In December, the not-so-hot sun hung in the sky, blocked by the gauze-like sky in the capital city, looking dim and lifeless.
In sharp contrast is the vibrant Haidan University campus.
As the first institution of higher learning independently founded by China, Haidan University has a long history of more than 100 years.
Since its establishment more than 100 years ago, Haidan University has trained countless elites from all walks of life, many of whom are world celebrities.
Not to mention, Xin Keqing, who died just two years ago, is the originator of Chinese detective novels and the most famous detective novel writer in China. He once studied at the School of Architectural Engineering of Haidan University.
It is also because of Xin Keqing that the selection of the "Chinese Detective Master Award", the highest award for Chinese detective novels, is held every year at Haidan University.
The "Chinese Detective Master Award" has been established for fifteen years and has been selected for fourteen times this year.
This award is a recommendation system. Detective novels released before December each year are recommended by various publishing houses and entered into the selection list, and then the selection is concentrated in December.
There are four awards: novels, novellas, short stories and a newcomer award.
Among them, the Newcomer Award is not divided into lengths. No matter whether it is a long, medium or short story, you may win the award.
Yu Zuoren sat in front of the table, looking at the three books on the table, frowning for a while and sighing for a while, as if he couldn't make up his mind about something.
Yu Dongyu, who was standing next to him, saw his appearance and laughed, "Why, it's been almost half an hour and you still haven't made a decision?"
When Yu Zuoren heard Yu Dongyu's words, he raised his head. The solemn expression on his face was in sharp contrast with Yu Dongyu's relaxation.
As the chief judge of the "Chinese Detective Master Award", he is extremely cautious every time it comes to the final selection.
If there were any year when he didn't have to be so cautious, it would prove that Chinese detective novels that year were really disappointing.
It is always easier to choose a general among dwarves than to make a difficult choice among excellent works.
This year, Yu Zuoren also faced a problem.
The three books in front of him are all long detective novels.
Among these three books, two prizes may be awarded, or only one prize may be awarded, it all depends on his thoughts.
"Murder on the Orient Express"
"Ten Little Indian Boys"
"The Loulan Murder Case"
These three books are the three best detective novels this year. Yu Zuoren feels a little relieved, because the quality of this year's detective novels is obviously much higher than in previous years. Three such excellent works have been published at once, which is really a surprise.
A happy event.
The most important thing is that the author of the first two books is still the same person.
And this person is still a newcomer.
The problem Yu Zuoren now faces is how to distribute the awards.
If we only talk about the Newcomer Award, then "Fifth Grade Vegetative", the author of "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Ten Little Indian Boys", definitely deserves it.
But the problem is, he also wants to send one of the two books to the top prize this year.
From a personal emotional point of view, Yu Zuoren believes that these two books about fifth-grade vegetative patients are better than "The Loulan Murder Case", but as the chief judge of the award, he cannot only consider personal emotions.
The author's qualifications and the balance of awards are all additional considerations he has to make.
"Why don't we give the novel award to "Ten Little Indian Boys" and the newcomer award to Fifth Grade Vegetative Man?" Yu Dongyu suggested from the side.
Yu Zuoren shook his head, "How is this possible?"
Although the selection rules of the awards do not mention that the winner of the Newcomer Award cannot win the other three awards at the same time, this seems to be something that everyone takes for granted.
And this has never happened before.
Yu Dongyu shrugged his shoulders, "Then there's nothing we can do. You can't keep struggling here."
Unlike Yu Zuoren, who is cautious, Yu Dongyu is just an ordinary judge in the judging panel, and there is no pressure at all.
The reason why he appeared in Yu Zuoren's office was because the two had a good personal relationship, and he came over to ask Yu Zuoren to go out for lunch.
However, after staying in Yu Zuoren's office for a long time, it was almost past dinner time, and Yu Zuoren had not made a choice yet.
"Why don't we give the novel award to works written by fifth-grade vegetative people, and choose another award for newcomers? There have been several relatively good newcomers this year, such as Fang He's "Window to the Secret Room" and Qin Yun's "The Strange Case of Luogang"
Also Liu Yu's "Houseful of Suspects" are very good works, wouldn't it be enough to give the Newcomer Award to one of the three of them?" Yu Dongyu suggested again.
But Yu Zuoren still shook his head, and this time he shook his head more resolutely, "Yes, yes, yes, but since it is a newcomer award, it will naturally be awarded to the person who deserves it most. They... are still far behind.
point."
"I also know that they are a little worse than fifth-grade vegetative people, or even more than a little bit, but aren't you still entering an infinite loop like this?" Yu Dongyu curled his lips, "I can tell, you actually want to have two
The awards are all given to fifth graders who are in a vegetative state, but I feel that this is not good and may cause controversy."
Yu Zuoren didn't speak, but his expression said everything, that's what he thought.
The two works written by the fifth-grade vegetative person can definitely win him the Best Novel Award and the Best Newcomer Award.
But in terms of qualifications, the fifth-year vegetative person is still a bit behind.
Yu Zuoren doesn't need to care about his seniority, but as long as others care, he has to consider it when he sits in this position.
"Let's go to the cafeteria."
Yu Zuoren finally sighed and stacked the three books in front of him. Anyway, the time for the final decision had not come yet, and there was still time for him to think about it.
Yu Dongyu smiled. He had known Yu Zuoren for many years and naturally knew that he was an "indecisive" person. In fact, Yu Dongyu felt that Yu Zuoren's personality was not suitable for serving as the chief judge of the award.
The two put down their awards, walked out of the office together, and went to eat.
…
After Zhang Zhong sent Pengpeng to school at noon, he ran to the driving school and took a test. Because he had prepared in advance, it didn't take long to hand in the test.
He would definitely pass the test and his driver's license would be issued soon. Zhang Zhong didn't want to make another trip, so he asked the driving school to mail the driver's license over to him while he waited at home.
After finishing the exam, he went to the Automobile City and chose a mobility scooter that cost more than 200,000 yuan.
As a good, law-abiding citizen, before he got his driver's license, he stored the car at the Fourth Son store and planned to pick it up after his driver's license was issued.
After I finished everything and went home, I happened to catch up with Pengpeng after school.
When he picked up Pengpeng and returned home, he saw a person in the aisle in front of his house.
Before he entered, Zhang Zhong noticed a person standing in the aisle. Judging from the figure, he should be a woman. However, it was a little dark inside the aisle and he couldn't see clearly. It just seemed that his skin tone was not too white, because looking at him like this, he felt that she was a woman.