enjoyebooks Chapter 15 Winning the Prize
Chapter 15 Winning the Prize
Tupac put his heart into it.
In just a few days, he gathered all sorts of information about the New York publishing industry.
Why emphasize New York?
It's very simple: New York is the center of American culture, politics, and finance.
The entertainment industry is centered in Hollywood, but the cultural sphere... the entire city of New York boasts over a hundred publishing houses, large and small. Seventy percent of the most influential publishing houses in the US are located in New York, with the remaining three percent scattered in cities like Chicago and Boston. While those places also have large publishing houses, they lack the influence of New York.
If a work cannot find a publisher in New York, it will be difficult to gain recognition in other cities as well.
To put it simply: New York drank most of the soup of the American book market, while other cities shared the scraps.
It's a bit exaggerated, but not excessive.
Xu Shengjie and Tupaike talked for a long time.
Books, records...
He will return to Los Angeles the day after tomorrow to prepare for the recording of his new album.
BIG's new album made him feel a slight sense of threat.
But it's clear that at this time, Tupac and Big had a pretty good relationship. Big respected Tupac, and Tupac admired Big.
As for Puff's father...
"I have to admit, you're right, that guy is a businessman."
Although Tupac didn't say much about Puff's father, Xu Shengjie could tell that he was already on guard.
Of course, Tupac disagreed with Xu Shengjie's assessment of "Dr. Red".
"DR·DRE is indeed a businessman, but his ultimate goal is still the development of rap."
I think it's unfair to compare him to Puff.
Thinking about it, that's true.
Dr. Red brought out Snoopy, Too Parker, and even the future Eminem, and he took great care of them.
But Puff seems to be just a troublemaker.
……
Xu Shengjie carefully put away Elaine's contact information.
Then he took Tupac out the door, ready to go out and relax.
In Manhattan's Chinatown, bars are not a shortage of venues. The now-famous Apotheke has not yet opened, but Doyers Street, where it is located, is the most famous bar street in Chinatown at this time.
This place has dozens of underground bars and is very lively.
For Tupac, who enjoys such occasions, Doyle Street is like paradise.
The two first went to the Hehe Restaurant for a meal. It was lunchtime, and the restaurant, located in the basement of Chinatown, was particularly lively.
A cart, fully loaded with all kinds of steamed snacks, shuttles between the tables.
When Xu Shengjie and Tupaike arrived, there was a long line of people waiting at the entrance.
"Ah Liang, long time no see!"
"Hey, Jay, how are you doing lately?"
Xu Shengjie was too lazy to queue and went straight to the waiter at the door.
He's an old man from Chinatown; he grew up there and knows everyone there.
He hugged the waiter and casually slipped a ten-dollar bill folded into a triangle into Ah Liang's hand.
Are there any seats available?
"Others might not have it, but Brother Jie, you're asking, so even if you don't have it, you still have to."
Ah Liang smiled, subtly slipped the banknotes into his pocket, and led Xu Shengjie and the other man inside.
"Hey, why aren't they queuing?"
A woman's voice rang out from the crowd, "Everyone is queuing, why can they go in?"
Ah Liang tilted his head and said, "This is my older brother, what do you think?"
"Your older brother also has to wait in line."
Xu Shengjie and Tupaike were talking in hushed tones when they heard the argument and turned to look.
"Ah, Miss Lan, it's you!"
"My surname isn't Lan, it's Zhou..."
The woman continued stubbornly, but her voice was noticeably weaker.
"Want to join us? We can't possibly sit at the same table together..."
"I don't know you, we should follow the rules."
Xu Shengjie couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Miss Lan is right, it's a good thing to follow the rules."
"Since Miss Lan insists on queuing, then never mind... We have other things to do, so we won't follow the rules today. See you later."
With that, he pulled Tupac away.
The woman was Zhou Wenqiong.
Despite being ten years older than Xu Shengjie, she dared not continue to obstruct him after learning of his notorious reputation.
"My surname is Zhou, and I am not Lan Yun."
"Yes, Miss Lan."
Zhou Wenqiong wanted to retort, but Gong Xue, who was standing behind her, stopped her.
"Stop arguing. Didn't you say you were going to avoid him? How dare you cause him trouble?"
"I didn't see clearly just now... But why can he cut in line while we have to wait here for seats?"
The woman next to Gong Xue smiled.
She said softly, "He's a local bigwig in Chinatown, and he paid him."
"what?"
"Xiao Zhou, this is New York."
Unlike back home, everything here is about money. If you're willing to pay twenty dollars for a seat, you don't even need to wait in line.
"Twenty dollars?"
Zhou Wenqiong shook her head repeatedly and said softly, "It's too expensive, I'd better not!"
Before she knew it, she had been working at the Pan-Asian Theatre Company for a week.
Today, she specially invited Gong Xue and Zhang Disha to dinner... The Hehe Restaurant is quite expensive, costing at least thirty dollars per person. That means her treat today will cost one hundred dollars, which is about one-tenth of her salary.
The Pan-Asian Theatre Company is almost entirely supported by Zhang Disha alone.
As a newcomer, Zhou Wenqiong's English level is good enough for communication, but not yet at a stage performance level. Therefore, her salary is low, only $1000 a month. She shares an apartment with a preparatory student from China for $150 a month. She lives in the heart of Chinatown, a nice and safe area, so the rent is naturally expensive.
This was all thanks to Gong Xue stepping in and getting the landlord to lower the rent.
Otherwise, it would be two hundred a month.
To learn English at school, you need to buy textbooks, although you can buy them from the second-hand market.
I need to eat, and I need commuting expenses...
This doesn't even include taxes!
But they were already stretched thin.
Spending $100 to treat everyone today already took a lot of courage. Asking her to spend an extra $20 would be too much for her.
Gong Xue and Zhang Disha were both well aware of this.
"This kind of person is just a little rascal in the country, don't take him seriously."
I've already had someone talk to them about what happened before. They've said they won't pursue the matter, so don't be afraid of them.
"I know!"
Upon reflection, Zhou Wenqiong also felt ashamed.
She's a well-regarded actress in China, yet here she is, intimidated by some nobody in America. It's quite embarrassing. Just the other day, she was thoroughly mocked by her cousin back home during a phone call.
You little scoundrel, you little scoundrel!
Zhou Wenqiong took two deep breaths to calm herself down.
About ten minutes later, a table became available in the restaurant, and it was Zhou Wenqiong and her two companions' turn.
The three followed a waitress in a cheongsam into the restaurant and arrived at a table that had just been vacated.
"This is all Cantonese cuisine. You're familiar with it, Wenqiong, so you can order."
Gong Xue glanced at the menu and handed it to Zhou Wenqiong.
"Give me a few baskets of dim sum first, and a pot of Dancong tea... By the way, Sister Gong, you're from Shanghai, are you used to the taste of Dancong tea?"
"I've been in the United States for ten years, and I'm not having any trouble adjusting."
Dancong is good too, Disa, let's go with Dancong.
A pot of Dancong tea costs three dollars.
Zhang Disha isn't actually from Guangdong or Guangxi, but she's a native of Chinatown and has long been accustomed to the local cuisine.
"Uncle Chai, urge the kitchen to serve the food. It's not ready yet."
Also, bring the dim sum cart over, we'll add two more servings of chicken feet and spare ribs... Oh, and two more servings of honeycomb tripe, and two baskets of shrimp dumplings. Damn it, I just said I wanted two more baskets of shrimp dumplings, but you damn it insisted it was enough.
There's not enough for just you; there's more food coming up.
That voice sounds so familiar!
Zhou Wenqiong was about to order when she suddenly heard shouts behind her.
Turning my head, I saw a group of five or six people sitting at the next table.
That little punk was turning around and shouting.
Their eyes met, and the petty scoundrel Xu Shengjie suddenly laughed.
"Miss Lan, what a coincidence!"
Zhou Wenqiong's face darkened, and she quickly turned away, ignoring him.
Zhang Disha smiled and said gently, "Jeffrey, stop it. Let's all eat our own food. Don't always bully Vivian. We're all Chinese, it's not good!"
"OK, OK, Anut Zhang, I didn't mean anything by it, I was just teasing her. She's pretty, and I've actually seen her movies."
Xu Shengjie still has great respect for Zhang Disha.
A seemingly frail woman dedicated herself to promoting cultural exchange between East and West.
We won't comment on their success or failure, but I still have great respect for elderly people like Zhang Disha, Lu Yan, and Zhou Caiqin.
"Smooth-talking!"
Zhang Disha laughed and scolded, then gestured to Zhou Wenqiong, whose face was flushed, that she didn't need to pay any more attention to Xu Shengjie.
At that moment, the Powerball lottery results were being broadcast on television.
Sitting next to Tupac, Zhang Ping'an suddenly remembered something and said to Xu Shengjie, "Jeff, today's Powerball draw. The lottery tickets we bought a few days ago should be from this draw, right? Did you bring them? Hurry up and take them out to check!"
……