Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 119 The World's Little Calculations

That evening, as Xu Chi was dozing off while translating, a waiter knocked on his door and delivered "love from Comrade Liu Yimin."

Liu Yimin still couldn't sleep well after finishing his coffee, so he got up and sat back down at his desk to earn francs. After these few days of interaction, it wasn't just the French who were eager to understand China; some Chinese people felt the same way.

Thinking about this, Comrade Liu Yimin realized that earning francs was not the goal; he was also trying to satisfy the French people's curiosity, and they should thank him!
Liu Yimin didn't fall into a deep sleep until late at night.

The next morning, Liu Yimin was greeted by a cheerful Xu Chi knocking on his door, who happily handed him the translated manuscript.

"So fast?" Liu Yimin asked instinctively.

"It wasn't fast; the translation was much slower than before, and it took all night to finish. Yesterday, someone was very kind and bought me coffee, and then brought me another cup at midnight. I was full of energy all night."

Xu Chi asked the waiter who had treated him to drinks, and the waiter, being very professional, simply said it was someone who cared about his health.

"I never imagined I'd have such loyal readers in Marseille. I thought only Buffett had them!" Xu Chi said smugly as he entered Liu Yimin's room.

Liu Yimin glanced at the French manuscript he couldn't understand: "Old Xu, you're having coffee again? This foreign stuff is ridiculously expensive, I really envy you!"

“Yimin, take your time. You will have readers in France too.”

Liu Yimin flattered, "At this rate, Comrade Xu, you'll be getting a color TV when you get home. Your family will be overjoyed!"

"Oh, forget about color TVs, I think a refrigerator is pretty good too, hahaha!"

In the morning, after breakfast, the group took a boat to the Château d'If. Waves churned beneath the boat, seabirds circled overhead, and the island grew increasingly clear before their eyes.

Château d'If is a cold prison, filled with cells. Upon arriving on the island, everyone felt a chill. The entire island is surrounded by high, thick stone walls, and the castle is also surrounded by fortifications.

It was originally built as a war fortress, but unfortunately, the fortress was not used to defend against the enemy; instead, it was used to imprison prisoners.

My French friend explained, "The prison where the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas's 'The Count of Monte Cristo' lived was located here. It held a large number of political prisoners, including Mirabeau (a French bourgeois revolutionary).

As the group entered the castle, Liu Yimin stroked the castle walls and looked out at the Mediterranean Sea through a small window. The yachts on the sea and the castle were like two different worlds.

As they walked out of the castle, the delegation members were still discussing whether any prisoners could get out of there alive.

After returning to Marseille by boat and enjoying the local delicious fish soup, the group went back to the hotel. The receptionist told Liu Yimin that many more people had come looking for him.

Liu Yimin glanced at the business cards; they were all from various publishing houses.

“Yimin, let’s talk about having Lao Xu accompany you next time. He speaks French,” Ba Jin said.

Xu Chi also volunteered to help Liu Yimin negotiate with the other party, and Li Xiaolin became interested and wanted to listen in.

As editors in the editorial department of Harvest, these editors were her true colleagues, and she wanted to listen carefully to their opinions.

They had barely returned to their room when someone came looking for them. The three of them went upstairs for a cup of coffee and then quickly went back to their room.

"Twenty-seven francs for a thousand words, one citizen. Do I think that's already the highest possible price?" Li Xiaolin asked after hesitating.

"Senior Sister Xiaolin, I wanted to talk to them about royalties, but no one came to say anything. It's obvious they're just trying to exploit the information gap. They'll bring it up on their own once they realize it. If we bring it up now, they'll definitely come up with all sorts of reasons to refuse." After reading Liu Yimin's article, the reporter from the Progress Daily offered several suggestions for revision. Liu Yimin went to Xu Chi's room and asked him to help revise it. After the revisions were completed, the reporter left satisfied with the article.

"Yimin, have you gotten the francs yet?"

"Almost there! Old Xu, I have another manuscript here, could you take a look?" Liu Yimin said.

Upon hearing this, Xu Chi quickly waved his hand and said, "No, I have to sleep. My eyelids are drooping!"

"Then you should get some rest. I'll leave the manuscript here!" Liu Yimin walked out of the room, and as he was about to close the door, he turned around and asked, "Old Xu, how much was a color TV again? Are you still a little short?"

After listening, Xu Chi raised his eyelids, thought for a moment, and said, "It seems like it's still a bit lacking!"

In a hotel in Marseille, two journalists from Le Monde are preparing, one in a blue suit and the other in a black suit. According to the delegation's itinerary, a press conference will be held on their last day in Marseille.

After the press conference, their delegation will travel directly to Lyon.

Journalists from major French newspapers such as Le Monde and Le Figaro would ask the delegation questions. Asking questions is a skill in itself; the questions asked influence subsequent reporting and indirectly affect readers' attitudes towards the delegation.

The reporter, dressed in a black suit, said, "Our original focus was on Mr. Ba Jin, but after analyzing the current focus of our readers, we will adjust our focus at tomorrow's press conference."

Let's ask Mr. Ba Jin a relatively mild question. We should show due respect to such an elderly literary master.

We can ask that young man in the delegation some pointed questions, and I think our readers will enjoy that.

Le Monde was founded after World War II with the support of the French government under Charles de Gaulle. It received financial support from the French government and, despite its emphasis on independence, was in fact influenced by the French government.

After all, the principle of "those who eat people's food should obey their rules" is timeless.

“Currently, the French society is most concerned about the war in their south, and I think we can start from that and find topics to discuss,” said the reporter in the blue suit.

The reporter in the black suit said, "If it weren't for China, Y South would still belong to us French. More than 20 years ago, I also served in Y South as a machine gunner in an infantry regiment."

"Because of China? You met Chinese people in the rainforest?"

"What do you think? Do you really think those people from Yunnan can be our match? If it weren't for China, the Americans wouldn't have left Yunnan," the reporter in the black suit said disdainfully.

After they finished speaking, they began to discuss the questions to be asked tomorrow.

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight streamed into the room, Comrade Xu Chi rubbed his sleepy eyes. The first thing he did upon opening them was to calculate how much money he still needed to buy a color TV for his grandson.

Liu Yimin's manuscript was very short, and he finished translating it around midnight.

I fell asleep before I even had a chance to doze off.

Xu Chi checked the time; he had to get up.

While getting dressed, he cursed, "Damn it, capitalism will never change its cannibalistic nature!"

(End of this chapter)