1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 631 The Time to Make a Choice

"The house is cleaned every week."

Sitting in the car, Jiang Xian looked out at the familiar scenery of Iowa City and drove back to the small villa halfway up the mountain behind the Mayflower Apartments.

When he was participating in an international writing program in Iowa, he bought a house from Lu Jiaxing and his wife, who were studying in the United States, to make it easier for Zhu Lin to give birth and to make her life more comfortable and safe before and after childbirth.

The house has a front and back yard, totaling more than 400 square meters. The house has three floors, including five bedrooms: a master bedroom, a children's bedroom, and three guest bedrooms.

The remaining areas are the living room, entertainment room, family room, kitchen, and dining room.

"We're back at our other home." Jiang Xian said with a smile to Zhu Lin as she got out of the car, which stopped in front of the villa.

“We haven’t lived in this house for very long since we bought it.” Zhu Lin looked at the little villa in front of her and observed it carefully. Sure enough, as Zhao Zhenkai said, it was cleaned regularly. At least from the outside, the lawn and trees were trimmed neatly, and the house did not look old at all. It was bright and new.

“When Acheng and I first came to the United States, we lived here for a while. We also started the magazine ‘Today’ here. But not long after, we moved out and found a proper office,” Zhao Zhenkai said.

"Let's go in."

Jiang Xian gave a greeting, and the group of people went in with great enthusiasm.

Jiang Xian quite liked the house. The scenery was nice, with a view of almost the entire city of Iowa from the window, making it particularly suitable for quiet recuperation. Moreover, compared to ordinary American villas, Lü Jiaxing had also built a swimming pool. Although it was precisely this swimming pool that made Lü Jiaxing's house difficult to sell, it was also an advantage of the house.

The interior was also spotless, with the floors and tabletops looking immaculate and no unusual smells in the air, making it ready for immediate move-in.

Looking at the familiar surroundings, Zhu Lin suddenly recalled the time when she had just given birth to the little emperor, and felt an indescribable sense of peace in her heart.

"Dong dong dong."

Just as they entered, they heard a knock on the door. Zhu Hong went to open it and saw an elderly woman with fair skin.

"Hello, what can I do for you?"

"Hello, my name is Sabina, and I live next door."

As the other person introduced themselves, their gaze immediately fell upon Zhu Lin, and a smile instantly spread across their face:
"Hi, Mrs. Zhu! I never expected it to be you back!"

"Hello, Mrs. Sabina."

Zhu Lin also knew the other person; they were neighbors living nearby and had known each other well back then.

The two hugged, and Sabina excitedly said that she had watched the Academy Awards ceremony a few days ago and saw Zhu Lin in attendance. "Congratulations, darling."

"you are too polite."

“I have to tell Mrs. Selena and Mrs. Alice that you’re back. We’ve been talking about you and your husband, Mr. Jiang Xian, for a while now. We know he won an Oscar, it’s incredible!” Sabina said excitedly.

Zhu Lin suggested that she would stay here for a few more days and invite a few of the neighborhood ladies she knew well from back then to her home for a casual meal and a get-together. Sabina happily agreed, as this was undoubtedly a spice in her mundane life as an idle housewife.

Jiang Xian brought the luggage to the master bedroom on the third floor before coming down. Although the house was very clean, there was not much food in the refrigerator, so everyone had to take the car out to find food.

The destination they were heading to was Ms. Nie Hualing's home. They had previously made an appointment over the phone that they must come to her home for dinner after arriving in Iowa.

It's still the same house, almost exactly the same as it was a few years ago.

Jiang Xian knocked on the door with practiced ease and saw the familiar Nie Hualing. Compared to a few years ago, she looked a bit older, with looser skin and a much thinner figure. However, she still showed a very excited smile when she saw Jiang Xian.

"Jiang Xian, it's been a long time!"

"Long time no see, Professor Nie Hualing."

Jiang Xian smiled at her, then took a cardboard box from Zhu Hong behind him. "This is a gift I brought for you. It contains some of my recently published single-volume books. I hope you won't mind."

"Dislike? How could I? I love it so much." Nie Hualing smiled and invited everyone in. "I watched TV. Congratulations on winning the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award."

"Just lucky."

"And Zhu Lin."

Nie Hualing then greeted Zhu Lin, "I saw you won the Golden Globe. It's a pity the Oscar situation is complicated, otherwise it would definitely be yours. It's all because these Americans are stingy. How is your mother's health?"

"Thanks to you, I am very healthy."

"That's good."

Besides Zhu Lin and Jiang Xian, Nie Hualing was also very familiar with Zhao Zhenkai and Zhong Acheng. After all, when they founded the magazine "Today" in Iowa City, the two of them received a lot of help from Nie Hualing.

“Jiang Xian, I’m thinking of inviting all the participants of this international writing project over tonight for a simple party at my house. What do you think?” Nie Hualing suddenly asked.

"no problem."

Jiang Xian readily agreed. Back when he was still unknown, Nie Hualing would use her connections to introduce him to many established literary figures and artists.

Now that he's famous, he naturally doesn't mind giving Nie Hualing his own reward. "Just call them over, I'd really like to meet them too."

"That's good."

Nie Hualing was very happy. "Let me tell you, Jiang Xian, this is the last time I will be in charge of the international writing project."

"The last time?" Jiang Xian was a little surprised.

“I’m getting old and can’t take care of many things anymore. And as you know, my husband’s health is very poor, and it has been getting worse in recent years. I want to spend more time taking care of him.”

"So that's how it is."

Jiang Xian nodded; he also knew that Nie Hualing's husband, Angel, had always been in poor health.

At the same time, he gradually recalled that the International Writing Program had actually been suspended for more than a decade before 2000 in the 21st century.

He remembered clearly that Su Tong had mentioned being the first participant in the Iowa International Writing Program to be invited back after it had been suspended for over a decade. The reason for this was that after Nie Hualing withdrew from the program, the next program director, disliking Chinese writers, stopped inviting them.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xian's heart skipped a beat.

For Chinese writers, participating in the Iowa International Writing Program is undoubtedly very helpful. It allows them to quickly see the gap between themselves and international writers, broaden their horizons and gain knowledge, and learn about some of the most popular works and writing techniques internationally.

The most obvious example is Wang Anyi.

After participating in the writing program, her writing skills improved dramatically, and she published several influential works, directly entering the ranks of well-known writers in China.

Now that Nie Hualing has said she's no longer in charge of the international writing project, Jiang Xian naturally won't blame her. After all, she has no obligation to do so, and she's already done enough.

Jiang Xian suddenly felt that as a former participant in the writing program, he had a responsibility to find a way to ensure that domestic writers could continue to have the right to participate in international writing programs.

After all, it was with the help of the International Writing Program that he had the opportunity to come to the United States and subsequently develop his career there.

Evening arrived quickly, and the participants of this writing program, who had been notified by Nie Hualing, arrived at Nie Hualing's home very early.

“They all admire you very much,” Nie Hualing whispered to Jiang Xian. “They came so early because they’re all eager to see you.”

To this, Jiang Xian could only smile and say, "Really? Do I really have that much influence?"

That's obviously just being modest.

Jiang Xian himself understood that his appearance would be a pleasant surprise for the students of these writing programs, after all, he had just won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was the most dazzling and watched star in the American literary world.

Just then, a figure appeared that surprised Jiang Xian.

"Old man... oops, Senior Brother Wang?!"

"Junior Brother Jiang Xian, how have you been?" The man greeted Jiang Xian with a smile. This man was none other than the old man Wang Zengqi. Jiang Xian had no idea that he was the Chinese writer invited to the Iowa International Writing Program this time.

But on second thought, it makes sense.

The Iowa International Writing Program seeks out the most outstanding writers. If Wang Zengqi wasn't qualified to be invited, then no one else is.

new York.

Plaza Hotel.

Under Jiang Xian's arrangement, Feng Xiaogang also had the opportunity to stay at this landmark New York hotel located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 59th Street in Manhattan, New York.

In the past, it was a luxury for Feng Xiaogang to just glance inside when he passed by, but now he has actually moved in.

Compared to the hotels Feng Xiaogang remembered, this place can hardly be called a hotel anymore; its luxury is more like that of a palace.

The interior decoration is extremely exquisite, with thousands of crystal chandeliers alone. Moreover, these crystal chandeliers are designed to be very complex and gorgeous, each one resembling a priceless work of art.

In addition, the central hall of the hotel is called the "Palm Hall," where palm trees complement marble columns, crystal chandeliers refract light through layers of mirrors, and gold-inlaid silverware is placed on white cloth tables.

Feng Xiaogang heard that legendary American actresses such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor had once strolled around here.

In addition, this hotel made the newspapers this year because it was acquired from Hilton by a wealthy man named Xiao Achuan.

How much did it cost?

$ 4.075 billion.

This guy bought the Plaza Hotel for $4.075 million and even published a full-page open letter in The New York Times commenting on the acquisition:
“I didn’t just buy a building; I actually bought a work of art—like the Mona Lisa.”

This is the first time in my life I've deliberately made a deal without considering economic principles—because I can't verify whether the price is fair.

Well, it's worth mentioning that this hotel was carefully managed by Xiao Achuan for eight years before being sold to a Saudi prince for $3.25 million.

Although Xiao Achuan owns quite a few hotels, almost every one of them goes bankrupt.

Take the Plaza Hotel for example. As we all know, this hotel made a big appearance in the 1992 movie "Home Alone 2", and A-Chuan even made a cameo appearance in the movie.

In 1992, the same year the movie was released, the Plaza Hotel, under the management of Ogawa, filed for bankruptcy reorganization, accumulating debts of over $5.5 million.

According to ABC News, Akihiro returned 49% of the plaza's shares to six banks, and although he subsequently served as the hotel's president, it was merely a title.

This is not the first time Xiao Achuan has caused a hotel to go bankrupt. Before this, he had already lost three hotels, losing more than a billion US dollars.

After that, he continued to open hotels and then went bankrupt. He then packaged all the shares of the bankrupt casinos into a single company and listed it on the stock exchange.

However, by 04, the stock had accumulated approximately $18 billion in debt, which ultimately led to another bankruptcy. In fact, this bankruptcy was another bankruptcy following the previous bankruptcies and reorganizations.

Following this bankruptcy, he reduced his share in the company in the restructuring plan, but he remains the largest single shareholder and continues to be responsible for its operations.

He then restructured the stock through bankruptcy proceedings again, relisted it, and persevered until 08, when the subprime mortgage crisis struck again, leading the company to file for bankruptcy once more in 09.

This time, he resigned as chairman of the company, reducing his shareholding to only 10%.

Then the magic happened.

This guy not only didn't lose a single penny in this series of bankruptcy operations, but actually made a fortune.
“You’re staying here now!” Led by Feng Xiaogang, Lü Liping walked through the Palms Hall, took the elevator to his room, and looked at the soft bed, the clean bathtub, and the magnificent decorations. Lü Liping felt his “American Dream” reignite.

"Yes, I've been revising the manuscript here these past few days," Feng Xiaogang said.

Looking at Lü Liping now, he felt extremely complicated. From the information he got from Jiang Xian, Jiang Xian didn't like Lü Liping at all, and even explicitly said that he didn't like this actress and didn't want her to participate in his TV series.

Does that mean all of Feng Xiaogang's promises to Lü Liping were for nothing?
Feng Xiaogang thought to himself, "Lu Liping has done so much for me before. If she finds out that I can't use her as my actress now, wouldn't she want to die with me?"
In his eyes, Lü Liping used to be his lover. Their relationship had gradually evolved from physical intimacy to a deep connection of mutual reliance in a foreign land.

But now, Feng Xiaogang knows it's time for him to make a decision.
(End of this chapter)