British writer

Chapter 35 Silencer - Lu Shi

George Bernard Shaw kept his promise, and took Lu Shi to the theater the next day.

The two headed to the Royal Opera House.

Sitting in the carriage, the newsboy shouted from outside: ""And There Were None" will be republished! A volume of six chapters, great value for money!"

It was only then that Lu Shi remembered that he had discussed with Cooper about republishing, and he didn't know which publishing house Cooper contacted.

He stopped the carriage, opened the curtains,

"Kid, show me."

As a result, the newsboy hid the book tightly, and said at the same time: "Sir, are your hands clean? Don't stain my book! This bookstore consigned me for sale. If it gets dirty Dirty, corners, I can die of heartache."

Lu Shi was depressed for a while,

Disliked by the newsboy, I, as an author, had a terrible time.

Bernard Shaw beside him couldn't help laughing, and asked the newsboy, "How much is a volume?"

The newsboy replied, "Five pounds."

The content of only six chapters is priced at five pounds, which is more expensive than many textbooks, and it is an absolute sky-high price.

Bernard Shaw was slightly surprised, and took out the money from his pocket.

The newsboy handed over the book,

"You put it away."

Bernard Shaw took the book and suddenly said: "So it's the Royal Publishing Bureau, no wonder the asking price is so... um... the Royal Publishing Bureau!?"

Bernard Shaw was shocked.

The Royal Publishing Office, also known as the Queen's Clerk,

Just by looking at the name, you can guess that it has official properties.

Indeed, the Royal Press published mostly official government documents, reports, and parliamentary documents, as well as books on agriculture, forestry, archaeology, history, art, education, industry, commerce, and medicine.

In short, the Royal Publishing Bureau is a "serious" publishing house, and has almost nothing to do with popular books such as novels.

Unless it is a collection,

Hardcover,

embossed hot stamping,

This price is naturally high.

Bernard Shaw carefully handed the book to Lu Shi, and then asked the newsboy, "You just said that this book sold well?"

Newsboy nods,

"Well, very good. Better than the Shore Magazine."

This is obviously an exaggeration,

But exaggeration can also be lethal. If Doyle heard this, he might vomit blood on the spot.

Bernard Shaw waved his hand to let the newsboy leave, and then said to Lu Shi: "Mr. Lu, my "The Widower's Estate" and "Mrs. Warren's Occupation" are very popular and have been performed at the Royal Opera House."

The words were endless, Lu Shi didn't react for a while,

"What?"

George Bernard Shaw also said: "The Royal Opera House is the most prestigious old-fashioned theater in London and one of the largest opera houses in the world. Those who can perform at the Royal Opera House are artists or troupes with international reputation."

Lu Shi became even more confused.

It took him a while to understand Shaw's overtones,

This old man sees that "And There Were None" can rely on the Royal Publishing Bureau to republish and sell well. For the sake of literati's face, he insists on talking about his glorious history.

Lu Shi couldn't help thinking of a joke about Bernard Shaw:

Bernard Shaw once visited Soviet Russia, met a bright and bright girl on the street, and played with her.

When parting, Bernard Shaw said to the little girl: "Go back and tell your mother that it is the world-famous George Bernard Shaw who is playing with you today."

Unexpectedly, the little girl imitated Bernard Shaw's tone and said: "Go back and tell your mother that it is the little girl Katya who is playing with you today."

...

It is not difficult to see from this joke that Comrade Bernard Shaw has a good face.

Lu Shi suppressed a smile and said, "So, are we going to watch "The Widower's Estate" today? Or "Ms. Warren's Profession"?"

As a result, this sentence silenced George Bernard Shaw,

"..."

"..."

"..."

There was silence in the car.

Lu Shi wished he could slap himself a few times, thinking how he had become a "little girl Kajia".

Fortunately, the Royal Opera House is not far away, and the embarrassment did not last long.

The carriage soon arrived at its destination.

Bernard Shaw bought a box ticket,

The two went to the best position on the second floor together.

Today's play is "Lady Windermere's Fan", which tells the story of Lady Windermere, who didn't know that her husband secretly helped and insisted on inviting Mrs. Erlin to her birthday ball as her divorced mother, which triggered a series of chain reactions.

As a result, as soon as the two sat down, Bernard Shaw began to analyze clearly,

"Mr. Lu, that line is outrageous, 'If you pretend to be a good person, people will take you seriously; if you pretend to be a bad person, people won't take you seriously', I am afraid that children will not say that?"

Lu Shi scratched his head, feeling that Bernard Shaw's attitude was extremely sharp,

He smiled and asked, "Mr. Xiao, today's play is not the work of Mr. Wilde, is it?"

Because he knew that Bernard Shaw had always opposed Oscar Wilde's view of "art for art's sake", Lu Shi said this on purpose, purely as a joke.

result,

Bernard Shaw: "..."

Silence for the second time today.

It's really Wilde's play! ?

Lu Shi was extremely depressed.

The woman on the stage read the lines in an interpreter's voice: "Oh, my dear..."

It was in stark contrast to the silence in the box.

After a while, Bernard Shaw said: "Although Oscar Wilde was an advocate of aestheticism, he showed a realistic and critical attitude in his plays. His plays have many similarities with mine."

When George Bernard Shaw turned to Lu,

"Mr. Lu likes Wilde's works, so he should know it."

Lu Shiwei nodded,

"Ah...yes...but I didn't do it on purpose just now...cough, I won't explain it anymore, the more you draw it, the darker it gets, you just think I did it on purpose."

Bernard Shaw was amused by Lu Shi's bachelor attitude, turned his head and continued to focus on the stage, and said, "I have to admit that Wilde's level is very high. But there are still flaws in some places, such as..."

Bernard Shaw paused slightly, obviously searching for examples.

Suddenly, he said: "Yes! Just now, Lady Windermere's suitor, Earl Darlington, mentioned Britain's national defense, and Wilde chose to mention it briefly. If it were me, I would definitely add more irony. In "Brass That's what happened in Captain Pound's Transformation."

Bernard Shaw began to talk about his plays, and he rambled on for a few minutes before he let out a breath of satisfaction.

When he asked Lu: "Mr. Lu, I heard that you are also good at literary criticism. I think you are very good at satire and criticism. If you were to write it, how would you start?"

After pondering for a moment, Lu Shi asked Bernard Shaw, "Mr. Xiao, what do you think is the purpose of the British government's defense policy?"

Bernard Shaw was taken aback,

Are you discussing literature?

Why did it suddenly change to a political topic?

He bowed his head and thought for a while, then said, "Of course it is to defend Britain."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"No, Mr Shaw, the purpose of defense policy is to make people 'believe' that the government is defending Britain."

Bernard Shaw looked puzzled,

"People? Who? Germans?"

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the dominance of Germany seriously threatened the interests of Britain in the European continent and the world. The contradiction between Britain and Germany became the main contradiction in Europe.

This is why George Bernard Shaw mentioned Germany.

Lu Shi shook his head,

"Not the Germans! The British! Of course the Germans know that Britain is not protected."

"Pfft~"

Bernard Shaw burst out laughing immediately,

"What a wonderful irony! I never thought that Mr. Lu could even write plays..."

Before he finished speaking, Bernard Shaw looked at Lu Shi with a face of shock, as if he was looking at an alien,

"..."

He fell silent for the third time.