Chapter 278 You Deserve to Die
"The Lover" is a love novel, which is how Lin Weimin defines the novel.
Of course, he also anticipated the controversy that might arise after the novel was published.
But he didn't expect that this controversy would come so quickly and violently!
On November 8, less than a week after Contemporary was published, Yenching Daily took the lead in publishing a review article written by veteran writer Liu Feiyu.
"The world is in decline, people's hearts are no longer the same as before. Our revolutionary ancestors risked their lives to build such a great country, but they have nurtured such filthy people. It is sad and infuriating."
After reading the article, Lin Weimin was most impressed by this sentence. He is the "disciple" mentioned by the old writer.
Liu Yin flipped through the newspapers and asked jokingly, "Editor-in-Chief Lin, do you have any thoughts you want to express?"
Lin Weimin shook his head helplessly and said, "Bullshit."
Lin Weimin had never read the works of the veteran writer Liu Feiyu, but Meng Weizai gave him some basic information about his qualifications. Lin Weimin could not afford to criticize him, so he could only accept it.
Just be patient, it will pass, Lin Weimin told himself in his heart.
On November 12, just one week after "Contemporary" was on the market, the editorial department gradually began to receive letters and comments from readers about the content of this issue, as usual.
In the letters received in the past two days, the word "lover" has become a must-mention word in every letter, and readers' evaluations of this novel in their letters are polarized.
Some people praise this novel as the best love novel in contemporary Chinese literature, while others sneer at the content of the novel or even curse it.
These people almost all have one thing in common, which is that they start by finding fault with the title of the book.
The respect for words by Chinese people has become a habit and taboo since ancient times. You say you are singing praises of love, but the title is called Lover. What kind of logic is this? I think you are just using the title to attract attention!
Secondly, some descriptions in the novel are labeled as "low taste".
After reading these letters from readers, Lin Weimin felt a little surprised and realized that he seemed to have done something unforgivable.
There are masters among the masses!
Apart from anything else, his ability to exaggerate things is something that ordinary people cannot match.
Tong Zhonggui opened the letters from readers one by one and handed them to Lin Weimin, feeling uneasy.
He consoled her: "Teacher Lin, 'Lover' is a good work, these people just don't understand it."
Lin Weimin smiled nonchalantly and said, "You can't just say it's a good work. We have to let the people judge it."
Tong Zhonggui didn't understand what Lin Weimin meant at first, and thought he was saying it out of anger.
Towards the middle of the month, more and more letters came in from readers, and the polarized reviews of The Lover became increasingly prominent. Lin Weimin could no longer read the letters, as he still had a lot of work to do.
Following Liu Feiyu, some old comrades came out to criticize "The Lover".
"Dirty literary garbage", "a low-level work that caters to low-level people with disgusting low tastes", "a spiritual pollution to the masses"...
More and more conservative writers joined the ranks of criticizing "The Lover" and then began to criticize the author Lin Weimin.
Colleagues in the editorial department began to worry about Lin Weimin.
The last time Lin Weimin received such widespread criticism was after the publication of "Farewell My Concubine", but the words used then were not as harsh as this time!
Moreover, the comrades who criticized this time were generally older and had more experience, so their words carried more weight and were difficult to refute.
You can say that he is taking advantage of his age or that the stones in the toilet are hard and smelly, but in short, there is nothing you can do to him.
By the end of the month, criticism of "The Lover" and Lin Weimin seemed to have gradually become a trend. If colleagues in the editorial department looked for it, they could see content about this matter in various newspapers and magazines almost every day.
So in the past two days, the atmosphere in the editorial department has been very low, and everyone would observe Lin Weimin's condition from time to time.
He acted like nothing happened, chatting and laughing with everyone every day.
When his colleagues saw that Lin Weimin looked relaxed, they felt a little relieved.
A few days later, it was already the end of the month.
A new force has been added to the army criticizing Lin Weimin, and he is a heavyweight.
An experienced veteran comrade submitted an article to the literary review magazine "Literary Review" entitled "The Decadence and Betrayal of Contemporary Literary Circles", in which he criticized Lin Weimin and "The Lover" in great detail.
In the article, he openly declared that the prototype of "Guo Yudao" described by Lin Weimin in the novel was a traitorous businessman in old Shanghai.
The intention of this slander and accusation is extremely vicious. If the previous wave of criticism was just full of all kinds of exaggerations, this article can be regarded as a powerful weapon for those who regard Lin Weimin as a "thorn in the eye" and a "thorn in the flesh".
This kind of person almost pointed at Lin Weimin's nose and cursed: "You deserve to die!"
That afternoon, Wan Fang knocked on the door of the editorial office of Contemporary Magazine for the first time in a long time.
"Senior sister, why are you here?"
"My dad asked you to go to dinner."
Without thinking too much, Lin Weimin knew that Mr. Wan must be worried about him.
As scheduled, we arrived at Muxidi in the evening. As soon as we entered the door, we saw Mr. Wan and his wife busy in the kitchen.
"Teacher, why are you cooking in person today?" Lin Weimin asked with a smile.
"Please sit down for a while and we'll have dinner later!" said Mr. Wan.
"You are the one who works, why should I do that?"
Lin Weimin washed his hands and went to the kitchen to wash vegetables.
Mr. Wan was cutting potatoes, and the knife made a "chopping, chopping" sound as it cut onto the chopping board.
"Are you quite busy at work lately?" Mr. Wan suddenly asked.
This kind of sentence pattern rarely appeared in Lin Weimin's interactions and daily conversations with him.
"It's OK, just like that, just the same work."
After a long while, Mr. Wan asked again: "Have you listened to the criticisms from outside?"
This is the main reason why Mr. Wan asked Lin Weimin to come here today.
"I listened and watched."
"What do you think?"
Lin Weimin shook the freshly washed cabbage slices and drained the water from the basin. "What can I feel? Listening to the cicadas chirping, why don't you farm?"
Hearing Lin Weimin's words, Mr. Wan couldn't help but laugh, "It seems that I was worrying too much!"
Lin Weimin said: "Thank you for your concern, teacher."
Mr. Wan hesitated for a moment and said, "I wrote an article and plan to publish it in the newspaper."
Lin Weimin knew that this was definitely a preparation to protect him from the wind and rain.
"I can't let you take action every time. As a student, I can't always hide under your wings."
"What? Your wings are hardened and you want to fly away?" Mr. Wan pretended to be angry.
"Look at what you said. I have always been your servant!" Lin Weimin said in a clever and obedient manner.
"Don't try that on me!"
The teacher and the student joked for a few words, but Lin Weimin still firmly refused Mr. Wan's help.
Having entered the literary world for several years, Lin Weimin has long been accustomed to the ups and downs in the public opinion field. He remains calm about the criticism from the outside world.
As for literary works, it is up to the readers to judge whether they are good or bad.
If we look beyond the scope of literature, those malicious and vicious attacks are what cause him the greatest harm.
But these attacks were precisely the ones he had the least power to counter. Even if Mr. Wan took action, he would not be able to eliminate the adverse effects brought about by the remnants of the past.
They hope that such attacks and slander can bring Lin Weimin down and drag him into the quagmire, just like the other cases in the past that have worked so well.
A huge difference between this incident and the one involving "Farewell My Concubine" is that many people are targeting the person rather than the matter, and are not hesitating to attack Lin Weimin by slandering, defaming and smearing him.
Faced with such a complicated situation, it is no longer possible for Mr. Wan to calm it down by simply writing one or two articles and publishing them in newspapers. It is even more impossible to save Lin Weimin's reputation that has been ruined by those people.
Mr. Wan also understood the current situation. Even though Lin Weimin acted as if nothing had happened, he still felt a little worried.
Lin Weimin also saw what Mr. Wan was thinking. He felt touched but also a little guilty.
But more of it is the resentment towards those villains who maliciously slander, defame and defame us.
After dinner, Lin Weimin said to Mr. Wan: "Teacher, why don't you write a word for me?"
"Inscription? What is it?"
"Let's sing 'Man Jiang Hong'!" Lin Weimin said firmly.
Lin Weimin only said the name of the tune, but Mr. Wan understood what he meant.
Admiring Mr. Wan's calligraphy, Lin Weimin's heart was moved and filled with the same lofty sentiments as the old man had in those days.
He looked up at Mr. Wan, but his face was full of flattery, "Teacher's handwriting is really not inferior to Yan Liu, it's just as good as the two Wangs!"
Mr. Wan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and he scolded with a smile: "You bastard, you still have the mind to show off!"
(End of this chapter)
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