Chapter 355

He had an Asian face; Wei Ming immediately sensed the man was Chinese.

"Excuse me, is this the Lion King? Good heavens, five million copies! Has it really sold this many?!"

"Yes, these are the global sales figures for both the English and Chinese editions." Seeing business approaching, Melinda hurried over to greet him.

Several publishers had just been drawn by the bold poster of The Lion King, but all were English-language publishers; their business interests clashed. Finally, someone who clearly wasn't from an English-speaking country had arrived.

"Sir, where are you from?" Melinda asked.

"Oh, I'm a publisher from the United States."

Wei Ming: Oh, an American of Chinese descent. But this remark deflated Melinda.

The man continued: "We not only have our own publishing company, but also our own chain of bookstores—with over fifty stores across North America. The Lion King has ranked in our chain's top ten sales for three consecutive months."

Hearing he operated bookstores and that his operation was substantial, Melinda's enthusiasm noticeably increased: "The Lion King's excellence deserves such success. We also have two new titles here—one about dinosaurs, the other teaching the Rubik's Cube. May I ask your name?"

"Just call me Beyond."

Wei Ming, who had been reading in the rocking chair behind, nearly fell off his seat. You call yourself Beyond?

The American-Chinese man named Beyond said: "I haven't seen these two new books on the market yet."

"That's right—this is their debut. They won't appear in the U. . market for a while." As she spoke, she led him to observe the Rubik's Cube activity, where Wei Hong was now teaching several publishers how to solve the cube according to their own methods; everyone was having a great time.

Beyond flipped through Jurassic Park again, then said: "We'd like to order ten thousand copies of each. We hope to be the first bookstore in North America to receive them."

In addition to selling translation rights in various languages, the book fair also allowed direct book sales; for example, the "China International Bookstore," later renamed China International Book Trading Corporation, handled book imports and exports.

They not only distributed Chinese books overseas but could also import foreign publications, audiovisual products, and more.

Universities and libraries, which all maintained collections of foreign-language originals, relied on such institutions for imports.

On the plane here, Wei Ming had chatted with staff from the China International Bookstore; they had expressed interest in importing the English picture-book editions of The Lion King and Brave Game, but the quantities would be small—about a thousand sets would suffice, mainly to aid Chinese learners of English and foreigners living in China.

Hearing the request for ten thousand copies each, Melinda was delighted—but also a little concerned: "Can your bookstore chain absorb that volume?"

That would mean selling two hundred copies per store—not a small number.

Beyond said: "Our stores are mainly located in Chinese communities and enjoy great recognition among overseas Chinese. Chinese children especially love the Rubik's Cube as an educational toy. I'm confident we can sell them—and we may even need to reorder later."

Since he said that, Melinda immediately prepared to draft a letter of intent.

At that moment, Beyond added: "Miss Melinda, could you introduce me to him? I'd very much like to speak with him personally."

Melinda flipped through her documents and pointed behind her: "Go introduce yourself."

Wei Ming put down his little yellow book, stood up, and waved at Mr. Beyond.

The man was astonished, stepped forward eagerly, shook Wei Ming's hand, and spoke in a Chinese accent similar to Melinda's: "Mr. Wei Ming, hello. I'm Gong Biyang, manager of Tangren Publishing Company in San Francisco."

Two questions immediately flashed through Wei Ming's mind.

First: "Which 'Gong'?"

"The 'Gong' from Gong Zizhen."

Wei Ming: That's the same 'Gong' as Xue-jie's family! Wei Ming's impression of this man improved instantly.

Second: "Mr. Gong, where were your ancestors from?"

"I'm a third-generation American immigrant; my grandparents moved from Shanghai to San Francisco."

Hey, same hometown as Xue-jie—maybe we were even related five hundred years ago. Wei Ming's impression of him improved further.

Gong Biyang introduced his Tangren Publishing Company and Tangren Bookstore chain.

"Our company has a forty-year history, primarily serving the Chinese diaspora. Our stores carry Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and English books. Another reason I wanted to meet you is to bring your book The Right Path of Humanity Is the Vast Ocean into the U. . market."

Wei Ming was surprised: "You've read this novel in the U. .?"

"Yes, I saw the serialized version in Shouhuo from mainland Chinese students. It was written so well. I heard it's been published as a standalone volume?"

"Yes, you can find it in Pavilion Six. I'll take you there—we have many other books suitable for overseas compatriots." Wei Ming felt motivated to help Liu's team boost their sales figures.

"Great."

Wei Ming then greeted Melinda and led Gong Biyang toward Pavilion Six.

On the way, Wei Ming asked him about what types of Chinese books had the most market potential in the U. .

Gong Biyang was well-qualified to answer: "Books on cuisine, traditional culture, and medical health are most popular among foreign readers. Many of the acupuncture and massage clinics in Chinatown get a large portion of their business from white customers."

"What about literature?"

"Classical literature and works by major writers from the Republican era remain popular, though mostly consumed by the Chinese diaspora. I grew up reading Lu Xun, in both Chinese and English. When I was young, there were no good translations of the Four Great Classical Novels—I had to read the originals, which was difficult."

"Haha, you're lucky then—our Foreign Languages Press brought the complete English translation of Dream of the Red Chamber. If you couldn't understand it before, you should find it much clearer now."

"Oh, really? Then our Tangren Bookstore will welcome it enthusiastically!" He added, "We also hope to publish an English translation of The Right Path of Humanity Is the Vast Ocean, so more Westerners can understand this moving chapter of history."

Hearing this, Wei Ming paused: "You want to buy the English translation rights to The Right Path of Humanity Is the Vast Ocean?"

"Yes. That's my primary purpose for coming to Frankfurt."

Wei Ming smiled and shook his head: "Brother, you're lucky—you don't need to translate it yourself. Just wait for the translation by Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie from our Foreign Languages Press. They translated Dream of the Red Chamber—their skill is exceptional. Have you heard of them?"

"Of course I know—they're famous. I've read their English translation of The Scholars. But our boss wants our own company to translate and publish The Right Path of Humanity Is the Vast Ocean."

Wei Ming waved his hand: "No negotiation. This is a top-down decision."

Because The Right Path of Humanity Is the Vast Ocean features many real historical figures from both the KMT and CCP—even some still alive—the most widely distributed English version must remain under our control. This is a battle over interpretive authority.

Gong Biyang slumped, feeling he couldn't face his boss upon returning.

As they neared Pavilion Six, Gong Biyang said: "Mr. Wei, may I make a phone call?"

"To your boss?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Our booth is on the first floor, very large, with Chinese lanterns hanging. Just come straight to us when you enter—don't confuse it with the Taiwan booth. I'll go ahead and check it out."

Gong Biyang nodded and immediately went to find a place to make an international call.

The call went directly to Tangren Publishing Company. Gong Biyang was the president of Tangren Publishing; above him was a general manager who oversaw both publishing and bookstore operations, also a Chinese.

Above the general manager was a major boss, for whom Tangren Publishing was just one insignificant part of her vast portfolio.

Gong Biyang couldn't reach the major boss directly—he could only report to the general manager. Before leaving, the general manager had made securing the English translation rights to The Right Path of Humanity Is the Vast Ocean his most important task.

After a pause, the general manager said: "I'll inform the major boss. I'll call your hotel later. But your immediate priority is securing the rights to Wei Ming's other works—the major boss greatly admires him."

"I admire him too, but not all his works have market potential. I just discovered two new titles of his are quite good, but some of his older ones might not…"

General manager: "I don't care. Just make sure the major boss is happy."

While Gong Biyang was on the phone, the Chinese booth was also bustling.

After reform and opening-up, we began to look outward, and the world became very curious about China—naturally drawing attention from many foreign publishers.

But returning from the European and American section to the domestic section, Wei Ming could clearly sense the difference in appearance: Chinese book covers were too plain and simple, inherently lacking visual appeal.

Take the Chinese edition of Wei Ming's The Lion King—the cover didn't even feature a single lion, though there were several illustrations inside.

At that moment, an Asian man picked up a copy of The Lion King; Wei Ming instantly recognized he wasn't Chinese.

Sure enough, soon Ambassador Mac came over and spoke with him; after a few words in English, he switched to Japanese. Who knew Mac was fluent in Japanese too!

Wei Ming couldn't understand what they were saying—he'd only learned everyday phrases, while they were using professional terminology.

Seeing him arrive, Mac immediately called out: "Teacher Wei, over here!"

He introduced them: this man was a staff member from Tokyodo Bookstore, dispatched to Frankfurt specifically for rights transactions.

Wei Ming politely shook hands with him. Tokyodo was reputable—its founder, Yasuoki Tokyodo, was a famous left-wing pacifist who had even been received by the Premier after the founding of New China.

Tokyodo didn't just deal in books—it also produced films. Yasuoki Tokyodo made many contributions to Sino-Japanese cultural exchange, including the acclaimed co-productions A Chess Game Left Unfinished and Dunhuang.

Yasuoki Tokyodo's greatest contribution to world culture was undoubtedly supporting Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata in founding Studio Ghibli.

Relations between China and Japan had recently become very close; special exchange events were typically held for Sino-Japanese rights collaborations.

Previously, through such Sino-Japanese exchanges, Tokyodo had acquired the Japanese translation rights to Wei Ming's The Ox and Ox Two—though the translation hadn't been published yet, so Wei Ming remained unknown in Japan's literary scene.

Kato Daixiang, a man in his forties, bowed deeply to Wei Ming—formally, respectfully. He knew Wei Ming, because he had listened to Wei Ming's songs.