My Years as a Copyist in Taiwan

Some conservatives were still unwilling to give up, but Nangong Nan raised her hand to stop them: "The prize money came from this book, the venue came from this book, and the money you're using to sit here today drinking coffee and smoking all came from this book."

"If *Norwegian Wood* were mediocre, or even barely met the criteria for an award, I wouldn't interfere, since I'm not a judge. But today I'm interfering, so what are you going to do about it?!"

No one in the room dared to raise their head.

Sima Zhongyuan laughed and flicked his cigarette ash: "Alright, alright, the president has already gone this far, what's there to argue about? This book is very well written, and it's only right that the author wins the award based on their real talent."

Nangong Nan picked up the pen—

"First Prize for Best Novel: *Norwegian Wood*, by Mr. Snail. Unanimously approved!"

A hammer is fixed.

Editor Lou sat at the end of the table, suppressing a laugh. He was the one who had invited the editor-in-chief; otherwise, they would have been arguing until late at night again.

At the same time, at the Tianjin restaurant, the "Flying Witch" Jia Jinwen clung to Zhao Wen, determined not to let him leave, while Aunt Xu and her husband Jia Kedi stood by helplessly.

Zhao Wen brought back not only gifts for Zhao Wenwen from Tokyo, but also a small package for Jia Jinwen. Old Han had already delivered the gifts to the Jinmen Restaurant, but Zhao Wen only came to eat two days later. Not only was Wenwen unhappy, but Aunt Xu even poked him on the forehead.

In Wu Deng's memory, there wasn't a trace of the past when he almost wiped out "Jinmen." Zhao Wen said he was full and had drunk his fill, but he was still gnawing on pig's feet. Chen Erfeng was the same; she swept away everything still on the table—this was her own apprentice's house, and the silly aunt had completely let loose...

"I'm really impressed with you. You turned down the United Daily News dinner and the Writers' Association dinner. What do you want, Ah-Wen?" Wu Deng was a martial arts producer after all, so of course he knew that the Writers' Association should be very important to a writer.

With Wenwen holding his neck, Zhao Wen could only tilt his head and reply, "If it were just the Writers' Association, I would definitely have gone, but they are just middlemen who connected 'Simon & Schuster' and want the copyrights of all my books."

To put it bluntly, the Formosa Writers Association is just a bunch of old scholars who couldn't write well, so they desperately tried to become officials. They got official approval and formed a non-governmental organization. Only honest people who don't know the true nature of the situation will buy into their name.

Simon & Schuster is the name of a publishing house that is larger in the United States than New Direction, which specializes in overseas literature publishing. Therefore, Zhao Wen prefers to cooperate with New Direction, and they have already started working together.

Besides, Simon and Schuster are no good; for decades they've been publishing all sorts of works that smear the mainland. For a patriotic Mr. Snail, simply declining their invitations was far too restrained.

The United Daily News Novel Award ceremony was shockingly simple; no one would believe that this is a major literary award that can influence the entire Chinese-speaking world!

The event was held in the Mainland Restaurant downstairs from the newspaper office. The semi-enclosed private room had long tables pushed together, and even when it was full of judges, newspaper editors, and award-winning authors, there were only about thirty people.

There was no red carpet, no spotlights, not even a host. It was just a simple speech from the club president, a brief explanation of the judging process from the judges, then the handing out of checks and a group photo. The whole thing lasted less than forty minutes, and the rest was just casual conversation over a light meal...

Zhao Wen really appreciates this pragmatic approach. His first prize for a novel is the only one he has won in several years. Moreover, in view of his special contributions to the United Daily News, all the judges unanimously decided to double the prize money this year—200,000 New Taiwan Dollars!

Although 200,000 yuan is not much for a nouveau riche, it has great symbolic significance. Otherwise, the newspapers the next day would not have been filled with news that his short story "Moon Shadow" and novel "Norwegian Wood" had both won first prize.

United Daily News front page supplement

Main title: United Daily News Literary Prize Winners Announced

Zhao Wen swept the top prizes for both short and long stories, setting a new record in four years.

Subtitle: Mr. Snail's Long Novel Passed Unanimously

Ending two terms of vacancy

[Our Correspondent Reports] Young writer Zhao Wen (Mr. Snail) has won both the top prizes for novel and short story with his works *Norwegian Wood* and *Moon Shadow*, becoming the first author to win both categories in the same year since the award's novel category was added...

In her review summary, Ms. Chi Pang-yuan stated: Good literature, which penetrates the human heart, transcends seniority. "Norwegian Wood" perfectly captures the loneliness and growth of a generation...

The short story "Moonlight Shadow" also captivated the audience. This work, less than 10,000 words long, uses a moonlit night as a starting point to depict the missed opportunities and melancholy of urban men and women. With its exquisite narrative and lingering aftertaste, it was praised by the jury as "the most skillfully written short story in the past three years"...

The Humanities Supplement of the China Times:

[A year of legendary status, reshaping the literary landscape]

Minsheng Daily:

Zhao Wen's emergence injected new vitality into the literary scene of Taiwan in the 1980s.

Literary Critic:

Previously, we always said that local literature was either trapped in rural narratives or stuck in the imitation of Western modernism.

Zhao Wen is different. He writes about the city, youth, and life and death. His writing style is new, but his emotions are universal. He can not only sell well but also win awards, completely breaking the prejudice that "bestsellers are not literature"!

Ms. Xiao Lihong's *A Thousand Rivers, A Thousand Moons* is a pinnacle of rural literature. Zhao Wen's *Norwegian Wood* will be a new starting point for urban literature. He debuted at his peak; his future potential is immeasurable!

Zhao Wen knew that in the field of novels, he could only win awards in Taiwan, because in Japan, there were only translation awards for overseas novels, and those awards were only given to those who translated novels.

Forget the Naoki Prize and the Kaikawa Prize; overseas novels don't even qualify for an entry... But the Nobel Prize is something to look forward to, I'll write some dark Japanese stories to please you guys, that should be enough, right...?

Although the novel might not win a major award in Japan, the animated film is definitely a winner, because Mr. Wicker Chair has already accepted Miyazaki Hayao's request and connected the future god of animation with Mr. Snail.

At this time, Hayao Miyazaki had only just gained a little fame with Lupin III, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was still being serialized, and Studio Ghibli was nowhere to be seen. So, for Mr. Snail, who wrote Spirited Away, he was like a genius whom Haruki Murakami had to look up to in his early days...

Miyazaki Hayao's arrogance is only directed at superficial fame. As the author of "Spirited Away," he even took half a day to adjust his state and prepare for the upcoming Mr. Snail.

However, Zhao Wen, after receiving the award, did not fly to Tokyo immediately, but returned to Tainan. He had been away from the old wooden house for six whole days.