The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

Li Shoumin introduced his two younger brothers, namely Li Xiangji and Li Shouji.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, everyone sat down and began to eat.

This family is very well-regulated, Mrs. Zhou is the elder who sits at the head, Zhou Hexuan is the guest who sits on the right, the eldest brother Li Shoumin sits on the left, and the two younger brothers sit at the head with their backs to the door.

There are some home-cooked dishes on the table, only one twice-cooked pork is meat, and it is deliberately placed close to the direction of the guests. The rice is a bit rough and yellow in color, it seems to be more than three years old rice.

Zhou Hexuan only glanced at the dining table, and got a basic understanding of the family's situation - the family style and family education are very strict, but the economy is not rich.

Li Shoumin took the initiative to ask about Zhou Hexuan's situation: "Brother Hexuan's accent is very correct, is he from Zhili?"

"My ancestral home is Hebei," Zhou Hexuan began to fabricate his resume. "I grew up in Nanyang when I was young. Later, my family fell into poverty and traveled around with my parents. After the death of the two elders, I wandered around the Western countries, and only returned to China by boat a while ago."

Li Shoumin only went to a private school, and enviously said: "Brother Hexuan is a high-achieving student from a prestigious school in the West?"

"I'm ashamed to say that although I have traveled around the world, I don't have a formal diploma," Zhou Hexuan said with a wry smile. "The main reason is that I don't have money in my pocket, so it's very rare to be able to fill in my stomach. When I return to China this time, I plan to find a job in Tianjin to make ends meet. .”

Mrs. Zhou interrupted suddenly: "Shan Ji, you can help Mr. Zhou pay attention."

Zhou Hexuan hurriedly asked, "Where did Brother Shoumin get a high school?"

"I can't talk about being high, I only have an errand in the "New Tianjin Evening News." Li Shoumin briefly talked about his situation.

He used to work in the Beiping Ministry of Internal Affairs, and he was considered a small civil servant. Later, when the second Zhifeng war broke out, the warlord Hu Jingyi joined forces with Feng and Sun Dazhi, and Li Shoumin joined Hu Jingyi as a military reporter. He went to various places in the north to fight, and then stationed in Tianjin with the army. Hu Jingyi died of illness in April last year, and Li Shoumin lost his support, so he took off his military uniform and joined a newspaper office as a proofreader.

Li Shoumin's second brother, Xiangji, just turned 20 last year, works as a clerk at Lili Bookstore in Tianjin, and his third brother, Shouji, is still in school.

Zhou Hexuan inquired, "How about the newspaper's salary?"

Li Shoumin said with a smile: "It depends on which newspaper office to look at. The newspaper with the greater sales volume will get better treatment. Why, brother Hexuan intends to join the newspaper office?"

"My writing style is not bad." Zhou Hexuan said ambiguously.

Li Shoumin said enthusiastically, "Then I'll ask for you tomorrow to see if there are any shortages in our newspaper office."

...

After dinner, Mrs. Zhou cleared the table and washed the dishes, leaving Zhou Hexuan and others to continue chatting.

Li Shoumin talked a lot about the situation in China, while Zhou Hexuan introduced the customs of Western countries in a mess. He didn't dare to go into too much detail, he could only talk about the folk customs of Britain, America, and France. Thanks to the experience of traveling around before crossing, Zhou Hexuan still has some understanding of this.

"If you want to talk about the country of Italy, the most interesting one is Venice. The whole city is built on the water, and the common people go to the streets not by carriages and horses, but by rowing boats. The bridges and water streets in the city are criss-crossed and connected in all directions." Zhou Hexuan Open the chatterbox and say.

Li Xiangji said in surprise: "That's so strange, the city is full of water, and the humidity must be very heavy."

Li Shoumin smiled and said, "It's a bit like a water town in the south of the Yangtze River."

Zhou Hexuan also said: "Venice's Carnival is very famous. On that day, every citizen has to wear a mask to pretend to be someone else. At this time, people are no longer divided into classes, rich and poor. Earls can dress up as beggars, and farmers can also dress up. Become a prince, common people and nobles enjoy themselves to the fullest, and perform their own life drama."

"Interesting, interesting, there is such a festival in the world." Li Shoumin said repeatedly, and he asked again, "Are there any beautiful mountains and dangerous peaks in foreign countries?"

Zhou Hexuan said: "The highest peak in the world is Mount Everest in the Himalayas of China."

"The highest peak in the world is actually in China?" Li Shoumin was surprised. Many people don't know this kind of popular science knowledge.

"At the Tibetan border, it is covered with ice and snow all the year round, and there are few people around. So far, no one has been able to successfully climb it." Zhou Hexuan said.

Li Shoumin's favorite thing is mountain climbing. When he was young, he went to Emei three times and Qingcheng four times. Later, he climbed Mount Tai, Huashan, Qilian Mountain, Diancang Mountain and other famous mountains. He dreamed: "I must visit the Himalayas in my lifetime."

Zhou Hexuan continued: "The second highest peak in the world is the main peak of Kunlun Mountains. It is called 'Chogori' in Tajik, which means tall and majestic..."

Li Shoumin clapped his hands and exclaimed: "China's mountains and rivers are really extraordinary, and the second highest peak in the world is also China's!"

His third brother Li Shouji suddenly asked: "Is it the Kunlun Mountain that is said to be the Queen Mother of China and the West?"

"I don't know if there is the Queen Mother of the West on the mountain." Zhou Hexuan smiled and did not explain the difference between Kunlun Mountain and Karakorum.

The people chatted until around 10 o'clock in the evening before Zhou Hexuan got up to leave. Before leaving, he asked Li Shoumin for a stack of used newspapers.

Back in his bedroom, Zhou Hexuan found that most of these newspapers were "New Tianjin News", "New Tianjin Evening News" and "New Tianjin Xiaobao", that is, newspapers and periodicals issued by the newspaper office where Li Shoumin worked.

He briefly browsed the social news in the past six months, and quickly turned his attention to the "New Tianjin Evening News". This newspaper serialized storytelling and novels, aside from storytelling, and novels are very primitive martial arts novels, not yet out of the category of the Three Heroes and the Five Righteousness.

Maybe I can contribute to the "New Tianjin Evening News" and copy a few martial arts novels to earn some manuscript fees. Zhou Hexuan also wants to redeem his watch as soon as possible.

Have a good night's sleep.

In the early morning of the next day, Zhou Hexuan estimated the time to get up, and after getting dressed, he went to ask the landlord for some water to rinse his mouth.

Tianjin had a water company in the late Qing Dynasty, but water pipes have not been popularized until now. Those who have their own wells drink well water, and most citizens have to buy drinking water. There is a special occupation called water delivery worker.

Zhou Hexuan asked the landlord for a bowl of clean water, and when he returned to the courtyard, he found Li Shoumin standing in the courtyard.

The gentleman squatted with his legs slightly apart, put his hands together on his chest and abdomen, his eyes were slightly closed, and his breathing was long and soundless, as if he was practicing some kind of kung fu.

Zhou Hexuan looked at it strangely, and waited for the other party to finish his work before walking over and asking: "Brother Shou Min, are you practicing Qigong?"

Li Shoumin explained: "An old Taoist priest on Mount Emei taught me the breathing technique, and I have practiced it since I was a child."

"It turns out that you are still a master of martial arts, disrespect and disrespect." Zhou Hexuan laughed.

Li Shoumin waved his hands again and again: "I'm not a master of martial arts, I haven't even learned a single move, I'm just breathing and exhaling."

Zhou Hexuan asked a few more questions, only to realize that Li Shoumin was telling the truth. This breathing technique was only used to strengthen the body, and it was of little help in fighting.

The three brothers of the Li family went to work and school soon, and Zhou Hexuan was also preparing to go shopping in the street with the ocean in his pocket. Pots and pans need to be purchased, as well as pens, ink and manuscript paper for writing.

While walking on the street, Zhou Hexuan suddenly remembered Li Shoumin's identity. Isn't that the author of "The Legend of Shushan Swordsman", Huanzhu Zhulou?

It was Li Shoumin who invented and pioneered the crossing robbery in the fairy tales and fantasy novels of later generations. Many settings in the novels of Jin Yong, Liang Yusheng and Wen Rui'an also borrowed from Li Shoumin's works. This gentleman can be said to be the master of Xianxia novels!