasoning".
Gu Lu wanted to ask, is the round-trip air ticket included?
On the other hand, Gu Jiayu returned home.
"Gu Lu will come by himself when the time comes. Your uncle Xiao won't have time to pick him up, and he's grown up already." said Gu's mother.
"...Brother won't come." Gu Jiayu said.
"Ok?"
The inflection in Gu's mother's nasal voice revealed her confusion. She looked at Gu Jiayu strangely. In the past two years, on her birthday, even if she didn't let Gu Lu come, he would ask his sister to pass on the gift. What happened this year?
The slight feeling in my heart was forcibly calmed by Gu's mother. She said, "It's better if you don't come. We are a family of four and can celebrate properly."
"Mom..." Gu Jiayu hesitated for a while and decided to say, "Mom doesn't want to see my brother. Is it because I have a new brother?"
The new brother is naturally Xiao Yang. Gu Jiayu knew that this question would make her mother unhappy, but she still wanted to ask.
(End of this chapter)