That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 271 Big names may not be suitable (two-in-one chapter)

Li Ye didn't know that Pei Wencong believed in him so much that he was willing to invest the four million U.S. dollars he had just received into the foreign exchange market and follow the trend of his noble man.

If he knew, Li Ye might have some words of advice to Pei Wencong.

I am a time-travelling emperor who has come back after losing all his money. You are a hard-working person who has lived until his early thirties. If your position is wiped out, will your blood and heart be able to withstand it?

Li Ye read the analysis report for two hours at Talang Literature Publishing House, focusing on the data of several translated versions with the best sales performance.

Such as regional sales, reader reviews, and delivery speed.

Finally he called Pei Wencong over. "Lao Pei, which version do you think is the most suitable?"

Pei Wencong said with a smile: "I think they are all good, so Mr. Li is still needed to select the first prize winner of the prize essay, and then we will send people to sign subsequent translation contracts with them."

Pei Wencong was very humble and left the decision-making power completely in Li Ye's hands.

Because in his opinion, the son of luck can blow a mountain of gold just by blowing his words. It is best for mortals not to disturb the secret of heaven and just be obedient.

Li Ye clicked on the six pieces of information and said, "Contact these six translators! Let them come to Hong Kong Island to receive the final award, and then formulate a rigorous translation contract."

Li Ye selected six translators, namely the translators of the top two versions in terms of sales volume and evaluation in America, Europe and Asia.

Pei Wencong took a look and found that they were indeed the six translators who had the best response in the market test. They had different styles, but they all had strong writing skills, and they all received praise from a large number of readers.

However, he still said to Li Ye: "Mr. Li, should we select the first prize now? Because if he is not sure whether he can get the prize, Mr. Wood may not be willing to come to Hong Kong Island."

At the beginning, Li Ye issued a reward of 30,000 US dollars for essays. There were first prize, second prize and several winning prizes. The first prize was the highest, almost 20,000, the second prize was only 1,000, and the rest were purely consolation. nature.

If you can get it by sitting at home and writing, then of course you can get it. But if you fly halfway across the world and you might just get a consolation prize, then a well-known writer like Wood might not Come.

After all, it is just a prize-winning essay competition organized by a magazine, and it is not an influential literary award. Who is not here for money?

One thousand yuan? That's not even enough gas money.

Li Ye smiled and said: "If they like the story, then they will come. If this is just a translation job, that is not what we need."

Although Li Ye has completely constructed the background, characters, and plot of "A Song of Ice and Fire", if he wants this book to sell well around the world and meet the reviews of the original work, he needs more than just a translator By.

Li Ye gave "A Song of Ice and Fire" flesh and blood, and now it needs a suitable writer to give it a soul.

So big names may not be suitable.

Mr. Wood in America may be an excellent writer, but if he doesn't like this story very much and has an "irresistible" desire to translate "A Song of Ice and Fire", then he is not the person Li Ye is looking for.

"Okay! I'll make arrangements right away."

Pei Wenzhong understood what Li Ye meant and immediately asked Amin to contact several translators and ask them to come to Hong Kong Island as soon as possible.

Although Li Ye did not say that he wanted to meet these translators in person, Pei Wencong acquiesced to Li Ye's decision-making power and wanted to do the best possible job.

Because of the time difference, it was four or five o'clock in the morning in America at this time, so before getting off work, Amin only contacted four other translators.

Two of them made it clear that they would come as soon as possible if they were provided with round-trip air tickets, and one said that he had no time recently.

But the other one was a little strange.

. . . . . .

Summer in the British Isles is the most comfortable season of the year. The temperature is moderate, neither hot nor cold, and the highest temperature does not exceed 30 degrees. There is no need for air conditioning or fans to help cool down.

And the days are long and the nights are short in Britain in summer. There is no need to turn on the lights from six in the morning to nine in the evening. For those who like to bask in the sun, this is simply a gift from God.

Many people will set up a bed in their yard and enjoy the warm and bright sunshine comfortably.

But in Joanina's world, the sunlight disappeared two years ago, leaving only the cold darkness surrounding her.

"Mom, can we have lunch early? Dean is really hungry."

"Louisa, there are still four hours until lunch time. Can you take your brother to read yesterday's storybook again?"

"But Mom, we've read it many times. Well Mom, we're not actually too hungry now."

Joanina looked at her eldest daughter and her younger son went to their small room with her head lowered. She couldn't help but feel a terrible pain in her heart.

Joanina herself was extremely hungry. How could she not know that Luisa was comforting her incompetent mother?

Joanina opened the cabinet at home and looked at the eleven potatoes of different sizes. She really didn't dare to be "soft-hearted".

It will take three days for unemployment benefits to be paid out! These eleven potatoes will last three days.

But even if unemployment benefits are paid out, what will happen?

Two years ago, after a long struggle, Joanina divorced her husband who had domestic violence tendencies, and moved out with her two children.

Because the children were only five and two years old, they required a lot of time and energy, which made Joanina exhausted and exhausted in the following days.

In one year, Joanina changed seven jobs, and the longest one lasted only a month.

Landlords have no surplus food, and capitalists do not support idle people. No kind-hearted capitalist is willing to hire an employee who can neither guarantee working hours nor working status.

Eventually, Joanina began to fear finding a job and communicating with others, and people around her advised her to see a psychiatrist.

But Joanina did not dare to see a psychiatrist. She was afraid that once she was diagnosed with a mental illness, her ex-husband would deprive her of custody of her two children.

Although I am poor, my children can at least have enough food and clothing. If I leave the two children to that drunkard, I am afraid that my five-year-old sister will have to cook for her two-year-old brother and thirty-year-old father.

Joanina moved out of London and came to Manchester, where the standard of living was lower, and settled down reluctantly.

Her relief fund is enough to cover the rent of two houses, but the living expenses require her own efforts.

With the help of several classmates and friends, Joanina found a job as a "pen polisher" for a newspaper reporter.

If this reporter needs sexy news, then Joanina needs all kinds of metaphors to describe the erotic mood that makes readers itchy.

If this reporter is a fighter for justice, then Joanina will let readers see an upright knight of justice, riding a skinny war horse and fearlessly charging at the enemy with tattered armor.

Many reporters are also very demanding with their requests. Joanina often feels like she is being driven crazy.

But this way she could at least make money without having to go out, and she could also have free time to accompany her children's growth, so she endured it.

It's just that the income from this kind of work is very meager, and it can barely afford bread and mashed potatoes for the three of them. Their lives are very tight.

But hemp rope only picks the finer parts, and bad luck only picks the poor. Two months ago, Joanina hit an old lady while riding her bicycle, and owed a bill of more than 700 pounds in medical expenses and fines.

How can Jonina afford it if she has no savings at all? In desperation, she wanted to find some odd jobs to make money, but found that living at home for more than a year seemed to have made her social phobia worse.

Joanina locked herself and her children in a room, looking for any writing opportunities that could make money. At the same time, she only ate two meals a day, hoping to tide over the difficulties by increasing revenue, cutting expenditures, and tightening her belt.

But no matter how hard she worked, her monthly income was only a little over 100 pounds. If she wanted to pay off the debt of 700 pounds, she didn't know when this hard life would end.

"Ling ring ring~"

The home phone rang.

Joanina, who was secretly wiping away tears, didn't bother wiping her tears and hurriedly walked towards the phone.

Having a phone means having a job. If it weren't for maintaining contact with the reporters, Joanina would have stopped calling.

"Hello? I'm Joanina."

"Hello Ms. Joanina, congratulations on entering the final round of the "Song of Ice and Fire" prize-winning essay competition. Now the organizer invites you to go to Hong Kong Island."

Joanina was stunned for a moment, and then she felt ecstatic, and the tears that had just stopped began to flow again.

“Did I win first prize?”

"Sorry Ms. Jonina, you haven't won yet. The final result needs to be announced on Hong Kong Island."

Joanina felt a sense of loss and asked, "Hong Kong Island? Where is it?"

The other end of the phone was also stunned for a moment and said: "Hong Kong Island is in East Asia and is the Oriental Pearl of our Kingdom of Great Britain. Ms. Joanina, don't you watch the news?"

"."

"Sorry, I haven't paid attention to the news recently."

Joanina was very ashamed because she no longer had a TV at home, and she didn't even subscribe to newspapers. Little did she know that Great Britain was competing with flower growers for the ownership of Hong Kong Island at this moment.

"Ms. Joanina, Hong Kong Island provides round-trip air tickets. If you are interested, please prepare your luggage and passport. It is expected that the flight will be tomorrow afternoon or evening."

"Can you not go?"

"What? Ms. Joanina, did you just say you couldn't go?"

"."

"Yes, can I not go to Hong Kong Island? Just give me the final selection results and bonus."

Joanina felt a panic in her heart, and her voice dropped by more than ten decibels.

When she thought about how she had to take her child across half the world, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, what kind of final selection would she have to participate in when she was unfamiliar with the place?

How many people will you have to deal with during this period? How many scenes do you need to say?

The problem is that neither of her two children have any decent clothes now.

In two years, the two children have grown up, and their previous clothes have exposed their trouser legs. Is it embarrassing to throw them into the Pacific Ocean?

"Ms. Joanina, do you want to give up the final selection of this prize-winning essay? You must know that your work is very popular and it is very likely to win the final crown."

"Ha~"

Joanina laughed silently.

When she first started translating "A Song of Ice and Fire", Joanina thought her translation was excellent.

She felt like Daenerys Targaryen inside was like another shadow of her.

But after her initial translation, she was criticized by many people.

Because Joanina translated "A Song of Ice and Fire" into a "heroine novel",

More than 70% of the pages in it are about the heroine, while the rest are mentioned briefly, and even deviate from the original plot outline.

Joanina was very shocked and thought about not translating the subsequent chapters, but she couldn't help but loved it so much that she finally translated all the chapters for the prize-winning essay.

However, during the subsequent translation process, Joanina no longer dared to read book reviews in newspapers, nor did she read letters from readers sent by the organizer.

She was afraid that she would never be able to muster the courage to translate this work that she loved so much.

So now the organizer said that the final result would not be announced until Hong Kong Island. Joanina felt that she had heard another ridiculous lie.

In the past few years, she had heard too many lies. She felt that her whole life had been ruined by believing lies.

"Hello? Ms. Joanina, are you listening?"

"I'm listening," Joanina pondered for a moment and said, "What are my chances of winning the first prize?"

"I can't say for sure, I can only say it's more promising."

"What about the second prize?" Joanina said hurriedly: "What are my chances of winning the second prize?"

"."

"Ms. Joanina, I can't answer your question exactly, but the second prize is very promising, but I still recommend that you go to Hong Kong Island."

Joanina was silent for a long time again, a little uneasy, and said humbly: "Then I only want the second prize bonus. If I don't go to Hong Kong Island, can you remit it to me as soon as possible?"

The second prize is one thousand dollars, enough to pay off Joanina's debt and get her out of her imminent predicament.

"Ms. Joanina, why don't you want to go to Hong Kong Island? Many people are vying for this opportunity."

"Third prize, can you be sure that I can get the third prize? I have two children. If we fly ten thousand miles and get nothing, the children will be disappointed."

"I will ask for you, please wait for my call."

The phone was hung up, and Joanina suddenly felt a little dizzy, and quickly held the table and squatted down.

Then, she suddenly began to regret, regretting whether her response on the phone was appropriate.

Since you don’t go to Hong Kong Island, why do people give you the first and second prizes?

What do readers say? Do you think this is a prime minister election?

But what if you go to Hong Kong Island and don’t get the bonus?

Have you seen this kind of thing rarely in recent years? The article is obviously a piece of shit, but he is a gold medal reporter.

And I have been considered by everyone to have writing talent since I was in school, but now I am still just counting potatoes?

In this world, talent is worthless.

"Ling ring ring~"

The phone rang again, and Joanina suddenly woke up from her squatting position on the ground, but found that she could not stand up.

My legs are numb.

She didn't know how long she had been squatting on the ground.

Jonina stretched out her arms as much as she could and pulled the phone down.

"Hi, hello, I'm Jonina."

"Hello Ms. Joanina, do you have a bank account now?"

"Bank account?" Joanina was surprised, and then said happily: "I have a bank account, have they agreed to it? When will the results be announced, and when will the prize be remitted to me at the earliest?"

"No, Ms. Joanina, the organizer is willing to advance you two thousand US dollars and bear the round-trip air tickets for you and your children, but you must go to Hong Kong Island.

Believe me ma'am, this is an opportunity, a great opportunity. "

The other end of the phone no longer had a formulaic tone, but said enviously: "Actually, I also tried to translate this novel, but I didn't get the opportunity to go to Hong Kong Island."

Joanina was finally somewhat convinced that she might really win the first prize. After all, the second prize was only a thousand dollars.

"Okay! I'll go!"

Joanina agreed with difficulty, and the temptation of twenty thousand dollars overwhelmed her inner social fear.

"Two thousand dollars will be in your account this afternoon. Please prepare your luggage and passport. I wish you all the best."

"Please wait a moment, will anyone of you accompany me?"

"This is not available, but someone will pick you up when you arrive on Hong Kong Island."

The phone was hung up again, and Joanina seemed to have lost a little strength, but something seemed to be growing in her heart again.

That was her confidence. Although it grew slowly, it finally came back again.

"Mom, it's already eleven o'clock, can we have lunch?"

When Joanina looked up, she found that her daughter Louisa and her brother Dean were already standing in front of her, eagerly waiting for their mother to start eating.

Jonina quickly got up, but her numb legs made it extremely difficult for her.

"Mom, please rest for a while, I can cook."

The sensible Louisa turned around and moved a stool, stepped on the stool and took out two large potatoes from the cupboard, and then washed them on the faucet.

Her hands were so small that the potatoes slipped out of her hands several times.

"Louisa, we are not eating potatoes today."

"What mom? But it's already eleven o'clock."

Louisa stared at her mother blankly, unable to hold back her aggrieved heart any longer.

She woke up very early this morning, hungry.

But the clock hands moved so slowly that I couldn't wait until lunch time.

Finally, she had to borrow the name of her brother to bring lunch to the morning.

But in the end, I failed in the face of my mother’s insistence.

Now we are about to eat fragrant boiled potatoes, but why does my mother regret it again?

"Louisa, can you bring me your piggy bank?"

Louisa: "."

Seeing that her daughter was in a daze, Jonina said softly: "Louisa, we will have money soon. Can mom lend you a little money today and then pay it back to you double?"

Jonina was ashamed. She had been so confident when she left her ex-husband with her children, but now she was reduced to using her daughter's piggy bank.

But Louisa suddenly jumped three feet high.

"Mom, you should have done this a long time ago. Just wait for me to get it."

"Click rub rub~"

"Bang~"

"Mom, look at how much money we have!"

The ceramic piggy bank smashed to the ground, and sparkling silver was scattered all over the floor.

It's all coins.

The daughter stuck her butt out to pick up coins, and the son Dean hugged his mother's legs and asked in a sweet voice, "Mom, what delicious food should we eat today?"

Before Jonina could say anything, her sister Louisa said: "I'll treat you and mom to Chinese food. It's in Chinatown, two streets ahead. It smells so good every time I pass by."

For the British people who can make up a meal with two slices of bread and jam, it would be strange if the Chinese food is not delicious!

. . . . . .

"Jingyao, have you sent money to your family again?"

"Well, I sent some."

"Didn't you send it once in the spring? Why did you send it again in the summer? You always have to leave some money on yourself when you are out there."

"Sister Liqin doesn't have much, she only sent two hundred pounds in total."

"Oh, Jingyao, you are so"

Yang Liqin stood in the corner of Dongshan Restaurant, chatting with Lu Jingyao beside her.

Due to the recent situation in Britain and flower farming, there were fewer customers in the restaurant, so the two of them were able to take a break and chat for a while.

"Xiao Yang, Xiao Lu, come here."

The restaurant proprietress suddenly called over Yang Liqin and Lu Jingyao who were chatting.

"What's wrong, Sister Sun?"

"It's like this. You've also seen it recently. There are a lot fewer customers in the restaurant, so it's not that busy.

From now on, you two will either take turns to come every other day, or just one of you will stay. I have no choice, the rent has increased again this month. "

Yang Liqin and Lu Jingyao's expressions suddenly changed.

Because of the summer vacation, Yang Liqin discussed with her boss and adjusted her working hours to daytime. Although her working hours were extended, she no longer had to walk at night.

But after only a few days of stability, the boss lady noticed that there were "overlapping positions".

If two people work separately and work as one person, they will pay one person's salary. Every penny can be saved.

"Sister Sun, you see, it was not easy for us to agree with Brother Zhao just now."

"I'm sorry that Brother Zhao is thin-skinned, but we also have to have a conscience, right? The business of this restaurant is obviously not good, so that's it."

Yang Liqin only said one sentence and was scolded eight times by the landlady.

Boss Zhao is kind-hearted, but his wife is very shrewd!

"Don't be dumbfounded. Another guest is here. Go and greet him quickly."

The landlady glanced at the two of them, turned around and left.

Yang Liqin and Lu Jingyao looked at each other and saw each other's helplessness.

Especially Lu Jingyao, who was introduced by Yang Liqin. At this time, she must be "humbly yielding" to both emotions and reasons.

Yang Liqin waved her hand and said, "Okay, let's just get through this period of time. You go greet the guests first, and I'll go find the boss later."

Lu Jingyao sighed and greeted Qionina's family of three who had just entered the door to sit down.

Before Joanina could order, her daughter Luisa rushed to say, "I'm treating my mother and brother to dinner today. We want to eat sweet and sour chicken, sweet and sour pork and seafood soup."

Lu Jingyao turned around and went to give instructions to the kitchen, while Joanina looked at Luisa lovingly. The mother and daughter looked at each other and smiled at each other.

Although Louisa is young, she knows her mother's temperament. They only have steel balls in hand. If the daughter invites her mother to dinner, it will save Joanina the embarrassment.

The food came quickly, and Joanina's family ate very deliciously.

At this time, the news about the negotiation between Britain and Zhonghua appeared on the TV in the restaurant.

Qiao Nina and Lu Jingyao both noticed the news.

When she saw people on Hong Kong Island rushing to buy goods because they had lost confidence in the Hong Kong dollar, Joanina suddenly realized that the place she was going to might not be so peaceful.

And when she saw the flower grower's strong pronunciation, Joanina realized that she didn't understand the flower grower's language. If something unexpected happened, she would still have her child with her.

After the news ended, Lu Jingyao turned around and found that the newly arrived guest had a strange look on his face.

So she walked over and asked, "Hello madam, how can I help you?"

Joanina shook her head and lowered her head to eat her share of Chinese food.

However, she only took a few bites before she suddenly looked up at Lu Jingyao and asked, "Excuse me, are you flower growers?"

Lu Jingyao sighed and said, "Yes, but we are just students, not politicians."

Joanina said: "Please don't get me wrong. What I want to know is if anyone among you is willing to translate for me for a few days. I need to go to Hong Kong Island."

Lu Jingyao was stunned for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "Can you be more specific?"

Joanina explained her situation, and finally said a little embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, my reward won't be too high."

"Are you Jonina? Jonina Walls?"

(End of this chapter)