plagiarism

47 Friends of America (3800 words chapter)

Two days later, Master Zheng handed over the hardcover and paperback copies of "The Godfather", as well as the script, to Tan Jiabao.

When Tan Jiabao saw the hardcover edition of "The Godfather", it could be described as luxurious.The 368-page novel is printed on ultra-white coated paper, covered with silk cloth, and each chapter is equipped with color illustrations.The paperback is printed on high-grade offset paper. Although it is not as luxurious as the hardcover, it is very delicate from the cover to the inside pages.

The price of the Tan version of "The Godfather" was US$8.8 for the hardcover version and US$5.8 for the paperback book, which was in line with the book price level in the United States at that time.At that time, the price of hardcover books in Hong Kong would not exceed Hong Kong dollars, and the mainland might not even exceed 2 yuan.Therefore, Tan Jiabao, who came from the mainland via Hong Kong, heard the price of books in the United States at that time, and began to plan a plan to make a fortune in this country where "many people are stupid with money".

Therefore, "Tang Dynasty Publishing House" also adopted a limited edition strategy, that is, this set of hardcover editions only printed 60 copies, and each book was printed with a number, promising that it would never be reproduced in the future.

"Ni Kuang's "Jaws" is also asking for translations, but it seems that several people can't do it. And Gu Long's "General Patton" is coming to an end, it is really hard to find translators." Zheng Dashi said a little anxiously.

Earlier, Tan Jiabao told Gu Long about the movie "General Patton" he had seen in his previous life in detail. He asked Gu Long to turn this movie into a novel first, and then plan to make it into a movie.In the same way, he asked Ni Kuang to plagiarize Jaws.

In fact, the movie "General Patton", which won seven Oscars in the previous life, was based on "Patton: Tribulation and Triumph" published by Disras Farago in 1969, based on General Omar Bradley's 1951 Adapted from the historical background of "A Soldier's Tale" written in [-].

And "Jaws" is adapted from Peter Benchley's novel of the same name in 1971. He accidentally read the news that a fisherman caught a 48-kilogram great white shark near Long Island, so he moved to write a novel about the great white shark. idea.However, Benchley was busy with work and had no time to write.He didn't start writing Jaws until 1971. Jaws, his first novel, was welcomed by readers as soon as it was released, and became the top bestseller in American history.Later, in 1975, Spielberg put it on the big screen and immediately broke the previous record for the highest box office in the United States, with a box office of a terrifying $2.6 million.

Tan Jiabao knew that these two novels were best-selling, and the movie was a big hit.He had no reason to give up this huge amount of dollars at his fingertips. Since he really didn't have any extra time, he shamelessly fooled Ni Kuang and Gu Long over.Ni Kuang and Gu Long couldn’t lose face as friends, and at that time it was a fashion for Hong Kong and Taiwan literati to write for others, so the two of them unknowingly created this kind of "processing with supplied materials and production with supplied samples" for him. act.

Tan Jiabao pondered for a while and said, "Leave the matter of finding an interpreter to me. I have a friend here. Let's go find him tomorrow..."

"Do you have friends here?" Mr. Zheng was puzzled.

"Do you remember that American friend I met in Beijing? His name is Hans, and he works as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times." Tan Jiabao said, "He will definitely be able to find suitable people for us."

*********

In a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, Hans saw Tan Jiabao and the others approaching. He greeted them happily and said loudly, "It's really you who sell cakes! My Chinese friend... Dear Tan, How have you been recently? When did you come to America?"

Tan Jiabao saw that Hans was well-dressed and energetic at this time, which was completely different from the embarrassment in Beijing.He strode up to Tan Jiabao and looked at Tan Jiabao carefully, as if he hadn't seen him for many years, even though they had only been separated for a few months.

"Oh, my friend, you've grown taller again! Didn't the beautiful Miss Chen come with you?" Hans looked at Zheng Dashi and Deborah who came with Tan Jiabao, and then tried to find Chen Xiaofang's shadow.

Tan Jiabao smiled and said: "Hans, don't look for it. Miss Chen didn't come, she stayed in Beijing. They are my friends, his name is Zheng Dashi, her name is Deborah."

"Oh, sorry. But this Miss Deborah is also as beautiful as an angel. Oh, Tan, why is there such a beautiful girl by your side every time I meet you?" Hans led them to the private room, while He gushed: "Welcome Chinese friends! To show my friendliness, I specially entertained my Chinese friends at a Chinese restaurant today. The Chinese food here is amazing. Ever since I have been to China, I have fallen in love with Chinese food .So I often come to Chinatown for dinner..."

"Mr. Hans, do you think it's me or that Miss Chen who is more beautiful?" Deborah couldn't help asking Hans as soon as she sat down.

Hans shrugged in astonishment and said, "Miss Deborah, I really can't answer your question. Miss Chen is Tan's girlfriend and my good friend, so of course I think Miss Chen is more beautiful subjectively. And I I also think she has the charm of an oriental woman..."

Deborah's face froze.She had always been quite conceited of her beauty, but she didn't expect honest Hans to answer in this way.Moreover, the first time she heard that Ms. Chen was actually Tan Jiabao's girlfriend, she felt uncontrollable jealousy inexplicably. After listening to Hans's comments patiently, she finally couldn't help but say: " Mr. Hans, is that Miss Chen really so beautiful? Is she really his girlfriend?"

Hans saw Deborah's displeasure, he glanced at Tan Jiabao, and said, "I'm sorry, Miss Deborah. I really didn't lie, but luckily I have a photo of Ms. Chen here..."

As he said that, he took out an envelope from his bag and handed it to Tan Jiabao, saying, "This is a photo I took on the Great Wall with my camera, and I only developed it when I returned to the United States."

Tan Jiabao took the photo and remembered that this was the scene of climbing the Great Wall with Chen Xiaofang, Hans, Wang Shan, Gu Cheng, Index Finger, He Guoting and others braved the heavy snow that day.He remembered that Hans suddenly met so many Chinese friends that day. He was very excited and took several films with his camera.

Pulling out the photos from the envelope, looking at Hans' professional photography works, vivid images came into view.In particular, Chen Xiaofang's spotless and charming figure on the white snow made Tan Jiabao's heart throbbing. He suddenly realized that he really missed that person in the distance, and unconsciously, his eyes turned rosy.

Deborah took the photo, saw Chen Xiaofang's peerless face, and felt an inexplicable jealousy and sadness in her heart.She said nothing more, she had lost any interest in what they said.

"Hans, I opened a publishing house in Los Angeles, and I need some translators, especially those who can translate Chinese into English. Do you have a solution?" Tan Jiabao put away the photos and said straight to the point.

"Oh, cake seller! You opened a publishing house in Los Angeles?" Hans looked at Tan Jiabao with wide eyes and said, "Tan, you are a genius! Not only can you write poetry, but you can also do business. I'm a little jealous You little guy!"

Tan Jiabao laughed and said, "Hans, there will be more surprises for you in the future! Tell me, is there any talent in this field? I know you won't let me down, right?"

Hans nodded and said, "You little guy is not only eccentric, but also extremely lucky. Our "Los Angeles Times" just laid off staff last month, and now a group of people are worrying about work. Why don't you accept them all? They are, in fact, they are all great! Oh, by the way, the teacher named Chang Linda who taught me Chinese has also been laid off this time, and he is exactly the kind of talent you need."

Tan Jiabao was slightly taken aback, looked at Zheng Dashi, and then said: "How many people have been laid off in total? Are there people from all aspects of the newspaper office? What are their abilities?"

Hans shrugged his shoulders and said: "There are 59 people in total, and there are talents in all aspects. If we call them together, we can start a newspaper immediately. But since they have been laid off, of course they will not be top talents."

Tan Jiabao said to Zheng Dashi: "Old Zheng, go and pick some translators and talents who are willing to go to Hong Kong to run a newspaper. In the second half of the year, our Hong Kong newspaper office will be opened."

Zheng Dashi felt that the talents here were indeed worth exploring, so he nodded in agreement.Then he said doubtfully: "We are now looking for translators who can vividly translate Chinese into English. I don't know if they are competent."

Hans said confidently: "I dare not say anything about others, but I can guarantee that Chang Linda is competent. He is from Shanghai, China, and has been in the United States for almost a year. His Chinese and English skills are very good! Oh By the way, I asked him to translate the poems written by Mr. Tan, Guo Lusheng and Mr. Gu Cheng in Beijing that day into English and published them in the "Los Angeles Times". The response was very strong. This is his translation of "A Generation"..."

Then, he began to recite Misty poems in English.

Listening to Hans' recitation, Tan Jiabao nodded secretly.He thought that with Chang Linda's ability, it shouldn't be a big problem to translate "Jaws" and "General Patton", and he should consider other things next.

"Dear Hans, I need your help with one more thing. I wrote a screenplay called The Graduate, and Paramount has finished filming it now. I need publicity, and I need to use a different The name and different newspapers, published in batches..." Tan Jiabao handed some of the things he wrote to Hans, and told Hans some precautions.Hans agreed without hesitation.

*********

On May 5, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the American Book Fair was held as scheduled.

Early in the morning, Tan Jiabao, Zheng Dashi and his party entered the convention and exhibition center full of confidence.The first thing that catches the eye is a black-backed oil painting that resembles the deep, cold, "very manly" middle-aged and elderly image of the famous movie star Marlon Brando.In the lower right corner of the screen, there is a line of words: Man, there is no novel that must be read, except "The Godfather".Because "The Godfather" is a man's "Bible"!Women, there is no novel that you must read, especially "The Godfather", because in reality it is very difficult for you to find a "man" husband like "The Godfather"! .

Since Chang Linda is a perfectionist, the progress in the translation of "Jaws" was not fast, and the Chinese version of Gu Long's "General Patton" had just been completed, so at the book fair, Tang Dynasty Publishing House had only one "The Godfather" exhibited alone.

"Oh, "The Godfather" is here, let me take a look!" A middle-aged bookseller ran over quickly when he saw the huge portrait published by the Tang Dynasty, took a copy of "The Godfather" from the booth, sat down and read it.

Before the book fair, Mr. Zheng had already sent brief introductions, advertisements, and beautiful posters about "The Godfather" to all the booksellers who were going to visit, so booksellers who were interested in "The Godfather" went straight to the Tang Dynasty booth as soon as they came in.

There were more and more booksellers in front of the booth of Tang Dynasty Publishing, and several staff members sent by Mr. Zheng were sweating profusely.Later, even Zheng Dashi and Liu Weide participated in the reception work.

For this "The Godfather", Tan Jiabao has sufficient confidence.Because in college, when he passed the grade in English, he used the English version of "The Godfather" as a model to learn.Therefore, every sentence in "The Godfather" is basically Puzo's original version.He changed almost nothing except for a few good lines of dialogue.

In 1969 in the previous life, Puzo's "The Godfather" was an instant hit. It not only topped the New York Times best-seller list for 67 consecutive weeks, but also became the best-selling book in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and other countries, with a total of 2100 copies sold. Thousands of volumes.Although this number is the sum of the next few decades, this number is also very impressive.

"It's great! My blood boils, I want 5000 copies!"

"I want 8000 copies!"

"I want 10000 paperbacks, plus 00 hardcovers!"

…………

Looking at this situation, Tan Jiabao knew that his plagiarism had succeeded again.But when he thought of that Pu Zuo who was still struggling to support his family, he felt pity in his heart.

"Pu Zuo is in Manhattan, New York. I'm going there just now. I want to see if I can compensate him..." Tan Jiabao thought about it.