The day when Le Jing received the notification of manuscript acceptance was exactly the 22nd day that he stayed at Li Tingfang's house.
Although he was very confident in his article, Le Jingqing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the receipt for the royalties.
With these fifteen yuan, he could go anywhere in the world. Fengtian City was still too small.
"Brother! Is this the editor's reply to you? What does it say?" Li Shuran leaned over to read it expectantly, but was frustrated to find that she could hardly understand a word of it.
"My manuscript has been approved. Editor Zhao said it will be published tomorrow. Three thousand words a day, and it will be published in five days." Le Jing raised the manuscript fee receipt and said with a smile: "This is what the editor sent me. As long as I take this to the post office, I can get 15 yuan in manuscript fees."
Fifteen yuan? !
Li Shuran was a lady from a wealthy family, but fifteen yuan was not a small sum for her. Although she had no worries about food and money in the mansion, Wang would not give her money to live on - as for the legendary dowry from her biological mother, she had never seen it since she was old enough to understand.
Li Shuran knew that the most favored maidservant around the lady in the mansion only earned four yuan a month. But now her brother could earn fifteen yuan just by writing an article!
She couldn't help but look at the thin piece of paper with awe, and murmured, "If father knew that you are so outstanding, he would definitely regret treating you like that..."
Le Jing smiled disapprovingly. He didn't care about Li Tingye's thoughts, but since Li Shuran mentioned it now, it was a good opportunity to talk about something that Le Jing had been thinking about for a long time.
Le Jing bent down and looked Li Shuran in the eyes. "Shuran, let's leave Fengtian City and go to Beiping. Then your brother can write articles to earn money, and you can go to a special girls' school."
Li Shuran was stunned.
Although she had guessed that her brother would leave the Li family and set up his own business, she never expected that her brother would actually want to leave Fengtian and go to Beiping! Beiping is where the emperor lives, which is very far away from Fengtian. They have no relatives or friends there. What if they encounter bad people?
Li Shuran was timid, but when she met her elder brother's gentle and warm eyes, she couldn't say a word of refusal. Finally, she put away her worries, smiled and nodded, "Wherever my brother goes, I will follow."
Even though she couldn't read, she knew that her brother was a man, and men and women were different. A real man should go out and try his luck and build a career. If her mother were still alive, she would definitely think so. So she couldn't be a burden to her brother. As a sister, the only thing she could do was to support her brother in all his decisions.
and……
Thinking of the receipt for fifteen yuan in royalties, Li Shuran felt warm in her heart.
And... with my brother's talent, maybe, bah, he will definitely be able to make a career in Peking!
Le Jing looked at Li Shuran, who was smiling as if nothing had happened, and was silent for a few seconds. Finally, he patted her on the shoulder and smiled.
No one can dislike such a pure heart.
Having a sister isn't a bad thing.
…
Having the receipt for royalties does not mean that Le Jing will definitely receive the royalties, because he is still missing the most important thing - his identity and household registration.
Although many people in the Republic of China may not need their identity and household registration in their lifetime, Le Jing still needs it if he wants to go to the post office to collect his manuscript fee. Li Jingran's identity and household registration is of course kept at the Li family, so Le Jing is now an "illegal household". However, this is not a difficult problem to solve. Le Jing can find someone to collect it on his behalf, and he has already chosen the person, which is his servant.
Touching the 15 shiny silver dollars brought back by the servant and listening to the crisp sound of the silver dollars, Le Jing was in a good mood. This way, he could formally bid farewell to Li Tingfang.
※
"Has Jingran submitted his manuscript to Fengtian Miscellaneous News?" Li Tingfang had just returned when he heard the good news from his housekeeper.
"Yes, Defu said the fee was 15 yuan." The housekeeper was also very happy, because with the money, Li Jingran could leave here. The master had taken Li Jingran in for more than 20 days, and I don't know how badly people on the street talked about him.
Some said that Li Jingran, relying on the support of clan leader Li Tingfang, was lawless, disobeyed his parents at home, and abused his younger siblings; some said that Li Tingfang disregarded human ethics, stole someone else's fiancée, and ruined his niece's innocence... Such rumors really made the housekeeper furious, and he hated Li Tingye and Wang's couple in his heart. His own master was broad-minded and just laughed it off, but he wished he could kill the couple with his own hands!
Although Li Tingfang had always been prejudiced against "Fengtian Miscellaneous News", he still trusted Li Jingran's character and felt that this kid would not write those messy things, so he made up his mind that after the work was published, he would also buy a few newspapers to take a closer look at Li Jingran's masterpiece.
Before Li Tingfang could say something, he heard a servant outside the door reporting that Li Jingran wanted to see him.
Li Tingfang's heart skipped a beat, and he had a vague premonition. Then he saw the young man in a green shirt, walking towards him with firm steps, as tall and straight as a pine tree. When he met the pair of black eyes that were as bright and firm as cold stars, the vague premonition in Li Tingye's heart became clearer.
Sure enough, after a few pleasantries, Li Jingran said goodbye to him. The young man's eyes were clear and his words were sincere: "Uncle has helped my brother and I a lot these days. I can only repay uncle's kindness in the future. Now I have enough money, and it's time to leave."
Li Tingfang nodded in understanding and asked, "What are your plans next?"
Le Jing replied: "I plan to go to Beijing with my younger sister to give it a try."
Li Tingfang nodded first and then frowned: "Not to mention that you haven't completed your studies yet, but your father won't let it go."
"I can continue my studies in Peking. As for my father..." Le Jing raised his eyebrows and smiled calmly, with a sly look in his eyes. "I plan to publish a 'Farewell to My Father' in the newspaper, telling everyone earnestly: Now that the country is in crisis and China is in danger, I can only leave my small family behind and go out to study. Although my sister is young, she has the ambition to be as brave as a man. Now that the country is not at peace, she is really not interested in marriage, so I can only ask my fiancé to find another virtuous woman."
Le Jing considered publishing an announcement in the newspaper to sever his father-son relationship with Li Tingye. There was no doubt that this idea was very tempting, but after thinking about it for a long time, Le Jing had no choice but to give up the idea.
China has been a filial society since ancient times. When the emperor was still alive, officials could lose their official positions and even be thrown into prison if they were accused of being unfilial. Although it is now the Republic of China and the emperor is gone, some progressive young people have published newspapers to break with their backward feudal families, but most people still despise such behavior.
After thousands of years of Confucian education, filial piety has long been engraved into the cultural blood of China. An unfilial person who abandons his parents is despised by the entire cultural class. If Le Jing still wants to develop in the literary world, he must not do such a "treasonous act".
Li Tingfang was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud: "Wow! I'm afraid your father will have no choice but to support you now."
When the big hat of patriotism came out, Li Tingye could not only not stop it, but also had to show great support. Although he was broad-minded and didn't care much about the rumors spread on the street, he was still quite happy to see Li Tingye being humiliated and could only swallow his anger.
So he took the initiative to say: "Since you want to study abroad, how can your family not provide you with travel expenses? I, your uncle, will make the decision on this matter. I will definitely get enough money from your father!"
Le Jing blinked his eyes. This was a pleasant surprise. He bowed to Li Tingfang gratefully and said, "I would like to thank you here, uncle."
"I know a few people in the Dajiang Evening News, and it's just right for your 'Farewell to Father' to be published there." Li Tingfang said with a smile, "Finish the 'Farewell to Father' as soon as possible. After it's published in the newspaper, I'll take you to see your father and let him do it first and report later."
Le Jing smiled and nodded in agreement.
Four days later.
As night fell, Zhao Xiaosong sat in a chair, thinking of the newspaper sales that had been rising day by day in the past few days, and he was very happy. Their newspaper usually only printed 10,000 copies, but since the serialization of "The Fengtian Secret Chamber Murder Case", the sales have been rising. Today, the fourth issue of the serialized "The Fengtian Secret Chamber Murder Case" sold 20,000 copies! That night watchman doubled the sales of their newspaper by himself, how could he not be happy?
The editor asked: "Editor-in-chief, how many copies of the newspaper should we print tomorrow? I can tell the people at the printing factory."
Zhao Xiaosong gritted his teeth and said, "Let them print 30,000 copies!"
The editor was surprised and asked, "Is this... too much?" If they can't sell it, they will lose all their money. For a tabloid like them, it will be a big loss.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Tomorrow is the finale of "The Fengtian Chamber Murder Case", and there will definitely be more people buying it." As Zhao Xiaosong spoke, he quickly thought in his mind whether he should find an opportunity to pay a visit to Li's house?
The night watchman had been silent since he received his reply, which really made him feel uneasy. If they could turn this cash cow into a captive author for their newspaper, then why would they worry about the decline of their newspaper?
He made up his mind to visit Mr. Li tomorrow and ask the night watchman to come out!
…
In the morning, the streets were filled with milky white mist, and the crisp voice of newsboys selling newspapers could be heard on the streets; "Newspapers for sale, newspapers for sale, Fengtian Miscellaneous News only costs two coppers!"
"Newsboy, please give me a newspaper." Wang Zhengbai leaned his head out of the teahouse window, took out two copper coins from his purse and handed them to the newsboy, then he couldn't wait to find the fourth edition and began to read it eagerly.
Before, he disdained to read such tabloids. It was only a few days ago when he heard from a good friend that Li Jingran had published an article in Fengtian Miscellaneous News that he bought a copy out of curiosity, and then he was completely fascinated.
The story of "The Fengtian Secret Chamber Murder Case" is so wonderful! He racked his brains but couldn't figure out how the murderer got into the warehouse and killed Mr. Wang. He was obsessed with this story these days. He couldn't eat or drink every day. He was obsessed with who the murderer was. He went to his friend to ask about Li Jingran, but the boy had already left for study! When he asked him where he went, the old man Li Tingfang didn't say anything, which made him so angry!
In yesterday's new issue of the newspaper, the protagonist Zheng Yuan pointed out the butler of the Wang Mansion as the murderer, which surprised and puzzled him. The butler entered the room with his friends, and Mr. Wang had just died at that time. It was impossible that the butler committed the crime. Could it be that Li Jingran randomly pointed out a murderer for the sake of the ending? If that was the case, he would vomit to death.
So early this morning, he bought the latest issue of the newspaper. He wanted to see what kind of explanation Li Jingran could give! If this explanation was too far-fetched, he... couldn't do anything to Li Jingran.
Wang Zhengbai read every word eagerly, his brows slowly relaxed. When he saw Zheng Yuan's final reasoning, he suddenly realized and couldn't help but shouting, "So that's it! It's like this! This housekeeper has such a clever mind!"
The voice was too loud and attracted a lot of attention from the people around. He smiled embarrassedly.
"Brother, are you also watching "The Fengtian Secret Chamber Murder Case"? "
Wang Zhengbai glanced at the newspaper in the man's hand and suddenly realized: "Brother, you too?"
Upon hearing this, the man immediately replied excitedly, "That's right. To be honest, I have been racking my brains these past few days to think of the real murderer and his method of committing the crime..." He shook his head and smiled bitterly, "But I didn't expect that the method was so simple and... unexpected. I don't know who the author is. Such a fantastic idea is really amazing!"
This crime method is simple, but it is also beyond human information. Who could have imagined that the murderer would kill Mr. Wang in public? After reading this story, he couldn't help but admire the author's wonderful ideas.
Wang Zhengbai nodded in agreement.
He knew Li Jingran's true identity, but he just wouldn't tell that person.
He suddenly remembered the "Farewell Letter to My Father" written by Li Jingran that he read in the "Dajiang Evening News" the day before yesterday. The image of the young man standing tall and talking aloud that day appeared before his eyes again.
'Now the nation is in danger, war is raging everywhere. If it is beneficial to the country, life and death are of the essence. Why should we avoid it because of good or bad luck? This is Li's lifelong ambition. I don't seek to leave a name in history or bring honor to my ancestors. I just hope to be of use to the country and live up to this life...'
Every word of the young man's writing in "Farewell Letter to My Father" appeared in his mind, causing his heart to surge.
How can a golden fish stay in a pond? It will turn into a dragon when it encounters wind and clouds.
His good friend really made the right bet.
How is Li Tingye feeling now after being defeated like this? He even wanted to go to Li's house to see Li Tingye's face now.
The author has something to say:
This copy is also known as "North Drifting Snail House" (manual funny jpg)
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