Chapter 271: Big Names Aren't Necessarily Suitable

Li Ye didn't know that Pei Wencong believed in him so much, willing to throw the four million US dollars he had just received and hadn't warmed up yet into the foreign exchange market, following his noble person to the death.

If he knew, Li Ye might have persuaded Pei Wencong a few words.

I am the Great Emperor of Crossing Over. Thousands of gold scattered will return. You are a grassroots bitter person who has only made it out at thirty. What if you explode your position and get angry? Can you stand it?

Li Ye read the analysis report of the Treading Waves Literary Publishing House for two hours, focusing on the various data of the translation versions with the best sales results,

such as regional sales, reader evaluation, and submission speed.

Finally, he called Pei Wencong over. "Old Pei, which version do you think is the most suitable?"

Pei Wencong smiled and said, "I think they are all good, so I still need Mr. Li to select the first prize winner of the essay contest, and then we will send someone to sign a follow-up translation contract with them."

Pei Wencong was very humble, handing the decision-making power completely to Li Ye.

Because in his view, the Son of Luck could blow a golden mountain out of thin air with just one breath, so mortals had better not disturb the secrets of heaven and just obediently rub against it.

Li Ye pointed! "Let them come to Hong Kong to receive the final award, and then formulate a rigorous translation contract."

Li Ye selected six translators, who were the translators of the top two versions in sales and evaluation in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Pei Wencong looked and saw that they were indeed the six translators with the best market trial response. They had different styles, but their writing abilities were very strong, and they all received a lot of praise from readers.

However, he still said to Li Ye: "Mr. Li, should we select the first prize now? Because if it is not determined whether they can get the prize money, Mr. Wood may not be willing to come to Hong Kong."

When Li Ye offered a reward of 30,000 US dollars for the essay contest, there was a first prize, a second prize, and several winning prizes, among which the first prize was the highest, close to 20,000, the second prize was only 1,000, and the rest were purely comforting.

A thousand or so, if you can get it by writing at home, it's natural, but if you let people fly across half the earth and they might only get a consolation prize, then famous writers like Mr. Wood might not come.

After all, it's just an essay contest held by a magazine, not a literary award with any influence. Who isn't here for the money?

A thousand yuan? That's not enough for gas money.

Li Ye smiled and said, "If they like this story, then they will come. If they just treat this as a translation job, then that's not what we need."

Although Li Ye completely constructed the background, character setting, and plot context of "A Song of Ice and Fire," if he wanted this book to sell well globally and reach the book review of the original work, he didn't just need a translator.

Li Ye gave "A Song of Ice and Fire" flesh and blood, and now he needed a suitable writer to give it a soul.

So big names aren't necessarily suitable.

Mr. Wood in the Americas might be an excellent writer, but if he doesn't like this story extremely much and doesn't have the urgent desire to translate "A Song of Ice and Fire," then he isn't the person Li Ye is looking for.

"That's fine! I'll go arrange it."

Pei Wencong understood Li Ye's meaning and immediately asked Ah Min to contact several translators as soon as possible, asking them to come to Hong Kong as soon as possible.

Although Li Ye didn't say he wanted to meet these translation authors in person, Pei Wencong defaulted to Li Ye's decision-making power and wanted to do things to the best.

Because of the time difference, it was four or five in the morning in the Americas, so before getting off work, Ah Min only contacted four other translators,

two of whom clearly stated that they would come as soon as possible if round-trip air tickets were provided, and one said they had no time recently.

And the other one was a bit strange.

The summer on the British Isles is the most comfortable season of the year, with moderate temperatures, neither cold nor hot, and the maximum will not exceed 30 degrees, so there is no need for air conditioning or electric fans to help cool down.

And the days are long and the nights are short in summer in Great Britain. You don't need to turn on the lights from 6 am to 9 pm. For people who like to sunbathe, this is simply a gift from heaven.

Many people will set up a bed in their own courtyard and enjoy the warm and bright sunshine comfortably.

But in Jonina's world, the sunshine had disappeared two years ago, and only cold darkness surrounded her.

"Mom, can we eat lunch early? Dean is really hungry."

"Louisa, it's still four hours until lunch time. Can you take your brother and read the storybook from yesterday again?"

"But Mom, we've read it many times. Okay Mom, we're actually not that hungry now."

Jonina looked at her eldest daughter, who went to her small room with her younger brother with her head down, and couldn't help but feel a piercing pain in her heart.

Jonina herself was hungry, so how could she not know that Louisa was comforting her incompetent mother?

Jonina opened the cabinet at home and looked at the eleven potatoes of different sizes, not daring to "soften her heart."

The unemployment relief money wouldn't be issued for another three days! These eleven potatoes needed to last three days.

But even if the unemployment relief money was issued, so what?

Two years ago, Jonina divorced her husband, who had a tendency to domestic violence, after a long tug-of-war, and moved out with her two children.

Because one child was five and the other was only two, they occupied a lot of time and energy, which made Jonina exhausted and busy in the following days.

In one year, Jonina changed seven jobs, and the longest one didn't last a month.

Landlords don't have surplus grain, and capitalists don't raise idlers. No kind capitalist is willing to hire an employee who can neither guarantee working hours nor working status.

In the end, Jonina began to fear looking for work, fear communicating with people, and everyone around her advised her to see a psychiatrist.

But Jonina didn't dare to see a psychiatrist. She was afraid that once she was diagnosed with a mental illness, she would be deprived of the custody of her two children by her ex-husband.

Although she was poor, the children could at least be full and warm. If she threw the two children to that alcoholic, I'm afraid the five-year-old sister would have to cook for her two-year-old brother and thirty-year-old father.

Jonina moved away from London and came to Manchester, where the standard of living was lower, and barely settled down.

Her relief money was just enough for the rent of two rooms, and she had to work hard for the living expenses herself.

With the help of several classmates and friends, Jonina found a job "polishing" for newspaper reporters.

If this reporter needed peach-colored news, then Jonina needed various metaphors and edges, describing the scarlet mood that made readers itch.

If this reporter was a righteous fighter, then Jonina had to let readers see a righteous knight standing tall, riding a thin and withered warhorse, charging at the enemy fearlessly with broken armor.

Many reporters' requirements were also very tricky, and Jonina often felt that she was going to be driven crazy.

But she could earn money without going out, and she could have free time to accompany the children's growth, so she endured it.

It's just that the income from this kind of work was very meager, just barely enough for them to eat bread with mashed potatoes for every meal, and life was very tight.

But bad luck picks the thin spots, and misfortune picks the bitter life. Two months ago, Jonina hit an old lady while riding a bicycle and owed a medical bill of more than 700 pounds plus a fine bill.

Jonina had no savings, so where could she pay it back? Helplessly, she came out to find some odd jobs to earn money, but found that more than a year of home life made her social phobia even more serious.

Jonina locked herself and her children in the room, looking for any writing opportunity to earn money, and only ate two meals a day, hoping to overcome the difficulties by opening sources and throttling expenses and tightening her belt.

But no matter how she tossed, her monthly income was only a little over 100 pounds. She wanted to pay off the debt of 700 pounds, but didn't know when this bitter life would come to an end.

"Ling ling ling~"

The phone at home rang.

Jonina, who was secretly wiping tears, couldn't care about wiping her tears and rushed toward the phone.

Having a phone meant having work. If it weren't for maintaining contact with those reporters, Jonina would have stopped the phone long ago.

"Hello? I am Jonina."

"Hello, Ms. Jonina, congratulations on entering the final round of the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' essay contest. Now the organizer invites you to Hong Kong..."

Jonina was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed in her heart, and the tears she had just stopped began to gush out again.

"Did I win the first prize?"

"Sorry, Ms. Jonina, you haven't won the prize yet. The final result needs to be revealed in Hong Kong."

Jonina felt a loss in her heart and asked, "Hong Kong? Where is that?"

The other end of the phone was also stunned for a moment and said, "Hong Kong is in East Asia, it is the Pearl of the Orient of our Kingdom of Great Britain... Ms. Jonina, don't you watch the news?"

"..."

"Sorry, I haven't paid attention to the news recently..."

Jonina was very ashamed, because she no longer had a TV at home, and didn't even subscribe to newspapers, so how could she know that Great Britain was fighting with the Central Plains for the ownership of Hong Kong at this moment.

"Ms. Jonina, Hong Kong provides round-trip air tickets. If you are interested, please prepare your luggage and passport. It is expected to be a flight tomorrow afternoon or evening."

"Can I not go?"

"What? Ms. Jonina, did you just say you aren't going?"

"..."

"Yes, can I not go to Hong Kong? Just reveal the final evaluation result... and give me the prize money."

Jonina felt a panic in her heart, and her voice dropped by more than ten decibels.

She now thought about having to take her children across half the earth, running from the Atlantic to the other side of the Pacific, where she was unfamiliar with the place, and going to participate in some final evaluation?

How many people would she have to deal with during this period? How many scene words would she have to say?

The problem is, her two children don't have a few decent clothes now.

In two years, both children have grown up, and their old clothes are exposing their trouser legs. Is she going to lose face to the Pacific Ocean?

"Ms. Jonina, are you going to give up the final evaluation of this essay contest? You have to know that your work is very popular and is very likely to win the final crown..."

"Heh~"

Jonina laughed silently.

When she first started translating "A Song of Ice and Fire," Jonina also thought she translated it extremely well.

She felt that Daenerys Targaryen in it was like another shadow of her.

But after her preliminary translation, she was attacked by many people.

Because Jonina translated "A Song of Ice and Fire" into a "Big Heroine" book,

more than 70% of the space in it was about the heroine, while the rest were mentioned in one stroke, and even deviated from the original plot outline.

Jonina was hit hard and once thought about not translating the subsequent chapters, but couldn't resist liking it in her heart, and finally finished translating all the chapters of the essay contest.

It's just that in the subsequent translation process, Jonina never dared to look at the book reviews in the newspaper, nor did she look at the reader letters sent by the organizer.

She was afraid that she would never have the courage to translate this work she liked in her heart again.

So now that the organizer said it would be revealed only after arriving in Hong Kong, Jonina felt that she had heard another ridiculous lie.

In the past few years, she had heard too many lies. She felt that her life was ruined by believing in lies.

"Hello hello? Ms. Jonina, are you listening?"

"I'm listening," Jonina pondered for a moment and said, "May I ask what is the probability of me winning the first prize?"

"I can't determine this. I can only say that there is hope."

"What about the second prize?" Jonina said urgently, "What is the probability of me winning the second prize?"

"..."

"Ms. Jonina, I can't answer your question definitely, but the second prize is very hopeful, but I still suggest you go to Hong Kong."

Jonina was silent again for a long time, a bit uneasy, a bit humble, and said: "Then I only want the second prize money. If I don't go to Hong Kong, can you remit it to me as soon as possible?"

The second prize was 1,000 US dollars, enough to pay off Jonina's debt and let her get rid of the imminent predicament.

"Ms. Jonina, why don't you want to go to Hong Kong? Many people are fighting for this opportunity..."

"Third prize, can you determine if I can win the third prize? I have two children. If we fly 10,000 miles but have no harvest, the children will be disappointed."

"..."

"I will help you ask, please wait for my call."

The phone hung up, and Jonina suddenly felt a bit dizzy, hurriedly holding the table and squatting down.

Then, she suddenly began to regret, regretting whether her response on the phone just now was appropriate.

Since she wasn't going to Hong Kong, why would people give you the first prize or second prize?

What reader evaluation? Do you think this is a Prime Minister election?

But what if she went to Hong Kong and didn't get the prize money?

How many such things have she seen over the years? The manuscript was clearly a piece of dog shit, but it was a gold-medal reporter,

and she was considered to have writing talent by everyone since she was in school, but now isn't she still counting potatoes to live?

In this world, talent is worthless.

"Ling ling ling~"

The phone rang again. Jonina, who was squatting on the ground, woke up suddenly, but found that she couldn't stand up.

Her legs were numb.

She didn't know how long she had been squatting on the ground.

Jonina tried her best to stretch her arm and pulled the phone down.

"Hello, hello, I am Jonina."

"Hello Ms. Jonina, may I ask if you have a bank account now?"

"Bank account?" Jonina was startled, then happily said: "I have a bank account. Did they agree? When exactly will the result be revealed, and when can you remit the prize money to me as soon as possible?"

"Not really, Ms. Jonina. The organizer is willing to advance you 2,000 US dollars first and bear the round-trip air tickets for you and your children, but you must go to Hong Kong."

"Believe me, lady, this is an opportunity, a very good opportunity."

The other end of the phone was no longer in a formulaic tone, but said enviously: "Actually, I also tried to translate this book, but I didn't get the opportunity to go to Hong Kong."

Jonina finally felt a bit certain that she really might win the first prize. After all, the second prize money was only 1,000 US dollars.

"Okay! I... will go!"

Jonina agreed with difficulty. The temptation of 20,000 US dollars overwhelmed her inner social phobia.

"2,000 US dollars will arrive in your account this afternoon. Please prepare your luggage and passport. I wish you all the best."

"Please wait a moment, is there anyone accompanying me?"

"There is no one for this, but someone will pick you up at the airport when you arrive in Hong Kong."

The phone hung up again. Jonina seemed to have no strength left, but in her heart, something was growing again.

That was her confidence. Although it grew very slowly, it finally came back.

"Mom, it's already eleven o'clock. Can we eat lunch?"

Jonina looked up and found that her daughter Louisa and younger brother Dean were already standing in front of her, waiting for Mom to serve the meal with eager eyes.

Jonina hurriedly got up, but her numb legs made her extremely difficult.

"Mom, you rest for a while, I can cook."

The sensible Louisa turned around, moved a stool, stepped on the stool, took out two big potatoes from the cabinet, and washed them under the faucet.

Her hands were still very small, and the potatoes slipped out of her hands several times.

"Louisa, we aren't eating potatoes today."

"What Mom? But it's already eleven o'clock."

Louisa looked at Mom blankly and couldn't help but feel aggrieved in her heart.

She woke up very early today, woken up by hunger.

But the watch hand turned so slowly, how could she wait for the time to eat lunch?

In the end, she had to borrow her brother's name to want to move lunch to the morning to eat.

But in the end, she failed in front of Mom's insistence.

Now, seeing that she was about to eat fragrant boiled potatoes, why did Mom go back on her word again?

"Louisa, take your piggy bank over, okay?"

Louisa: "..."

Seeing her daughter stunned, Jonina said softly: "Louisa, we will have money soon. Today Mom will borrow some money from you first, and then double it back to you, okay?"

Jonina was very ashamed. When she left her ex-husband with her children, she was so confident, but now she had fallen to the point of using her daughter's piggy bank.

But Louisa suddenly jumped three feet high.

"Mom, you should have done this long ago. You wait, I'll go get it."

"Ceng ceng ceng~"

"Peng~"

"Mom, look, we have a lot of money!"

The ceramic piggy bank fell to the ground and shattered, spilling a ground of silver light.

It was all coins.

The daughter pouted her little bottom to pick up coins, while the son, Dean, hugged his mother's leg and asked in a milky voice, "Mom, what delicious food are we eating today?"

Before Jonina could speak, her sister Louisa said: "I'll treat Mom and brother to dinner. It's at the Chinatown two streets ahead. Every time we pass by... it's really fragrant."

For British people who can make do with two slices of bread with jam, it would be strange if Chinese food wasn't fragrant!

"Jingyao, sent money home again?"

"Mm, sent a little."

"Didn't you send it once in the spring? Why send it in the summer? You have to

"There isn't much, Sister Liqin, it only totaled two hundred pounds."

"Sigh, Jingyao, you really are..."

Yang Liqin stood in the corner of the Dongshan Restaurant, chatting idly with Lu Jingyao, who was beside her.

Because of the recent situation between Britain and the mainland, there were fewer customers in the restaurant, allowing the two of them to steal a moment of leisure to chat.

"Little Yang, Little Lu, come over here for a moment."

The restaurant's head proprietress suddenly called over Yang Liqin and Lu Jingyao, who had been chatting.

"What is it, Sister Sun?"

"It's like this: as you've both seen recently, there are far fewer customers in the restaurant, so it hasn't been that busy.

From now on, you two should either rotate every other day, or just keep one person; I have no choice, the rent went up again this month."

Yang Liqin and Lu Jingyao's expressions changed instantly.

Because of the summer vacation, Yang Liqin had negotiated with the boss to adjust her working hours to the daytime; although it extended her working hours slightly, she no longer had to walk home at night.

But they had only been settled for a few days before the proprietress spotted their "overlapping positions."

By staggering the two of them to do the work of one person, she could pay only one person's wages, saving every penny she could.

"Sister Sun, look, we just agreed on this with Brother Zhao, it hasn't been easy for us."

"Your Brother Zhao is thin-skinned and embarrassed, but we have to have a conscience, don't we? The restaurant business is clearly bad, so that's how it's settled."

Yang Liqin only managed to say one sentence before the proprietress retorted with eight.

Boss Zhao was kind-hearted, but the proprietress was shrewd!

"Don't just stand there blankly, customers are here again, hurry up and greet them."

The proprietress glared at the two of them and turned to leave.

Yang Liqin and Lu Jingyao exchanged a look, both seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.

Especially Lu Jingyao, who had been introduced by Yang Liqin; at this moment, both in terms of emotion and reason, she had to "yield."

Yang Liqin waved her hand and said, "Alright, let's do one day each. Maybe things will get better after we get through this period. You go greet the customers first, I'll go find the boss again."

Lu Jingyao sighed and greeted Jonina's family of three, who had just entered, and showed them to a seat.

Before Jonina could order, her daughter Louisa rushed to say, "I'm treating Mom and my little brother to dinner today. We want sweet and sour chicken, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, and seafood soup."

Lu Jingyao turned to relay the order to the kitchen, while Jonina looked at Louisa with doting eyes; the mother and daughter exchanged a look and smiled at each other.

Although Louisa was young, she knew her mother's temperament. They only had coins in their hands, so if the daughter treated the mother to dinner, it would spare Jonina the embarrassment.

The food was served quickly, and Jonina's family ate with great relish.

At this moment, news of the negotiations between Britain and the mainland appeared on the television in the restaurant.

Jonina and Lu Jingyao both focused on the news simultaneously.

When she saw the citizens of Hong Kong panic-buying goods because they had lost confidence in the Hong Kong dollar, Jonina suddenly realized that the place she was going might not be so peaceful.

And when she saw the tough stance of the mainland, Jonina realized she didn't understand the language. If there were an accident, she would still have her children with her.

After the news ended, Lu Jingyao turned her head and noticed that the newly arrived customer's expression was off.

So she walked over and asked, "Hello, ma'am, is there anything I can help you with?"

Jonina shook her head and lowered her head to eat her portion of Chinese food.

However, after only a few bites, she suddenly looked up at Lu Jingyao and asked, "Excuse me, are you Chinese?"

Lu Jingyao sighed and said, "Yes, but we are just students, not politicians."

Jonina said, "Please don't misunderstand. What I want to know is, is there anyone among you willing to act as an interpreter for me for a few days? I need to take a trip to Hong Kong."

Lu Jingyao was stunned, thought for a moment, and said, "Could you be more specific?"

Jonina explained her situation, and finally said with some embarrassment, "I'm very sorry, the compensation I can offer won't be very high."

"You are Jonina? Jonina Walls?"

(End of chapter)