British writer

France,

Ecole Normale Supérieure de Sèvre for Girls.

In the cafeteria,

On almost every dining table, there is a copy of the novel "Mirror" and "Jane Eyre".

All around the dining table were female students wearing tops and skirts, chatting and snickering from time to time.

Suddenly, a girl stood up,

"

‘The more lonely I am, the more friendless and unsupported I am, the more I have to respect myself! ’

"

It's in French.

What I am memorizing are the classic lines from "Jane Eyre".

As soon as the girl finished reciting, there were countless applause and cheers, and everyone had an inspired expression on their face.

At this moment, a middle-aged woman walked in at the door of the cafeteria, picked at the bread basket for a while, picked up a baguette, and then made a bowl of corn and vegetable soup, inserted a few pieces of ham, and found a seat. Sit down and dine.

Instantly, the girls' eyes were attracted.

Someone whispered: "It's Madame Curie."

Maria Skłodowska Curie, lecturer in physics at Sèvres École Normale Supérieure for Women.

Marie Curie tried to bite the baguette,

As a result, the baguette was much harder than a brick, and even the teeth were about to break.

She couldn't help but frown slightly,

This time last year, she and her husband presented a paper "On New Radioactive Substances and the Lines They Emit" at the International Society of Physics in Paris. At that time, she knew that her body would become worse day by day.

I didn't expect that things would happen so quickly, and the baguette would turn into tooth extraction forceps.

She soaked the softer side of the baguette in the corn and vegetable soup, waiting for the soup to soak into the cracks of the bread, and the bread gradually softened, and then she put it into her mouth and chewed it carefully.

While eating, a girl came over,

"lady?"

Madame Curie looked up,

"What's wrong? Tinian, do you have a question about physics?"

Tinian was encouraged when she heard that the lecturer remembered her name.

She asked: "Madam, have you seen "Jane Eyre"?"

This question seems a bit confusing.

Marie Curie was unclear, but she still gave a serious answer: "I haven't seen it. You know, I am of Polish origin and have been living in France since then, so the languages ​​I am proficient in are Polish and French, although German, English, I can also listen, speak, read and write Latin, but I’m not that familiar after all, so reading English classics is a more energy-consuming task for me.”

When it comes to students, she has always told everything she knows, unless it involves privacy.

Tinian chuckled,

"Then you can read it now."

As he said that, he handed over the "Mirror" in his hand.

Madame Curie raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't...well..."

She originally wanted to excuse it by saying "I don't have time", but when she saw those comics, she couldn't help but become interested.

In ten minutes, she finished reading the comic.

"very nice."

With that said, she handed the "Mirror" back to Tinian.

Tinian was slightly surprised, obviously not expecting Madame Curie's reaction to be so bland.

The other girls were also very puzzled.

That's "Jane Eyre\

,"That's "Jane Eyre"!

Tinian asked in a low voice: "Madam, don't you have any comment on this?"

Madame Curie could probably imagine what these little girls were thinking, so she smiled kindly, put her palms against their foreheads, and said, "It will be more helpful for you to focus on the things in front of you. This is my little lesson as a lecturer. suggestion."

Tinian couldn't accept it;

"Ma'am, you even have to share the same cafeteria with us! That's not fair!"

At Sèvres Normal School for Women, male teachers have a separate canteen.

The same cannot be said for female faculty.

Madame Curie raised her eyebrows.

"I still say what I said, focus on the things in front of you."

Tinian said: "He is worthy of being a future Nobel Prize winner."

This usually sounds like a compliment or a joke.

However, from the student to the lecturer, coupled with the sinister tone, anyone can taste the irony in it.

Madame Curie said: "Do you know who said this?"

Tinian nodded,

"Of course, it's Professor Lu from London Economics and Political Science! He has such comments about female lecturers like you, so he is our friend!"

Madame Curie has a lot of leisure time,

"Then do you know Professor Lu's original words?"

Tinian said nothing;

The reason is simple. Lu Shi never admitted that he was a feminist.

At this time, another student came over,

"I know that the editor-in-chief of "Mirror" is Professor Lu! Such a person must be our friend!"

Lu Shi was the man behind the Mirror. This was not a secret in London, but not many people in France knew about it, let alone the Sèvres region in southwestern France.

For a time, there was a lot of discussion,

Lu Shi was quickly molded into what girls call a friend of women.

Madame Curie sighed and raised her voice,

"If I remember correctly, Professor Lu's original words in his speech were, 'If one thing can develop productivity, then no matter how we support or oppose it, it is meaningless.' Do you know what this sentence means?"

The cafeteria was quiet again.

The girls all stared at Madame Curie with complicated expressions.

Marie Curie said: "Previously, two German scholars, Valkov and Gizer, claimed that radium has strange effects on biological tissues. In recent days, my husband and I discovered that radium rays can burn the skin, but experiments are needed. I don't know. Which girl is willing to help?”

Upon hearing "burn the skin", the girls all hesitated.

But soon, someone raised their hand,

"I can!"

Then more people raised their hands,

"I can too!"

"I also!"

"I have always liked physics, and I also want to win the Nobel Prize in Physics."

…

She said this as if Madame Curie had won a prize.

She couldn't help but complain in her heart,

Professor Lu can really cause trouble for himself!

However, this may be true, because when Lu Shi made the prediction in 1900, the Nobel Prize had not yet been established, but in 1901, news of the Nobel Prize came out.

From the outside, Lu Shi definitely had inside information.

Moreover, Madame Curie heard from her husband Pierre that Lu Shi had great influence on the Nobel Committee and could even directly appoint the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, leaving the Swedes who hated Russia to pinch their noses. The prize was awarded to Tolstoy.

If you say so...

"Is it really possible?"

Madame Curie murmured to herself.

It is true that she does not regard these external objects as very important, but if she can really win the award, it will indeed be a beautiful thing.

Thinking like this, she actually became a little distracted.

The girls present all raised their hands like "I sign up!" and "I can do it too!"

Gradually, the entire canteen was almost covered by Lin Li's arms.

They waited for Madame Curie to answer.

However, Madame Curie was still restless.

After a few seconds, Tinian whispered: "Madam?"

As soon as she said this, Marie Curie came back to her senses, looked around, and was surprised to find that all the girls were willing to assist in the experiment.

She couldn't help but smile,

"That's right~ focus on doing the things in front of you."

The girls nodded in unison.

Madam Curie looked at their enthusiastic faces and thought about writing a letter to the Mirror.

The first is to talk about "Jane Eyre".

The serialization of this comic may create a huge trap;

The second is to talk about "Rural Teacher".

As a short story, that book is really wonderful, but a lot of physics knowledge in it is ambiguous and specious. As a physics lecturer, I need to give some guidance.

Madame Curie raised the corners of her mouth,

Thinking about it, Professor Lu should listen to himself, the future Nobel Prize winner in physics, right?

…

A week later.

Friday, May 10, 1901.

Lu Shi didn't get up early,

When he rolled out of bed, it was already broad daylight.

My morning call came to my ears:

"Meow~"

Lu Shi stretched and said, "Want to eat?"

I stared at my big round eyes and raised my thighs with my head, looking cute and obedient.

But Lu Shi was not fooled.

"Natsume never fed you?"

My generation: "Meow~"

Poor.

Lu Shi had long been accustomed to the performance of this dramatic cat, and asked Natsume Soseki, who was already fully dressed: "Natsume, have you fed him today?"

Natsume Soseki nodded,

"Well, feed me more than usual."

Lu Shi touched my brain and said, "Don't eat it."

My generation: "Meow~"

The head is drooping,

The tail is also drooping,

The little guy ran to lie down under the bed.

Lu Shi complained: "You can really act."

He got dressed, washed up, and wiped out all the breakfast on the table.

Natsume Soseki asked: "Where will you go later?"

Lu Shi said: "I will go to London Political Science and Economics in the afternoon. In the morning, I will go to Fleet Street first. I received a letter from Madame Curie yesterday. I have to write back a letter to express my gratitude. When I go to the newspaper office, I can also ask about yesterday's " Mirror sales."

Natsume Soseki nodded,

"It feels like it can definitely exceed 200,000 copies."

When Lu Shi went out,

"I'm borrowing your good words. When the time comes, I'm waiting to serialize your "I Am Cat". Maybe it can be serialized together with novels and comics."

Natsume Soseki couldn't help but his eyes lit up.

"I Am Cat" uses the cat as the first-person perspective.

In other words, the cat is the protagonist.

If it can be changed into a comic book, it will definitely be very popular, and the reputation of the novel will also increase accordingly.

Natsume Soseki was excited,

"Okay! Then I will personally create the original version of the "I Am Cat" comic."

Lu Shi waved his hand and went out.

He rushed all the way to Fleet Street, stopped in front of the Mirror newspaper office, and bumped into Wodehouse who was hurried out.

Lu Shi was surprised,

"Jazz, so early?"

Wodehouse was speechless;

"You...sigh..."

He sighed, lowered his voice, and said: "Please advise Her Royal Highness! During this period, she has almost become obsessed with the matter of "Jane Eyre"! His Majesty the King even came to communicate with me personally..."

Lu Shi couldn't help but laugh,

Because of the comic serialization of "Jane Eyre", "Mirror" was a best-seller,

Naturally, readers will send letters.

What's outrageous is that Margarita received more letters than Lu Shi, who serialized so many novels, even more than ten times, and 99.99% of them were female readers.

Margarita has never seen this battle before.

She was extremely excited and had to personally reply to almost every letter, staying up all night.

No wonder Edward VII asked Wodehouse to visit him.

Lu Shi chuckled,

"Don't worry, this enthusiasm will pass soon."

Wodehouse looked at him;

"Oh... I hope so."

Lu Shi asked: "Is Her Royal Highness inside?"

Wodehouse nodded,

"She's here to get letters from readers."

It would be impossible for Margarita to reveal that she was temporarily staying at Buckingham Palace, so of course, letters from readers could only be sent to the Mirror newspaper office.

Lu Shi nodded,

"okay, I get it."

Wodehouse gave Lu Shi a gentleman's salute, put on his hat, and left quickly.

Lu Shi entered the newspaper office.

At a glance, he saw Margarita standing next to the mail room, holding sacks in both hands, two on the right hand and one on the left. Some of the postcards were made of very hard material, and even a small corner was inserted from the corner of the sack.

Lu Shi said: "Princess...ahem...Miss Margarita, are you going back?"

Margarita raised her head,

She said with two panda eyes: "Yes, go back and read the letters sent by readers."

Lu Shi joked,

"Not for Mr. Mondrian?"

Margarita blushed,

"rare."

The reason is simple,

"Jane Eyre" comics are loved by readers.

However, most of the readers who are enthusiastic about sending letters are women, and they will naturally send the letters to Margarita, who is also a woman at first sight.

What's more, Margarita left her full name in the original column——

Margarita Victoria Feodor Leopoldina.

There are so many middle names, and the noble bloodline can be seen from the name, so it is natural that female readers will talk about it.

Lu Shi waved,

"Just follow me and come to the office."

Margarita's face turned redder,

She can accept it if she is left alone to secretly read fan letters.

But when I read the letter in front of Professor Lu, I always felt a bit social.

Lu Shi did not give Her Royal Highness the chance to refuse.

"Come."

After saying that, he took the lead and entered the office.

Margarita had no choice but to follow.

The two entered the office,

Lu Shi made tea and said at the same time: "Our Princess is also a celebrity now. What? There are many readers?"

Margarita nodded,

"Um."

Lu Shi continued: "You will slowly get used to this kind of thing."

Margarita sighed,

"I don't want to get used to this. No, to be precise, I don't want to become 'numb'. Because when I read those letters, I seemed to touch the lives of those readers. They really wanted to find someone. Talk.”

Lu Shi said: "It's better to focus on the things in front of you."

These are the original words in Marie Curie's letter.

Margarita lowered her head and thought,

Her eyes flickered, as if she was still struggling.

Lu Shi said again: "Your Highness, please don't get into too deep, otherwise..."

Before he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door suddenly.

The clerk's voice sounded: "Mr. Lu, there is a lady named Emmeline Pankhurst outside who wants to see you."

Emmeline Pankhurst…

It sounds somewhat familiar.

While Lu Shi was reminiscing, Margarita on the side spoke first and said excitedly: "Emeline Pankhurst!? Is it 'Clough's Pankhurst'?"

As soon as he said this, Lu Shi remembered who this Emmeline Pankhurst was.

In short, feminist.

Lu Shi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, remembering what Madame Curie said in her letter,

In fact, no need to remind him, he himself was vaguely aware of the trouble.

"Please come in, Mrs. Pankhurst," he said.

After a while, the door was opened.

The clerk walked in with a woman in her fifties or sixties, then closed the door and left.

Lu Shi knew that Pankhurst was actually in his early forties.

She looks so old because she was treated with "wind and frost" because of her political activities, and she is exhausted physically and mentally.

Lu Shi stepped forward quickly and extended his hand in a friendly manner.

"'Clough's Pankhurst,' welcome."

Pankhurst shook his head;

"Professor Lu, I know you don't understand me. Even if you ranked me so high in "The 20 Greatest Britons". 'Clough's Pankhurst' refers to two people, I Myself, and my husband Richard Pankhurst.”

This opening statement is more or less explosive.

Lu Shi chuckled lightly,

“The ranking of ‘The 20 Greatest Britons’ is not something I can influence, it’s the people who vote.”

Pankhurst nodded,

"Of course. Voting, of course."

Margarita on the side opened her mouth as if she wanted to speak.

But Lu Shi looked over and cast a stern look, which scared the princess into silence.

Pankhurst noticed the eye contact between the two men;

When she saw the letters from readers, her eyes lingered on Margarita's luxurious clothes for a moment, her pupils shrank imperceptibly, and then she said to Lu Shi, "Professor Lu, let me get straight to the point."

Lu Shi stretched out his hand,

"please."

Pankhurst said: "I am looking for you this time because I hope you can revise the content of the "Jane Eyre" comic for the sake of women."

Thinking about women?

What a punch that falls from the sky!

Lu Shi didn't expect that the other party would take action directly. He received a move in a hurry and almost failed to catch it.

He picked his ears with his little finger and said in a cold tone, "Emeline Pankhurst, what did you say?! I didn't hear you clearly, can you say it again!?"

I reported the other party’s full name.

In an instant, the temperature in the room seemed to drop to freezing point.