British writer

Sweden, Stockholm,

Swedish Academy, Office of the Permanent Secretary.

Carl David Av Wilson was standing in front of the window, holding a cup of black tea in his left hand and sipping it in small sips.

The view outside the window is nice,

Because Northern Europe is located at a high latitude, even if spring comes, there is still not enough green.

It's just that it's much more lively than the gray winter days.

Behind him is Hans Ludwig Fussell, the first chair of the Faculty of Literature, who is trying to translate "Whither Are You Going" by Polish writer Sienkiewicz.

Fussell's scalp was numb when he saw it.

“Polish is so complicated!”

Wilson chuckled lightly,

"In other people's eyes, our Swedish language is probably not much better."

Fussell complained: "You have nothing to do but make sarcastic comments."

Since the establishment of the Nobel Prize, academicians of the Swedish Academy seem to have no other jobs.

What I do every day is translation, manuscript reading, and review.

The work is very intense.

Wilson spread his hands,

"I am just a permanent secretary and not qualified to review manuscripts, so I am not busy. Besides, I have asked professors from Cambridge, Oxford, and London University Alliance to come forward and ask them to ask Sir Lu to help come up with a procedure. From now on, the review process will be easy Quite a few.”

Fussell sighed: "It is absolutely correct to say that we are a grassroots team. I don't know what the committee is busy with every day. There is not even a written document."

Wilson said: "Political compromise~"

This sounds like a joke, but it is not.

Nobel's last will and testament, written a year before his death, was signed at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris.

It involves the establishment of the Nobel Prize.

At that time, Norway did not yet have sovereignty. It belonged to the Swedish-Norwegian Union and was controlled by Sweden.

Of course, this was still the case in 1902.

But as time went by, Norway began to seek independence and tried to get rid of Sweden.

In this case, the ownership of the Nobel Prize becomes a problem. Even if Nobel is a Swede, many things cannot be explained clearly.

The committee can only mediate between the parties,

The final result is that there are more than a dozen organizers and review units:

From the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to the Karolinska Institute, to the Swedish Academy, to the Norwegian Nobel Committee...

The list is long,

Sweden and Norway are both the wings of the Nobel Prize.

Fussell pondered: "There was some unpleasantness last year, will Sir Lu agree?"

Wilson laughed,

"No problem. I believe he can..."

Halfway through the words, there was a knock on the door outside.

"Mr. Wilson, there's a parcel for you. It's from London."

Wilson smiled proudly,

"Let's see."

If it's a refusal, just send a telegram and it will be resolved.

Mail package, indicating that there must be documents such as the "Preliminary Draft of the Charter of the IPU".

Wilson walked over to open the door and took the parcel.

He walked back and took it apart.

The first thing that caught my eye was a text message, which elaborated on Lu Shi's views on the artistry of literary works and also gave two maxims.

After Wilson finished reading, he handed the text message to Fussell.

"Let's see."

Fussell also finished reading it quickly and said with a smile: "What a sentence, 'May your works stand the test of time'! Sir Lu is very knowledgeable. This sentence is a very good wish for the writer."

Wilson laughed and said, "Well, that's what I hope your work will be like."

Fussell waved his hand.

"No chance."

In this regard, he was still self-aware, so he changed the topic and said: "Unfortunately, this sentence is a bit long as an inscription, and the same is true if it is translated into Swedish or Norwegian."

The original inscription printed by the Nobel Committee is concise and concise:

Nobel Prize,

Very direct,

But it lacks some aesthetics.

Lu Shi's maxims are not lacking in beauty, but they are a bit long.

Wilson thought it didn't matter.

"That can be printed on the front of the medal, next to the relief of Mr. Nobel's profile. There must be enough space. As for the short motto, isn't there an ancient Chinese poem?"

Lu Shi explained Du Fu's poem in his letter.

Fussell nodded.

"This poem is also very appropriate. However, if Chinese appears on the Nobel Medal, will it be a bit..."

Wilson couldn't help but complain: "You are so stupid."

Fussell was dissatisfied;

"how?"

Wilson explained: "Chinese characters are developed from pictographs. As long as they are cleverly designed, they can reduce the text side and increase the pictographic side, turning it into a beautiful pattern. What impact will it have if it is printed on a medal? ? Moreover, maybe some Chinese or Japanese will win the award in the future, and they will feel a sense of belonging when they see the medal."

In other words, expanding influence is still a business without capital.

Why not?

Fussell burst into laughter;

"you're right."

In the past, they, the white people at the Swedish Academy, had their eyes set too high, so how could they take "backward" culture into account?

But it's different now,

Who knew that at this time last year, they were completely convinced by Lu Shi~

Wilson put the text message aside,

Below is a stack of manuscripts.

He picked it up and said at the same time: "Sir Lu is indeed willing to help draft...um...this is...a novel?!"

Fussell was stunned and suddenly came over.

The manuscript is "Lord of the Flies\

,"French version.

There is a message from Montague James at the top.

After Fussell finished reading, he felt mixed emotions.

"Cambridge recommends Lu to the long list and will mail the form later. In short, since Sir Lu is going to stand for election, it is not appropriate to help formulate the rules for the review."

Wilson asked: "What was Cambridge's reason for recommending Lu?"

What more reason is there! ?

Fussell shook the manuscript,

"This is."

Wilson could not refute;

There really is no better, stronger reason than this.

Then, he looked at James's message and said: "Of course, Professor James from Cambridge also listed many works, such as "Animal Farm", "Hunting", "Lolita"..."

Wilson was speechless,

"This... won't be like last year, right?"

For the last Literature Prize, Tolstoy was not among the shortlist.

As a result, many writers, led by Lu Shi, withdrew from the selection and demanded that Tolstoy's name be rectified, forcing the Swedish Academy to revise the list.

In this case, Tolstoy must win the prize, otherwise the value of the Nobel Prize will plummet.

Fussell showed a helpless smile,

"Last year, Tuo Weng was almost confirmed, and this year's Lu may also be... Sigh... If we do this for two consecutive years, the fairness and impartiality of our literary award will inevitably be questioned by future generations, and the gold content may be as low as dust. ”

He did not reflect,

If you don't do that, you will be questioned even more.

Tolstoy was not even on the shortlist. Only a person whose mind is filled with pride and prejudice can do such a brain-busting thing.

Because according to real history, Towen failed to win the prize, and the Swedish Academy and the Nobel Committee were often flogged for this.

Wilson said: "It's not because you insisted on using Professor Monson's reputation that you angered Lu. It takes two years to fill the hole dug in one year."

Fussell retorted,

"How can you blame me alone? It was unanimously approved by all the academicians at that time."

"..."

"..."

The two looked at each other.

After a few seconds, Wilson waved his hand,

"Fighting won't solve the problem. You might as well read this "Lord of the Flies" first. Maybe Lu will perform abnormally this time~ As long as his book is bad enough, we will have the opportunity to delay it for a few years and then Give him the award."

Fussell complained in his heart,

Are you saying it's not an official decision?

This is all scheduled for a few years later!

He couldn't help but sigh,

"You just said that Lu would perform abnormally? Do you think it's possible?"

Wilson was silent,

As the other person said,

From popular novels to dramas to serious literature, Lu seems to have never failed, and every work is of a high standard.

It is better to expect the sun to come out from the west than to expect him to perform abnormally.

Wilson said: "Then give it to Lu?"

"Ah this..."

Fussell was surprised: "Are we really making an informal decision? Two years in a row?"

Wilson spread his hands,

"As Sir Lu said in the text message, appreciating the artistry of literature is very subjective. Therefore, the Literature Award is an award decided by a few judges behind closed doors. Isn't that right?"

Is this what you mean by default?

Fussell: "..."

I feel like there's something wrong with what the other person said.

But I can't tell where the problem lies.

He nodded confusedly,

"What you said may...probably...may make sense."

Wilson continued to persuade: "Besides, didn't you say before that there are too many manuscripts to review? It just so happens that we have decided that there is no need to review it again. The academicians will do social work with me and persuade other writers not to question Lu Just win the award.”

This special meow is equivalent to openly engaging in shady activities.

No shame!

Fussell waved his hand.

"Don't worry yet. Maybe Lu will perform abnormally this time~ As long as his book is bad enough, we will have the opportunity to delay it for a few years before awarding him the award."

Wilson: "..."

grass!

Ten thousand grass and mud horses galloped through my heart.

He said: "Okay, okay, you read it."

After saying that, he left.

Fussell picked up the manuscript and read it with all his concentration.

French is not his first language, but because he studied French literature in college, he can read it very smoothly.

time flies,

When he raised his head again, it was completely dark.

The light falls softly, creating a peaceful and warm atmosphere.

Wilson came back at some point and was eating bread next to him.

"How is it? Did Lu perform abnormally this time?"

Fussell walked over and muttered, "Hungry."

After saying that, he tore off half of the bread held by the other party, put it into his mouth and chewed it, finally swallowed it, and then took a sip of black tea.

Wilson asked: "What's going on?"

Fussell said: "Let's study social work. Lu deserves the Nobel Prize, but the Nobel Prize is not worthy of him."

…

London, Palace Street,

Lu Shi's official residence.

Margarita is playing with us,

The little guy looks lazy,

Ever since Riku Shi came back, it found out that Natsume Soseki was not around, so it understood everything, so it has been lackluster. Only the cat teasing stick can occasionally excite it.

On the other side, Lu Shi was reading the telegram from Stockholm.

——

Sir Lu has written numerous books, with profound emotions and unique perspectives, which are enough to impress any judges and readers.

We express our highest respect for your outstanding talent in literary creation.

I hope you will continue to use your talents in your future literary creations and make greater contributions to the literary cause.

Especially within a year, please keep up the hard work!

loyal,

Swedish Academy.

——

Is this an internal decision?

After Lu Shi read it, he couldn't help but curl the corner of his mouth.

Margarita next to her noticed,

"Teacher, are you happy?"

She came slowly.

Today, Her Royal Highness the Princess’s attire has changed again.

Women's leather jackets and slim-fitting trousers highlight the soft lines of women and are completely neat at the same time.

Since Burberry specially designed pants for her and abandoned the old concept that "women should wear skirts", women's clothing products have become hot sellers.

Burberry struck while the iron was hot and launched an advertising bombing in the Mirror.

At the same time, Margarita was invited to speak for herself.

So, she can always try on the latest styles.

Lu Shi smiled and replied: "I'm not happy, I just want to laugh a little bit."

He handed the telegram to the other party.

Unexpectedly, Margarita sat on his lap generously and whispered: "Read it to me~"

"hiss……"

Lu Shi took a breath of cold air,

∠(°ゝ°)

I'm not married yet, so I don't dare to fool around with the princess.

He adjusted his sitting posture to be a little further away from a certain Daji, and then he finished reading the telegram.

"puff!"

Margarita sneered,

"The Swedish Academy gave you the award half a year in advance. What's ridiculous is that they are going to say, 'Please keep working hard within one year!'. They just want you to maintain high-frequency and high-level creation~"

Lu Shi also knew the difficulties of the Swedish Academy.

It's okay if I'm not nominated.

But once nominated,

If we don't give the award to Lu, we will be in Tolstoy's situation, making the world think that the judges are ridiculous and arrogant, and that even a writer as awesome as Lu is not worthy of winning the award.

The gold content of the Nobel Prize in Literature↓;

Giving the award to Lu would be linked to last year's events. The Swedish Academy was misunderstood and felt that it was afraid of Lu's status and reputation.

The gold content of the Nobel Prize in Literature↓.

They are not human inside or outside.

Therefore, their final decision was to kneel down to Lu Shi with a plop.

"You must write well. It is best to write more than ten or twenty novels a year to keep everyone talking. In this way, we can award the award to you so that you can save face."

Very funny.

Margarita joked: "Teacher, literary creation depends on the opportunity! If you don't have inspiration now, then don't write and let the Swedish Academy find a way."

Lu Shi laughed heartily and pinched the other person's face.

"Just be bad~"

Margarita covered her lips and smiled,

"Isn't it good to be evil? I like evil~"

Her Highness the Princess became more and more unscrupulous in front of Lu Shi.

She looked at the telegram again and said, "Why do you feel that the Nobel Prize in Literature review is very irregular?"

In fact, it is not very formal.

Generally speaking, for an award of this size, the committee should send nomination invitation letters to institutions or individuals who are qualified to nominate, and then collect nomination forms from those institutions or individuals to compile a shortlist.

But in the first year after the Nobel Prize was established, in order to expand its influence, it was used as much as possible.

Where is the nomination invitation letter?

All famous writers are on the list.

Now in the second year, things are starting to get on track.

Of course, this "on track" is also relative to the first year, otherwise it would not be possible for Lu Shi to win the award unofficially.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door from the guard outside.

"Sir, there's your parcel."

Margarita jumped off Lu Shi, ran to open the door, and came back after picking up the mail package.

She said: "It's strange, what's going on with this postmark? I've handled so many parcels in my advertising company, but I've never seen anything like this."

Lu Shi also looked curiously,

Marquesas,

Unexpectedly, he didn't recognize the place name, so he could only identify it by spelling: "Marquesas."

Margarita pondered for a moment,

"Ah! I remembered it! It's an island group in French Polynesia."

Lu Shi was stunned, and then thought of someone——

Paul Gauguin.

He opened the parcel.

There was a note in a scrawled handwriting, entrusting Lu Shi to help deal with his paintings, whether they were sold or exhibited in the Lu Museum.

Between the lines, there is no sense of world-weariness, but instead full of hope.

Margarita's eyes narrowed,

"Teacher, Mr. Gauguin seems to have been inspired by you since he came to London last time~"

Lu Shi sighed slightly,

"well……"

Margarita stopped smiling,

"how?"

Lu Shi didn't answer.

Thought,

Gauguin might have vaguely guessed that the end was approaching, right?

Judging from the time, he should have been unable to paint for a long time due to illness at this time, and had to write instead.

The other items in the parcel also confirmed Lu Shi's conjecture.

Those are two manuscripts,

"Whispers of an Art Apprentice\

,""before after".

Lu Shi picked up and read a few pages and found that the text was scattered, the logic was confusing, and there were even spelling errors from time to time.

These are enough to prove how bad Gauguin's condition was.

Margarita asked cautiously: "Do you want to publish it?"

Lu Shi answered without thinking,

"publishing."

Margarita glanced at two more manuscripts and whispered: "I don't think it's possible to send it to France. Even the publisher Mr. Herzel, who is familiar with you, will not do such an obvious request. A money-losing business.”

Lu Shi nodded,

"Then publish it in London."

Now the "Mirror" has separated from the London University Alliance and established a publishing department. The Alliance only enjoys dividends and is not allowed to interfere with management and operations.

Therefore, Lu Shi can have the final say on this matter.

Margarita said: "Or, ask the Royal Publishing House for help? After all, they are different from ordinary publishers. They value profits, social impact and reputational investment. But I think, even if they agree, they will only print one copy." Thousands of books."

The reason is not difficult to understand,

One is because this is a French book;

The second reason is that Gauguin was miserable as a painter, let alone a writer.

Lu Shi pondered,

After a long while, he said: "Then entrust the Royal Publishing House. After all, it is a French novel. They have experience and are far more calm than the Mirror."

Margarita nodded,

"I'll go find Mr. Wood and leave this matter to me."

Her Royal Highness the Princess stood up, picked up the manuscript, and prepared to leave.

Lu Shi stopped it,

"Wait a minute and let me finish reading the manuscript."

From a literary point of view, Gauguin's works are very ordinary, and can even be said to be "junk".

But what’s valuable is its unique perspective——

Artist's Autobiography.

From it, we can get a glimpse of Gauguin's inner changes, how he struggled step by step and became what he is now.

not to mention……

"I only met him once, but Mr. Gauguin trusted me so much."

Lu Shi said with a serious face: "If possible, I hope to repay his trust. Moreover, he entrusted me with full authority to handle the painting. This gift contains both kindness and value, so I should repay him."

Margarita couldn't help but think of the telegram from the Swedish Academy,

Creation needs opportunities,

Perhaps, this is the opportunity for teachers?

Letting the teacher decide the award by default must be the most correct decision made by those old men.

Her Royal Highness the Princess said: "I will always support the teacher. You will become the most uncontroversial winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature."