Chapter 75

PS: Comrade Lao Hua has returned to his hometown for the festival. This chapter is automatically updated. I wish all the readers a happy Dragon Boat Festival and a happy family. I hope everyone will continue to support me enthusiastically during the festival. Thank you very much.

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Mr. Dai's review title is: "How Essays Can Be Written in Such a Way."

The subtitle is: An Analysis of Xiao Fei's Two Essays.

At the beginning of the article, Mr. Dai wrote in a very relaxed and casual style that he had recently read two essays in the supplement of the People's Daily that deeply touched his heart. Both pieces were written by the same author, named Xiao Fei. From the editor's note after the articles, he learned that this author was only nineteen years old. However, the maturity and depth of his writing, and the novel and fresh ideas expressed, were truly breathtaking. It was hard to believe that such profound and weighty words, rich in life's philosophy and meaning, were written by a teenager.

Regarding Xiao Fei's two essays, Dai Houying made an analysis and evaluation, listing the following points of success in Xiao Fei's writing:

First, the author skillfully uses personification and metaphor, with concise and precise language that vividly captures the essence of the subject. The essays are written in a simple yet flavorful style, leaving a lingering taste in the reader's mouth.

Second, although the materials he chooses are common, he manages to uncover personal and unique meanings, creating a sense of artistic novelty and freshness. The essays are very refreshing to read, thought-provoking, and leave the reader with much to ponder.

Third, the essays continue the profound tradition of Chinese prose, revealing genuine and beautiful life experiences in the smallest details. Such high-quality prose is truly rare these days.

Fourth, the author poetically portrays his hometown, using a poetic and insightful approach to explore life and describe the philosophical truths of life closest to nature and the earth.

A nineteen-year-old can write essays to such a level, which is enough to prove his extraordinary talent.

Xiao Fei carefully read through Dai Houying's comments on his work and felt very pleased.

This was the first time, in his two lives, that he had seen such high praise for his work in a literary review.

"Mr. Dai, this evaluation is a bit too high," Xiao Fei said.

Dai Houying shook his head and smiled, "My evaluation is very objective. Perhaps you haven't yet realized the literary value of your work, but I have seen so many over the years. To write essays to your level is truly rare."

"Oh, Mr. Dai's encouragement makes me feel very motivated. I think I might be able to write even better," Xiao Fei quickly expressed his determination.

"I also believe that. You are still young! There is a lot of room for improvement. But even as you are now, you are already quite remarkable. Xiao Fei, do you have any new works recently? I suggest you submit more to mainstream literary journals and get more exposure. That will be very beneficial for your future development," Dai Houying advised.

Xiao Fei listened and touched the thick manuscript in his bag.

He thought that perhaps it was time to show it to Dai Houying and ask her to recommend it.

However, he always felt that doing so would taint the noble act of visiting his idol with a sense of ulterior motives.

Dai Houying was a very smart person.

She would immediately realize that the true purpose of his visit to Shanghai was to leverage her influence.

Thinking about it, Xiao Fei felt a bit ashamed.

It seemed his skin was still too thin, and he needed to toughen it up in this aspect.

Well, his little thoughts would eventually be exposed to the keen eyes of Mr. Dai, so there was no point in hiding them. He might as well show it now.

"Mr. Dai, I brought a long novel and a short literary review I wrote. Please take a look and give me your feedback."

"Oh? You even wrote a long novel? I must read it carefully," Dai Houying's face showed great interest.

What kind of long novel could such a brilliantly talented and almost supernatural young man write?

She was very eager to find out.

However, Dai Houying did not think Xiao Fei could handle the genre of a long novel at this stage.

Mainly because writing a long novel requires a lot of life experience and depth of insight. A young man from the countryside who hasn't experienced much of life could write good stories, but he couldn't write an excellent long novel.

Dai Houying thought that Xiao Fei must have written a romance novel, as the vague and ambiguous love of adolescence often traps many young people.

Love is an eternal theme in literature, and young literary enthusiasts usually start from this angle.

Xiao Fei took out his manuscript from his bag, unwrapped the oil paper, and handed it to Dai Houying with both hands.

Seeing the thick stack of manuscript, Dai Houying was surprised.

She didn't expect that the "long novel" Xiao Fei mentioned would be such a substantial work.

To be able to write so much at once was no small feat.

Dai Houying believed that Xiao Fei's writing skills and literary talent were undeniable. What she was now curious about was whether he could tell such a grand narrative well.

"Mr. Dai, the one on top is a short review I wrote, about five to six thousand words. You can read the short one first and give me some feedback," Xiao Fei said.

"Oh, okay."

Dai Houying took the dozen or so pages of the short review on top of the novel manuscript.

She first looked at the title, which was "Literature Is Dead, Please Burn Paper for Any Matters."

The title was very bold, directly declaring the death of literature, and the phrase "please burn paper for any matters" was quite novel and interesting.

Dai Houying, of course, had a deep understanding of the decline of literature.

Pure literary magazines were closing down one after another.

Even those that survived were far from as prosperous and carefree as they used to be.

However, Dai Houying did not believe that literature would die, or that it was already dead. How could literature die? Without literature, what would the world become?

Young people, after all!

They couldn't help but seek attention.

With this thought, Dai Houying began to read the short review. As she read, her frown deepened, and she found herself being convinced.

Because many of the strange phenomena in the literary world that Xiao Fei mentioned in his article were also deeply felt by her.

However, she was skeptical about the idea that "online literature" would replace traditional literature. What was "online literature" anyway?

Dai Houying, of course, knew about the internet. It was a new and magical thing that allowed communication with people far away through telephone lines.

But to say that the internet would give birth to online literature, and that this literature would replace traditional literature, was unrealistic.

Another point of confusion for Dai Houying was how a rural child like Xiao Fei could make such a profound and forward-looking prediction. That didn't seem scientific.

As she turned the pages, the advertisement began.

As she turned the pages, the advertisement ended.