1979: My fiancée is a goddess

Chapter 302 Chinese Literature Publication
When the sun sets over the East Asian continent.

The first ray of sunlight in the early morning just pierced through the tropical clouds over the Atlantic Ocean and reached this prosperous American continent.

On the ancient Delaware River.

Layers of thin mist like gauze rose on the surface of the river, covering the river water.

The pouring sunlight fell, the river water sparkled, and illuminated the huge creature shrouded in mist.

"Hua Hua Hua..."

Huge containers of different colors, with mottled rust on their surfaces, are stacked together like a neat hill pressing on the deck of the ship. The red-painted metal bow breaks through the heavy waves, shining coldly in the sun.

Looking further ahead, one can see that this vast golden waterway is densely packed with countless ships of various sizes.

They are like quiet ocean monsters, swimming smoothly in the water, heading towards the Port of Philadelphia, one of the largest estuaries in the world.

One of the sightseeing cruise ships was full of passengers, and the deck was crowded with people.

People dressed in bright and fashionable clothes held the cold metal railings on the deck and gazed in amazement at the bustling industrial city skylines along the Delaware River in the sun.

"Oh! mygod!"

"Honey, look! There's a cargo ship from China over there!"

The young woman, wearing a burgundy wool sweater with a large lapel, a lady's hat, a long plaid knitted scarf around her collar, and hugging her wavy blonde hair, covered her mouth and spoke to her male companion beside her.

She was pointing with surprise at the river not far away, where there was an old medium-sized cargo ship with a five-star red flag flying on its mast.

"Well, Winnie, you know, this mysterious red China established diplomatic relations with us two years ago, so foreign trade exchanges are not uncommon."

The tall and thin middle-aged man shrugged helplessly at the surprise of his young girlfriend. His slightly hoarse voice, coupled with the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, revealed his elegance and intelligence.

"To be honest, I'm really curious about this country, George. Do you know what cargo is on it?"

Winnie looked at her boyfriend, a university teacher, curiously and asked with a smile.

The two met at a graduation party a month ago. After dancing, they fell in love at first sight and have been in love ever since.

George is a university teacher. He has been transferred from the bustling US capital Washington to the former capital Philadelphia for work, and is working as a university lecturer at the world-renowned University of Pennsylvania.

But Winnie failed to get into college, so she chose to move away with her boyfriend and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“They are just some primary industrial products and labor-intensive commodities, such as cotton and silk products. Because of the low labor cost, their prices are much cheaper than our local products.

Just like the Ralph Lauren women's shirt we bought you last week at a shopping mall in Washington, it might cost $1.2 in the United States, but in China, the same style might only cost $."

George explained with a chuckle.

"Shit! Greedy capitalists."

Winnie cursed inwardly, then said with a smile: "But Ralph Lauren is worth the price."

"hehe."

George shook his head at that.

Ralph Lauren is a luxury brand popular among the middle class and upper class in the United States. Its founder, Mr. Ralph Lauren, is known as the father of polo.

Selling a piece of clothing for one-fifth of the monthly salary is really expensive.

This is the brand value.

However, things from China only have the most basic use value.

To put it bluntly, it has no value.

"Of course, not all of them are worthless, except for Chinese classical literature... Well, even though those things are outdated, they still have some value."

George looked at the approaching Chinese freighter, his eyes fell on the container, and he thought to himself.

He prefers a work called "Dream of Red Mansions".

……

The Port of Philadelphia, a huge water transportation hub, slowly appeared before our eyes.

The sightseeing cruise ship approached the dock, and the workers working on the dock appeared like ants in people's condescending view.

Winnie and George followed the crowd off the boat carrying their simple suitcases, and were relieved to be standing on solid land again.

"Let's go through the inspection channel first."

The Port of Philadelphia is one of the busiest ports in the United States, with countless cargo ships traveling every day and an annual throughput of 50 million tons.

Naturally, port customs inspections were set up.

While being examined, the two looked at the people and scenery around them boredly.

At this time, a docked cargo ship not far away caught George's attention. It was the Chinese cargo ship he had just discussed with his girlfriend.

"It's a good opportunity to see what's being transported."

George couldn't help but feel curious, so he put on his glasses and looked closely.

I saw several black-haired and black-eyed staff members coming down from the freighter, and the staff at the dock also came forward to help unload the cargo.

“It doesn’t seem to be textiles?”

The piles of cardboard boxes caught George's attention.

I looked at it for a while, but didn't see anything.

Suddenly, a dock worker accidentally tore the packaging tape of a cardboard box, and books fell out of the box.

"Books? Chinese books?"

George was a little surprised. He raised his eyebrows and was about to stand on tiptoe to take a closer look.

At this time, his girlfriend pulled his arm and motioned him to accept the examination.

George quickly retracted his gaze and walked to the staff.

……

Out of the port.

The two hailed a taxi on the roadside and headed towards the famous University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The wind was blowing along the way.

George was still recalling the scene he had just seen.

Books shipped from China? Could it be that their literary works are going to be published in the United States?

For a moment, a strong curiosity surged in my heart.

"What's wrong with you, honey?"

"nothing."

George shook his head.

An hour later, the two arrived at the university.

Under the guidance of the staff, I was given a double dormitory and finally had a place to stay.

While his girlfriend was doing housework at home, George went to buy daily necessities.

After a whole morning of cleaning, the two had a hearty lunch and returned to the dormitory to rest.

George went alone to visit his former college mentor, Professor Ansel Stephens, who had invited him to work here.

Deputy Director of the English Department at the University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Center for Children's Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, a well-known literary theory researcher, and literary critic.

"This is it."

George stood in front of the three-story building with a silver plaque of the Children's Literature Research Center, took a deep breath, and tried to calm his emotions.

Because they haven't seen each other for four or five years.

"Ding Ding Ding!"

He finally calmed down and rang the doorbell.

After a few minutes, the door opened.

An old white man wearing a brown wool coat came out. He had messy golden hair, deep eye sockets and blue eyes, and a furry gray beard on his chin and philtrum. He looked a little unkempt, but had a very kind face.

As soon as she saw George, she immediately showed a surprised smile and reached out to hug him: "Oh! My God, dear George, you are finally back. The teacher has been waiting for you for a long time. Come in!"

"Teacher Ansel! Long time no see."

George breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that, and smiled and gave his teacher a big hug.

The two walked into the room, which was said to be a research center, but was actually an old house.

In the living room, the two of them held hot and mellow coffee, drinking it while talking about what happened in the past.

After a while, the gap between us was eliminated. "Oh! Young man, I didn't expect you to bring your girlfriend here to live with us. I agree with you very much, but please don't let it affect your normal work. I will give you time to date, don't worry about that!"

Professor Ansel joked with a smile on his face.

"Don't worry, teacher. What kind of research are you doing recently? I can keep up with you." George asked with a smile.

“In recent years, theoretical research on children’s literature has been conducted in this area, and a number of research results have been published in Children’s Literature, a journal founded by the American Association for Children’s Literature.

Last year, I visited Goethe University in West Germany and, at the invitation of President Klaus Dodreit, joined the International Society for the Study of Children’s Literature (IRSCL)…”

Professor Ansel talked about his experiences over the past few years with a smile, and there was no lack of pride in his eyes.

"Children's literature... should be a good research field."

George frowned, thinking seriously.

“In the past decade, thanks to the efforts of scholars from all over the world, children’s literature has attempted to elevate children’s books from “childish reading” to literature and cultural criticism by deconstructing classics, embracing interdisciplinarity, and challenging power discourse.

It has gradually moved away from the margins, towards academic independence and internationalization... The establishment of the International Society for the Study of Children's Literature (IRSCL) is the best proof of this."

Professor Ansel saw his hesitation and confusion and patiently explained.

"I see! I understand, teacher. I will work hard."

George's face became serious and he spoke seriously.

"That's good. I really believe in your ability. You don't know enough about children's literature, so I will assign you two tasks. One is to read more children's literature works, and the other is to read more theoretical research on children's literature..."

Professor Ansel thought for a moment, picked up a pen and paper, and wrote a long list of reading books and tasks for George.

"Don't worry, teacher!"

George took the list of books, nodded seriously, then said goodbye to the teacher and turned to leave.

Professor Ansel was the only one left in the room, dealing with office documents.

"The Chinese Ministry of Culture and former Penn alumni sent an invitation for academic exchange? It seems that Stanford recently visited there for an exchange?"

"Forget it, let's put it aside for now. Research is more important."

Professor Ansel shook his head and put it behind him.

In his opinion, it is better to go to Japan for a visit and exchange than to China.

At the very least, Japanese universities' research capabilities are much stronger than China's, and their international achievements in the field of literature are also much stronger than China's.

The next morning, November 5th.

Penn faculty dormitory.

The curtains in the room were closed and the room was dark.

There were two figures lying on the bed, hugging each other.

The red maple trees on the street outside the window rustled in the wind, and the sound of woodpeckers chiseling the trees woke George up.

"Seven o'clock? Time to get up."

George did not wake his girlfriend, he slowly pulled his hand out, got dressed, and went out.

He received a long list of books from Professor Ansel yesterday. He plans to go to the bookstore today and buy some books to read.

Market Street, Philadelphia

This extremely long street that runs through the center of Philadelphia, connecting City Hall and the Delaware River, is now the most prosperous shopping and commercial center in Philadelphia.

"Drip!"

The bloated and slow trams passed through the streets, and cars going to work honked their horns impatiently to urge people to hurry up.

The streets were crowded and bustling.

George walked out of a hand-brew coffee shop called Moon Eye on Market Street, drinking a cup of coffee while scanning the classical and exquisite shops on both sides of the street.

After a while, he saw the target——

Waldenbooks
Today, it is the largest bookstore chain in the United States, with approximately 1000 branches across the country, focusing on popular bestsellers and popular reading materials.

George followed the crowd buying books and went in.

Alice in Wonderland? Buy it!
Sleeping Beauty? Buy it!
Buy "The Little Prince", "Peter Pan" and "The Adventures of Pinocchio"!

Take more than ten books, including fairy tales and professional books on children's literature.

"Bill, please!"

"Hello sir, the total is $321, cash or check?"

"So expensive? Ahem, cash only."

George's mouth twitched and he asked subconsciously. After seeing the waiter's contemptuous smile, he quickly took out his wallet and paid the bill with a painful heart.

The price of genuine books published in the United States is generally between eight and ten US dollars, and this is for paperback books. It is not uncommon for hardcover books to cost twice as much. Textbooks and other professional books are as much as forty or fifty US dollars each.

George previously lived in Washington and was a university lecturer with a high salary. He was undoubtedly middle class with a monthly salary of more than $900.

I spent more than three hundred dollars in one go, which is equivalent to one-third of my salary gone.

Shop assistant: "Sir, we have a promotion in our store recently. If you spend 100 yuan, you can get a book for free. You can choose three books from here."

George heard what the clerk said and looked in the direction the clerk pointed.

"?"

“Chinese Literature?”

"Yes, this is the only book published in Red China that has been published to foreign countries. Are you curious about it? You can't even buy it in other small bookstores."

"Then I'll pack it."

George picked up two copies of Playboy at random, and when he looked at the Chinese literature, he paused for a few seconds, then picked them up.

"It must be fate, right?"

George thought to himself as he recalled yesterday's experience.

George left the bookstore carrying a heavy bag of books. He had spent too much today and chose to take the subway back.

Once home.

He tidied up his desk, turned on the desk lamp, and made a cup of coffee.

I casually pulled out a book from my book bag, and it was the book "Chinese Literature".

George flipped through it.

An article titled "The Submarine of the Midnight Depths" appeared before my eyes.

"A submarine in the depths of midnight?"

George was attracted by this poetic name. It has to be said that the Chinese translators have done a pretty good job of translation.

"Wow~"

He turned the pages and read them carefully, and was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a work of children's literature that talked about children's imagination.

So I gradually immersed myself in it.

"I let all my imagination focus on my brain. They are little dots of pale blue light, scattered around me, like the tail of a firefly...

They gathered into a large ball of pale blue light, which rose above my head and gradually left me...

This is my strategy: I imagine my imagination is leaving me, and then it really is leaving me.”

"Oh! mygod!"

George couldn't help but recite it softly, his eyes full of amazement.

hiss!
The protagonist actually imagines that his imagination is separated from himself.

This passage was particularly astonishing to him, and even made his scalp tingle.

Even after I finished watching it, I couldn't forget it for a long time.

"The language is concise and beautiful, and the depth of thought and rich literary quality are amazing. It is hard to imagine that this is a children's literature work, and it is hard to imagine that it is a Chinese work..."

"Kaiyan Cheng? Chinese names are really weird!"

George's fingertips gently touched the book title and author's name at the top. As a reader, he felt extremely happy and amazed.

"Go show it to the teacher, he will definitely like it!"

Thinking of this, he quickly stood up.

He didn't care about his young girlfriend who was crying for food on the bed, and ran away with the book in his arms.

(End of this chapter)