Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 448 Before you gave birth to me, you were already old when I gave birth to you.

After lunch, Fang Minghua and Emily took a car and went straight to Noble Bookstore in New York.

Noble Bookstore is located near Rockefeller Center and is known as the world's largest bookstore. It is said that the bookshelf in the bookstore is more than 20 kilometers long.

When the two arrived, there was already a queue at the door of the bookstore, and a poster for the event was posted at the door.

"The famous Chinese young writer Ming Hua's new work "Crossing the Guandong" is signed for book signing." There is also a long title below:

This year’s National Book Critics Circle Award winners

1986 Nebula Award Winner

Author of "The Bridge's Lost Dreams".
It seems that the book "The Bridge of Lost Dreams" is really deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Accompanied by security personnel, Fang Minghua and his party entered the bookstore and came to the book signing area. There was a table in front and a huge poster behind.

Above is my detailed resume and almost all of my works and awards over the years. ·

Fang Minghua took a look and saw that the brush was produced by Dai Yuexuan and had Yidege ink.

this.
Emily was a little embarrassed.

Mixed race?
Sure enough, the girl briefly introduced her name as Ally, her Chinese name is Yanli, her father is American and her mother is Taiwanese, and she likes traditional Chinese culture very much.

The sales of this collection of novels in the United States are not ideal. After all, this type of novel is not a bestseller.

This is not difficult for Fang Minghua, but he doesn’t have the pen and ink.

Fang Minghua looked at the fat young man, smiled and signed his name on the title page.

It was written under a different pen name, and Americans didn't seem to be interested in martial arts novels either.

Fortunately, there are not many such readers.

Most of them took "Crossing the Guandong", but there were still a few who took it and wrote "The Lost Dream of the Covered Bridge", and some even took a copy of "Selected Chinese Pioneer Works and Short Stories"!
After Fang Minghua returned from a study tour in Iowa, he collected and sorted out some novels published by domestic pioneer writers such as Liu Sola, Mo Yan, Yu Hua, etc., and then gave them to the founder of San Francisco's "City Lights" and poet Lawrence Ferlingue was translated and published in the United States by the famous American sinologist Grant Howard.

"I'll bring it." The girl actually took out a brush and a small bottle of ink from her backpack.

shit
So complete.

Emily acted as an assistant and helped maintain order. What was even more ridiculous was that someone actually took a novel written by Emily and asked her to sign it.

Soon, Fang Minghua got into work mode and signed his name on each new book - naturally in Chinese characters.

However, Fang Minghua graciously made room for her. Since the reader has brought it, let’s sign it.

"Sorry, Miss Yanli, I didn't bring a brush and ink." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

I didn’t expect that someone would sign it today.

At this moment, a girl with black hair but blue eyes came up, holding a brand new copy of "Crossing Guandong" and speaking not very fluent Chinese.

It includes two novels by Fang Minghua, "The Sun Also Rises" and "Roadside Picnic".

Brush signature?

It turns out that "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit", which was recently released in China, is included, but "The Snow in the Snow" is not there.

"Minghua, can you sign for me with a brush?" the girl made her request.

Oh my god, they are all produced by time-honored domestic brands.

Fang Minghua was very suspicious. Is this mixed-race girl named Yanli or her mother a calligraphy enthusiast and good at writing calligraphy?
Fortunately, I have practiced hard, otherwise I would really have embarrassed the country today!
Fang Minghua was not polite, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, signed his name on the title page of the book, thought for a while and wrote another sentence.

"Be born Chinese, don't be a slave to the subjugation of the country"

This is a sentence from "Crossing Guandong".

The girl left happily.

Fang Minghua also had a smile on his face. Fortunately, the girl took away her brush and ink. Otherwise, it will be troublesome if later readers ask to use a brush too.

The signing lasted from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm. Fang Minghua’s arms were sore after writing for the whole two hours.

This money is not easy to earn either.
At 9 o'clock that night, Fang Minghua was about to leave and fly to Houston, Texas, and Evans naturally accompanied him.

Emily didn't go.

She had her own job and flew to Vancouver, Canada, to attend a literary seminar held there, and the two said goodbye in the hotel.

"Emily, welcome to China. You must come to Xijing. My wife and I will give you a warm welcome. I will take you to climb the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to see the Terracotta Warriors and Horses."

Fang Minghua extended an invitation.

"I will definitely come if I have the chance." Emily said.

"Okay, I'm leaving, goodbye!" Fang Minghua said.

"Wait a minute." The girl said, ran back to her room, and came back within two minutes, holding pen and ink and some rice paper in her hand.

"Where did you come from?" Fang Minghua was surprised.

"I bought it in a store in Chinatown. Please write a message for me as a souvenir."

"Write what?"

"Just write this sentence!"

Emily took out another book from her bag, and it turned out to be the Chinese version of "Three Hundred Tang Poems"!
She turned over a dog-eared page, and a line of words on it was suddenly marked with a pen:
"You were born before I was born, but I was born before you were old. You hate that I was born late, but I hate that you were born early."!
Fang Minghua suddenly couldn't laugh or cry.

Girl, do you understand the meaning of this sentence?

Fang Minghua was very suspicious that Emily was deceived by some unscrupulous bookstore owner.

"Minghua, is this character difficult to write? I think there are very few strokes." Emily asked in confusion.

You do not understand.

The fewer strokes of Chinese characters, the more difficult it is to write them.

Forget it, just write.

Fang Minghua carefully spread the rice paper on the coffee table, picked up a brush and dipped it in ink, held his breath, hung his wrist, and wrote this line of regular script on the white words, of course not forgetting to sign his name.

After writing it, enjoy it for yourself.

Not bad, not comparable to those calligraphy masters, but more than enough to fool foreigners.

"Thank you." The girl looked at the calligraphy that the ink had not yet dried, and was filled with joy: "I will post it in the bedroom of my home in Los Angeles when I get back."

Fortunately, just don't stick it in the living room.

After bidding farewell to Emily, Fang Minghua flew to Houston overnight. The next day he signed and sold books at Federal Bookstore, followed by Los Angeles and Phoenix. The last stop was Chicago.

The bookstore that sells books in Chicago is called Miopic Bookstore. It is a three-story building located in the Wicker Park area.

Rest in the hotel in the morning, go to the bookstore to work at noon, and in the evening, accompanied by Evans, stroll around the city and taste the local food, which has become a daily routine these days.

The same is true today.

It's just the last day of "part-time work". After signing the book today, I will be free.

Fang Minghua was immersed in signing his name on a book in the bookstore. Seeing that it was almost time to get off work, he looked up and saw an Oriental man with black hair and yellow skin standing next to him, smiling at him.

Fang Minghua also laughed.

It was his friend, Sun Lizhe.

(End of this chapter)