radicalducati Chapter 14: Meeting with the editors of "Zhiyin" magazine, and an invitation to a writers&
Chapter 14: Meeting with the editors of "Zhiyin" magazine, and an invitation to a writers&
The house was transferred on May 10th.
Her uncle helped with the paperwork. Aunt Zhou received the money and flew to the United States that very afternoon.
As he put the key in Li Si'an's pocket, he stood in the empty house, looked around, and thought: This is something I never dared to dream of even if I worked until I was forty in my past life.
But he didn't tell anyone about it. He went to class and practiced his skills as usual. The matter of the house was simply put behind him.
One afternoon in late May, Li Si'an was dozing off at her desk when the old man at the gate called out, "Li Si'an! Phone!"
He ran over, picked up the microphone, and a woman's voice came from the other end, with a slight Hubei accent, speaking as fluently as a machine gun.
"Are you Li Si'an? I'm from the editorial department of 'Zhiyin' magazine. My surname is Liu. You can call me Sister Liu."
Li Si'an was stunned for a moment, then realized—it was the editor of that article.
"Hello, Sister Liu."
"Your article 'The Rich Heiress' has been very well received; we've received a whole stack of letters from readers."
Sister Liu speaks frankly: "I'm coming to Beijing next week on a business trip to deliver invitations to the Lushan Writers' Conference to a few authors."
We're holding an annual authors' conference in Lushan at the end of July and would like to invite you. Would it be convenient for you to meet? I'll give you the invitation in person.
Li Si'an thought about it and said okay.
After hanging up the phone, he returned to the classroom, his mind already racing with plans for the meeting. The Lushan Writers' Conference and the authors' annual meeting weren't the main point. The main point was—this was an opportunity.
After thinking about it, he decided to bring Tang Yun along.
After class, he went to find her. Tang Yun was stretching her legs in the rehearsal hall. He leaned against the door frame and got straight to the point: "Next Wednesday afternoon, come with me to meet someone."
"Who?"
"An editor from *Zhiyin* magazine. He's in Beijing on a business trip and asked to meet me."
Tang Yun glanced at him: "You're going to see the editor, why did you call me?"
"It would be too formal for me to go alone. You can come along and chat casually to make the atmosphere more relaxed," Li Si'an said without batting an eye. "Besides, I'll treat you to dinner after we meet."
Tang Yun hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
On Wednesday afternoon, the two hailed a taxi at the school gate.
From Baishiqiao to Jianguomen, it traverses most of Beijing.
As soon as the car started, Li Si'an pulled Tang Yun's hand over, placed it on his lap, and began to play with her fingers one by one. Tang Yun tried to pull away, but couldn't.
"What are you doing?" she asked in a low voice.
"Nothing." Li Si'an didn't even look up, continuing to play with her fingers.
Tang Yun tried to pull away again, but this time she didn't exert any force, it was just a token effort. Li Si'an didn't let go, so she let him have his way. The back seat was quiet for a while, with only the sound of the wind outside and the hum of the engine remaining.
She placed her hand in his, stopped struggling, and remained silent, looking out the window, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.
When they arrived at the hotel outside Jianguomen, the two got out of the car and went into the lobby coffee shop.
A woman in her forties sat by the window, with curly hair, wearing a dark blue dress and a thin gold necklace around her neck.
When she saw the two young men walk in, she was taken aback at first, then stood up and a smile immediately bloomed on her face.
"You're Li Si'an?"
"Hello, Sister Liu."
Sister Liu sized him up, her gaze undisguised, and her words equally blunt:
"When I called you last week, I could tell you were young just by your voice, but I didn't expect you to be this young—and so handsome too."
She smiled and shook her head, then turned her gaze to Tang Yun beside her. "Oh my, this girl is really beautiful, and so tall! She could be a model!"
"Hello, Sister Liu," Tang Yun said softly.
"My classmate, Tang Yun, came with me," Li Si'an said.
Sister Liu gestured for them to sit down and ordered three coffees. While they waited for their coffee, she took a large envelope out of her bag and pushed it in front of Li Si'an.
"An invitation to the Lushan Writers' Gathering. It's at the end of July in Lushan, with meals and accommodation included, and round-trip travel expenses reimbursed. With your excellent circumstances, it would be a shame to miss it."
Li Si'an took it, but didn't open it, and casually placed it on the table.
Sister Liu leaned back in her chair, took a sip of coffee, sized him up for a moment, and suddenly asked, "How old are you this year?"
"Seventeen."
"Seventeen!" Sister Liu put down her cup, her eyes widening slightly. "You submitted your manuscript to 'Zhiyin' magazine back in 1993, weren't you only fifteen that year?"
Li Si'an nodded.
Sister Liu stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly smiled, a smile tinged with emotion:
"You know, your pen name is very famous in our magazine. You get published almost every month, which is very rare here. Almost no other author can do that."
She paused, leaned forward slightly, and looked at him intently.
"I'm just curious, how did you do that? You're only fifteen or sixteen years old, yet your writing is more mature than those of veteran authors. You're a genius."
Li Si'an picked up her coffee, took a sip, put the cup down, and spoke casually as if she were talking about the food in the cafeteria today.
"I wouldn't call myself a genius. I've just done my research and I'm good at summarizing."
"Research?" Sister Liu raised her eyebrows.
"Yes. I read every issue of your 'Zhiyin' magazine. How you come up with the title, how you start to grab people's attention, how you lay out the story, how you build the climax, and how you make the ending emotional—there's a formula."
Sister Liu chuckled, leaned back in her chair, and tapped her fingers on the rim of her cup.
"A routine? Then tell me, what kind of routine?"
Li Si'an chuckled, leaned forward slightly, and rested her elbows on the table.
"Sister Liu, the core of your magazine 'Zhiyin' can be summed up in four words—'human feelings and human nature.' No matter the subject matter, it all comes down to human emotions in the end."
Tragedy should make people cry, comedy should make people laugh, ethical dilemmas should make people struggle, and inspirational stories should ignite their passion. Readers buy your magazine not to read the news, but to find something to cry about, something to laugh about, and something to resonate with.
Sister Liu didn't say anything, but her eyes lit up.
Li Si'an continued, "The title is simpler. First, it must have an exclamation mark. Second, it must contain a conflict."
Third, highlight the most tragic or heart-wrenching aspects directly. Fourth, it's best to include a morally questioning element. A headline that combines these four elements will be irresistible to readers.
Sister Liu stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly smiled, a deep smile.
"You little rascal, you've actually done your research."
"Of course." Li Si'an leaned back in her chair. "Sister Liu, let me give you a few examples."
"you say."
"Water Margin - 'A departure like fireworks, a youthful elegy for three women who entered the underworld.' This is a story of emotion and society."
Sister Liu thought for a moment, then counted on her fingers and laughed, "Hu Sanniang, Sun Erniang, and Gu Dasao. We have three women, but this elegy for youth is a bit of a stretch."
"Sister Liu, you're really serious about this." Li Si'an smiled and then said, "Alright, I'll choose another one."
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms - The Demise of the Liu, Guan, and Zhang Rebellion Group that Committed Crimes Across Provinces. This is a case of factual crime."
Sister Liu's smile widened, and she nodded without saying a word.
Tang Yun couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.
"There are also purely emotional ones, like Snow White—'My frail sister, seven brothers hold up a little sky for you.'"
Sister Liu laughed out loud and shook her head.
This title is too typical; many articles in Zhiyin have titles in this style.
Li Si'an added another one: "There's also one that focuses on social hotspots and criticizes social trends—'A poor woman angrily denounces the trend of building houses out of comparison and travels thousands of miles begging to regain dignity for her migrant worker husband.'"
He stopped and looked at Sister Liu.
"Can you guess which story this is?"
Sister Liu thought for a moment and then shook her head.
Tang Yun thought about it for a moment, but couldn't guess it.
"Meng Jiangnu cried at the Great Wall," Li Si'an said.
The coffee shop was silent for a second, then Sister Liu burst out laughing, laughing so hard that tears almost came out.
"Li Si'an, your acting is even better than some of my editors who have been working for five or six years." She wiped her eyes with a tissue. "Your Meng Jiangnu story... I'm truly impressed."
Li Si'an smiled but didn't reply.
Tang Yun sat beside her, barely saying a word. She kept her head down, stirring her coffee with a small spoon, her ears remaining red the entire time.
Sister Liu chatted for a few more minutes about the Lushan Writers' Conference, but Li Si'an said he had things to do during the summer vacation and couldn't go. Sister Liu didn't insist, and took out a business card from her bag and handed it to him.
"Okay, then I won't force you. This is my business card. In the future, send your manuscripts directly to me, don't use the magazine's email address."
"For something like 'The Rich Heiress,' just give it to me, and I'll review it quickly. The payment is still 1,000 yuan per thousand words."
Li Si'an took the business card, glanced at it, and put it in her pocket.
"Okay. Thank you, Sister Liu."
Sister Liu stood up, paid the bill, and patted Li Si'an on the shoulder as she left.
"The editorial department plans to submit your manuscript for this year's outstanding works selection. Keep writing, and you'll have a bright future ahead of you."
"Thank you, Sister Liu."
"By the way," Sister Liu said, taking a few steps, then turning back to look at Tang Yun, and smiling, "you two are a perfect match."
Li Si'an didn't explain, she just smiled.
Sister Liu waved her hand and left.