I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 812 Daily life

Chapter 812 Daily life
It's been a while since I've been back to Gryzan.

However, little has changed.

Unlike China, it changes every day.

Just like this time when he returned to China, the capital city had become so different that Liu Jin could no longer recognize it.

But Europe...

Not to mention Europe, even in America, it's the same; for over a decade, it hasn't changed much.

This is especially true of Gryssan.

However, the population has increased somewhat, making it feel much more lively.

But the city is still the same city, the small county town, and it hasn't changed at all.

Liu Jin rode his Ural sidecar motorcycle to the city center, sat in the small square, and recalled the nights a few years ago when he, Tianxian, Leslie, Anita Mui, and Maggie sang and drank here, and Qianqian recorded the scene.

Time flies!
Liu Jin ordered a beer and sat in the square bathed in the setting sun, enjoying the gentle evening breeze.

"Amos?"

A burly young man stepped forward.

"Simon?"

"Hehehe, when did you get back?"

“It’s been three days. Didn’t your dad tell you? I even said I was free these next couple of days and wanted to ask you to go fishing at sea together.”

The young man was Simon Jr., the son of Turner, the manor's butler.

He was in his early thirties, but he looked very young, almost like he was younger than his age.

Simon didn't stand on ceremony and sat down next to her.

"Anytime is fine, but my vacation is almost over, and I have to go back at the beginning of next month."

"I heard you're going to be stationed overseas?"

"Yeah, damn it, we have to go to the Reunion base."

I hate Reunion Island, it's too far... and it's all black and green, incredibly barbaric.

"Didn't you say you'd stay at the base?"

"That's what they said before, but... I'm just a nobody with no connections. If a big shot says one word, I have to obediently step aside or retire. I've worked so hard to get to where I am now, how could I possibly retire?"

"What rank?"

"Major!"

Simon picked up his beer mug and took a big gulp.

"However, if I am stationed overseas, my rank will be raised by one level, and I will be promoted to lieutenant colonel, which can be considered a kind of compensation."

What are you going over there for?

"I'll just be killing time, fighting pirates, but I'll most likely end up as a staff officer at the base, working my way up in rank. If I can't become a colonel before I'm forty, I'll retire. Amos, without connections in the military, promotion is too difficult."

Liu Jin couldn't help laughing.

He neither understood nor wanted to understand the structure of the French army.

However, he is very interested in Reunion Island.

"What's that place like?"

"Réunion?"

"Ok!"

"The scenery is quite nice, and many wealthy people own property there, even buying private islands."

Very cheap!
Don't expect to make money there; there's nothing valuable there. The most profitable thing is probably the port operating rights, but those are mostly controlled by the state. If you're looking for a vacation or something secluded, that's one option.

"Get me some information later."

"That's easy. I'll have my dad give it to you later."

"By the way, how big is your base?"

"It's not very big; the entire base has only about three thousand people."

"For someone like me with no connections, spending a few years in the General Staff and becoming a special forces commander with the rank of colonel before the age of forty was the maximum I could achieve. Heh heh, climbing any higher really required some luck and connections."

French overseas missions are essentially composed of non-French personnel.

The commander is appointed by headquarters.

"Then work hard to climb up the ranks and become a colonel as soon as possible."

"I will."

"If you need help, have your dad pass on the message to me."

You know, I've built up some connections in France over the years, which might be of some help then.

"You can pull him down."

Simon couldn't help but laugh.

“You’ve spent more time in France than I have in the past decade.”

He certainly knew that Liu Jin had connections.

When you have billions in assets, naturally, people will flock to you; that's the allure of wealth.

……

I chatted with Simon for a while.

As the sun set, Liu Jin leisurely rode his motorcycle back to Gryzan.

When he got home, he found that there were visitors.

It's old Sean Singer, Mela's cousin.

He came here to invite Liu Jin to join the Grysan Council.

"I am Chinese!"

“I know, but since 2006, France has opened a door for parliamentary qualifications. Non-French citizens who have lived in France for more than five years can run for parliament. Amos, you have lived in Gruysand for five years.”

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, I remember this regulation states that it refers to illegal citizenship of EU member states..."

"so what?"

Old Sean said, "You are an honorary citizen of Grysan, that's enough."

Liu Jin poured Old Sean a glass of whiskey. "Old Sean, just say what you want to say. Do you want me to donate money?"
I didn't even know I was an honorary citizen of Gruysand.

"Elected in 2008 by the Grução City Council."

As old Sean spoke, he looked at Turner.

Turner nodded, indicating that it was true.

France has its laws, but local areas have their own solutions.

Furthermore, the French government did indeed have such a law in 06, stipulating that members of councils at the town and municipal levels, who are not French citizens but must be citizens of EU member states, can participate in elections. Additionally, there is a rule that local honorary citizens approved by parliamentary referendum also have the right to vote.

Liu Jin himself was unaware that he was an honorary citizen of Gryssan.

That evening, Liu Jin called Secretary General Manion to inquire about the matter.

Secretary General Manion felt that this was nothing to worry about, as long as it passed the local town and city referendum, there would be no problem.

"Actually, having such an identity is not bad; you can get some preferential treatment in many things."

"My main concern is that you keep changing your minds."

"No, French law is an independent law."

Let's see what happens in fifteen years.

However, having a parliamentary seat seems like a good thing for now.

Although Grysan is only a nominal 'city', its size is only that of a 'town'.

……

And so, Liu Jin rested in Grysang for three days.

They then returned to Toulouse, visited the Airbus conversion workshop, and saw the converted Airbus ACJ business jet.

He suggested some minor modifications, but Airbus said they were not a big problem.

Ultimately, the two parties agreed on a price of $5600 million, and the aircraft was officially delivered to Liu Jin after completing its test flight at the end of June.

Chloe also visited the plane on her return from Paris.

She joked, "Amos, you need to get ready to recruit a flight team."

Yes, after getting a private jet, Liu Jin will need to recruit a flight team, which will cost a lot of money.

I originally thought that after earning hundreds of billions of dollars, I could live a carefree life.

But now it seems...

Still not enough!
Fortunately, he still holds shares in Apple, as well as Amazon, Facebook, and GE, which will provide him with ample funds.

In ten years, if I were to liquidate these stocks, I would have assets worth at least a few hundred billion US dollars.

Plus Bitcoin...

With this in mind, Liu Jin's confidence suddenly returned!
After returning from the Airbus, he went to visit Professor Michel.

My senior, Charles, has now been officially hired as a professor at the University of Toulouse II, which means he's finally secured a permanent position.

Meanwhile, Professor Michel's former assistant, Elise, resigned and went to Paris.

She got married!

She is said to have married a government official in Paris, but Liu Jin does not know the specifics.

Professor Michelle asked Liu Jin, "Are you interested in returning to take this position?"

"Teaching?"

Liu Jin immediately shook his head and refused: "I'm not cut out for that."

"You could do some academic research... By the way, the college will be adding a course on classical Chinese literature next academic year. Are you interested?"

Liu Jin's eyes darted around, and he looked at Professor Michelle before suddenly smiling.

"Professor, does the university want me to come back?"

"um, yes!"

"why?"

"You are now a shining example for the school."

Liu Jin immediately understood.

As an outstanding student of Toulouse II, his book "Great Expectations," published this year, has ignited the British book market.

It has been ninety days since it was listed.

In Great Britain alone, sales approached five million units, and the product has received excellent reviews.

It is hailed as the work with the most British classical literary qualities of the 21st century.

Meanwhile, sales in English-speaking countries have also been increasing, with sales in the North American book market reaching three million copies.

This will be another literary masterpiece that surpasses ten million copies sold.

Note that the mainstream media described it as a 'literary masterpiece,' not a 'novel' or 'literary work.'

These are two evaluations that are on completely different levels.

Essentially, this book elevates the level of Liu Jin's previous works, such as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Les Misérables," and "Gone with the Wind."

In June, another of Liu Jin's works, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," will also be released in the North American book market.

According to some professors in the industry, it will also be a literary masterpiece that can move the entire Western world.

Salerno University has benefited from Liu Jin's popularity.

It is said that they received three times more inquiries this year than in previous years.

Toulouse II is Liu Jin's alma mater, so of course they hope to directly link Liu Jin's name with Toulouse II.

It should be noted that some prestigious universities in Great Britain are already eager to discuss the possibility of inviting Liu Jin.

Among them, the University of Birmingham was the most proactive.

Because Liu Jin and Rowling were very close, and Rowling happened to be a graduate of the University of Birmingham...

This has made the Toulouse II University Board of Trustees a little anxious!
Most importantly, Professor Michel is very likely to leave Toulouse II University after next year.

This is also a major reason why Toulouse II is so eager for Liu Jin to return.

With Professor Michel leaving next year, Liu Jin's only remaining connection at Toulouse II University will be Charles.

No one believed that Charles had the influence to invite Liu Jin...

Are you leaving the company next year?

"Yes!"

"where to?"

"It will most likely be the new Sorbonne University. Actually, we reached an agreement back in 08..."

"Paris III!"

"Haha, that's what it used to be called. Now it's called New Sorbonne University."

"That's Paris 3."

Professor Michelle handed Liu Jin a cigar.

"However, don't feel pressured. I'm just passing on a message."

Besides, after two years of traveling in Italy, it's time to come back... What have you been writing lately?

"A work written in Italian, a trilogy, the first part of which has been completed."

"If I hadn't had to come back for this matter, I probably would have finished the second part by now."

"So, you want to go to a country and create a work of art?"

"Haha, it's not that bad, I only know a few languages."

"Write, create, while you're young, write like crazy. Sometimes I really envy your inspiration."

"If I were twenty years younger, I would definitely have a wonderful literary exchange with you, just like Rowling did..." Professor Michel did not ask Liu Jin what he had written.

But his eyes were filled with pride and admiration.

……

I had a drink with Abel.

Then I rested for another day in Toulouse.

With April already here and things in France mostly settled, Liu Jin, along with Jerome, Leah, and Germa, set off to return to Salerno.

Germa is the Russian word for it.

In English, it's Germana.

She is skilled in combat and driving.

It is said that she once participated in the UFC women's fighting competition.

She's only thirty-one, after all. Leaving her in a retirement-like place like Grysan would probably be difficult for her to maintain for long.

It would be better to work as Liu Jin's bodyguard.

Liu Jin did not object to this.

However, Liu Jin did not expect that Margot and Germa actually knew each other, and it seemed that they even had some conflicts.

On their first day back in Salerno, Margot and Germa had a friendly sparring match.

Their hand-to-hand combat was so intense, you'd think they were mortal enemies...

However, in the days that followed, neither side escalated the conflict. Both sides performed their duties diligently and even cooperated quite well.

Liu Jin secretly asked Margot, but was met with a pair of eye rolls.

Fortunately, he wasn't a gossipy person, and since neither of them wanted to talk about it, he didn't bother to ask.

Jerome guessed, "Have you crossed paths with someone before at work?"

“Margot is an official bodyguard, and Germa is also a member of the security team. What conflict could they possibly have?”

"You don't think the security team is only responsible for security, do you?"

"Could it be..."

"hey-hey!"

Liu Jin's gaze towards Germa also began to change.

……

Regardless, life goes on as usual.

While Liu Jin was away in France, the assistant went to America and completed the audition.

Eva is also there, assembling a team, and filming is expected to officially begin at the end of June or the beginning of July.

She has now returned to China to be with her children.

Alizee arrived in Salerno from America in mid-April, stayed for a week, and then went to China.

After that, she will go directly to America to begin her Americas tour.

Meanwhile, AA began her new career in Paris, the fashion capital...

Liu Jin continued writing and completed the second part of the "Our Ancestors" trilogy, "The Baron in the Trees," on April 23.

This book tells the story of Cosimo, a noble boy who rebels against family authority by climbing into a tree to live.

Throughout his entire life, he never set foot on the ground.

Living in the trees allows one to achieve spiritual freedom and complete non-individualistic living.

This book contains 18 words.

Using an absurd allegory, it proposes a path to achieving completeness through individual choices.

After Liu Jin finished writing, Leslie returned from Toulouse.

He came by boat, but not in the Anita; he sailed into Sunstone Bay Wharf in Liu Jin's 'Hugo'.

Why aren't you sailing your boat?

"Under repair!"

After presenting the Oscar for Best Actress this year, Leslie went on a world tour by boat.

He was several shades darker than usual, and had long hair and a thick beard.

He seemed much more weathered and aged.

After all, he's over fifty years old, giving people a completely different feeling than before.

With Leslie's return, preparations for the second season of "The Music by the Fireplace: Bay Island Edition" have begun.

"Amos, I've received a script."

That day, Liu Jin and his assistant were at the university doing the final proofreading of Professor Barbara's paper.

Isabelle Huppert called.

"script?"

"infectious disease."

"Uh, you mean this script..."

Liu Jin patted his forehead and laughed, "I've been so busy lately... I almost forgot about it."

Has Sofia finished writing her script? I only provided her with a story outline and character introductions, so I'm not sure about the script's completion status.

So, are you satisfied?

"What I want to say is, thank you very much!"

“Isabel, you have helped me a lot. As friends, we should help each other.”

"But I still have to say thank you!"

Isabelle Huppert is almost 50!
In Europe, she was a true queen, winning almost every major European film award, including the César Award and the Best Actress Award at the Sebastián International Film Festival. Yet, throughout her life, she was confined to Europe, never able to escape the realm of drama and art films.

The path to Hollywood is essentially cut off.

Unexpectedly...

She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Bélier Family".

Now, I've got another film, "Contagion".

The role that Liu Jin arranged for her in this movie is the same one played by Matt Damon in the original timeline, making her practically a lead actress.

Last time, she played a supporting role to the celestial being.

This time, the celestial being played a supporting role to her.

This made Isabelle Huppert especially happy.

Therefore, she made a special call to express her gratitude to Liu Jin.

Are you still not coming to the Cannes Film Festival this year?

"This year, I have to work with Professor Barbara on my thesis, and I'm also finishing up my new novel, so I really can't go."

"That's a pity. I was planning to introduce Xia Ma to you."

"Xia Ma?"

"My daughter, who has a role in the film 'Copacabana' that I was selected for this year."

Lolita Chamae, Huppert's daughter.

Liu Jin had seen it twice, and his impression of it was actually quite average.

She's 27, has a bit of a fairy-like vibe, and is a modern-day European feminist girl.

Liu Jin has always kept his distance from this type of woman.

"Haha, there's a chance, there's a chance...maybe next year."

"Then it's agreed!"

Isabelle Huppert smiled and hung up the phone.

Liu Jin scratched his head and continued to examine Professor Barbara's paper.

……

In May, Mela called to inform SNEG that it had successfully acquired Explorers Company, owned by Chiapod.

Olivier Chiapado subsequently signed a contract with La Cinq, officially becoming the planning director of La Cinq television station.

Meanwhile, with the help of GST, Méla began negotiations with 27 television stations in the fourth arrondissement of southern France.

But things didn't go smoothly at first.

It wasn't until Tasca intervened that things got on track.

However, while Tusca was negotiating with the television station, Mera, through her connections with Marc Jacobs at Rothschild Bank, successfully acquired Andorra Claror Technologies through the shell company of SNEG. She then used her connections with Marc Jacobs to successfully separate the company from SNEG and bring it under the SNEG umbrella.

The acquisition cost only 8.7 million euros.

Through this acquisition, Marc Jacobs also successfully earned a commission of 300,000 euros.

After experiencing success, Ma immediately joined Tusca's negotiation team to assist La Cinq in acquiring 27 television stations.

Tasca anticipates that the acquisition will take a considerable amount of time.

The entire acquisition will likely be completed by the end of the year. Once the acquisition is successful, Tusca will promptly submit an application to COFRAC and simultaneously seek SAE confirmation of the transaction... Therefore, Mela will temporarily withdraw from the relevant negotiations and begin compiling the necessary documents, aiming to submit them to COFRAC and SAE as soon as the acquisition is completed.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have agreed to do this."

The information from just twenty-seven TV stations almost drove me crazy.

Liu, you have to make it up to me... When you get back, I'm going to have dinner at the most expensive private club in Paris.

Listening to Mela's complaints, Liu Jin could only smile and agree repeatedly.

While La Cinq was launching its operations, on the Italian side, Marco Müller, with the help of Marco Sr., began acquiring local television stations in the Campania region under the name of Pozzoli Television.

In comparison, the acquisition of Mark Müller went much more smoothly.

Most of the television stations controlled by the local Mafia family were poorly managed, so their desire to make a deal was very strong.

Mark Müller expects the integration of the three regional television networks to be completed by the end of the year.

Then we can start operating immediately.

The difficulty lies in the later stages, especially the merger of the three regional television networks, which will require a long period of time, estimated to take a year.

This confirms Tusca's words: In France, things are difficult at first, then easy.

The initial hurdles are very high, and it takes a lot of effort to overcome them, but once you get past them, things will go smoothly afterward.

Italy is easier in the early stages, but it becomes increasingly difficult as you progress.

Marco Müller's abilities were not a problem during the initial integration phase, but the process of merging the three regions required the involvement of a more powerful person.

To this end, Liu Jin made a special trip to Rome and had a frank and in-depth conversation with Mara Cani.

Mara has served as the Minister of Youth Affairs for two years.

I have to admit one thing: this position is indeed very good for personal development.

She is no longer the novice she once was in politics; her understanding of various aspects allows her to offer appropriate advice.

"Amos, you must not get involved in this matter."

Let Mark Müller handle it first. When he finishes the integration and the merger is needed, I will introduce him to Mr. Andrea di Mattia, the chairman of BABT… This man is very greedy. With a small sacrifice, he will surely approve it.

This is a good thing, as local television stations in the three major regions of southern Italy receive a large sum of government subsidies every year.

The three regions had long been dissatisfied with this.

"They'll be very cooperative if they can get rid of this burden."

However, Mara then asked, "How do you plan to operate this television network?"

Do you have any good recommendations?

“Mr. Mario Giannini of Mediaset, you can consult with Marco Müller, he is very capable.”

However, as far as I know, he is having a conflict with Silvio and will most likely resign soon.

He is also a renowned program planner at Finningwest Group, having served as producer and planner for numerous hit programs. If Mr. Mark Muller could invite him, it would be a tremendous help to your television network business.

For Mara, Old Berlusconi was her boss.

But Liu Jin was the most important lover in her life.

Stealing your boss's girlfriend to help your lover... isn't that wrong?
Liu Jin even had the inexplicable feeling that he was being exploited by a woman.

"By the way, you've been in Salerno lately, haven't you?"

"Yes, they were there until mid-June."

"Hehe, my house in Sun Stone Bay is all renovated. I'll be on vacation in a few days, so I'll come visit you then."

"You bought a house in Sunstone Bay?"

"Yes, I had Louisa buy it for me."

"When did this happen? At the end of last year... It was at the beginning of this year that certain people deposited my profits into my account."

Otherwise, the house could have been renovated long ago.

Which one?

"Villa No. 19, Taiyangshiwan".

Liu Jin thought about it and realized that it seemed to be not far from Villa 404.

"That villa that looks like a castle?"

"Yes!"