My Years as a Copyist in Taiwan

Fujino had another purpose for coming to Tainan: to secure the exclusive distribution rights for Zhao Wen's vinyl album in Japan. However, he spent the entire day working on several manuscripts and had no chance to discuss the album.

Reading late into the night, after finishing *The Alchemist*, Xiao Nihong got up and excitedly spun around several times. After calming down, she read from late at night until dawn, this time *Norwegian Wood*.

Later generations have explored the different levels of why this book evokes tears: people with weak empathy and rational thinking will only treat it as literature and will not shed a single tear.

An average adult male with a story sheds tears 1-3 times: when Kizuki commits suicide, when Naoko confesses her feelings at the sanatorium, and when Watanabe wanders alone on the beach after Naoko's death.

Those who are sensitive and have experienced regrets or bereavement may cry more than four times, or even cry throughout the second half of the performance.

Fujino clearly belonged to the last category; he cried all night...

The next morning, when Zhao Wen got up and opened his door, he saw Xiao Ni Hong sitting in a rattan chair in the living room with two swollen, bruised eyes.

Seeing his absent-minded look, Zhao Wen chuckled inwardly: This book, "Norwegian Wood," was written with your stubborn nature in mind. It'll make you cry your eyes out!

Shuji Fujino rushed to the water tap by the yard, splashed his face with cold water, and his muddled mind, which had been foggy all night, instantly cleared up.

He disregarded formalities, omitting even the honorific "Mr. Snail," and went straight to the point: "For the bound volume and 'Norwegian Wood,' I'll add two points, full prepayment, payment every time a reprint is needed!"

Fujino felt a sense of relief at having secured the rights to "Spirited Away," "The Alchemist," and the long-running "Norwegian Wood." He felt that this share of the profits was nothing; once the books were published, he could recoup the costs in the blink of an eye.

When it comes to making payments, the Japanese really don't lie. "Those Years" was still in the typesetting stage, so no payment had been made yet. However, the hardcover edition of "Love Letter" was priced at 1200 yen, and the paperback at 780 yen. Based on the payment method and profit-sharing ratio, payment was made for each reprint, and Zhao Wen had already received over 160 million New Taiwan Dollars.

"Money is negotiable. I only have one requirement: the Japanese translation of 'Norwegian Wood' must be finalized and delivered by the end of June. You can do the layout, proofreading, and binding for the remaining two months, and it will be released simultaneously in Japan and here in early September."

Shuji Fujino paused, taken aback. The normal translation cycle for a long novel is at least three or four months, and it was already May. Although it was possible to finish in a little over a month, it was inevitably too rushed. He was about to ask the reason when another mission he had to take this trip back to Taipei suddenly flashed through his mind: to sign Phoenix's new book at Golden Crown Cinema.

"Mr. Snail, Ms. Phoenix is ​​also releasing a new book in September, could it be that you...?"

"Just like you guessed, let's have a contest." Zhao Wen took out the cigarette that Fujino had given him yesterday, lit it very stingily, and completely ignored Xiao Nihong's expectant eyes.

In Fujino's mind, Zhao Wen was no longer just a rising star writer, but a once-in-a-century prodigy! No one knew what that romance queen had done to offend him, that such a book, which was a complete game-changer, had to be released during her prime time slot.

If it were anyone else who dared to confront Aunt Phoenix head-on, he would only think it was youthful arrogance. But when it came to Mr. Snail, he had no doubts whatsoever. He just felt that the Golden Crown Boss Lady was going to suffer a complete and utter defeat this time.

Fujino's mind raced, but she didn't ask too many questions. In any case, it was definitely the old lady's fault!

He simply straightened his back: "Mr. Snail, please rest assured, I will personally oversee the translation team, and it will definitely be released simultaneously in Japan in early September. We will coordinate with your schedule in Taiwan."

Thus, Mr. Tengyi smoothly obtained a bound volume and the Japanese rights to "Norwegian Wood." Given that the cigarettes sent by the Japanese were very nice, and that they promised to send several more cartons immediately, Zhao Wen generously granted him the exclusive distribution rights for the album in Japan.

......

In the office of the president of Golden Crown Publishing House, a record player in the corner was slowly turning, playing Mr. Snail's vinyl record, which was currently playing "How the Fox Says".

On the rattan sofa, Aunt Phoenix held a bowl of medicine, frowned, and drank the medicine in one gulp. The fox's cry in her ear made her frown even more.

After rinsing her mouth with the honey water handed to her by the club president, Aunt Phoenix spat out, "Listen to what kind of tune this is! It's neither fish nor fowl, completely out of tune, and they dare to release it on CD!"

The president actually thought the song was alright, but how could he go against the will of his soulmate? He could only go along with it and offer criticism...

"That's right, it's all just attention-seeking tactics, relying on some weird tricks to grab attention, it's not respectable at all."

Aunt Phoenix rubbed her head and leaned back, her voice full of resentment: "My headache was getting better, but this bastard made it worse. He's turned the literary world into a mess, and now he's going to wreak havoc on the music scene!"

"Dear Phoenix, don't take it to heart. It's actually a good thing that he's abandoned his writing career to focus on record production. With your new book coming out in September, you won't have to worry about him causing trouble anymore, isn't that a good thing?"

Aunt Phoenix grew angrier the more she thought about it: "No way! I'm going to write an article for the supplement, exposing his true colors as a money-grubber! I'm going to tell my readers that this bastard is a scheming opportunist, a troublemaker in the literary world, and..."

"Alright, alright, stop getting angry." The president quickly pressed her hand down. "Why do you get so angry over something like this? You're usually so calm and composed. Getting angry with a junior like this only lowers our status. Take care of yourself first, nothing else is urgent."

The old lady did indeed write her article, which was soon published on the front page of the literary supplement under the Golden Crown Publishing House, a lengthy piece of over a thousand words.

She didn't name names, only referring to him as a "newly emerged opportunist in the literary world" and a "junior who gains fame by sensationalism," every word and phrase aimed at Zhao Wen:

First, they condemned him for abandoning literature for entertainment, calling it a heartless pursuit of profit and exploiting the sentiments of novel readers to make money across industries.

Then they began to criticize the album of "newly emerging literary opportunists" for its chaotic and incongruous musical style, and the last quirky song was even more vulgar and unbearably tasteless!

Finally, the elderly lady earnestly called on her book fans to keep their eyes open and jointly resist this unhealthy trend of "relying on gimmicks and hype to make money from IPs," and not let the literary and music circles become a goldmine for speculators!

The first to echo the old lady's sentiments were naturally her longtime die-hard fans. A few even wrote letters to Jiuge Magazine, denouncing Mr. Snail for forgetting his roots and being opportunistic, hoping that Jiuge Magazine would blacklist Mr. Snail, otherwise, they would boycott them! Hmph!