I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 136: Unexpected Telegram

Chapter 136 Unexpected Phone Call (Please subscribe, collect, recommend, and vote for monthly ticket)

The current sales volume of "The Pianist" is 92 copies.

And although the weekly championship position was taken away by "Father", it was still able to grow at a rate of about 30,000 per week.

One month and a half after the publication of "The Father Trapped in Time", sales had reached 600,000.

At present, it is still Zhou Guan.

The sales of "Amelie" have actually slowed down since May.

It hovered around 15,000 copies per week, and its sales ranking gradually dropped from the top three to eighth.

If this rate continues, the pianist may indeed be the first to break the million mark.

But the problem lies at the Cannes Film Festival.

When best director David Lynch was interviewed, the reporter suddenly asked: What is your impression of France?

David Lynch naturally said a lot of good things.

But at the end, he mentioned Liu Jin, and believed that Liu Jin was the biggest surprise of his trip to France, apart from winning the award.

He also took out the two books he had just bought, "Amelie" and "The Father Trapped in Time", and expressed his admiration for them.

Americans love to imitate the French way of life.

But the French also admire the strength of the United States.

It was also David Lynch's interview that prompted the sales of "Amelie" to exceed 80,000 copies in a week, once again snatching the second place from "The Pianist".

"The Father, Trapped in Time" sold 160,000 copies in the past week, with total sales of nearly 800,000.

……

When he was writing online articles in his previous life, Liu Jin had told his friends more than once: Small success depends on support, big success depends on luck!

This time, he really experienced it.

"Amelie" has really good luck.

From the first day of publication, there has been constant news.

From the initial bet with Fanell, to the subsequent interview with L'Humanité, to the debate on TV, and the unexpected mention by the French President, each time stimulated a surge in sales of "Angels".

Although the popularity has passed, the trend has already been established.

This time it’s endorsed by David Lynch…

Liu Jin felt that he might really have received the protection of the Three Pure Ones and the Five Gods of Wealth.

It’s a pity that Angel was published last year and cannot be included in this year’s sales list.

But "The Father" should be able to.

In just one and a half months, sales have exceeded 800,000, and breaking one million is a foregone conclusion. The next step is to see whether sales can exceed two million.

If successful, this will also become the first book to exceed two million in the French book sales market since the millennium.

Two million...

Hey!

Liu Jin couldn't help but feel a little proud.

In the afternoon, Ottilie called to congratulate me on the sales of "Angel" exceeding one million.

At the same time, she also told Liu Jin that with the huge success of Angel in the French book market, the sales of Angel in the entire French-speaking region have also increased significantly.

In French-speaking Europe alone (excluding France), sales of Amélie have reached half a million.

Spanish and German versions will be available at the end of the month.

There is currently no progress on the English version.

It’s not that no one is paying attention.

In fact, the British Pergamon Publishing Company and Longman Publishing Group have contacted Singla one after another.

But since Meera was not there, there was no room for discussion.

According to Ottilie, Mela hopes to reach a cooperation with an American publishing company.

It’s not that British publishing companies are bad. Pergamon and Longman are both among the top ten publishing companies in the UK.

But Mela would rather an American publishing company take over!
In addition to discussing the publication of The Old Man and the Sea with Robert Gottlieb, she also brought with her English translations of four books: Amélie, The Father, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It seems Melania is planning to place a heavy bet on Robert in the US.

Hope everything goes well!

Liu Jin prayed silently in his heart.

May the Three Pure Ones and the Five Gods of Wealth bless you!
Ottilie called to plan a celebratory party.

It's normal. As the first work to break the million sales mark in 2001, any celebration is understandable.

But Liu Jin didn't agree.

It's not that he doesn't want to hold a celebration party, but...

He has four exams in the next week.

After the exams, the 2000-2001 academic year will officially end, and next, he will prepare to return home.

After being away from home for nine months, he felt a little homesick!

"Wait until I come back. By then, 'The Father Trapped in Time' will be almost done, so we can hold it together."

"Well, that's okay too!"

Ottilie paused on the other end of the phone and said, "Mera hopes to use the cocktail party to stimulate sales of 'Father' while preparing for the publication of 'Little Sweethearts' next month. After all, the limitations of 'Little Sweethearts' don't lend themselves to large-scale publicity. But what you said makes sense, and I think Mela should agree..."

"When will Meera be back?"

"That's hard to say. She seemed to have a lot of things to do during her trip to the US. Every time she spoke to me, she was in a hurry... Oh, there's one more thing." "What is it?"

"house!"

"What happened to the house?"

"It's expiring in September. Do you want to renew your lease?"

Hmm, that seems to be a problem!
If Ottilie hadn't reminded him, Liu Jin might have really forgotten.

"Renew the lease, or keep the old price?"

"I think it's difficult. You're rich now... From what I heard from the landlord before, he wants to increase the rent."

"If the rent is increased, forget it."

Liu Jin thought about it and replied.

He likes this apartment very much!

But that doesn't mean he is willing to be a sucker.

Eight thousand francs a month is already very high!

Of course, considering the environment and the quality of the house, eight thousand francs is reasonable.

"Liu, I have a suggestion."

"tell me the story."

"Even if the landlord doesn't raise the rent, you'll be paying at least 100,000 francs a year, and there's very little privacy. As your fame grows, you'll definitely be followed by reporters. I personally think it's better for you to buy a house than rent one."

"buy house?"

Liu Jin was stunned.

But he never thought of buying property in Toulouse.

But, it seems that it is not impossible!

House prices in Toulouse, especially in 2001, don’t seem to be very high.

He remembers clearly a deal he followed when he left Toulouse in 2003.

It is a house with seven bedrooms, three living rooms and a courtyard in the city center, and the price is 120,000 euros.

By 2021, house prices in Toulouse had soared to to euros per square meter.

If you want to buy a house, that’s not impossible!

It's only 120,000 euros, he can still afford it.

“What are the current house prices in Toulouse?”

“It depends on the location, the room type and style.

New houses are definitely expensive, but as for old ones… well, the one Chloe bought last year was half the size of the one you're renting now, and it cost 670,000 francs. But as you know, it's in the city center, in an apartment building in the Central Building. If it were an ordinary house, the price wouldn't be that high.

Liu went into Chloe's residence.

It’s only 600,000 or 700,000 francs?
But if you think about it, it doesn't seem surprising.

After all, around 2001, the housing price in Shanghai BJ was only three or four thousand.

"Then please help me sort out some housing information. It's best if it's in the same style as my current apartment, and closer to school. Thirty minutes by car is ideal; any further away would be a bit troublesome... somewhere quieter and more private."

"Okay, I got it. I'll send it to your email after I sort it out."

……

After finishing the call with Ottilie, Liu Jin had another worry.

He drank a cup of tea, calmed down, and prepared to go back to his study to write.

The first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie was successfully completed last week.

He has already started work on the second installment, Treasures of the Dead.

The manuscript of Black Pearl has been sent to Mela after proofreading, but there has been no reply yet.

Liu Jin plans to use this summer vacation to complete the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, all at once. This way, he can put an end to one of his worries and focus on creating other works.

Time is short and the task is heavy!
He's kind of regretting it now...

Is it worth taking this risk?
But now that I have already written it, I have to finish it.

It's all money!

Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and prepared to return to the study.

But at this moment, the phone suddenly rang.

Hello, moto...

Liu Jin was stunned and looked at the time. It was already eight o'clock.

He picked up the phone. It was an unfamiliar number, probably a landline.

Look at the area code, it's the area code for Paris.

"Stupid, this is Liu Jin."

"Hello, Mr. Liu, this is the Chinese Embassy in Paris."

"I'm your dad, you liar!"