British writer

The French personnel stayed in the hotel.

Next, they will stay in London for a while and continue to communicate.

A major event in the literary circles of the two countries,

Maybe there will be a large number of translations produced.

The British personnel left in carriages and went back to their homes.

Lu Shi, Bernard Shaw, and James were at the back.

Lu Shi whispered: "Old Xiao, how many gold coins do you think we can ask His Majesty the King to expend... Ahem... I mean, how much money should we ask the royal family to produce from its real estate?"

George Bernard Shaw had little experience in this area.

James next to him said: "This depends on the situation. If you want to achieve it once and for all, you must set up a foundation like the Nobel Prize, and then use interest to pay the prize. In this way, the initial investment is large, but there will be no trouble later; there is another way, which is Appropriations are made annually.”

On the surface, the first option is more suitable.

However, with the prosperity of the global economy and the development of the financial industry, most economies will experience moderate inflation every year.

The purchasing power of money will decrease.

This led to the Nobel Foundation no longer eating dead interest and turning to investment.

Of course, no financial institution dares to let them lose money,

Otherwise, bonuses cannot be issued, which would be ridiculous.

Bernard Shaw pondered,

"Actually, there is no difference between the two. Because the royal estate cannot lose money, the annual allocation is also very stable."

While they were chatting, the carriage stopped in front of them.

Lu Shi wanted the two of them to leave first.

As a result, Bernard Shaw looked over with pleading eyes and whispered: "Lu, you just said that you would create children's literature in English. From your tone, it seems that you have already completed it. So, I am very curious."

James also nodded repeatedly,

"Me too!"

Lu Shi spread his hands and said, "I just wrote a rough outline and haven't polished it yet."

The two shook their heads repeatedly.

"No problem!"×2

in unison.

Lu Shi didn't care about this. He just asked an experienced writer to read the manuscript for him, so he agreed.

The three of them got into the carriage together and rushed to the official residence on Palace Street.

Bernard Shaw and James were very anxious and hurriedly entered the study on the second floor.

Lu Shi poured tea for them and then took out the manuscript.

The two of them came together,

Bernard Shaw commented: "'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'? It is named after a person, which is in line with the tradition of children's literature."

There was a hint of joy in his heart,

Just by looking at the name, you can tell that this is a fantasy work.

And the manuscript is very thick, so it must be a long one.

Fantasy + novels are exactly what Lu Shi is good at.

Maybe he can suppress "The Little Prince" and severely weaken the spirit of those French people.

The two of them put the title page aside,

Unexpectedly, it started with:

"The Dursleys who live at No. 4 Privet Drive always say proudly that they are a very well-behaved family..."

A modern setting for fantasy?

Is this really possible?

Both Shaw and James were stunned.

You know, previous fantasy works were all set in the Middle Ages, including Lu Shi's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogies.

the reason is simple,

The unrest stemmed from the wars brought about by feudal separatism;

Ignorance stems from the fact that religion imprisons people's thoughts.

Turbulence can easily produce various driving forces for the plot.

War, revenge, betrayal...

And ignorance illustrates the weakness of science,

Because of the lack of scientific knowledge, people are full of fantasies and believe that there are indeed some strange creatures in the forest and that terrible demons can be born in dreams.

The modern context is just the opposite;

At the beginning of the 20th century, the frontier of human exploration was almost reaching Antarctica, leaving little room for fantasy.

This is exactly why the Master of Love Craftsmanship has arranged the first work in the Cthulhu series - "Call of Cthulhu" to be set in the ocean.

Because in 1926, there was still a trace of mystery and unknown on the seabed (and Antarctica).

Bernard Shaw looked at Lu Shi with searching eyes,

Lu Shi chuckled,

"Please keep watching."

The two of them continued following the advice.

After reading it, they found that what Lu Shi wrote was not fantasy at all, but science fiction.

For example,

While Mr. Dursley was working, a flock of owls flew low in the sky.

This is outrageous,

Even children know that owls are nocturnal creatures.

Fortunately, Lu Shi's writing style is very good. Although it is absurd, he successfully set up suspense through description and completely captured the hearts of Bernard Shaw and James.

The two of them were completely immersed in the article.

then,

They saw Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, being deposited on his aunt's doorstep;

Saw Harry being bullied by his cousin and then releasing the snake;

I saw the admission notice from Hogwarts;

saw the half-giant Hagrid taking Harry to Diagon Alley;

…

"Wonderful!"

James couldn't help but praise: "It's really wonderful!"

On the other side, Bernard Shaw also let out a sigh of relief,

"Huh~"

He looked out the window.

The night is already dark,

In the complete silence, only the occasional barking of dogs could be heard in the distance.

The bright moon hangs in the sky, shining silvery white light.

Bernard Shaw looked at the time again,

Before I knew it, I had read for more than three hours.

Only then did he feel a little tired and his head was a little dizzy, so he walked over and opened the window.

The breeze blew against the cheeks, bringing a hint of coolness and clearing the mind.

Lu Shi was beside him,

"How about it?"

Bernard Shaw did not answer directly, but turned to look at James,

"Lao Zhan, what do you think?"

James is brewing emotions,

After a long time, he said: "Shall we have a second game? I want to drink some more."

Maybe it’s because of the feeling of “coming to light”.

Literati at home and abroad all hope to have a few drinks to cheer them up when they see a work they like.

Lu Shi thought for a while,

"I should have wine here. Rita... Her Highness the Princess got some from the palace."

After saying that, he opened the door and called the maid.

Not long after, drinks were brought into the study.

James took a look and couldn't help but murmured: "It seems to be Muscadet from Gulani Winery? It may be a flavor that His Majesty doesn't like."

Muscadet only became popular in modern times.

In the early 20th century, it was only considered a country wine.

Lu Shi poured wine for the two of them.

James took a sip and said with satisfaction: "It's richer than expected."

Bernard Shaw on the side chuckled lightly,

"Okay, now that you've had enough wine, it's time for some 'literary criticism', right?"

James shook the wine glass and looked at the wine liquid inside,

Later, he said: "Actually, when I read "Lolita", I had the feeling that Lu was already very proficient in the use of words. If he were not Chinese, I would even suspect that he was approaching Shakespeare. "

Lu Shi:? ? ?

"Don't! If you say I look like Shakespeare, the British will skin me."

James said: "I am an Englishman, Lao Xiao...well, he is of Irish descent. In short, those Englishmen who want to take your skin off don't understand."

He said and began to look for manuscripts,

Not long after, he pointed out one of the names——

Rubeus Hagrid.

Rubeus Hagrid, half-giant, important character in Harry Potter.

Bernard Shaw couldn't help but be curious,

“What’s wrong with this character?”

James shook his head and said: "It's not that there's a problem with the character, but that there's a mystery to the name. 'Hagrid'... let me think about it... in my memory, there shouldn't be such a surname, right?"

Bernard Shaw nodded,

"Don't look at me, I'm Irish and have different traditional surnames on both sides."

James rolled his eyes at him, and then said: "Actually, this word is slang."

Slang refers to informal and colloquial expressions among the people.

It has a characteristic:

Regional.

If you are not doing relevant language research or are not a local, it is difficult to understand the meaning of slang.

Many slang terms are not even recorded in the Oxford Dictionary and Koslin Dictionary.

George Bernard Shaw was curious,

"What does 'Hagrid' mean?"

James looked at Lu Shi.

Lu Shi said: "It's an adjective that probably refers to the state someone is in after a bad night."

Bernard Shaw understood instantly,

"Had a bad night...isn't that just drinking? So does it mean 'hangover'?"

He looked at the first chapter again,

After Professor McGonagall learned that Principal Dumbledore had assigned Hagrid an important task, he made the following comments:

"Do you think it's wise to entrust Hagrid with such an important matter?"

This sentence seems to imply that Hagrid is an unreliable person.

Bernard Shaw suddenly understood,

"So, Hagrid is an alcoholic?"

Lu Shi smiled and said, "That's a bit harsh to say. He's not an alcoholic, he just gets drunk all the time."

Bernard Shaw wanted to laugh when he heard this,

What's the difference between this and being an alcoholic?

However, Lu Shi's tone revealed the kind of tenderness that a writer has for his characters, as if he had great patience with Hagrid.

This shows that Hagrid will be a major character in the future.

He is also a positive character.

James continued: "Actually, there is another mystery to this name. 'Rubeus' comes from the Latin word 'rebuo'."

Bernard Shaw reacted,

"Rebuo? Ruby? Red... is indeed the color of your face due to the smell of alcohol."

so,

Rubeus Hagrid,

From the first name to the last name, the name reveals the character's personality.

James said: "I praise Lu Zheng for approaching Shakespeare because he has been creative in his use of English. We all know that Shakespeare is the person with the highest vocabulary from ancient times to the present, and he created a large number of English words. "

Bernard Shaw intoned: "Next day after dawn~"

This sentence is ordinary,

Translated: "The next day at dawn."

However, as Act 4, Scene 1 of "Henry V", there is a word newly coined by Shakespeare——

Dawn.

And the word is widely used.

James said: "English word formation methods include new words, borrowed words, compound words... Although Lu has no new words, other word formation methods can be easily used. From "Lord of the Rings" to "Lolita" to " Harry Potter, more and more regular.”

Lu Shi didn't answer.

In fact, there are newly coined words in "Harry Potter".

Just like Quaffle in Quidditch.

He said: "Fantasy works, because of many created concepts, it is inevitable to create words."

James said: "However, regular word creation is not something ordinary writers can do. It requires a strong foundation in linguistics. Moreover, you also know slang, which shows that your understanding of British culture has been... "

As he spoke, he paused.

George Bernard Shaw was curious,

"Old Zhan, why did you suddenly become silent?"

James smiled and said: "I suddenly thought of Lu's "Yes! Prime Minister". Anyone who can write that kind of drama certainly understands British culture."

Bernard Shaw was stunned for a long time, and then laughed loudly,

He picked up the wine glass,

"Come."

The two of them clinked their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

James smiled and said, "Old Xiao, what do you think of this novel?"

George Bernard Shaw replied: "My evaluation is similar to yours. Lu is indeed getting closer to Shakespeare. Of course, unlike you, a Cambridge professor, I don't know much about linguistics and word formation. I evaluate Lu like this because of his understanding of His observation of life is comparable to those of legendary writers."

Lu Shi blushed when he heard this.

"Old Xiao, please stop talking. If you keep talking, Shakespeare's coffin will no longer be able to hold it down."

Shaw and James laughed again when they heard this joke for the first time.

The two of them poured wine again.

Bernard Shaw gave an example:

"For people who love each other, the woman drinks poison and pretends to die in order to be free. The man mistakenly thinks that the woman is dead, so he drinks poison and dies in love. The woman later also dies in love..."

This passage talks about the plot of Shakespeare's masterpiece - "Romeo and Juliet".

James sighed,

"Only someone who truly understands love can write this kind of story."

Bernard Shaw continued: "And I think Lu's observation of life and control of the characters already have a similar depth."

He rummaged through the manuscript,

"Old James, have you ever thought that Harry being fostered at his aunt's house actually caused trouble for his aunt and uncle?"

James was stunned for a moment,

Afterwards, he nodded,

"Of course. After all, the only source of income for my aunt's family is my uncle. When Harry was in foster care, there was an infant child at home. Although his life was good, it was not good enough. But, you said that, no Are you trying to clear your name for that disgusting couple?"

Lu Shi was silent when he heard it.

"..."

At the end of the novel, the aunt and uncle are indeed cleared.

In other words, it can't be considered a cleansing in the first place, because he is indeed not a villain, but just not that kind.

George Bernard Shaw explained: "The beginning of Harry Potter reminded me of David Copperfield."

That's a masterpiece by Charles Dickens,

The protagonist's childhood was not a happy one either.

Bernard Shaw said: "Do you know why it is clear that my aunt was forced to have a child and suffered unspeakable suffering, but we still think that Harry is the one who is more wronged?"

James couldn't help but recall "David Copperfield\

,"After a long while, he said: "Because Harry is a minor. As the saying goes, 'Children are innocent'."

Bernard Shaw nodded repeatedly,

"That's why I say that Lu's observation of life and control of characters have reached a depth close to that of a master. None of these characters are real bad guys, but they can still portray Harry's miserable childhood."

James spread his hands,

"You can create conflicts without creating bad guys. Many of Lu's other works also use this technique."

George Bernard Shaw laughed,

"Don't forget, Harry Potter is children's literature."

"Ah this..."

James couldn't argue.

Many children's literature is about good and evil, which is used to educate children and convey beliefs such as bravery and honesty.

the reason is simple,

Children lack experience and are easily led astray if they are not allowed to distinguish between good and evil.

This is true even for "David Copperfield," which is not children's literature.

The protagonist's stepfather is a pure asshole,

The later villain Uriah Heep is even more greedy.

Therefore, "Harry Potter" is so valuable.

Bernard Shaw said: "In this book, perhaps only Voldemort, who must not even be named, is the great villain."

This is correct.

Because of this, the audience of "Harry Potter" is not only children.

Because it expresses the complexity of human beings.

Bernard Shaw stretched, took another sip of wine, and said, "So, I have to admire Lu, even children's literature can be so innovative."

When he turned to Lu,

"So, it is not an exaggeration to say that you are getting closer to Shakespeare. At least, in terms of plot construction and character creation, it is not an exaggeration to say so."

James added: “In terms of the use of words, that’s not an overstatement.”

Lu Shi was helpless,

"What you said is a bit excessive."

As a result, as soon as he finished speaking,

The two of them said in unison: "Not too much! Not too much at all!"