Chapter 225

"Is it that prize-winning solicitation activity? I know that. It's basically impossible. Our mother tongue is not English, and it's hard to compete with those professional writers."

Seeing the newspaper handed over by the Chinese restaurant boss, before Lu Jingyao could speak, Yang Liqin directly interrupted Lu Jingyao's fantasy.

But Boss Zhao smiled and said: "In the past, this prize-winning solicitation only accepted translated manuscripts, so it was indeed difficult for us Easterners to have a chance."

"But this time they added an Excellent Review Award, with a prize of 10,000 US dollars. You can calculate how much it is in pounds now."

"I remember that your foreign language department doesn't just learn language and grammar, but also learns knowledge about foreign literature and art, right?"

"Then you should be able to understand English, and naturally you can write reviews, right? What if you get lucky?"

Yang Liqin became interested after hearing Boss Zhao's words. After Lu Jingyao finished reading the newspaper, she immediately took it over and read it carefully.

She wasn't in the English department before coming to the UK, but she had been here for two years and had an English foundation. Naturally, she didn't want to miss this opportunity to "get rich overnight."

10,000 US dollars!

In recent years, the pound-to-dollar exchange rate has been falling all the way. This year, 10,000 US dollars can be exchanged for more than 6,000 pounds.

What is the concept of 6,000 pounds?

A "senior waiter" like Yang Liqin only has an income of more than 100 pounds a month. For student workers like them with very narrow employment opportunities, they can't save 2,000 pounds even if they work until graduation.

Earning money and saving money are not directly equivalent. Earning 10,000 in ten years and earning 10,000 in three years, the money saved is completely different.

If you earn more than 6,000 pounds overnight, wouldn't you save it all?

If she suddenly had these 6,000-plus pounds, many things Yang Liqin could only think about before could be realized.

At this time, a voice rang in Yang Liqin's ear: "Brother Zhao, the review award is 10,000 US dollars, so what is the prize money for the solicitation...?"

Boss Zhao smiled and said: "The solicitation prize is 30,000 US dollars. And if you can win this award, you will definitely be favored by the publishing company and sign a translation contract. Adding it all up, it won't be less than 100,000 US dollars!"

"100,000 US dollars? Is writing so profitable?"

Lu Jingyao was shocked.

The rumor that Li Ye earned nearly 10,000 in royalties for a "Lurking" was spread widely in Qingshui County. At that time, she felt it was incredible.

Money, how could it be so easy to earn?

After arriving in the UK and receiving a salary of 100 pounds, she felt that the so-called writer Li Ye was nothing more than that; she could earn thousands of RMB a month.

But now it seems that her pattern was still small.

Seeing that Lu Jingyao was obviously moved, the kind Boss Zhao found a manuscript.

"Here, this is the translation manuscript I got from London. I originally thought I might get rich! But I couldn't even understand it. If you are interested, try it!"

"Okay, thank you Brother Zhao."

Lu Jingyao held the manuscript tightly in her hand, as if what she was holding wasn't a stack of paper, but a thick stack of banknotes.

Yang Liqin smiled lightly and didn't speak. She didn't want to hit this little fellow townsman, because when she first came to the UK, she was dazzled and full of fantasies about various opportunities to "get rich."

After fully understanding this "civilized" society, Yang Liqin knew that the doors to some opportunities had never been opened to people like them.

Even those doors that opened a crack required them to pay more desperate strength than the college entrance examination, stepping on who knows how many companions, to barely squeeze through.

It can be said that wanting to stand out overseas, every step forward is like fighting a war. The enemies you face are never just a few, but dozens, hundreds, or even more.

At eleven o'clock, the Chinese restaurant got off work.

Yang Liqin and Lu Jingyao walked together. Because there was a bicycle today, the two saved the cost of taking a car and rode back to school along the street with streetlights.

Lu Jingyao didn't speak along the way. Yang Liqin, who was sitting in the back seat, smiled and said: "What's wrong, Jingyao, missing home? Or missing money?"

"Ah? No, no, I just arrived, how could I miss home?"

Lu Jingyao's handlebars shook, and she hurriedly changed the subject: "Sister Liqin, you can go home next year, right? You can build a house for your family and be assigned to a good unit. It can be considered as having made it."

"I'm not going back," Yang Liqin said decisively: "I will strive to stay here for further study."

"You're not going back?" Lu Jingyao said in surprise: "But, I heard that the quota for further study is very small, and it seems very difficult to fight for."

"You just arrived, you will understand slowly in the future," Yang Liqin smiled and said: "Jingyao, people like us without power and background might only have this one chance to change our destiny in our lives."

"Grab it, hold it tight, and you can better realize your life value."

"Oh~~"

Lu Jingyao promised, but she always felt that Yang Liqin's answer... had words within words.

Returning to school, Lu Jingyao, who had pedaled a bicycle all the way, felt that she was about to be exhausted.

But after lying on the bed, she tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.

So she simply took out the stack of manuscripts and read them under the light in the corridor.

The two roommates in the dormitory were very unfriendly. If the light was turned on inside, it might attract rude reprimands.

Opening the manuscript that needed secondary translation, Lu Jingyao immediately breathed a sigh of relief because she could understand it.

And as she read, she found that why did she have a familiar feeling?

After Lu Jingyao came to the UK, the thing she was most unaccustomed to was the "unfamiliarity" with English.

As an excellent student in the English department, she always felt separated by a layer when communicating with locals, and reading local English newspapers would also see many "imprecise" grammatical wordings.

Later, she realized that the English she learned was not authentic enough.

But the English manuscript with a prize of 30,000 US dollars she saw now, why is it so "Zhonghua flavor"?

"Could it be that this was written by a Zhonghua person?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Foreign exchange is so tight, how could a Zhonghua person offer a prize of 30,000 US dollars?"

After Li Ye and Wen Leyu finished eating at Zaojunmiao and just returned to school, the younger brother Sun Xianjin hurried over.

"Li Ye, hurry, hurry, Li Huaisheng is calling you to distribute royalties!"

Seeing Sun Xianjin's anxious look, Li Ye couldn't help but laugh.

"Distributing royalties is distributing royalties, it's not like we haven't distributed them before. What's the rush?"

"What's wrong, in a hurry to have a good meal on the day of distributing royalties? Does that need to wait for distributing royalties? If you want to eat something, I'll treat you anytime, isn't that it?"

"Oh no," Sun Xianjin hurriedly said: "This time is different, this time it's foreign exchange."

"Whoa~, Blue Sea Publishing House is finally generous for once!"

Li Ye was also quite surprised, because the royalties for "Lurking" were paid by Blue Sea Publishing House, and the reprint royalties calculated in US dollars by Hong Kong Treading Waves every quarter basically had nothing to do with the Wangxiang Wangxiang Gujun Literature Society; they were all converted into RMB and paid over.

At that time, Li Ye thought that Beijing University had a big face, and Li Huaisheng and others could get a portion of US dollars with the support of the Youth League Committee! The facts proved that foreign exchange has the biggest face in this era, and they tossed for several months without results.

Didn't expect to be so kind today and share some foreign exchange?

"It's not Blue Sea, it seems to be the new guy Du Yuan who found the way, saying it's selling the comic adaptation rights."

"Comic adaptation rights?" Li Ye asked in surprise: "Wasn't the comic adaptation rights sold to Blue Sea?"

"No, no, you'll know when you get there."

Li Ye and Sun Xianjin arrived at the activity room of the Wangxiang Wangxiang Gujun Literature Society. Basically, everyone in the literature society had arrived, and the Youth League Committee also sent people.

As soon as he entered the door, someone said loudly: "Li Ye, what have you been doing all day? Why can't I find you? Just busy falling in love? If you are always like this, there won't be a share for you in the future!"

Why does this sound so awkward?

"Are you that... Du... Du Yuan, right?"

Li Ye frowned, and it took him a long time to "remember" the other party's name, then said embarrassedly: "Sorry, sorry, you only joined the literature society this month, I didn't remember your name."

"How can you say that about me? After all, we still have to focus on professional study. Besides, I came twice last week, three times the week before last..."

"..."

The originally lively activity room became quiet, everyone looked at them strangely, and then several senior members pursed their lips and held back laughter.

Although Li Ye is not as senior as the founders of the literature society like Li Huaisheng and Yang Yumin, he is definitely a core backbone of the Wangxiang Wangxiang Gujun Literature Society.

You, a new member who has been here for less than a month, say "there won't be a share for you," which sounds like a "boss" yelling at a "little brother."

Li Ye is not a stingy person, but in his previous life, he experienced similar situations in his unit. If you are always ordered around but are polite and humble, then in the eyes of others, you are material for being a "subordinate."

More importantly, you say I'm "falling in love" in front of the Youth League Committee? Don't you know that the school doesn't advocate falling in love?

Du Yuan was obviously stunned. Yang Yumin on the side hurriedly smoothed things over: "Li Ye, you were busy studying works when you came, so naturally you didn't notice Du Yuan. He comes every day. You should get to know each other more and learn from each other in the future."

"Hehehe, definitely, definitely."

Li Ye smiled and found a stool to sit down, waiting for the royalties to be distributed.

No matter how small the fly is, it's meat. The happiest day for a worker is the day of receiving wages.

The royalties were distributed. Li Ye received 25 RMB and a few Japanese yen.

Two with a face value of 2,000 and one with a face value of 1,000. If converted according to the 1983 exchange rate, it is about 21 or 22 US dollars.

"We were able to export and earn foreign exchange this time, all thanks to Student Du Yuan. He discovered opportunities we hadn't noticed, then actively sought cooperation partners, and finally successfully sold the comic adaptation rights of 'Wangxiang Wangxiang Gujun of Looking Back'."

"To encourage everyone's hard writing for a long time, a portion of foreign exchange was specially taken out as a reward for everyone. Let's applaud."

"Clap clap clap~"

Everyone applauded, and Du Yuan smiled and bowed to everyone to thank them.

Li Ye waited for everyone to finish applauding before asking: "May I ask, who were the comic adaptation rights sold to? Are there any agreed scope and restrictions on adaptation in the contract?"

"..."

The surroundings were quiet again, and everyone didn't understand what Li Ye's second half of the sentence meant.

The person from the Youth League Committee asked: "Li Ye, what do you mean by adaptation scope and restrictions?"

Li Ye answered directly: "It means agreeing on the scope of the other party's adaptation. For example, in our work, it clearly promotes the longing of the Tang Dynasty Western Regions lone army for their hometown, as well as their unyielding fighting spirit."

"But when the other party adapts it, will they distort the facts? Will they change the originally tragic theme into something pitiful and ridiculous?"

"Even adding characters that don't exist in the original work, such as changing the leader who led the lone army thousands of miles back home into an envoy to Tang who came to study in the Great Tang?"

"..."

Everyone was stunned. No one had thought of this possibility, only thinking it was adapting it into a comic book!

Du Yuan couldn't help but say: "Li Ye, you are alarmist. Don't link normal literary exchange behavior with other complex factors."

Li Ye glanced at him and said: "Whether it is alarmist can be judged by professionals, but the adaptation contract must agree that the plot and characters cannot be changed."

"And before publication, it must be reviewed and agreed by us before it can be finalized and published."

"Some people haven't apologized for the war of aggression decades ago! Do you still expect them to respect the original work?"

"..."

"You are joking. They spent 500,000 yen to buy the copyright, why should they listen to us..."

"How much? Only 500,000 yen, are you selling sweet potatoes!"

Li Ye jumped up directly.

500,000 yen is only 2,000-plus US dollars. More than a dozen people checked information and worked on the plot, spending a year of hard work, and it only earned 2,000-plus US dollars?

"Alright, we will definitely study this matter seriously. Now everyone... first collect the money."

The Japanese yen that had just been distributed had to be collected back, but no one had the feeling of "reluctance," and everyone handed it back like a hot potato.

"Now let's discuss the next issue. Li Huaisheng and Yang Yumin's internship units have been decided."

"Starting from the next semester, they have to take care of both study and work. Then the burden of the literature society must be lightened."

"So we will hold a public election in the near future to elect a new person in charge of the literature society. Who among you is willing to spend some effort to take on this burden?"

After the words fell, the activity room was silent for a while, and then several people raised their hands.

Bian Jingjing raised her hand, and Du Yuan also raised his hand.

Li Ye, who had always disliked trouble, finally raised his hand.

Li Huaisheng looked at Li Ye in surprise, his face full of gratified smiles.

After everyone dispersed, Li Huaisheng, Yang Yumin, and others surrounded Li Ye and laughed and scolded: "Thought you were an immortal who didn't get involved in the red dust! Why, finally have some responsibility?"

Li Ye smiled: "You two are the immortals, right? With you here, how can it be my turn to spend effort? But now that you have attained the Tao and ascended, I will reluctantly do it!"

Li Huaisheng patted Li Ye on the shoulder and lowered his voice: "You must be serious during the election. Quite a few people are eyeing this position!"

"Not afraid!" Li Ye said calmly: "As long as I want to compete, no one is my opponent."

Of course, Li Ye had one more sentence he didn't say.

【I don't want to come out of the mountains either~, but I'm afraid you will be led into the ditch by others~】

(End of chapter)