Chapter 225 I don't want to leave the mountain either~
"Is it the one with the prize for writing? I know about that, but it's basically impossible. Our mother tongue is not English, so it's hard for us to compete with those professional writers."
Seeing the newspaper handed over by the Chinese restaurant owner, Lu Jingyao hadn't said anything yet, but Yang Liqin interrupted Lu Jingyao's fantasy.
But Boss Zhao smiled and said, "Before, this award-winning article solicitation only accepted translations, so it was really hard for us Orientals to have a chance.
But this time they added a prize for outstanding commentary, with a prize of $10,000, and you can do the math to see how much that is in pounds now.”
"I remember that you in the Foreign Languages Department not only learn languages and grammar, but also learn about foreign literature and art, right?
So you should be able to read English novels, so you should be able to write reviews? What if you are lucky?"
After hearing what Boss Zhao said, Yang Liqin immediately became interested. After Lu Jingyao finished reading the newspaper, she took it and read it carefully.
She was not studying English before coming to the UK, but she had been here for two years and had a basic understanding of English, so she certainly didn't want to miss this opportunity to "get rich overnight."
Ten thousand dollars!
In recent years, the exchange rate of British pound to US dollar has been falling. This year, 10,000 US dollars can be exchanged for more than 6,000 British pounds.
What does six thousand pounds mean?
"Senior waiters" like Yang Liqin only earn a little over 100 pounds a month. Even student workers like them, who have very limited employment opportunities, cannot save 2,000 pounds by the time they graduate.
There is no direct relationship between making money and saving money. The amount of money saved by earning 10,000 yuan in 10 years is completely different from that of earning 10,000 yuan in 3 years.
If I made six thousand pounds overnight, wouldn't I have saved it all?
If Yang Liqin suddenly had more than 6,000 pounds, many things that she could only think about before would become possible.
At this time, a voice rang in Yang Liqin's ears: "Brother Zhao, the commentary award is 10,000 US dollars, so how much is the prize for soliciting articles?"
Boss Zhao smiled and said, "The prize money for manuscripts is $30,000. If you win this prize, you will definitely be noticed by a publishing company and signed a translation contract. The total amount should be no less than $100,000!"
"One hundred thousand dollars? Is that how much you can make by writing novels?"
Lu Jingyao was shocked.
The rumor that Li Ye earned nearly 10,000 yuan in royalties from the book "The Hidden" was widely circulated in Qingshui County. She found it unbelievable at the time.
How can money be so easy to make?
When she arrived in Britain and received a salary of 100 pounds, she felt that Li Ye, the so-called writer, was nothing special when she could earn thousands of yuan a month.
But now it seems that my vision is still too small.
Seeing that Lu Jingyao was obviously moved, the kind-hearted Boss Zhao found a manuscript.
"Here, this is the original translation manuscript I got in London. I thought I might make a fortune from it! But I can't even understand it. If you are interested, give it a try!"
"Okay, thank you, Brother Zhao."
Lu Jingyao held the manuscript tightly in her hand, as if what she was holding was not a stack of papers, but a thick stack of banknotes.
Yang Liqin smiled gently and said nothing. She didn't want to discourage this young fellow because when she first came to Britain, she was dazzled and full of fantasies when faced with various opportunities to "get rich overnight".
After fully understanding this "civilized" society, Yang Liqin realized that some doors of opportunity have never been open to people like them.
Even those doors that were opened a crack required them to exert even more effort than when they took the college entrance examination, and to step on countless of their companions before they could barely squeeze through.
It can be said that if you want to succeed overseas, every step forward is like fighting a war. The enemies you face are never just a few, but dozens, hundreds or even more.
At eleven o'clock, the Chinese restaurant closed.
Yang Liqin and Lu Jingyao walked together. Since they had a bicycle today, they saved the money for taking the bus and rode back to school along the street with street lights.
Lu Jingyao didn't say anything along the way. Yang Liqin, who was sitting in the back seat, smiled and asked, "What's wrong, Jingyao? Are you missing home? Or are you missing money?"
"Ah? No, no, I just arrived, why would I miss home?"
Lu Jingyao's handlebars shook, and she quickly changed the subject, "Sister Liqin, you can go home next year, right? By then, you can build a house for your family, and you can be assigned to a good unit. You can be considered to have made it through."
"I won't go back," Yang Liqin said decisively, "I will try to stay here and continue my studies."
"You're not going back?" Lu Jingyao said in surprise, "But I heard that there are very few places for further studies, and it seems difficult to get them."
"You just got here, you will slowly understand it in the future," Yang Liqin said with a smile: "Jingyao, people like us who have no powerful background may only have this one chance to change our destiny in our lifetime.
Only by grasping and holding on tightly can we better realize our life value. "
“Oh~~”
Lu Jingyao agreed, but she always felt that there was something else behind Yang Liqin's answer.
After riding his bicycle all the way back to school, Lu Jingyao felt like he was almost dying of exhaustion.
But after lying down on the bed, I tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.
So she simply took out the pile of manuscripts and read under the lights in the corridor.
My two roommates in the dormitory also have to work part-time jobs, and their sleeping hours are very tight. If I turn on the lights inside and disturb others, it would be annoying.
When Lu Jingyao opened the manuscript that needed a second translation, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief because she could understand it.
And as she watched, she found that it felt familiar.
After Lu Jingyao came to Britain, the thing she found most difficult to adapt to was her "unfamiliarity" with English.
As an excellent student in the English department, she always felt a sense of distance when communicating with locals. Also, when reading local English newspapers and periodicals, she saw many "imprecise" grammatical expressions.
Later she realized that the English she learned was not authentic enough.
But why does this English manuscript with a prize of 30,000 US dollars seem so "flowery"?
"Could it be that this was written by a flower grower?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! With foreign exchange so tight, how could a flower grower offer a $30,000 prize?"
. . . . . . .
Li Ye and Wen Leyu had just finished their meal at Zaojun Temple and returned to school when their younger brother Sun Xianjin came to them in a hurry.
"Li Ye, hurry up, hurry up, Li Huaisheng is calling you over to share the royalties!"
Li Ye couldn't help laughing when he saw Sun Xianjin's anxious look.
"Just divide the royalties! It's not like we haven't divided them before, why are you in such a hurry?
What's the matter? Are you in a hurry to get paid for your manuscripts? Do you still need to split the manuscripts? I can treat you to whatever you want anytime, right?"
"Oh no," Sun Xianjin said quickly, "This time it's different. This time we're dividing foreign exchange."
"Wow, Blue Ocean Publishing House is finally generous for once!"
Li Ye was also quite surprised, because the royalties for "Homeward Bound" were paid by Blue Ocean Publishing House, and the reprint royalties calculated in US dollars every quarter by Hong Kong Island Treading Waves had basically nothing to do with the Lone Army Literary Society, and were all converted into RMB for payment.
At first, Li Ye thought that Beijing University had great reputation, and Li Huaisheng and others could get some US dollars with the support of the Youth League Committee! As a result, it turned out that foreign exchange had the greatest reputation these days, and after several months of hard work, there was no result.
I didn't expect that you would be so kind as to give me some foreign exchange today?
"It's not from Blue Ocean. It seems that the newcomer Du Yuan found a way. He said that the comic adaptation rights were sold."
"Comic adaptation rights?" Li Yeyi asked in surprise, "Didn't the comic adaptation rights sell to Lan Hai?"
"No, no, you'll know when you get there."
Li Ye and Sun Xianjin arrived at the activity room of the Lone Army Literary Society. Almost all the members of the literature society had already arrived, and people from the Youth League Committee had also come.
As soon as I entered the door, someone shouted, "Li Ye, what have you been doing all day? Why can't I find anyone? Are you busy dating? If you keep doing this, you won't have a place in the future!"
Why does this sound so awkward?
"You are that Du. Du Yuan, right?"
Li Ye frowned, and it took him a long time to "remember" the other person's name, then he said embarrassedly: "Sorry, sorry, you just joined the literature club this month, I didn't remember your name,
How can you say that to me? After all, we still have to focus on professional studies. Besides, I came twice last week and three times the week before last."
“.”
The originally lively activity room suddenly became quiet. Everyone looked at each other strangely, and then a few senior members pursed their lips and tried to hold back their smiles.
Although Li Ye is not as experienced as the founders of literary societies such as Li Huaisheng and Yang Yumin, he is definitely the core backbone of the Lone Army Literary Society.
You are a new member who has been here for less than a month, and you say "there is no share for you". It sounds like the "boss" is shouting at the "little brother".
Li Ye is not a stingy person, but he had experienced similar situations in the workplace in his previous life. If you are always ordered around but are good-tempered, polite and modest, then in the eyes of others, you will be the material to be a "subordinate".
More importantly, you said I was "in love" in front of the Youth League Committee? Don't you know that the school does not encourage dating?
Du Yuan was obviously stunned. Yang Yumin beside him hurriedly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Li Ye, you were busy studying your work when you came here, so naturally you didn't notice Du Yuan. He comes here almost every day. You two should get to know each other better and learn from each other."
"Haha, of course."
Li Ye smiled, found a stool and sat down, waiting for the payment of his manuscript fee.
No matter how small a fly is, it is still meat. The happiest day for a worker is the day when he gets his salary.
The royalties were paid, and Li Ye received 25 yuan and a few Japanese yen.
Two notes with a face value of 2,000 and one note with a face value of 1,000, if converted according to the exchange rate in 1983, would be equivalent to approximately 212 US dollars.
"We were able to export and earn foreign exchange this time thanks to Du Yuan, who discovered opportunities that we had not noticed, actively sought partners, and finally successfully sold the comic adaptation rights of "Homesickness"."
"In order to encourage everyone's hard work over a long period of time, I have specially allocated some foreign exchange as a reward to everyone. Let's applaud."
“Pah pah pah~”
Everyone applauded, and Du Yuan smiled and bowed to thank everyone.
Li Ye waited until everyone finished applauding before asking, "Excuse me, to whom did you sell the copyright for the comic adaptation? Are there any provisions for the scope and restrictions of the adaptation in the contract?"
“.”
The surroundings became quiet again, and no one understood the second half of Li Ye's sentence.
The Youth League Committee member asked, "Li Ye, what do you mean by the scope of adaptation and restrictions?"
Li Ye answered bluntly: "It is to agree on the scope of the other party's adaptation. For example, in our novel, it is clearly about the longing of the lone soldier in the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty for his hometown and his unyielding fighting spirit.
But when the other party rewrites the story, will they distort the facts? Will they change the originally tragic theme into something pitiful or ridiculous? "
"Even adding characters that don't exist in the original novel, for example, replacing the leader who led the lone army thousands of miles back home with an envoy who came to the Tang Dynasty to study?"
“.”
Everyone was stunned. No one had thought of this possibility. They just thought that the novel was adapted into a comic book!
Du Yuan couldn't help but say, "Li Ye, you are just exaggerating. Don't associate normal literary exchange with other complicated factors."
Li Ye glanced at him and said, "Whether it is alarmist or not can be judged by professionals, but the adaptation contract must stipulate that the plot and characters cannot be changed.
And before publication, it must be reviewed and approved by us before it can be finalized and published.”
"Some people haven't even apologized for the war of aggression decades ago! Do you still expect him to respect the original work?"
“.”
"You must be kidding. They spent 500,000 yen to buy the copyright, why should they listen to us?"
"How much? Only 500,000 yen, you're selling sweet potatoes!"
Li Ye jumped up directly.
Five hundred thousand yen is only a little over two thousand U.S. dollars. It took more than a dozen people a year to look up information and come up with the plot, and it only amounted to a little over two thousand U.S. dollars?
"Okay, we will study this matter carefully. Now everyone, collect the money first."
The Japanese yen that had just been distributed were about to be taken back, but no one felt reluctant to part with them. Instead, they handed them back as if they were a hot potato.
"Now let's discuss the next issue. The internship units for Li Huaisheng and Yang Yumin have been decided.
Starting from the next semester, we will have to balance study and work, so the burden of the literature club must be reduced.
So we will hold an open election in the near future to select a new head of the literature club. Who among you is willing to take the trouble to shoulder this responsibility?"
After he finished speaking, there was silence in the activity room, and then several people raised their hands.
Bian Jingjing raised her hand, and Du Yuan also raised his hand.
Li Ye, who never liked trouble, finally raised his hand.
Li Huaisheng looked at Li Ye with surprise, his face full of a gratified smile.
After everyone left, Li Huaisheng, Yang Yumin and others surrounded Li Ye and scolded him, "I thought you were a god who didn't care about the mundane world! How come you finally take responsibility?"
Li Ye said with a smile: "You two are the gods, right? You are not my turn to worry about you, but now you have achieved enlightenment and ascended to heaven, so I will do it with reluctance!"
Li Huaisheng patted Li Ye on the shoulder and said in a low voice: "You have to be serious during the election. Several people are eyeing this position!"
"Don't be afraid!" Li Ye said calmly: "As long as I want to compete, no one can be my opponent."
Of course, Li Ye had one more thing to say.
[I don’t want to leave the mountain either~, but I’m afraid that you will be led into trouble~]
(End of this chapter)
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