Training the Heavens

Chapter 106: One Day in Tokyo

No matter how good a novel is, it needs publicity and promotion, and being interviewed on TV is a good way to do that. Since you have to be on the show, you might as well go on the most influential show, so Tokuma Shoten chose "Tetsuko's Room".

The program is hosted by Neon's most famous host, Hei Che Liuzi. Her experience is legendary. When she was a child, she was hyperactive and naughty, often affecting classroom discipline, so she was persuaded to drop out of the school after just a few days of first grade.

However, her parents never blamed her or forced her to change her personality to adapt to the school's disciplinary standards. Instead, they carefully chose a suitable school for her and eventually found a treasure school that could accommodate her child's creative ideas, was willing to teach according to her aptitude, and explored and cultivated her interests.

Many years later, she wrote the book "Little Girl at the Window" based on this experience, which became a global best-selling children's literature novel and was also very popular in China.

Kuroto Ryuko grew up like this. When she was 20 years old, Japan entered the television era. NHK had just been established and needed to recruit actors. Kuroto Ryuko signed up for the competition without knowing anything about television, and eventually stood out among more than 6,000 candidates.

Some people say that the selectors were attracted by her vitality, while others say that her surname was the key factor. The surname Hei Che is relatively rare, and the selectors knew her father, a violinist, so they gave her this opportunity.

Whatever the reason, Kurote Ryuko successfully entered NHK and quickly established herself as a big star. At the age of 25, she hosted Japan's national program Red and White Songs Contest.

Perhaps many people have their own talents, but unfortunately they are not as lucky as Hei Che Liuzi to find a stage that suits them.

When Kuroteru Ryuko was 43 years old, she started her own talk show "Tetsuko's Room" on TV Asahi. The show was broadcast for more than 40 years, with a total of more than 10,000 episodes, making it the TV program with the most episodes hosted by the same host in history.

"Tetsuko's Room" has now become a national TV program in Japan. Many foreign celebrities who come to Japan have to be interviewed by her. Now Tokuma Bookstore has invited Gao Jialin to this program in order to let more people know about "Showa American Story", continue to increase sales, and push the sales record of this book to a level that will make later comers despair.

Gao Jialin took the extended Mercedes-Benz to Asahi TV. Along the way, Tsuboi Chinatsu was very attentive. She brought fruits and poured wine for Gao Jialin. Her eyes were full of stars while she was doing things. If there was no translator present, she would probably have come up to him directly.

This is also normal. Working in a book publishing house, people tend to have a bit of a literary mentality. Gao Jialin wrote such a sensational work at such a young age, so it is inevitable that the girl would have some admiration for him.

The car arrived at TV Asahi and was warmly welcomed by the TV station. Gao Jialin also met the famous host who always had the same onion-like hairstyle.

After greeting and putting on makeup, they went straight into the studio to start filming. "Tetsuko's Room" never had a script or anything like that. It was all up to Kuroteruko to impress. Right from the start, she pretended to complain, "To be honest, I'm a little unhappy to see you."

"Oh? Why?" Gao Jialin asked cooperatively.

"Because your "Showa American Story" broke the sales record of "The Little Girl at the Window". It took me more than five years to accumulate sales of five million copies, becoming the best-selling work after the 50s. I didn't expect that you surpassed me in just over a month!" As she spoke, Kuroche Ryuko laughed, "Mina-san, let us welcome this episode's guest, Sensei Gao Jialin from China!" It has to be said that it was perfect for Tokuma Shoten to have Gao Jialin on this show. Kuroche Ryuko is not only the host, but also a best-selling author. The two of them are bound to have a lot of topics to talk about.

"The Showa American Story" was naturally the core topic of the conversation. Kuroche Ryuko showed one large poster after another and curiously asked Gao Jialin how he conceived these scenes.

Gao Jialin answered the questions one by one, and also praised the Japanese film, television and animation works that inspired him. This is just like foreigners who like to praise Chinese food when they come to China. Who doesn't like to hear good words?
The interview went very smoothly. After it ended, Hei Cheliuzi sent Gao Jialin to the car and immediately returned to the TV station to instruct the technical staff to start editing the video.

Chinatsu Tsuboi took Gao Jialin to a high-end French restaurant for lunch. When they returned to the hotel, they happened to catch the broadcast of "Tetsuko's Room". This program was broadcast on time every Monday to Friday at 1 pm, and has been on air for decades.

While watching TV with her, Tsuboi Chinatsu helped translate and praised Gao Jialin, "Sensei, once this show airs, you'll definitely become an idol in the hearts of all Japanese women. After all, young and handsome writers like you are rare!"

After the show, Gao Jialin went to his bedroom to take a nap. When he woke up, Tsuboi Chinatsu and the translator were already waiting in the living room. She was holding the latest data. "Since the show aired, sales at major bookstores have increased significantly. According to our on-site inquiries, many people learned about your work after watching the TV show and then became interested in buying it."

This is normal. Not everyone pays attention to the dynamics of the book market. "Chezi's Room" helped Gao Jialin expand his audience.

Many people who don’t read much saw from Hei Che Liuzi’s TV program that foreigners were so optimistic about the future development of Neon. In his writing, Neon actually bought half of the United States. This story was so interesting that they had to buy a copy and read it, so they rushed to the nearest bookstore as soon as the program ended.

Even if a Japanese writer were to write the same story, it wouldn't have such a good effect, because what he wrote would be like Wang Po boasting about her own products. It would only be convincing if an outsider were to praise her!
This is the same as foreigners eating Chinese food. No matter how much Chinese people say that Chinese food is popular all over the world, Chinese audiences will still be skeptical. But once foreigners say it, many people will actually believe it, and many foreign hostesses have made a lot of money from this.

At around 3:00 p.m., a reporter from the Yomiuri Shimbun came to interview Gao Jialin. This article will appear in tomorrow's newspaper. The Yomiuri Shimbun is the best-selling newspaper in Japan, with a circulation of nearly 10 million copies per issue. This interview will allow more people to know about Gao Jialin and his book.

After seeing off the reporters and having dinner with Gao Jialin, Chinatsu Tsuboi said goodbye and left. Gao Jialin and the translator also went back to their rooms to rest.

Around nine in the evening, Tsuboi Chinatsu suddenly called. "Sensei, today's sales data is ready. Can I send it to your room now?"

"Okay." Gao Jialin heard something from her tone and couldn't help but look forward to it.

Just five minutes later, Tsuboi Chinatsu entered his room with a bottle of champagne.
(End of this chapter)