"Benjamin Button was born looking like an 80-year-old man, but as time passed, he grew younger and younger…"
"Throughout his life, he experienced a republic, an emperor, another republic, a restoration, yet another emperor… and finally died in another revolution…"
"He began his life abandoned by his father in a cradle, and ended his life embraced by his beloved in a cradle…"
"Like a reflection in the river of time, he experienced this turbulent century in an increasingly younger body…"
…
As Lionel recounted the story, the 19th-century French version of the film the extraordinary adventures of benjamin button began to take shape within the smoky air of Charpentier Bookstore.
Whether it was Paul Pigout, editor-in-chief of Le Petit Parisien, or Mr. and Mrs. Charpentier sitting nearby, or Maupassant, Huysmans, and others, they all forgot the passage of time.
Just a few minutes of storytelling felt like a lifetime to them.
Novels that reflect historical changes through a person's life journey were not uncommon in the 19th century; there was even a specific term for them: "roman-fleuve" or "river novel."
However, the entry point of the story Lionel told was truly ingenious—
A person who "grows backward," Benjamin Button, is inherently full of allegorical meaning—memory, death, time, love, history…
Everything taken for granted is imbued with special meaning in a life journey of "growing backward."
Since Lionel could outline the story so captivatingly, he must have a complete framework, flesh, and even every sinew and bone in his mind, with full confidence.
It's hard to imagine how attractive this story would be to French readers once it's written!
This exquisitely clever and romantically colored entry point, combined with France's magnificent centuries-long history, would be nothing short of a spiritual bomb for them!
Lionel's writing, having been validated by three short stories, was undoubtedly good; there was no need to worry about it being unable to support this magical concept.
Georges Charpentier was the first to react; he had to secure this novel, Lionel Sorel's first full-length novel, for his Modern Life!
While Paul Pigout was still immersed in the story, he immediately walked over to Lionel: "Since Paul thinks the 'child's perspective' isn't quite suitable for serialization in Le Petit Parisien, then my Modern Life will take this novel.
Lionel, when do you plan to start writing? Or have you already written a part of it?"
Paul Pigout jumped up from the sofa in a hurry: "Hey, George, when did I say Le Petit Parisien didn't want it? Decorum, where's your decorum?"
Georges Charpentier, abandoning his usual gentle demeanor, confronted Paul Pigout: "I merely repeated your original words… Besides, I'm not stopping Lionel from having a column in Le Petit Parisien.
I just want his full-length novel!"
Paul Pigout sneered: "Hey, listen to you, so generous it's like you're bestowing charity on me. So I should thank you, Mr. Charpentier!"
Faced with the sarcasm, Georges Charpentier's expression didn't change: "You're welcome, Mr. Pigut!"
Paul Pigout was so angered by this remark that his eyes turned red; he wished he could grab Georges Charpentier by the collar and throw him out the window.
Maupassant, Huysmans, and others didn't even dare to speak up to mediate, only watching as the "financiers" they considered unapproachable argued undignifiedly over Lionel's yet-to-be-written first full-length novel.
Lionel, caught between the two, spoke with difficulty: "Gentlemen, may I speak?"
Seeing that it was Lionel who spoke, Paul Pigout and Georges Charpentier stopped arguing and looked towards Lionel.
Lionel smiled at the two: "Both Le Petit Parisien and Modern Life want this the extraordinary adventures of benjamin button, is that right?"
Paul Pigout excitedly said: "You just promised me!"
Georges Charpentier, meanwhile, snorted disdainfully: "Didn't Le Petit Parisien disapprove of the 'child's perspective'? It belongs to Modern Life!"
Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Lionel quickly said: "Actually, there's a solution…"
The two turned their heads, their eyes fixed on Lionel.
Lionel, calculating in his mind, slowly began: "Le Petit Parisien is a daily newspaper, Modern Life is a weekly magazine;
Le Petit Parisien's readers are mainly citizens, Modern Life's readers are mainly gentlemen and ladies;
Le Petit Parisien sells for 1 sou per copy, Modern Life sells for 10 sous per copy…
All of this I've said is correct, isn't it, Mr. Pigut, Mr. Charpentier?"
The two nodded in confusion, unsure what Lionel was getting at.
Lionel chuckled, revealing his true intentions: "Whether it's publication frequency, readership, or price, the two newspapers actually don't constitute direct competition.
Why can't the extraordinary adventures of benjamin button be serialized simultaneously in both newspapers?"
"Serialized simultaneously?" Everyone in Charpentier Bookstore was stunned by this suggestion.
There were precedents for novels being serialized simultaneously in different newspapers, but usually, those were newspapers in different countries—for example, Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities was serialized concurrently in Britain, France, and Russia.
Affected by distribution regions and language, the three newspapers, after all, had no competitive relationship with each other.
But after Lionel's analysis, it seemed that Le Petit Parisien and Modern Life also didn't have much of a competitive relationship?
Lionel continued to add: "Le Petit Parisien is a daily serialization, while Modern Life will combine the week's serialization into one issue. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"
Paul Pigout and Georges Charpentier fell into deep thought.
They had to admit, Lionel's proposal was very feasible. Georges Charpentier quickly discovered a key question: "What about the order? Who goes first, who goes second?"
Paul Pigout also realized that although the overlap in readership between the two newspapers was very small, there would still be some impact.
Lionel spread his hands: "That's for you two to discuss. For the newspaper that publishes later, I can appropriately reduce the manuscript fee…"
Paul Pigout and Georges Charpentier glared at each other, each calculating their gains and losses.
Lionel cleared his throat again: "Actually, there's one more thing. If it's serialized, how many updates per week?"
Paul Pigout didn't wait for Lionel to finish speaking before eagerly saying: "Of course, one update a day! Mr. Alexandre Dumas does it that way! Our readers are used to seeing the latest chapter in the newspaper every day!"
Lionel's expression changed, and he refused without hesitation: "One update a day? That's torture for a writer! It's simply outrageous!
If this continues, there will eventually be a demand for two updates a day! Readers won't even be satisfied with four updates a day, and they'll demand the author's life!
That's too inhumane! Readers also need to be educated—Alright, the extraordinary adventures of benjamin button will have three updates a week, no more!"
— — — —
That evening, when Alice and Petty saw Lionel again, they found that not only had he returned, but he was also carrying a heavy bag.
Once inside, he emptied the bag onto the table, revealing stacks of thick, hardcover books.
"The Old Regime and the Revolution", "Lectures on the History of French Civilization", "History of Ten Years", "Travels in France"…
Petty, touching the beautiful covers and gilded titles of the books, asked curiously: "Young Master, did you buy all these? They must be very expensive, what are they for…?"
Lionel patted one of them: "They're all borrowed from the library—Petty, don't underestimate these books; every page can bring francs back to our family…"
He then instructed Alice: "For now, put aside your other copying work! Focus on serving me!"
Alice's face flushed, and she stammered, "Okay, Lionel," without revealing what she was thinking.