"Forget it, let's go back and find someone who understands it. Jimmy's Chinese seems to be very good. You can ask him, but he is very busy right now and can't take care of it." Jeff suggested.
Hanes shook his head, he really couldn't wait to find out again.
"If I don't understand what this sentence means, I won't be able to eat."
Jeff sighed secretly, Hanes was good at everything, but he was too stubborn.
"Then what else can you do? Why don't you buy a Chinese dictionary and look it up word by word."
"Forget it in the dictionary, I feel like I can't even find it in the dictionary. I'll go find someone else and ask."
Just as he was told, Haines started looking for Chinese people among the book club.
But this is not an easy thing. Chinese, Korean, Japanese... East Asians all seem to look the same. Hanes asked several people in succession. Either they were not Chinese, or they were just like Zhang Li and could not understand what was written on them.
What is.
There was a young man who seemed to understand, but he couldn't express his meaning clearly even after speaking in English for a long time.
"Hello, I can help you take a look."
Just when Hanes was about to give up hope, a man walked over and said to him with a smile, "I just saw that you seemed to be looking for someone to translate Chinese."
The speaker is about seventeen or eighteen years old and has a very delicate appearance. He has the appearance of an East Asian.
"Oh, okay." Hanes handed the book to the other party, "Are you Chinese?"
The other party nodded, looked at the words on the title page, and then smiled: "This sentence is not difficult. It means that with a scale, you can know how to measure fairness, and with a compass, you can know how to draw a correct circle.
, the following sentence..."
"I know the last part."
Harnes looked at the black-haired boy in front of him with a look of surprise. He had just heard the boy's pure Boston accent and thought he was a brave boy. He didn't expect that the boy solved the problem so easily.
And what did he say? Isn’t it difficult?
"Hello, can I ask what your name is?" Hanes asked.
"You can call me Kane."
"you……"
"Sorry, I'm here for a book signing and I have to wait in line."
Kane waved his hands hurriedly, and then walked towards the back of the team.
He came a little late, the queue was already very long, and he was afraid that if he delayed for a while longer, he wouldn't be able to get his turn.
When Harnes saw Kane running away, he didn't give up and chased after him.
It wasn't until Kane reached the back of the queue that Haines followed him out of breath. He was only a few dozen meters away and was out of breath.
"As I get older, I can't outrun young people like you."
Hearns held his knees and looked at Kane, "Now that you're in line, can you talk to me?"
Kahn stared at Hanes in surprise, "Of course, but what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Your accent sounds like you're from Boston?"
"That's right, I came here specially from Boston to attend YU's autograph session. You should know that this is a rare opportunity."
"Have you heard of the YU Umbrella Reading Club?"
Kane smiled and said: "Of course, the YU Umbrella Reading Club is quite famous in our area. I heard that this book signing event also had participation from the reading club. Some classmates gave us a petition banner before, and I also signed it. Just now
When I saw the banner hanging next to it, I wanted to look for it to see if I could find my name, but considering the time, I didn't do so."
Hanes looked at the banners hanging around the bookstore and said with a smile, "I am a member of the YU Umbrella Reading Club. Our reading club also has members from Boston, and we are also planning to open a branch in Boston in the near future. I don't know how you feel about it.
not interested."
"Of course." Kane raised his eyebrows, "I have always been curious about the YU Umbrella Reading Club. Science fiction is not a big hit in the United States, and it is not easy to find some large-scale science fiction reading clubs. Moreover, YU is Chinese.
, it’s not easy.”
"Have you come to the United States since you were a child? Have you ever lived in China? Because I hear your accent..."
"My accent was deliberately practiced. In fact, I came to the United States with my family when I was eleven years old."
"So that's it...are you in a hurry to go back today?"
Kane shook his head, "I can't go back today, I'm going to stay in New York for one night."
Harnes smiled and said, "If you have time, you can come to our reading club."
Kane thought for a while and nodded, "Okay, but it looks like it will take a long time."
The queue in front is still very long, and it should take a long time to get to Kane.
"It's okay, I'll wait for you."
…
The autograph session was going on in an orderly manner, and the store manager Hal was always "waiting" beside him. He even added water and changed pens himself.
At noon, he prepared another table of sumptuous Chinese food, but Dudong simply took a few bites and continued to return to his seat to sign autographs and entertain his book friends.
Seeing such a diligent YU, Hal was so moved that he almost shed tears.
Because it has been agreed in advance that Little Bear Bookstore will provide the venue this time and help with publicity, there is no need to give YU any additional remuneration.
In other words, no matter how much YU signs today, it will not have much impact on him. At most, it will just be more royalties.
But compared to the sales of millions of copies, YU can't improve much no matter how hard it tries.
And even so, YU has never been lazy.
It was just that the signature was in Chinese characters, so the speed was very slow. In the middle, Hal kept trying to tell YU not to sign in Chinese characters, but to only sign the English abbreviation, which only included two letters, Y and U, which would save a lot of time.
Moreover, once Yu Dong gives special signatures to readers, it takes longer. Sometimes he writes a long list, and Hal feels tired even watching it.
In fact, Yu Dong also knew how to sign faster, but he was unwilling to do so.
On the one hand, he finally came here, and so many readers supported him, so he naturally deserved the love of these readers. On the other hand, he insisted on using Chinese characters and often wrote long sentences, hoping that these Americans would be able to understand him.
Chinese culture generates some interest.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The impact may not be too deep, but everything is done step by step. If today's book signing can make ten book friends
Interested in Chinese characters and deeper Chinese culture, Yu Dong believed that his persistence was not in vain.
…
Around three o'clock, Yu Dong already felt very tired.
The intensity of this autograph session is completely different from that of the last autograph session in Chengdu. Last time, Yu Dong could control his own pace, and sometimes even chatted with readers while holding a cup of tea.
But from the beginning of the autograph session today, Yu Dong's nerves have been on edge.
Others will come over after a while to report the situation of the queue outside. From morning to now, the queue has never gotten shorter, and people are constantly joining in.
When Jimmy saw Yu Dong beating his arm, he ran over and lowered his head and said, "There's no need to be in such a hurry. At worst, you can work overtime at night, or some people just don't want to sign. I'll go tell people after a while and tell readers not to queue up anymore."
."
Yu Dong looked at the time and said, "It's still early. No need. If there are still so many people at five o'clock, it won't be too late to notify you. As for working overtime, forget it. It doesn't matter if I work overtime alone. I will also involve others. And
Readers, they all stood in line, so they had a much better time than me."
Jimmy shook his head and smiled: "I should really record what you just said so that the readers can hear how much you take care of them."
After a while, Hal went to find Jimmy again: "Mr. James, what time can YU sign in today?"
Jimmy looked at Hal with a smile, "Why, are you afraid that YU will get off work early and you won't be able to sell out all the books you brought in?"
"No, no." Hal waved his hands repeatedly, "Actually, I am worried that we have not purchased enough. We have purchased a total of 5,000 copies of "Second World", and have sold nearly 4,000 copies, with more than 1,000 copies left.
."
"It seems that you don't have enough confidence in this autograph session. You only got 5,000 copies. I thought you had to get at least 10,000 copies."
Hal was startled.
Ten thousand books, this Jimmy really dared to say. He had already made a lot of determination to get five thousand books at that time, but he didn't expect that he might still face the situation of not having enough books now.
Jimmy mentioned the number of 10,000 copies, of course, just to tease Hal. According to today's progress, 10,000 copies is impossible.
In fact, Jimmy was quite surprised when Hal said that nearly 4,000 copies had been sold. After all, this was not a small number.
He looked at the time and saw that it was almost four o'clock. "I suggest you get another thousand to two thousand copies. Even if you can't sell them all, there shouldn't be many left."
"With your words, I feel relieved and I will contact you now."
Purchasing books is not difficult. There are too many to mention. One or two thousand books can be purchased at any time. You don’t even need to contact Bantam Company, just go to the booksellers directly.
…
When Yu Dong was about to rest for a while, a young man with black hair and black eyes came up. He loosened his wrist and asked in Chinese:
"Are you Chinese?"
The young man nodded and said in Mandarin, "Yes."
Hearing the other party's standard Mandarin, Yu Dong smiled knowingly, "Come here to study?"
"No, I came here with my parents when I was young."
"That's rare. Your Mandarin is very standard. It doesn't look like you've been here a long time." Yu Dong was a little surprised. He had chatted with several Chinese Americans before. Let alone those who came to the United States when they were young, even if they had just arrived a few years ago.
For young people, Mandarin also has a foreign flavor.
The young man in front of me is very nice. I can't pronounce "abc" and even has a hint of Southwest Mandarin.
Facing Dudong's praise, Kane smiled and explained: "I have never given up studying traditional Chinese culture, and we have always spoken Mandarin at home."
"Very good, keep it up. What's your name?"
"The English name is Kane Liu, and the Chinese name is Liu Yukun."
"Liu Yukun, it's pretty good..."
Yu Dong subconsciously wanted to praise him, but then he suddenly realized that this name... He raised his head and took a serious look at the young man in front of him. He had a delicate face and clear eyes, exuding a kind of confidence from the inside out.
Liu Yukun, considering his age, is indeed that old. There should be no mistake, this Liu Yukun is the same Liu Yukun.
Originally, Liu Yukun was happy when he heard Yu Dong ask his name, because he usually got a special signature when he asked his name. But when Yu Dong was about to start writing, he suddenly stopped. Liu Yukun became anxious and said hurriedly, "Wen Dao Liu,
The rain of rain, the insects of insects.”
If Liu Yukun had a pen in his hand right now, he would be eager to write his name on the paper.
Seeing Liu Yukun's anxious look, Yu Dong found it interesting, but did not rush to sign his autograph, "Do you like science fiction?"
Liu Yukun nodded fiercely, "Of course, especially your science fiction novels, it opened my eyes to a new world. If it weren't for liking "The Second World" and you, I wouldn't have come all the way from Boston."
"Since you like it, keep at it. Maybe one day you will sit in this place and sign autographs for readers who like your works. If that happens one day, I will definitely become your reader. You were born in China and grew up in the United States.
You haven’t given up on studying traditional Chinese culture, maybe one day you will be able to write a work that is different from others.”
Liu Yukun was stunned by Yu Dong's encouragement. He looked at Yu Dong blankly, looking at the seat where Yu Dong was sitting, and the noisy chatter in the bookstore could be heard in his ears.
These noisy sounds gradually became clearer, slowly echoing in the ear canal, and finally merged into one sentence, but it was Yu Dong's voice, "What are you thinking about?"
"Oh, I, I didn't think about anything..."
Yu Dong smiled. They had chatted for a long time. If the conversation continued like this, the people behind him would have opinions. He picked up a pen and wrote on the title page: Liu Yukun, I hope to read your works one day - Yu Dong
.
"for you."
"Thank you, thank you." Liu Yukun took the book as if he had found a treasure.
After Liu Yukun left, Yu Dong got into the intense signing work again.
Until 5:30, Comrade Jimmy stopped queuing outside. At this time, there were still about two to three hundred people queuing.
More than an hour passed, and when it was almost seven o'clock, the autograph signing finally ended.
There were also some people who came late and missed the book signing, so they could only stand at the door of the bookstore and beat their chests. But these are a small number. Today's book signing was quite successful. The final count was more than 3,600 people, and six books were sold.
There are 1,200 books, and most readers have bought two.
More than 3,000 people came to a book signing, which is definitely a large scale. If Yu Dong works extra hours and signs in at 10 or even 11 o'clock, he should be able to break through to 4,000.
In fact, it is not without water at all. Some of the 3,600 visitors were organized by the reading club, and some readers queued up twice.
Some readers who were at the front of the queue found out that they still had a chance after signing, so they ran to the back of the queue again. They hoped to queue one more time to get the special lottery.
That is to say, each reader can only buy two books. Otherwise, if you meet some hot-headed rich readers, you will be able to sign a lot more books today.
Of course, such achievements today also depend on the marketing efforts of Bantam, Universal Pictures, Bear Bookstore and Deep Space.
Chapter completed!