Chapter 148 A sharp knife

Chapter 148 A sharp knife

Chapter 148 A Sharp Knife
"This is today's assignment." Qi Caiwei handed her reading notes to Gu Lu.

The study in Grade 8 Middle School is quite hard, so I can only finish one or two books a week.

This speed is too slow. Think about when Gu Lu read online novels - one million words a day!
Of course, the speed of reading online articles and physical books is slightly different! Gu Lu finished reading the review in just a few glances.

"Not bad." said Gu Lu.

Qi Caiwei smiled happily after being affirmed, her back teeth were exposed. To be honest, judging from the facial features and face shape of the third-generation classmate, a cold face is much better looking than a smiling one.

And Qi Caiwei loves to laugh.

"When you stop showing me your review of a movie, you will be out of the game," said Gu Lu.

"I'll feel a little insecure if I don't show it to you." Qi Caiwei muttered softly. She knew that she was very troublesome to her deskmate, so she taught math, physics and chemistry very seriously, even though she didn't gain much.

The next class was about the test paper, which Gu Lu hadn't done, so he started thinking about his next submission.

At present, all the manuscripts of "Youth Digest", "Youth Literature and Art", "Story Club" and "Horror" have been settled, and only "Years of Reasoning" has two issues left to be serialized.

Also because Gu Lu is able to be self-sufficient, the frequency of his submissions has dropped a lot.

However, no matter how much it drops, it is time to invest.

For a professional short story writer, it is impossible to guarantee that every piece will be successfully submitted, so if you write 30,000 to 40,000 words a week and have four or five pieces, it is normal.

Gu Lu’s success rate is 99%, so should we use Aimee or Liu Cixin?
The perfect fusion of literature and imagination, or bringing science fiction to the world level?

"If it's the former, then it can be published in core literary journals and compete for mainstream literary awards."

The only work that Gu Lu had participated in competition so far was "Smash the Piggy Pigs", which was a failure. But it doesn't matter, as President Jian is planning to sign up for the novel award of the "National Excellent Children's Literature Award" next year.

After thinking it over again and again, Gu Lu suppressed his vanity and decided to release Liu Cixin first!
After all, Gu Lu feels that he is still young, so it is more important to post the knife, and "Rural Teacher" and "Take Her Eyes" are very tear-jerking.

And the irony is that there are two billion gods...

"Fortunately it's just a short story, and I've left people with the impression that I like to change my writing style. Otherwise, if I want to write a long story with such a variety of genres... I still need to plan it carefully."

Thinking about it, Gu Lu began to choose which one to read first.

As for magazines, there is no need to choose one. There are very few science fiction magazines in China, and science fiction as a subject is even less popular than mystery.

At present, Gu Lu's ambition to become "the best-selling short story writer in China" is progressing steadily.

First, the collection of short stories was quickly prepared. After being selected by President Wang of New Youth Publishing House, "Yesterday's Park" was chosen from several alternative names by Gu Lu. This name has a story-telling nature and is in line with the tastes of some literary youths.

Secondly, regarding the development of "The Little Prince", Gu Lu has asked President Jian to use President Jian's connections to find a reliable collaborator.

Finally, if you want to publish more short story collections, you should bring out Liu Cixin. Some of the other short stories drawn cannot be published, so they have to be pieced together, but the entire "Take Her Eyes" can be used!

The bell rings.

"I'm so tired!" Zeng Jie suddenly shouted, "I feel tired when I hear the bell ringing for the end of get out of class."

The puzzled remark prompted a classmate to ask, "You must be tired when you hear the bell for class."

"Do you know Mile? He has a poem that says, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?" Zeng Jie said, "When I hear the bell for the end of get out of class, I will remember that the bell for class will ring again in ten minutes, so I will feel tired."

What he said made a lot of sense. I was speechless. But is this poet called Mile? It should be Miledy. Gu Lu smiled in his heart.

During the break, some students rushed to play cards, hiding in the dark, fearing that they would be discovered by the teacher.

The card was Yu-Gi-Oh!. Gu Lu had always felt that Yu-Gi-Oh! was a very niche game, but he didn't expect that Class 10 could actually get together a pair of perfect talents.

The fact that No. 8 Middle School has an animation club is already the greatest tolerance the school has shown. As for the board game club, we’ll have to wait until college to get it.

"Gu Lu, come to my house for dinner this Saturday." Li Guyuan walked to the table.

"This Saturday? I may not have time as I have something else to do." Gu Lu said.

"What a shame," Li Guyuan said. "My mom originally planned to prepare a big meal. That day was my dad's birthday."

"!" Gu Lu thought about what happened on Saturday, "I'll try to come. It's not a big dinner, but I want to help my uncle celebrate his birthday."

Li Guyuan made an OK gesture.

A wonderful day came to an end, but the next day is worth mentioning because it was the day when the "Fog City Daily" was released.

"Come here, Lao Gu, come and take a look. This is really awesome. Come and take a look. This is so cool."

Although Changmao is the store manager, he never liked studying since he was a child, so he would say "Niubi" and "So cool" to express his excitement. Unlike college students, they would often say "Wow".

"What's the matter?" Gu's father responded. It was unusual that they drank less yesterday, just a bottle of white wine and half a box of beer per person.

Because I drank less, I got up early, and it’s not dark yet.

"Look here—" Changmao pointed to the front-page headline of the Fog City Daily.

"Are you still reading newspapers?" Father Gu seemed to have discovered a new world.

"My shop has reserved newspapers and fashion magazines for customers to read," Changmao said, "Gu Lu has ordered newspapers, did you know?!"

The newspaper was read out by Changmao.

[Reporter's note: According to reports from the Young Pioneers Daily and the People's Literature Daily.

Gu Lu was born in Yongchuan, the Fog City, in 1996. His representative works include The Little Prince, Mr. Holmes, and more than a dozen short stories. He has won the first prize of the Ye Shengtao Cup and the first prize of the Fog City Wine Culture Theme Essay Competition. The famous literary critic Yu Xinyao once praised him as a rare writing genius in a decade. Jian Qu, president of the Juvenile and Children's Literature Publishing House, believes that "Gu Lu is completely different from other writers. He has a very strong plasticity, just like water. If you give him any container, he can change into the shape of the container."

Recently, the reporter took advantage of the publication of "The Little Prince" to interview the talented writer Gu Lu, who is studying at Wudu No. 8 Middle School.

[…]
Why could Changmao know at a glance that this Gu Lu was his friend's child? Because he published a photo.

To be honest, compared with the current unkempt and rather embarrassed Father Gu, the high-spirited Gu Lu looks very little similar.

As for his child, after the showdown and two or three days of sadness, Father Gu no longer paid any attention to him. How did he become a writer?

"Are you kidding?" Father Gu looked at Changmao, who looked serious.

"Let me see it." Father Gu grabbed the newspaper.

What catches the eye is the double headline layout of Fog City Daily. One of the headlines is: Tongyuanju Station and Gongmao Station of Fog City Light Rail Line 3 will open tomorrow.

Another headline is "Exclusive Interview with Gu Lu: A fairy tale suitable for adults, a planet without other people."

When he saw the photo of the child, Gu's father was moved. It was true. His eyes quickly turned to the main text.

When the reporter asked about the metaphors in The Little Prince, which is the most concerned issue for readers, Gu Lu said, "The Little Prince has many metaphors. I don't want to answer the rose and the fox that readers are most interested in, because when reading fairy tales, the author's meaning is not important at all."

"What's important is what you can see from it," he said. "For example, most people always see sheep as a symbol of hope. If you draw a box, you can't see what's inside, but it also means hope."

"But to me, the sheep is the father. The box is the room, and until I open the box, I always believe that the father is in the box."

It seems that Gu Lu's father is busy with work. Then he said, "When I was a child, I always wanted to believe that there was a sheep in the box."

"What about now?"

"Now I don't care whether there is a sheep in the box or not. I don't even care about the box."

[…]
The piercing cold knife reminded Gu's father of what Gu Lu said, "I don't have to pay for food and accommodation when I study at No. 8 Middle School, so I don't need to pay for the ten yuan per month living expenses. In addition, I hope you won't disturb my studies. I want to work hard to become a useful person to society."

According to calculations based on his brain, which had been corroded by alcohol and was no longer so sharp, he had been at home for no more than 20 days in the previous year.

So...Father Gu felt that he had difficulty breathing and his throat was itchy.

Whenever his throat itches, that is when he wants to drink, “Let’s go and drink.”

"Now?" Changmao glanced at the time, "Isn't it only five o'clock?"

Changmao doesn't drink before eight o'clock. This is his rule because he needs to look after the store before eight o'clock.

"That's right. Gu Lu has achieved such a great success, he must be happy. Hahaha, I will pay for all the consumption today!" Changmao decided to make an exception.

Of course, Changmao made exceptions many times, and basically he was in cahoots with Gu's father.

This interview touched more than just Father Gu...

Let’s talk about two things. The other place is home.

The incident was a telephone discussion on the publication of "Mr. Holmes".

"Hello, Vice President Dao Mei, Editor-in-Chief Gao has already told me." Gu Lugang hung up the phone with Editor-in-Chief Gao.

The surname Dao is so rare? He should be from the Hui or Dai ethnic group, right? Gu Lu thought to himself, but didn't ask.

"I am definitely willing to publish "Mr. Holmes". Editor-in-Chief Gao said that President Dao will offer a royalty that I will not refuse. Is that true?" Gu Lu relayed Editor-in-Chief Gao's words.

(End of this chapter)