1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 373 Domination
New York University.

Lee is now 29 years old and is pursuing a master's degree at New York University's film production graduate school.

He has shot many 16mm films, several of which have won awards and prizes from the Taiwan Province and New York University, and can be considered to have made a name for himself in the film industry.

Not long ago, one of his short films won the Best Film and Best Director awards at a film festival. His teacher told him that William Morris's agent was very interested in him and wanted to talk to him.

Ang Lee couldn't help but get excited.

William Morris is one of the three most famous agencies in the United States and the oldest entertainment agency in Hollywood.

He has represented world-famous film actors such as Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Judy Garland and Marlon Brando.

Ang Lee soon met with his agent, who introduced himself as Marshall. "I've seen a few of your copies, and I can see that you're very talented in film."

"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Marshall." Li An said politely.

"I'm not kidding. There are very few student films that have so much depth. Your style is very unique."

"I think this has something to do with the fact that I like literature. Making movies is very similar to writing literature."

“Do you usually write something?”

"I write scripts and novels occasionally, but what I write is not worth mentioning. I read more."

"read?"

Marshall looked at him and asked, "What countries' works have you read?"

"I studied everywhere. I studied in Taiwan, the United States, Latin America, and Europe."

Li An thought for a moment and said, "I recently read a novel by a writer from mainland China, called The Drifter."

"The Drifter?"

Marshall's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but say, "Oh, this is definitely a great novel."

"Yes, sir."

Ang Lee also agreed, "The author Jiang Xian's writing is so powerful, everything in this novel is so exquisite and natural."

Ang Lee still remembers that after reading the novel "The Drifter", he couldn't help but marvel at how the author of this novel actually possessed such a wise and compassionate soul.

Religion, reason and animality.

Jiang Xian can be said to have used his imagination to the extreme.

“There is one interpretation that is unique.”

It was rare for Marshall to find someone who shared the same interests as him, so he couldn't help but chat with Ang Lee about the various interpretations of the novel.

"The animals on the ship all correspond to Fu Sanming's family members."

"Oh, I know that one."

Ang Lee said, "The zebra corresponds to Fu Sanming's father, because his father had a leg injury, the hyena and the gorilla correspond to Fu Sanming's brother and mother, and Richard Parker is himself."

"Mr. Li An, I guarantee there is something you don't know." Marshall said excitedly.

"I don't know?"

Li An looked at Marshall in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Marshall smiled mysteriously, "The reason why the 'Tsichem' sank."

Ang Lee thought back and realized that after finishing reading the novel, he read almost all the review articles on the market that interpreted the novel, but basically no one tried to interpret the reasons for the sinking of the "Tsimchum".

At the end of the story, Jiang Xian did not explain the reason why the "Zimchum" sank.

"I don't know, I was sleeping and something woke me up, it might have been an explosion, I'm not sure, and then the boat sank," Fu said.

Japanese investigator Mr. Okamoto ultimately returned empty-handed, and all they brought back was a "story that wouldn't make us look like fools" in which animals were replaced with humans.

It was only in the investigation report in the last chapter of the novel that Okamoto mentioned several possibilities, such as weather, aging of the hull, and collision with a floating mine, but these possibilities were immediately rejected by Okamoto himself.

"Is there really a reason why the ship sank?" Li An showed an expression that showed he wanted to know more.

"Of course."

Marshall said slowly: "How could such a great novelist like Jiang Xian leave such a question unresolved? It's just that this truth sounds more evil than Fu Sanming's second story, which may be the real reason why he is unwilling to reveal the answer.

Now someone has analyzed his various metaphors and found the final answer.”

The two people have completely forgotten about everything else.

"What's the answer?" Li An asked with great interest.

Marshall took a deep breath and then uttered two words.

“Insurance fraud.”

"Insurance fraud?"

Li An was stunned.

Marshall said slowly: "This is not groundless. The novel has laid a lot of important foundations and details in the beginning, and also told many indispensable little stories, from which we can dig out these details.

As mentioned earlier in the novel, Fu Sanming's father, Fu Xinghuai, was an out-and-out businessman. Before the demise of the Qing Dynasty, he amassed wealth through various channels. Although it was not stated explicitly, these channels were certainly not honorable.

And such a person would actually spend his own property to buy a large number of animals that could be considered a burden when the country was in danger? This is obviously unreasonable. "

As Li An listened quietly, he was also thinking, "Maybe Marshall has a change of heart?"

"What a joke! Would a country's parasites have a change of heart when the country is in danger?"

Marshall smiled and said, "Lee Ang, let me state the facts directly: this may be a long-planned plan by Fu Xinghuai, an official of the Qing Dynasty. He knows better than anyone when this country will reach an irreversible end.

Well, in order to continue to live a wealthy life, a plan was born. He bought the animals from Guangshan Temple, and then told everyone that he now had to sell all the animals abroad to maintain his family business, but he never raised animals himself and had no way to transport them safely, so he decided to stage an accident, so that he could get rid of these animals that "needed to clean up their excrement everywhere" and get a high insurance compensation.

So he contracted a cargo ship and brought a large amount of sleeping pills. When the ship reached the central Pacific, he put the sleeping pills in the broth, and everyone fell for it. Fu Xinghuai, because of a conflict with the cook, asked his family to refuse to eat that day.

"."

Li An listened to Marshall's story, his Adam's apple rolled, "Then what? Then how did he cause this shipwreck?"

"Remember that at the beginning of the novel, Jiang Xian also wrote about a person?"

".Uncle Ji?"

Ang Lee suddenly remembered that character, the housekeeper of Fu Sanming's family, who was very good at swimming. It was mentioned in the novel that Uncle Ji was a good swimmer and had saved the lives of Fu Sanming's parents during a flood.

This character does not seem to appear in Fu Sanming's story. As a servant in the family, it is very likely that he was fired and stayed in China. However, Ang Lee has the impression that Jiang Xian seemed to mention that Uncle Ji later lived with Fu Sanming in Iowa.

Marshall reminded him, "Ang Lee, you have to know that Fu Sanming's father was an official. I went to learn about that period of Chinese history. At that time, China launched a Westernization Movement to manufacture Western military equipment. This means that Fu Sanming's father had the opportunity to come into contact with weapons such as bombs."

As Li An listened to his words, clues continued to intertwine.

Okamoto's report mentioned that it was impossible for the ship to hit a floating torpedo because the ship began to sink from the stern, which means that the cracking of the hull occurred at the stern.

One possible build:
Uncle Ji, the housekeeper of Fu Sanming's family, drove a small boat to the stern of the "Qimchum" and then fired a torpedo at the stern of the ship.

The crew on board were all sedated, so no one survived.

Only Fu Sanming and his family, who had not taken tranquilizers and remained awake, abandoned the ship in a lifeboat and fled to the United States, where they started a new life with the huge insurance compensation. However, during the escape, an inhumane tragedy broke out.

"."

A trace of fear flashed across Li Ang's face.

Why does the novel have such a horrifying ending?

The story is cruel enough, but the ending delivers a completely unexpected and deadly blow to the reader.

"This novel is so unexpected."

"Yes, Jiang Xian, this writer is a real genius." Marshall praised him generously, "Our company is also trying to contact him. He may need an agent."

Li An nodded. "Such a great writer, there is no reason for you to miss him."

"Okay, Li An, let's get back to the signing."

Marshall said, "I remember your teacher said that you might return to Taiwan after graduation?"

"I haven't thought about it yet." Li An admitted.

"You should stay in the United States. You will be fine in the United States in the future."

Marshall said, "If someone looks down on you because you are Chinese, then they are even more despised. Chinese people have always been talented in art. Just look at Jiang Xian. This Chinese writer's novels are enough to scare the whole of America."

After listening to his words, Ang Lee imagined that if his movie could be as popular in the United States as Jiang Xian's novel, that beautiful scene would quickly make him lose all resistance.

"Marshall, I'd love to sign a contract with you guys."

"Signing a contract?"

"forget it."

“I don’t need an agent.”

After returning to Iowa, Jiang Xian received a visit from William Morris Company.

So what if it’s one of the three largest brokerage firms in the United States?
These agents are horrible.

Jiang Xian remembered that Ang Lee also signed with this company at that time.

What was the result? After graduating, Ang Lee spent six years at home, wasting his youth and complaining about himself. He was supported by his wife, and his agent didn't find him any opportunities, and didn't allow him to take on small-budget films.

Finally, he returned to Taiwan to develop his career and became famous.

Jiang Xian rejected William Morris' agent several times before sending him away.

He couldn't help but complain, "This guy is like a dog-skin plaster, so difficult to deal with."

Zhu Lin smiled and said, "That's because they know."

"what do you know?"

"I know you're a treasure."

Hearing the compliments from his wife, Jiang Xian felt warm in his heart, and then he heard Zhu Lin say.

"Okay, stop showing off. During the days you were in New York, the big guy who came to our house before came a few times and wanted to visit you."

"Hamilton?"

"Yes, he asked you to call him when you come back."

"I'll go in a minute."

"ah."

Jiang Xian hugged Zhu Lin sweetly in the master bedroom upstairs for a while before going downstairs to make a phone call.

The call was quickly connected, and after Hamilton identified himself, his voice suddenly became excited.

"Jiang, your novel will definitely become a legend in America!"

"."

Jiang Xian immediately realized that "The Drifter" must have sold very well.

As expected, Hamilton said that The Drifter is selling very well, the first print run of tens of thousands of copies has been sold out, and it is now being reprinted on an expedited basis.

"You know what? Stephen King's No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list has been replaced by you!"

"Bestseller list?"

"Yes, Stephen King's A Tale of Four Seasons has been on the top of the charts for a long time. No one expected that another novel would replace it so soon."

The publishing industry pays close attention to the New York Times bestseller list, especially the top ten.

Jiang Xian was a little surprised to learn that "The Drifter" is now the champion of the list. Previously, "Letter from an Unknown Woman" and "The Moon and Sixpence" did not win the top spot on this list after their publication. Now "The Drifter" has completed his unfinished goal.

"My God, a Chinese person has won the first place on the New York Times bestseller list. The entire American publishing industry will be shocked by this." Hamilton said proudly.

Their University of Iowa Press is not very big and cannot be compared with HarperCollins where Smith works.

However, this time, the University of Iowa Press benefited from the publication of "The Drifter" and showed off in front of its peers.

I don’t know how many people in the publishing industry are jealous. The University of Iowa Press is so lucky to have picked up such a novel.

As for Jiang Xian, it was impossible for him to be unhappy.

It was listed on the New York Times bestseller list.

That means he is now the fastest-earning author in the United States every day.

I just don't know the exact number.

In his previous life, he wrote online articles, and Qidian also had this list. The top 100 writers earned several thousand yuan every day.

I don’t know how much the first one is.

It is said that sometimes a golden alliance worth one hundred thousand dollars cannot even get the first place on the best-selling list.

Jiang Xian asked Hamilton about the top ten of the current list. Hamilton told him that "Letter from an Unknown Woman" and "The Moon and Sixpence" ranked fifth and seventh respectively.

"Jiang, there are three of your novels in the top ten. You are almost occupying the entire list!" Hamilton exclaimed.

Stephen King's dominance on the list is only with "A Tale of Four Seasons" taking the first place.

Jiang Xian dominated the list, occupying three seats in the top ten!
"Don't get too excited, Hamilton. Let me remind you that I don't want to make my other pen name public. Don't cause me any trouble," Jiang Xian said.

"Okay, I respect that, but I don't understand it. You don't know how shocked the American publishing industry will be once this news is made public."

"Forget it."

Jiang Xian wasn't interested.

If a Chinese person becomes too popular in the United States, sanctions may not be far away.

This country is petty.

(End of this chapter)