Reborn Bao Guowei, I really didn’t want to be a great writer!

Chapter 425: The rise of "Sprout"! Is the translated version the official version?
Jinmen.

"Mengya" newspaper.

"Shoumin, what are you reading so intently? Aren't you afraid that someone will emptied your newspaper office?"

Suddenly, a gentle voice with a hint of teasing came to my ears.

Li Shoumin, who was reading a magazine, was immediately awakened from his concentration. He looked up and saw a man with gray hair on his temples, but full of energy.

He cried out in surprise, "Mr. Ji Luan, why are you here?"

It turned out that the visitor was none other than Mr. Zhang Jiluan, the current chief editor of Ta Kung Pao, who had once served as Mr. Sun's secretary and was also the current leader of Tianjin's journalism industry.

Zhang Jiluan, wearing a black gown, sat down next to Li Shoumin and said, "Isn't this a request from Bingwen? I, Zhang Chizhang, am not a person who doesn't keep my word. Bingwen is a talented person, so naturally I have to come to your newspaper office more often to take a look."

Li Shoumin scratched his head apologetically and said, "Why didn't you tell me in advance that you were coming so that I could prepare well."

"What's there to prepare?" Zhang Jiluan said nonchalantly. "I'm not a noble, I just need some tea to drink."

"Wait a minute. I'll get you a cup of tea."

Li Shoumin did not allow any explanation and said that he should treat the other party with courtesy given his status.

The "Mengya" newspaper was established not long ago and the staff has not yet been fixed, so Li Shoumin has to do everything himself.

"It's okay, it's okay." Zhang Jiluan waved his hands and said.

He was just joking, but he didn't expect that the cute little fat boy in front of him would become so nervous.

Zhang Jiluan thought about it and couldn't help but ask curiously.

"I see that your newspaper, 'Mengya', has been established for some time, and I often see related content on the market. I wonder how the sales are?"

When "Mengya" was being prepared, Zhang Jiluan and Hu Zhengzhi worked hard.

It can be said that without the help of these two people, with the experience of a young man like Li Shoumin, it would be difficult to start this newspaper even with Bao Guowei's tens of thousands of dollars.

It is precisely because of the assistance of these two people that "Mengya" was able to gain a foothold in Tianjin so quickly.

However, Zhang Jiluan and Hu Zhengzhi also joined the Mengya newspaper. They both had their own work and also had a lot of work for the Ta Kung Pao.

Some time ago, the Ta Kung Pao was subjected to censorship for not obeying Chiang Kai-shek's orders. The main reason was that the Ta Kung Pao reported positively on some relevant situations in the Soviet areas, which was completely unacceptable to Chiang Kai-shek at the time.

Fortunately, the north was now initially stabilized and Tianjin was still under the control of the Fengtian warlords, so the Ta Kung Pao was able to get through the crisis without any major problems.

Of course, Zhang Jiluan must have known that this was inseparable from the close ties between Ta Kung Pao and Bao Guowei.

The first-hand report of the Fengtian clique's entry into the Pass was obtained by Zhang Jiluan through Bao Guowei's relationship.

That report greatly increased the influence of Ta Kung Pao, and it even seemed as if it was being protected by Zhang Xueliang.

Zhang Jiluan was unwilling to give up his original newspaper policy of "non-partisan, non-commercial, non-private, and non-blind."

However, he would never forget Bao Guowei's help and kindness to his own newspaper, so whenever he had time he would immediately visit the "Mengya" newspaper.

"Sir, are you asking about sales?"

Li Shoumin had a pair of big panda eyes, and it was obvious that he had stayed up many late nights. He had devoted himself to the establishment of this newspaper.

In fact, Li Shoumin felt that he was doing it more for himself, as publishing a newspaper has always been his dream.

When talking about sales, Li Shoumin smiled. He smiled innocently, and the fat that he had been nurturing in the newspaper office these days began to tremble.

"Speaking of this, it is thanks to Mr. Bingwen that we can now sell more than 10,000 copies a day in northern regions such as Peking and Tianjin. We have no plans to start sales in the southern regions yet. According to Mr. Bingwen, it is estimated that it will not be so fast. If the sales in the southern regions are recorded, I think it will be much higher."

"There are so many?"

Zhang Jiluan was a little surprised for a moment. He thought that the "Mengya" newspaper was just a game between the two of them, but he didn't expect that it would achieve such a large sales volume.

To be honest, as an old hand in the newspaper industry, he had some mental estimates of a newspaper's sales.

According to his observation, the fact that the "Sprout" newspaper has a sales volume of more than 5,000 copies today is already a remarkable thing.

You have to know that the "Mengya" newspaper was established around September, and it has only been less than half a year until now.

There are so many people who open newspapers in the world, but how many of them can actually make them big?
Take the Ta Kung Pao owned by Zhang Jiluan as an example. It was founded nearly thirty years ago and has experienced ups and downs for so long. It was once famous all over the world.

Four years ago, with the efforts of Zhang Jiluan, Hu Zhengzhi and others, the help of many friends, and the blessing of big news, the sales volume has barely reached more than 30,000.

In less than half a year, "Mengya", founded by Bao Guowei, a hands-off boss, has achieved sales of more than 10,000?
It is so terrifying that it is not impossible for it to become a major newspaper in the future.

Zhang Jiluan couldn't help but feel a little jealous when he thought of this. He smiled and said jokingly, "I never thought that Bingwen, who doesn't care about worldly affairs, could actually start a newspaper. Shoumin, your hard work has contributed greatly to this!"

What he said was not wrong. Since he planned to start a newspaper, Bao Guowei has rarely asked about things here.

On the one hand, he spends most of his time in the south, making it inconvenient for him to communicate with the north; on the other hand, his affairs are extremely busy, and apart from providing some manuscripts, he really has no time to come.

Li Shoumin was very modest. He scratched his head and said, "Sir, please don't praise me like that. To be honest, I think the success of Sprout is not just my own.

You should know that our newspaper "Mengya" is published under the name of Mr. Bingwen. How many people come here for this name?

In addition, the funds required to establish a newspaper require money. It is with the financial support of Mr. Bingwen that Mengya is what it is today.

Of course, it is inseparable from the positioning of our newspaper, which is different from other newspapers.”

Different from traditional newspapers, The Sprout emphasizes the word "new", is not bound by previous news reports, and focuses more on stories and ideas.

It can be said that "Mengya" is now basically divided into two sections.

One section is current affairs, which is relatively small and mainly strives to satirize and comment on current affairs in the form of stories. Most of the submissions follow the avant-garde works of Bao Guowei.

The other is vernacular novels, mainly the martial arts craze sparked by "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

Of course, there is no shortage of Li Shoumin’s own works.

Zhang Jiluan commented: "I have read Shoumin's "Shushan Swordsman", which is a work of extraordinary fantasy and unprecedented wonders in novels. Readers like it very much."

Li Shoumin said somewhat embarrassedly: "This work was previously guided by Mr. Bingwen. It was just a playful work. I didn't expect it to be loved by so many readers. I am already satisfied to have such an achievement."

After the two asked and answered questions, Zhang Jiluan had a basic understanding of the current situation of the "Mengya" newspaper.

Even he couldn't help but sigh and say: "Bao Bingwen is really a strange man. Although he is not in Tianjin, his shadow can be seen everywhere in the newspaper Mengya."

Li Shoumin said implicitly: "Now I hope Mr. Bingwen returns safely. The subsequent development of the "Mengya" newspaper still needs Mr. Bingwen's guidance."

Li Shoumin naturally knew that Bao Guowei had gone to sea. Previously, when the other party was still in the country, they could contact each other through letters or telegrams if there was anything. But now he is a little uncomfortable with it.

"The development of 'Mengya' still needs some consideration." Zhang Jiluan nodded and commented. "Although this newspaper is developing rapidly now, it is trying to attract readers similar to those of magazines. Looking for a new word will certainly lead to rapid development, but it is also easy to fall into a bottleneck. We need to think more about change."

Having said that, Zhang Jiluan looked down and saw the magazine that Li Shoumin had read earlier, and couldn't help but feel curious.

"I saw you were fascinated by this magazine earlier. It seems that the cover is not published in China?"

Li Shoumin nodded and said, "Sir, you have good eyesight. This is the British Seaside Magazine."

"Seaside Magazine?" Zhang Jiluan couldn't help but widen his eyes. "But, which magazine did Bingwen submit his work to in Europe?"

"That's right." Li Shoumin smiled and said. "Hasn't Mr. Bingwen's deeds been reported by major newspapers these days? Others are focusing on his economic policies, which have won the attention of the British royal family. I don't understand economics, but I am very interested in his science fiction novel." In the past two days, the news that Bao Guowei made Chinese people proud abroad has filled the public opinion field across China.

Almost all newspapers reported the news on their front pages at the same time.

It can be said that Bao Guowei has never abandoned his title of "Little Prince of Topics" and is still contributing to the journalism industry of the Republic of China even though he is far away in the West.

As the editor-in-chief of Ta Kung Pao, Zhang Jiluan naturally found out about the matter first.

But he had heard of this work but had not seen it yet.

In fact, European news media based in the country have already reprinted this novel.

Unfortunately, they are all original English texts, which was still somewhat difficult for most Chinese people at that time to read.

Even Zhang Jiluan could not be said to be able to read fluently, let alone others.

Zhang Jiluan asked in surprise, "Shoumin can actually read English?"

Li Shoumin's face turned red and he pulled out an English dictionary from the side.

"Sir, you overestimate me. I just got the translated version of The Country Teacher yesterday and I felt that the translation was not very good, so I took the dictionary and planned to read it again."

Zhang Jiluan couldn't help but admire the other party. It was rare in the world that someone could go to such a length just to watch a work.

What is extremely surprising is that this science fiction work about the East created by Chinese people has not yet had an official Chinese version.

When it was circulated in China, many Chinese people could not understand it, which greatly hindered the spread of "Rural Teachers".

The main reason was that Bao Guowei did not expect that the news could spread so quickly.

"I heard that Mr. Lin Yutang is currently working on the translation. Bing Wenyuan is in Europe and probably doesn't know the situation in China. It is obvious that the translation by this master who is both a teacher and a friend can be pretty close."

Zhang Jiluan said with emotion.

No matter how excellent a work is, it is useless without excellent translation. A poor translation can even make the flavor of the entire work completely different.

But Zhang Jiluan still felt a little itchy and asked, "Did Shoumin get the translated version?"

"It's not translated by Mr. Lin Yutang, but you can take a look at it."

Li Shoumin pulled out a dozen manuscripts from the drawer. He asked a friend who knew English to translate them temporarily. Given the tight time schedule and limited abilities, it was a rare achievement for him to be able to restore even 30% of the original flavor.

"I'd like to take a look first."

Zhang Jiluan has become curious about Bao Guowei. What kind of work can make foreigners so crazy?

After receiving the manuscript, Zhang Jiluan understood why Li Shoumin had to use a dictionary to read the original text himself. The crooked handwriting and the incoherent sentences showed that his translation level was really not good enough.
But even so, Zhang Jiluan was gradually attracted by the story.

The fantastic world of science fiction and the rustic rural world are intertwined, painting a wonderful picture for Zhang Jiluan.

Even though this scroll is incomplete, we can still get a glimpse of the magic of the original text!

Li Shoumin didn't reveal any spoilers, but just read on his own, waiting for the other party's reaction.

After an unknown amount of time, he heard a scream from beside him.

“Science fiction is like this!”

A smile appeared on Li Shoumin's face, knowing that this work had once again conquered a reader who had never read a science fiction novel.

However, I didn’t know that after a while, another embarrassing voice came to my ears.

"Shoumin, do you have an English dictionary?"

"The Rural Teacher" inevitably spread from Europe to China.

It’s not that Bao Guowei has a dedicated line that can directly reach the country.

The main reason is that the response to this work in the UK was too enthusiastic, almost comparable to the success of the serialized "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" in the past.

Also in Strand Magazine, readers expressed their great fascination with the story.

Many people began to become interested in science because of the work "The Rural Teacher".

"Learning scientific theorems can save the world"

This rumor spread quickly across Europe at some point.

Some readers even wrote to the magazine to protest against their act of excising chapters from "The Rural Teacher", and many readers openly cursed the magazine.

"They are a bunch of greedy guys who ruined a classic!"

Things got to the point where some readers wanted to storm the magazine.

After the window of the magazine office was smashed, the editor-in-chief, Mr. Herbert Greenhow Smith, realized the seriousness of the matter and immediately communicated with the printing factory.

So after the first edition of "Seaside Magazine" was published, "Seaside Magazine" published an additional issue in just three days, specifically for the story of "Rural Teachers".

In this issue, the magazine published the full story.

Two days later, after much anticipation, the Chinese version of "The Rural Teacher" translated by Mr. Lin Yutang and based on the English original was published.

Given the relationship between Lin Yutang and Bao Guowei, this is not a problem.

As soon as this work was released, it was well received across the country.

The news about Bao Guowei’s outstanding performance in the UK has not yet died down?

Is this science fiction again?

Many people heard that this novel was well received by foreigners abroad, so they became even more curious and wanted to read it.

Since then, the first science fiction work in the eyes of most Chinese people came out in this confusing way.

This work can be said to have pioneered science fiction works in China.

There have been science fiction works in the past, but they often had little influence and were completely incomparable to the hardcore nature of this work.

A few years later, when Xun Ge looked back at the impact of this work, he couldn't help but comment.

"Bingwen's work pioneered the science fiction in our country. It incorporates academic theories, which makes readers understand and break the superstition of inheritance, improve ideas, and contribute to civilization. There are countless people who have entered the scientific community because of this work!"

After Bao Guowei learned that this work had become a hit in China and the translated version had been widely circulated, he hurriedly sent the Chinese version of the manuscript to China.

Later, some curious people compared the two and found that Lin Yutang's translation and Bao Guowei's original version were almost the same.

This shows Mr. Lin Yutang's understanding of Bao Guowei.

Although the work was very popular, it also caused a public controversy: the translated version was circulated too widely, and many later readers often took the translated version as the original text.

Back to this time before Christmas 1930.

While the country was in chaos, Bao Guowei was having a discussion with the first female Nobel Prize winner in France.

(End of this chapter)