Chapter 25

Liu Jingtong got off the bus, stood for a moment, hands in his pockets, and began to stroll. The process of meeting with Lu Yichou, the CEO of Qianhong Company, went very smoothly, without any of the psychological warfare-like hesitation, which made Liu Jingtong even more eager to meet Lu Yichou.

However, he really wasn't good at choosing a meeting place. With his two lifetimes of grassroots experience, he couldn't easily decide on a place like Yueba克 (a coffee shop). So, he decided to go wherever his feet took him.

Passing by a cluster of snack stalls, he turned a corner and walked under an overpass. A straight path of pebbles stretched north-south, with a road sign and an advertisement hanging on a cement pole: "Elephant Road 1806, Keji Yunji Tea City."

Following the overpass and the pebble path, he walked north, with colorful flags and advertisements hanging on the cement poles along the way.

After about 700 to 800 meters, a large tea city appeared before him. The grand building was densely adorned with colorful ribbons, and large balloons floated in the square in front of the tea city. There were still uncollected tables and chairs in the center of the square, indicating that it had just opened.

Liu Jingtong walked into the tea city with ease. He saw a large screen hanging above the south side of the hall, showing people picking tea leaves, with a deep male voice narrating the effects, habits, and history of various teas.

This was naturally a good place for conversation, fitting the literary and artistic atmosphere of the meeting, while also declaring, "You have Yueba克, I have Tieguanyin."

Just as Liu Jingtong was about to step onto the escalator, his phone rang. An unfamiliar number, naturally from CEO Lu.

"Hello, is this Mr. Lu?"

Sure enough, a young man's voice came from the phone: "Is this Mr. Guyongsheng? I've arrived."

Hearing the word "teacher," Liu Jingtong almost fell down the stairs. After confirming it was a joke, he laughed and said, "Elephant Road 1806, Keji Yunji Tea City, Mr. Lu."

A hearty laugh followed, and then three words came from the phone: "I'll be there soon."

About five to six minutes later, a black Cadillac stopped at the entrance of the tea city. A well-mannered young man got out, adjusted his clothes, and looked around the layout of the tea city. Then, the voice from the phone, still in the adolescent voice change stage, spoke again: "Hello, Mr. Lu, I'm Guyongsheng."

The literary businessman who had dominated the publishing industry for over a decade and the young author with boundless potential finally met.

They chose a tea shop called Yixiang Pavilion. The sharp-eyed shop owner, judging from Lu Yichou's attire and the aura he exuded, easily determined that he was no ordinary person and courteously arranged for them to sit in a private room upstairs.

Liu Jingtong's knowledge of tea was limited to knowing that Lu Yu was the tea saint, and there was a long passage in "Demons and Gods" about Duan Yu discussing tea flowers.

Lu Yichou clearly noticed this but had no intention of showing off. He casually said to the shop owner, "Bring us a pot of old tea."

"Guyongsheng, is this a pen name?" After ordering the tea, Mr. Lu turned to Liu Jingtong and asked casually.

"Yes."

"Does it have any special meaning?"

Liu Jingtong couldn't tell him the true origin of the name, so he fabricated a story: "Gu naturally represents all ancient traditional culture, Yong means 'moderate,' and Sheng means 'student,' so it means being a good student of ancient excellent traditional culture."

"Young and so old-fashioned?"

"Early maturity," Liu Jingtong laughed.

Lu Yichou nodded and said, "Indeed, without that mindset, there wouldn't be such stories." He took a sip of tea. "‘Dragon and Tiger Battle in Jinghua’... Have you read that book?"

"You should have more to say about it."

"Then I'll be straightforward. Overall, it's a bit bland, except for the few arena scenes at the end, which gave readers a good thrill."

Liu Jingtong laughed, "So when I submitted it, I submitted the completed manuscript."

Lu Yichou waved his hand, "Even without reading the whole book, any editor with a bit of expertise wouldn't give up on this book. It involves a trend issue."

Liu Jingtong listened silently, not intending to respond. He was quite interested in Lu Yichou's professional skills.

Lu Yichou continued, "Our martial arts stories can be traced back to the ‘Biographies of the Wandering Knights’ in the ‘Records of the Grand Historian,’ through Tang Dynasty legends like ‘The Bearded Guest,’ to the public case and chivalrous novels of the Ming and Qing dynasties like ‘Three Heroes and Five Gallants.’ Throughout this development, we can see the changes in these novels, but this change suddenly stopped in the Republican era."

Liu Jingtong casually interjected, "That was a great era in literary history."

Lu Yichou nodded, "Novels have always been considered a minor genre, seen as leisure reading, and contrary to economic principles. For a long time, they were overshadowed by poetry and prose. It wasn't until the late Qing Dynasty, after the efforts of people like Liang Qichao, that their status gradually rose."

"Common literary evolution," Liu Jingtong also took a sip of tea.

"Yes, but like climbing a mountain, after reaching the peak, it's inevitably downhill. After the May Fourth Movement, the status of novels was basically established, and their narrative style also became standardized. Therefore, this era is the most significant in literary history. However, it was followed by a period of decline and regression."

"As a promoter of bestsellers, Mr. Lu, you shouldn't be here to review literary history with me, right?" Liu Jingtong roughly guessed Lu Yichou's purpose but couldn't tolerate this orderly and boring conversation.

Lu Yichou smiled and shook his head, "Let me give you some practical advice to show my level. We won't continue with the textbook content. I'll share my own views."

"I'm all ears."

"In my view, literature, in the end, is about novels, and novels are about creating a fictional world. This world must be different from our real world because real life is scattered and complex, while novels are continuous and simple. They need a complete process to tell a story. Anyone who claims to describe life and reflect reality is a liar. When I see such novels, I basically write 'dog shit' on them and throw them in the trash."

Liu Jingtong finally understood the point and looked at Lu Yichou with interest, waiting for him to continue.

"Novels themselves are created because people are dissatisfied with reality, creating a new world. Since it's a new world, it needs new rules, and these rules are the novelist's craft, involving a logical issue."

Lu Yichou took a sip of tea and continued, "To create a believable new world, you must have a reasonable new world logic. For example, if you make a day in this world 25 hours long, you must remember the extra hour throughout the story."

Liu Jingtong nodded in agreement.

"Therefore, an excellent novel must first have a good story. Second, the way the story is presented must be reasonable, smooth, and develop. By the end of the story, there must be a change, and it must be different from the beginning."

Liu Jingtong looked at the exquisite tea set on the table, thought for a moment, and said, "The 'difference' Mr. Lu refers to is the outline of the story, the initial story framework in the author's mind. However, having that is not enough for a story. The process of this 'difference' is the story itself. I can't just tell you that there was once a Huashan Mountain, and on it lived a man named Linghuchong, who later married Ren Yingying from Heimuya."

Lu Yichou looked at the young man in front of him, puzzled.

Liu Jingtong smiled, "Just an example."

Lu Yichou didn't delve into it. He had dealt with various authors and was used to their irrational leaps in thought. It wasn't uncommon for an author to suddenly mention characters from their work.

"To complete the process, remember one thing: overcome the fear of the unknown world. In fact, many authors feel panic when creating a fictional world. They doubt themselves, feel embarrassed, and can't even convince themselves, let alone the readers."

Liu Jingtong clapped his hands and laughed, "Mr. Lu's theoretical level is truly impressive."

Lu Yichou shook his head helplessly, "Unfortunately, it's just theory. Our era lacks good stories, which is the trend issue I mentioned earlier with ‘Dragon and Tiger Battle in Jinghua.’ Many people have said this, so I won't repeat it. I want to hear your thoughts."

Liu Jingtong replied without hesitation, "Even if novels are considered more prestigious than poetry, martial arts novels still bear the ancient view of being leisure reading. I hope this will change completely, yes, the 'difference' you mentioned."

"Then we have a consensus." Lu Yichou resumed his business demeanor, "I read the first ten chapters of ‘Seven Swords Descend from Tian Shan’ and was deeply impressed. I almost dare to predict that when this book is published, it will cause a nationwide craze. At that time, everyone will understand that the term 'new school martial arts' is not just a gimmick."

"Thank you, but indeed, that's the case," Liu Jingtong had no reason to be modest.

Lu Yichou smiled subtly, "After all that talk, I'll get to the point. I'm here to discuss a long-term collaboration with you because I know you've only signed books, not people."

"But I'm still young."

Lu Yichou said, "The contract will be signed under the supervision of your parents, but based on my understanding of you, this ultimately needs your approval. You don't seem as young as you look, do you agree?"

"Thank you, but indeed, that's the case," Liu Jingtong repeated the phrase, trying to create a humorous effect.

Lu Yichou smiled in response, "Three years, let's start with a three-year contract. I'll pay you 500,000, and it's a one-way deal, no refunds. After three years, you'll be 16, and we can discuss further cooperation then."

Liu Jingtong said, "Although I pride myself on being a high-minded scholar, the temptation of 500,000 is overwhelming. However, I do have a condition: the contract must clearly state that it only covers the copyright of martial arts novels. If everything goes well, I can provide at least three novels in three years."

Lu Yichou thought of the rumor about the new fairy tale writer and connected it with the young man's age and maturity. The rumor was likely true, but he understood that even if Guyongsheng and Liu Jingtong were the same person, he had to pretend not to know. He couldn't consider using this topic for marketing, as his observations and the previous apology incident suggested that this mature young man could be very troublesome if he got stubborn.

Lu Yichou was skilled in dealing with authors and knew how to adapt the collaboration based on the author's personality.

"Absolutely no problem, we'll sign the contract in three days."

Lu Yichou believed he saw potential in Guyongsheng, while Guyongsheng admired Lu Yichou's business acumen and vision, making him the ideal collaborator. Thus, they reached an agreement.

When parting, Liu Jingtong couldn't resist commenting on Lu Yichou's performance that day: "Literary critics can be divided into three categories: one who don't read the text and make wild inferences and vicious comments; one who take things out of context, make arbitrary guesses, and rash judgments; and one who truly read the story and provide their own evaluations or criticisms based on their experience. The first two are pretentious and can be ignored, while the last should be respected and learned from with reservations."

"Which category do I belong to?" Lu Yichou asked spontaneously.

"Mr. Lu's literary theory is so advanced that it transcends these three categories, forming its own system. You are an expert who can truly guide authors."

Lu Yichou smiled and accepted the praise.

"So, what I need to do is provide you with more textual examples to support your theories, so your research has a solid basis. After all, I only like true readers."

Lu Yichou was momentarily stunned, then laughed. This guy had praised him all around, but in the end, it came back to himself.

"Alright, I look forward to it."

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