My Years as a Copyist in Taiwan

"Brother Deng, what time is it?" As the plane began to circle over Kaohsiung International Airport, Zhao Wen wanted to know how long they had been flying, so he asked Wu Deng, who was already dozing off.

"It's almost 1:00. Hey Wen, you're so rich, why can't you buy a watch? And why don't you buy a car? You're 19, haven't you taken your driving test yet?" Brother Deng looked at his two-tone Rolex and asked in confusion.

"Uh, would you believe me if I said I don't like wearing watches, and I especially don't like driving?"

Zhao Wen doesn't wear a watch because he's really not used to it, and his refusal to drive is a pathological reaction. Decades later, it will be medically termed "driving phobia," and Zhao Wen is still a severe sufferer.

Months ago, he went to the inspection station full of confidence. Having driven in his past life, the moment he sat in the driver's seat of the right-hand drive car, his heart felt like it was being squeezed, his whole body went cold, his limbs stiffened, and a feeling of impending death washed over him...

He tried driving three times, but eventually he didn't even dare sit in the passenger seat, so he completely gave up the idea of ​​driving himself. "I have so much money, do I really need to drive myself?"

It was almost 1:30 when Zhao Wen picked up his luggage and walked out of the airport. Suddenly, a series of flashes went off, followed by the sound of camera shutters clicking. Zhao Wen was genuinely startled by this.

This is just a lack of experience. Numbers 1, 2, and 3, don't you have any idea how popular you are in Tokyo? How bad can you be here in Taiwan?

In the past two days, the Taiwanese media has been in a frenzy of celebration, with headlines, television news, and magazine columns all filled with reports of "Mr. Snail Sweeps Japan".

Tonight, the Tokyo office of Formosa News Agency had already informed our agency of Zhao Wen's itinerary. Formosa News Agency is an official media outlet, and Mr. Snail is a genius born and raised in Formosa. You have to promote such a "positive role model" to the extreme.

Not only were dozens of media reporters waiting in the wings, but hundreds of Kaohsiung fans also rushed to the airport to welcome the book. Although the scene at the airport was not as grand as yesterday's, it was still a very rare spectacle.

As long as the reporters can take a picture of Mr. Snail and get answers like "Yes, I will also hold a reader meet-and-greet in Taiwan" or "The time is not yet confirmed, but it will definitely be in the near future," they have successfully completed their mission. With just these two sentences, they can easily imagine thousands of words of text.

After the hundreds of readers confirmed with each other that Mr. Snail would be holding a meet-and-greet soon, they didn't press the matter further, since it was already 2 a.m.

Wu Deng finally found his underlings who had been waiting at the airport in the crowd, and with the help of the police officers, he pulled Zhao Wen into the car.

As the hustle and bustle of Yongfu Road in Tainan subsided, several underlings carried Zhao Wen's luggage and followed their two bosses quietly down the old wooden alleyway.

Zhao Wen was worried about Wu Deng walking alone at night, and Wu Deng didn't want to walk either, so they stayed at Zhao Wen's house again that night.

Several bags of various sizes were piled up on the floor, all of which were the good things that Mr. Rattan Chair had purchased in Tokyo at Zhao Wen's request.

Peace cigarettes, Zhao Wen and Wu Deng can only bring five packs each, anyway, Xiao Ni Hong will keep sending them more in the future.

Besides these, the vast majority of the items were birthday gifts that Zhao Wen bought for Zhao Wenwen. The siblings' birthdays are only five days apart; Zhao Wenwen will turn 14 on the 5th.

Zhao Wenwen didn't sleep well at all. Her brother had said on the phone during the day that he was going back to Tainan tonight, so she tossed and turned in bed, unable to close her eyes. As soon as she heard footsteps outside, she woke up instantly, rushed out in her bear-themed onesie pajamas.

The older woman, Chen Erfeng, was wearing the same bear-patterned pajamas as Zhao Wenwen. She yawned and lazily followed behind the younger girl.

Wow! Wow!

"Bro, our class monitor has one of these boxes too!"

"Thank you, Brother Deng!" Wu Deng also bought the little girl a pink watch, which wasn't cheap.

Zhao Wen bought two sets of ready-to-wear clothes for his bodyguard. They were from a long-established fashion house in Tokyo and were considered very sophisticated high-end ready-to-wear clothing at the time.

The silly aunt accepted the gifts, but muttered something under her breath, just loud enough for Zhao Wen to hear: "I don't like things from Japan, I hate them..."

Wu Deng also bought her a gift. What did she buy? Issey Miyake Eau de Toilette, which is said to be the only perfume the brand released in the entire 1970s and 80s.

The perfume was produced in China; Issey Miyake was merely a repackager because it couldn't be sold without repackaging, given that mainland China was still lacking in packaging technology at the time.

While muttering, "This is a perfume produced by us Chinese," Wu Deng opened the perfume and let her smell it. This perfume was not a sweet floral and fruity scent, but a very cool pine and sandalwood scent.

Honestly, decades later, people are completely powerless against real, natural sandalwood. As soon as Auntie smelled it, the memory etched in her genes seemed to resurface a little, and she immediately fell in love with it.

She didn't hold a grudge against Wu Deng for once being "enemies" and even wanting to beat him up. She simply took the perfume, saying, "Hmm, this is so-so. I'll take it..."

The hottest girls' clothing, stationery, and accessories in Tokyo right now: complete sets of delicate Akoya pearl and rhinestone hair clips, plaid satin bow headbands, frosted cherry blossom silver ear clips, and finely woven cowhide bracelets...

A box brimming with Japanese retro cartoon glass marbles and plush animal keychains, featuring bear, rabbit, and cat designs...

Looking at the dazzling array of little girl items scattered on the ground, Zhao Wen was really tired. He stopped opening blind boxes for the little girl and let her explore on her own.

Mr. Wicker Chair, your attempt to curry favor with Mr. Snail is so obvious! And you still say it's just a small token from your Kodansha? Damn it, this stuff could open a specialty store in Taipei.

The next morning, after eating the soy milk and fried dough sticks that his underlings brought him, Brother Deng hurriedly left, as it was almost time to sell the film.

Zhao Wen performed a set of Tai Chi. Although he could not achieve perfect roundness in the form, his movements were very fluid. This was thanks to his memory. Even though his body was stiff, he could remember the boxing style that Aunt Sha had practiced at a glance. This was the main reason why Chen Erfeng had never expelled him from the family.

In the past few days, the pages of major newspapers in Taiwan have been almost entirely filled with articles praising Zhao Wen, the "Mr. Snail," with countless reports of his Tokyo book signing drawing massive crowds and the sensation caused by "Norwegian Wood" in Japan.

A frenzy for the "murder game" has swept through universities, with countless students already planning to travel to Tainan together next weekend.

Everyone knows that Mr. Snail lives in Tainan, and these young readers have long yearned for the Snail Alley that he repeatedly described in his writing.

However, amidst all the praise and admiration, there was always a discordant and jarring noise, which came from Phoenix, the owner of Golden Crown Publishing House.