British writer

PS:

I saw someone say that setting the background of "Country Teacher" in China at the beginning of the 20th century will affect the credibility of the novel,

This, indeed,

I know it myself, otherwise I wouldn't have mentioned Nantes.

It's my selfishness to write this.

...

Lu Shi looked at the old man in front of him,

Oscar-Claude Monet, a French painter, is known as the "leader of Impressionism" and is one of the representatives and founders of Impressionism.

It was a magical experience to meet such a person.

On the other side, Monet was also observing Lu Shi,

"You are chinese?"

His tone was full of surprise.

As a result, before Lu Shi could answer, Verne on the side spoke up and said, "Mr. Monet, Professor Lu is a distinguished guest invited by our French Academy. He is the founder of modern history and is also the best-selling novel in England." Home."

When Monet looked at Lu again, his eyes were full of surprise.

After a while, he said, "Okay, I'll just read that novel."

Say, stand up,

"Let's go to a nearby cafe."

Because of the World Expo held last year, there are many international tourists in Paris.

As a famous scenic spot, Montmartre has many visitors, and there are many shopping spots and leisure areas around it.

Monet took them to the cafe they used to go to,

On the way, he said: "Recently, I am planning to live in Burtanyho, or go to Madrid to continue the creation of "Water Lilies". By the way, Mr. Verne, do you still remember the kind of transportation machinery exhibited at the World Expo? "

Verne knew a lot about industrial products,

"You mean the car?"

Monet nodded,

"I don't know if the car is really as convenient as those Americans advertise. If it is true, I also want to buy one, and create while traveling."

Historically, Monet bought the car in 1904,

In October of the same year, he traveled to Madrid with his wife by car, and admired Velázquez's works at the Prado Art Museum.

His follow-up "Water Lilies" work was greatly influenced by this.

The so-called "listen to the words, listen to the sound of the gongs and drums", Verne could hear Monet's implication, and said with a smile: "Mr. Monet, it seems that you don't really want to take the illustration job."

Monet was noncommittal,

Some things don't need to be said too clearly.

At this moment, he has devoted his whole body and mind to the pond and water lilies, and he has decided not to leave this subject for the rest of his life.

After walking for a while, they arrived at the cafe.

Monet pushed the door open and entered.

The owner of the cafe raised his head and said hello: "Mr. Monet, it's still the same today... Are there any customers?"

Monet waved,

"Comeo, prepare a private room for us."

The boss, Cuomo, immediately ushered them into a private room with a window, and then served coffee.

Several people were seated.

Monet stroked his beard lightly, took a sip of coffee, and then said, "Okay, show me that... "Country Teacher". Are you sure the title is a science fiction novel?"

It doesn't feel like hearing the name.

Verne smiled and said, "I also thought the name was unsci-fi at first."

He handed the manuscript to Monet.

Monet pinched the edge of the manuscript with his fingers, roughly estimated the thickness, and then said: "So thin? It seems that it is indeed more than 20,000 characters."

He looked at the title,

"However, this is English..."

Monet has lived in many countries and can communicate in many languages, of course English is one of them.

However, he is not a writer or linguist after all. If he wants to read deeply and understand the central idea of ​​the article, he still needs the support of the first language.

That is, he needs French.

Verne was depressed, thinking how he forgot such an important thing.

When he looked at Lu at the side,

"Professor Lu, I..."

Sorry eyes.

Unexpectedly, Lu Shi shook his head indifferently, then opened the door of the private room, and said to the boss outside: "Mr. Cuomo, do you have a pen and paper?"

Cuomo replied: "Are you a painter too?"

As he spoke, he took out the manuscript paper and pencils for drawing.

Lu Shi is easy to talk, and the paper for drawing can also be used.

After thanking the other party, he returned to the private room and said to Monet, "Mr. Monet, do you mind the scribbled handwriting?"

Monet:? ? ?

I didn't understand what Lu Shi meant.

Bernard Shaw on the side was familiar with Lu Shi, and vaguely guessed what Lu Shi wanted to do.

But thinking doesn't mean not being shocked,

He was stunned,

"Lu, do you want to..."

Lu Shi smiled, and wrote in French on the drawing paper with a pencil:

"

He knew that this last lesson had to be taught in advance.

Another sharp pain from his lungs nearly made him faint.

"

It was quiet in the private room,

"..."

"..."

"..."

Only the tiny, "rustling" sound of the pencil rubbing against the paper.

Everyone stared at Lu Shi, as if watching a monster.

What the hell is this? ?

Live translation! ?

Verne took a sip of coffee subconsciously, brewed it in his mouth for a while, tasted that there was no alcohol in it, and made sure that he was not too drunk.

Beside him, Roland couldn't help swallowing:

"Goo..."

Everyone has a confused expression on their faces.

Only Lu Shiyun was calm, apologizing to Monet while writing the translation: "It is inevitable that it is sloppy, please bear with me."

Monet, who was still in shock, came back to his senses,

He couldn't help muttering: "You are the real Impressionist."

Everyone was taken aback,

Afterwards, Poincaré laughed and said, "Professor Lu is quite impressive."

Monet shook his head and began to read Lu Shi's translation.

I thought that the hasty translation would definitely not be very good, but I didn’t expect that it was just sloppy handwriting, there were no grammatical errors in the content, and the words were carefully and elegantly used, which is not much worse than the romantic Victor Hugo .

Monet squinted his eyes, and carefully observed Lu Shi's handwriting, but became even more curious.

Scribbled is scribbled, but it has a different kind of beauty.

He couldn't help asking: "Professor Lu, where did you learn to write French from?"

Because Lu Shi tried his best to translate, he didn't pay attention at all, so he said "ah?" in confusion.

Monet shook his head,

"Forget it, it's okay."

He suppressed his curiosity about Lu Shi and turned his attention to the novel.

Unexpectedly, the novel was nothing to read,

background in China,

The content of the story is also very old-fashioned, with a rustic atmosphere.

For a Frenchman like Monet, it is very difficult to find a point that can be stimulated.

There is no other reason. French literature in the 19th century was an era of "stars shining". Balzac, Hugo, Musset, Flaubert, Maupassant, Dumas, Dumas, which one is not a familiar name?

Realism, symbolism, romanticism...

All major genres flourish and complement each other.

In Monet's view, the beginning of "Country Teacher" is really too ordinary, just like the title of his book, very "Country Teacher".

The only thing that can arouse his interest in reading is the Chinese background.

As a painter in residence, Monet has been longing to paint water sources all over the world after he put all his energy into "Water Lilies", from the Thames River to the Japanese Bridge, from the garden pond to the holy spring of the church,

Monet also thought about going to India and China to try to create.

For a while, thoughts drifted away.

He could no longer concentrate on the boring novel, but instead looked out the window, thinking about his pond and water lilies.

After a while, he pulled away from his imagination, picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip,

When drinking coffee, make a "gurgling" sound.

result,

"Quiet!"

Roland actually opened his mouth to scold.

Monet was caught off guard and almost sprayed the coffee in his mouth.

He looked at the rest of the people in the private room,

I saw that Roland, Poincaré, and Verne were all concentrating on Lu Shi's French version of "Country Teacher", with fascinated expressions on their faces, unwilling to miss any details of Lu Shi's on-site translation,

And Bernard Shaw, an Englishman who is not good at French, also frowned and concentrated on Lu Shi's article.

Monet was completely dumbfounded.

He asked in a low voice, "You...haven't you all read it?"

Everyone was quite annoyed when their reading was suddenly interrupted.

Verne raised his head,

"Mr. Monet, I did read "The Rural Teacher" before, but it was in English. Do you know how honored it is to see the original author, Professor Lu, translate it into French?"

Poincaré echoed from the side: "Yes, we are witnessing the history of the development of science fiction. Today, it will surely become a legend."

Roland chuckled,

"Isn't it a legend? This is an on-site translation!"

Monet: "..."

It was completely unexpected that the three of them had such a high opinion of Lu Shi.

"Huh~"

He took a deep breath and focused on "Country Teacher".

Frankly speaking, he felt that the level of the first few chapters was very good, but the content was still very general. However, out of his understanding of Verne and others, he patiently read all the way to the end.

Finally, the novel reaches chapter five,

The opening sentence:

"

Fifty thousand light-years away from Earth, in the center of the Milky Way, an interstellar war that lasted for twenty thousand years is drawing to a close.

"

Just this sentence aroused Monet's interest in reading.

Unexpectedly, this novel played such a big role.

Even a sci-fi master like Verne still rooted his creative background in the earth. Lu Shi, a Chinese, even directly expanded the breadth of human imagination to the Milky Way.

MonetContinue reading,

As a result, it was naturally out of control.

His whole heart fluctuated with the fate of the earth, until the moment when the children used the three laws of classical mechanics to save the earth, he suddenly felt a sense of exhaustion,

It was as if the big hand that was constantly tightening around the neck was slowly loosening.

Monet never had this feeling of being emotionally affected by novels.

After a while, Lu Shi finished the final translation.

night falls,

There was only one light in the private room, and the dim light seemed to burn a hole in the dark blue paper.

Singing from the nightclub beneath Montmartre,

The drunk men laughed wildly.

However, the silence in the private room is in stark contrast to it,

Watching the French version of "Country Teacher", for a while, no one spoke.

To be precise, it is speechless.

I do not know how long it has been,

Verne stood up and opened the window of the private room, allowing the evening breeze with a slight tide in early spring to blow into the room.

Then, he picked up a tissue and wiped the corners of his eyes,

"I didn't expect... I didn't expect..."

He couldn't hold back his tears again.

Poincaré on the side patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Watching this "Country Teacher" in the first language gave me a completely different feeling. I was thinking just now why this 'Mr. Li' It's a Chinese private school teacher, not a French one."

Bernard Shaw opened his mouth,

He knew that Lu Shi originally wanted to set the background of the story in Nantes, France.

But Lu Shi shook his head subtly at him,

Bernard Shaw understood and didn't say much.

Roland on the side sighed: "I have always thought of myself as an internationalist, but when I read, I still have the same thoughts as Mr. Poincaré."

Everyone laughed,

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

After laughing, Verne looked at Monet and said, "Mr. Monet, what do you think?"

Monet is still in a certain mood,

He shook his head, finally getting out of the shock of the novel, and then said: "Teacher... I can't imagine any other work that can portray the greatness of the profession of teachers so vividly from a higher dimension."

Ordinary novels start from the deeds of teachers in order to infect and move people.

And "Country Teacher" is completely different,

It borrows the carbon-based alliance and tells readers from a near-divine perspective that the profession of teachers is a miracle unique to human beings.

Perhaps, only science fiction can achieve this effect.

Verne said: "Mr. Monet, would you like to take over the job of illustration?"

Monet nodded slowly,

"willing."

He is well aware of the greatness of "Country Teacher\

,"As a painter who has gained both fame and fortune, he doesn't want to rub traffic, and there is no need to rub traffic.

He just wanted to promote the short science fiction novel.

Of course, it would be good if it could be left in history.

Verne said with a smile: "I knew it would become like this. Good literary works are always attractive, and people can't help but spontaneously cheer for them."

The others nodded yes.

Poincaré took a sip of coffee, and then asked, "Do you want this novel to be published in bilingual?"

Bernard Shaw said, "I think so."

Published in the territory of the French, it must be French first,

But Lu Shi came here to communicate as a visiting professor of London Political Economy, so English is also essential.

Verne sighed,

"It's good to be bilingual, but..."

He looked at Monet beside him.

Being bilingual means the length of the novel x 2, and it also means more illustrations, which Monet may not be willing to do.

Unexpectedly, Monet actually agreed,

"No problem. After seeing "The Village Teacher", I have a creative inspiration, and it is always fun to try to imagine alien civilizations. Don't worry, I won't take your money. But I have a request .”

Verne asked, "What request?"

Monet pointed to the original manuscript on the table, and said, "The French translation is for me to collect."

Everyone looked at Lu Shi.

Lu Shi didn't expect such a simple request, and didn't know what to say.

Seeing his silence, Monet misunderstood and said anxiously: "Professor Lu, I know this request is a bit excessive. After all, the original manuscript is like a writer's child, I can understand it. In exchange, I would like to give you a "Water Lily", but you can only collect this "Water Lily", and it cannot be traded or donated within a hundred years. Of course, I will not trade or donate your original manuscript."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

"Give me "Water Lilies"?"

Monet said repeatedly: "Don't look at "Water Lilies" is a series of works, there are many pieces, but I have devoted a lot of effort to each one. So, you see..."

Monet actually asked carefully.

Lu Shi scratched his head,

"This...will I..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Monet: "No, no, it is my great honor to obtain your original manuscript."

Verne on the side also nodded,

"Professor Lu, just accept it."

Lu Shi couldn't help scratching his head.

In the end, Monet didn't give him a chance to refuse, and continued: "Professor Lu, I decided to draw illustrations based on you as the model of 'Mr. Li' in the novel. Do you have time next?"