British writer

Situ Meitang left.

Watching his back, Goodman whispered: "Sir Lu, I don't think this matter will be solved so easily."

Lu Shi nodded,

"certainly."

Disputes between halls cannot be resolved by talking nonsense or hiring a lawyer.

In the end, there will still be blood.

Only when both parties show signs of fatigue can they truly sit down and talk.

But Lu Shi still hopes that Chinatown can be guided in a good direction.

Just like the previous "Upside Down", if the situation of the Chinese overseas improves a little, great things will happen.

Goodman diligently poured tea for Lu Shi.

"Are you still going to Columbia tomorrow?"

Lu Shi pondered, thinking about it, and felt that it was not necessary.

"Just go to Harvard."

He is now a trustee of Columbia University and is also a member of the School of Journalism, so he has influence in the entire New York State academic circle. He will not encounter resistance when promoting the evaluation system of adding impact factors to various journals.

As for colleges and universities in other states in the United States...

"To capture the thief, capture the king first~"

Lu Shi joked.

Goodman couldn't help but sneer after hearing this and asked: "Is this wisdom from the East? Indeed, defeating Harvard will have the effect of 'capturing the king'."

…

the next day.

Lu Shi and Goodman set off, took the train to Boston, and then transferred to Cambridge.

It’s midsummer and it’s extremely hot in the carriage.

The passengers in the carriage were all listless and didn't even bother to chat.

The train moved slowly, with a regular "click-click" sound, like a tired giant beast, slowly crossing the sun-scorched earth.

Goodman unbuttoned his shirt and fanned it inside.

Lu Shi asked: "Want to play cards?"

He took out the poker he had with him.

Goodman was puzzled: "What are we two playing? How about I go to the dining car to open a bottle of wine, then call a few people over, and I teach you to play a card game that just appeared recently?"

Lu Shi was curious,

"Texas Hold'em?"

If he remembered correctly, poker was indeed born in the early 20th century.

Goodman said: "How did Sir Lu know...well...you are a director of Parker Brothers. No wonder you know this. That card game was indeed born in Lobus Town, but it has no official name."

Lu Shi was not addicted to this kind of thing.

"Forget it, the two of us..."

I haven’t finished speaking yet,

Suddenly, there was a very noisy commotion outside.

"Line like a pig and bray like a pig!"

“If you can’t afford to lose, don’t play!”

"Master, we all respect you so much, you can't cheat!"

…

Shouts and laughter were intertwined.

Goodman poked his head out, then quickly retracted and whispered: "It seems to be a group of college students. They are also playing cards. What they are playing is..."

He glanced outside again,

As a result, I burst out laughing on the spot.

"Fxxk!"

Lu Shi's curiosity was also aroused and he looked outside.

There is a long table in the aisle outside the box, covered with poker cards.

A middle-aged man stood in front of the table,

He bent over, humming and imitating pig noises, and used the tip of his nose to pull out a clown from the pile of cards.

In an instant, the carriage exploded with laughter,

The atmosphere was warm.

Lu Shi squinted his eyes and looked at the middle-aged man, feeling somewhat familiar.

Unexpectedly, Goodman next to him recognized him first.

"It seems to be Potter."

The first thing Lu Shi thought of was "Harry Potter".

He quickly cleared the absurd thoughts from his mind and asked: "Do you know that person?"

Goodman nodded repeatedly.

"I know him. That man was imprisoned for embezzling public funds. It was widely spread at that time, and almost everyone in the legal field on the East Coast knows about it."

Lu Shi was curious,

"Why is it spreading like wildfire?"

Goodman whispered, "That man is a writer."

Lu Shi was startled.

"O. Henry?"

He remembered that O. Henry's real name was William Sidney Porter.

However, O. Henry was probably not particularly famous when he was imprisoned.

Goodman said "Ah\

,""Yes, yes, that's him. But that incident was well known in the industry, and because of O. Henry's strange operation. He was indicted, summoned for trial and temporarily held in jail. His father-in-law bailed him out of jail .”

Lu Shi nodded,

"Bail? That means the matter is not serious."

Goodman nodded.

"Yes, it's not serious. It can be solved by paying a fine. But he fled to New Orleans the day before his arraignment, and then fled to Honduras. He stayed in a hotel in Tegucigalpa for several months. Later, he When he learned that his wife, who was suffering from tuberculosis, was critically ill, he rushed back to the United States, where he was arrested and sentenced to five years.”

Lu Shi: "..."

I didn’t expect that a literary master could be so weird.

He couldn't help but wonder,

"You said five years, why is it out now?"

Goodman said: "I stopped paying attention to this matter later on. But I know with my knees that I must have kept writing in it and performed well. The pen name O. Henry has only recently become popular. "

He winked at Lu Shi,

"It seems that being in a small dark room really helps with creation."

Lu Shi shuddered,

My heart said,

This matter cannot be spread in Europe.

Otherwise, those fanatical fans might really mess around and try their best to lock themselves into a dark room.

Just as he was thinking about this, another round ended over there.

The booing started again,

"Where is the clown card? Shuffle it into the deck!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

"Line like a pig! Again! Again!"

…

O. Henry's face had turned the color of pig liver.

He raised his hand,

"No! Not coming!"

Start cheating.

Goodman muttered: "People who can't afford to lose are not suitable for the card table. This master is 80% bad at gambling."

The truth is exactly what he said,

In 1902, O. Henry became a professional writer and created hundreds of excellent short stories, gaining both fame and fortune.

But at the same time, he also began to spend extravagantly,

Bad gambling, drinking...

The fatigue of writing and the unrestrained life caused serious damage to his body.

His final cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver.

O. Henry outside is very unhappy,

"You guys are not ganging up on me, are you? I've been playing cards for so long, but I've never lost so quickly!"

The scene fell silent,

Then the whole room burst into laughter.

One student complained: "'Never lost so fast'? It means, you always lose~"

The others laughed louder.

Only then did O. Henry realize that he had said the wrong thing. He picked up the whiskey next to him and took a sip. He remained silent.

When he goes to the poker table, losing money is not a big deal;

But being ridiculed by a group of students made him feel very humiliated.

Some students sighed: "Master, we did not cheat. You lose quickly because you have never played poker before and don't understand the strategy at all. Moreover, if you didn't declare your family and insisted on getting involved, you wouldn't There is trouble now.”

Others echoed:

"That's right! Your poker skills are as humorous as the novels you write."

There was another moment of silence.

Subsequently,

"Hahahahahaha!"

Another deafening laugh broke out.

More box doors were opened,

The passengers looked curiously, and soon someone recognized O. Henry.

Because he currently lives in New York and has accepted many interviews.

O. Henry blushed,

I don’t know if it’s because of shame or because of drinking.

He said, "That's my writing style. Which school are you from?"

The students answered in unison:

"Columbia University."

The tone was arrogant.

Obviously, they are proud of their alma mater.

O. Henry waved his hand and said, "You don't understand novel writing, so that's why you said that. I don't blame you."

The students listened and looked at each other.

Finally someone couldn't help but said: "Sir, although we are not studying literature, it does not mean that we do not have the ability to appreciate. When it comes to short stories, how do you compare with Edgar Allan Poe? How do you compare with Chekhov? How do you compare with Maupassant? ?”

"Tsk..."

Lu Shi was speechless.

Goodman next to him asked puzzledly: "Sir Lu, what's wrong?"

Lu Shi said: "The examples given by those students are not ordinary people. Poe is the founder of the two major factions of modern popular novels - detective novels and horror novels. As for Maupassant and Chekhov, who else should I say?"

Goodman wondered,

"More powerful than you?"

Lu Shi: "..."

He was immediately silenced by the other party's words.

The silent answer is also an answer,

Goodman looked out the window awkwardly and whispered: "Why is it so hot today~"

There is a saying in modern times:

O. Henry, Chekhov and Maupassant are the three short story masters in the world.

But this statement is almost never mentioned in the United States.

So it is very likely that it was fabricated by other countries.

To take a step back, even if we talk about American literature alone, O. Henry's status should be lower than that of Mark Twain.

Mark Twain is the founder of American literature. He divided English literature into British literature and American literature with different aesthetics and temperaments.

His contribution to American literature is similar to Lu...Lu Shi's contribution to vernacular literature.

On the other side, O. Henry is under siege.

The students expressed their opinions,

"Sir, is there any satire or criticism in your creation?"

"Well, there are indeed no realist exposés and critical works."

"Even if you don't talk about the core and just study novel creation and narratology, Henry James should be more interesting."

"And Master Mark Twain."

"Mr. O. Henry, what do you think is the biggest innovation in your work? Is it the endings?"

…

Only then did O. Henry realize that he seemed to have kicked a steel plate.

If the group of students in front of me can talk about the British-American novelist Henry James, they are probably from the liberal arts college.

Moreover, the other party has a large number of people,

Even if he could explain himself, he would still be unable to argue.

He was extremely depressed.

Just then, a gentle voice sounded: "Are you all students at Columbia University?"

The students were besieging O. Henry, and they were all in high spirits.

Someone said without raising his head: "Yes, we...well...!@#￥%..."

The following words became garbled characters.

Because, a classmate covered his mouth.

He rolled his eyes upward and saw an East Asian man walking this way.

The friends collected the cards in a panic, then stood at attention and said respectfully: "Professor Lu."

Only then did the student whose mouth was covered react,

The person who came turned out to be Lu Shi!

He also stood up and tried his best to press against the box door, his body as straight as a piece of plywood.

Lu Shi smiled and said,

"It seems that you recognize me?"

Someone immediately answered: "Of course! You are Professor Lu Shi from our school."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"It's just a name, it's just a name."

He glanced at O. Henry and then said: "Don't underestimate the 'O. Henry style ending'. Six out of ten articles in today's story magazines are of this style. It is easy to learn and does not require high standards. His artistic understanding is good news for the majority of practitioners.”

The so-called "O. Henry ending" is simply a reversal.

The unexpected ending leaves readers feeling unsatisfied.

For example, "The Gift of the Magi", "The Policeman and the Hymn", and "The Last Ivy Leaf" are all similar designs.

But at this point in time, none of these works have appeared.

O. Henry's works are only known for their unexpectedness and ingenious solutions, but they have not yet been given the name "O. Henry ending".

When Lu Shi said this, it was undoubtedly a kind of certification.

He regarded O. Henry as a master.

O. Henry was very excited,

"Professor Lu, you..."

I can't say what's next.

Given Lu Shi's current status in the literary world, his "O. Henry ending" may be more useful than any literary award.

Of course, Lu Shi wasn't looking up to him either.

Like "The Reader", "Yilin", and "Story Club", which one is not a disciple of O. Henry?

Even web articles with a small climax in three to five chapters are imitating it.

He has fed countless practitioners and is the founder.

A student said: "Professor, I always feel that popular influence is different from literary evaluation. How can it be...um...! @* # ￥%..."

It became garbled because my mouth was covered again.

There is no other reason. Lu Shi is also a popular writer, and many of his works also have the shadow of "O. Henry-style endings".

The popular "Chao Wen Dao" is a typical example.

Lu Shi smiled,

"You are right, the evaluation of literary types is different. But I think that both popular literature and serious literature are literature. There are fine works in popular literature, and there are bad works in serious literature."

He turned to O. Henry again,

"However, you still have to admit defeat when you accept a bet. You can't cheat."

O. Henry laughed,

"Okay, okay!"

The "O. Henry ending" just now has given him enough face, so how could he be afraid of imitating the pig's braying again?

I saw him "humming" and using his nose to hold out the clown card.

The atmosphere at the scene became relaxed again.

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"That's it."

After saying that, he returned to his box.

Unexpectedly, O. Henry put down his poker and followed him.

He expressed his gratitude to Lu Shi very respectfully for his rescue, and then asked: "Professor Lu, do you agree with my approach?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"I have read your works and the stories often end with a unique and impressive turning point that is unpredictable. I like it very much. However, this kind of writing is more suitable for short stories or dramas."

O. Henry was puzzled,

"Short story..."

Lu Shi said: "Of course. Only by keeping the text short and concise can we avoid too much foreshadowing through concise wording, leaving more room for the reader's imagination. Procrastination and too long a battle line will lead to a weakening of the impact of the ending. As for Drama, because it is presented scene by scene, is equivalent to a collection of short stories.”

O. Henry pondered: "Well, what if I want to write a long novel?"

Lu Shi frowned,

"Then we can only make the structure as loose as possible."

O. Henry was shocked.

He began writing the novel "Cabbage and the King" in Honduras.

As Lu Shi said, it is a loosely structured political satire novel.

Sometimes, he even treats it as a collection of short stories.

But "Cabbage and the King" has not yet been published, so it is impossible to read it on the market.

The fact that Lu Shi could say that kind of thing only shows that he has profound writing skills, and is proficient in everything from the narrative to the structure of the novel.

O. Henry bowed,

"Professor Lu, I should really go to Columbia University and take your class."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

"What's the meaning?"

O. Henry whispered: "What you said made me enlightened. I have already thought about the preface of the next work, and I must thank you for your guidance at the beginning!"

As he spoke, he held Lu Shi's hand,

"Thank you! Thank you very much! You are my mentor on my writing journey!"