My Years as a Copyist in Taiwan

This star starting pitcher of a powerhouse team, a current national legend, outwardly defends the readers, but actually harbors a wicked intention: to use public opinion to pressure Kodansha into inviting Mr. Snail to Tokyo for a book signing and meet-and-greet.

Because their trio were all die-hard fans of Mr. Snail's books.

Shuji Fujino hasn't even gone home these days. He stays at the company every day answering the phone, with the receiver never leaving his ear from morning till night.

These past two days, people have been causing trouble at the entrance with banners, which has been driving him crazy. The release date of September 1st was set by Mr. Snail, and he dared not change it on his own. He could only tough it out and wanted to find the person in charge to make a decision, but when he called, he only got the answer, "Zhao Wen went to Taipei, and I can't get in touch with him."

Judging from her tone, you could tell that Chen Erfeng answered the phone.

Now Fujino Shuji was completely at a loss. He was afraid that if Zhao Wen stayed in Taipei for ten days or half a month, there would be chaos before the release here.

He mobilized all of the Lecture Room's connections in Taipei, frantically searching for "Mr. Snail's" whereabouts.

After going through four or five layers of connections, I finally got the information: last night, Mr. Wu hosted a banquet at the Grand Hotel. Among the guests were director Liu Jiachang, singer Feng Feifei, and others. One of the young men was suspected to be Mr. Snail!

Those who received the news rushed to Yuanshan, only to find out at the front desk that the mysterious Mr. Snail had checked out and left early that morning, and no one knew where he went.

That's the advantage of the pre-mobile communication era: as long as you were away from the telephone, you had no worries.

In a few months, the first batch of handheld phones, the "Big Brother" phones, will appear in Da Piao Liang. The bare phone costs US$3900, which is about NT$16. But Zhao Wen has no intention of showing off. Not only are they too heavy, but they can't make calls in the suburbs. Moreover, the content of the call can be received by the radio. So, do you dare to use it?

Last time, Lin Xinjun had to ask several intermediaries to arrange a meeting with Cao Xingcheng. This time, Wu Deng asked his older brother, a landlubber, to make the call directly, so Cao Xingcheng's attitude has changed significantly.

After taking their seats, Cao Xingcheng spoke first: "Mr. Zhao, will this subscription to UMC follow the same procedures as last time?"

Back then, this young man only wanted half of the shares for ten million. General Manager Cao, who has never experienced the shock of decacorns and cyclocorns decades later, is still completely baffled.

Zhao Wen nodded: "The same as before. But this time I have 4000 million yuan, and Mr. Wu has 500 million yuan. We'll all sign a non-dilutable agreement."

Cao Xingcheng agreed almost without hesitation and immediately instructed his subordinates to prepare the contract.

After the factory clerk collected the documents, Cao Xingcheng couldn't contain his curiosity and pressed, "I'm really curious, Mr. Zhao, nowadays all investors think semiconductors are a money pit with no end in sight, so why are you so optimistic about UMC?"

Zhao Wen rubbed his nose, hesitated for a few seconds, and said, "General Manager Cao, when I invest in UMC, I'm never looking at the factory buildings, the production lines, or when it will be profitable. I'm investing in you, General Manager Cao, as a person!"

"General Manager Cao, you came from a rural area in Qingshui. You were poor when you were young. Back then, you gave up the stable life at the Industrial Technology Research Institute and plunged into the integrated circuit industry, which no one believed in. You even went to the United States to learn semiconductor technology and founded UMC despite the doubts of the entire industry."

Others only see your losses, but I see your vision. In the entire island of Taiwan, only General Manager Cao could lead UMC to such heights! Only you could make UMC a globally renowned company!

Wu Deng looked at his little brother in surprise. He could clearly see that this guy was trying to coax Lao Cao into becoming a placenta!

Zhao Wen's words fully revealed Cao Xingcheng's hardships and aspirations from childhood to adulthood, much like lifting the lid off a kettle of boiling water, causing steam to instantly fill the air.

General Manager Cao was practically in a state of euphoria. Tears welled in his eyes as he stood up, gripped Zhao Wen's arm tightly, and shook it vigorously. "Mr. Zhao, please keep your eyes peeled. UMC will never let you down!"

Upon returning to Taipei, Wu Deng immediately repaid the NT$5 million that Zhao Wen had advanced for him, and then, responding to his younger brother's call, agreed to meet in Tainan on September 1st.

Zhao Wen rented two safe deposit boxes at the Tainan Land Bank; one was empty, and the other...

Zhao Wen memorized the combination to the safe with the contents after repeating it twice. For the empty safe, he wrote "Safe 9527" on a pen and carefully placed it in his desk drawer. He learned this from a book; if the empty safe had been touched, it meant someone was watching him.

Fujino called tirelessly every hour. Zhao Wen was caught off guard when the phone rang. He was helping Chen Erfeng when the phone rang.

"Mr. Snail, I... I've finally found you..." Fujino almost cried. It was so hard. That baseball pitcher was so damn bullying. He couldn't even leave Kodansha now.

"No, I can't go, Mr. Fujino. I have something very important to do on the 1st. It's an appointment I made with Ms. Teresa Teng a long time ago. You know I value my word above all else!"

Upon hearing this, Fujino knew that it was impossible for him to leave. He knew all too well the significance of the "Asian Red Rose." If the "Asian Red Rose" were to meet any celebrity in Japan, no one would ever stand her up.

"How about the 2nd, Mr. Snail? You can arrive on the 2nd, and we'll have a reader meet-and-greet and book signing on the 3rd!"

Fujino Shuji, though settling for second best, actually longed for Zhao Wen to go to Japan even more than the baseball pitcher did.

Zhao Wen is a laid-back player; otherwise, he wouldn't have spent his entire life in the same track just living off welfare. He originally wanted to take a break and relax, but after thinking about it seriously, he realized he only has a few million left in his pocket. It wouldn't be bad to hold a signing event to boost sales.

"Alright, Mr. Fujino, I'll definitely arrive on the afternoon of the 2nd. Thank you for your consideration!"

Upon receiving Mr. Snail's reply, the entire Kodansha organization erupted in jubilation.

Fujino immediately began planning, setting the book signing event at Sanseido Bookstore, the largest bookstore in Ginza. In the morning, he held a meet-and-greet with readers of "Love Letter" and "Those Years," and in the afternoon, he held a nationwide book signing event for "Norwegian Wood."

"Mr. Snail will be visiting Kodansha on September 3rd for a private autograph session. This has been confirmed and will not change! Please check tomorrow's Fuji Evening News for the location of the autograph session!"

Shuji Fujino personally took a megaphone, parted the security guards, and walked to the fans who were crowding the street, repeatedly shouting to calm the crowd down.

Kodansha was so wary of this door-blocking incident because they discovered a strange detail—Mr. Snail's fans are predominantly male! And many of them are extremely irritable, prone to smashing doors and windows at the slightest provocation...

Then, we need to report to the local police station, submit the event plan, and go with the police to conduct a site visit in advance to check the entrances and exits, fire exits, and escape staircases of the venue.

In addition to reporting to the police, Kodansha also hired a professional security team of 40 people to protect Zhao Wen's safety from the airport to Kodansha and then to the venue.

In addition, more than a hundred die-hard fans volunteered to maintain order.