N-A-A Chapter 283
Chapter 283
However, as a busy office worker, she doesn't have much time to read every day.
That is, she can finish a few short stories when she has time, but she can't finish long stories at all, and she can't stand the feeling of not being able to finish them. After all, it's still very uncomfortable to not be able to see the sequel of the story.
Relatively speaking, short stories can satisfy her pain points very well.
She has only read a small part of "The King's Avatar", but this has made her very uncomfortable.
There is no way, what office workers lack most is free time.
There are not only "Sparks" magazines that publish annuals every year, and Zhang Yucheng bought twelve annuals this time, which are enough for her to enjoy during the Chinese New Year.
However, the magazine she paid the most attention to this time was "Sparks", not because "Sparks" was the most famous, but because there were new works of Qian Jian on it this time.
Zhang Yucheng liked "Wolf", which was released by Qian Jian last time. She read it repeatedly for no less than twenty times, and now she can almost recite it backwards.
The story content is good, the conception is also very clever, especially the rhetorical question at the end, which is even more eye-catching.
Such a masterpiece is hard to come by.
Zhang Yucheng was naturally very interested in learning that Qian Jian had written another new work, and she also had high expectations for it.
In her opinion, even if the new work is not as good as "Wolf", the quality will definitely not be bad.
Zhang Yucheng took a deep breath and opened "Spark" in his hand impatiently.
"Let me see what you have written. Can you give me another surprise?"
When he saw the name of this short story, Zhang Yucheng raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Maggie's Gift"? What does this mean? It looks like a gift received by a little girl, but what does it represent?"
Zhang Yucheng, who has read countless short stories, suddenly popped up several articles about "gifts" in his mind. The themes of those stories are similar, which are nothing more than the principles of "love and gratitude".
But soon, Zhang Yucheng's mind flashed again.
"No! How could Qian Jian, who wrote "Wolf", write such a vulgar story? This title must hide something."
She thought for a moment and smiled.
"I thought about it. This so-called 'Maggie' may not be a person's name, but something else. I remember that in a religious story, 'Maggie' represents three wise men, and the gifts they gave carry the meaning of holiness and dignity. According to this idea, the so-called 'Gift of Magi' should also be called 'Gift of Angels'."
Zhang Yucheng's eyes sparkled.
Before she started reading the story, the title actually contained a mystery. It can be seen that this work must have been written by Qian Jian with his heart, and the quality should not disappoint her.
She made a cup of tea and began to read it carefully.
[One dollar and eighty-seven cents. It's all here. Sixty cents of it was collected from copper coins. These copper coins were extorted one or two at a time from grocery stores, vegetable vendors and butchers; although they did not say it explicitly, she always felt that such a transaction of weighing and shaving was too stingy, and her face turned red at the time. Della counted it three times. After counting it over and over again, it was still one dollar and eighty-seven cents, and the next day was Christmas, and she wanted to buy a Christmas present for her husband Jim...】
Seeing this, Zhang Yucheng took a breath of cold air slightly. This beginning is very straightforward and looks simple, but the writing style is very refined.
A poor but loving couple, the housewife of this family had to "extort one or two at a time from grocery stores, vegetable vendors and butchers" in order to save every copper coin. Despite this, the family only had one dollar and eighty-seven cents left on Christmas Eve.
Qian Jian used seemingly plain words as sketches to create an atmosphere that allows readers to indulge in it and understand and think about the fate of the characters. He did not spend much time writing about the family's financial difficulties, but simply used "one dollar and eighty-seven cents" to introduce the whole article. In particular, the housewife Della, who loved her husband deeply, counted the money three times and was sad because she could not buy a satisfactory gift for her husband. A melancholy and bleak atmosphere ran through the whole article.
In such a poor family, how should the wife buy a gift for her husband?
With such curiosity, Zhang Yucheng continued to read.
[She suddenly turned from the window and stood in front of the wall mirror. Her eyes were crystal clear, but her face lost color within twenty seconds. She quickly untied her hair and let it fall down...]
Seeing this, Zhang Yucheng's heart suddenly lifted, she was a little nervous, and couldn't help frowning.
A woman, in extreme lack of moneyWhat would she do in such a situation?
Many thoughts came to her mind. Although she didn't want to think about it, there were many examples. When a person is desperate, he is likely to take risks and commit crimes.
Even now, some people are forced to sell their bodies for a living. From ancient times to the present, it has been repeatedly banned.
Did Qian Jian want to write a story about a wife selling her body and then meeting her husband as the customer, which is extremely bloody?
It's no wonder that Zhang Yucheng thought too much. She has seen too many such strange stories, and such situations have not happened in reality.
Could this be the meaning of Qian Jian's story? Want readers to see the cruel side of reality and reflect on it?
But this doesn't match the title? The title is "Angel's Gift", so where is the holiness and nobility in it?
Zhang Yucheng patiently continued to read.
Soon she found out how wrong her idea was.
【It is said that James Dillingham Young and his wife have two things that they are particularly proud of. One is Jim's gold watch that has been passed down for three generations, and the other is Della's hair. If the Queen of Sheba lived in the apartment across the patio, Della would one day hang her hair outside the window to dry, making the queen's jewelry and gifts pale in comparison. If King Solomon became a janitor and piled all his wealth in the basement, Jim would take out his gold watch every time he passed by there to make Solomon jealous. 】
Seeing this, Zhang Yucheng has guessed that the heroine probably wants to sell her hair.
As a woman, she clearly knows how important a beautiful long hair is to them.
If there is no other way, which woman is willing to lose her hair?
Moreover, according to the description in the article, the heroine Della's long hair can even make "the queen's jewelry and gifts pale in comparison."