As expected, Le Jing fell ill again after returning home. He no longer had the temper for his paper-made body.
Including the days he spent in jail, he had been absent from work for five days. Le Jing thought he might as well quit his job as a librarian. He had worked in the library before just to make it easier for him to find information, and he was too bored staying at home and wanted to find something to do. But now he asked for leave every other day, and the library was really generous not to fire him. So he simply wrote a letter to the library to resign. And he was obviously not suitable to visit Marshal Xue in his sickly appearance, so he wrote another letter to Marshal Xue, explaining the reason and saying that he would visit him in person to apologize and thank him when he was better.
Then that afternoon, his immediate boss's immediate boss, Principal Zhou Dezhang, came to visit.
Zhou Dezhang had come to visit and ask some questions, but he was shocked to see the boy looking sick. He almost thought he was being tortured in prison. After listening to Le Jing's explanation, he couldn't help but say earnestly, "Jingran, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but how come you are so weak at such a young age? You still need to exercise more."
Le Jing understood it very well, but this matter could not be rushed and had to be done slowly and steadily.
"Actually, there is something I have been hesitant about, but now that you are in such poor health, I think it is a good idea." Zhou Dezhang smiled kindly, "Jingran, do you want to study at my school? At your age, you should go to school. Besides, studying can improve your health and cultivate your sentiments, which is also very good for your health."
Le Jing was stunned.
He didn't expect Zhou Dezhang to make this suggestion. So he had always been a dropout in Zhou Dezhang's eyes? It was also because Zhou Dezhang was too busy. He went to the library once and met Le Jing who was on sick leave. That's why Principal Zhou didn't know that his "little friend" was actually a temporary worker hired by his subordinate's subordinate.
Zhou Dezhang was afraid that Le Jing might misunderstand him, so he quickly explained, "I know that you are young but talented. Qiushi (Zheng Yiliang's pen name is Qiushi) and I have always been friends with you. However, as the saying goes, learning never ends. It would be a pity for you not to go to university with your intelligence. Although Qiushi and I are not people who care about academic qualifications, receiving a university education is very important for your future development and accumulation of personal connections."
Zhou Dezhang's words were very straightforward, and Le Jing understood his good intentions. He was helpless in Beiping, and if he didn't want this incident to happen again, he had to accumulate his own network as soon as possible. And for literati, there is no more reliable relationship than classmates and classmates. Before the imperial examination system was abolished, scholars of the same exam would choose to stick together and support each other for the sake of career development. Even in modern society, alumni associations are a very important network circle, and some resources and news will only be circulated among alumni, which is why children from highly educated families are more likely to go to prestigious schools.
The reason why those newspapers and writers who dared to speak out in the Republic of China could live comfortably was because they had big men behind them. This is also the reason why the police only arrested Le Jing in this smoking ban incident, because Le Jing had no one above him.
In the Republic of China, if you wanted to achieve class transition, there was no quicker option than studying.
The more Le Jing thought about it, the more he felt that this was a good idea. Besides, with Zhou Dezhang around, he could protect himself at school. He had been sick every three days and seriously ill every five days, and was obviously not suitable for work. If he didn't want to be bored at home, going to school was undoubtedly the best choice. Just like he said in his letter to Bai Shaoyao: Educated people always have multiple options.
So he readily agreed to Zhou Dezhang's proposal and made an appointment with him to go to school after he recovered from his illness.
During the days of recuperation, Le Jing truly felt the feeling of being a celebrity. He didn't know who leaked his address, but people he knew and didn't know came to visit him every day. If it was just a simple visit, it would be fine, but there were always some people with ulterior motives who tried their best to get him to talk, and even wanted to get him to curse the government and the president, which annoyed Le Jing a lot. In the end, he closed the door and refused to see anyone except a few friends. He finally had peace of mind.
A few days later, Yang Jinglun came to visit. He did not come empty-handed. In addition to the fruits for the patient, he also brought more than a dozen newspapers to Le Jing.
What does it feel like to see a black-and-white photo of yourself in a newspaper from a hundred years ago?
Le Jing can answer now. He feels that this photo may become a dark history in his life.
He now understood why there were so few good-looking masters in the Republic of China. It was because the pixels of black and white photos were not high, the camera functions were limited, and the film was very expensive. It was impossible for you to spend hundreds or thousands of films to practice your skills. Therefore, most journalists at that time had poor photography skills. Composition and exposure compensation did not exist. Their only requirement for taking pictures was to take clear pictures of people. Therefore, Li Jingran's 70% appearance was only 30% or 40% in black and white photos. In addition, he had just been released from prison, and his face was sick and embarrassed. He looked like an ugly opium smoker.
In addition, many newspapers captured the scene of Yang Jinglun holding Le Jing's hand and shouting. He was blinded by the flash and his expression was a little confused. The photo showed him squinting his eyes and pouting his lips, like a mentally retarded person.
These newspapers and photos are also the main reason why he has been restless these days.
While Le Jing was very picky about his photos, Yang Jinglun was extremely excited.
He flipped through the newspapers and shouted to Le Jing happily without turning his head, "Look, sir, the Literary Newspaper, the Chaoyang Newspaper, the Gongyi Newspaper, wow! Even the newspapers in Nanjing have reprinted this story!"
"How do you know what's published in Nanjing newspapers?" In those days, transportation was not well developed and wars were frequent among warlords, so a newspaper would only circulate in the surrounding areas in most cases. Nanjing was not close to Beijing, so it was impossible for newspapers there to circulate in Beijing.
Yang Jinglun shook a newspaper joyfully, "There is a telegram... Women's Weekly said that Mr. Ye in Nanjing has written an article praising your courage and pride in not fearing violence!"
Le Jing: ...He really became stupid from all the sickness.
He realized belatedly that although he had only been in jail for four days, the incident had caused a big stir, with even the newspapers in Nanjing reporting on it.
In response to his doubts, Yang Jinglun smiled and replied: "The Nanjing government and the Peking government have always been at odds. They support anything that the enemy opposes. Sir, you are now described by the media in Nanjing as a hero who opposes warlord rule and is not afraid of power."
Le Jing suddenly understood. This was a fight between the Kuomintang and the warlords. It had nothing to do with a small person like him.
After contentedly admiring the heroic image of himself published in the newspaper, Yang Jinglun put away the newspaper and finally got down to business.
"Sir, great news! Your books 'The Rat's Eyes Look Down on People' and 'Memoirs of a Famous Courtesan' are going to be published!"
"Publish?" Le Jing asked in confusion, "Hasn't I been banned?"
"Logically it should not be allowed to be published, but isn't Marshal Xue's favorite concubine your fan?" Yang Jinglun gave him a look that said you understand. "Although your articles criticize current social ills, they don't violate any taboos. Although some of the content involves the sensitive issue of prostitutes, they won't change it after hearing it." Yang Jinglun touched his nose, looking powerless to complain.
Le Jing suddenly remembered the eight words that later generations used to describe the South Korean government under the rule of the chaebol: "Actively admit mistakes, and resolutely refuse to change."
No matter how many years have passed, history will always show surprising similarities, and the mistakes made will be repeated again and again.
Yang Jinglun added: "Of course, if you want to publish articles in the future, you can only change your pen name. Have you thought of a new pen name?"
Le Jing actually thought of one, "Wheat field."
The inspiration for the new pen name came from the book "The Catcher in the Rye". To be honest, Le Jing was not very fond of this stream-of-consciousness novel, but he was moved by what the protagonist said to his sister: "There was a group of children playing in a large wheat field. There were thousands and tens of thousands of children, and there was no one around - no adults, I mean - except me. I was right at the edge of that damn cliff. My job was to watch there, and if any child ran towards the cliff, I would catch him - I mean the children were running wildly, and they didn't know where they were running. I had to come out from somewhere and catch them. I did this all day long. I just wanted to be a catcher in the rye."
Just as a certain literary giant shouted "Save the children" in the first modern vernacular novel in China, the adults of this era have all "eaten people" intentionally or unintentionally, and only the children are still pure white, can be pulled back from the edge of the cliff, and can escape the fate of "eating people" forever.
When the older generation passes away, only the newborn children can build a new country.
Yang Jinglun had no idea of the deep meaning of his pen name Le Jing. He just nodded casually and said, "Although your series "Rat Eyes Look Down on People" has not been completed, it is definitely not allowed to continue serializing at the moment. You need to think of a new series as soon as possible." He paused, and finally couldn't help but worriedly reminded, "Sir, your next article should... um... not be so sensitive. You can be a little... um, how should I put it, just a little..."
Le Jing smiled and continued, "Don't talk about state affairs?"
Yang Jinglun's eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously, then lowered his head and said somewhat embarrassedly: "I know this request is too cowardly, but now you have been put on the government's blacklist. If your next article violates the ban again, I am afraid that not only will you be wanted, but even our newspaper will be banned. Please lie low for a while and plan for the future."
In fact, Yang Jinglun didn't need to tell him that Le Jing was also planning to change to a new subject. If it was prohibited, he would hide it in "The Rise of Dynasties" under the pen name of Lin Zhongqi. The next work he wanted to publish under the pen name of Mai Tian was children's literature.
Unlike the flourishing children's literature in later generations, there was still a blank in the children's literature field in this era. Children's enlightenment mostly started with classical books such as "Thousand Characters" and "Hundred Family Names". These books were too boring for children.
Children are the future of a nation.
Children who have not been tainted by the world and are pure in white are more likely to accept his ideas.
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