Chapter 357

"Brother, it's right here!"

Wei Hong led everyone to the restaurant she and Melinda had been to at noon, named Wagner German Flavor Restaurant. She felt it was quite good and hadn't had enough yet.

Mike said: "The apple wine here has a very special taste."

Wei Ming asked: "Mike, have you been here before?"

Mike replied: "I've been here once with the ambassador to accompany guests, but the consumption is a bit high."

Wei Ming: "Then that's it."

Adding up to about fifteen or sixteen people, Wei Ming was not worried at all about being eaten into poverty.

There were many people in the restaurant, basically publishers, writers, and onlookers from all over the world.

After entering, one could see retro wooden tables and chairs surrounded by German style, and the walls were decorated with beer mugs.

The waitress who could speak English saw so many people and directly led them to the last empty private room. There were two tables inside, so it wouldn't be too crowded. Then she handed over two menus.

Wei Ming handed them to Old Ye and Director Liu respectively, letting them order. They often go abroad and are well-informed.

However, the two tacitly handed them to Wei Ping'an and Wei Ming, the uncle and nephew. There is no reason for the host to order the food himself.

During the passing of the menu, others took a look. They couldn't understand the dish names, but they could understand the prices. The cheapest dish cost a few marks, and many could cost more than ten marks. There was no upper limit for drinks, and some cost hundreds.

They couldn't help but swallow their saliva, looking forward to this meal tonight even more, and at the same time, they felt a little embarrassed about eating a free meal.

The two elders insisted, and Wei Ming sighed: "Then let my uncle order. He has more research on German food."

Wei Ping'an: "Go, go, go. It's my first time eating German food. You should order."

Everyone laughed and looked at Wei Ming again. Having been busy all day, everyone was hungry, so Wei Ming didn't stand on ceremony.

"Then I'll order directly. Whether you like it or not, bear with me. One portion of crispy roast pork knuckle and Wagner pork chop for each person, whole grain bread—forget it, no bread. You can get full just eating meat. In addition, a sausage platter and a large portion of mushroom sauce stewed pork chunks for each table."

"Brother, dessert." Wei Hong reminded in a low voice. The Black Forest cake at noon made her unforgettable. It had chocolate, cherries, and cream, and was paired with a small glass of cherry wine. It wasn't intoxicating and was very sweet.

So Wei Ming ordered a Black Forest cake for each person as an after-meal dessert. Old Ye said he didn't want his portion; he was old and couldn't eat sweets.

"Finally, drinks. One bottle of your champion apple wine per table, one bottle of grape juice per table, half a crate of dark beer, and half a crate of light beer. Order more when finished."

Then Wei Ming let Uncle Ping'an and Mike see if there was anything else to add.

Mike shook his head. It was already very rich, and he was afraid they wouldn't be able to finish it.

Wei Ping'an: "Let's have a portion of whole grain bread. Eating too much meat can also be greasy."

Wei Ming: "Then let's have a portion of whole grain bread for each table."

There was nothing else. Everyone made a rough calculation. This meal would cost at least three hundred marks in foreign exchange. The meal standard for their team for one day was only 200 marks, averaging less than 70 per meal.

It has to be Wei Laoshi!

Before the dishes were served, someone immediately began to praise the brilliant achievements of Wei Ming's works today.

"I turned around Hall 6 up and down. It is mainly based on Asian and Middle Eastern countries, and there is no one who is as popular as Wei Laoshi!" said Old Song from the International Bookstore. He is also responsible for book introduction, so he has been wandering around the venue.

"That's right, the German translation rights are basically sold out. Just this point is not something ordinary writers can do."

"The key is that our Wei Laoshi has so many works and is rich in variety. I just found out that Wei the Madman is also you!"

"Writing some popular things, laughed at, laughed at."

Director Liu shook his head: "What surprised me most is Wei the Madman and *A Terracotta Warrior*. I didn't know this novel before, but I didn't expect it to be the best performance today."

Wei Ming: "It's like when we talk about Rome, we think of the Colosseum. When we talk about France, it's the Louvre. When foreigners talk about China, they first think of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. But in recent years, there is one more Terracotta Warrior. When I was collecting wind in Xi'an, there were a large number of foreign tourists in the Terracotta Warrior scenic spot. This is a label that foreigners have put on us, and it is also very worth using. Director Wu Tianming of the Xi'an Film Studio had thought about making this novel into a movie."

At this time, the beer was served first. Except for Wei Hong, everyone filled it up. Wei Ming raised his glass and proposed a toast to celebrate today's opening victory.

After a glass of wine, the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

Director Liu asked again: "Then is it filmed now? When can I see it?"

Wei Ming: "The review didn't pass. Maybe there is a worry about historical nihilism."

After chatting for two sentences, the main course began. Germany is a carnival for meat eaters. The first hard dish served was a sausage platter.

There are Frankfurt sausages with local characteristics, Nuremberg sausages the size of thumbs, white sausages that don't look very good but are full of veal inside, blood sausages mixed with pork blood and pork offal, etc. Around them is a circle of dipping sauces, and different sausages are paired with different dipping sauces.

A publisher from the Northeast laughed: "This blood sausage is also available in our hometown!"

Mike was also happy: "There is also sauerkraut stewed meat in Germany. The taste of that sauerkraut is also very similar to the Northeast."

"Why is this?" The old iron from the Northeast was puzzled.

Wei Ping'an said: "Maybe it's because the latitude is the same, so similar eating habits evolved. In addition, Germans also like to stew."

Wei Ming took a sip of wine. Uncle, you still know Germany very well.

Wei Ming and Uncle Ping'an were at two tables respectively. The two were equivalent to hosts, responsible for taking care of everyone, letting everyone eat well, drink well, and chat well.

Next, the crispy roast pork knuckle, Wagner pork chop, and Black Forest cake for each person were served. Seeing such a large portion, everyone shouted where can they eat it!

At home in the past, even those with high wages had to weigh the meat. Now two large plates of meat were placed in front of them, and vegetables like potatoes became embellishments. For a time, the fragrance was pungent, and they didn't know where to start.

Wei Ming directly picked up the pork chop and started eating. He moved his chopsticks, and others immediately followed, and then no one spoke.

It was only when the apple wine was served that Wei Hong asked her eldest brother, and she also wanted to taste it.

Wei Ming tasted it, sour and sweet, not very strong, so he let her take a sip, but he still preferred German beer.

Next, Wei Ming chatted with Old Song from the International Bookstore about which books he had bought to introduce.

"It's not that fast. We can't compare with those international big companies. The foreign exchange in hand is limited, so we have to weigh it. We didn't buy any today, but we have circled a few books. We don't have competitors, so we can study slowly."

"What about Taiwan?"

"They and the publishing companies in Hong Kong want traditional copyrights, which does not constitute competition," said Old Song when talking about Taiwan, "but I want to introduce a book written by a Taiwanese."

"Oh, is this compliant?"

"That Taiwanese is now an American citizen."

"Then it's not a problem." Wei Ming said. In the past, Little Aunt Wei Lingling was also Taiwanese, and now she is an American, entering and leaving the mainland freely. The female lead of *Lushan Love* is also the same reason.

Wei Ming was curious: "Which writer is it?"

Old Song: "Bai Xianyong's *New Yorkers*. You know this person, right?"

Wei Ming nodded: "The fifth son of Bai Chongxi."

"Wow, you even know his ranking. I only know he is Bai Chongxi's son."

Wei Ming said faintly: "When I wrote *In the Name of the People*, I checked the genealogy of Bai Chongxi's family."

Old Song laughed and continued: "Since the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan in 1979, the country has always wanted to have some cultural exchanges with Taiwan, but it is afraid of taking responsibility and dare not take the initiative to introduce it. Today I saw an American publisher holding the traditional and English copyrights of Bai Xianyong's *New Yorkers*, so I thought about taking the Chinese copyright, so that I can attack and defend."

Deputy Director Liu at the other table also knew about this situation. He put down his glass and said to Old Song: "Then can you let that publisher introduce Little Wei's works to Taiwan? This is fair."

Old Song slapped his thigh: "Director Liu makes sense. I will ask them tomorrow."

Wei Ming asked: "What is the name of this publisher?"

"Chinatown, Chinatown Publishing."

Wei Ming: "..."

Gong Biyang felt that today was too failed. Under the competition with the global publishing giant Penguin, he was defeated.

*Black Cat Detective* competition failed, *Tian Shu Qi Tan* didn't compete with others, and *The Spring of the Sheep-Herding Class* in *Animal Ferocity* that he liked was also picked away by Minford, who had a sharp eye. He said he wanted to translate this novella himself.

In order to complete the boss's task, Gong Biyang prepared to take a closer look at Wei Ming's other works tomorrow.

Or don't look carefully, just buy it with your eyes closed. Whatever performance or not, the boss's happiness is the most important.

Just as the idea of lying flat emerged, the front desk of the Frankfurt Hotel said someone was looking for him.

"It's a Chinese."

Gong Biyang went downstairs immediately, but below was not the Wei Ming he was thinking of, but a person named Wei Ping'an, who claimed to be Wei Ming's uncle.

"I have something to do here, by the way, visit Mr. Gong, and want to talk to you about the authorization of Wei Ming's works."

Gong Biyang sighed: "Mr. Wei, please sit down. We are indeed a small publisher, not comparable to Penguin's influence."

"Mr. Gong doesn't have to be self-effacing. As far as I know, your company also has a very strong influence in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia."

"Those places are indeed within our business scope."

Wei Ping'an smiled: "That's easy to say. Next, let's talk about the traditional authorization of Wei Ming's works."

"Traditional copyright?" Gong Biyang's eyes lit up, "Yes, traditional copyright!"

He had been thinking about getting the English version before, but forgot that there was a traditional version.