Chapter 414 The reaction of the people
There are too many hot discussions and discussions on the Internet. I will mainly talk about the feedback from the smallest offline units. Discussions on Twitter and certain forums are only supplementary.
The Los Angeles Times is the third largest newspaper in Hollywood in terms of sales, with over 500,000 copies sold daily.
Those of you who used newspapers as tissues when you were a child know it well - it hurts your butt, no, it's not important. The important thing is that the circulation of half a million copies will be doubled, but the number of viewers will be doubled.
On a small scale, newspaper subscription is based on families; on a large scale, in companies, stations, airports and other public places, as long as it is not borrowed to the toilet, a station newspaper can spread to at least seven or eight people, so the "smallest unit" covers both men and women. Young and old.
They are as young as college students and as old as executives in their sixties.
"Do you have any snowbeer?"
"Sorry, there is no such brand. But we have Bud Light, Coors Light, and Michelob Light that sell very well and taste great."
"I still want Snow Beer."
"Sir?"
"Thank you. I'll have a bottle of Bud Light, then."
The above is from a conversation in a Wal-Mart supermarket chain. The customers are social animals in their thirties.
Light beer is a kind of beer with relatively few hops. It is the favorite of Americans and less popular in China.
Walmart, as well as other supermarket chains and convenience stores across the country, have seen many inquiries about unfamiliar beers.
To be precise, they appeared sporadically at noon, and the number of people began to increase after get off work and dinner. The staff of some stores were questioned repeatedly, and their attitudes changed.
BeerAdvocate website, a large regional beer online community in America, mainly provides beer-related news, gossip, and netizens’ reviews of beer.
It’s similar to Jiuhuaer.com in China.
"Is Snow Beer really not a beer that the author made up at random? There is no rating on RATEBEER, and Shawshank Prison is fictional."
"I searched on Google and it seems that it is Chinese beer. From the description, the prototype of Shawshank Prison is Thomaston Prison in Maine. Why do prison guards in the United States buy Chinese beer? The key is that it is not available in reality."
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"If you search a little more, you will know that this writer is from China, and "Mr. Holmes" released this year is adapted from his work."
Wait, just as Gu Lu expected, the things that appear in the key plot only need to be mentioned once, which is enough to impress the readers!
There are really many people looking to buy Snow Beer. An American in her fifties, who is really smart, found a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown in the southern end of Manhattan.
"Sir, do you have any snow beer?"
What the hell? The store owner suspected that he heard it wrong. Foreigners usually ask about General Tso’s Chicken or Kung Pao Chicken when they come in.
The foreigner repeated and made gestures with his hands, "Snow Beer, should it be your Chinese beer?"
"Yes, but we drink it ourselves."
"I'll add money!"
"Sir, that's not what I meant. Mainly, we are not rich either."
"I give a 50% premium."
"How many cans do you want?"
……
Snow Beer is the second best-selling beer brand in the world, and it sounds like it should be distributed around the world like Budweiser. But in fact, it’s difficult to buy it outside of China, because Xuehua doesn’t go to sea at all! The runner-up's sales volume is purely due to his own expertise.
Because it is basically not sold overseas, the price is a bit expensive. If you want to purchase it on behalf of others, a box of 24 bottles of Snowflake in the United States costs about US$52.
With a 50% premium, the Chinese restaurant made a huge profit! Many Americans who bought Snow Beer through Snake Road and Rat Road were drinking Chinese beer for the first time.
The moment the wine entered their throats, most of them frowned.
For gringos who are used to drinking light beer, the reaction is very real, but in the cool night breeze, looking at the snowflakes in my hands, and then thinking about the works I saw in the newspaper during the day, I feel like scratching it will help.
"You know, some birds are not destined to be kept in cages. Every feather of them shines with the brilliance of freedom..." He also read out the most impressive line in the book when he was rising.
Some readers who live in single-family houses in the suburbs still want to carry wine on the roof, although not many people actually do it.
For the sunshine on my shoulders, I feel like a free man...
Shawshank Prison looks like a prison. In fact, any reader who has read the novel today can understand that Shawshank Prison is a writing prison, pronounced "system".
Even though most Americans only work 35 hours a week and have weekends off, they still feel they lack freedom.
In comparison, the weekly hours of the top five gangsters are China 48.9 hours, Bear Country 39.5 hours, Great Britain 36 hours, and France 28 hours. We are far ahead!
Closer to home, even France, which has the lowest average working hours, is still not satisfied and marches every now and then. People's pursuit of a better life is never satisfied.
As mentioned before, "The Shawshank Redemption" poked at the American psychology.
There are so many small units affected here and there, and some even call the newspaper office to ask for the writer's information. This is a relatively common behavior in Europe and the United States.
When Yao Xiaoju called Gu Lu, it was the good news from the Los Angeles Times.
Long story short——
"The Shawshank Redemption is the best work published in newspapers and periodicals in recent times, and it is also the work with the best feedback from readers."
"In addition, Anheuser-Busch InBev wants to negotiate whether it is willing to replace Snow Beer with Budweiser Beer when publishing."
"If Mr. Gu Lu wants to publish articles in the United States for a long time, our Times is willing to give him a better serialization fee and sign a contract as a columnist."
Agents can't make decisions for writers. Creation is very personal. Yao Xiaoju will only arrange works that Gu Lu has already created. Future creation... is a "loan" and cannot be forced on the writer, even if he realizes that now is a good time to enter the United States.
Yao Xiaoju stabilizes the "Los Angeles Times" and needs to discuss with Gu Lu whether to hit the world's largest market so quickly.
London, company conference room.
When the call was answered, Yao Xiaoju was presiding over the meeting. The overseas hairstyling company is expanding its scale and is currently dividing the work. He returned from the corridor.
"The promotion plan of the Cthulhu series in the UK is temporarily on hold. Let's discuss "The Shawshank Redemption" serialized in the Los Angeles Times." Yao Xiaoju said.
Immediately afterwards, Yao Xiaoju posted the news he had just searched. The popularity of Shawshank in the United States is far more exaggerated than the popularity of the new Cthulhu work in the UK.
The simplest example is the private influence on readers. The numerous previous descriptions are enough to show the gap.
The data displayed on the projections were so good that everyone present could hardly believe it. Without publicity and personnel, it would be impossible to have such a good situation.
"Brother Yao, you know me. Although you asked me to explore the American market, I don't have the ability..."
"Brother Yao, you know me well. If this was my promotion, I would be able to ride on your head."
"Brother Yao, you know me well. I am the most obedient person in the company. If you ask me to kick a dog's butt, I will not kick a cat. I will not do anything you have not arranged."
Talents spoke one after another.
"Okay," Yao Xiaoju knocked on the table, "I know the company is full of talents." I just talked with the deputy editor of the Los Angeles Times. Simply because the work is so good, even the newspaper itself did not invest special resources in the early stage. ”
The expressions of Yao Xiaoju and everyone else were probably, "I knew the work was good, but I didn't expect it to soar into the sky!"
The most important thing now is to inherit the popularity, and to put it more bluntly, how to convert traffic into money.
The theme of the conference has changed slightly. Originally, the overseas market development of the Asian division was now added to the United States.
The meeting lasted three hours to brainstorm ideas. Lunch time and lunch break are simply skipped. The body is very tired, but the spirit is very exciting, because the company's key asset "Gu Lu" has achieved great results again, the company's prospects are visible to the naked eye, and the employees' financial future can also be felt.
"Brother Gu, please answer the phone!"
After the meeting, Yao Xiaoju called Gu Lu every ten minutes, but no one answered. Suddenly such good news hit him. He was able to organize the three-hour meeting calmly and then walked back to his office. It was calm enough.
"It's just..."
After knowing each other for so many years, Gu Lu has always been reliable. Today? Yao Xiaoju had bad suspicions in his heart.
Could it be that the phone was stolen?
"No, you can't think blindly like this, you have to think on the bright side. What if you get hit by a car or get sick." Yao Xiaoju thought.
Fortunately, Gu Lu finally called back and did not let Yao Xiaoju's thoughts continue to wander.
Gu Lu on the other end of the phone said, "Brother Yao, I'm sorry. The teacher had a temporary arrangement and I forgot to set my phone to silent."
To be honest, Gu Lu was summoned over halfway through eating Malatang.
"It's fine." Yao Xiaoju stopped checking his steps back and forth in the office and sat back on his chair. The backrest is a bit elastic and can be pressed back and forth.
"Very good, no problem." Gu Lu asked straight to the point, "Brother Yao made so many calls, is there something urgent?"
Yao Xiaoju summarized the achievements of "The Shawshank Redemption" in the United States and ended by saying, "Brother Gu, do you have any short stories suitable for serialization in the United States? The opportunity is rare." Yes, there are even full-length novels.
The novel is "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" from the Arsenal. The short stories are the other three in Stephen King's Tales of Four Seasons.
But long stories are best written about Jews.
There are three short stories left in the latter collection, and the only one that can compete with Shawshank is "Summer's Fall: Nacui Chasing the Murderer". After all, I just put my own tune on it, so I can’t stretch my hips anymore.
But Xia Xia's downfall showed his sympathy for the Jews... Gu Lu clearly saw this nation's anti-human behavior on Earth.
Therefore, I won’t write it down.
Even though it is a waste, Gu Lu said, "I have recently been imagining a novel with the background of World War I. If it succeeds, it will be suitable for sale in the United States."
To be modest, "Fall of Giants" is a bestseller across Europe and the United States.
Understood, that means there is no suitable one at the moment. Yao Xiaoju sighed slightly, it was a pity that "concept" and "if" meant that it was too early to write a book, and this wave of traffic will not be able to get big.
Regret doesn’t show up on the phone, and a qualified agent won’t pressure a writer.
"Then I'm waiting for Brother Gu's masterpiece." Yao Xiaoju said, "Is this work inspired by diplomatic missions?"
"What?" Gu Lu didn't understand.
"I remember that Brother Gu also wrote short stories about Norway, France, Spain and other countries. Official articles." Yao Xiaoju said, "According to your habit, Brother Gu, you will definitely look up a lot of information. Books about the background of World War I Inspiration must have something to do with it.”
"That's it. Brother Yao's reasoning and logic skills are really strong." Gu Lu felt that the other person knew more about creation than he did.
"Then I won't bother you..." Yao Xiaoju was about to hang up the phone.
"Wait a minute, it seems I have two articles suitable for sale." When the other party was about to hang up the phone, Gu Lu found a sharp weapon in the arsenal - the novel version of "Black Mirror".
Although the Black Mirror series is a British drama, it is also very popular in the United States. It has also won the Emmy Award (the highest award for American TV series) for two consecutive years, proving that it has great potential.
"Huh? Brother Gu, you don't have to force yourself." Yao Xiaoju responded.
"I don't force it at all. I will revise it and send it to you today and tomorrow." Gu Lu said.
It was also Brother Xiao Gu's wish, and Yao Xiaoju also agreed.
After finishing the serious business and hanging up the phone, Yao Xiaoju blamed himself a little.
The words were still not tactful enough, Yao Xiaoju thought, "It still puts pressure on Brother Gu."
He stopped pressing and releasing his back against the backrest and looked at his phone.
American literary critics have praised and criticized "The Shawshank Redemption". There is a saying that the criticism angle is really tricky. They actually said that the protagonist Eddie was wronged in this way and that it was a foreign writer who smeared the American judicial system.
"Does the American judicial system still use slander and attack?" Yao Xiaoju changed the topic, "But it is controversial, which means that the influence of the work has exceeded that of newspapers. In other words, it is out of the circle!"
"From the perspective of cultural output, "The Shawshank Redemption" + "Color of the Stars", even if multiplied by three, can't compare." Yao Xiaoju has been in the publishing industry for so many years and can clearly distinguish what is Real fire, what is virtual fire?
Every American is influenced to buy Snow Beer. The popularity of the article Shawshank is too real.
"This article will not help the Snow Beer brand to go global, right?" Yao Xiaoju suddenly thought of the news from the deputy editor of the Los Angeles Times that Budweiser was willing to pay retouching fees to change the beer that appeared in it.
The money from big brands is not free, which proves that Budweiser does feel threatened.
"Who would believe it without personal experience? A short or medium story of 20,000 to 30,000 words can actually have such an effect." Yao Xiaoju has seen many things in the world, but he has never seen this scene before.
It can be seen from the output brought by "Call of Cthulhu" that words can really achieve very strong power. For example, if you happen to be in Ireland when you finish reading Dubliners, you will definitely be thinking about wandering the streets on a snowy night.
After reading Haruki Murakami's works, there are even a lot of people who eat according to the recipes in the book, such as cucumber ham and cheese sandwiches, tomato puree stewed Strasbourg sausages, etc... People who have eaten them say they are unpalatable.
As for domestic examples, there are even more. After reading the early works of Jia Qianqian's father, I would particularly like to go for a walk in Shaanxi Province, listen to what Bai Xue, the famous Qin Opera actor, sings in "Qin Opera", and look at the songs in "Gu Lu" That leads to the small mountain village of Porcelain. Even though Ping Ao is much less well-known than his daughter Qian Qian, his early works are still relatively good. The land of Shaanxi Province described does not make people feel fascinated, but a kind of... worry that it will disappear if you don't look at it.
Maybe someone has discovered that Snow Beer has nothing to do with culture in any case. Because the cultural elements exported by "The Shawshank Redemption" also have their own "things".
Within the University of Michigan.
Question: What is the difference between American University and domestic universities?
"Hey, Bruce Zhang, look, I want to be Lao Tze today." Dom held "taoteching (English name of the Tao Te Ching)" in his hand, and he found the only Chinese international student with whom he had a good relationship.
"You-" Xiao Zhang didn't know how to respond.
"Don't know what this means?" Dom looked at the other person with a strange look on his face, feeling bored.
The English name Bruce is obviously an imitation of a late Chinese Kung Fu superstar. Xiao Zhang was speechless. He just couldn't get enough of American humor.
"I want to be your LaoTze," a strange male voice interrupted between the two of them.
The two of them looked at each other to confirm that they were talking to the right person
"Hahaha, man, I didn't expect you to watch it too."
"I stood in the director's office of the Life Committee yesterday and saw it when I was bored. My God, I feel like I am Eddie and Shawshank is the University of Michigan."
"Do you like the character Cullen?"
"I don't like it. I think he is crazy. Who in the right mind would like the character of Cullen? Do you like it?"
"Of course I don't like it!"
"But I want to be LaoTze today."
Hehe, the two looked at each other and smiled again.
The snow beer was only included, Gu Lu filled it in casually. It could be said to be a gift or an experiment. The real exported Chinese element is the Tao Te Ching!
Eddie, the protagonist, insists on writing a letter to the state Legislature requesting funding for the prison library to purchase more books. The new book contains an English version of the Tao Te Ching. Then a prisoner named Cullen knew something about Chinese culture (but not much) and knew that Laozi, an outsider Chinese philosopher, whose name means father in the Chinese context. Therefore, he would say to the jailer and all the inmates, "I want to be Lao Tze today." The implication: I want to be a father today. Words of advantage.
Cullen occupies a very short space and is a supporting character, but he leaves a deep impression on the reader.
He bullied Eddie, who had just been imprisoned, and verbally took advantage of him in Chinese. The jailer doesn't understand Chinese, but after working in prisons for so many years, the jailer understands human nature... No American readers like Cullen, but the quotations from the convicts seem to be really interesting.
Bruce Zhang had no idea what the two men were muttering about.
"Oh Bruce, don't you support the work being released by your countrymen?" Dom asked.
"It's quite exciting. A writer who can write such wonderful works must be more interesting than ordinary people." The classmate who spoke also agreed.
The work of a compatriot? Oh my god, what are you talking about? If you don't explain clearly, I really want to kick your ass with my pointed leather shoes. Bruce Zhang's mind was full of translation, and he looked down at his sneakers.
Having said this, I suddenly remembered that the experts at the think tank have been writing reports based on the examples of the Tai Chi Yin and Yang Diagram promoted in the UK these days.
I guess the report hasn't been finished yet. Gu Lu has done this again. I don't know how the experts will react...
There is an old saying that gold always shines.
The next sentence is that the clown will always be exposed.
The clown exposed today is definitely Chicago Tribune editor-in-chief Pohnpei, and the shining gold is Gu Lu, to be precise, the writer who wrote "The Shawshank Redemption."
"Mr. Euler, are you so optimistic about Chinese writers?" Pohnpei was not too angry. Winner and loser, the outcome has been decided. It is somewhat unseemly to be so angry.
The Tribune Group announced a staff transfer notice internally. The editor-in-chief of Tribune, Bonape Udo, was transferred to Antenna TV as the chief editor of the news department because of his "outstanding work ability and keen awareness of news media trends." The appointment takes effect next week and the transition of duties is currently underway at the company.
"No." Euler responded, "It's not that I have confidence, it's just that I can do it."
Pohnpei understood that even if it didn't succeed, at most it would lose a little bit of prestige in the editorial department. Then this deputy editor is really purely and single-mindedly targeting his immediate boss.
Needless to say, the headquarters must have put in a lot of effort to pry him away from the editor-in-chief position through this small conflict.
"Mr. Euler, let me give you a piece of advice." Pohnpei said, "There will be no real winner in competition that harms the interests of the company..."
"Mr. Pohnpei, only those who stay can give advice. If you stay, you will be the winner. If you leave, you will be driven away." Euler interrupted, his eyes showing arrogance.
This is indeed the case for Tribune Group. The Chicago Tribune is not the most profitable, but it is the core of the brand. Even though they are all editors-in-chief, those who leave are indeed losers.
He didn't save any face by tearing up his face, and Pohnpei's face didn't look good.
"Then just wait and see." Ponapei snorted and left.
Looking at the other party's embarrassed back, Euler was unmoved. Didn't he do this kind of thing once or twice, including turning over a car?
After leaving Pohnpei, he bought yesterday's Los Angeles Times and wanted to read the articles he had not been able to read last week.
(End of chapter)