I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 559 Do you know Menello?
Mara Kani went out to sea with Liu Jin for two days.

On January 2nd, which was Liu Jin's 31st birthday, he spent the night in the lighthouse.

The following day, they returned to Torres.

Marakani traveled to Sassari that day, while Liu Jin boarded a fishing boat and embarked on his return journey.

I've been out having fun for a few days now, it's time to go back!
As they were about to part, Liu Jin suddenly asked Mara a question: "Mara, have you heard of Menello?"

"Menello? What does he do? News anchor? Model or actor?"

"He should go into politics..."

"Zorgia?"

"what?"

You must be referring to Giorgia Menello.

I know her; she's two years younger than me, but a very capable woman. She's currently a councilor for the Rome region…

Do you know her?

"do not know!"

Liu Jin quickly concocted a lie in his mind.

"You know, we writers have to read a lot of books and understand a lot of things."

Two years ago when I was in Venice, I heard someone mention this woman, saying that she had tremendous potential…

"Hmm, that's true!"

Mara had no doubts.

Giorgia Menello is indeed somewhat famous in Italy.

She joined a far-right organization, Youth ZX, when she was 15 years old.

In 1998, at the age of only 21, Menello was elected as a member of parliament for the Rome region, becoming the youngest female member of parliament in Italian politics at the time.

However, she is very controversial.

Because the youth ZX she believes in has FXS characteristics, and its founder was even a supporter of Mussolini during World War II.

Of course, Menello never denied her identity.

They even take pride in being admirers of Mussolini...

In Italy, many people are admirers of Mussolini.

Of course, most people won't show it, but their numbers are very large.

Menello thus became widely known.

Its controversy is even greater than that of Mara in the future.

Liu Jin said softly, "You could try getting to know her; maybe she'd be a good partner?"

"She's FXS!"

Liu Jin smiled and didn't say anything more.

These past two days have brought back many memories of Mara for Liu Jin.

From the initial Power Party, to later joining the Free People's Party, and then cooperating with the Democracy Party, that's Bochino.

In the end, he was sidelined by partisan politics and collaborated with an independent, serving as deputy prime minister for a year and a half.

Subsequently, Menello took over.

This also reflects the development of Italian politics.

From the very beginning, the two-party rivalry was between the Democracy Party and the Power Party (in 07, Berlusconi recruited far-right figures to form the People of Freedom Party, which was dissolved in 13, and Menello established the Brothers of Italy Party based on the People of Freedom Party).

The two parties took turns in power, but with the demise of the Power Party, independents began to gain the upper hand.

It seems like there have been two prime ministers.

Then, the far right came to power, which led to Menello.

Liu Jin had no way of explaining these things to Mara.

Whether you listen or not is up to her; it's just a suggestion.

Moreover, in Liu Jin's memory, Mara and Menello both seemed to have served Old Berlusconi.

After Berlusconi returned to power in 08, Mara became the Minister of Equal Opportunities, while Menello became the Minister of Youth.

Anyway, they're all just low-level government departments.

Perhaps in the future, they will have many opportunities to communicate.

……

Mara is gone!
Liu Jin returned to the port of Marseille on January 4.

As soon as I got off the ship, my phone started buzzing with text messages.

There are no signal base stations at sea.

Moreover, Liu Jin's French phone number was unable to receive messages in Sardinia.

He said goodbye to Ernest at the port, then went to Marseille city, found a hotel, and replied to everyone.

"Liu, where did you run off to?"

"I've been sailing around at sea for a few days to relax."

"That's good. We couldn't get in touch with you and we thought something had happened to you! If you hadn't replied, we were about to call the police."

Mela breathed a sigh of relief on the phone.

"By the way, on the 2nd we received a fax from the Abu Dhabi Consortium, a letter of intent for cooperation on 'The Chorus'."

How are you going to reply?

"It's a fax from Kasimi. I'll explain it to you in detail when I get back."

Also, how are the sales of "Amos's Fantastic Journey"?

"It was only released on the 26th, and it's only now... Wait a moment, the data sheet just arrived."

Mela walked briskly in her high heels.

After a moment, she said, "Sixty thousand copies were sold in the first week across France, so-so, ranking thirteenth. Amos, that's not bad, it shows that readers are quite receptive to your short and medium-length stories."

It just happens to fall during this particular time period... Let's see how it goes next week. I'll increase the promotional efforts and see the results.

"it is good!"

Things are different now than before.

Back in 01, when "Amélie" first premiered, both Liu Jin and Mela were constantly focused on sales figures.

I would be satisfied with sales of seven or eight thousand copies.

But look at the present...

With 60,000 copies sold, neither of them showed any reaction whatsoever.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Jin reflected on his actions and felt there was nothing wrong with him!
However, there's a fax from Kasimi...

If it weren't for his mother's lecture, Liu Jin might have valued this cooperation proposal very much.

but now……

I really feel like it's unnecessary.

money?
It's not like he can't come up with an investment of ten million euros.

channel?

Don't worry, Europe or America, we can conquer them all.

Most importantly, while the original film, *The Chorus*, performed reasonably well at the European box office, it didn't seem to make much of a splash in North America. It only received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and its box office performance was negligible.

Moreover, the buzz surrounding "Life Is Beautiful" last year made film companies in North America very wary.

Unless, of course, he can bring in a Hollywood investor!
The key issue is that it's unnecessary.

Liu Jin made this film mainly to repay a favor to Juliette Binoche; he really didn't intend to make money from it.

I don't want any investments from North America, but your money from Abu Dhabi...

Last year, he was still thinking about exploiting Abu Dhabi.

But looking at it from another angle, are those ALB people really reliable?

Liu Jin was a little hesitant!

I took a shower and stood in front of the mirror, shaking myself a bit.

After a week at sea, I feel like I've gotten quite a tan.

Liu Jin changed into casual clothes and picked up the hotel newspaper...

Front page headline: Ismaili Prime Minister Arielle Sharon hospitalized with cerebral hemorrhage?

In recent years, Xiaoyi has been relatively well-behaved.

In a few years, once Netanyahu returns to power, the LKD group will likely embark on a radical path.

To put it bluntly, the LKD Group is an extreme restorationist organization.

Liu Jin scratched his head and tossed the newspaper aside.

He packed his luggage, checked out of the hotel, and headed straight to Marseille train station to begin his journey back to Toulouse.

……

It was already dark when we got back to Toulouse!

He didn't return to his residence immediately, but went to Old Zhong's little restaurant first.

After enjoying a delicious meal of char siu and red wine at Lao Zhong's restaurant, Liu Jin sat in the courtyard and chatted with Lao Zhong.

"Remember to come be my best man next weekend."

"I know, I know, I've said it many times already."

"Groom, are you nervous...? How about I throw you a bachelor party?"

Upon hearing this, Old Zhong curled his lip.

"Forget it, I'm not interested in this stuff."

"I'm over forty, I've seen it all, what's a party to me? All I want to do is get married quickly, have Ottilie give me a big, healthy son, and then live a comfortable life. And hey, I'm warning you! After I get married, don't bother me with your petty, messy affairs. I've worked hard all my life, it's time to enjoy myself!"

The old man had a happy look on his face.

They seem to have boundless aspirations for the future.

Come to think of it, this guy has plenty of money, it's definitely time for him to enjoy life.

He had known Ottilie for seven or eight years, and then Ottilie secretly won him over. They dated for three or four years before finally getting married.

If I could have another big, healthy son, my life would be complete.

But you want some peace and quiet?
That's impossible!

Liu Jin felt that he still needed Lao Zhong as a helper.

After chatting with Lao Zhong for more than an hour, Liu Jin prepared to go home.

Old Zhong's restaurant wasn't too far from the Saint-Étienne neighborhood. But Liu Jin didn't want to walk, so he snatched Old Zhong's little scooter.

"Hey Lao Zhong, how about you get me a sidecar motorcycle to play with?"

"That thing..."

Old Zhong was already used to Liu Jin's impulsive and unpredictable nature.

"I don't really know much about it. If you want to buy one for fun, you might as well ask Abel."

That guy's a local bigwig in Toulouse, he's got connections everywhere... Besides, when have you ever seen Chinese people like these sidecar motorcycles? Foreigners, on the other hand, love tinkering with these things; they know the ins and outs best."

"Okay, I got it. I'll have Lala return the car to you later."

"Get lost, get lost! Remember not to be absent next week, and also prepare a red envelope... You rich man, a small red envelope won't do!"

The only response to Lao Zhong's question was the roar of a motorcycle.

Liu Jin rode his little scooter and disappeared at the end of Chinatown in the blink of an eye.

……

(End of this chapter)