Back to 80: My Literary Life

"What's going on? Tangtang, don't be anxious and speak slowly." Fang Minghua quickly comforted her.

Song Tangtang talked about what happened in the movie.

It turned out that just last night, the second aunt suddenly came to Song Tangtang's house and told Song Tangtang that Li Li made an international long distance call from San Francisco the night before and said that she planned to stay at San Francisco State University to teach. Now she has basically negotiated a salary with the school. In the fall Classes can begin officially as soon as school starts.

"San Francisco State University? It's not too famous, right? Is it as good as Yan State University?" Fang Minghua didn't understand.

"Lili said that a professor at San Francisco State University named Howard Grant is a famous sinologist who specializes in translating novels by domestic writers into English and publishing them in the United States. When he heard about Lili's situation, he strongly invited her to stay. Working as a novel translator in San Francisco, Lili agreed to his invitation after careful consideration.”

Grantham?

Fang Minghua understood immediately.

"Selected Chinese Pioneer Works and Short Stories" edited by Fang Minghua and published in the United States was translated by Ge Haowen!

Historically, Ge Haowen has translated works by Xiao Hong, Mo Yan, Wang Anyi, Liu Zhenyun, Su Tong, Wang Shuo and others, especially Mo Yan's works.

He is the translator who has translated the most Chinese novels in history.

Li Li is also quite talented in translation, so Ge ​​Haowen naturally wants to keep her.

"Minghua, why don't you go to San Francisco and persuade Lili not to sign the contract but to return to China?" Song Tangtang expressed his thoughts on the phone.

"Okay, I'll rush to San Francisco tomorrow." Fang Minghua immediately agreed: "How can I contact her?"

"Lili lives at her classmate's house. She only has an approximate address but a phone number for her classmate's home."

"Okay, wait a minute, I'll get a notebook and write it down." Fang Minghua said.

After all this was done, Fang Minghua comforted Song Tangtang for a few more words before hanging up the phone.

He went downstairs and knocked on Sun Lizhe's bedroom. Fortunately, neither of them slept.

After briefly explaining the situation, Fang Minghua said: "I am planning to rush to San Francisco tomorrow.

Of course, Sun Lizhe understood Fang Minghua's mood and immediately said, "Then let me ask you about the flight situation tomorrow."

He picked up the phone and inquired for a while and told Fang Minghua: "Just in time, there is a flight to San Francisco at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. I will take you to the airport in the morning."

"It's so troublesome for you." Fang Minghua thanked him.

"Why are you so polite? Don't worry, have a good sleep at night."

"Okay, I'm going up." Fang Minghua was about to turn around when he suddenly heard Sun Lizhe's daughter-in-law Wu Beiling say: "Minghua, your daughter-in-law's cousin you mentioned is called Li Li. Is she the girl who translated "Crossing the Guandong" for you?"

"Yes, that's her." Fang Minghua turned around.

"Minghua, let me say something that I shouldn't say. It is better for Li Li to stay here than to return to China." Wu Beiling said.

"Why?"

"We don't consider other factors, just talk about her career. Li Li studied comparative literature, which I also studied. The main research is literature beyond the scope of one country, and the relationship between literature and other fields of knowledge and belief. Relationships, including art, philosophy, history, social sciences, and more.”

Li Li was originally Chinese, and she studied abroad until she graduated with a master's degree. She is familiar with our country’s literature, but she doesn’t know as much about British and American literature and society as at home, so staying in the United States will help her research. "

"Also, she is now planning to translate the works of domestic writers into English and publish them in the United States. The publishing industry in the United States is very different from our country, and her expertise can be better utilized here, so it is estimated that it will be difficult for you to persuade her."

After hearing Wu Beiling's words, Fang Minghua was silent for a moment before saying:

"Do your best and let fate dictate."

In fact, why doesn't Fang Minghua know this reason?

However, you still have to go.

Early the next morning, Fang Minghua packed his luggage, got into Sun Lizhe's car and rushed to O'Hare International Airport, and quickly boarded a flight to San Francisco.

The plane took four hours to arrive at San Francisco International Airport, but San Francisco is on Western United States time and is two hours behind Chicago, so it is only 12 noon.

After taking the airport bus to the city, Fang Minghua was not in a hurry to call Li Li. Instead, he bought a map of San Francisco and went to the bank. Then he found a phone booth on the street, put in a coin and made a call.

The call was quickly connected, and a girl's voice came through. Although she spoke English, her voice was very familiar to Fang Minghua.

Soft, with a bit of a lolita flavor.

This reminded Fang Minghua of the voice of Sakura Tange, the voice of Sakura in the Japanese anime "Cardcaptor Sakura".

It's Li Li.

"Li Li, it's me, Fang Minghua." Fang Minghua spoke directly in Chinese.

"Brother-in-law, where are you?".

"I'm in San Francisco." Fang Minghua said, then looked up at the surrounding scenery: "It's in a red phone booth on the east side of Van Ness Avenue in the old Civic Center. Oh, there's an ice cream shop next to it."

"Are you coming to San Francisco?" Li Li was surprised and happy when she heard this: "Just wait and stop running around. I'll pick you up." After saying that, the other party hung up the phone.

Fang Minghua left the phone booth, walked into the cold drink shop, ordered a bottle of Coke, and drank it slowly.

Half an hour later, Fang Minghua saw an orange Beetle speeding over and parked outside the ice cream shop. Two beautiful girls got out of the car.

One has flaxen hair and is wearing hot pants, and the other has black hair and is wearing a floral dress.

"Lili!" Fang Minghua called.

After paying, I took my luggage and left the ice cream shop.

"Brother-in-law!" Li Li shouted happily, and then introduced to Fang Minghua: "This is my classmate, Demi. I live in her house now."

"Hi! Hello!" Demi took off her sunglasses and waved to Fang Minghua, but she actually spoke in Chinese!

"Demi is also very interested in our country's culture and is now learning Chinese with me." Li Li explained.

I see.

"Hello, Demi." Fang Minghua also greeted.

"Get in the car and go to my house," Demi said.

Originally, Fang Minghua didn't want to go to the girl's house, but the matter with Li Li couldn't be explained clearly in a few sentences, so he had to put his luggage in the trunk, get in the car and drive east along the street.

"Brother-in-law, are you here in San Francisco for a book signing?" Li Li asked as they sat in the back row.

"No, I have finished all my things in the United States. I am going to return home from Los Angeles tomorrow. I came here specifically to see you today."

"Looking for me?" Li Li thought of something and asked softly: "Did my cousin ask you to come to me?"

"Yeah." Fang Minghua nodded.

Li Li said no more.

Fang Minghua didn't speak, he just looked at the scenery outside the window. There was some silence in the car.