British writer

Two days later.

Paris,

Montmartre.

The sun has just risen, spreading its bright light to the earth.

The bearded Oscar-Claude Monet is smoking a pipe, holding the French manuscript of "The Country Teacher" in his left hand, and sketching patterns on the canvas with his right hand.

Next to him, Jules Verne was playing with his pocket watch,

He said: "The time is not correct."

Monet was speechless,

"You don't have an accurate reference, how do you know the time is inaccurate?"

Verne replied: "Professor Lu told us about some types of detectives in mystery novels. He said that there is a type of detective who is paranoid and even has mental illness. He can be distracted and multi-purpose. The example he gave is that he can do things while being distracted and use his heartbeat. Time."

Monet:"……"

He felt that Verne should be more suspicious that he had made a mistake in timing, rather than that there was something wrong with his pocket watch.

"Are you paranoid?"

Verne suddenly realized,

"Ah, you have a point."

well……

Monet sighed silently and continued to focus on the painting.

Verne came up and asked curiously: "I wanted to ask when I came here three days ago, what's going on with this painting?"

Monet said: "It's still the "Water Lilies" series."

Verne was puzzled.

"Is this a water lily? Why can't I see it in the water element..."

As an impressionist, Monet still followed the basic principles of light and shadow perspective when painting.

His "Water Lilies" all depict the water system, but in the one he is currently painting, there are no rivers, rivers, or lakes. There seems to be only a sloping belt across the canvas.

Monet said: "The Milky Way is also a river."

Verne was stunned,

"What?"

Monet shook the French manuscript of "The Country Teacher" in his hand.

Apparently that's where his inspiration came from.

Verne was speechless,

"Drawing water lilies on the Milky Way?"

Monet chuckled,

"I don't have to be an impressionist painter, right? It's okay to be abstract occasionally."

Verne did not comment on this.

Monet asked: "By the way, how is your literature award going? I heard that Professor Lu used a large part of the royalties from "The Village Teacher" in France to set up bonuses and form a jury. It should be smooth. Bar."

Verne nodded,

"The only problem is that there is too much money to spend."

Monet: "(ˉ▽￣~)cut~~"

The two were chatting when a shout came from the distance: "Mr. Verne!"

They look back.

I saw Romain Rolland walking quickly, waving a half-size newspaper in his hand.

No need to look, it’s the Mirror again.

Verne was surprised,

"What's wrong? Didn't you bring the serialized copy of "The Lord of the Rings" yesterday?"

Roland ran out of breath.

While calming his breath, he said: "Look at this, this is yesterday...ah...no, this is the Mirror the day before yesterday. It has the cartoon of "Jane Eyre" on it."

Monet was surprised,

"A comic adaptation of a novel?"

With the information capacity of comics, so much content can be contained! ?

Can you understand that thing? ?

He couldn't imagine it.

Roland said: "Yes! And I heard from my classmates at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris that this issue sold very well, it seems to be better than the serialized issue of "The Lord of the Rings"."

Verne was also surprised,

He and Monet got together at the same time, reading comics.

A layman watching the fun,

An expert knows the way.

Verne could only read the content of the story, but Monet saw a brand-new technique used in "Jane Eyre".

This technique allows the painter to carry out a continuous narrative.

He asked: "Who is the author?"

Roland flipped through the pages and replied: "Original work: Margarita Victoria Feodor Leopoldina; original painting: Piet Cornelis Mondrian. Strange, how can there be a set of comics? Two authors?”

Monet said: "Obviously, the original author is responsible for the plot and the original painter is responsible for the painting."

Roland was puzzled.

"Is this still possible?"

Monet nodded,

"As you just said, "Jane Eyre" is a long novel, so the content must be added or deleted, otherwise the comic will become long and boring. But the most important thing is that this comic..."

Halfway through, Monet fell silent, seemingly unable to find the right words.

Verne and Roland waited quietly.

After more than ten seconds, Monet spoke again and said, "Cover the dialogue bubbles in the comics and see if you can understand them?"

Verne and Roland did so,

Soon, they showed extremely shocked expressions.

Because even without reading those words, they can still get a general idea of ​​the plot of the first few chapters of "Jane Eyre".

Verne said: "No wonder it sold better than the "Lord of the Rings" series."

Roland next to him asked: "But, how did it do it?"

Monet said: "This version of the cartoon of "Jane Eyre" uses a very unique guidance technique, which allows readers to read in the order planned by the artist, so as to clearly know the development of the story. Just like here, it uses sight guide."

The other two people looked along Monet's finger,

In one cartoon, Jane was imprisoned in the "red room" and received what her aunt called "corrective education."

Jane lowered her head and looked downward.

Naturally, the reader's eyes will also follow downwards and be guided to the frame below.

The new frame uses a lens from near to far,

Nearby is Jane's clenched fist clinging to her skirt, which is very clear;

The figures in the distance are a little blurry, arousing people's curiosity.

You don't need to guess to know that the next frame is about the blurry figure.

Undoubtedly, this kind of guidance is very advanced.

Monet gave another example:

"Also here, the artist used a very abstract form of expression to paint the devil, so that readers can immediately know that this is Jane's imagination. This is also a way of guidance."

Verne and Roland could not agree more,

They nodded frequently.

Monet said: "This is why we can understand this comic without reading the text. The reason is very simple. Through this painting technique, without text guidance, only by relying on various guidance, the correct story line can be connected." "

Verne and Roland looked over,

"Monsieur Monet, have you never seen this before?"

Monet was silent,

Suddenly, he stood up suddenly,

"No, I have to go to London..."

He shook his head slowly, sat back a little lonely, and whispered: "No, let's forget it... let's forget it..."

Monet has decided to devote the rest of his life to "Water Lilies".

Moreover, he also promised his wife to buy a machine called a "car" like the one he saw at the Paris World Expo for transportation, and to travel and create in Europe.

Being able to try "Galaxy Water Lilies" is already the greatest adventure plan Monet has made for himself.

Verne said: "Mr. Monet, don't forget that the Mirror is run by Professor Lu. We can send a telegram to the London Political Economy and ask Professor Lu to act as an intermediary to get Mr. Mondrian's mailing address. You can communicate through letters.”

Monet nodded,

"It's okay to do this."

After that, he stood up and said, "Let's take a walk."

Verne glanced at the easel,

"Don't put it away?"

Monet waved his hand,

"It doesn't matter. The most indispensable thing in Montmartre is poor painters. If you want to steal easels and canvases, there are too many here."

The three of them walked towards the high ground.

As Monet said, the most indispensable thing in Montmartre is poor painters.

Especially in the early morning, many people draw sunrises here.

Monet took the lead and walked slowly through the crowd,

Suddenly, he stopped and stood behind a young man, silently watching the young man paint.

Verne and Roland also joined in.

If young people feel something, look back and

His eyes were full of exploration.

Monet pointed to the young man's painting and asked: "Why not paint the sunrise?"

The painting has a blue tone and depicts a blind man.

The blind man's eye sockets were sunken and lifeless, and his skinny hands groped for a kettle and bread on the table.

The young man shook his head and did not answer.

Monet asked: "Don't you know French?"

The young man still had a bitter look on his face and didn't want to answer.

Monet knew that the other party was more or less arrogant and he needed to show his strength, so he commented: "I noticed that many lines in your paintings flow downward. Are you in a period of confusion?"

The young man looked at him and said,

"yes."

Monet glanced at the rising sun and continued: "You paint blind people not only because blind people cannot see light, but also because they have no concept of light at all. As for your use of gloomy blue, is this the reason?"

The young man shook his head,

"There is another reason. I used blue because I was influenced by the masters Carrier and Monet. They both believed that this tone enhanced the poetic component of the painting."

"Pfft! Cough cough cough..."

Monet squirted.

He asked: "You mean Monet?"

The young man nodded,

"What's the problem? He's the greatest painter in France."

Verne and Roland tilted their heads to one side and tried to suppress their laughter.

Monet said awkwardly: "It was more than ten years ago that Monet believed that blue could enhance the poetic element in the painting. Now he doesn't like to use blue."

The young man looked surprised,

"Who are you from Master Monet?"

Monet did not answer, but looked at the other party's words, his eyes lingering slightly on the lower right,

The young man’s name is there:

P.Picasso.

Picasso, a surname distributed in Spain,

Moreover, the young man does have a Spanish accent in his accent.

Monet handed over the Mirror in his hand and said: "Look at this, this comic may be inspiring to you."

"Tsk..."

Picasso was speechless.

Because comics often have to adapt to printing, the details are simply not comparable to traditional paintings.

For painters with a professional background, there is really nothing to study in comics.

Picasso took the newspaper absently,

After a few seconds,

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide with an expression of disbelief,

"This is... what is this?"

No one answered.

Picasso looked around, only to find that the three men headed by the bearded man had disappeared, as if they had never appeared.

But the newspaper in my hand actually exists.

Picasso seemed to have received a revelation;

His eyes were turned to the west, as if searching for the direction of London.

After a while, he began to pack the easel, then took his things and set off in a hurry.

…

London,

fleet street,

"Mirror" newspaper office.

In Lu Shi's office, Mondrian was standing there with a stubborn expression on his face.

Lu Shi was speechless.

"Brother, what's wrong with you? This is the first time I've seen an artist strongly requesting not to sign his works. What? Do you disdain comics as a form of expression? You think the comic version of "Jane Eyre" will be a stain on you ?”

Mondrian shook his head,

"How is that possible? This kind of comic technique is enough to be called 'the establishment of a sect'!"

Lu Shi fainted,

"Then you still don't want to sign? There shouldn't be any political issues between the UK and the Netherlands, right? If you publish comics in the UK, will you be persecuted by the Netherlands?"

Mondrian couldn't help but admire Lu Shi's imagination,

He continued to shake his head,

"No, no."

Lu Shi asked: "Why is that?"

Mondrian did not want his signature for two reasons:

1. He feels that this comic technique was invented by Lu Shi, and even if it needs to be signed, it should be signed by him and Lu Shi together;

2. Lu Shi had previously paid 1,000 pounds. This money was obviously for Miss Margarita. Since Mondrian accepted the money, he had to pursue the strategy of "taking people's money to eliminate disasters for others" and give all his reputation to On to Miss Margarita.

Mondrian said: "Professor Lu, haven't you already paid for Miss Margarita? Don't worry, I won't say anything unnecessary outside."

Lu Shi:? ? ?

Puzzled.

He couldn't realize for a moment that Mondrian regarded the 1,000 pounds as payment for the gunman.

At this moment, the door was pushed open.

Scott broke in and said, "Lu, the sales volume came out the day before yesterday! What do you think it is?"

Lu Shi pondered,

The Mirror now prints 150,000 copies a day.

But it was out of stock the day before yesterday, so the final sales volume must be higher than this number.

Lu Shi said: "Considering our printing volume, I think it is about 200,000 copies?"

Scott replied: "No. Even with full power, the printing press still couldn't keep up. It was all smoking and it printed less than 180,000 copies. However, all these newspapers were sold."

This number is already quite terrifying.

Lu Shi was very satisfied.

Scott continued: "But we lost money. Because comic printing requires skilled printers, their salaries are already high, and because it was May 1st, we had to pay extra for the workers. Expenses, resulting in making ends meet.”

Lu Shi waved his hand indifferently,

"It doesn't matter, once it's fresh and cooked twice, the cost will be reduced soon."

In this regard, Scott also holds the same view.

He smiled and asked: "Lu, why do you think our sales are so explosive?"

Lu Shi thought for a while,

“Is it because of female readers?”

Scott laughed,

"Bingo! "Jane Eyre" is really popular with female readers. Many female London citizens who have no habit of reading newspapers are willing to pay for it. I heard that almost all girls' schools have now begun to reread "Jane Eyre". 》activities.”

Lu Shi raised his eyebrows,

Vaguely, he felt that this matter would turn into some kind of unexpected trouble.

But this is just an inexplicable and unclear feeling, and it is difficult to tell its specific origin.

Lu Shi cleared this uneasiness from his mind, turned to Mondrian, and said: "Mr. Mondrian, don't think too much, just paint well. In the future, maybe you can leave a name in history and become successful." Where is one faction?"

Mondrian smacked his lips and thought about the taste.

"Well, if we can really establish a sect, how about calling it the 'Oriental Painting School'? Because it was taught by Professor Lu, who is Chinese~"

Lu Shi thought he heard wrongly.

"What?"

Mondrian smiled,

"Professor Lu, I know that you are modest and low-key and don't want me to become your teacher. However, your advice is real, so don't shirk it."

Lu Shi:? ? ?