The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

"Hey, be careful, you are clumsy. That is the master's favorite purple clay pot, don't break it."

"This place is not bad, it looks foreign. Butler, I want to live on the third floor!"

"What are you dawdling about? Move my box up quickly."

"..."

On the morning of the second day after Zhou Hexuan received the important task, the Marshal's Mansion was full of chaos and noise—Chu Yupu's family members finally came from Shandong.

The old housekeeper, Wang Dafu, was the distant cousin of Chu Yupu's natal family. He brought the second, third, and fourth concubines of the commander-in-chief, while the principal stayed at his hometown to take care of his in-laws and children. Coupled with more than a dozen maids and servants accompanying them, the empty Marshal's Mansion became lively in an instant.

After the luggage and belongings were arranged, several aunts and wives began to pester Chu Yupu. The second aunt said that she was going to the theater, the third aunt was clamoring to play mahjong, and the fourth aunt desperately wanted to go to the concession, and the chatter kept going.

Chu Yupu was dizzy from being quarreled by several wives, and really didn't want to stay at home, so he took his adjutant to inspect the barracks.

His troops were stationed outside Tianjin City, and their combat effectiveness was fairly strong. After all, they defeated Feng Yuxiang's National Army head-on, but their military discipline was a little bit bad. Since the occupation of Tianjin, those big-headed soldiers have never been formally drilled. Instead, they went to the city every now and then to make troubles, causing the common people to suffer unspeakably.

Zhou Hexuan was also annoyed by the noise, and locked himself in the room thinking about escape plans. He didn't want to stay in this crappy place for a day, not to mention that he didn't have freedom, and he was worried all day long, for fear that something would happen to that bastard commander.

"Bang bang!" There was a knock on the door.

Zhou Hexuan opened the door and saw a big soldier standing outside, who was a member of the Marshal's guard.

The soldier was very strong, but with a sincere and honest face, he said, "Mr. Zhou, my name is Li Shuanzhu."

"What's the matter?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

"The commander-in-chief asked me to follow you in the future. By the way, this is the funds that the commander-in-chief gave you. Don't waste money, it's important to complete the task." Li Shuanzhu grinned, and took out an envelope from his arms.

Zhou Hexuan opened the envelope and saw that there was 200 pounds inside, which was close to 2000 yuan. Converted according to the gold content of the pound at this time, the money is equivalent to 300,000 to 400,000 US dollars in the 21st century.

Huge sum of money!

It seems that Chu Yupu really spent all his money, knowing that picking up girls is expensive, especially if he is picking up a queen in the foreign concession.

However, Marshal Chu gave 2,000 oceans as the ransom money for the future fifth concubine. This amount of money seems to be nothing, as all the warlords are very rich.

Zhou Hexuan asked Li Shuanzhu: "I can leave the Marshal's Mansion at will from now on?"

Li Shuanzhu replied: "You must report to Adjutant Jia in advance. In addition, the commander-in-chief also said that he asked you to compete with Master Shen. Whoever completes the task first will be rewarded, and whoever fails to do things will be severely punished."

Adjutant Jia is Jia He, the herald of the Marshal's Mansion. What Zhou Hexuan didn't understand was that he should be compared with Shen Yaorong.

He soon found out...

When Zhou Hexuan finished the registration and was about to go out, Shen Yaorong suddenly came over and said in a low voice, "Mr. Zhou, you are going to lose badly this time."

"What's the situation?" Zhou Hexuan asked in confusion.

Shen Yaorong smiled triumphantly: "The commander-in-chief entrusted me with the task of separating Concubine Shu."

Zhou Hexuan was speechless for a moment, Concubine Shu Wenxiu's life was not going well, even if no one provoked her, she would file for divorce with Puyi in two years. This is more than a fart, Shen Yaorong's task is too simple.

"Hey, let's wait and see." Zhou Hexuan originally wanted to have a good relationship with Shen Yaorong, but the master always disliked him, as if he was jealous that he was favored by the commander-in-chief.

Shen Yaorong took this sentence as Zhou Hexuan's declaration of war. He sneered, strode out with his head held high, and seized the time to implement his plan.

Zhou Hexuan, on the other hand, looked calm and went to the newspaper office in a rickshaw to find Li Shoumin, and took the novel draft he just wrote last night with him, always followed by a big soldier named Li Shuanzhu.

"Brother Shoumin, I'm here to deliver the manuscript!" Zhou Hexuan blinked with a smile.

Li Shoumin was overjoyed when he saw it, glanced at Li Shuanzhu, held Zhou Hexuan's hand and asked, "How has Brother Hexuan been these two days?"

Zhou Hexuan took out the manuscript and laughed at himself: "Eat enough and sleep soundly, but you can't run around casually, not as comfortable as before."

"It's good that Marshal Chu didn't embarrass you." Li Shoumin felt guilty all the time, because he was the one who leaked Zhou Hexuan's address that day. That night, he waited hard outside the Marshal's mansion all night, and finally left with peace of mind when he saw Zhou Hexuan came out safely.

Zhou Hexuan asked: "How is "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" selling now?"

This is what Zhou Hexuan is most concerned about. He has to make money by writing books. Only when there is more money in his hands can he gain a firm foothold in the Tianjin Concession. At least after Chu Yupu is defeated and driven away, he can hide in the concession as an apartment.

In the Republic of China, writers who wrote popular novels were the richest. Zhang Henshui, the author of "A Family of Gold Fans", had a meal with the owner of the World Bookstore. Within ten minutes, he received tens of thousands of yuan in manuscript fees, and directly bought a palace in Beiping.

On the contrary, the gang who created new literature, except for a few great writers such as Hu Shi and Lu Xun, generally lived a relatively poor life. Gong Baiyu, one of the five great masters of martial arts novels from the northern school, was originally engaged in serious literature, and was also a disciple of Lu Xun. Once he wrote more than 10,000 words for "Women's World" and only received 4 yuan in manuscript fees. He was so angry that he changed careers directly. Create martial arts novels.

Of course, popular novelists earn only money, but their reputation is not very famous.

Since Gong Baiyu switched to writing martial arts novels, he dared not contact Lu Xun again. He later recalled in the article: "I am an unlucky writer. As a follower of Lu Xun, I became a famous martial arts novelist... I succeeded, but I was ashamed."

Zhou Hexuan is thinking about writing an influential and serious work. Popular novels make money, and serious literature invites fame. Only fame and fortune are king. As long as his reputation is well-known, even if he meets someone with real power in the future, he has to consider the consequences if he wants to kill him.

Hearing Zhou Hexuan's question about this, Li Shoumin said cheerfully, "The chapter about Huang Rong showing her daughter yesterday received a lot of feedback from readers. The sales volume of "New Tianjin Evening News" has increased to tens of thousands of copies, all thanks to you!"

"That's good." Zhou Hexuan was quite satisfied with this.

"The Legend of the Condor Heroes" has now been serialized to the eighth chapter, and he has received a manuscript fee of more than 400 yuan. He can get a considerable manuscript fee when he publishes the book after it is finished.

At noon, the two went out to eat shoulder to shoulder, and Li Shuanzhu, the chief soldier, followed suit.

As soon as they reached the street, they saw a dozen soldiers rushing into a shop. The leader was short and strong, and shouted arrogantly: "This is full of members of the Red Party, let me take them all away!"

"Master, please spare me!"

The shop was crying, and the customers were scared to scatter. In the end, the boss raised 1,000 yuan and wrote an IOU of 2,000 yuan, and finally saved his life.

"Hahahaha, dare to play tricks with me, I'm getting impatient!" The man walked away with the soldiers.

Zhou Hexuan asked: "Who is that?"

Li Shoumin glanced at Li Shuanzhu, and said in a low voice, "That's Chu Yupu's brother, Chu Yufeng, who is a hungry ghost. He took in the third concubine within half a month after entering the city. If he saw a beautiful girl, he would grab it. Now women who are a little bit more attractive are afraid to go out. Chu Yupu appointed him to arrest the red elements, and this guy took the opportunity to blackmail and arrest anyone who dared not pay the money."

Zhou Hexuan sighed: "As expected of a brother born to a mother."