Chapter 448 You gave birth to me before you were born, but I gave birth to you and you are already old
After lunch, Fang Minghua and Emily took the car and went straight to Noble Bookstore in New York.
Noble Bookstore is located near Rockefeller Center and is known as the largest bookstore in the world. It is said that the bookshelf in the bookstore is more than 20 kilometers long.
When the two arrived, there was already a queue at the door of the bookstore, and a poster for the event was posted at the door.
"The famous Chinese young writer Ming Hua's new work "Crossing the Guandong" is signed for book signing." There is also a long title below:
Winner of this year's National Book Critics Circle Award
Winner of the 1986 Nebula Award
Author of "The Lost Dreams of the Bridge".
It seems that "The Lost Dreams of the Bridge" is This book is really deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Fang Minghua and his party, accompanied by security personnel, entered the bookstore and came to the book signing area. There was a table in front and a huge poster behind.
Above is my detailed resume and almost all of my works and awards over the years. ·
Holy shit
So complete.
It turned out that "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit", which was published not long ago in China, has it, but there is no "Swordsman in the Snow".
It was written under another pen name, and Americans don’t seem to be interested in martial arts novels either.
Soon, Fang Minghua got into work mode and signed his name on each new book - naturally in Chinese characters.
Most of them took "Crossing the Guandong", but there were still a few who had written "The Bridge of Lost Dreams" by themselves, and some even took a copy of "Selected Chinese Pioneer Works and Short Stories" 》!
This is after Fang Minghua returned from a study tour in Iowa, he collected and sorted out some novels published by domestic pioneer writers at that time, such as Liu Sola, Mo Yan, Yu Hua and others, and then gave them to the editor of "City Lights" in San Francisco The founder, poet Lawrence Ferlingay, was translated by the famous American sinologist Grant Howard and published in the United States.
It includes two novels by Fang Minghua, "The Sun Also Rises" and "Roadside Picnic".
The sales of this collection of novels in the United States are not ideal. After all, this type of novel is not a bestseller.
I didn’t expect someone to sign it today.
Fang Minghua looked at this fat young man, smiled and signed his name on the title page.
Emily acted as an assistant and helped maintain order. What was even more ridiculous was that someone actually took a novel written by Emily and asked her to sign it.
This.
Emily is a little embarrassed.
However, Fang Minghua graciously made room for her. Since the reader has brought it, let’s sign it.
Fortunately, there are not many such readers.
At this moment, a girl with black hair but blue eyes came up, holding a brand new copy of "Crossing Guandong", and spoke not very fluent Chinese.
Mixed race?
Sure enough, the girl briefly introduced her name as Ally, her Chinese name is Yanli, her father is American, and her mother is Taiwanese, China. She likes traditional Chinese culture very much.
"Minghua, can you sign for me with a brush?" the girl made her request.
Brush signature?
This is not difficult for Fang Minghua, but he has no pen and ink.
"Sorry, Miss Yanli, I didn't bring a brush and ink." Fang Minghua said with a smile.
"I brought it." The girl actually took out a brush and a small bottle of ink from the satchel she was carrying.
Fang Minghua took a look and saw that the brush was produced by Dai Yuexuan and had Yidege ink.
Well, all of them are produced by time-honored domestic brands.
Fang Minghua is very suspicious, is this mixed-race girl named Yanli, or her mother a calligraphy enthusiast herself, good at writing calligraphy?
Fortunately, I have practiced hard, otherwise I would really have embarrassed the country today!
Fang Minghua was not polite, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, signed his name on the title page of the book, thought for a while and wrote another sentence.
"Be born Chinese, don't be a slave to the country's subjugation"
This is a sentence in "Crossing Guandong".
The girl left happily.
Fang Minghua also had a smile on his face. Fortunately, the girl took away her brush and ink. Otherwise, it will be troublesome if later readers ask to use a brush too.
The signing lasted from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm. Fang Minghua’s arms were sore after writing for the whole two hours.
This money is not easy to earn either
At 9 o'clock that night, Fang Minghua was about to leave and fly to Houston, Texas, and Evans naturally accompanied him.
Emily didn't go.
She had her own job and flew to Vancouver, Canada, to attend a literary seminar held there, and the two said goodbye in the hotel.
"Emily, welcome to China. You must come to Xijing. My wife and I will warmly entertain you. I will take you to climb the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to see the Terracotta Warriors and Horses."
Fang Minghua extended an invitation.
"I will definitely come if I have the chance." Emily said.
"Okay, I'm leaving, goodbye!" Fang Minghua said.
"Wait a minute." The girl said, ran back to her room, and came back within two minutes, holding pen and ink and some rice paper in her hand.
"Where did you come from?" Fang Minghua was surprised.
"I bought it in a store in Chinatown. You can also write a word for me as a souvenir."
"What to write?"
"Just write This sentence!"
Emily took out another book from her bag, and it turned out to be the Chinese version of "Three Hundred Tang Poems"!
She turned over a dog-eared page, and a line of words on it was suddenly marked with a pen:
"You gave birth to me before you were born, and I gave birth to you before you were old. You hate that I was born late, and I hate that you were born early." !
Fang Minghua suddenly couldn’t laugh or cry.
Girl, do you understand the meaning of this sentence?
Fang Minghua was very suspicious that Emily was deceived by some unscrupulous bookstore owner.
"Minghua, is this character difficult to write? I think there are very few strokes." Emily asked in confusion.
You don’t understand.
The fewer strokes of Chinese characters, the more difficult it is to write them.
Forget it, just write.
Fang Minghua carefully spread the rice paper on the coffee table, picked up a brush and dipped it in ink, held his breath, hung his wrist, and wrote this line of regular script on the white words, of course not forgetting to sign his name.
After writing it, enjoy it for yourself.
Not bad, can't compare with those calligraphy masters, but it's more than enough to fool foreigners.
“Thank you.” The girl looked at the calligraphy that was still wet with ink and said with joy, “I will post it in the bedroom of my home in Los Angeles when I get back.”
Fortunately, don’t post it in the living room. That’s it.
After bidding farewell to Emily, Fang Minghua flew to Houston overnight. The next day he signed and sold books at Federal Bookstore, followed by Los Angeles and Phoenix. The last stop was Chicago.
The bookstore that sells books in Chicago is called Miopic Bookstore. It is a three-story building located in the Wicker Park area.
Rest in the hotel in the morning, go to the bookstore to work at noon, and in the evening, accompanied by Evans, stroll around the city and taste the local food, which has become a daily routine these days.
The same is true today.
This is just the last day of "part-time work". After signing the book today, I will be free.
Fang Minghua was engrossed in signing his name on a book in the bookstore. Seeing that it was almost time to get off work, he looked up and saw an oriental man with black hair and yellow skin standing next to him, looking towards him. Smiling to yourself.
Fang Minghua also laughed.
It is his friend, Sun Lizhe.
(End of this chapter)