NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17:
Chapter 17: A Letter to Cao Xueqin! Crossing 300 Years!::
Mr. Zhang’s enthusiasm was genuine, and Lin Xian decided to take things one step at a time.
As the company’s sole team leader (with vice president-level perks), Lin Xian selected ten capable colleagues to form his team. The team was officially established, with each member assigned clear responsibilities and tasks related to interfacing with Shuangcheng Group.
Lin Xian’s role was to oversee the overall planning and quality control, making his workload relatively lighter than before.
The workday passed quickly, and Lin Xian returned home in the evening. While eating dinner, he turned on the TV to catch up on local news.
To his surprise, there was no mention of Dai Chuchan’s kidnapping case.
It was as if the bar brawl and Tian Moumou’s kidnapping plot had never happened.
This wasn’t entirely unexpected.
Dai Shuangcheng’s influence was immense. For him, suppressing the incident and handling it discreetly was a more effective way to keep things under wraps.
After the local news ended, Lin Xian casually switched channels and landed on XXTV8, which was still airing Dream of the Red Chamber.
“What’s going on? An all-day marathon?”
He glanced at the subtitles and realized it was a special program celebrating some anniversary, featuring the entire 1987 adaptation of Dream of the Red Chamber.
When he and Dai Chuchan had watched earlier in the hotel, the story was at Lin Daiyu’s death. Now it had reached the final episode.
Watching this reminded Lin Xian of something Dai Chuchan had said:
“If only we could see the true ending of Dream of the Red Chamber one day.”
“If someone could tell Cao Xueqin, he could preserve the last 40 chapters.”
An idea suddenly struck Lin Xian.
Since he could write letters to his past self…
Could he also write letters to other people in the past?
“That should work, right?”
Lin Xian went to his study and pulled out the original handwritten instructions that came with the time-space mailbox.
The instructions read:
[This is a time-space mailbox. It allows letters to be sent to people in the past!]
[Be sure to write the recipient’s name, address, and the delivery date clearly on the envelope!]
[Don’t forget to affix a stamp! Postage is uniformly 1 yuan.]
It was clearly stated: letters could be sent to people in the past!
“So, this mailbox wasn’t restricted to sending letters only to me!”
Lin Xian smacked his forehead.
He realized his thinking had been limited by habit.
As long as the recipient was someone from the past, all he had to do was include their name, address, and the delivery date.
“The possibilities are endless now!”
China’s history spans 5,000 years. Could he send a letter to Emperor Huangdi himself?
But after thinking it through, Lin Xian decided it wouldn’t make much sense.
Respecting history was crucial. Intervening recklessly might cause dramatic deviations in the timeline, potentially leading to catastrophic consequences.
One misstep could erase his existence entirely. The thought sent chills down his spine.
“Better to be cautious.”
Lin Xian contemplated for a moment. Cao Xueqin, in his later years, was a destitute old man with little influence on the course of history. His impact was limited to the literary world.
Sending him a letter shouldn’t create any dangerous paradoxes.
“It’s worth a try. I can use this as an experiment to see if people from ancient times can receive my letters.”
Lin Xian grabbed a blank sheet of paper and a pen.
Using his laptop, he found a chart comparing early Chinese characters to their modern equivalents, ensuring the language would be understandable for Cao Xueqin.
He began writing.
…
Dear Mr. Cao Xueqin,
Greetings.
You may find this hard to believe, but I am writing to you from 300 years in the future. In my time, emperors no longer exist. The people govern themselves, and it is a wonderful era.
I wish to inform you that your work, Dream of the Red Chamber, is regarded as one of the Four Great Classical Novels, celebrated for its unparalleled literary and artistic value.
Regrettably, due to 300 years of wars and turmoil, your masterpiece did not survive in its entirety. Today, we only have access to the first 80 chapters of your brilliant work.
Such a great work, incomplete and without its true ending, is a tremendous loss. We long to see the complete conclusion of Dream of the Red Chamber.
Therefore, I humbly request: if you are willing, please preserve the remaining 40 chapters of your novel. Write them on xuan paper, wrap them in oiled paper, and bury them in a secure location. Plant a ginkgo tree above the site. 300 years later, I promise to retrieve your masterpiece and share it with the world.
Sincerely,
A Reader from 300 Years in the Future
…
After carefully reviewing the letter, Lin Xian felt it was sincere enough.
Cao Xueqin, a lonely and neglected figure in his later years, would likely feel delighted upon receiving such a letter and might cooperate.
Lin Xian folded the letter, placed it in an envelope, and affixed a stamp.
He then researched the address and filled it out:
Recipient: Cao Xueqin (Cao Zhan)
Address: Twin Springs Monastery, Heilongwan Valley, Shijingshan Area, Beijing
Delivery Date: February 12, 1760
This was three years before Cao Xueqin’s death, during the most desolate period of his life.
With a soft thud, Lin Xian dropped the envelope into the red time-space mailbox.
“Lights out. Time to sleep!”