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

Chapter 450 Returning Home in Wealth
"Yimin, your clothes are really trimmed with gold!" Tang Dacheng exclaimed.

Xu Mengxiong said helplessly, "Do they print all their own dollars?"

“It’s not that slow!” Liu Yimin said.

Walmart's little princess was simply too assertive. Li Congren tried to raise the price twice in a sneaky manner, but the other party was not intimidated at all and seemed determined to win. In the end, the Zhongshan suit was sold to the other party for $100,000.

Everyone assumed this was the most expensive item up for auction that night, and the frenzy subsided considerably.

Walmart wanted to use the family princess's fame and a huge sum of money to run a newspaper advertisement, which also served as a gesture of goodwill towards China.

“One hundred thousand dollars isn’t enough!” Alice Walton of Walmart frowned, believing that one hundred thousand dollars wouldn’t have the desired impact.
"Let's take another look and see if there's anything else worth buying. We'll raise the price ourselves!"

The number of items being auctioned is increasing, and the amount donated this time is at least 400,000 US dollars.

Tang Dacheng and Xu Mengxiong were laughing so hard their faces were numb, and they kept rubbing their faces to improve blood circulation.

"The third edition manuscript of Miller's famous play 'Death of a Salesman' has a starting bid of four thousand dollars!"

Miller, that old guy, was reluctant to release the first version, only showing the third version, but it was quickly auctioned off for ten thousand US dollars.

The tax king, who arrived late, raised the price twice but didn't raise it any further. He only wanted the fame but wasn't too keen on paying money, and the price finally settled at $40,000.

"This is the last item in this charity auction. Everyone will be surprised, curious, and puzzled. But please understand, it's from an author who has dedicated everything to environmental protection!"

This auction item is the National Book Award trophy, awarded to Yimin Liu!

The moment the words were spoken, the entire audience was shocked.

"Yimin, why did you take out the trophy? This is unacceptable!" Tang Dacheng asked hurriedly.

The rest of the team all looked at Liu Yimin, their eyes conveying the same meaning.

"There's nothing wrong with it. This is American, and staying in America is a good option."

"This...this!" Xu Mengxiong was at a loss for words.

Liu Yimin told everyone not to feel sorry, and to listen to how much money it could be auctioned off for.

Bellow, the chairman of the awards committee, also attended the charity gala and sat quietly the whole time. When he heard Bond's words, Bellow looked incredulous, then his face turned ugly. How could this be put up for auction!
If the auction price is low, the world of literature will probably start to mock the literary value of the National Book Award.

This young man from the East is a bit unpredictable! If it weren't for his good manners, Bellow would have already started to yell at him.

The Walmart family, however, had their eyes light up, thinking it was a great product. The Walmart family won the National Book Award for their environmental efforts, a headline that certainly caught the eye.

"Wouldn't it be even more breathtaking if it were sold for a million?"

"Isn't one million a bit too expensive?"

Alice Walton smiled and said, "Isn't this exactly the effect we want? Countless environmentally conscious customers flock to our supermarket in a single day, and we'll make our money back."

"Can it reach one million?"

"Can't reach it? If we can't reach it, we'll raise the price ourselves!" Alice Walton said decisively.

"With one million, we can run a six-month advertisement in The New York Times."

"A month in the US is worth more than six months in The New York Times, and besides, environmental organizations have criticized us a lot for the shopping bag issue, so this million dollars is definitely worth it!"

The trophy started at a price of $10,000. At the beginning, the audience hesitated, but after five rounds of bidding, their enthusiasm grew.

But the price didn't exceed $80,000. Alice Walton gave a wink, and her people started raising the price.

The final price landed precisely at "one million dollars," and Bond's hand trembled slightly as he struck the gavel.

"Walmart's Alice Walton has won a National Book Award trophy for one million dollars!"

Liu Yimin personally presented the trophy to Alice Walton. Alice Walton, in the prime of her life, picked up the trophy, glanced at it, and said, "Liu, you are a remarkable writer. We will meet again."

"Madam, thank you for your contributions to international environmental protection," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Alice Walton uttered a few platitudes about environmental protection, then got up and left the theater with her entourage.

Bond, his face flushed with excitement, exclaimed, "Liu, tomorrow all the American newspapers will be filled with our stories, all of them! It's insane! A million dollars, a million dollars!"

"God, this is insane!" Miller produced a bottle of Coke from somewhere and handed it to Liu Yimin.

“It’s not madness, it’s a necessity,” Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Miller and Bond also realized what was going on; they just needed to think about it a little more to figure out what was happening.

After Liu Yimin saw the artists off one by one, when he returned to the venue, Tang Dacheng and Xu Mengxiong were still clutching their chests, not yet recovered!

Joseph's performance team danced joyfully on stage, and a reporter quickly snapped a picture, which became one of the classic photos celebrating the success of the charity gala.

On the way back, Tang Dacheng and the others asked Liu Yimin why this was, but Liu Yimin did not explain the reason. There was also a guy taking notes with him!
The next morning, the newspapers were full of stories about the Walmart family winning the National Book Award. Walmart held a press conference early in the morning to reiterate the group's commitment to environmental protection.

Alice Walton and her brothers opened the newspaper and watched TV, happily sipping red wine; the charity marketing campaign had been a success.

"This will be a classic case study that will be included in textbooks."

Alice Walton said, "That's not enough."

"what?"

“You’ll find out in a few days,” Alice Walton said, her brow furrowed, “Trump—”

At that moment, the tax king was being interviewed by the media on television. He hadn't actually won any bids, but he claimed that the reason the bids were so high was because he had driven up the prices.

"The truth is, I said nine hundred thousand, and Alice Walton said one million. I said OK, it's yours! Without me, you know what? We wouldn't have gotten such a high price."

However, I was also upset that I didn't get to photograph Liu's items; we're very good friends. I assured him, "Bro, don't worry, I'll definitely get them next time." He said, "I trust you, my friend."

The tax king's eloquent speech drew considerable attention from the media and the public.

Seeing this, Liu Yimin chuckled helplessly. These days, everyone is boasting in newspapers about how much they love the environment and how willing they are to contribute to tree planting.

The Broadway Bond even personally contacted several newspapers to write articles, further amplifying Broadway's status in the hearts of audiences and artists through charity.

In short—everyone won!
Of course, Liu Yimin won even more. The ticket revenue from this gala alone reached $50,000, and with the revenue from the auction items, he earned a total of about $1.6 million.

After giving an interview to New York media, Liu Yimin met with representatives of various local associations before leaving New York.

Upon meeting Song Xilian, Song Xilian repeatedly gave Liu Yimin a thumbs-up, praising him for bringing honor to the country.

“In the past, it was extremely difficult for us to win an award abroad, no matter what field we were in. Last year, when I saw the national delegation winning so many gold medals on TV, I was moved to tears. Sigh, our country should be seen by more and more people.”

"I definitely will, please take care of yourself."

Song Xilian wiped his eyes with a handkerchief and couldn't help but ask, "I heard Zheng Dongguo say that you wrote about the Battle of Taierzhuang? Are you making a movie about it?"

"Filming again would require a large investment, and we are currently raising funds. We estimate that filming will be completed by the end of the year," Liu Yimin said.

"Okay, okay, I'll definitely watch it then."

Zheng Chouyu cupped his hands towards Liu Yimin and said, "Yimin, I hope you will write more excellent works in the future." "Old Zheng, look at this. This is a copy of 'The Paris Review' that I just bought. Yimin has written another article about black people. It's insightful, highly critical and satirical. Many Americans are reading it!" Someone walked in from outside. It was a Chinese professor who worked at New York University.

Song Xilian and the others became interested and picked up *The Paris Review* to read. After they finished reading, some felt the Emancipation Proclamation was about liberating slaves, while others agreed with its content, believing it reflected a struggle for labor power arising from changes in the mode of production.

Song Xilian said, "Marx said that with every change in the mode of production, people also change their social relations. Therefore, I believe that the division between the North and the South in the United States is essentially a competition for Black labor. As for democracy and freedom, that's all bullshit!"

"General Song, do you even understand Marxist economics?" Zheng Chouyu asked.

"Hey, we learned it at Gongdelin University. We studied it every day back then, I almost became a half-Marxist," Song Xilian said with a smile.

Everyone was curious about Song Xilian's life at Gongdelin, so they all gathered around to ask him how he was doing.

"It turns out they've been very magnanimous towards us. Otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting here. Even that notorious spy Shen Zui has reformed. Tell me, what about their methods and their magnanimity?"

After the meeting, Niki, Liu Yimin, and others went to the bookstore entrance and found that there were indeed many people buying "The Paris Review".

George said triumphantly, "This is a success for literature, a success for the rise of Black rights awareness, Liu, this is your success!"

“Liu, how about we prepare for publication immediately?” Niki asked.

"Sure, the contract will follow the direction of 'The Favourite'!"

Without hesitation, Nikki replied, "No problem, I believe in the sales of this novel."

In April, Liu Yimin and members of his delegation gave speeches across the United States, mostly academic sharing sessions or meet-and-greets with readers. They generally stopped signing books and only stamped their seals, otherwise Liu Yimin's hands would be ruined.

Besides books, many people also met with Liu Yimin with the latest issue of The Paris Review.

Each time the crowds gathered were several times larger than before the awards ceremony. With the support of charity, literary awards, and "Uncle Tom's Cabin," the event achieved unprecedented success.

The sales of The Paris Review far exceeded George's expectations, and he is prepared to print another 200,000 copies to meet global demand.

Black artist Basquiat wrote to Liu Yimin, telling him to maintain his writing energy and to always keep the tragic history of Black people in mind.

“Liu, next we’re going to Detroit!” Nikki said.

The Steel Strip in the United States began to rust in the 1950s, and today Detroit's economy is in dire straits and it faces serious environmental problems.

Liu Yimin stood in the middle of the crowd, loudly sharing his thoughts on literature and environmental protection.

“Detroit needs change, the environment needs to be addressed. This isn’t just a Detroit issue, it’s an American issue. The bustling Manhattan is burning down the homeland of Detroiters.”

The Detroiters below, their eyes bloodshot, were clapping their hands frantically.

Back at the hotel, the hotel staff told Liu Yimin about Detroit's former prosperity and how it had become a mere shell.

"The Federation has abandoned us Detroiters!" the waiter said angrily.

Liu Yimin patted the waiter on the shoulder and said, "Young man, you have the right to regroup in Lexington!"

After getting far away from the waiter, Li Congren said in a low voice, "He's not that brave. Revolution isn't a dinner party; it requires bloodshed and sacrifice."

"You know a lot, Lao Li!"

Li Congren said with a smile, "This lecture tour in the United States has been more effective than your previous ones. Americans have learned about the Great Wall, Mount Tai, Saihanba in China, and Chinese culture."

"Sigh, I'm so tired!" Liu Yimin sat on the sofa, relaxing his body.

On April 12th, after adding two more days to the trip, the plane finally landed in San Francisco.

Nikki has been grinning from ear to ear lately, but the other side of her mouth isn't showing because she hasn't been to Texas, Florida, or a few other southern states.

"Comrades, we can finally go home." It's been a month, and Liu Yimin is already homesick.

Tang Dacheng laughed and said, "We thought we'd be here for a few days, but we've ended up staying for half a month. It's time to go back."

Liu Yimin and his group planned to rest in San Francisco for two days before returning home. Li Congren planned to take Liu Yimin fishing in the Pacific Ocean.

George and the journalist who kept the daily records had already left, and judging by the time, Simon's report should be finished soon.

"Liu, quickly look at the newspaper," Li Congren said loudly after knocking on the door.

"Shymore has written the report?"

"It wasn't him, it was Walmart!"

Liu Yimin opened the newspaper, where Walmart's Alice Walton announced that she would return the National Book Award trophy, which she had won from Liu Yimin, to him—a writer's possessions should be taken away by the writer!
“Alice Walton is a marketer. She saw the newspaper discussion was about to drop, so she did this to make it go up immediately. The one million charitable donation has probably already been earned back tenfold,” Liu Yimin exclaimed.

Walmart has a market not only in the United States, but also in many countries around the world, and its revenue reached more than eight billion US dollars in 1985.

Any positive image they cultivate will accelerate their expansion.

Li Congren said, "This woman is really something else."

In the presence of reporters, Alice Walton then presented the trophy back to Liu Yimin. Walmart also gifted a model of the first Walmart store.

"Walmart will always be Walmart for the people, and we will always stand on the consumer's side," Alice Walton declared loudly.

After meeting with the media, Alice Walton asked Liu Yimin whether Walmart was suitable to operate in China.

“Ms. Alice Walton, you and your family are excellent businesswomen, and I believe you can make your own decision,” Liu Yimin said with a slight smile.

Alice Walton said, "Liu, we are willing to contribute to charity and environmental protection as long as you need us in the future. We are friends, and we hope to see you in China sometime."

Liu Yimin and Li Congren spent the afternoon drifting on a boat on the shore, their minds completely blank. By the time they returned, their fatigue had dissipated considerably.

The latest issue of The New Yorker features a cover photo of Liu Yimin receiving an award. In the photo, Liu Yimin is holding the trophy and gesturing to the audience, with the headline "The Real Chinese Writer" below.

Himmore used a novelistic style to describe Liu Yimin's activities in the United States, providing very detailed descriptions to distinguish it from news reports.

The author vividly describes Liu Yimin's expressions when he is thinking and his state of mind when he is giving a speech, making the reader feel as if they are there.

The little-known side of Liu Yimin's public appearances quickly captured the hearts of American readers, who felt a sense of voyeurism as they read about his private life.

When American readers saw that Liu Yimin was not used to eating Western food, they all smiled.

"Liu doesn't care much about other people's opinions. He can even eat steak with chopsticks without feeling embarrassed. His confidence comes from within. He acknowledges that the United States is a powerful country, but he is full of confidence in his own country."

When Nie Hualing of the International Writing Program saw the article comparing the CIA’s funding control writing center to seeing a fly, she felt a mix of emotions. The reputation she had built up over the years was slowly fading away.

The editor of Time magazine, a rival of The New Yorker, was very dissatisfied with his reporters. Why could The New Yorker come up with the kind of stories that they couldn't?
This week, The New Yorker's sales in the United States will certainly surpass Time magazine's, and in The New Yorker's editorial office, editors and reporters are celebrating their success.

Overall, Himmel's description of Liu Yimin is generally positive, portraying him as someone who has devoted himself wholeheartedly to environmental protection.

On the plane, Xu Mengxiong was translating an article from The New Yorker for Tang Dacheng. Liu Yimin's thoughts were already racing, back at the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

Liu Yimin's trip to the US and Europe was a great success, yielding substantial gains. Even excluding donations, his own income alone was considerable.

The speaking fee plus the prize money from the literary award brought in nearly $170,000. If the royalties from book sales are included, the income would far exceed $200,000.

"How many people will come to welcome us when we arrive in Yanjing this time!" Xu Mengxiong said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)