London, United Kingdom.

Christmas is getting closer and closer, and the festive atmosphere in the streets is getting stronger.

Especially Blya Road,

RIKUTOKI AND NATSUME SOSEKI WERE OFTEN SERVED FOOD BY THE LANDLADY OF THE RUDDER (RUDDER) TAVERN,

Roast turkey, roast meat, vegetable salad, pudding......

Everything but the kitchen sink.

Of course, it's more about the drinks,

The landlady seemed to particularly want to see Lu Shisa's drunken appearance, and the only ones she brought were spirits, such as brandy and whiskey, which could make you cough when you took a sip.

December 19,

Early morning.

Lu Shi was asleep, and suddenly felt a stone pressed on his chest, and it was difficult to breathe.

He opened his eyes,

I saw that my generation was rubbing my cheeks against myself,

"Meow~"

It cries out of hunger.

The little one's weight seems to have stabilized recently, and he hasn't gotten fat again during this time.

Lu Shi rubbed the other party's braincase,

"Hungry?"

"Meow~"

We shouted for joy.

Lu Shi "moved" it away from his chest and sat up.

Natsume Soseki has already gone out,

He has been preparing for graduation recently, leaving early and returning late, and he can't see anyone all day.

Lu Shi glanced at the table and asked my junior: "There is still turkey meat left, do you want to eat it?" ”

My junior immediately showed a look of disgust and stepped back.

Turkey meat is firewood and it doesn't like it.

Lu Shi laughed,

"You little guy even provoked your mouth. Okay then, I'll get it for you. ”

He deftly slid out of bed,

As soon as I got dressed, there was a knock on the door,

Knock Knock Knock –

Margarita's voice rang out: "Professor Lu, are you at home?" ”

"It's coming!"

Lu Shi went over to open the door.

Her Royal Highness the Princess stood slim outside the door.

She didn't wear a smart and simple lady's suit today, but a long skirt with plush

The design of the skirt is full of artistic sense,

The waist is cinched in to accentuate the perfect line, while the skirt unfolds like a waterfall for elegance and flow.

Lu Shi looked up and down,

"Beautiful."

Margarita sneered,

Clever smile,

"Do great writers only have such simple words?"

She flashed into the house.

My generation and her have long been acquainted, and they pounced on her belly to show her belly.

Margarita bends over, a familiar cat.

My generation: "Snoring~"

One person and one cat had a lot of fun.

Lu Shi asked, "Rita, why are you here today?" ”

Margarita looked up,

"Your short sci-fi collection "Morning News Road"...... Hmmm......"

She looked at the remaining half of the turkey on the table with some confusion, and wondered: "Professor Lu, it's still far from Christmas Eve, how can anyone eat turkey now?" And the turkey isn't very tasty......"

Lu Shi wanted to laugh when he heard it,

I didn't expect Westerners to know that turkeys are not delicious.

Turkeys were brought to England from North America in the 16th century.

Until then, the British Christmas table was much richer:

Northerners eat roast beef;

In the south, roast goose and smoked pork are more common.

It can be seen that Britain did not start out as a gastronomic desert.

But scarcity is expensive, and roast turkey began to be promoted after Henry VIII made turkey the main course of Christmas dinner.

So much so that in modern times, the British eat nearly 10 million turkeys every year during the Christmas season.

Lu Shi spread his hands and said: "We didn't do it, it was sent by the proprietress of the rudder." ”

Margarita:!!!

"You say...... That woman?! ”

Lu Shi sniffled,

Faintly, he smelled a sour vinegar smell in the air, and immediately became mischievous, saying, "In addition to turkey, there are also roast meats, salads, ......"

Directly played a hand to report the name of the dish.

"Tsk......"

Margarita staggered, narrowing her eyes dangerously,

"Turkey isn't cheap."

Because the refrigeration technology is not mature, for the general public, eating turkey is indeed a very luxurious thing.

That is to say, pubs and restaurants will start to supply as early as possible.

Lu Shi tried hard to hold back a smile and followed the other party's words,

"Well, it's not cheap."

Margarita: "......"

As smart as she could already see that someone was teasing herself.

She stretched out her legs, ready to kick the other party gently, gently, but she forgot that she didn't wear pants that were easy to move today, mixed garlic under her feet, and plunged into Lu Shi's arms.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the room became ambiguous,

“……”

“……”

“……”

The two looked at each other.

After a while, Margarita said, "You...... You turn away. ”

Lu Shi: "Huh? I was a little confused by this request.

Her Royal Highness the Princess put aside her face,

"Shy."

(ω)

Of course, Lu Shi couldn't say anything about this reason.

As a result, as soon as he turned around, the other party hugged him from behind and pressed his cheek against the back of his heart.

Listening to that powerful heartbeat, Margarita blushed like blood,

"Professor Lu, His Majesty has talked to me."

There is no accord when it is landing,

“……”

In fact, he already felt something.

Seeing that he didn't squeak, Margarita asked in a low voice, "Do you already know?" Concerning...... Not...... About the award. ”

On the surface, it is said that the honor,

Actually, it's about marriage.

Her Royal Highness the princess didn't say it, of course, because of shyness.

Lu Shi smiled and quipped: "Rita, I've already turned around, why are you still shy?" ”

As soon as he said this,

Knock –

There was a muffled sound behind him.

Margarita pushed Lu Shi with her head in dissatisfaction, and then buried her face in Lu Shi's back, inhaled deeply, and inhaled the smell that could "charm women".

For a while, Her Royal Highness the princess was dizzy and speechless.

The room was quiet again,

“……”

“……”

“……”

Finally, someone ...... There are cats who can't stand it,

My generation: "Meow~"

Margarita woke up instantly, and when she pushed Lu away, only a trace of warmth remained behind her.

Lu Shi glared at my generation unhappily,

"Little bastard, lose weight today! Don't think about eating! ”

My generation: "Meow~"

Wilted, her ears drooped.

Margarita covered her lips and chuckled: "Professor Lu, why are you bullying my junior~"

She took down the plate with the turkey on the table,

"Eat, my son."

We glanced at Margarita with resentment and tore at the turkey with tears.

Lu Shi saw that he couldn't be intimate with Margarita anymore this time, so he asked about the matter: "Rita, why did you come to me?" ”

When it comes to work, Margarita also becomes serious,

"First of all, it's about the serialization of "The Lord of the Rings", after "The Two Towers" is over, will you directly continue the third part?"

There's nothing to hesitate about,

Lu Shi said: "We are now, comics, board games promote each other, three-pronged, of course, we must strike while the iron is hot." From the perspective of profit, or considering influence, it is appropriate to continue serializing the third part. ”

Margarita agrees,

"Then the matter is settled."

Then, she took out a piece of paper that she had with her,

"Just now, Mr. Alex Hetzel sent a telegram from Paris."

Lu Shi glanced at it roughly, confused,

""Chaowen Dao" sold 130,000 copies?!"

This sales volume is also outrageous!

Even so, Herzel concluded that the current numbers are seriously lagging behind because "Morning News" has not yet reached its full potential.

At first, he thought that science fiction books could sell 50,000 copies at most.

This prediction is not conservative.

But who would have thought that Nicholas II would jump out to advertise!

"Chaowen Dao" immediately became in short supply.

The printing press in Europe is at full power, and the speed of printing cannot keep up with the speed of selling.

Those hungry readers are waiting by the bookshelf, as long as "Chaowen Dao" is put on the table, they will swarm like a hungry wolf seeing fresh meat.

Regardless of the price, they have to see how good the books banned by the Tsar are.

Lu Shi muttered: "Nicholas II is inevitably too miserable." ”

Margarita asked, "Why do you say that?" ”

Lu Shi shrugged,

"Actually, when I wrote Animal Farm, I didn't think about who I was satirizing. Who would have thought that the tsar would be so sensitive, now it's okay, the yellow mud falls into the crotch of his pants - it's not but it's. ”

"Poof!"

Margarita burst out laughing on the spot,

Then he glanced at Lu Shi with a red face, and said, "Vulgar!" ”

Lu Shi spreads his hands,

"I'm not kidding."

He shook the telegram in his hand,

Hetzel believes that there is another important reason for the error in the sales of "Chaowen Dao" -

There is no statistical approach to the data for Russia.

Undoubtedly, "Chaowen Dao" must have "sold" the best in Russia, but those books were to some extent pirated and did not contribute to either sales or royalties.

Lu Shi opened the drawer,

"Look at this."

Margarita stepped forward,

I saw all kinds of Russian pamphlets in the drawers.

She picked up the top one,

Unexpectedly, it was printed quite exquisitely, and the cover was even colorful.

It depicts a pig walking upright in a red military uniform with a blue ceremonial ribbon on it and three medals hanging down.

Margarita carefully recognized,

"Order of the White Eagle, Tsar's Coronation Commemorative Medal...... Hmmm......"

She didn't recognize the third.

"It was a medal for military operations in Central Asia, and its purpose was to honour Russian officers and soldiers who had fought in the conquest of Central Asia between 1853 and 1895," Lu said. ”

Margarita will,

"So, this pig is Niko...... cough cough cough ...... I didn't say anything. ”

I know everything.

Lu Shi sighed: "What makes me depressed is the content of these pamphlets. In a way, they're Animal Farm, but not exactly Animal Farm. It can only be said that it is 'as it is'. ”

Margarita "forehead......

"You mean, they did a billion-point adaptation? Sorry, I'm not very good at Russian, can you give an example? ”

Lu Shi nodded knowingly, turning one of the pages,

"Like here."

He pointed to one of the lines and translated:

“

'Napoleon had a rigorous education. He is fluent in German, English and French and also has some military training. ’

”

Margarita was a little confused,

"Wasn't Napoleon a pig? German, English and French...... What's the situation!? ”

Obviously, this setting was forced.

The animals in "Animal Farm" only have a lingua franca among animals, so they can be considered fantasy fairy tales and fables in terms of subject matter.

Lu Shi spreads his hands,

"You see that, too? So, who are the people who master German, English and French? ”

This question can be figured out with an ass-

Nicholas II.

Lu Shi refers to the drawer,

"I already have at least 200 editions of Animal Farm in Russia, and these pamphlets are only a part."

Margarita asked curiously, "Are you done reading?" ”

Lu Shi shook his head,

"How is that possible!? I only now realized that reading my own books can be so tiring. ”

Seeing his helpless look, Margarita couldn't help but laugh,

"I'll tidy it up for you."

As he spoke, he took out the pamphlets one by one.

At this moment, Lu Shi suddenly grabbed her hand.

Margarita blushed,

"You...... What are you doing? No, no, no...... You are not allowed to do it! It's not the time, we haven't ...... You haven't been awarded yet~"

Lu Shi: "......"

I didn't expect Her Royal Highness the princess to be so in love.

He coughed awkwardly,

"Don't get me wrong, I just saw a book, and I was a little surprised."

That's when Margarita realized she was wrong.

She tried to pretend to be calm,

"This one?"

"Yes."

Lu Shi took the booklet in the other party's hand.

——

Haiyan,

Authors: Gorky, Lu

——

He turned the first page,

What caught my eye was indeed the beginning of the familiar prose poem: "On the vast sea, the wind gathers dark clouds." ”

When the land is full of black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

To be honest, I crossed over and copied so many books?

But it's the first time I've co-signed with the original author.

It feels so weird!

Margarita fell silent when she saw Lu, and she was inevitably curious,

"Professor Lu, is there a problem with this poem? Can you translate it for me? ”

Lu Shi nodded and recited it in English.

"Whew~"

Margarita let out a sigh of relief.

This poem is so well written!

If you were in Paris, you might have taken to the streets.

She whispered: "Tsar Nicholas has watched so many "Animal Farms", I'm afraid he will be mad with anger, right? ”

……

St. Petersburg, Russia,

Catherine Palace, master bedroom.

Bang –

With a loud bang, the delicate porcelain cup shattered on the ground.

"Let the storm come harder......"

Nicholas II's eyes were blood-red, and he muttered as if he had fallen into a daze.

Half a second later,

Bang –

Another loud bang.

This time it was a decorative gold dinner plate, which fell to the ground and rolled away, until it reached Sergei Witt's feet.

Nicholas II was furious,

"Storm? I'll you! @*#￥%……”

This is followed by a string of standard Russian-speaking national scolding.

Originally, the ban on "Chaowen Dao" was to control public opinion,

It's good now, the more you seal, the more you seal,

Who can stand this?

Witte glanced at Nicholas II and did not squeak.

He knew that the current Tsar had inherited the worst part of the personal character of Pavel I and Alexander I:

Personalityless,

wavering

Eyes will be rewarded,

……

If Lu Shi was in Russia, he would have been assigned to Siberia by now.

It's a pity that people are in London,

Nicholas II could only stare dryly.

He threw a few more beautiful decorations, and finally finished venting, and gradually regained his composure, looking at Werther on the side,

"Witte."

Werther bowed respectfully,

"Your Majesty."

Nicholas II's lips twitched slightly, and he said: "Find this Gorky and give him a nest." ”

Witt lowered his head, did not speak, and did not move.

This act, of course, made the tsar feel dissatisfied,

He said, "Why haven't you gone out yet?" ”

Werther was expressionless,

"Your Majesty has decided? Okay, then I'll do it now. ”

That's a strange thing to say.

Nicholas II was stunned for a long time, and quickly stopped: "Don't mess around first!" ”

Werther tried to tighten his face,

complained in his heart: "It's clear that you're messing around, hey!" ”

At this time, the tsar also came back to his senses,

"Chaowen Dao" seems to be different from other books,

Other books are sealed, and although it will cause an uproar at first, after a long time, any wave can naturally subside.

Even "Resurrection" is the same,

Tolstoy even had to cut out the content in order to publish it.

But what about "Chaowen Dao"?

This book is like an endless leek, just cut and then grown, and even more lush and strong than before.

If taxes were like this, Nicholas II would wake up with a smile in his dreams,

But now it's a satire.

“！ @#*￥%……”

Again, he spouted gibberish,

"If you send this bastard garbage Gorky to Siberia, I'm afraid that things will become more troublesome later."

Werther raised his eyebrows, somewhat different,

The tsar actually began to grow his brain!?

I didn't expect that "Chaowen Dao" is still a puzzle book, which can create such a medical miracle.

Perhaps, this is science fiction......

Nicholas II asked, "Witte, is that Animal Farm a satirical Britain?" ”

Werther groaned,

"If you want to get a real answer, you have to ask the original author, Lu."

Nicholas II asked with a puzzled expression: "What are you talking about?" What do you mean by 'real answers'? Is there still a 'false answer' that can't be found? ”

Werther whispered: "There is no 'false answer', what exists is 'more true than the truth'. ”

The latter words do not need to be said explicitly,

The so-called "answer more real than the truth" means, of course, Russia,

The satirical Russia of "Animal Farm" has almost become the consensus of everyone in Europe.

A million grass and mud horses galloped through the heart of Nicholas II.

He said helplessly: "Then what now?" ”

Werther fell into deep thought,

After a long time, he said: "Please Your Majesty, a strong man, break his wrist and unseal the "Chaowen Dao". ”

God's special "strong man broke his wrist"!

If the "Chaowen Dao" is unsealed now, it should be called "strong man's high-level amputation", and the parts below the head will be chopped off one by one.

The disease is cured,

People are gone.

Nicholas II's face darkened,

"You're right! Not only do I want to unseal "Chaowen Dao", but I also want to give Lu a literary award. ”

This is clearly the opposite.

Werther's eyes widened,

"Your Majesty! Thinking deeply, I was able to think of this kind of shock therapy. ”

Nicholas II almost spurted out a mouthful of old blood on the spot,

"I ...... You...... ! ”

Lun was speechless and couldn't speak.

Witt continued to pretend to be stupid: "Unsealing "Chaowen Dao" is equivalent to acknowledging its genuine copyright. Then, those pamphlets that are printed and distributed indiscriminately will become pirated copies, and it is a lawless and unrighteous act to disseminate them. ”

Nicholas II was shocked,

He really didn't expect that the other party was really thinking about unblocking "Chaowen Dao".

Moreover, the idea of solving the problem is surprisingly convincing.

He muttered, "Could it be that you really want to unblock? No...... No way! Our aim is to free Russia from the influence of Animal Farm...... Not...... Seems to be able to get rid of it......"

His Majesty the Tsar was in chaos,

The CPU was dry-burned.

Witt said: "Your Majesty, don't forget that "Chaowen Dao" is a collection, and we can completely claim that it was banned not because of "Animal Farm", but because of the problems in the other two articles. ”

Nicholas II seemed to have been struck by thunder, and suddenly he was enlightened,

"That's right! And so it goes! ”

He ordered Werther:

"Witteqing, you go and seize these pamphlets now...... These pirated books! We in Russia have always been friends of writers. Whoever dares to prevent them from creating freely or stealing their work, Russia will crack down on the petty ones. ”

Werther really couldn't hold back this time,

He held back his laughter, and his throat made a "gurgling" sound,

After a while, he said, "I'll do it." ”

Nicholas II nodded,

"Go ahead."

Werther walked to the door,

As a result, just holding the doorknob, Nicholas II spoke again: "By the way, Witteqing, about the literary prize......"

He waved his hand,

"That's it, we'll talk about that later."

(End of chapter)