Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 134: Countryside Elegy
Zhang Chao was about to refuse when he saw Jeff Huang greet Susan enthusiastically in English: "Great! It's our honor to have such a beautiful girl as our driver. I'm Jeffrey Huang, my Chinese name is Jeff Huang, and I'm Zhang Chao's...business partner!"

Zhang Chao looked at Huang Jiefu in surprise, wondering how he could say such a tacky compliment. Huang Jiefu stared at Susan and remained silent.

Susan obviously did not expect Huang Jiefu to appear. After greeting him awkwardly, she turned her attention to Zhang Chao. Zhang Chao thought that since there was someone willing to lick the sugar coating, he didn't have to worry anymore.

So he said to Huang Jiefu: "Then you can return our rental car when you come back this afternoon."

Susan drove a Chevrolet that could be considered an American street car, which was neither old nor new. The interior of the car was relatively clean and there was no peculiar smell, but it didn't look like her own.

Zhang Chao muttered "so stingy" before giving the address of Simon & Schuster.

Susan's driving skills were pretty good. She drove the two of them to their destination smoothly. Seeing the big Simon & Schuster logo at the entrance of the building, she asked with some envy and uncertainty, "What are you doing here?"

Huang Jiefu answered quickly: "Simon & Schuster wants to publish a new book by Zhang Chao, and we are here to negotiate with them today."

Susan said enviously, "Wow, being able to publish a book in Simon & Schuster... This is the dream of many American writers."

Zhang Chao asked: "How did IWP introduce me to you?"

Susan replied: "They just said that you are a very influential writer in China, the kind standing at the top... They asked me to take you across the Great Lakes and then to the University of Iowa."

Huang Jiefu looked at Zhang Chao with envy. Zhang Chao didn't bother to look at his hesitant look, so he said hello and got out of the car with Huang Jiefu and went into the building.

Susan saw that Zhang Chao did not invite her to join, so she had no choice but to find a place to park. Parking spaces in New York are notoriously scarce and expensive, so she could only drive the car a few blocks away and find a remote roadside to park.

Susan was a little depressed. The sudden appearance of Huang Jiefu made her plan go awry. She was not even sure if she could complete the "task".

She recalled the scene a few days ago when she was suddenly called by the editor of The New Yorker who had rejected her manuscript. In addition to the editor, there was a middle-aged man with a hooked nose and a gloomy face in the office. He looked at her like a lion looking at its prey.

Then the editor asked her if she was doing well recently. Susan felt that her heart was stabbed hard - she had been struggling in New York for three years, but none of her manuscripts were selected by big magazines like The New Yorker. She could only make a living by writing marginal stories for third-rate tabloids, working as a waitress in a bar, and doing various odd jobs.

She now lives in the cheapest apartment in New York, next to the highway and railway, every time a train passes by, the whole room seems to collapse. One year after coming to New York, she sold her car because she could no longer afford the insurance and car repair costs.

But she was not willing to give up! She was admitted to the University of Chicago from a rural farm in West Virginia, where she studied journalism, communication, Chinese and Spanish. She dreamed of becoming an international journalist, freelance writer or full-time writer, so she came to New York after graduation to pursue her dream.

But three years later, her rejected manuscripts could fill up the bottom of her bed. She was so talented, she received all the scholarships, and won the state writing competition, but in New York, all of this was worthless.

She didn't want to go back to her farm country in West Virginia, where there were endless corn and wheat fields and the air was filled with the smell of cow farts. Almost every man was a drinker, and so were half the women. Young people either fled to other states or stayed to rot. Most teenagers lost their virginity in the back seat of a Camry before they were 18.

She knew she was beautiful, and more than one man had hinted that if she was willing to be their lover, she wouldn't have to live such a difficult life. But she was still unwilling to give up, and she wanted to prove herself with her talent rather than her body. However, such expectations became more and more like an unattainable fantasy. After 90, the golden age of American freelance writers was completely over. From the 40s to the 70s, the $1 per word remuneration and countless publications allowed them to live a decent life.

Now, 30 years have passed, inflation has increased more than tenfold, and the highest pay for freelance writers is still $1 per word. Why is it that the number of newspapers and magazines is only one-third of what it was back then, while the number of young graduates who want to work in this field has doubled?

The median annual income of this industry is 2 US dollars, while the median annual income of ordinary college graduates is 4 US dollars - I can only say that there is no shortage of literary youths in any country...

Susan thought that the editor-in-chief had asked her to come today. Maybe her luck had changed? As long as she could publish an article in The New Yorker, she would no longer be an unknown person.

So after telling her story, she asked with a little trepidation: "What kind of report do you need me to write?"

The editor just smiled at the hook nose. The hook nose spoke and asked, "I have a job here. If you can complete it, the reward will be generous... and it will also be an opportunity for you to change your destiny."

After listening to Hooked Nose's introduction, Susan was also confused.

In fact, the job was not complicated. She only needed to be a driver and guide for a young writer from China and take him to the University of Iowa for 1 to 2 weeks. All expenses were reimbursed by Hooknose, who also paid her $2000 per week.

This was too easy for Susan, who had studied at the University of Chicago for four years.

But the hooked nose also suggested that she should fully display her charm, and it would be best if there could be some romantic accident with the young writer.

If she could do this, Hook Nose wouldn't mind giving herself an extra pay, and the editor also promised that if she could do it, he would find a way to get her article published in The New Yorker.

If the other party directly asked her to sleep with the Chinese writer, she might have turned hostile and left on the spot. However, this "flexible space" made it difficult for her to refuse due to her financial difficulties.

Susan struggled for a long time, and finally decided to ask a question: "Why me? Is it just because of my appearance? Compared to seducing men, I believe there are many people who can do better than me."

The hooked nose said: "This is only one aspect. We think that a young writer like him will find it hard to resist a 'literary girl' like you who is elegant, independent and strong. We need more than just a woman to sleep with him. We hope that you can enter his heart and make him fall in love with you and this country.

Don't worry, you won't suffer any loss. If you really capture his heart, then congratulations, he has tens of millions of fans and is the youngest millionaire. "

Susan was immersed in her memories when her cell phone rang. Zhang Chao and Huang Jiefu had finished their talk and asked her to come over and pick them up.

Susan looked at herself in the rearview mirror and said self-deprecatingly: "You have no choice, country boy."

(End of this chapter)